In the world of cultivating photoperiod cannabis plants, the significance of darkness rivals that of light. Shielding your crop from the menacing grasp of light intrusion is paramount. In this informative guide, we unveil strategies to combat light pollution in indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation.
In the realm of cannabis cultivation, meticulous attention is showered upon ensuring that plants bask in an abundance of radiant light. Light, being the primary fuel source for plants, plays an indispensable role in securing bountiful yields of potent buds. Yet, the importance of providing adequate periods of proper darkness often goes underappreciated. In the context of (photoperiod) plants, darkness is as vital as light for their robust development.
Light pollution is a comprehensive term encompassing artificial light that disrupts the natural darkness of the night. It’s most commonly associated with urban environments where the sheer density of artificial nighttime illumination obscures the celestial stars. If you’ve ever gazed at a cityscape from the outskirts at night, you’ve likely witnessed the pervasive orange glow – the telltale sign of light pollution.
Regarding cannabis, light pollution can be viewed from two perspectives. The first pertains to large-scale commercial operations, which may inadvertently contribute to light pollution, even in rural locales. The proliferation of high-intensity lights in greenhouses can emit light that disrupts the surrounding darkness – a phenomenon known as cannabis light pollution. However, since the majority of our readers are not engaged in large-scale commercial cultivation, this aspect is relatively inconsequential in the context of this article.
The sensitivity of cannabis to light is a critical factor to consider. Cannabis exhibits an exceptional sensitivity to light levels and intensity, using them to gauge the season and adapt its behavior accordingly.
Understanding Cannabis Light Sensitivity
Our discussion primarily focuses on photoperiod cannabis plants, as autoflowering plants are not reliant on light exposure for their life cycles, provided they receive adequate light to grow.
Photoperiod cannabis plants don’t merely utilize light for photosynthesis; they also employ it to discern the season, thereby dictating their growth stage. Lengthy hours of illumination signify midsummer, prompting the plant to vegetate and undergo vigorous growth. As daylight hours diminish, the plant perceives the approach of autumn and initiates the flowering process, gearing up for reproduction before the arrival of winter. Consequently, it is imperative to furnish cannabis plants with the appropriate balance of light and darkness, in accordance with their growth stage.
The importance of darkness goes beyond merely providing sufficient light; it encompasses ensuring that plants experience uninterrupted periods of genuine darkness. Disruptions to darkness can lead to several issues, including:
- Reverting to the vegetative stage.
- Hermaphroditism.
- Stunted growth or even plant demise in severe cases.
- Delays in growth or extended growth periods.
- Reduced yield.
Managing Light Pollution in Indoor Cannabis Cultivation
Fortunately, there are effective measures to ensure that cannabis plants receive the requisite darkness, particularly in indoor cultivation setups. Here’s what you can do:
- Implement a Timer: Pairing a timer with your lights simplifies the cultivation process, ensuring that lights turn on and off consistently. This eliminates the risk of forgetting to switch off lights at night and disturbing your plants’ light cycle. Additionally, ensure that external light sources are adequately blocked when growing indoors, and verify the functionality of your lighting setup.
- Seal the Growing Space: Once you have optimized your lighting, sealing the grow space, whether it’s a tent or a room, is imperative to prevent external light infiltration. Windows and doors in a room must be entirely sealed, as even a slight trickle of artificial light through a door’s bottom can disrupt the plant’s photoperiod. In the case of grow tents, duct tape often serves as the ideal solution for sealing against light leaks.
Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation and Battling Light Pollution
Outdoor cannabis cultivation presents unique challenges concerning light pollution, especially in urban environments or areas with intrusive street lighting. Even neighbors who leave their lights on throughout the night can disrupt the photoperiod of cannabis plants. So, what steps can be taken? Here are some recommendations from Herbies Seeds:
- Optimal Growing Space Selection: Choosing a growing space that receives at least eight hours of direct daylight and ample darkness at night is crucial. While quantifying the precise amount of required darkness may be challenging, a simple test involves taking a magazine outdoors and assessing whether you can read the larger text inside it. If readability is possible, consider finding a darker location. For smaller text legibility, you should definitely seek a darker spot.
- Container Cultivation: If your outdoor space lacks the necessary darkness, growing cannabis in containers offers flexibility. You can place the plants in direct sunlight during the day and relocate them to a darker environment at night. This may involve moving them to a secluded corner of your garden or bringing them indoors into a light-sealed room. This approach is manageable for a few small to medium-sized plants but may become impractical for larger-scale cultivation.
- Utilize Blackout Tents/Shelters: Consider constructing or acquiring blackout tents or shelters. These mobile structures can be placed over plants during the night, ensuring complete darkness. They not only combat light pollution but can also induce earlier flowering during the summer months. Alternatively, investing in a greenhouse provides a convenient means of ensuring darkness.
Managing Light Pollution in Greenhouse Cannabis Cultivation
Greenhouses present a balanced approach to cannabis cultivation, allowing the use of natural light during the day while affording the option of supplemental artificial lighting. They can also be easily covered to create a light-free environment, making them effective against light pollution.
Employ Blackout Tarpaulins: If you opt for greenhouse cultivation, regardless of its size, a straightforward solution to combat light pollution is the use of opaque tarpaulins. When it’s time for your plants to rest, simply cover the greenhouse with a blackout tarpaulin. As long as the tarpaulin effectively blocks light and envelops the entire structure, it will perform its duty flawlessly. For outdoor growers anticipating nighttime light issues, a greenhouse with an opaque tarp can be a cost-effective and efficient solution.
What to Do When Light Pollution Is Unavoidable?
In cases where providing ample darkness during the night becomes an insurmountable challenge, all hope is not lost. You can still successfully cultivate cannabis by considering alternative approaches.
Autoflowering plants, in particular, offer a viable solution. While these plants require light for photosynthesis, they do not rely on specific light cycles to progress through their life cycle. Instead, they naturally transition to the flowering stage after a genetically predetermined period, unaffected by light exposure. In fact, autoflowers can thrive under continuous 24-hour lighting from seedling to harvest.
Therefore, if guaranteeing adequate darkness at night poses difficulties, opting for autoflowering plants remains a practical choice. These plants, which now rival photoperiod plants in productivity and potency, simplify the cultivation process significantly. They exhibit greater flexibility concerning light and dark cycles, require less maintenance overall, and boast faster growth rates.
Understanding the Significance of Mitigating Cannabis Light Intrusion
For growers focused on photoperiod cannabis plants, ensuring the provision of sufficient darkness during the night is paramount. During the vegetative stage, approximately eight hours of uninterrupted darkness are requisite, while the flowering stage demands a continuous period of 12 hours of darkness. Underestimating the importance of this aspect and exposing your plants to light pollution during the flowering stage can lead to detrimental consequences.
Among the diverse solutions outlined above, the key is to find an effective method to envelop your cannabis plants in complete darkness. In cases where this proves challenging, the transition to autoflowering plants presents a compelling alternative. They offer nearly equivalent productivity and potency as photoperiod plants while requiring less stringent light and dark management and delivering faster results.
In the quest for successful cannabis cultivation, the battle against light pollution is a fundamental aspect to conquer. Whether through meticulous light management or the adoption of autoflowering varieties, ensuring that your cannabis plants thrive in an environment of optimal light and darkness is a mission worth undertaking.
