Do you want to grow cannabis in the summer months? Summer comes around fast every year; it’s an excellent time to grow marijuana.
However, growing cannabis during summer requires specific knowledge. In this article, we will give you essential tips on growing cannabis during summer.
When Is The Weed Season?
Cannabis cultivators often call the cannabis growth season the weed season. In the United States, the weed growing season—depending on your state—can start in April, when gardeners and farmers may start seedlings indoors. Then, the cannabis plants will grow and produce buds in the summer months.
Cannabis plants typically flower in late summer to the fall months; in fact, the season can run until mid-November. Of course, this varies from region to region. Sunny California has warmer and longer growing seasons than New York. Still—regardless of where you’re growing—you need to maximize your light during the summer months before fall starts.
In addition, your plants determine the quality of your growing season. Timing is everything for photoperiod plants; their growth starts during the fall months when hours of darkness hit twelve hours per night. Autoflower plants, however, will automatically flower on their own because they aren’t light-sensitive.
The Main Growth Phases Throughout The Summer Season
1. Early Phase: The Germination Stage
Many cultivators, especially experienced growers, will grow their cannabis directly from the seeds. If so, the germination phase is the first step to growing cannabis. Once you see the seed has sprouted, the plant will grow two round leaves called cotyledon leaves; these leaves are responsible for offering energy to the seedling until it grows.
The best time to start growing your seed is on or around the Spring Equinox. However, if you’re buying clones, they’re already in the seedling stage. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about the germination stage, which is an excellent bonus if you lack experience.
2. The Seedling Phase: Spring to Early Summer
Once spring and early summer begin—typically between April and June, depending on the state—you should start to see seedlings if you’ve sprouted your own seeds or bought clones. However, this is a very early stage of your plant’s growth, and your plants will be delicate and sensitive. So it’s the right time to take the most precaution.
If you live in cooler climates, you should avoid putting your plants in the ground until all of your environment’s overnight frosts have ended. You’ll also need plenty of sunshine, too. If you put your cannabis plants in the ground and frost arrives—you’ll likely kill your cannabis. Sure, that’s expensive and frustrating, but it’s also completely avoidable.
Most importantly, consider growing your cannabis in pots. Most outdoor growers use pots and other containers because they provide the added benefit of bringing the cannabis inside if you witness unseasonal cool overnight temperatures in the summer. In some U.S. climates, frost may strike unexpectedly, even in the early summer months.
3. The Vegetative Stage: Summer to Early Fall
The vegetative stage is arguably the most crucial growing stage of the summer; it’s where your cannabis plants will take off. Consider training and topping your plants during the vegetative stage to encourage outward growth. As a result, you’ll provide more light distribution to your leaves while maintaining the overall plant height.
You’ll also require more water during the vegetative stage; this is especially important if you’re growing in a hot climate, such as Arizona. Also, consider using additional nutrients, such as nitrogen, as the plants start to mature.
If you aren’t using female-only plants—which most cannabis experts recommend if you’re new to growing cannabis—you’ll need to remove the male plants before they grow large during the summer. Remember, even feminized seeds can grow some male plants, so ensure you monitor your overall growth.
A photoperiod plant, however, will continue to live a vegetative life until the day-to-night ratio tips in favor of nighttime. Once photoperiod plants witness 12 hours of darkness daily, they will move into their final flowering stage, which is often in the late summer.
4. The Final Flowering Stage: Fall
So now you’re entering the fall months and the all-important flowering stage. During the final stage of a female cannabis plant’s life, it will use most of its energy to produce flowers. The flowering stage often occurs in three phases:
- Flower Initiation: During the flower initiation, you’ll begin to see white pistils developing. The plant will continue to grow, yet the growth will slow down.
- Mid-flowering: The buds will begin to take shape.
- Late-flowering: The flowers will become sticky and covered in trichomes. You can now start to think about harvesting.
Tips For Growing Your Cannabis In the Summer Heat
Although the sunlight will help your cannabis grow during the summer season, various tools can help you improve the weed season:
1. Use Water-Cooled Heat Exchangers
Water-cooled heat exchanges are essentially like radiators. If you have access to a cool stream of water, a water-cooled heat exchanger is superb for ensuring your grow room or greenhouse stays cold during the blisteringly hot summer months. However, ensure your water supply is cold and plentiful; a water-cooled heat exchanger is dependent on the water coming in to work effectively.
2. Use Fan Cooling Methods
Fan cooling options—including exhaust fans for indoor grow rooms, greenhouses, and tents—are superb for cooling in the summer months. However, this largely depends on where you live and the climate. You’ll need about a 15°F difference between the outdoor air temperature and the ideal indoor temperature to have the best range for growing cannabis.
3. Use Hydroponic Crop Cooling
Water-culture hydroponic methods—such as recirculating deep-water culture (RDWC), nutrient-film technique (NFT), and deep-water culture (DWC)—are superb ways of keeping your cannabis plants cool without changing the air temperature. Water-culture hydroponic methods are efficient and cost-effective. Remember, you only need to keep the plants cool; you don’t always need to cool the air.
The Best Budget Options:
- Indoor and greenhouse lighting: Although they aren’t super affordable, air-cooled HID light reflectors are a superb way of removing warmth from grow lamps before the heat hits your cannabis plants.
- Use specific plant genetics: Some cannabis strains handle warmth more efficiently than others; this is key if you’re growing in a hot summer environment without much equipment. Exotic sativas—such as Cambodian varieties and Afghanis—are excellent at handling the heat. However, they may not cope with high humidity.
- Watering: When all else fails, watering your plants is the best method to avoid heat damage. However, cut back on your fertilizer levels if you start watering your plants more during the summer months.
- Feeding: Ensure you’re feeding your plants during the summer months. Cannabis plants typically require more potassium during these months. Potassium is excellent for protecting your cannabis plants from excessive moisture loss and stress during the summer months.
Final Thoughts
The summer months are crucial for growing the best cannabis. If you follow the tips in this article, you’ll grow the best cannabis during the summer with very few issues along the way.
