How much sun is too much sun?

[Highjackerrr]

Hi Folks,

First time growing here in southern Australia, my plants are 4 weeks old, have their 4th nodes developing now and have a question about sunshine. They have been living outside under a mix of direct and indirect sun for the past 3 weeks, gradually acclimatizing. Yesterday I re-potted them into a medium size pot (3 liters) where I hope they will take off.
Question: since I am now content with leaving them out 24 hours and my growing area gets sun from dawn until around 4pm, is this too much sunlight on such young plants (and as they mature) or should I relocate to a place which gets maybe e 4-6 hours of direct sun and the rest of the day indirect?

Note: I chose this grow location based on the morning sun and shade in the late day, but maybe am thinking 10 hours of sun may be a bit too harsh for the life of the plants? My tomatoes thrive, but do get "taco shell" leaves as they mature and I dont wan to fry my little ones.

Side note: My little ones are surrounded by other vegetation and notice they do suffer a little from little white marks on the leaves, which I am sure are pests. I sprayed them ona cloudy day very lightly with a natural pyrithrum spray about 2 weeks ago and I think that affected the foliage negatively and am hesitant to do this again. Any ideas what I should try or as they mature, will they handle the pyrithrum a little better?

HJ.

 

[Rodrigo]

Hello.

In short, there's no such thing as too much sun light. When it comes to growing, if you use too much water or nutrients the plant can get sick or die, but when it comes to light they can't get enough and the more the better, you do have to watch the temps, though. If they get too hot then that might harm them but it's not the light.
What I'd do in your situation, make sure they're always hydrated, if the heat becomes too intense then chances are you plant's would require a bit more water than usual, you'll have to monitor the hydration levels on the soil periodically and come up with the proper feeding schedule.
Normally you water the plants every other day, but maybe you need to water them every day if it's too hot outside in the sun.
You could also cover them at the hottest time of the day with this plastic fiber (here's called raschel mesh) that they use for fruit bags and things like that, basically a fabric that would allow partial penetration of sunlight, as to create some shade mixed with sunlight.

You only need to be aware of the light cycle, meaning that when the light hours of the day start to decrease, the plants are gonna go into flowering at some point.

As for your pest problems, well that's one of the downsides of growing outdoors.
I never got to use it because it got held at customs and I didn't feel like explaining what it was and what it is used for (for obvious reasons), but I've read very good things about this product, Monterey LG6135 Garden Insect Spray Contains Spinosad, you can get it on amazon for less than $30. Supposedly it takes care of your pest with no problems for the plant.
I grow indoors so pests are not a huge deal, so far I've been invaded by thrips, whiteflies, and two other type of bugs that I couldn't identify, but if you work the issue before it becomes a problem it's not a big deal. All I use is a 60cm long strip of fly paper, I just lay it across the surface of the medium and the get stuck there and eventually they stop being a problem. Maybe you can give that a go.

Well I hope that helps, keep us posted.

Good luck and happy growing

 

[Highjackerrr]

Rodrigo,

Thank you, very helpful information and advice. I think my biggest concern will be heat, not so much the actual sunlight itself. Here in Southern Australia, it can be sunny and 26 all day and the next day can be sunny and 38, which is getting quite hot. These kinds of heat/cool patterns are endless and just need to make sure I keep them hydrated, but not drowning.

I bought something called Eco-oil yesterday which is similar to neem oil or citrus oil...mixed it will water as recommended, sprayed my leaves bottom and top and will do this every 3-5 days until I see no more, or a great reduction in critters. This oil is all natural and not as harsh as pyrithrum. I will post a few photos, once they have settled into their new larger pots and perk up for the camera.

HJ

 

[STOP]

In short, there's no such thing as too much sun light. When it comes to growing. OH YES HAPPYDAYS