Shortage of Direst Sunlight

bigbo420

Well-Known Member
My next years grow will be outdoor. Generally speaking our plants should be getting 5 hours of direct sun light and 5 or more hours of indeirect sunlight. My issue is that my next grow will be in cleared out site in the middle of a forest. Being that trees will over top, will there be any other consequences? The obvious is lowered yields but I plan on countering this by using uncle ben's topping method for 4 colas and then LSTing them to allow for the most light penetration. Any advice or concerns I may not be thinking about plz let me know, it will be very appreciated.


For further info:

The strain will be Delicious Seeds Critical Sensi Star, I will veg to 5th node then top right above 2nd node. After this I will allow plant to vegetate until the plant is 22-36" tall then LST. (Should have mentioned ill be doing this indoor from March to April-May) then ill put outside in Sub's Supersoil.
 

hic

Well-Known Member
one concern is the stretch, if heigth is an issue. second concern would be that the sun is not in the same spot in august as it is in may. Therefore even more increasing hours of indirect sunlight, which in return has a sizeable ability to hinder the finished product.

one bit of advise - cut down more of the trees and junk to the south of the plants
 

bigbo420

Well-Known Member
Im not to worried with stretch , being the grow is outdoors and trees above atleast 45'. My only issue is I have chosen in the woods to avoid issues with helicopters above. Ill prob chop everything above and south except the very top forest canopy.
 

|3laze

Member
Less sun means less yield period, no topping technique will fix that. Usually buds that get less sun are less dense and produce less resin too. Sunlight is probably one of the most single important things when growing outside - the more sun the better.
 

hic

Well-Known Member
Less sun means less yield period, no topping technique will fix that. Usually buds that get less sun are less dense and produce less resin too. Sunlight is probably one of the most single important things when growing outside - the more sun the better.

it's true.
 

bigbo420

Well-Known Member
I could of handled lowered yields, but reduced resin production is something I can not have. As I stated I will be definetly but chopping so trees up high, maybe ill go cut em cut em this winter after a huge storm so it looks somewhat legit. And so any air traffic get used to it for a few months before I set up.
 

|3laze

Member
That's a good idea. Remove as much as you can from the south without exposing the grow. The orientation and slope of your garden can make a difference as any farmer will tell you. The more southern exposure the better. Also, a slight slope at around 5 degrees will give you the same solar exposure as a flat site 100 miles further south.
 

ClamDigger

Active Member
personally i have a 12" mini bow saw a machete and an awesome Gerber Axe.
if you dont wanna kill the trees climb them and limb them with the saw :D
you only need to kill half the branches-the ones facing east and west, so the tree still looks normal and you get more sun.
where i live in BC theres swampy areas, the ph of the swamp itself is around 4 so its a dead zone. but theres normally an area on the edge of the swamp that can be easily slashed for 50 plants and nice southern exposure because of the swamp.
like Blaze says the slope is really important.
have fun!
 

bigbo420

Well-Known Member
Thanks Blaze and Clam. I was actually jus thinking about the slope issue. Im not the brightest tool in the shed lol. But now knowing how many degrees helps tons. Ill prob chop 3-8 degrees both east and west of the grow site. I'm actually planning on digging some large holes, filling them with a lil gravel then setting some pots inside with sub's supersoil to grow in. Maybe I can then beat the heat by providing the direct light at the two coolest times of the day
 

|3laze

Member
I wouldn't worry too much about heat, unless you think you will not have enough water to keep them hydrated. It gets as hot as 115 in the summer where I am at sometimes and my plants are in open, full sun all day long. The plants don't like it when it gets that hot, but so long as they have enough water they will be OK. You really cannot over-do how much sun they get.
 

bigbo420

Well-Known Member
Heat shouldn't b an issue I should have access to them pretty regularly and intend on setting up sometime of watring system so that I don't have to visit as often. Only thing I worry wit heat is if it will cause my buds to be a lil less dense
 
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