Growing Marijuana In Cold Weather

HOW TO GROW MARIJUANA IN COLD WEATHER

Most of us are not so lucky as to live in a warm climate like Southern Europe or California. Growers in those locations can cultivate their ganja all year round without much trouble, but the short summers and long winters in our climate (Northern Europe) aren’t exactly ideal if we want to grow cannabis. Then again, growing cannabis in cold weather is possible if you know how to go about it. Even better, the chillier temperatures in our climate can actually have some advantages for growing weed.

Those places around the world where cannabis grows out in the wild have plenty of sunshine, fertile soil, and an optimal outdoor temperature of 20–28°C. In Northern Europe, including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and many other parts of Europe, we can feel lucky if we get such optimal outdoor growing conditions for a few short weeks in summer. Then again, this doesn’t have to be a problem if we grow indoors.

COLD WEATHER AND GROWING CANNABIS INDOORS

The colder weather in fall and winter isn’t just a concern if you grow cannabis outdoors. Low temperatures can also affect your grow indoors. Your plants may avoid the threat of frost if they are away from the elements inside your home, but the lower temperatures combined with high humidity can still cause problems. For example, this can greatly increase the risk for mould and bud rot. However, whether your plants can get over the colder months will depend on several key factors. One of them is what type of grow lights you use.

IF YOU GROW INDOORS WITH HID GROW LIGHTS

If you’re growing cannabis indoors, as many do, the cold temperatures in fall and winter can actually be an advantage. This is true for growers who still use HID grow lights with MH or HPS bulbs. Although LED grow lights are becoming increasingly popular, the “old-fashioned” HID lights are still widely used among many. They are also the most affordable type of grow light, and cannabis growers have used these lights to successfully grow cannabis for a long time.

The problem with HID lights, however, is that these light fixtures create a ton of heat. This means that indoor growers often require special cooling systems in their grow room to keep the plants at a comfortable level. Not so during the colder months of the year! The colder temperature outside and the hot HID lights can make it so your plants can grow in just the right temperatures. This means no extra heating or cooling required for your grow room, which can help save a lot of money. Some growers take the colder months of the year as an opportunity to add more HID lights to their grow room for higher yields.

IF YOU GROW INDOORS WITH LED GROW LIGHTS

Modern LEDs are now almost, if not equally as powerful as HID lamps, yet they use only a fraction of the power of HID lights. This can add up to significant savings on the grower’s energy bill over time.

One difference to HID is that LED lights create significantly less heat. In general, this is seen as an advantage. During the warmer months of the year, LEDs won’t heat up your tent as much as HID, so you won’t need additional cooling for your grow room. Likewise, LEDs allow you to output lots of light and therefore maximise your harvest without risking heat stress or burning your plants.

On the other hand, LED lights can be a clear disadvantage in winter. Since they produce almost no heat, they can’t warm up your growing area as HID lamps do. This means you’ll likely require an extra heater so that your plants can thrive when it's colder.

The same is true for CFL (fluorescent) grow lights that are still widely used for vegging. Just like LEDs, these lamps hardly create any heat, so you will possibly need some heating solution to keep your plants happy and healthy.

COLD WEATHER AND GROWING CANNABIS OUTDOORS

Contrary to what some might say, it is possible to grow weed with good results outdoors in cooler climates. You can in fact grow outdoor marijuana all year round if you plan your grow well. For example, it can help to know the weather particular to your area so you can time your harvest to beat mould and frost. Here are our tips on how you can grow marijuana in cold weather.

1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT OUTDOOR CANNABIS STRAINS

How well a cannabis strain does in certain conditions is highly dependent on its genetics. In other words, some strains are just better suited to growing in less optimal conditions than others. One problem in our climate zone isn’t so much the colder temperatures per se, but the rainy weather in fall. If a cannabis strain requires a particularly long flowering period that would extend into the rainy months, this can lead to mould, which could destroy your precious harvest in a short time.

As such, you want to select resistant outdoor cannabis strains that have a chance of surviving in these conditions. Fast-flowering strains as well as autoflowering varieties are particularly well-suited for growing in our climate zone due to their speedy lifecycle. Unlike strains that may flower well into late fall, these fast-flowering strains will be ready much earlier. If you are growing photoperiod strains, make sure that you choose varieties with a flowering period of 9 weeks or less.

2. START YOUR MARIJUANA PLANTS INDOORS

Seedlings and young cannabis plants can be particularly sensitive to colder temperatures. Instead of planting your seeds outside, start your cannabis indoors and wait until they are strong enough for transplanting. Put them outside in late spring when there is no more risk of frost.

3. CONSIDER AUTOFLOWERS

Building upon what we said earlier, autoflowers can be perfect for less than optimal conditions outdoors. Most autoflowers will only spend 30 days or less in the vegetative phase, and will then start to go into flowering on their own. Their entire lifecycle from seed to harvest can be as short as 8 weeks. This way, you can plan your grow perfectly so that you can harvest right before frost or rainfall. What’s more, autoflowers don’t rely on hours of light exposure like photoperiod strains do. This means you can set them outside to grow and flower independently of the season.

4. KEEP A MOTHER PLANT INDOORS

Better safe than sorry! If you’re growing outdoors, you never know what might happen. Even with the best planning, something unforeseen such as frost, unexpected storms, or animals taking a liking to your plants can always occur. If you keep a mother plant or two indoors in veg, you can ride out bad weather and other unexpected things. Should something happen to your crop, not all is lost because you always have a backup!

5. USE POTS

Let’s say you found a nice spot somewhere in a forest or in some other lovely outdoor location. If you can, don’t plant your outdoor crops directly in soil, but use pots instead. This way, you can easily move your plants should it turn out that the “sunny spot” you found in spring doesn’t look so great later on in the year. With your plants in pots, you will also have the option of bringing them safely indoors when frost or heavy rain is predicted.

6. SELECT A PROPER GROW SPOT

To ensure your plants can survive any threat of frost, make sure to place them in a spot that gets direct sunlight in the morning. The reason for this is that it is better when plants can slowly defrost after a night of chill. This way, your plants may even be able to survive nights that drop below their healthy threshold for development. Growing spots near a lake or river can also be very good. They are naturally a few degrees warmer, so there is less risk for frost at night.

Tip: If frost is expected, water your plants in the evening. This protects the roots from freezing.

HOW TO GROW MARIJUANA IN COLD WEATHER—CONCLUSION

If you love to grow cannabis, you are not limited to the few warmer months of the year. No matter if you grow indoors or outdoors, with the tips from our guide, you can make sure that the colder temperatures won’t spoil the fun.

Happy growing!