Looking for advice for an outdoor greenhouse grow in cold climates.

S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Hi guys! I'm looking to move to Oregon(Klamath county) but I'm concerned about the weather there. Temperatures get to 24-44 F* lows during January-July and I was wondering if it would be possible to grow healthy, big buds if I were to tune in my greenhouse with a heater/humidifier. I just want to be able to get the best possible harvest I can get in that area. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! What would you do in this situation? For example: When to start vegging and flowering? What would be optimal?
 
DCcan

DCcan

Well-Known Member
So, you just need to keep it above 50f at night for a few months a year, and 6-8 weeks of constant use in Jan/Feb/Mar.
Just pick your energy source first, that is going to be the deciding factor.

Wood:
It's easy to get more if you are unemployed suddenly...although you are on the dry side of the state.
You can do a pellet fed wood stove, with a oscillating fan blowing 10 gal pot of water on top for humidity.
I'd add a long steam box tray for steaming wood saplings and bending it if you need an unemployment hobby. Real handy for building canoes, or crafting wood. Just puts out a shitload of steam

Propane:
Oh, so handy and easy. Plug in a blower and a 50lb bottle to a burner, all done.
BTU per lb is expensive though. $

Electricity:
You got lots of dams and reactors nearby....$$

Oil:
An old oil burner, set up to burn waste oil is the only way this would be economical and probably a crime

Solar:
Solar/Battery or Solar/Water storage.
More $$$ than I got.

I'd do wood, and work on passive solar for the long term.
Put water barrels near the stove of the greenhouse, and go from there.
 
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Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
Consider a dark floor and some objects with heat absorbing mass that will absorb heat during the day and help with night time cold.

Also if you can swing it schedule wise, you might consider some kind of lite deprivation during the day, when temperatures are warmer and running a light at night, to gain the heat.

How big is the greenhouse ? Easier to heat a small one, so unused parts could be sectioned off so you don't have to heat them.

Having good thermometers which tell you the daily hi/low temps inside and out would be helpful too
 
Tfunk0704

Tfunk0704

Active Member
steveydvee said:
Hi guys! I'm looking to move to Oregon(Klamath county) but I'm concerned about the weather there. Temperatures get to 24-44 F* lows during January-July and I was wondering if it would be possible to grow healthy, big buds if I were to tune in my greenhouse with a heater/humidifier. I just want to be able to get the best possible harvest I can get in that area. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! What would you do in this situation? For example: When to start vegging and flowering? What would be optimal?
Click to expand...
I’d talk to the despenserys out there. My bro works for a very large legal grow and all their plants are outdoor soil. I’d start soon though if your trying to save money by using a greenhouse and sun. At $4 a gram I’m sure plenty of folks around there can tell you when to grow. PS my bro said your only legally allowed to have 2 plants in Oregon, I’m just going by what he said but it might not be a fact. Good luck
 
DG1959

DG1959

Well-Known Member
Wrong on the number of plants.... 4 recreational per house.... but really needs to worry more about the heat he will get this summer.
 
Tfunk0704

Tfunk0704

Active Member
DG1959 said:
Wrong on the number of plants.... 4 recreational per house.... but really needs to worry more about the heat he will get this summer.
Click to expand...
My bad bro. I only know what my bro told me I wasn’t 100% on the number of plants. We’re allowed 12 here. Or 6 for 1 person
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
DCcan said:
So, you just need to keep it above 50f at night for a few months a year, and 6-8 weeks of constant use in Jan/Feb/Mar.
Just pick your energy source first, that is going to be the deciding factor.

Wood:
It's easy to get more if you are unemployed suddenly...although you are on the dry side of the state.
You can do a pellet fed wood stove, with a oscillating fan blowing 10 gal pot of water on top for humidity.
I'd add a long steam box tray for steaming wood saplings and bending it if you need an unemployment hobby. Real handy for building canoes, or crafting wood. Just puts out a shitload of steam

Propane:
Oh, so handy and easy. Plug in a blower and a 50lb bottle to a burner, all done.
BTU per lb is expensive though. $

Electricity:
You got lots of dams and reactors nearby....$$

Oil:
An old oil burner, set up to burn waste oil is the only way this would be economical and probably a crime

Solar:
Solar/Battery or Solar/Water storage.
More $$$ than I got.

