So I’ve been wanting to try this I figured if I grow them inside form now till spring I can transition it out side the only problem is the Adjustment time other wise they burn up… so Input would be cool. I figure I can leave in a Simi shaded area for a week or two then move them out
I want to make sure I have enough to test different variables I was cleaning out a bunch of boxes I had stored away and found an old cigarette filter bag with all my old seeds from years ago so I figured they will be the perfect testers
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lots of folks do this, your logic is sound
i have taken indoor-vegged plants outside into full sun, no slow acclimation, and they got over the stress of it in a few days. they were pretty big when they went outside though. most often i will have them in partial sun for 3-7 days or so before putting them into their spot for the season. if you have the space, indoors and out, veg as long as you can over the cold months and start your outdoor season with monsters
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Find an area that gets MORNING sun only. Let them harden a few days in the warm and soft morning sun. The mid-day and evening sun is killer on soft indoor plants.
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Awesome thanks I was pretty confident in it but I’ve had some people give me doubts but that must just be Jealousy or who knows what.thats why I love this site I’ll be donating to it as soon as possible!!!
Consult sun time tables for your area and set timers now for sun up times set for at least 16 hours now that way there’s a smoother transition , try using LED also I noticed that my seedling plants hardly need hardened off when it comes to planting out hope this helps!
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i cant imagine why anyone would discourage this practice, its very common. almost every outdoor operation that i have ran, been part of, or seen has done/does it
Yeah @Tinytuttle right now I’m just using a fluorescent. And the bad thing is I don’t even know what the Kelvin is on it but I’m just using it to sprout them I’ve basically maxed out everything I can do so far light wise if I could hold I would I will definitely be keeping it in mind for later though
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Hi @Spacecowboy it’s nice to see you settling in here at OG.
In order to minimize the tedious transition time from in to out, the key is to give your plants as much light as you can without burning them. Looking at your photos, if you are using fluorescents, they are way too far away from your plants. T-8s can almost be touching the leaves, T-5s about a couple or three inches…provided you have good ventilation…,.
Also, if possible, put them in direct sunlight thru a window whenever feasible, until you can get them outdoors.
When the weather is warm enough, I will put seeded containers outdoors in direct sun as soon as I think they are starting to pop up thru the soil. Zero transition.
Exposing the newborn babies to direct sunlight as soon as possible is the best play.
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@Calyxander thank you I am really enjoying it. And I understand what you’re saying about the wait time between transition but if I grow 4 to 3 months indoors from February to April or May and then transition amount I’ll have the whole rest of the spring and summer cuz I have to worry about a lot of Frost early spring and I mainly just using the fluorescence to get the seeds to sprout out and then I will put them under two of 2000. Lumen lights there are spot lights for up porch or something I had it my way I’d pay a hundred and thirty something and go get some LEDs but I don’t have any money for any of that right now just working with what I got
Given your circumstances…
Well I do not mean to be discouraging, but I would advise that you wait until
about 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date in your area before you start your seeds They will get plenty big if you give them lots of direct sunlight outdoors when you are able to get them out.
If you start your plants now under your lights (spotlights?) they will become frail and spindly, or require regular pruning to keep them short enough to get good light penetration to maintain healthy vigor.
Find your last frost date here:
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I completely screwed up some clones last year putting them outside. They all prematurely budded and like 5 revegged. I was able to bring all of the reveggers around for a great yield by October though. Mind you, I completely screwed up 7 of 12. Expensive lesson as I bought them. You may already know, but just make sure to ween them off lights down to the hours of the sun before you put them out and of course harden them off for a week bit by bit before full exposure to the elements.
Agree also with @Calyxander… wait until full on spring to start indoors. Cannabis is a summer annual plant naturally. Here in Southern Cali, my best yield will occur if I plant seeds last week of May to 1st week of June. Somewhere on the internet you can find the absolute best time of the year to start plants for max yield. It may take some searching, but you will find best time for clones or mj seeds for your zone.
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Well they have all been germinated already and this is for an experiment if It dont work out it will be ok I can get those seeds left and right lol. Plus it’ll be documented so if it does screw anything up people will be able to see the results for themselves but I have a theory on it and it’s too complicated right now for me to try to explain I appreciate all input though thanks everybody
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If they get to the point of preflowers sex them out chuck what you don’t want and maybe try your hand at cloning some , that’s what I’m going to be doing in the next week or so last year I had a terrible ratio of female/male plants not going to be that way this year!
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You’ve got some good replies here and I agree with @Calyxander about the situation you’re in. My strong recommendation (because this is where all my experience is) is to keep them in bonsai form for the next few months. This will allow you to use the fluorescent lights and their poor light penetration to maintain the plants as sturdy little versions of their full grown selves.
As @Tinytuttle mentioned, you will then have the opportunity to sex and get to know the plants a little so that you can cull as many as possible to reduce your wasted time outside.
And man, make sure you match the outdoor photoperiod as closely as you can so that you don’t create an ubrupt change and trigger flower. You only do that once as it is agonizing to see them struggle back, right @Meesh ha ha!
Anyway, you have to get good at pruning and training the branches and pruning the roots when you repot them, but you can just take your bonsais outside to harden off in bigger containers when the time is right and they will transition to full sized plants again.
Not sure what you think of this idea, but it will keep you busy until they can go out ;D
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Dude if you got more seed, use those outside. Veg and Cull these and then use your hps and grow these inside. You’ve got the room.
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