Is it possible to grow marijuana in a cold climate?
Can the plant be grown outdoors or indoors during the cold season?
These are some of the questions that many growers ask who live in cold conditions and some of them also freak out when it comes to this season.
If you are thinking growing weed in the cold will cause issues, well, you are pretty wrong.
Even though the cooler temperatures might come with extra challenges for the growers, they present some unique opportunities and benefits.
It will become easier for you to grow buds with light autumn shades. It will enable you to prevent the increased room temperatures from becoming way too hot.
But how to grow cannabis in the cold season? What are the things one needs to follow? This article will cover all the things you need to know.
Growing Weed In The Cold: Tips To Follow
The tips presented below will help you obtain a good idea of growing cannabis during the chilly winter months. Have a look!
- Maintain A Consistent Temperature
During cold weather months, the temperature between the daylight and nighttime hours can be pretty drastic.
So, if you maintain a consistent temperature, you will see the difference between compact and robust nodes and widely-spaced internodes.
You have to keep the temperature fluctuation to a minimum. Try to strive for a temperature gap of 3.5F to 7F [2C to 4C].
This stands out to be pretty crucial during the 2 weeks to 3 weeks of the flowering time. Once the third week passes by, you can allow the variance in temperature to take place.
But you still have to keep it in check. When you want to strive for changes in the temperature, make sure it’s not over 18F [10C].
If you are growing weed, engineered for the dramatic cold conditions, you must always be aware of your surroundings. The best way to think about temperature is to consider how exactly you feel.
This means that if the weather is way too hot for you, it will be desirable for your plants, and it’s too cold for you, it’s hard for your plants.
Temperature is something that has a massive impact on cannabis. It will affect the yield, quality, growth, and it’s overall health.
- Managing The Humidity
As a pot grower, you must always consider the factors related to humidity and temperature. You have to pay a lot more attention to your plants when growing them in the chilly winter months.
Remember, warm air carries a lot of water, which leads to much higher humidity. Cold air is pretty dry because it doesn’t hold much moisture.
This means that cold air contains less humidity.
The RH or relative humidity to maintain an excellent growing ecosystem will be based on the plant’s stage. When the plants are pretty young, you must keep the humidity levels between 40% to 60%.
Are you facing some issues obtaining the correct humidity during the cold? No problem, follow the steps below, and you will be alright.
- Utilize a spray bottle to add water into the air.
- Go for a large capacity humidifier as it will be worth the investment.
- Moisten up the surface of the soil, but avoid over-wetting it.
- Drape a damp towel or a cloth around the grow space.
Remember, plants become vulnerable to numerous molds during cold weather. So, if the ecosystem is way too damp, molds will start growing, for which you have to be pretty careful.
- Make Sure Not To Overfeed Your Cannabis With Nutrients
Managing the nutrients correctly stands out as the foundation of marijuana cultivation.
Maintaining your cannabis plant without under-feeding or overfeeding stands out as a skill that magnifies the experience.
But if you are an outdoor grower, there are several things you have to be aware of. Cold air is dry, and the plant will compensate with the great nutrient or water uptake.
On the other hand, when the soil is rich in nutrients, it will give birth to a bit of nutrient burn, which you find visible on the tip of the leaves.
When the temperature goes below 10C, the plant cannot absorb proper nutrients and will not obtain appropriate Phosphorous.
Indoor growers must opt for an electrically heating mat that will stop the root zone from becoming way too cold.
- Timing Is Essential
Climates in the north have short summer days that last only around 8 weeks to 10 weeks. This is one of the reasons why so many outdoor cannabis growers choose indoors when growing the plants.
All the seeds will sprout when placed inside and begins to grow after they are placed outdoors. After they are placed outside, they get to obtain natural sunlight during the flowering and vegetative stages.
Also, the harvesting will take place right before the unfavorable climatic conditions make an entry. When the locale forces a race against the time, try to opt for a cannabis variety with a short flowering stage.
- Learn About The Warning Signs And Many Quick Adjustments
Since you are a cannabis grower, so you have to be pretty alert about various warning signs. These signs indicate that your plants are in huge trouble. These are some of the symptoms of sick cannabis plants.
- The petioles look discolored, like a purple shade.
- The edges of the leaves are curled up.
- Leaves carry brown or burned spots.
- Plant growth is pretty slow.
- There has been yellowing in the leaves.
- Leaves at the lower bottom drop off.
If you do come across any of these signs, you should make immediate adjustments. Otherwise, your plants will not be in good condition.
- Opt For A Flip-Flop
When the temperature becomes way too low at night, it can easily put your marijuana plants in danger. Why don’t you switch them up? You can flip-flop the dark cycles and the light.
This might require a bit more investment if you try to grow the plants outside. You have to buy and wire up the lights. The primary purpose of growing outdoors is to provide natural sunlight.
But it will be a good idea to save it for the whole crop of cannabis. For all indoor growers, the process is a bit simple. You can run the lights during the night time for around 12-hours.
The heat released from the lights will help in combating the cold condition. You must guarantee a complete black-out during the daytime.
If you do so, it will become a fantastic technique to battle the colder climatic conditions.
- Opt For The Right Set Of Lights
In this modern time, there have been so many different kinds of lights available in the market. So, the cultivating lamps moved towards LED lighting options.
They stand out as a perfect option because they are much energy-efficient and lessens the heating cost. The only problem is in the low wattage, which is emitted from the lights.
But if the temperature drops pretty quickly, these LED lights will not be enough to generate heat for your plants. If you do not compensate, your marijuana plants will suffer greatly.
That’s why you should add some HID lighting. This will be a good choice when the weather is cloudy or rainy.
Final Words
Growing cannabis at your home is an excellent idea. You can use the plant for yourself or sell it to earn some extra cash.
But if you want to make sure the quality, growth, and yield are perfect, you have to take care of certain things.
The suggestions provided in this article will surely help you when you are growing weed. Make sure to go through each of them to have a good understanding. We have also compiled some useful information for you at Homegrown Cannabis Co. Do take a look, if you need some quick reference!
