Wing it? Or harden off?

Hey folks.

I'll try to make this as short and sweet as possible and I'll preface by saying, this question is pertaining mostly to autos but all input is welcome and appreciated.

I have 11 little ladies going strong in my veg/seedling starter box under a single t5ho. It holds a constant 72-75°F and 52-60%Rh. The plan is to have these outdoors by this upcoming Monday at the latest regardless of size. However, they are about 5-6 inches tall and will be caged and protected so no worries there.

Here's my predicament. I had planned to harden them off first to shaded greenhouse 1-2 days, then remove shade cloth 1-2 days, then outside BUT I'm at 59°N lat so yep...you guessed it. The weather took a dump. Highs of 64 and rain until Sunday when it should clear up and hover ar little under my current box temp/rh. So the question is, which do you think will shock them more? Put them out in the greenhouse now and hope they bounce back before transplant to the plot? Or do I keep them in the box, hope weather warms up, and put them in the greenhouse as fast as I see the weather making a come back?

-Waxy

Harden off for sure there's lots of different ways.

Harden them off for sure, just make sure that before they go outside that they're as close to your outdoor light cycle as possible.

If you're under 24/0 or even 18/6 now and throw them outdoors then the sudden decrease in daylight will eventually trigger flower for however long it takes for the plant to realize it shouldn't be flowering, resulting in a revegging plant. Trust me, you don't want that to happen. I got to find that one out the hard way

@Rogues88 @kratos015 Thanks fellas. The light cycle is already lined up to the nearest 15 minutes so that should be fine. I'm running 18/6 and we are at around 18h and 6min daylight so I shouldn't have any problems with them jumping to flower.

I'm more concerned with temp shock really. You guys think I could just put them in the greenhouse even though it's like 10-15 degree difference between the cab and greenhouse?

WaxertheRadical said:

@Rogues88 @kratos015 Thanks fellas. The light cycle is already lined up to the nearest 15 minutes so that should be fine. I'm running 18/6 and we are at around 18h and 6min daylight so I shouldn't have any problems with them jumping to flower.

I'm more concerned with temp shock really. You guys think I could just put them in the greenhouse even though it's like 10-15 degree difference between the cab and greenhouse?

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Well they're eventually going to have to get used to it if those are the temps you're constantly facing. Get yourself some ProTekt, adding silica to the mix will help your plants deal with any stress they'll have from the heat. If you also foliar feed with some aloe vera and top dress with earthworm castings, and perhaps make a banana tea for some added potassium then you can mitigate some of the damage. Ultimately, even after all of this the way they react will be strain dependent.

WaxertheRadical said:

@Rogues88 @kratos015 Thanks fellas. The light cycle is already lined up to the nearest 15 minutes so that should be fine. I'm running 18/6 and we are at around 18h and 6min daylight so I shouldn't have any problems with them jumping to flower.

I'm more concerned with temp shock really. You guys think I could just put them in the greenhouse even though it's like 10-15 degree difference between the cab and greenhouse?

Click to expand...

if theyre small enough,cut the bottom out of a milk jug and place the jug over the plants at night(if youre worried about temp). just make sure the cap is off the jug or cut slits in the sides of the container for airflow.

kratos015 said:

Well they're eventually going to have to get used to it if those are the temps you're constantly facing. Get yourself some ProTekt, adding silica to the mix will help your plants deal with any stress they'll have from the heat. If you also foliar feed with some aloe vera and top dress with earthworm castings, and perhaps make a banana tea for some added potassium then you can mitigate some of the damage. Ultimately, even after all of this the way they react will be strain dependent.

Click to expand...

Soil consists of a local seedling mix with perlite then I added EWC and mealworm beetle frass. I have some aloe, seaweed and casting stuffs I'm going to start with once they are out but I didn't want to throw too much at them early on.

natureboygrower said:

if theyre small enough,cut the bottom out of a milk jug and place the jug over the plants at night(if youre worried about temp). just make sure the cap is off the jug or cut slits in the sides of the container for airflow.

Click to expand...

Considering that my green house is a mini (maybe 1'x2'x3') I figured that I would be able to get away with not using the jugs/2 liters. If I should use both, I can work something out but I'd like to think the greenhouse would do the job just fine. I'm not dismissing your advice. I just want to know if I thinking straight here. Lol

I would worry more about sunburn than any temperature shifts going from inside to outside at this time of year anyway.

You can acclimate plants to the outside which have never seen the sun over the course of a couple days, by keeping them outside and putting them in a filtered light situation, say behind another bush which will allow some sun to get thru, but block some sun too. A string of cloudy days might be a good time to introduce them to the sun too.

Good luck.

