Forced Flowering Outdoors Question

[zonkerpup]

Hey all,
This is my first year of growing outdoors. Been growing indoor for about 7 years. So I was thinking today about the timeline as to when I should put my little girls on a bloom/flowering diet of nutes. I put potted clones into the ground at the last week of May and they are already 30~37 inches and bushy. I looked up the sunlight hours for my area (Portland OR area) and realized that 12 hours daylight didn't kick in until the end of Sept, putting harvest towards the end of November. Now around here the rainy season starts at the first of Nov. So I was wondering if there is any reason not to put the girls into flowering a month earlier, using a dark plastic tarp? This might actually be good considering the mold/bug issues the rain/ early freeze might brings. Would some of you outdoor people give me some input or feedback on this idea and any problems I might run into if I do this? Thanks for any and all help!:D
Peace, Kathy

[pflover]

that is actually a decent idea of you can make it work so that you do not disturb/crush the plant too much with the tarp and that you can manage to get out there and take if off soon enough. you would have to be careful tho as the black tarp could result in cooking your plants if light is shinging on it for too many hours. depending on the strain tho many plants do fine outdoors here. several ogf growers grow exclusively outdoors i believe.

[zonkerpup]

I was thinking about getting some of the black/white plastic that you can get at the grow shops. I would put the plastic over a wooden structure above the plants, white side up to the outside and the black side over the inside of the plants. I'd pull the cover over the plants after dark and remove it in the morning hours before the sun got hot between 8 and 9 am. That's all I've got so far....
Peace, Kathy

[pflover]

pritty good idea actually, i would suggest 8 to 8 personally.

[rangergord]

I suggest using plastic pipe/hose/concrete rebar/wiremesh etc to make a series of small arches over the plants rather than using wood. Covering and uncovering a curved structure is much easier on you and the plastic. Less conspicuous when it is uncovered as well. The downfall to this idea is the discipline needed to cover and uncover for at least a month if not more. Curved structures also do better in any winds that may be around. The black/white plastic should work well.

[purplesmoke]

i used garbage cans they are tough and no light gets in,you are suppose to be very consistant on time within 5 minutes i have read,

[Dig]

Zonkerpup,

September 21 is when we go to 12/12. However, plants will start to bud well before that date. That being said, go and have fun covering your plants. It can work, but you have to be ultra diligent. I wouldn't mess with it because it would be a little too much work for myself.

[purplesmoke]

I COVER THEM AT THE EVENING SAY 6 PM,then uncover them at night before bed,so i dont have to get up in the morning.it is still warm at 6 pm so be careful the heat from cover will cook them.you cuold uncover at 8.30 am and avoid the problem with the heat.just let them sit and cover them before bed then uncover in the morning while its still cool.i dont plant in the ground so this makes it a little harder.

[akblugirl]

Zonkerpup...I'm having the same problem...
If I didn't have other plants surrounding my girls in the bed, I'd use garbage cans. I didn't let them get too tall...(to me, they stick out like sore thumbs, but sometimes my friends who know what to look for, still overlook them.) knowing that I'd have to find a way to cover them. I think I can use black plastic bags doubled. Shortly after we hit 12/12, the frosts will be coming, so I need to get started, like, NOW!
Good luck with your grow...let us know how it works out for ya!
Peace,
AKB
http://www.treatingyourself.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=14840
http://www.treatingyourself.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=14840

[gelu65]

I think if your covering the plants it might be a good idea to use a fine sprinkler or fogger to keep the heat to a minimum and not cook the meds. Jerry

[Roy]

If you are growing an Indica dom. plant I don't think you should have to cover your plants at all.

It is true that 12/12 does not happen till almost the end of Sept. but as mention earlier the buds will start to form well before that time.

I have been growing outside for a while now (Ontario Canada) and I have no problems getting a crop in each year. In the past harvest time as been around Oct. 10th.

This year, however, I have some pure Haze growing outside and this I fear will not be ready when the snow starts to fly!

Good luck!

[jlmurrat]

people are obliged to cover the outdoor plants only into the sub-tropical area, like in Colombia for example : the plants are covered at midday during two months to get a flowering, without it the plant would grow for 9, 11, or more than one year before making a true flowering.

If you are not somewhere the photoperiod is 12 hours all around the year, the plants flower normally and will be mature between end of september/end of october/biggining of november it depends on the strain.

An experienced oudoor grower would have started only strains that he would have been sure to harvest before the cold and the mold eats them : that means mostly indica strains, or "civilized" sativas !

[Capt. Zigzag]

Or you could move to So. Cal. and grow outdoors all year round.


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[soulmate]

I have covered mine for the last 4 years. I cover at 7PM and uncover at 7am. I do this so that I can decide when to harvest. I am very busy at the normal time it would come off, so this helped. I will take a pic of the garden with my new Greenhouse over it today and post it for you all. I am not covering them this year thou because they all have started to bud now and will be done in the right time frame for me. They are all about 2 weeks early this year than last, this is because these are cutting from last years OD and over the years they have been OD they have stared to acclimatizer to the area and they are really around 6-8 year old plants (some of them) as I have been just taking cuttings from the plants summer after summer, for our ID and OD grow. Like BB it has been with us for around 8 years.

[Smokin Joints]

cool ! cant wait for the pics soulmate:D!

hey close up buds pics are sweet. i love close up pics. what kind of strains are they if i may ask? i might have missed that thread?hehe:)

[Smokin Joints]

Hey all,
This is my first year of growing outdoors. Been growing indoor for about 7 years. So I was thinking today about the timeline as to when I should put my little girls on a bloom/flowering diet of nutes. I put potted clones into the ground at the last week of May and they are already 30~37 inches and bushy. I looked up the sunlight hours for my area (Portland OR area) and realized that 12 hours daylight didn't kick in until the end of Sept, putting harvest towards the end of November. Now around here the rainy season starts at the first of Nov. So I was wondering if there is any reason not to put the girls into flowering a month earlier, using a dark plastic tarp? This might actually be good considering the mold/bug issues the rain/ early freeze might brings. Would some of you outdoor people give me some input or feedback on this idea and any problems I might run into if I do this? Thanks for any and all help!:D
Peace, Kathy


Hi Kathy,

well i have no outdoor experience at all with greenhouses so i cant give you a honest answer but i can give you my opinion ;) for whatever it's worth.

I think your idea is a very good one. your idea will definitly help the progression of flowering that way you can harvest at the normal harvest time. you plants are definitly on the right track for a harvest in late oct early nov. so its sounds like.
so i would do what you planned and just keep a good eye on them and everything should go fine.
if im wrong guys dont jump me and kick my butt when im turned
around :p.;)lol

good luck anyhow kathy!

p.s. what type of plant are we talking about here? sativa , indica ,or unknown?