Canopy Within a Canopy: Backyard Light Dep

[NPK]

Howdy IC! It's been years since I did a proper thread here, and I want to document this season. I'll be using a 10 x 10 canopy tent to pull two additional outdoor harvests, for a total of three rounds. I first did this in 2007 and documented it here: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=60460. It was first light-dep thread on IC, but unfortunately the pics are gone now. I used a regular dome-style camping tent next season, and although it was opaque, it worked perfectly...until my crop got ripped three weeks from harvest. : Had to give up growing for awhile but never stopped fantasizing about how I'd scale up a forced outdoor grow, if I could. Six years later I'm finally at "can."

So, my outdoor season started on March 8, when I threw some clones (Strawberry Cough, SFV OG, Double Dream) outside to flower, followed shortly by a bunch of seed plants (Sweet Tooth, Blue Tooth, Blue Diesel, Sour Grapes) I'd been vegging inside. The upside of climate change is an extended growing season in my part of the country. You can flower immediately if your winter season allows it, and if you start early enough (no later than the first week of March). These are about done:



I figured some would finish before the days started lengthening into the "reveg zone" in the first week of May (now). The rest I planned to finish off in a forcing structure.

 

[NPK]

In my experience, the structure would have to be up and running in very early May--that's the reveg zone. And sure enough, I'm seeing the beginnings of one-leaf blades and extra leafage. Not gonna lose all that work and time to a reveg, so I got the Wenzel up on May 1, giving me a minimum of 100 square feet of flowering space.



I bought a roll of black plastic sheeting



...and used Monkey Tape to make walls around the canopy legs. There was enough to run up the ceiling but not enough to completely black the top out. There are also a few gaps here and there. It's OK; in my experience, a little opacity is no problem, and I need the gaps for air circulation. Buckets of water + enclosed plastic environment = mold. I don't want to have to run a dehumidifier back there. Wouldn't be real efficient, plus the on/off and humming noise might bug the neighbors, whose bedroom is nearby.



White on the outside, (mostly) black on the inside.

 

[NPK]

First night in.




There's still quite a bit of room in there. I'd like to set up a shelving system to use the vertical space more efficiently. Even a simple card table could be used to SOG a bunch of clones. I'll have to come up with some extra surfaces.

The non-tent side of the yard.

 

[jbarsk8]

looks great. Love to see people manipulating the seasons. I do the same type of thing. I have a feeling i'm in the same climate as you, just a few hours east of the bay

 

[NPK]

Thanks man! I love it too--there are so many ingenious ways to work the photoperiod.

 

[GEMiNi GENETiCS]

Great set-up NPK .... I'm tagged up for this ride

All the best this season .... Ever though of using a double layer of shade cloth for one side (darkest side) to help with air flow and to keep heat/moisture from building up to dangerous levels?

 

[NPK]

Great set-up NPK .... I'm tagged up for this ride

All the best this season .... Ever though of using a double layer of shade cloth for one side (darkest side) to help with air flow and to keep heat/moisture from building up to dangerous levels?

Hey Gemini, good to have you along. That's a good idea, I like it. I wondered if I'd have airflow/condensation issues with the black poly stuff, but so far it seems the gaps in the structure are doing the trick in terms of ventilation. We'll see how the temps are as we move into summer.

 

[GEMiNi GENETiCS]

Ahhh I see still in the trial stages .... At least your august-October are reasonably dry depending on what area of the bay your near

That pic of your patio w all those sweet chunky girls everywhere ..... Love it I could go out there all day and just hit the bong and puff my hookah in pure bliss

Are you medical? I'm assuming you are as not many people would have em outside and not be medical .... Very lucky how your laws are written ..... In my state outdoor is not allowed technically but it's a GREY area ... As they say you must have a roof 4 walls and a lockable door ..... I'm thinking a greenhouse fits those qualifications ..... But if no attention is made I'll be under the radar w my 4 bushes

 

[NPK]

At least your august-October are reasonably dry depending on what area of the bay your near

True that...though actually, speaking of dates, I question whether there will be a need to keep the structure up throughout the summer. Where I am, things generally start flowering in the month of July--harvest starts for me in late September. In other words, any forcing efforts much past July might be redundant.

Are you medical? I'm assuming you are as not many people would have em outside and not be medical .... Very lucky how your laws are written ..... In my state outdoor is not allowed technically but it's a GREY area ... As they say you must have a roof 4 walls and a lockable door ..... I'm thinking a greenhouse fits those qualifications ..... But if no attention is made I'll be under the radar w my 4 bushes

Yeah, I'm medical, and just as important I have a secure yard. Not supposed to exceed 20 plants outside, but I just can't stand to waste all that space and free sunlight. I want to be as productive as possible. Btw, a greenhouse sure does fit that description--hope you rock it.

