I like to be prepared

Hey fellow smokers, I had a few things I've been wondering about, thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone can be of some kind help.

I plan on growing outdoor next season. I'm going to build a wooden framed greenhouse that stands 6' high, 6' wide, and 9' long with a little slope from 6' down to 5' for rain runoff (doubt I'll need it, but still just to be safe). The material used on the outside was innitially going to be opaque plastic covering (my buddy and I made a similiar one two years ago that I thought was perfect) but after some research, I think some breathable material will be better. So first question;

-any ideas on what breathable material I should use on the outside of the greenhouse? Temps in my area from spring to summer range from 75F-95F and I think the little extra air flow will make the whole grow better for the plant.

So next comes the size issue. I was planning on growing both indica and sativa strains, and I'm worried the 6' ceiling on the greenhouse might become an issue with some of the sativa's. I was hoping to start in spring, right at the beginning of the season, but I don't want the plants to reach a point where they become too big, so here's the second question;

-should I wait till later in the season to plant the sativa's? If so, how late?

Also, if I built a blackhouse from similiar materials, what would be a good material to use for the outer skin? I would need something really thick and dark, which makes me think the heat would then become an issue, as I'm not sure how I would vent it without bringing in some amount of light...hmm. I need airflow, but I can't have any light, tricky situation.

Thanks in advance, happy growing!

The sativa's will get too tall unless you throw them into flower when they hit about 2' tall; and that means bringing them inside and using artificial light. Why do you feel the need for it to be breathable? Just put a fan in the side near the top and some exhaust holes near the bottom - covered with something so pests can't get in. Simple is good.

potpimp said:

The sativa's will get too tall unless you throw them into flower when they hit about 2' tall; and that means bringing them inside and using artificial light. Why do you feel the need for it to be breathable? Just put a fan in the side near the top and some exhaust holes near the bottom - covered with something so pests can't get in. Simple is good.

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Do you think the heat from the outside summer temps would raise it too high if I just used regular plastic instead of a different material? I heard somewhere too high temps stunt the plants growth.

Also, I was thinking of having the greenhouse, then maybe also building a blackhouse next to it so I can start flowering sooner in the season, but I can't think of a material that's both completely black and vents the air well.

How much do the plants grow (height, width) when they enter the flowering stage? I thought the veg stage is where the plants get most of their volume, do they continue to grow up and out even after they begin the flowering stage?

Thanks for your help!

Here's a pic of what I plan on building. What do you think? How effective will this be?

And this is my schedule so far, I was wondering if an experienced outdoor grower could help me out and check to see if the times and dates I've selected are alright, dealing with the lighting conditions and everything.

2009
1. mid March - germinate seeds
2. late March - early April - plant germinated seeds into pots
3. mid April - transplant seedlings into greenhouse after a week of exposure to the natural conditions
4. mid April - mid July (3 months) - vegitative stage (plants are developing and getting larger)
5. early July - germinate second crop
6. mid July - late July - start the flower stage into the blackhouse
7. mid July - late July - (second crop) plant germinated seeds into pots
8. mid August - (second crop) transplant seedlings into greenhouse after a week of exposure to the natural conditions
9. late September - harvest first crop (larger crop)
10. mid August - mid October (2 months) - vegitative stage (plants are developing and getting larger)
11. mid October - mid December - flowering stage
12. late December - harvest second crop

I'm not sure if the second crop will produce very much to smoke and if it'll flower before mid October, do you think that's too late in the season? Should I make it so both crops get about 3 months to veg, and 2 months to flower? When is the earliest I can plant and still have pretty decent results?

Thanks again RIU!

bump, any help?

You would have to warm up your greenhouses in the colder months I believe, I wish I could help more but it seems like that would get a fair amount of light if the walls were reflective

Calijuana said:

You would have to warm up your greenhouses in the colder months I believe, I wish I could help more but it seems like that would get a fair amount of light if the walls were reflective

Click to expand...

I don't think I'd have to worry much about heating it up, it should be around 80F when I start in the spring. However, I am worried about it getting too hot for the plants to flourish, and am looking for a good way to vent the whole system while maintaining the low level of light into the blackhouse, I can't seem to think of a good way...

The angle of light is because there's a roof right above that edge of the greenhouse, from my house, and the sun goes pretty much directly overhead at lengthwise all the way down. It should get plenty of light, no problem.

Maybe I'll dig some holes to vent the system and still maintain the darkness...

buuuuuuuuump, come on potheads, help me out...

man...talk about dissapointment...

aright then...

never grew outdoors myself, but id suggest just making the roof able to roll off to let some of the heat escape. Even just poke some holes in the top... ehh i tried lol only thing i could come up with

Good luck! come back and show us pics when you build it, im intrigued!

