Outdoors in the north

[RolandtheHead]

I live at 61 degrees N latitude. No photoperiod strain I've ever tried outdoors has even begun to flower under our long days, before frost hits in September. I tried a dozen or so years ago for a summer or two, then gave up outdoor growing and stuck to indoors. Even so-called auto-flowering strains of the time did not flower, not even Ruderalis Skunk from Sensi Seeds.

So I've decided to give current auto-flowerers a try. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Our growing season realistically is about 2.5, maybe three months, from around June 1 until the August rains mid or late in the month, which might cause mold.

Any advice on growing under these circumstances would be appreciated.

Do you think I should plant the seedlings as soon as they pop from the paper towel, or should I grow them up indoors first? Our nights can be cool in June, in the forties above. I'm not sure how well any cannabis does under our conditions.

 

[mecum]

61 N - next stop North Pole ...
Why don't you try this:[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Starting indoors moving outdoors day indoors at night
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Look here:[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=351542
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Good luck [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]![/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cheers
[/FONT]

 

[moose eater]

You can start indoors in later February to 3 weeks into March for (Edit: photo-sensitive) seeds, and perhaps later March to mid-April for auto-flower (I'm not an auto-flower guy). Then, into early June or so, maybe later May on a good year, put your containers outside, either under the sky, or in a greenhouse.

For darkness, you can move pots indoors into a shed at night (that were outdoors in the day time); where ever you can control light. Ventilated is good, but what ever.

There are ways to motorize/automate such a set-up, too; several methods, really, as far as controlling the dark and light with windowless buildings. or a greenhouse..

But you want to be on 12:12 with (Edit: photo-sensitive) seeds, or into bloom by developmental stage of auto, by mid June to 3/4 of the way through, at the latest. So you'll only have 2-3 weeks, if putting them outside in early June, and maybe 5 or so weeks, tops, on a year with a warmer May, in order to veg them larger outside.

Blinds/agricultural cloth (looks like white canvas but doesn't let light through), can be used over a greenhouse for blacking it out for 'night.'

The old stand-by 35-45 years ago was black poly/visqueen, but that can be like hanging a banner out that says, "I'm growing pot,." The agricultural cloth is less obvious, I think. For all anyone knows, it's a Quonset...

Tracks of what ever material (wooden, angle iron or aluminum, tube steel, etc.) can be set up, running into a shed, and out the same distance, either into a greenhouse, or into the open air, with 'carts' with lined plywood (or other surfaces) with sturdy frames and casters.

Garage door openers can work either blinds on a greenhouse, or carts, into and out of a shed, though this design is mostly theoretical to some degree, with the exception of the blinds...

The good old fashioned manual labor method is a hand-truck or similar tool (i.e., garden cart/wagon), and a dark shed to put pots into at night, or manual blinds (with ropes, pulleys, etc.) on a greenhouse..

Of course, in the last 2 methods, which are tried and proven by others, the human factor is prominent. They don't get dark or light (one or the other) without the effort of the operator. You're married to it.

Fortunately, unlike owning dairy cattle or milking goats, the process is fairly limited in duration.

Good luck.

Add'l Edit: If using a greenhouse, your early spring dates can be made even earlier than outdoors. And if using a heated greenhouse, earlier still.

You may push back your August end time, as well, if using a greenhouse, but your humidity in mid-August and later also becomes (potentially) that much more of an issue then; air movement in mid-August would potentially be necessary.

The description of your climate and conditions sounds very similar to those in my area.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

I think this might just be one more reason to move that you already didn't need.

Dawg, you live on fucking glaciers and you're worried about not being able to grow weed outside? Move somewhere livable, get some sun on those asscheeks.

 

[moose eater]

To clarify (though I suspect that was a post made in humor), as an example, where I am, on June 21, we get ~21' 50" of actual sunlight. more if you count twilight.

More commonly in the past than the last decade, we would reach to just below 100 degrees f. (officially, warmer, unofficially) in the warmer parts of summer at times. These days we can still see 90+, but less often.

The angle of the Sun, and distance to Earth in the summer here, makes the light from the Sun fairly intense. Plants go ape-shit. Unventilated/poorly ventilated greenhouses where I am cook and die.

The challenge is controlling the sun when going into bloom, if growing photo-sensitive plants, and having the bloom phase wrapped up before the 'arctic/subarctic monsoons' hit in August, or before one loses the warmth of mid-summer.

But during the prime growing months, plants go nuts here, often making up for the lack of extended season. Some of the largest veggies in the world are grown near where I am, for competition and elsewise.

We have had some fluke occurrences on occasion, especially near mountain passes, or at slightly higher elevations, though much of this that I've seen has been in the last decade or so; 5" of snow in Cantwell in July one year (a freak occurrence), and last year, large hail and blowing winds at about 1,500 ft. and higher on the North side of the Alaska Range.

But contrary to many folks' beliefs, parts of Alaska (where I'd estimate we have approximately 8-9 climates over the entire state) are both more extreme in the winter, and fairly toasty in the summer.

As with many places, the coasts are much more moderate. Cooler summers and less extreme winters. Though there were some years where that changed a bit too. Again, exceptions to the rule.

