Forcing Outdoor Potted Plant to Start Flower

WattSaver

WattSaver

Well-Known Member
Is there a way to force an outdoor plant to start flowering, short of bringing it inside into dark to control its light???

I have a Maui Wowie which has been in clone line for a couple of yrs. I cut this clone in March, and it was a mother in a small veg box until the middle of July, when I put it outdoors to finish out. (It's still a mom, I took 4 cuts off of it this morning).

This strain will always start flower when flipped to 12/12, but outside that's not until mid/late sept. Where I live I don't have 8wk after this point until frost and snow.

Can I get a big box and cover her to regulate the light hrs???
or is there another way to fool her?

Photo from a couple days ago

GR 005riu.jpg
 
balactus

balactus

Well-Known Member
That would be real tough to cover her to make up for the hours of darkness. Your best bet would be to just flower her indoors. If you say that Mid/Late Sept is time then that is her time unless you moved somewhere else. I don't have any knowledge on the effects of bringing outdoor plants inside after being outside so long. I suspect you risk bringing in insects as well as stressing the plant from the loss of light. Nothing compares to the sun.

Also if you do really want to finish her outside. Then you'd have to be diligent and on top of bringing her in and out of the home for 12/12. But again a grow box indoors is the best bet if you want an early harvest.
 
Faldikar

Faldikar

Active Member
you can cover her with nearly anything to fully block out the light. a box is fine as long as it is big enough and you have some way to get it ventilated. you dont want her getting too hot and humid, could end up with mold issues. then youll want to make sure she is covered and uncovered around the same times everyday
 
Leonardo de Garden

Leonardo de Garden

Active Member
A big box would work, but might be a hassle. Any way to put it on wheels (in a cart or something) and move it into a dark garage? It's the long dark period that counts.
 
FresnoFarmer

FresnoFarmer

Well-Known Member
you could put a mini greenhouse around the plant and put black plastic sheeting over the plant at night so that it loses a couple hours of morning light and then remove the plastic so that it gets only 12 hours of the light.
 
WattSaver

WattSaver

Well-Known Member
Thank you all for the replies. Looks like if I want to get her to start, I have to control the light.

I'm gonna try to build a lightweight frame that I can cover with a tarp, and keep it in the dark for a couple extra hrs in the morning when its cooler out. If I can keep it up for 3 to 4 wks then I can give her back to mother nature.

Thanks Again.
 
BigJon

BigJon

Well-Known Member
I have a method of force flowering I stumbled across this season. It's nute tricking and not light depo. I documented it in Obijohns force flowering thread just a few pages back. It's too late for this season bit it's something to look at for next.
 
FresnoFarmer

FresnoFarmer

Well-Known Member
BigJon said:
I have a method of force flowering I stumbled across this season. It's nute tricking and not light depo. I documented it in Obijohns force flowering thread just a few pages back. It's too late for this season bit it's something to look at for next.
Click to expand...
nute tricking?? that won't cause any deficiencies? Sounds like an interesting concept
 
B

Big N' Tasty

New Member
BigJon said:
I have a method of force flowering I stumbled across this season. It's nute tricking and not light depo. I documented it in Obijohns force flowering thread just a few pages back. It's too late for this season bit it's something to look at for next.
Click to expand...
Sounds interesting... How bout a link, champ
 
Kaendar

Kaendar

Well-Known Member
Refrigerator boxes always worked good for me. Or like Fresnofarmer said, you can put a greenhouse or some kind of structure around it and throw a black tarp on it when you want to light dep.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
WattSaver said:
Is there a way to force an outdoor plant to start flowering, short of bringing it inside into dark to control its light???

I have a Maui Wowie which has been in clone line for a couple of yrs. I cut this clone in March, and it was a mother in a small veg box until the middle of July, when I put it outdoors to finish out. (It's still a mom, I took 4 cuts off of it this morning).

This strain will always start flower when flipped to 12/12, but outside that's not until mid/late sept. Where I live I don't have 8wk after this point until frost and snow.

Can I get a big box and cover her to regulate the light hrs???
or is there another way to fool her?

Photo from a couple days ago

View attachment 2292021
Click to expand...
You can't carry that inside? Seriously? If you're disabled pardon my intrusion. If not - really?
 