I'd do wood, and work on passive solar for the long term.
Put water barrels near the stove of the greenhouse, and go from there.
Click to expand...
Ooo thanks for listing all the methods of heating I will definitely look into what would be best for what I have. I'm going to try to aim it to be at least 60-75 F* inside the greenhouse consistently :) I read somewhere saying that those temps are optimal for cannabis.
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Rob Roy said:
Consider a dark floor and some objects with heat absorbing mass that will absorb heat during the day and help with night time cold.

Also if you can swing it schedule wise, you might consider some kind of lite deprivation during the day, when temperatures are warmer and running a light at night, to gain the heat.

How big is the greenhouse ? Easier to heat a small one, so unused parts could be sectioned off so you don't have to heat them.

Having good thermometers which tell you the daily hi/low temps inside and out would be helpful too
Click to expand...
I do want to aim for a 400-600 square feet greenhouse. And also wouldn't it be more beneficial to use the daylight sun instead of covering it(light dep)? I'm not exactly sure what the benefits of doing light dep besides to speed up the harvest date?
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
DG1959 said:
Wrong on the number of plants.... 4 recreational per house.... but really needs to worry more about the heat he will get this summer.
Click to expand...
Also I believe that it is 6 plants per medical card holder :) so possibly doing 12 big boys in the greenhouse. The summer does get pretty hot with highs in the mid 80's.. Do you have any recommendations? Would using a simple wall mount air conditioner be alright?
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Tfunk0704 said:
I’d talk to the despenserys out there. My bro works for a very large legal grow and all their plants are outdoor soil. I’d start soon though if your trying to save money by using a greenhouse and sun. At $4 a gram I’m sure plenty of folks around there can tell you when to grow. PS my bro said your only legally allowed to have 2 plants in Oregon, I’m just going by what he said but it might not be a fact. Good luck
Click to expand...
I will for sure try to connect with some local dispensaries/nurseries over there. I definitely will have to choose a good assortment of strains per recommendations of the locals to see what grows the best. I'm super stoked, it's already exciting just talking about it! :D
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
steveydvee said:
I do want to aim for a 400-600 square feet greenhouse. And also wouldn't it be more beneficial to use the daylight sun instead of covering it(light dep)? I'm not exactly sure what the benefits of doing light dep besides to speed up the harvest date?
Click to expand...

In your initial post you seemed concerned about cold temps. Most places are colder during the night. Figured if you were limited resource wise, adding heat at night would be better than during the day.

Of course, if resources weren't an issue, but solving cold temps was, you could add heat (and light) during the day, using supplemental lighting during the day and figure out another way to add heat at night. Or just go with natural lite during the day in the winter, but I'm skeptical there...

I've read that the quality of natural sunlight to "make higher thc" (paraphrasing there) is better during the late spring / early summer than other times of the year. If you flower during winter, you might consider supplemental lighting that provides a similar light spectrum as the sun at optimum times. Ed Rosenthal discusses this a bit in one of his more recent books. Winter sun isn't the same quality as summer sun is the gist of it.

Certainly, the benefits of light dep can be you control when they go into flower, but it also allows you to create a smaller space within your greenhouse to hold heat (for 12 hours anyway) versus trying to heat the entire cubic space of a greenhouse.
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Rob Roy said:
In your initial post you seemed concerned about cold temps. Most places are colder during the night. Figured if you were limited resource wise, adding heat at night would be better than during the day.

Of course, if resources weren't an issue, but solving cold temps was, you could add heat (and light) during the day, using supplemental lighting during the day and figure out another way to add heat at night. Or just go with natural lite during the day in the winter, but I'm skeptical there...

I've read that the quality of natural sunlight to "make higher thc" (paraphrasing there) is better during the late spring / early summer than other times of the year. If you flower during winter, you might consider supplemental lighting that provides a similar light spectrum as the sun at optimum times. Ed Rosenthal discusses this a bit in one of his more recent books. Winter sun isn't the same quality as summer sun is the gist of it.

