Outdoor with limited sunlight...

So, reality check, my yard does not have full sunlight all day. It gets full direct sunlight for about 6 hours a day, from about noon to six pm (this is my second summer here, I'm pretty sure as the sun gets higher in July it will be 7+ hours, if I recall correctly).

I can list the strains I have if that helps, they are all (supposed to be) hybrids that are Sativa dominant. I don't need a monster crop, I'm growing for a single patient, I'll be happy if they all finish without bugs, mold, or wind damage.

Just wondering what I should expect from outdoor plants with only that much sunlight. Anyone else growing in less than optimal conditions? How'd it go?

If you get less than 4 h0ours expect early flower

redeyedfrog said:

If you get less than 4 h0ours expect early flower

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Early flowering would be a bonus! Fall here the weather turns hostile for plants -- wind, rain, very unpredictable.

Ive grown plants outdoors in a variety of differwnt light conditions. What ive noticed from spots with 4 hours or less it diminishes yield pretty bad, as low as an oz a plant.

6-7 hours is about avg for most of my spots and theyget around 3-6 per plant depending on strain.

Obviously more is better and ive noticed in fields they can produce as much as other factors will allow.

caveman117 said:

Ive grown plants outdoors in a variety of differwnt light conditions. What ive noticed from spots with 4 hours or less it diminishes yield pretty bad, as low as an oz a plant.

6-7 hours is about avg for most of my spots and theyget around 3-6 per plant depending on strain.

Obviously more is better and ive noticed in fields they can produce as much as other factors will allow.

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Do you find that they stretch a lot? In anticipation that the plants are going to be seeking more light, I've been planning on ways to train them in addition to topping them. As a medical grower my plants can't be seen publicly, and I have a six foot fence (maximum for the zoning), so I need to keep my plants under 6' tall. I'm not sure if the lack of light will cause them to grow more slowly, or tend to grow tall and lanky. I'll take it as it comes and deal with it as I go, but its nice to have an idea of what is most likely to happen.

If I put out the full six I'm allowed, I can only have 24oz at any given time, so 4oz of good stuff per plant is sufficient (and all the small stuff would become butter, tincture, etc.). I'd love to get 6oz from each, and only have to grow four plants. When next year rolls around, I'll have a much better idea of what the yard will produce.

The only outdoor grows I've been around in the past were in farm fields in the hills that had excellent light exposure, and the plants produced what one would expect from nearly optimal conditions. I've got good soil, less than optimal sunlight, and a short growing season. We work with what we've got.

They'll get lanky, so stay on top of that and thin the undergrowth extra hard. They may also finish earlier than same strains with more direct sun, but only by a week or 2. Really watch for mold as without that sun (esp. morning sun), they'll be more prone to it because it will take longer to dry out from day to day. Good luck!

calicocalyx said:

They'll get lanky, so stay on top of that and thin the undergrowth extra hard. They may also finish earlier than same strains with more direct sun, but only by a week or 2. Really watch for mold as without that sun (esp. morning sun), they'll be more prone to it because it will take longer to dry out from day to day. Good luck!

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Thanks for that! I do have structures that are covered with plastic that should keep the rain off come September, and will hopefully vent sufficiently to not build up moisture inside. I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on them.

Imo they won't finish properly, definitely lower yield and not as potent.

707humboldt said:

Imo they won't finish properly, definitely lower yield and not as potent.

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Lower yields I'd be OK with, lower potency would be disappointing, but I can see how that could happen.


So far the plants I put outside early (4-26-15) are growing more slowly and have longer spaces between nodes than the ones I kept inside under 18/6 lights. I'm hoping that once June comes around the sun will be strong enough to make up for the slow (colder) spring start, and that even under 6 or 7 hours of direct sunlight they will grow prolifically. Either way, I have two more I'll put out around June 1st, and in the future I think I'll veg all of them indoors until then.

For the same budget, an outdoor grow seems to easily have the potential to outperform an indoor grow (obviously assuming you've got sufficient exposure). In my situation, it will be interesting to see how they compare. Since I can barely afford the electric bill and have no A/C, practically speaking I can't grow indoors during the summer anyway, the space would be way too hot. So whatever my outdoor produces, that's what I'll get for that stretch of time. If it goes as well as most people seem to think it will, month for month -- even with limited sun exposure -- it should outperform my indoor. Time will tell.

I promise you that you CAN grow big beautiful plants with that amount of light. My grow area is shaded by a 3 story apartment building on one side, my house on the other, and trees etc as well. I get pretty much the same light as you do, starting around 11-12 and fading off in the early evening/late afternoon. But I still manage to grow big, high yield plants every year. Starting early in the season helps, but root space is by far the most important factor in my experience.
My plants get at big as 12 feet wide, and can yield multiple pounds per plant but thats when started indoors. Starting now you could still yield a pound.
Girl Scout Cookies that yielded about 5 lbs.

Cookies bud

Trainwreck 5 lbs with buds the length of my arm. Over an ounce a piece.

Purple Diesel 4 lbs

Purple Diesel bud that finished the size of a baseball bat for size reference.
http://instagram.com/p/0MhCuTr0O4/
Trainwreck
http://instagram.com/p/0OqsdVr0I7/
Blue Dream, to show you can still get quality meds with less light.
http://instagram.com/p/0MhUfzr0PO/

Shoot for the stars and don't let anything hold you back.

mine are shaded by huge oak trees until about 11am then get shaded again about 730 - 8. I still get 2 - 4 pounds a plant


how shaded are they? just because it's not direct light doesn't mean its' not getting pretty good light.

