(manual) Light Deprivation experiences; pros, cons, etc.

Humanrob said:

I'm tired of fighting the fall wind and rain in the part of Oregon I live in, and I'm looking for alternatives. I thought I was going to build a greenhouse, but that's not going to happen (at least not any time soon). I've been experimenting with outdoor autos, since they finish nice and early. But the big commitment option is light deprivation.

Last summer I backed out because we decided to leave the summer open for travel, and I could not commit to being available to cover and uncover the plants at 6 and 10pm every evening for 8+ weeks. This year we're having some construction done on the house so we won't go anywhere, I'm thinking since I'm stuck here maybe I'll give it a go.

I'm wondering what I'm getting myself into, the pros and cons, things that can wrong that I might not have thought of. Or is it that simple, cover and uncover and I'm pretty much assured of great results? Just to reiterate from the title, I'm not planning on investing in any mechanical equipment that automates this, so I'm looking for experiences from people who have gone through manually covering and uncovering their plants.

Click to expand...

Coloradoclear said:

Would you actually have to do it for the whole season or just trick them into flowering a couple weeks early so they would finish sooner?

Click to expand...

too larry said:

I think @thumper60 ran some light dep last year. He's in Maine, so has some of the same issues.

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

I think it depends on how early I start and what the local day length is. I'd like to start early and finish early, so I don't know that I'd take the chance, I think I'd see it through to the end...

...But I'd love to hear from folks who have done it around this latitude, and hear about if/when they stop covering it?

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

There are a few people who swear by it, maybe @SchmoeJoe has some thoughts... ?

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

I'm tired of fighting the fall wind and rain in the part of Oregon I live in, and I'm looking for alternatives. I thought I was going to build a greenhouse, but that's not going to happen (at least not any time soon). I've been experimenting with outdoor autos, since they finish nice and early. But the big commitment option is light deprivation.

Last summer I backed out because we decided to leave the summer open for travel, and I could not commit to being available to cover and uncover the plants at 6 and 10pm every evening for 8+ weeks. This year we're having some construction done on the house so we won't go anywhere, I'm thinking since I'm stuck here maybe I'll give it a go.

I'm wondering what I'm getting myself into, the pros and cons, things that can wrong that I might not have thought of. Or is it that simple, cover and uncover and I'm pretty much assured of great results? Just to reiterate from the title, I'm not planning on investing in any mechanical equipment that automates this, so I'm looking for experiences from people who have gone through manually covering and uncovering their plants.

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

I think it depends on how early I start and what the local day length is. I'd like to start early and finish early, so I don't know that I'd take the chance, I think I'd see it through to the end...

...But I'd love to hear from folks who have done it around this latitude, and hear about if/when they stop covering it?

Click to expand...

UncleBuck said:

you can easily get two crops through, maybe even three if you get lucky with weather

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

That’s what i’ve heard, but I’m not in it for the money and I don’t need tons, I just need one decent crop to finish.

Click to expand...

thumper60 said:

mine go in-out of barn every day by hand,if it rains they stay in nice an dry.have a gh but full season only

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

I knew a guy who did this, he grew them on those heavy duty farm carts that look like John Deere made an industrial Radio Flyer kid's wagon and he'd roll them in and out of his barn every day. I don't have a barn or out building that would work with, but it's definitely one solution for those who do.

The only advice I've been given so far is to cover and uncover them in the evening as opposed to leaving them covered overnight, because that can trap in moisture and cause mold or PM.

Maybe we can track some grows here, start times, finish times and final weights could be interesting. I'm thinking I still want short flower time strains, I'm not looking to cover/uncover for 10-12 weeks.

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

I'm tired of fighting the fall wind and rain in the part of Oregon I live in, and I'm looking for alternatives. I thought I was going to build a greenhouse, but that's not going to happen (at least not any time soon). I've been experimenting with outdoor autos, since they finish nice and early. But the big commitment option is light deprivation.

