trying to grow in winter in OHIO

[RTHzHTGzGTP]

i will be using a 3'X4' cold frame, i have already put 6 cubic feet of fresh planting soil in and i am germinating around 20 seeds now... i was wondering if anybody had any ideas that might help...

RTHzHTGzGTP Reviewed by RTHzHTGzGTP on 10-25-2008. trying to grow in winter in OHIO i will be using a 3'X4' cold frame, i have already put 6 cubic feet of fresh planting soil in and i am germinating around 20 seeds now... i was wondering if anybody had any ideas that might help... Rating: 5

[lunarose]

Hi, You will need some kind of heating element especially at night I don't think using a passive system will work. Also you'll need to supplement the lighting because the days are too short. I tried doing a greenhouse grow last year here in s.ca. now while our winter was mild enough not to kill my seedlings they stayed seedlings until the end of Feb when the weather got more favorable.

[trinitybound]

You'll want to use a space heater and a heating pad or soil heating cables and keep the pots off the ground. Supplemental lighting and a space heater will be necessary as well. For heartier growth the plants will need more potassium and phosporus in the winter.
I'm interested to see how this goes.

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[RTHzHTGzGTP]

that's the problem, it's in the woods... around 1/3 mile from the nearest outlet. so i need a battery powered heater of some kind, as well as a small lighting system with a timer... or just use the light as the heat and kill two birds with one stone? I have NO idea how i'm going to do it, but i have 2-3 days to figure it out. (which is why i asked for help...)

[lunarose]

Truthfully I have my doubts on this one. There are these bladders that fit around pots that hold water in them the water warms up a bit during the day when there is sun and because water releases heat slowly they keep the roots from getting too cold but I am unsure how they would work in such a cold climate. As far as a heating system goes you can look at the propane powered heaters but the cost may be problematic. As for the lighting goes you can rig a solar system but then again its costly and I have no idea how much sun you get in winter and if it would be enough. My guess is that you'd be better off in spending the money on an inside grow.

[IAmKowalski]

I'm gonna have to second lunarose there - it's about to get cold as hell and your plants aren't going to receive enough hours of light in the winter. You would be better off directing your money and energy toward throwing together an indoor grow. Save the outdoor for spring and populate it with nice healthy clones that have had a headstart inside this winter.

[RTHzHTGzGTP]

ok, i've looked and looked and looked... and i'm going to do it anyway, despite REDICULUS amounts of critisism from various sources around the net. I'll put up updates mabey once a week with pics when things get moving. hopefully i'll have something to look at in about 3 weeks. we'll see...

[seattlesmoke247]

very cool man, i will be watching for your updates.. i am pondering this idea as well, let me know how you chose to do it!

[imagoober]

Id say good luck, but lets be realistic your setting yourself up to fail. The only species that will take the cold weather and lack of sunlight is Ruderalis, and they produce very low amounts of THC. Id say save you seeds but to late. Im guessing this is you first grow, (sorry if im wrong) so some seeds wont germinate then youll kill a few and later on more problems. This will happen with good conditions, conditions and experience you wont have. Growing is not as easy as it sounds!

Sure would suck if you got caught trying to grow plants with no yield or werent going to make it.

[RTHzHTGzGTP]

your right! this is my first grow. and if i was alone, i would be totally screwed, just like you said. and your right again in that growing is not as easy as it sounds... However i have a few aces in the hole which is going to make all the difference: #1. I have a partner who pretty much knows everything about everything when it comes to weed. #2. i built the habitat that the plants are going into specifically for growing in the winter. and last but not least #3. i've done my homework, and not only should they survive the winter, they should turn out some pretty potent stuff at the end. Either way this is going to be interesting... Just look at it this way, if i fail then i learn something in the process. If i succeed, then people who originally thought they couldn't grow in the winter might be able to. either way it's a win-win situation.