FresnoFarmer

FresnoFarmer

Well-Known Member
Yeah bro.....I have arthritis in my back and I still can lug shit around......when I'm high as fuck and the weather is right.......If it is cold you might as well call me a vegetable lol.
 
BigJon

BigJon

Well-Known Member
FresnoFarmer said:
nute tricking?? that won't cause any deficiencies? Sounds like an interesting concept
Click to expand...
You get the classic N def u get from any rootbound plant. When you transplant into fresh soil everything regulates. Its the early flowering Alaskan ice in my thread.

I would add links but I'm on an iPod and if I could expend the energy linking on a mobile y'all can expend the energy searching. ;)

I have a control plant to compare end tastes and finishing times. Yields will obviously be different. I'm not too worried about yield differences. If I can perfect the taste I want I'll work on yield later. At the beginning of 2013s season I will write up an article culminating all notes and end results.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
FresnoFarmer said:
Yeah bro.....I have arthritis in my back and I still can lug shit around......when I'm high as fuck and the weather is right.......If it is cold you might as well call me a vegetable lol.
Click to expand...
Hell I broke mine skiing off a cliff in a blizzard at Wolf Creek Pass, CO Thanksgiving Day 1981. 6 places. When I ask if it can't be picked up and carried in . . . .. I'm mos def 60+. In fact that is my high school graduation pic you're looking at.
 
Laney

Laney

Well-Known Member
Outdoor plants have already started flowering in most places. Outdoors doesn't need 12/12. It's totally different. Flowering for most strains usually begins around 14/10 outdoors. What latitude are you? You can speed it up with light deprivation but ou are not going to save too much time unless you are very far North.
 
WattSaver

WattSaver

Well-Known Member
Laney said:
Outdoor plants have already started flowering in most places. Outdoors doesn't need 12/12. It's totally different. Flowering for most strains usually begins around 14/10 outdoors. What latitude are you? You can speed it up with light deprivation but ou are not going to save too much time unless you are very far North.
Click to expand...
I live in the central rocky mountains not too far from where hotrod broke his back. When I did outdoor grows in the mid 80's they would start budding by mid Aug, so this girl might start on her own any day now, I just wanted to get her going to avoid the frost.

I do understand that carrying in & out is the simple solution, and I do have the ability to do so, but it is a pain in the hind section. I played that game this spring with males. Plus I personally believe that the product is better when it has the cold nights to finish. And it is fully hardened now to the outdoors and I'd like to keep it that way if possible.
 
Laney

Laney

Well-Known Member
You might start the bloom nutes. Sometimes when they have too much N, they continue happily vegn away for a little longer than they should.
 
BigJon

BigJon

Well-Known Member
I'm on a computer today so I thought I should put in some extra work for y'all. Here's the original post:

BigJon said:
Light deprivation is the obvious choice but I've come across a technique that may allow harvesting about 2-4 weeks sooner in the season than usual. I'll write more on it at the beginning of next season. Imo its worth doing to one or two of your personal plants. If you put your clone in a one gallon pot around may.

Put bone meal on the bottom of your pot, mix with soil, and allow the plant to get rootbound. That will be about mid june to early July. It will be flowering at this point. Use only water during this whole time. By repotting into fresh soil after the rootbind it will start to reveg for only a couple weeks before it realizes that nights are getting longer. Because flowering was recently triggered due to higher phosphorous in the bone meal, the plant will be more sensitive to photoperiod. Time it just right and you can harvest a lot of your October strains in September. I think it will be particularly useful for getting your sativas harvested before rain and mold become an issue. I still do not know how it affects yields fully but my early flowering sativa is the biggest of my plants. I should get at least two oz. which is plenty for me especially from an early plant.
Click to expand...

Here's the plant. It's about 3 to 4 weeks ahead of her sister-clone and about 6 or more weeks ahead of other sativas.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
WattSaver

WattSaver

Well-Known Member
BigJon said:
I'm on a computer today so I thought I should put in some extra work for y'all. Here's the original post:




Here's the plant. It's about 3 to 4 weeks ahead of her sister-clone and about 6 or more weeks ahead of other sativas.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Click to expand...
Looking forward to hear your results
 
chickenpoop

chickenpoop

Well-Known Member
At this point you really gotta be tapping your foot waiting. I think a lot of people are wondering "when is this bitch gonna start popping some buds out"
 
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