confused
Member
We should get Aquaman to edit his first post to include some kind of Florida growing FAQ. Here are some note's from previous questions at OG. If anybody has any suggestions for adding things to make this into an FAQ, speak up.
When to start MJ Outdoors in Florida
I see people keep asking about when to start outdoors in Florida. There are more questions asked on this topic than any other in this thread. I think it's time for us to write a detailed FAQ on it and paste it into one of the first posts in the thread.
I’ll get this started and then you guys can review my draft and make comments to improve it. First, we need to see what’s already in the OG on this. As far as I can tell, the only FAQ related to this topic is one that lists the average first and last frost days for a few selected cities. It shows Tampa usually gets their first and last frost in January, and Miami is frost free. [faq]1445[/faq]
The most important points to keep in mind are:
- Genetics determine how much darkness a plant will need to flower. The number of hours of uninterrupted darkness each night that will induce blooming is called that plant’s “critical night length.” This is usually around ten to eleven hours. So, indoor growers keep the limit the dark period to six hours to keep plants in veg, and switch to twelve hours to induce flowering. That probably covers 99% of the plants.
- The longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is in late June, and the shortest day is around Christmas.
- The closer you are to the equator the less fluctuation there is in day length. It’s 12/12 every day of the year on the equator.
- Plants wont start to flower until they are sexually mature. This can take a couple months and the exact amount of time is affected by the plant’s genes. Clones will have the maturity of the mother. So, young seedlings will stay in veg even when given long nights, but mature clones will start to flower when they are given long enough nights. I think there’s an FAQ on how to tell when a plant is sexually mature.
- I’ve seen several plants flower right through the longest day of the year (shortest night).
- The shorter veg season we have here is actually an advantage in many ways. The plants stay shorter, so they’re more stealthy. The lower yield can be compensated by planting more plants and having more flowering seasons. The longer you leave your plants outside, the more you expose them to loss due to pests, pestilence, poachers, or police.
- Frost isn't good for Cannabis plants, so, if you live someplace that gets cold in the winter, you should put up some kind of temporary greenhouse on the cold days. I've seen some clear pup tents that are made for this purpose and I posted a link to them in the previous Florida growers thread. Or, you can rig something yourself with a clear plastic tarp, like Visqueen.
My first outdoor grow was Jamaican sativa too. I put two mature plants out in March and they started to flower right away, producing about six ounces. The second round went out in June and they flowered right through the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Those plants must have had some indica in their genetics to flower early like that.
Yes, many strains will flower here no matter when you put them outside.
I just searched the thread and figure I will be fine after reading this. They have been on a 22/2 light cycle inside for about a month now, so I feel like they will finish off if I put them out by the end of the week.
Great thread for the FLA.