Attempting a Fall/Winter Grow - newbie experiement - Pics included

Before you yell at me that I can't grow marijuana in the fall or winter because of temperatures and day length just let me say I know that but I'm new to growing and i'm learning and I can't learn until I fail. you don't have to like what I'm doing or agree with it, just don't hate.

So my summertime yield was not what I hoped for. I harvested 2 plants and I got 6.2 ounces off one and 5.4 ounces off the other. I figured if I don't wanna be paying for smoke again soon I better grow some more. I've done a bunch of reading and I've talked to some friends who all agree that there are plenty of people growing marijuana in the central valley in cali. Following year long weather trends monthly in 2012 december and january are the coldest months with the average night time low of 39 degrees farenheit I'm pretty sure with the greenhouse that hubs and I are in the process of building i can keep it warm enough to be okay.

I don't know what to do about the hours of sunlight the plants get because I'm not going to go the lights route. i'm just not. I don't want to. I'll just have to be at the mercy of the sun and hope for the best.

I have 5 seeds started in rockwool mini cubes. 4 have already sprouted taproots. I have 2 White Widow Skunk seeds, 1 Akorn, Snowbud seed, 1 Double Glock seed and 1 Kryptonite.

I cut up old 2 liter soda bottles and made miniature greenhouses for each plant. When these are ready I will add soil to the containers and they will live happily in these same containers until they are ready to go into 5 gallon pots. I'm thinking I'm going to finish them off in 10 gallon pots.

I mixed my soil so I have half fox farms and half happy frog I added 30% perlite. I have it ruminating so by the time my plants are ready for soil it will have been stewing up some good stuff in there or so I hope. lol

Aside from me being crazy trying to grow pot when there's not much sun, what do you think?

Good luck.

I've got a single seedling started to try the same basic idea. I'm thinking about using a light to interrupt the dark cycle and keep her in veg a bit longer. Not expecting much of a yield, but I think it would be really cool to have an outdoor winter harvest. As the nights get colder, I may end up bringing the plant in at night depending on how she tolerates it.

Krspies, ya know I've always admired your chutzpah If you can manage to keep your expectations low, this could be a fun journey. That you got 11 z's out of those 2 plants is better'n great!

Light is really important. The quantity and quality of Sunlight just isn't adequate during Fall, Winter, or even Spring. So if you say you're not going to supplement lighting, then you already know how that story ends. Without giving your plants any added light, they will reach sexual maturity and then start to flower. You may even want to consider socalijoe's technique above, to be able to veg longer. Otherwise, we're probably talking 10-12 inch plants, when they go into flower. The lack of light (length and intensity) will cause "the stretch" to be minimal and the buds to be "poofy" or not dense. Expect small plants with airy buds. Also, dew and rain can cause mold. So what you may gain, in pest relief (fewer friggin' pillars lol) department, you may lose in the mold and mildew department As I wrote, if you go in expecting little, the journey can be a great learning experience and it will definitely keep ya busy

You go girl!

R2T

socaljoe said:

Good luck.

I've got a single seedling started to try the same basic idea. I'm thinking about using a light to interrupt the dark cycle and keep her in veg a bit longer. Not expecting much of a yield, but I think it would be really cool to have an outdoor winter harvest. As the nights get colder, I may end up bringing the plant in at night depending on how she tolerates it.

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good luck! let us know how it goes. Are you going to start a grow journal?

Rold2Tight said:

Krspies, ya know I've always admired your chutzpah If you can manage to keep your expectations low, this could be a fun journey. That you got 11 z's out of those 2 plants is better'n great!

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you think so? Initially I thought I'd get more but I ain't complaining! lol and thanks!

Rold2Tight said:

Light is really important. The quantity and quality of Sunlight just isn't adequate during Fall, Winter, or even Spring. So if you say you're not going to supplement lighting, then you already know how that story ends. Without giving your plants any added light, they will reach sexual maturity and then start to flower. You may even want to consider socalijoe's technique above, to be able to veg longer. Otherwise, we're probably talking 10-12 inch plants, when they go into flower. The lack of light (length and intensity) will cause "the stretch" to be minimal and the buds to be "poofy" or not dense. Expect small plants with airy buds. Also, dew and rain can cause mold. So what you may gain, in pest relief (fewer friggin' pillars

lol) department, you may lose in the mold and mildew department

As I wrote, if you go in expecting little, the journey can be a great learning experience and it will definitely keep ya busy

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My expectations for a winter grow are nada lol I'm still not convinced I know what I'm doing enough to make it happen but I really am the type of person that has to hit her head on the brick wall (repeatedly!) before I realize, "oh, maybe I should walk around the brick wall." lol

I am really struggling with the light issue. I don't want to deal with lights. I read, "the light is too close, the light is too hot, the light is too far away, your plant is reaching for the light, your plant is burnt by the light" etc and if I'm being honest I'm a little intimidated by the whole light thing. they can be costly and I'm just not familiar. electricity is one of those things that eludes me, much like setting the clock on the coffee pot.

