Veg indoors, then flower outdoors? Autoflower or reg?

[jdenhaan]

Hello guys 'n girls,

 

First of all, I'm sorry if this is the wrong subforum. I didn't really know where to place this since it crosses in and outdoor...

 

I've been doing some research and am keen to start my own grow. A quick overview of my situation:

 

- Middle of Sydney

- Densely populated apartment block on a high level

- North-facing balcony, well shielded from rain and wind

- Small studio apartment

 

As you can gather, stealth and space are important, which is why I'm not going for huge high-yielding plants. If I can reap a bud or two for personal use every now and then, I'd be a happy camper. My expectations in regards to yield are well in check.

 

My timing sucks. We're going into autumn, so it looks like I'll have to take my plant indoors, which poses a few challenges given my living situation. A few questions:

 

- Is it feasible for me to veg the plants indoors using CFL and a desk fan and then take them outdoors on the balcony once they start to get smelly? Or will the temperature shock be too much? My balcony is well shielded, so I don't think the elements will be able to do too much damage (we don't get frost here and I can always pull the plant in on a particualrly bad day).I have a CFL lamp and a desk fan to provide the light and wind during veg.

 

- Once the plants are outside, can I use one of those cheap solar path lights ($7 at Bunnings) to provide some extra light at the end of the day? I know the light is probably feeble (LED), but I reckon it's better than nothing?

 

- What seeds? I have some Northern Lights X White Widow seeds which will probably turn out quite short (especially if I SCROG), but I'm wondering if a small autoflower might be a better option given the time of year?

 

Would love your opinions / thoughts

Edited March 16, 2015 by jdenhaan

[Doctor_Pooh]

I'd never recommend an auto flowering strain for the simple reason that it's impossible to keep a mother plant.  If on the off chance you want to make some seed though autos aren't a terrible way to go, they'll just flower whenever giving little to no fucks about outside influences that aren't directly involved in their development like the ph of the soil they're grown in.

 

As for photoperiod plants if you match the ph of the soil, hours of light inside to what is available outside, etc. the plants will suffer little to no shock whatsoever.  They'll just keep growing until they're told by nature to start flowering.  The trick for converting plants from inside to outside life though is increasing the intensity of the lighting while matching the hours given to them.  If it's 14/10 outside reduce the plants to 15/9 from the standard 18/6 for a couple of weeks and let them just touch the light bleaching area of height so when you put them out the intensity of the light and hours it provides makes the plant go meh instead of having a total freak out.  Obviously some plants will cope better than others but personally i think if you can provide a harsh environment and transfer the plants to a friendlier one their chances of survival are higher and you'll stand a better chance of pulling a decent crop than you would going from a friendly to a harsh one.

[jdenhaan]

I'd never recommend an auto flowering strain for the simple reason that it's impossible to keep a mother plant.  If on the off chance you want to make some seed though autos aren't a terrible way to go, they'll just flower whenever giving little to no fucks about outside influences that aren't directly involved in their development like the ph of the soil they're grown in.

 

As for photoperiod plants if you match the ph of the soil, hours of light inside to what is available outside, etc. the plants will suffer little to no shock whatsoever.  They'll just keep growing until they're told by nature to start flowering.  The trick for converting plants from inside to outside life though is increasing the intensity of the lighting while matching the hours given to them.  If it's 14/10 outside reduce the plants to 15/9 from the standard 18/6 for a couple of weeks and let them just touch the light bleaching area of height so when you put them out the intensity of the light and hours it provides makes the plant go meh instead of having a total freak out.  Obviously some plants will cope better than others but personally i think if you can provide a harsh environment and transfer the plants to a friendlier one their chances of survival are higher and you'll stand a better chance of pulling a decent crop than you would going from a friendly to a harsh one.

Thanks for your reply.

 

It's really just an experiment to see if I can make it happen within my small confines. I need a small, inconspicuous plant that won't stink up the entire floor. As for stinking, I'm planning to move it outside relatively soon into flowering.

 

As for intensity of the light, I'm probably dunking the plant outside slightly before or in Sydney winter, so the light won't be *that* intense. Also, won't temperature shock be an issue? I know ruderalis plants are originally adapted for the climate Russia, so I guess they'll be cruising through Sydney's 15C "winter"?