WaxertheRadical said:

Soil consists of a local seedling mix with perlite then I added EWC and mealworm beetle frass. I have some aloe, seaweed and casting stuffs I'm going to start with once they are out but I didn't want to throw too much at them early on.



Considering that my green house is a mini (maybe 1'x2'x3') I figured that I would be able to get away with not using the jugs/2 liters. If I should use both, I can work something out but I'd like to think the greenhouse would do the job just fine. I'm not dismissing your advice. I just want to know if I thinking straight here. Lol

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i think temp wise youll be just fine without the jugs.mine went out to mid 40's(f°) at night from being indoors at 68°at night.they didnt grow much as the weather has been shitty here too but they didnt die .GL

That's what I like to hear. They went out in the greenhouse today and I've covered it with some dark shade/mosquito netting. Should be alright. I'm trying to make the best out of rushed process but hopefully they hang in there untill I can get them to my patch. Thanks for the help, all. Much appreciated. I'll be starting a thread for my grow once they are out. Feel free to follow along and point out all the things I could be doing better.

-Waxy

WaxertheRadical said:

Soil consists of a local seedling mix with perlite then I added EWC and mealworm beetle frass. I have some aloe, seaweed and casting stuffs I'm going to start with once they are out but I didn't want to throw too much at them early on.



Considering that my green house is a mini (maybe 1'x2'x3') I figured that I would be able to get away with not using the jugs/2 liters. If I should use both, I can work something out but I'd like to think the greenhouse would do the job just fine. I'm not dismissing your advice. I just want to know if I thinking straight here. Lol

Click to expand...

Is the mealworm beetle frass helpful for any soil dwelling pests? I was also wondering if it would give you a small nitrogen boost also lol.

kratos015 said:

Harden them off for sure, just make sure that before they go outside that they're as close to your outdoor light cycle as possible.

If you're under 24/0 or even 18/6 now and throw them outdoors then the sudden decrease in daylight will eventually trigger flower for however long it takes for the plant to realize it shouldn't be flowering, resulting in a revegging plant. Trust me, you don't want that to happen. I got to find that one out the hard way

Click to expand...

They are autos. Doesn't matter on light cycle.

WaxertheRadical said:

@Rogues88 @kratos015 Thanks fellas. The light cycle is already lined up to the nearest 15 minutes so that should be fine. I'm running 18/6 and we are at around 18h and 6min daylight so I shouldn't have any problems with them jumping to flower.

I'm more concerned with temp shock really. You guys think I could just put them in the greenhouse even though it's like 10-15 degree difference between the cab and greenhouse?

Click to expand...

They will be fine. Look at The other plants outside. They handle temp changes just fine.

Cannabis is a hardy plant. As long as it doesn't freeze they will be fine. Won't shock them.

kratos015 said:

Harden them off for sure, just make sure that before they go outside that they're as close to your outdoor light cycle as possible.

If you're under 24/0 or even 18/6 now and throw them outdoors then the sudden decrease in daylight will eventually trigger flower for however long it takes for the plant to realize it shouldn't be flowering, resulting in a revegging plant. Trust me, you don't want that to happen. I got to find that one out the hard way

Click to expand...

THANK YOU for stating this, Id +rep u if we still could. I veg on 16/8 for that reason, and frankly dont see much depreciation of growth.

Just thought I would report back, the girls are out and all went swimmingly. 1 day with shaded greenhouse, 1 day uncovered greenhouse, next day transplant to full sun but a few hours before sun down. Worked out great. Came back the next day. They were praying hard and loving life.

jensenbeach1 said:

Is the mealworm beetle frass helpful for any soil dwelling pests? I was also wondering if it would give you a small nitrogen boost also lol.

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Yes, it does give a small nitrogen boost but not enough to burn when watered in or top dressed in moderate amounts. You can over do it but you really gotta try for that to happen. I am not sure about soil dwelling pests so unfortunately I wouldn't . I haven't had many issues with such pests in the past but I've only used it on my tomatoes and peppers and the like until now. I will say that it's a great source of chitin and above ground, I've not had one pest problem since I started using it.

WaxertheRadical said:

Just thought I would report back, the girls are out and all went swimmingly. 1 day with shaded greenhouse, 1 day uncovered greenhouse, next day transplant to full sun but a few hours before sun down. Worked out great. Came back the next day. They were praying hard and loving life.



Yes, it does give a small nitrogen boost but not enough to burn when watered in or top dressed in moderate amounts. You can over do it but you really gotta try for that to happen. I am not sure about soil dwelling pests so unfortunately I wouldn't . I haven't had many issues with such pests in the past but I've only used it on my tomatoes and peppers and the like until now. I will say that it's a great source of chitin and above ground, I've not had one pest problem since I started using it.

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Yea they say they dont want to live in their own feces so would make sense.