Hi all. I am curious to see what the community predicts will happen with the following experiment starting this weekend May 2, 2020.
I am growing a White Lightning non-feminized photoperiod plant. I am using it as a test to see how it responds to a move outdoors from indoors early in the season (Midwestern USA). The seed was free and there is a 50/50 chance it will be a male so I am not overly concerned about any negative impact. I also have other plants going (and planned) so I am more interested in observing and learning than losing any potential yield.
The plant has been indoors in a DIY grow tent since seedling stage, 18/6 veg cycle LED, and will be moving up to a rooftop that has full sun exposure. It will be 34 days old (above ground) and extremely healthy when I move it outdoors. It’s growing in a 5 gal fabric pot in Black Gold Organic soil - no more transplants. I will continue to feed nutrients at the normal schedule so it won’t be neglected that way. Here are the challenges it will face…
Light Duration:
When it goes outdoors there will be 14 hrs and 6 mins of daylight (and increasing as I’m in the Northern Hemisphere). I will augment the daylight with some solar garden LEDs to attempt to buffer the drastic reduction in hours of light exposure. How will it respond when it loses 4 hrs of daylight in one day?
Outdoor Weather Conditions:
The weather forecast says temperatures will be stressful (but not fatal) to the plant…at least for a week or two before it warms up. There are some days in the forecast that will have highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s (Fahrenheit). We are past the freeze/frost danger zone. I recognize this will be out of the comfort zone for the plant, but that is the point. Also, I pH’d the rain water here and it is alkaline at ~7.5. How will it respond to inclement conditions with low temperatures and alkaline rain water?
Here’s a pic of the plant at 26 days, for reference.
Time will tell! I welcome your thoughts and/or predictions! 
I think it will be fine but I’m still relatively new to growing so I’m gonna get my popcorn and hitch a ride!
Thanks for your note. I will definitely post updates as things progress. An experienced grower from a different community (and someone who is situated in a similar North American climate) told me he thinks the plant will be fine. 
That is when I normally start my guerilla grows outdoors. First or second week in May. I think that you will be alright. I’m gonna be tagging along as well, that is, if you don’t mind. 
The temps aren’t good, 40’s and 50’s will lead to deficiency problems and slow death. I don’t put plants outside til night low temps are over 60.
Thanks for your comments, all. On average, we don’t get to 60+ nighttime low temps until the 3rd week of June so that presents an outdoor grow challenge for photos. I do have some auto seeds ready to rock for the arrival of summer weather. But as this is my first grow, I wanted to try my hand with different scenarios to see what works best (and more importantly, what to stop doing/trying). For this White Lightning experiment, I’m hoping some ambient heat from the building (beneath the rooftop) will make a difference. Happy growing, everyone!
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Update: The forecast temperatures took a downward turn and we’ll still be dipping into the 30s at night for the next week. Very unseasonable. That is colder than I am willing to go with the White Lightning experiment. It got some nice, natural sunlight this past weekend but for the next week, it will be staying in the comfortable confines of the grow tent inside. I’m looking at setting it outside permanently next Wed May 13 when we should be way past any lows in the 30s. Bummer all around.
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I have 3 blue dream fem and 1 amnesia haze auto outside right now, with a seed heating pad under them at night for a little bit of heat. The greenhouse sits about 45-50 at night which I dont like either, the cold clearly stunted the plants at the moment but I’m watching and hoping they will bounce back.
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While adjusting the LST on the plant, I snapped a few pix in hopes that it might be expressing sex. As this is my first grow, I am not 100% sure where to look, exactly. Welcome any thoughts or observations. I have other photos if those would help.
I moved the White Lightning up to the rooftop this afternoon (along with an ILGM Gold Leaf fem of the same age for good company). Both are 45 days old (since sprouting). It has been periodically exposed to real UV throughout its life, even as a seedling, so the sun intensity shouldn’t be a shock. As stated in the OP, I will have a couple small solar LEDs pointed at for some additional night time light supply during the transition. Today we’re looking at 14.5 hrs of daylength, on the nose - not including any twilight. Temps for the next week should range between 50-70F with some potentially significant rainfall here and there. Happy outdoor living to the plants and happy growing to you all!
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We received 8 inches of rain from 5/14-5/17. That’s a month’s worth of rain in 4 days. Madness. The plants are definitely showing displeasure with all the water, but I’m pretty confident they will be ok. Once they dry out, they’ll definitely need a feeding as any nutrients they had are certainly flushed out. The White Lightning has not shown any significant signs of jumping to flower. I can see small nubs but there are incredibly small and, to me, not identifiable. Hopefully the solar LEDs are adding just enough extra light at night to keep them vegging.
I brought the Blue Dream up to the rooftop so all three plants from my first run are together. Here’s a pic of all three. Left to Right: Gold Leaf Fem, Blue Dream Fem, White Lightning Non-fem. for some warmer, drier days ahead!
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I think we have a White Lightning female! Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Also, here is a shot of my solution to keep the plants in veg after moving from the grow tent → outdoors (and instantly losing a few hrs of daylight). Seems to be working so far.
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