Edited March 16, 2015 by jdenhaan

[max_headroom]

Jdenhaan are you a mind reader or do great minds think alike? Just started a grow that sounds very similar to what you are doing. Probably the main difference is I wll also use the sun while vegging and the suplement the sun with the cfl's and for flowering I am going to let her go after 3-4 weeksa veg.

 

Good luck with your grow good planning helps

[jdenhaan]

Awesome! A few questions Max:

 

- what strain are you growing? Are you growing an auto or photo?

- are you not worried the constant switch between sunlight and CFL during veg will stress out the plant?

- Assuming you're not always home to change your plant over, won't there be any "gaps" of darkness?

Edited March 16, 2015 by jdenhaan

[Sir PsychoHashy]

If by middle of Sydney you mean inner city area, then even in winter it's not going to get cold enough to damage your plants outdoors.

 

So long as no one has a view of your balcony, or if you can keep them stealthy enough by controlling their height that will work, but the quality of, and the amount of sunlight will affect how well your plants perform.

 

As you are probably looking at needing short plants then a couple of weeks under a CFL (make sure it's a high wattage one, preferably 80w+) at 18hrs a day, then outside at this time of year will get you smallish plants going into flower.  No need to supplement the light outside unless you want to stop them going into flower (and those solar lights will stop that).  But, if you want them to flower on your balcony you will have to make sure your inside lights don't shine onto your balcony at night.

 

To do this during mid autumn through early spring I would recommend photoperiod plants.  And, changing from indoor light to sunlight isn't a big deal for them, from an 18w CFL to mid summer sun will cause a shock, but mine have gone from 600w HPS to sun and vice versa over the years with no problems at all.  It's a tough plant and loves good bright light.

 

The rest of the year you would probably be better with autoflower plants if you want small outside flowering plants, just start them outside as they will do better with sunlight than CFLs, but bringing them in for some extra CFL light at night would help a little.  There is nothing wrong with auto's, so long as you understand them and know what to expect from them, and in some circumstances they are the best option.

 

Personally in your situation I would recommend setting up an inside grow room of some sort.  Either a tent, or make one out of a cupboard.  High wattage CFL, LED, or preferably HPS of a wattage suited to the size of your grow room.  By doing that you can control your environment properly, you don't have to worry about plants being visible on your balcony, and you can use a carbon filter to control odours properly.  There are a couple of growers here who have cupboard setups, and there have been a few small scale stealth setups as well that may be more suitable if you are looking at small scale yields and higher stealth, have a look around. 

 

If you don't know what you are doing, do plenty of research before starting, plenty of info available on the site.  If you start a diary of your grow here you will also get plenty of advice and guidance along the way.  Best of luck

Edited March 16, 2015 by Sir PsychoHashy

[max_headroom]

Awesome! A few questions Max:

 

- what strain are you growing? Are you growing an auto or photo?

- are you not worried the constant switch between sunlight and CFL during veg will stress out the plant?

- Assuming you're not always home to change your plant over, won't there be any "gaps" of darkness?

Just using some bag seed for this. Hashy knows his stuff about growing Auto's and I would go with his reccomendations

 

I will be trying to ensure that the plants spends most of its time outside in the sunlight and a minor part of the time under lights so I am hoping this will avoid any probs.        

 

She will be in dark from about 1am till sunrise at the moment so the split is 16/8,  which I will ramp up to 18/6 over the next week. I will be around most of the time to look after them.

[jdenhaan]

Wow thanks for the comprehensive replies everyone. I'm currently at work so can't reply in depth, but will get back in the evening.

 

You raise an interesting point around lights kicking your plants out of flower. Since I live in the CBD, there's a fair amount of light pollution from other buildings. Would this have an effect on my plants?

Edited March 17, 2015 by jdenhaan

[missrachael]

That's a really interesting point and yep I reckon CBD lights could well interrupt your gals natural processes. That's why I would have thought auto's were the way to go. Doesn't matter how much light they get, as long as they get some. They flower purely based on maturity.

To get the best out of autos they need optimum veg conditions, so if the weather is going to be cool then starting them off inside in a controlled temp is a great idea. I've just started experimenting with autos and have a lot to learn. Love my big gals though.

Best of luck.