ByrneBurnham
- 200
- 63
Good afternoon my fellow farmers ! ! As a new person to the State of Colorado I'm gettin my first taste of COOOOOOL nights. Im down around 37* Lat' and as of late its been getting into the LOW 40's overnight. Woke up this a.m. to find the therm' sitting comfortably at 38*. The question I have is what novel ideas do others have at keeping a coldframe that measures 4' (depth)-8' (length) and about 4.5' (height) warm at night ?
So far I've thought of using the following: black gallon milk jugs filled with H2O placed throughout the enclosure (of course the jugs being placed in full sunlight the entire day to really warm up), a "flannel blanket pocket" ( 2 blankets of equal size stuffed with straw and then sewn along the entire perimeter) with each "blanket pocket" sized to fit all "sides and top" of the coldframe, and a few slabs of iron sprayed black to soak in the Sun's warmth during the day also placed throughout the enclosure.
The plants will all be in their own 66 quart storage tote - amended soil is the medium. This "enclosure" will be AWAY from any structure that has electricity (my preferred location) BUT - I do have a spot where I can run an extension cord to an alternate location BUT that area has a huge tree to the South of the it (and we all know that as we head into the Fall the Sun's track goes further South) which means my enclosure would be in the shade for the better part of the shortened day.
Would the above methods keep my plants warm over the next 2 months during flowering - or is it better to go with the alternate location and run a small heater out to the enclosure and just accept the shaded light throughout the day ? My plants are about 2 months from being done as they have just finished preflowering and Im starting to get clumps of pistils forming at most nodes. I should also point out that my enclosure will have 6 mil' plastic cloth "panels" on all sides and top as Im reading more about the benefits of diffused light (plus it'll keep these cold winds from making the ladies even chillier). I will be able to tend to the enclosure daily (multiple times in a day if need be) to place the plastic panels on days that are more windy.
This is NOT a guerilla grow-this enclosure will be on my own property.
Sorry to be so longwinded but just wanted to give you experienced cold weather farmers a good overview of what Im working with........
I thought about placing this in the Colorado forum but realized the U.S. and World too have cooler/colder climates.
Thanks in advance for all of the helpful tips that may come in.
B.B.
So far I've thought of using the following: black gallon milk jugs filled with H2O placed throughout the enclosure (of course the jugs being placed in full sunlight the entire day to really warm up), a "flannel blanket pocket" ( 2 blankets of equal size stuffed with straw and then sewn along the entire perimeter) with each "blanket pocket" sized to fit all "sides and top" of the coldframe, and a few slabs of iron sprayed black to soak in the Sun's warmth during the day also placed throughout the enclosure.
The plants will all be in their own 66 quart storage tote - amended soil is the medium. This "enclosure" will be AWAY from any structure that has electricity (my preferred location) BUT - I do have a spot where I can run an extension cord to an alternate location BUT that area has a huge tree to the South of the it (and we all know that as we head into the Fall the Sun's track goes further South) which means my enclosure would be in the shade for the better part of the shortened day.
Would the above methods keep my plants warm over the next 2 months during flowering - or is it better to go with the alternate location and run a small heater out to the enclosure and just accept the shaded light throughout the day ? My plants are about 2 months from being done as they have just finished preflowering and Im starting to get clumps of pistils forming at most nodes. I should also point out that my enclosure will have 6 mil' plastic cloth "panels" on all sides and top as Im reading more about the benefits of diffused light (plus it'll keep these cold winds from making the ladies even chillier). I will be able to tend to the enclosure daily (multiple times in a day if need be) to place the plastic panels on days that are more windy.
This is NOT a guerilla grow-this enclosure will be on my own property.
Sorry to be so longwinded but just wanted to give you experienced cold weather farmers a good overview of what Im working with........
I thought about placing this in the Colorado forum but realized the U.S. and World too have cooler/colder climates.
Thanks in advance for all of the helpful tips that may come in.
B.B.