MjMama said:

I promise you that you CAN grow big beautiful plants with that amount of light. My grow area is shaded by a 3 story apartment building on one side, my house on the other, and trees etc as well. I get pretty much the same light as you do, starting around 11-12 and fading off in the early evening/late afternoon. But I still manage to grow big, high yield plants every year. Starting early in the season helps, but root space is by far the most important factor in my experience.
My plants get at big as 12 feet wide, and can yield multiple pounds per plant but thats when started indoors. Starting now you could still yield a pound.
Girl Scout Cookies that yielded about 5 lbs.
View attachment 3416931
Cookies bud
View attachment 3416953
Trainwreck 5 lbs with buds the length of my arm. Over an ounce a piece.
View attachment 3416939
Purple Diesel 4 lbs
View attachment 3416942
Purple Diesel bud that finished the size of a baseball bat for size reference.
http://instagram.com/p/0MhCuTr0O4/
Trainwreck
http://instagram.com/p/0OqsdVr0I7/
Blue Dream, to show you can still get quality meds with less light.
http://instagram.com/p/0MhUfzr0PO/

Shoot for the stars and don't let anything hold you back.

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WOW! thanks for sharing that information. I notice your post ends with "NorCal Lady Grower" -- so I accept the possibility that you present, but my reality is most likely different. At my latitude (NW Oregon) and in my micro-climate (down-wind of the Gorge) -- not to argue for my own limitations, but -- there will be temperature and precipitation factors that will provide me with some restrictions that you don't have. But based on light alone, your grows are truly impressive! Definitely something to strive for.

unspecified said:

mine are shaded by huge oak trees until about 11am then get shaded again about 730 - 8. I still get 2 - 4 pounds a plant

how shaded are they? just because it's not direct light doesn't mean its' not getting pretty good light.

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It's neighbors tall trees on the east and south/east, and one of ours on the west side of the yard, and then a tree covered hill across the street to the west. So from noon to six it is full direct unrestricted sunlight (obviously except for cloud cover...), there is some dappled morning light between 8 and 9 (at least with the suns current position) and again maybe from 6-6:30pm, otherwise the cover is pretty dense. Here in Oregon, we generally have full sunshine from June into September.

MjMama said:

...but root space is by far the most important factor in my experience.

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I dug a hole 5' x 2.5' x 2+' deep, and based on something I read (I don't recall where) I decided to line the hole with a water permeable weed barrier. It was then filled with a mix of really good varied soil. Two girls went into that space. The other two are going into 100 gallon smart pots, filled with the same quality soil mix. Hopefully that will be a good start for them.

Humanrob said:

It's neighbors tall trees on the east and south/east, and one of ours on the west side of the yard, and then a tree covered hill across the street to the west. So from noon to six it is full direct unrestricted sunlight (obviously except for cloud cover...), there is some dappled morning light between 8 and 9 (at least with the suns current position) and again maybe from 6-6:30pm, otherwise the cover is pretty dense. Here in Oregon, we generally have full sunshine from June into September.



I dug a hole 5' x 2.5' x 2+' deep, and based on something I read (I don't recall where) I decided to line the hole with a water permeable weed barrier. It was then filled with a mix of really good varied soil. Two girls went into that space. The other two are going into 100 gallon smart pots, filled with the same quality soil mix. Hopefully that will be a good start for them.

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I wouldn't be too worried about it, you should do pretty well. just make sure you have lots of good soil.

An update, in case anyone is curious. Two went outside on April 20th (the ones under the mini-hoop-house turned into a scrog), and two more went out on May 15th (into the structure in 100 gallon smart pots), and two more smaller ones went out on June 2nd. I want to keep these short and wide, if possible. Two of them I planned on scrog'ing, the third one was just growing too tall too fast, so I put down the net to spread her out and slow her down. All the plants were topped twice.

Because the angle of the sun changed, they get about one extra hour of sun in the morning, but then they are still only getting the 6+/- during the hottest part of the day, noon to 6pm. They are doing really well, I hope my spaces are going to be big enough for them. The two under the scrog are planted under an old steel kids play thing that was in the yard when we moved here, so I'll use that to drape plastic over come fall to keep the rain off of them.

I think that scrog'ing lets the plants optimize the sun they get, since the sun is mostly directly over head when its hitting them. Since they are spread out horizontally, they have more surface area facing the sun with the fewest possible leaves in their own shade.

looking good! I like that first pic, lots of tops

calicocalyx said:

looking good! I like that first pic, lots of tops

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Thanks! I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough light to grow dense plants, but at this point I'm thinking next year I may start later so that they stay smaller! If I could force flip them to 12/12 right now I would, but I'll be traveling periodically this summer, and won't be around on a daily basis to cover and uncover them on a schedule.

The ones I put in earliest are starting to show signs of bud sites/early flowering, more than the ones that went in mid-May. I hope they flower and finish early. We're just past the Solstice, I've been told the stretch will start by mid-July, but they already seem like they are growing an inch a day.

Humanrob said:

The ones I put in earliest are starting to show signs of bud sites/early flowering, more than the ones that went in mid-May. I hope they flower and finish early. We're just past the Solstice, I've been told the stretch will start by mid-July, but they already seem like they are growing an inch a day.

View attachment 3445550

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Nice plants

oragrow said:

Nice plants

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Thanks. It's my first outdoor grow, and I wasn't sure what to expect from the yard I'm growing these in. It looks like if I do my part, the plants will do the rest.