Certainly, the benefits of light dep can be you control when they go into flower, but it also allows you to create a smaller space within your greenhouse to hold heat (for 12 hours anyway) versus trying to heat the entire cubic space of a greenhouse.
Click to expand...
Ahh I understand now. In the winter it would be optimal to put in a few lights to keep the light cycle for the plants in the vegetative phase would kill 2 birds with 1 stone seeing that it can help out with the temperature. Also attaching an a/c unit with heating functions would also help me with this problem. Not to mention I'm already planning on a very controlled "sealed" greenhouse which will definitely keep the heat in. I heard that greenhouses can maintain crazy amounts of heat compared to the outside temp(I read that it can be anywhere from 20 F* difference). So for the most part, during the day I can use the sun to heat it up and at night some supplementing light(metal halide vs hps vs t5?)
 
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
steveydvee said:
Ahh I understand now. In the winter it would be optimal to put in a few lights to keep the light cycle for the plants in the vegetative phase would kill 2 birds with 1 stone seeing that it can help out with the temperature. Also attaching an a/c unit with heating functions would also help me with this problem. Not to mention I'm already planning on a very controlled "sealed" greenhouse which will definitely keep the heat in. I heard that greenhouses can maintain crazy amounts of heat compared to the outside temp(I read that it can be anywhere from 20 F* difference). So for the most part, during the day I can use the sun to heat it up and at night some supplementing light(metal halide vs hps vs t5?)
Click to expand...

If possible always try to get a "two for one" let electricity power a light AND let the light be a heat source too. Not a bad idea to keep a backup heater around too, in case of power failure. Propane heaters are cheap and many don't need electricity.

Consider reading Ed Rosenthal's info. about the varying quality of sunlight at different times of the year re: flowering.

Good luck.
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
Rob Roy said:
If possible always try to get a "two for one" let electricity power a light AND let the light be a heat source too. Not a bad idea to keep a backup heater around too, in case of power failure. Propane heaters are cheap and many don't need electricity.

Consider reading Ed Rosenthal's info. about the varying quality of sunlight at different times of the year re: flowering.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thank you brotha! Will do :joint::lol:
 
DG1959

DG1959

Well-Known Member
Colder temps at night will help some strains turn purple. Your greenhouse will stay pretty warm all night during the summer.
 
too larry

too larry

Well-Known Member
If you are growing to make money, you might want to talk to some Oregon growers before you plunk down a lot of money on land. Supply and demand is all out of whack right now. Pot is the new zucchini. You can't give it away.

I have a friend in the greenhouse business down here in Florida. One of the main ways they control temps {and condensation} is with double walled greenhouses. They blow air between the walls to keep them apart.
 
S

steveydvee

Well-Known Member
too larry said:
If you are growing to make money, you might want to talk to some Oregon growers before you plunk down a lot of money on land. Supply and demand is all out of whack right now. Pot is the new zucchini. You can't give it away.

I have a friend in the greenhouse business down here in Florida. One of the main ways they control temps {and condensation} is with double walled greenhouses. They blow air between the walls to keep them apart.
Click to expand...
Honestly I would love to do that in Florida (actually where im from) but the laws are too strict out here in the east. Plus I'm purchasing a home so worst case scenario if this little experiment doesn't work. I'l just sell and move on
 
SchmoeJoe

SchmoeJoe

Well-Known Member
steveydvee said:
Hi guys! I'm looking to move to Oregon(Klamath county) but I'm concerned about the weather there. Temperatures get to 24-44 F* lows during January-July and I was wondering if it would be possible to grow healthy, big buds if I were to tune in my greenhouse with a heater/humidifier. I just want to be able to get the best possible harvest I can get in that area. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! What would you do in this situation? For example: When to start vegging and flowering? What would be optimal?
Click to expand...
Look up Ceres Greenhouse Solutions out of Colorado. They use passive systems to regulate their greenhouses. They have models running year round from Alaska to the mid east. They have them running at up to 10,000' in Colorado.
 
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