Treadwell

I wasnt disagreeing with what swordfish said. I think i must have misled you by the way i worded things. I wasnt proposing that you go with an 18 hour light schedule. The only thing i was getting at was you do want to keep lights to what they are outside. The hitch being you want it to be the daylight hours that it will be once you get them out. Not what it is outside right now. True, that may be close to sunlight (although im pretty sure were up to 13 or more now)12/12 will get your plants to flower that young and yes.. you will get bud but i have done it in amature stupidity and they end up being minescule and wispy because the plants arent matured anough to put on big hard flowers.
Ill leave you to your thing. Whatever lighting times you decide, and whatever works best for you. Just simply saying that I choose to put my lights on for 16 hours, as that is around the amount of daylight they receive the time i put them out into nature. Thus i am not changing what they are used to getting for "sun".

__________________
If a pot plant grows in the woods, and no one is around to smell it, does it make a scent?

2009 OUTDOOR - failed lunar grow

BREEDING AUTOS - hempy style

swordfish

The L.A. Times Thursday April 16th Sunrise 6:21 sunset 7:26pm. A few days back it was rainy and cold by LA standards so the plants were put into my grow room at approximatly those times to mimic the outside conditions of what otherwise would be the sun. In the near future the weather will be in the 90s for the next week where im at. I wont be useing my grow room except for 2-3 days after germination.

If we get a dose of June gloom or some cloudy overcast days I can easily move my small pots inside my room and this would further improve their condition on overcast cold days. Last night a cold front moved through and I put my plants in a shed, otherwise I like to leave them outdoors.

Im sure this is difficult in the NE where the temps are more unstable for another couple months. If this is the case growing them indoors is ideal. If the growers are all holding out to plant outside until June 1st then this is the advice you should follow. Just get a workable almanac or newspaper and set your timers to match the immediate sunrise and sunset. This gives you the prospect of putting them in the ground sooner so massive root development can happen.

Some here have advised and with good intentions to set your timers at 18/6 and stay indoors until June 15th or around the equinox and going out then with know complications of hermies or premature flowering. The reason I advise staying with current sunrise sunset times is that it gives you the option should a window of favorable weather appear. You will then wish to stick your plants in the field but you commited yourself to an 18/6 program and there's know going back until around June 15th. You leave your options open if you do it the way im suggesting.

We all get lucky sometimes with a few big plants but they reguire 7 months in the ground and you can throw away the pots. This may be possible and is possible on the east coast im sure by some talented growers. The weather out here is responsible and I take little credit. This year most everything will stay in a pot for me to keep my plants small but I still may run into size problems with the genetics im growing. Ive had several plants dureing different years be over 6ft by June 1st. What does this say about waiting tell then to go out.

These three photos will show how large a outdoor plant can get on June 11th when photos were taken.

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________

Treadwell

I have to admitt you make a good point swordfish. Somthing i hadnt thought of previously, when you say "comitted" to a certain schedule. I guess that IS the downfall of putting my babies on with 16 hrs of light. I AM comitted to putting them out at a certain time of the summer. Im stuck waiting till the daylight expands to the hours im using in here. I just adopted the method due to the fact that I was ending up with plants in flower before they went outside, AND the fact that i am in fact in the N.E. part of the country. Maine, to be exact. You dont get much farther north east than this. Matter of fact the most easterly point in the entire US is about 30 minutes from here. I guess thats where ive based my personal experiences. I suppose i should have questioned where extensity is growing. Or at least in what area of the country (if it is in the US). My statement of mid June, and 16 hr cycles is based on the fact that here, Im not even able to put them out prior to the third week in May.
My appoliges if i seemed to come off as a know it all. Just tossing out my efforts here for him. I guess in the end it depends on where he is in the country. I will add again however that i liked that you pointed out the commitment to cycle. Makes sense. If weather breaks early here and i can put them out.. i still cant till day meets my time indoors.

__________________
If a pot plant grows in the woods, and no one is around to smell it, does it make a scent?

2009 OUTDOOR - failed lunar grow

BREEDING AUTOS - hempy style

ILLEGAL-SEED

it will start to grow bud, then spend the next 1-2 months confused on what its doing, and will reveg, veg, and then flower...all while hardly growing at all in the vegative stage because it was confused.

dont keep lights at 12 12.

i wouldnt go any lower than 13/11 on off

xtensity

I got the lighting thing down I keep them on based off what my weather site says for sun rise and set.

Atm it says

Sunrise: 6:39 a.m., Sunset: 7:50 p.m

All I basically wanted to know by this post was what kind of "cold" temperatures can the plants withstand at different ages, but no one has said it yet from within 2 pages.

ILLEGAL-SEED

i seen an answer twice...but ok

seedlings- i wouldnt go under 45 degrees.
mature plants, can get very light frosts. one or two at most. if it freezes, its done.

FreedomRider

I all honesty, if your plants are not out my the 2nd week of June, it's too late. These plants will finish short and yield will be effected. The plant you put out this late should be plants you are flowering. I read that plants not in the ground for May and June miss out on growing in prime time when water is plentiful and the heat is a little more tolerable.

If you're going with bagseed, more the merrier. You don't know the age of your seeds or if they are viable. Some of the more experienced growers have been working with their seeds for years. They now how viable they are, how old they are, and their germination rates. This will allow them to get away with only plants a few seeds.

This is something you have to deside to do. Growing pot is illegal. Check you local laws and find the level of risk you are willing to accept. For example, 5 plants in a 60 day misdemeanor, while 6 will get you 1-3 years. And because it's a 1st offense, you are probation eligible. This may make next level more risky/rewarding where 50 plants net you 3-5 years and a $250,000.00 fine.

Take care. Be safe.

Treadwell

True in some places but he needs to remember that those laws are also very different depending on the state your living in. The state im in the marijuana laws are very lenient. Yuo can cultivate up to 100 plants here and its STILL a class D misdemeanor. 101 becomes class C felony though. So i agree with you in the fact that there is a fine line that can be crossed that will land you in deep s**t. Usually a good idea to check out your individiual state penalties before growing massive amounts of MJ.
State By State Laws - NORML

__________________
If a pot plant grows in the woods, and no one is around to smell it, does it make a scent?

2009 OUTDOOR - failed lunar grow

BREEDING AUTOS - hempy style

Be so Kind

Haha im going out on a limb and saying this is your first grow ever and you are probly pretty young huh (16-18)? its ok I did the same thing had to ask a million questions. anyway it seems like you are going through a lot of trouble to grow. How many plants are u growing. just asking because i just hope you know that even with the best lighting and other conditions, you are probly only gonna get an ounce or so off each plant. I think you should do like most of us did and just practice getting the basics down for a year or 2 before getting real serious. my first year i grew inside under a floro shop light only 2 plants just to see what the life cycle was like. everything went good except they turned male.
Basically water when dry, keep the heat tolerable, dont overfertilize, and ur plant is gonna grow. Now growing outside is a whole different beast....

Be so Kind

ok for ur question about heat. basically ur plant is gonna be ok with any temperature between 40 and 100 degrees. they grow best somewhere in the middle. but as long as they werent at those temperatures constantly for a long time like as in days or a week they will be fine. the plant is gonna live and grow as long as it doesnt freeze or dehydrate.