 

[clearheaded]

sensis old ruderalis pre lowryder were not suppost to be 100% auto flower some did but the idea was just to pas on the quick flowering trait more then autoflowering as previously that was seen as a BAD trait. now, well, everyone has a auto line and since are moving back to the "fast" versions like mighty mite was. not true auto but quicker aka semi auto.

anyway, the best bet is to grow autos. save alot of work esp if just is for making personal hash. you could try lowryders and some larger autos along with "fast" versions they have now and see what ya get. start inside but for lowryders you want to get them into larger pots and outside in the sun ASAP. most are pretty hardy but if time it for couple sets of true leaves before outside prob best. also end of june is strongest/longest sun so something to keep in mind but of course its a balance between nighttime temps. if not staying above 12C at night it slows growth. So implementing some perma culture techniques like rock heat sinks or other ways to keep roots warmish if in pots can help.

GG or gorilla gold is a good balance of semi auto and large yeild/ hardyness. early durban, biddy early early pearl, frisian dew, viking(kc brains has a cross), freezeland. are all pretty tried and true for northern european and most of canada strains. Autos prob the smartest way to go though and maybe try out those others, and may turn out ok depending on your summer. plenty of autos are pretty strong now adays of course most arent MONSTER yeilds but really arent going to get huge yeilds in a short summer no matter what you do. so better just to get ripe buds.

cheers.

 

[massimo]

i live also at 60north.ive been growing many autoflowers.not like them so much,potency and yeald too small.what i liked most were brickland and maverick from Da Bean Co.try to find those somewhere,youl be suprised,very good potency and good yeald and also contack me if you get your hands to them

 

[massimo]

sensis old ruderalis pre lowryder were not suppost to be 100% auto flower some did but the idea was just to pas on the quick flowering trait more then autoflowering as previously that was seen as a BAD trait. now, well, everyone has a auto line and since are moving back to the "fast" versions like mighty mite was. not true auto but quicker aka semi auto.

anyway, the best bet is to grow autos. save alot of work esp if just is for making personal hash. you could try lowryders and some larger autos along with "fast" versions they have now and see what ya get. start inside but for lowryders you want to get them into larger pots and outside in the sun ASAP. most are pretty hardy but if time it for couple sets of true leaves before outside prob best. also end of june is strongest/longest sun so something to keep in mind but of course its a balance between nighttime temps. if not staying above 12C at night it slows growth. So implementing some perma culture techniques like rock heat sinks or other ways to keep roots warmish if in pots can help.

GG or gorilla gold is a good balance of semi auto and large yeild/ hardyness. early durban, biddy early early pearl, frisian dew, viking(kc brains has a cross), freezeland. are all pretty tried and true for northern european and most of canada strains. Autos prob the smartest way to go though and maybe try out those others, and may turn out ok depending on your summer. plenty of autos are pretty strong now adays of course most arent MONSTER yeilds but really arent going to get huge yeilds in a short summer no matter what you do. so better just to get ripe buds.

cheers.

forget those strains,not working up here.

 

[therevverend]

There's quite a few northern growers on here, Canadians, Alaskans, Scandinavians, with lots of experience. Sometimes they kick ass, sometimes the mold and frost kicks their asses. I'd check around, find some threads, you'll find people who know.
The regular run finish in September type strains usually fail. Mighty Mite and other auto sensitive strains are the way to go, along with good auto flowers. It's a lot of hit and miss.
If it were me I'd go with a forced flower blackout system and regular strains. Build a structure you can cover in black plastic and tarps for 12 hours, then uncover for 12 hours. Autos and auto sensitives are too unreliable and low yielding. I'd start regular strains indoors in March, get them outside in late May, flower them in July and August. With the high intensity northern light you'd kick ass.
There's other ways, dig a swimming pool and cover that. Even in the lower 48 a lot of people are using blackout systems.

 

[RedDirtWarrior]

I live at 61 degrees N latitude. No photoperiod strain I've ever tried outdoors has even begun to flower under our long days, before frost hits in September. I tried a dozen or so years ago for a summer or two, then gave up outdoor growing and stuck to indoors. Even so-called auto-flowering strains of the time did not flower, not even Ruderalis Skunk from Sensi Seeds.

So I've decided to give current auto-flowerers a try. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Our growing season realistically is about 2.5, maybe three months, from around June 1 until the August rains mid or late in the month, which might cause mold.

Any advice on growing under these circumstances would be appreciated.

Do you think I should plant the seedlings as soon as they pop from the paper towel, or should I grow them up indoors first? Our nights can be cool in June, in the forties above. I'm not sure how well any cannabis does under our conditions.

what an amazing place to grow. 24 hour days make for some amazing giant vegetables. So who says there cant be some amazing giant weed too? Take advantage of that rich, deep black tundra soil. Get the hoop houses up. Make sure you grow some crucifers too!

Maybe take a trip to ukraine/Russia? KC brains got his AF for kc45 from there in the wild.

Theres nothing more exciting and rewarding (sometimes) than a wild genetic hunt. See strains hunters

Also try some afghani genetics they are generally fast, frost tolerant.

You can also start indoor under 24/7 light( or inside outside swap), veg em for a month or two, then put them out.


basically you can grow any weed there as long as you avoid frost. I know my great uncles walnut ranch they burned diesel barrels when frosts came to protect the crops. They also used giant fans to mix the air layers and avoid frost. also just watering with sprinklers.


TLDR:

If I was you, i'd build double wall hoop houses (extra insulation) and find a good, fast finishing indica type strain, I'd sprout in like, December, and veg the shit out of it for a while till it was a giant monster, then put it under the hoop houses and finish it.

Now your lbs of frozen weed will last you many winters.