harvest before frost? Been advised to wait. Need experienced answer!

I have a couple plant in my back yard type thing & it was just an experiment as I Have never grown outside before. Put a couple out too late in the season (i assume). Late june/early july

They look good but if they were indoors I would give them perhaps another 6 weeks. Iin 6 weeks I suspect we will have snow on the ground here. We will certainly have frosty nights. We've had a couple freak chillers. Just some misty ice on the vehichles.
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The plants still look fine, but someone told me I should wait till like November. He grows in the area & has for years, but I dont know. Almost everything i've read says harvest BEFORE frost. Are we talking a little frost on the ground or are we we talking like -5 c for the entire night type thing.

Please advise.

Thanks

Carl

are they in containers or yard?

if containers... bring them inside at night and then back outside once the sun is up..

Just dug a hole, mixed in some garden composted mix we just did. I dont understand the point of containers outside. Maybe we just have great dirt here. .

Once we had an early snow.... shook off the buds & let them keep growing because they had two more weeks before ripe. A hard frost can do some damage, cover with a sheet but not plastic.

I have never pulled an unripe plant due to frost on the horizon and don't think I ever will. It'll take some pretty gnarly weather to do these hardy plants in. Just keep an eye out for frost damage and remove affected leaves. As you get closer to peak ripeness, keep an eye on the weather and use your judgment. They can take a few light frosts and some strains do well with harder frosts.

Northernlights has taken 3 frosts this year, and looks beautiful, almost ripe. They will usually survive the first few frosts.

Try putting some compost around the bottom of plant. It will hold heat in around roots. Your plant will suffer faster from the roots getting to cold than light frost on upper plant. Had some outside last yr that ran into pretty cold temps. plants finished out good and the cool night temps actually helped to bring out some color n buds.

Makes sense. I will put something around the base. Its going to be between 12-20 degrees celcius the next while so Im glad I didnt yank her before. Looks like nice mix of sun & rain the next week or so.

I've been goiing out to see them in the morning & shaking the dew off them to help prevent rot. Helps or not I just like to spend time with the ladies

Thanks for all the good advise.


Cheers

C

i do a soiless medium in blacked out fives for my outdoors

I've got a question that pertains to this topic. The temperatures at night starting this Friday through next Friday are going to be from anywhere from 18 F to 30 F. Can they survive a week of these cold nights if I cover them properly every night? They're not quite yet ready to harvest, and I really want this extra week if not two more.

Anything below 28 F is very risky for most strains. If you want to leave them outside, they must be well mulched and covered with some kind of material (as you plan), but it's still iffy. At 18 degrees, even for a few minutes, you risk a total loss. However, if they are not nearly ripe and the weather is going back up, I'd chance it. Put down a layer of compost (for the heat) and a thick layer of straw, hay, or leaves before you cover. I would cover with burlap or cloth before using plastic, if you can.

Laney said:

Anything below 28 F is very risky for most strains. If you want to leave them outside, they must be well mulched and covered with some kind of material (as you plan), but it's still iffy. At 18 degrees, even for a few minutes, you risk a total loss. However, if they are not nearly ripe and the weather is going back up, I'd chance it. Put down a layer of compost (for the heat) and a thick layer of straw, hay, or leaves before you cover. I would cover with burlap or cloth before using plastic, if you can.

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That is excellent advice

Laney said:

Anything below 28 F is very risky for most strains. If you want to leave them outside, they must be well mulched and covered with some kind of material (as you plan), but it's still iffy. At 18 degrees, even for a few minutes, you risk a total loss. However, if they are not nearly ripe and the weather is going back up, I'd chance it. Put down a layer of compost (for the heat) and a thick layer of straw, hay, or leaves before you cover. I would cover with burlap or cloth before using plastic, if you can.

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Thank you, Laney. I will definitely do that. I'll keep you folks posted with how things turn out.

If worst comes to worst, I'll just have to harvest them.

edit: It's Saturday night that's going to be freakishly cold. Right now the forecast is saying 18 F for a low Saturday night with a 20% chance of snow! SNOW! Already! Fuck me. I haven't even had time to flush my plants yet.

Let's say I cover them Saturday night, give them a nice warm layer of mulch and leaves, and they still get frost damage. Is this going to affect my buds in any way? Will I still be able to harvest them Sunday and get the same quality buds as I would have gotten had I harvested the day before the cold got them? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I really don't have any idea what frost damage does to a plant.

The buds are hardier than the leaves - I say risk it. Cover as best you can and cross your fingers. 20% is not a great chance.

Laney said:

I have never pulled an unripe plant due to frost on the horizon and don't think I ever will. It'll take some pretty gnarly weather to do these hardy plants in. Just keep an eye out for frost damage and remove affected leaves. As you get closer to peak ripeness, keep an eye on the weather and use your judgment. They can take a few light frosts and some strains do well with harder frosts.

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Yep, the soil temp and root structure have to drop below 45F for any real damage to occur.

Laney said:

Anything below 28 F is very risky for most strains. If you want to leave them outside, they must be well mulched and covered with some kind of material (as you plan), but it's still iffy. At 18 degrees, even for a few minutes, you risk a total loss. However, if they are not nearly ripe and the weather is going back up, I'd chance it. Put down a layer of compost (for the heat) and a thick layer of straw, hay, or leaves before you cover. I would cover with burlap or cloth before using plastic, if you can.

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Any truth to what someone posted sometime last week I think, about also watering before an expected frost to help keep the ground temp up?

There is a school of thought that one should use water temperature to compensate for air temperature. So, water with cool water when it is hot and warm water when it is cold. I am trying this to a certain extent but have insufficient experience to recommend first hand.

Another bit of info that I have picked up but as of yet am unable to verify from personal experience is that spraying a plant with water prior to a frost has a protectant effect. Again, this is something that I have, as of yet, not had an opportunity to try but would recommend researching. FWIW ...

cannabis can take a couple of light frosts, but not a freeze.

imchucky666 said:

Any truth to what someone posted sometime last week I think, about also watering before an expected frost to help keep the ground temp up?

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where i am in florida, we usually have a few frosts yearly. we water all container and soil plants the morning of the frost. this is suppose to remove
air pockets in the soil. gotta do it early morning so all foliage has a chance to completely dry. GL