Last summer I backed out because we decided to leave the summer open for travel, and I could not commit to being available to cover and uncover the plants at 6 and 10pm every evening for 8+ weeks. This year we're having some construction done on the house so we won't go anywhere, I'm thinking since I'm stuck here maybe I'll give it a go.

I'm wondering what I'm getting myself into, the pros and cons, things that can wrong that I might not have thought of. Or is it that simple, cover and uncover and I'm pretty much assured of great results? Just to reiterate from the title, I'm not planning on investing in any mechanical equipment that automates this, so I'm looking for experiences from people who have gone through manually covering and uncovering their plants.

Click to expand...

petert said:

Hey. I’m down in the gorge and bought a manual light dep setup from Humboldt light dep. All in for a 16 x 26 PVC hoop house was right around $750.
I actually put mine inside my 30x50 gothic style greenhouse, I’ve hung 5 Gavita Pro inside and will be running two 4x4 flood and drain hydro trays and 21 five gallon fabric pots. I wish I could have gone fully auto, but I’m going to get a harvest or two in before pulling the string on the motors and controllers.
I’ll be getting three harvests this year for sure with the supplemental lighting.

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

There are a few people who swear by it, maybe @SchmoeJoe has some thoughts... ?

Click to expand...

SchmoeJoe said:

I'm also in Western Oregon so I know exactly what you're dealing with. I ran mine to produce two full crops with a big veg so I used lights to start the first sets vegging in March and April. The second sets I covered until early September when they'd normally be deep into flowering anyway before I stopped uncovering.

If you just want one good crop I'd shoot for harvesting by end of August at the latest. Sooner would be better. If you can plan ahead to have plants ready to flower by around mid May then you can flower during the time of peak light quality and before the time of peak heat.

Just make sure to have good light proof exhaust and intake during the time it's covered and be consistent within a few minutes of your cover and uncover times.

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

Thanks for the good information. You are the first person to mention exhaust fans, are you leaving the cover on all night or just during the evening hours to shorten the day?

Finishing in August would be great, hopefully the rippers that were here last year will be looking for another crop in late September and I'd be dried and jarred before they come around.

I could be wrong, but it seems that the people who do light dep are making their living from their grows. I say that because I don't know how many "hobby" growers are trying to pack more than one outdoor grow into each summer, and that seems to be a common reason for doing it. It makes me wonder if most of the people doing light dep are using automated methods of covering and uncovering?

Click to expand...

SchmoeJoe said:

I know a guy who's running, I think, 5 different sites this year with all manual light dep. He's obviously commercial. For the commercial grower the advantages of multiple harvests and beating the full season harvest flood are huge.

You don't have to be a commercial grower to make the hassle of the manual light dep worth it. Better quality, absolutely no mold (as long as you maintain good air exchanges), and beating the rippers are huge advantages.

I personally leave the blackout plastic on overnight. It's more convenient since my schedule allows me to be there at whatever time to cover/uncover and I also have street lights and the neighbors porch lights to deal with. I think it also lends an extra layer of security. Anyone trying to creep in in the night won't be able to see into greenhouse. That leaves another unknown in their mind which can lead to heightened anxiety in an already high stress scenario which gives me another advantage and could lead to them hesitating which buys me more time to respond to my alarm system or could even cause them even to just call it off.

Click to expand...

Humanrob said:

There are definitely a lot of advantages to doing it. If I go that route this year, I'd probably be doing it over just two plants. It seems like a lot of work for such a small harvest, but it would be the first time I've ever grown pot outside where I actually got to choose when it came down, and was not forced to take it down earlier than I wanted to because of bad weather. That would be priceless.

As a side note, my neighbors have security lights that are on all night and shine into my yard, and we have a street light (the new cooler blue cob/led type) that is less than 50 ft from where I grow, and so far I haven't had any problems from that. Maybe I've been lucky.

Click to expand...