 

[NPK]

So, I decided it was time to do a little interior design and brought out a few old card tables, plus an extra door and other potential surfaces that had been taking up space in the garage. Slapped the door atop some cinderblocks and used materials on hand to elevate the card tables by about six inches, bringing them closer to waist height. The tables do two things: they provide an extra 75 square feet or so of flowering space, and they significantly reduce the amount of bending over I have to do. That's another great thing about the canopy structure. I can walk in without stooping. My past forcing structures had small, low doorways. Schlepping plants in and out twice a day was quite a pain in the a$$, tough on my back. No needless aches or pains around here nowadays. Ergonomics.



As you can see, the only problem now is unused capacity. What's the point of having lots of space if you aren't going to maximize it? I'm lucky enough to live near what I call the "clone store," so I got on down there and picked up six Lavender, six Agent Orange, a dozen Chemband, and a couple of GS Cookies. One Cookies is going out to veg, and the other I'll hit with colloidal silver to reverse sex. The rest I'll be flowering in the Wenzel. Sadly, there's still a ton of unused capacity beneath the tables--but at least carrying buckets in and out is a breeze.



About my grow style: it couldn't be simpler. I bottom-feed in coco, from seedling/clone stage throughout the plant's life. Three or four one-gallon square pots fit nicely in 30-inch plastic trays. These are great for vegging and sogging, and also enable you to water multiple plants in one shot. Pour your nutrient solution into the tray and let the plants suck it up passively. And they're portable, enabling you to move 3-4 plants at a time. Super efficient, you've gotta love 'em. Here's the beginning and end of my late winter/early spring grow:


March 04, 2013


May 05, 2013

For larger plants, I up-plant to two-gallon pots, which I bottom-feed in individual buckets. Just splash your nutes into the bottom of the bucket--takes around 15 seconds to water these manually. I use a long-spout 3-liter can.

65-gallon rain barrel makes a good reservoir.

 

[Adrift]

very nice!!!!!

 

[GEMiNi GENETiCS]

Must spread reputation before giving to NPK

oh well .... Guess I'll like it instead

Thanks for the break down and walk thru ..... Totally forgot you were only using the tent to force em ...... Do you leave it up as a dry haven for your blooming girls if it's gonna rain?

Wish I could run 20 outside legally ..... My yard would have 20 mounds with 3' bushes in em right now!

 

[NPK]

Totally forgot you were only using the tent to force em ...... Do you leave it up as a dry haven for your blooming girls if it's gonna rain?

I've only had the thing up for a couple of weeks, no rain during that time--but yeah, it'd probably be useful in a storm.

Anyway, the spring crop is ripening with help from the tent. I've started taking down the Bluetooths and Sweeth Tooths. I chopped most of the clones (Strawberry Cough and Double Dream) over the weekend.

Bluetooth, my own female seed cross:



Sweet Tooth:



God's Gift:



SVFOG--these are coming down today:



A Strawberry Cough about halfway through:

 

[NPK]

Unfortunately, this Bogbubble is flirting with revegging. Couple of other things are looking a little too "blade-y" as well. Don't know if a turnaround is possible, but I hope to at least stop the trend. If that doesn't happen, bubble hash is a fine consolation prize.



In the "worth noting" department: Safer caterpillar killer, active ingredient bacillus thuringiensis. I hit everything with this stuff every few weeks. $17 for eight ounces of product may seem spendy, but What's REALLY costly is *not* using it. I lost God only knows how much bud to caterpillars last year. Not this year! Also, at 1/2 to one teaspoon per gallon of water there's potentially 64-128 gallons of Bt in this container, enough to last several seasons. What I love about this stuff, besides its 100 percent effectiveness, is its specificity: it doesn't harm bees or other beneficial insects.

 

[Cookiepie]

Nice

 

[supermanlives]

very nice. I have a blackout room myself. got to love so cal weather.

 

[castout]

I like what you are doing!!!!

 

[NPK]

Thanks for taking a look, guys. Keep meaning to update but there's so much time-sensitive stuff going on right now it's hard to grab the time for it. Every day it's been a race between maintenance, harvesting and transplanting. The tent allows a perpetual grow--*awesome* but plenty of work to keep me running. The schlepping of plants outside the tent begins around 6am, and I put down the trimmers around 10pm. Good thing it's fun!

It's hard to believe this thing hasn't even been going for a full month. Feels longer. Some plants are leafier than I like, but the reveg threat has been quelled in all plants that were looking blade-y. Here's part of the canopy a couple evenings ago. Forcing structures bring May flowers:



The clone table. Bringing these along for the past few weeks has been like watching paint dry, but they're finally beginning to put on some structure. I'm hitting a few with CS to make FTMs (female-to-males) for female pollen.



The Pot Patio yesterday morning:



A few coming attractions--Strawberry Cough, God's Gift, Grape Ape, Sweet Tooth, and a couple Chem 91s. They're vegging right now; thank God I don't have to drag these in and out of the tent. Made a point to top this round for more bushes. Had a couple of lucky FIMs with the God's Gifts--better grab some clones while I can! Anyway--



Hope everyones' gardens are going well!

 

[LexLuthoReturns]

The non-tent side of the yard.

[URL="https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=45430&pictureid=1064459&=1"]View Image[/URL]

Wow

Lx

 

[gallito]

Nice set-up NPK! There's no rest for the wicked.