Hello @medicinemuse -
We share 5b
So here are the 2 tricks I use to try to make it all happen before first HARD frost here on the Mid Coast. These plants tolerate light frost and will even take a hard frost or 2 without sustaining any noticeable damage.
First is having a setup to start them indoors*
That setup can be anything from a makeshift plant stand in a sunny window to a tent or greenhouse with lights and or heat. I used to do it on a stand in the picture window but achieve much better results using a $50 greenhouse from OSJL and a couple of low watt Lithonia T5 grow lights I got at Home Depot which I set up in my cellar from Feb to mid May until I get them outdoors.
*If you don’t have a way to make that happen, the odds of achieving your best possible harvest are greatly diminished.
Second is knowing where your shade is and which spot in your plot receives shade soonest. This might not be so easy if you’re in a new location for <a year or never needed to pay attention to that.
You’ll want to locate them where 12 hours of shade starts to encroach on your grow 8-10 weeks before first HARD frost.
The flower cycle of the strains I grow range from 50-85 days. I start the 85 day seeds a few weeks earlier than the other and plant it where the shade hits the plot 2-3 weeks sooner than the rest of them so they’re uniform in size when flowering starts. That difference can be as far as 50’ away from the strains that ripen in 60-ish.