I am already seeing how I am going to need light. I just don't see how this is going to be possible without it. At 8am every morning I'm running around my yard and house looking for the sun lol I know my neighbors are wondering what the hell I'm doing but after 14 years they should be used to me by now. jAgain in the evening around 5:30 I'm searching for the light again and moving my little sprouts to keep them in as much light as possible.

So, in regards to light I have questions, well, A question I guess, can someone explain to me how plants grow in a greenhouse in the winter without it being bright and sunny outside? Just how does this happen? I don't understand. I've googled it until I've my head is googoled but I can't find the answer, maybe I'm using the wrong search terms idk. I see tomato plants are used in comparison to MJ plants so going with that, if tomato plants grow inside a greenhouse in the summer, don't they need sun too? Does shade matter? what about when it's overcast outside? is that still good quality light for plants? I understand quantity of light, that I get, the more the merrier I guess its the quality of light I'm struggling to understand.

I am going to break down and try some lights, or 1 light for now so I can figure it out. I have a clamp-lamp but I need to get a bulb, I have no idea what kind of bulb. I have some light bulbs that are natural lighting meant to reproduce outside lighting for photography but I don't think those will work, they are just for photography. I'm gonna have to figure this out before those little sprouts die on me.

I'm also trying to figure out how I can add a light(s) to the greenhouse without setting it on fire or causing an electrical nightmare that will cause the hubs to divorce me.

on the flip side, my broccoli and lettuce are gorgeous!!

Krspies said:

I know my neighbors are wondering what the hell I'm doing but after 14 years they should be used to me by now.

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Building up years and years of a personality that is seen as insane sometimes is a good thing... it illicits far less questions

-spek

Krspies said:

good luck! let us know how it goes. Are you going to start a grow journal?

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Probably not going to do a grow journal. To be honest, I'm less sure each day that I even want to go through with this. Once I get finished trimming, drying and curing my summer plants, I think I'm going to be burned out. But we'll see how it goes.

Krspies said:

I harvested 2 plants and I got 6.2 ounces off one and 5.4 ounces off the other.

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Is this wet weight?

dr.tomb said:

Is this wet weight?

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I would say dried but not cured.

The first plant harvested my hubby did all the work. His method was he yanked it out of the ground and turned it upside down in the garage. hung it by a hook and left it that way for 3 days. After 3 days he cut all the branches off and trimmed the buds and hung the branches on string for 3 more days. At the end of those 3 days he cut the buds off off the branches and bagged them and weighed them. He uses a digital scale that he weighs precious metals with. don't ask me anything about it because like I said earlier I can't set the clock on the coffeepot. lol

the second plant I harvested 2 weeks later and did all the work. I went a different route but I dried for the same amount of days. I cut all my branches off and hung them upside down in the garage for 3 days. After 3 days I cut the buds off the branches and sandwiched them between layers of brown paper sacks inside one big brown paper bag closed up. I let them dry in the bag for another 3 days and then bagged it all in ziplock baggies and weighed them.

spek9 said:

Building up years and years of a personality that is seen as insane sometimes is a good thing... it illicits far less questions

-spek

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it helps that pretty much everyone in my neighborhood is weird as feck! my next door neighbor has half a frickin' deer's body with antlers strapped to some contraption just sitting on the roof. I'm dying to know why.

socaljoe said:

Probably not going to do a grow journal. To be honest, I'm less sure each day that I even want to go through with this. Once I get finished trimming, drying and curing my summer plants, I think I'm going to be burned out. But we'll see how it goes.

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lol enjoy that harvest!

I hear ya bout trimming, drying and curing. That's where I've been lately too But I will also start an indoor grow in a few more days (soon as the cab is vacated). Keeps me busy

I laughed my butt off about you looking for light in your yard All my gals were potted and I have some big trees around my yard. So I would move my plants 3 times a day to catch as much light, for as long, as possible...LOL

Don't be afraid of lights. Worse case, get a cheap 150w all in one HPS light, like this I use that one when I have to bring the ladies indoors. It's not going to do the best job. But it will keep the plants in veg, run relatively cool and use little power. Bring your plants in at night and leave this light on them for 4 or 5 more hours, then rinse and repeat daily

And if you decide to take a vacation instead, well that's fine too

R2T