Connect with us

Indoor-Outdoor Winter Garden

Published

on

IMG_9504
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]I[/dropcap]n early October, I asked my friend if he could give me a couple of plants for an experiment. A few days later, my friend dropped off two well-branched “3x Crazy” plants. They were used to test the toxicity of an organic pesticide on their leaves. The results were negative, the pesticide didn’t affect them and I was left with two healthy specimens.

At the beginning of October, the plants were receiving approximately 12 hours of natural light daily, with early morning sundown in shade. One month later, they were receiving only 10.75 hours daily. Of course, under this regimen, the plants went into flower immediately.

The weather was warm during the entire month of October, so I decided to keep the plants outside and let them flower under the short days of autumn. The plants are in small containers so it’s easy to move them around the yard three times daily as the sunny area shifts.

IMG_9524

IMG_9546

Only now, in early November, has the nighttime temperature started dipping into the high 40 degrees. So I’ve decided on a routine change. Instead of leaving the plants out at night, each evening they are being carried inside and given supplemental light using a 1,000-watt high pressure sodium (HPS) light. The routine goes like this:

  • 7am: Plants are indoors. Light goes on.
  • 10am: Plants are carried outside to sunny section of yard as long as it is not cloudy or rainy and the temperature is above 68 During those times, the plants are kept indoors with the light on.
  • If outside, plants are moved various times during the day to keep them in sunny locations.
  • 4:30pm: Plants are moved inside. Lights are on.
  • 6pm: Lights go off.

IMG_9556

On most days the light will be on only 4.5 hours, and on cold, foggy or rainy days, which are infrequent here in Northern California, the light will be on all day indoor.  Plants can also be left inside if you’re away from home.

I’ve also installed a UVB fluorescent tube in the middle of the garden so that only a part of each plant receives its light. After harvest, I will check for differences in the potency and terpene content of the buds that received the light and those that didn’t. This requires marking the plants in such a way that they are returned to the same position indoors each time so the light falls on the same buds.

Using this technique I am minimizing energy use, but still getting light to the plants. I realize that in some areas of the country it’s just too cold to put the plants out anytime during the fall going into winter, and the light gets dim during the winter in many parts of the country too. In that case, you might be able to use a south facing window or a skylight and supply supplemental light to meet the plants light requirements.

IMG_9557

IMG_9697

 

TIP OF THE MONTH FROM ASK ED®

If you are planning to grow outdoors this spring, now is the time to start selecting varieties and to get the indoor starter garden together. Choose seeds or clones from varieties that you like, have heard about or have always dreamed of growing.

Plants growing indoors or in a greenhouse can be trained into small bushes with a diameter of three to four square feet for transplanting outdoors in the spring. If it’s warm enough to plant early in the spring, you will be able to get an early harvest because the dark period will be long enough to trigger flowering.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *