Greenhouse Perpetual Grow In The Tropics

[cbdhemp808]

• • •
I am currently on grid on the outskirts of a small town in the Colombian Andes, seeking to go off-grid in the Colombian Andes in a farming area.
We still have a few snags to work out with the visa process (and we will see what happens after the election), but if everything goes well, we hope to build a self-sustainable farm.
We lose power every few weeks here, so it makes sense to figure out how to use a greenhouse. I don't think the yields or the intensity will ever compare to indoors under lights, but at least it will be free, and natural.

what's your climate and temps like, year round?

Right now I have a makeshift pvc-pipe-and-plastic greenhouse, but if we can find a good place, probably we will build one in glass.

I understand glass blocks UVB light, which could impact resin and THC production.

Right now I am growing everything autos, because we have super strong night security lights here (and you can literally read by them).
When I can I want to go back to photoperiods, but for right now I want to learn all I can about autos, in case for some reason I am not able to get rid of the night security light situation.

I don't know much about autos... not an auto grower. autos can be very fast. the big drawback... no cloning.

Your plants are looking good!

thanks!

 

[CBDMed]

I looked for a few of those a few years ago when I started but couldn't find them available. Probably a lot better now.

I like indica dominant. Maybe I'll have a look at that Harle-Tsu.

I've got both Harlequin and Harle-Tsu in the deep fridge, awaiting the day I can grow photoperiods again.
I've got other flavors I like lots better, but something about Harlequin dials me in like digital. If I have an important engagement and cannot afford to "be autistic", when I have it, I reach for the Harlequin or Harle-Tsu.

**Edit** I forget is Harle-Tsu was a sleeper, but straight Harlequin was my best flower for when I needed to be "on point" and sharp. Love that strain!

ACDC was a great strain for use, but I won't comment on the taste... and, I dunno, it was like the effect was somewhat short lived (at least for me).
For me, as an autistic patient, Harlequin is the one to beat (but maybe that is just my personal makeup).

 

[CBDMed]

Hey @el gringuito, you are most welcome! Yeah, I've got a veg/clone house and a flower house. I use photoperiod lighting in the veg house... i.e. "night interruption", to control flowering. I'm off-grid in Hawaii, where are you?

Did you just start night interruption? How is it working for you?

 

[CBDMed]

what's your climate and temps like, year round?

Right now I am in a vacation area with a "perpetual spring" climate.
In summer it is SUPPOSED to be maybe highs of 78 and lows of 55, but we "are not getting a summer' here.
The winter normal is maybe highs of 70-72 and lows of 45 (extreme) and 50-55 normal.
I stunted some plants because I did not have doors on the greenhouse (only a hoop tunnel, no doors).
I put doors on the greenhouse now, so I don't stunt anything, but it still gets cooler inside at 3AM.
The house is concrete, so there is some thermal mass, and I have all the plants living permanently on seedling heat mats (which I am not sure is good, but I don't want the roots to get colder than 55F).

Hopefully we can get the visa mess cleaned up in a week or two (it has been a real hassle, but I think we are poised for victory).
If we can get the visa mess cleaned up, we saw some property that is very affordable, but maybe 10-12F cooler, so if we go there, we would need a better greenhouse, that seals better.
(I was not realizing the need to seal it better when I built this one. Mostly I was looking for a rain covering, so the buds did not get wet with rain).

I understand glass blocks UVB light, which could impact resin and THC production.

Ahhh..... than glass would be bad.
Do you know about those polycarbonate sheets? Do they block anything?
I can build a taller hoop-tunnel, and I can even seal a hoop-tunnel, but I probably won't completely seal this one while I am here, because to vent on hot days (alleged summer) you want to take both doors off.

I don't know much about autos... not an auto grower. autos can be very fast. the big drawback... no cloning.

Hmm.... ok, wait. Is that Red Kross an autoflower? Or photoperiod?
I have lots of auto seeds, but I am trying to transition to auto regular, because I hate paying for auto seeds! (They just don't throw enough for $10-13 a seed, plus shipping.)

thanks!

Thank you!

 

[CBDMed]

What are your temperatures and climate like, year-round?
What is your humidity like?

Do you have any humidity or ventilation issues in your greenhouse?

How do you work fans and ventilation?

Do you have any special pest issues in the greenhouse?

What is your general construction?

Sorry, I am on a work sprint right now, but when I get a moment I will back up and read from the start.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Hmm.... ok, wait. Is that Red Kross an autoflower? Or photoperiod?

It's autoflower regular seed! I recommend the company... they are good people.

I'll write more to answer your other questions. Gotta get offline... 2:35am here.

 

[CBDMed]

It's autoflower regular seed! I recommend the company... they are good people.

I'll write more to answer your other questions. Gotta get offline... 2:35am here.

Yaaah--Hoo!

 

[CBDMed]

Also, whenever you get time, what are your daily highs and lows inside and outside the greenhouse?
I assume that with Hawaii, there is also some humidity?
I hope you have a good rest.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Did you just start night interruption? How is it working for you?

I've been using it exclusively since I started growing in Hawaii. It works perfectly. I use several 13w daylight spectrum LED bulbs, as you can see in my grow pics. They go on automatically at midnight, 2am, and 4am for 2 minutes each. Sometimes the lower parts of a plant won't get enough light, so those lowest branches will develop flowers, but it's not a problem.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Right now I am in a vacation area with a "perpetual spring" climate.
In summer it is SUPPOSED to be maybe highs of 78 and lows of 55, but we "are not getting a summer' here.
The winter normal is maybe highs of 70-72 and lows of 45 (extreme) and 50-55 normal.

Sounds good... somewhat similar to our climate. For us, temps can get up to mid 80s in the summer, rarely above 85. Usually it's mid to high 70s to 80 or so. Temps can get down to 65° or lower at night. Very lowest would be high 50s.

I stunted some plants because I did not have doors on the greenhouse (only a hoop tunnel, no doors).
I put doors on the greenhouse now, so I don't stunt anything, but it still gets cooler inside at 3AM.
The house is concrete, so there is some thermal mass, and I have all the plants living permanently on seedling heat mats (which I am not sure is good, but I don't want the roots to get colder than 55F).

You could try black trashcans filled with water as thermal mass, to collect solar warmth.

Hopefully we can get the visa mess cleaned up in a week or two (it has been a real hassle, but I think we are poised for victory).
If we can get the visa mess cleaned up, we saw some property that is very affordable, but maybe 10-12F cooler, so if we go there, we would need a better greenhouse, that seals better.
(I was not realizing the need to seal it better when I built this one. Mostly I was looking for a rain covering, so the buds did not get wet with rain).

Yes, that's another element... warming it up enough in the cold season. But it also needs to be ventilated and cool enough in the hot season. Our large greenhouse, which I am modifying, used to get into the high 90s and 100, in the middle of summer. The cannabis I was growing in there survived, but the plants definitely didn't like that much heat.

Ahhh..... than glass would be bad.
Do you know about those polycarbonate sheets? Do they block anything?

Yes, I am using clear polycarbonate sheets from Home Depot on my flower house, and they double as a rainwater catchment surface. I recall they don't block UV like glass does. They are expensive. On the other two greenhouses I am using 6 mil, 4 year greenhouse plastic, which does have UV blocking built-in; however, I think less than what glass does. Someday I'd like to go 100% polycarbonate.

I can build a taller hoop-tunnel, and I can even seal a hoop-tunnel, but I probably won't completely seal this one while I am here, because to vent on hot days (alleged summer) you want to take both doors off.

In our climate, there needs to be extensive air flow through the greenhouses. Our large greenhouse is a custom design which is like a hoop house setting on top of short walls. The walls are 4 tall screens setting on top of a 2 ft wall of masonite. Even with 4 large window fans running in the screen wall, it wasn't enough to bring the temp down sufficiently in the summer. That's when I realized that we needed a "ridge vent," meaning the PVC hoops are cut at the top to allow a ~2 ft. gap. This is where the fans would be mounted to pull the hot air out of the top of the ceiling. This is one of my projects... to complete the changes on the big greenhouse and get it online again.

My current veg house is another design, about 12 x 16 ft, with tall screen walls... 2 ft. base wall of masonite or metal roofing, then 5 ft. of screen, and then the rest is open above that. The PVC hoops are more "flattened"... just bowed enough for it to work, and I have a trick design that brings it all together. This greenhouse is designed for max airflow, and I'm hoping that it won't need any fans in the summer.

My flower house is similar in design to the veg house, a bit smaller, and with the polycarbonate roofing. It's up on an old deck. The walls are completely open.

 

[cbdhemp808]

What are your temperatures and climate like, year-round?

answered above

What is your humidity like?

right now around 70%. it rains a lot here.

Do you have any humidity or ventilation issues in your greenhouse?

no humidity problems, except I think it contributes to the mold problem, but not specific to the greenhouse. the more airflow the better. I answered more about heat issues above.

How do you work fans and ventilation?

When I had the fans set up in the big greenhouse, they were on a temperature-activated AC outlet. They were set to go on if the temp got up to various settings, but as I explained, it was never enough... need to modify and create a ridge vent. explained above.

Do you have any special pest issues in the greenhouse?

No, not specific to the greenhouses. Our worst pest is a little bug called a flea hopper... I just sprayed all plants today with a solution of 2 TBS neem, 1 TBS Bronner's soap, 12 drops limonene, in 1 gal water, pump sprayer. Neem is also good to kill fungus.

What is your general construction?

As I described above, 3 different designs. The two smaller greenhouses... the walls are built using 8 ft. 2x3s, and 2x2s. They are very simple, minimal use of lumber. I don't really want to post photos, but I'll try to put together some drawings.

 

[Azimuth]

That's when I realized that we needed a "ridge vent," meaning the PVC hoops are cut at the top to allow a ~2 ft. gap. This is where the fans would be mounted to pull the hot air out of the top of the ceiling.

I've been thinking about installing a ridge vent system in my attic. In the summer the heat just builds and builds up there and pushes down into the house making things very uncomfortable.

I'm thinking about installing the rigid drainage pipe, the one riddled with the small holes, along the underside of the ridge along the length of the roof with an in-line fan on the far end pulling the air thru and then venting thru the wall vent at that end of the house.

I figure the rigid pipe would give some structure to the air flow and the holes in the pipe would suck the hottest air at that top point thru the pipe creating a current of air to evacuate the hottest air and replace it with cooler makeup air from the soffit vents. I'd just hang the pipe from the roof trusses so there would be no major construction needed and pretty minimal cost to test it out.

We'd only need it maybe 10-15 days a year at most, but that could be quite an improvement if it worked.

 

[cbdhemp808]

The dreaded flea hoppers have returned, as they do seasonally. I sprayed all plants in veg house and flower house with my neem mixture: 2 tbsp neem oil, 1 tbsp Bronner's peppermint soap, 12 drops limonene, in 1 gal of water in the pump sprayer, shake very well. I concentrated the spray on the lower half of the plants, top and bottom of leaf surfaces.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Here's some pics I took today in the veg house...

The big plants are now 7 ft. tall, 8 ft. if you include the pot.

Deep green foliage of the Gelato cross.

Godzilla among the giants.

Godzilla from another angle.

 

[CBDMed]

I've been using it exclusively since I started growing in Hawaii. It works perfectly. I use several 13w daylight spectrum LED bulbs, as you can see in my grow pics. They go on automatically at midnight, 2am, and 4am for 2 minutes each. Sometimes the lower parts of a plant won't get enough light, so those lowest branches will develop flowers, but it's not a problem.

That sounds great!

 

[CBDMed]

Sounds good... somewhat similar to our climate. For us, temps can get up to mid 80s in the summer, rarely above 85. Usually it's mid to high 70s to 80 or so. Temps can get down to 65° or lower at night. Very lowest would be high 50s.


You could try black trashcans filled with water as thermal mass, to collect solar warmth.


Yes, that's another element... warming it up enough in the cold season. But it also needs to be ventilated and cool enough in the hot season. Our large greenhouse, which I am modifying, used to get into the high 90s and 100, in the middle of summer. The cannabis I was growing in there survived, but the plants definitely didn't like that much heat.


Yes, I am using clear polycarbonate sheets from Home Depot on my flower house, and they double as a rainwater catchment surface. I recall they don't block UV like glass does. They are expensive. On the other two greenhouses I am using 6 mil, 4 year greenhouse plastic, which does have UV blocking built-in; however, I think less than what glass does. Someday I'd like to go 100% polycarbonate.


In our climate, there needs to be extensive air flow through the greenhouses. Our large greenhouse is a custom design which is like a hoop house setting on top of short walls. The walls are 4 tall screens setting on top of a 2 ft wall of masonite. Even with 4 large window fans running in the screen wall, it wasn't enough to bring the temp down sufficiently in the summer. That's when I realized that we needed a "ridge vent," meaning the PVC hoops are cut at the top to allow a ~2 ft. gap. This is where the fans would be mounted to pull the hot air out of the top of the ceiling. This is one of my projects... to complete the changes on the big greenhouse and get it online again.

My current veg house is another design, about 12 x 16 ft, with tall screen walls... 2 ft. base wall of masonite or metal roofing, then 5 ft. of screen, and then the rest is open above that. The PVC hoops are more "flattened"... just bowed enough for it to work, and I have a trick design that brings it all together. This greenhouse is designed for max airflow, and I'm hoping that it won't need any fans in the summer.

My flower house is similar in design to the veg house, a bit smaller, and with the polycarbonate roofing. It's up on an old deck. The walls are completely open.

Sounds good!

 

[CBDMed]

answered above

right now around 70%. it rains a lot here.

no humidity problems, except I think it contributes to the mold problem, but not specific to the greenhouse. the more airflow the better. I answered more about heat issues above.

When I had the fans set up in the big greenhouse, they were on a temperature-activated AC outlet. They were set to go on if the temp got up to various settings, but as I explained, it was never enough... need to modify and create a ridge vent. explained above.

The ridge vent sounds like a great idea.

No, not specific to the greenhouses. Our worst pest is a little bug called a flea hopper... I just sprayed all plants today with a solution of 2 TBS neem, 1 TBS Bronner's soap, 12 drops limonene, in 1 gal water, pump sprayer. Neem is also good to kill fungus.

As I described above, 3 different designs. The two smaller greenhouses... the walls are built using 8 ft. 2x3s, and 2x2s. They are very simple, minimal use of lumber. I don't really want to post photos, but I'll try to put together some drawings.

It would be great to see some drawings.
I was thinking about verticals and then bending PVC for the roof, so I can get a tall tent, for sativas.
Some drawings of the ridge vent would also be great.

 

[CBDMed]

Your garden is looking good.
I did not realize that Gelato and Blue Dream were so strong.

 

[cbdhemp808]

UPDATE: The 5 really tall plants have maxed out their 15 gal pots. I just watered yesterday, and we got lots of sun and heat (around 80°). Today they were already wanting more water. I'm not going to be able to keep this up, because we are on rainwater catchment and our supply won't be enough. This is also an indication that I'm past time to move these plants to the flower house. My first time growing these, so I didn't know they'd be so big and fast-growing. So... gonna have to figure out a solution. I think my plan will be to take clone cuttings asap, and then prepare to move the 2 Blue Dream cross plants to the flower house, staggered in time by 1 week. Those plants turned out to be a lot less bushy than the Gelato cross. The Gelato is a very healthy, dense X-mas tree shape, while the BD is leggy and with very sparse branching. Both would have been good candidates for topping, so I'll keep that in mind with the clones. This plan still won't eliminate the water shortage problem, but it will help, and I am also thinking of putting gutters on the veg house and catching the water in a spare 60 gal tank that I have.

 

[Bill284]

UPDATE: The 5 really tall plants have maxed out their 15 gal pots. I just watered yesterday, and we got lots of sun and heat (around 80°). Today they were already wanting more water. I'm not going to be able to keep this up, because we are on rainwater catchment and our supply won't be enough. This is also an indication that I'm past time to move these plants to the flower house. My first time growing these, so I didn't know they'd be so big and fast-growing. So... gonna have to figure out a solution. I think my plan will be to take clone cuttings asap, and then prepare to move the 2 Blue Dream cross plants to the flower house, staggered in time by 1 week. Those plants turned out to be a lot less bushy than the Gelato cross. The Gelato is a very healthy, dense X-mas tree shape, while the BD is leggy and with very sparse branching. Both would have been good candidates for topping, so I'll keep that in mind with the clones. This plan still won't eliminate the water shortage problem, but it will help, and I am also thinking of putting gutters on the veg house and catching the water in a spare 60 gal tank that I have.

Good morning cbdh hope you are well my friend.
Love the greenhouse and the girls.
Just curious how tall is your flower house.
Because you have 10' tall at leat maby more when you flip.
Double original size is not uncommon.
You may need to top and Lst them.
Depending on height availability?
Fantastic grow my friend nice work.

Stay safe
Bill