You might be able to extend your roofing a few inches beyond the outer walls and cut venting into the very top of the walls, right up under the few inches if extending roofing, which would shade the intruding light when these vents were open, especially if you use dark screen over these vents.

OK, here's a little bit of an update, at the moment I'm just trying to get all the dates and times right, and make sure everything is going to be perfect for next season!

It would be awesome if an experienced outdoor grower could take a look at this schedule I've made up and tell me if it looks good! kiss-ass



The primary crop is signified by the red text, the secondary crop is blue.

Thanks again RIU!

bump.

Is December too late to harvest?

bump again...

aright then...I guess I'll go in alone..

Thanks anyway everybody, there's still a ton of time to get shit started, so no worries.

I think December is too late, most strains I've looked at say to harvest in October...

Should I try to harvest the first crop in July, and the second crop in October?

I plan to start from seeds bought offline (to ensure great genetics), germinate them, then plant them and cut clones from each mother before I flower, then do the same thing with the next batch, veg them for 2 months, cut clones then flower. --does it matter if you cut clones from a vegging plant or a flowering plant?--

OK, so after some more fine tuning, this is the schedule I've come up with;

First Crop (March 13th - August 13th)

- March 6th - germinate seeds
- March 13th - plant
- March 13th - May 13th - veg
- May 13th - Aug. 13 - flower
- Aug 13 - harvest
- late Aug./early Sept. - smoke

Second Crop (1 clones) (May 13th - October 13th)
- May 13th - plant (clones 1, 4 from each mother, 15 total)
- May 13th - July 13th - veg
- July 13th - Oct. 13th - flower
- Oct. 13th - harvest
- late Oct./early Nov. - smoke

Third Crop (2 clones) (July 13th - December 13th)
- July 13th - plant (clones 2, 4 from each mother, 24 total, 12 veg/12 flower)
- July 13th - Sept. 13th - veg
- Sept. 13 - Dec. 13th - flower
- Dec. 13th - harvest
- late Dec./early Jan. - smoke

Fourth Crop (3 clones) (September 13th - February 13th (2010))
- Sept. 13th - plant (clones 3, 4 from each mother, 24 total, 12 veg/12 flower)
- Sept. 13th - Nov. 13th - veg
- Nov. 13th - Feb. 13th - flower
- Feb. 13th - harvest
- late Feb./early March - smoke

Fifth Crop (4 clones) (November 13th - April 13th (2010))
- Nov. 13th - plant (clones 4, 4 from each mother, 24 total, 12 veg/12 flower)
- Nov. 13th - Jan. 13th - veg
- Jan. 13th - April 13th - flower
- April 13th - harvest
- late April/early May - smoke

Sixth Crop (5 clones) (January 13th (2010) - June 13th (2010))
- Jan. 13th - plant (clones 5, 4 from each mother, 24 total, 12 veg/12 flower)
- Jan. 13th - March 13th - veg
- March 13th - June 13th - flower
- June 13th - harvest
- late June/early July - smoke

So does this look alright to the more experienced growers? This will be my first time attempting to grow, I'm hoping to harvest 1.5 lbs every 2 months using this method (except the first crop, as there will only be 3 mothers, I'm expecting about 5.3oz). Then after that, with the subsequent crops, grow 4 clones from each mother 12 total, each growing about 3' high before I flower, yielding about 50g per plant = 21.4oz.

I mainly want to make sure my dates are ok, dealing with the veg/flower periods, I've given each crop 8 weeks to veg, and 12 weeks to flower, how does that sound in order to get the plants atleast 3' tall and produce atleast 50g each?

Also, I was wondering with which crop would I need to use artificial light? This is going to start off outdoors in a greenhouse that I construct, and I think the first two, maybe the third crop will be able to go naturally. The third one starts to flower on Sept. 13, and should be ready to harvest by Dec. 13th, but I'm not sure if that's too late. As it's just about that time right now, looking outside where I plan to plant, I think the plants will start to flower earlier and produce less, if that's the case I'll use artificial light to keep it in veg to get the max yield I can.

Fuuuuck, sorry about the novel by the way, I just really want to be positive about every little detail and make everything perfect.

Thanks for any input, it's highly appreciated!

Come on RIU, help a brother out...

Man, I am having one hell of a time germinating these test seeds!

I'm trying both methods that I know of, the damp cloth technique and the water in a cup technique. I have a ton of seeds so I thought I'd test out to see which method is better for germination, so far only one seed has opened, no root yet, but out of 5 seeds I placed in water, none opened after 3 days, and out of the 5 seeds I placed in the damp towel, only the one has cracked open.

I'll monitor them and give em' a few more days and see how they do. Does anyone know any better methods for germination? Should the water be distilled? I did use tap water, that could be part of the problem... but I'm not sure.