Alternative methods for overwintering cannabis?

Deach69

2022 COE Winner
Gday folks! I have a ton of space for outdoor growing, but I'm quite limited when it comes to indoor growing. I do have a bit of space to keep stuff, just no indoor growing. Tissue cultures seems too complicated, and I'd really like to avoid a bonzai box. I guess what I'm looking for is some form of suspended animation like overwintering rootballs in the basement, I think I heard of keeping slips in the fridge, or worse come to worse, stunting clones with a regular bulb. Thanks :)
 
With all that outdoor space, why not a greenhouse?

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Mu
I'm in Canada, it'll be -15 Celsius tonight, and that's just the beginning. I brought up the outdoor space I have because it's funny how I can grow thousands of plants, but unable to grow a few inside. It doesn't take too many outdoor plants to satisfy my needs and my loved ones. A heated greenhouse would be overkill
 
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I'm in Canada, it'll be -15 Celsius tonight, and that's just the beginning. I brought up the outdoor space I have because it's funny how I can grow thousands of plants, but unable to grow a few inside. It doesn't take too many outdoor plants to satisfy my needs and my loved ones. A heated greenhouse would be overkill
During winter even in a heated gh you will need some lightning to avoid flowering.
And heating a gh when it's - 20C will cost you a lot.
A small space with a few fluoros will alow you to keep a few mum and doesn't require too much maintenance.... I think it's the only way to do what you want and it worth the effort....
 
During winter even in a heated gh you will need some lightning to avoid flowering.
And heating a gh when it's - 20C will cost you a lot.
A small space with a few fluoros will alow you to keep a few mum and doesn't require too much maintenance.... I think it's the only way to do what you want and it worth the effort....
I agree, wasn't entertaining the thought of a greenhouse at all.

Yup, that's probably what I'll end up doing. There is a thread here somewhere with bonzai mothers in a box that sounds workable. Do you have any experience with it?
 
Well there you go, no greenhouse and considering your conditions, it doesn't makes sense. Isn't it cool how many braddahs on this site came up with solid, alternative suggestions? You guys are the best!

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Mu
 
I have run pruned back mothers in a garage in our cold winters in Oregon with T-8 bulb lights right over the plants under a workbench with plastic in front. T-8 5k bulbs are cool enough for leaves to touch and not burn, but keep the plants warm enough in a cool place. T-8s are way cheaper than T-5s which get hot and will burn a too close leaf. I run the lights 20/4 on a timer. You have to also run a fan on them though, or you will get stem rot from water drops/condensation, bugs, PM/etc. You can also do this in a small space indoors like a bathtub or closet. Old mothers can get tough stems and stem rot though. These are really not perennial plants. I have found it far easier to clone them though winter.

To do that I clone them late season and ditch the mothers. After harvest I re-veg the mothers under 400w MH lights indoor and I take cuttings after they shoot about 8 inches (typically in November). I put the cuttings into a home made bubble cloner on a heated seed mat set at 77 deg. F. This will keep the clones warm. I then set a CFL Floro bulb on top of the cloner. They take about 7-10 days to start rooting, and 2-3 weeks to set good enough roots to plant. I them pop the rooted clones into 2x2 soil pots this time of year, and set them on the heated seed mat under the T-8 5k bulbs. I cover the bench with plastic in the garage to keep them warm, or in a corner someplace out of the way inside the house. They do not take up much room. Come late winter, they are large enough to pot up and size up under 400w MH bulbs or set outside in the greenhouses if it is warm enough.

Another option is really really old world. Breed and seed 'em IBL. No overwintering required that way at all. Genetics preserved. Though you will get some variation. Simply seed them out and harvest the seeds from the buds in the fall, and germinate them in late winter. No space required, no lights or fans required, no cloning required. Though you do need pollen, and hence grow a male to do that.
 
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I have run pruned back mothers in a garage in our cold winters in Oregon with T-8 bulb lights right over the plants under a workbench with plastic in front. T-8 5k bulbs are cool enough for leaves to touch and not burn, but keep the plants warm enough in a cool place. T-8s are way cheaper than T-5s which get hot and will burn a too close leaf. I run the lights 20/4 on a timer. You have to also run a fan on them though, or you will get stem rot from water drops/condensation, bugs, PM/etc. You can also do this in a small space indoors like a bathtub or closet. Old mothers can get tough stems and stem rot though. Thse are really not perennial plants. I have found it far easier to clone them though winter.

To do that I clone them late season and ditch the mothers. After harvest I re-veg the mothers under 400w MH lights indoor and I take cuttings after they shoot about 8 inches (typically in November). I put the cuttings into a home made bubble cloner on a heated seed mat set at 77 deg. F. This will keep the clones warm. I then set a CFL Floro bulb on top of the cloner. They take about 7-10 days to start rooting, and 2-3 weeks to set good enough roots to plant. I them pop the rooted clones into 2x2 soil pots this time of year, and set them on the heated seed mat under the T-8 5k bulbs. I cover the bench with plastic in the garage to keep them warm, or in a corner someplace out of the way inside the house. They do not take up much room. Come late winter, they are large enough to pot up and size up under 400w MH bulbs or set outside in the greenhouses if it is warm enough.

Another option is really really old world. Breed and seed 'em IBL. No overwintering required that way at all. Genetics preserved. Though you will get some variation. Simply seed them out and harvest the seeds from the buds in the fall, and germinate them in late winter. No space required, no lights or fans required, no cloning required.
I really appreciate your time on that reply, nice to have all those details within a few paragraphs

I've finally caught the breeding bug. I'm planning on preserving some lines I've narrowed down over a few years, gonna make some seeds :)
 
If you are good at cloning, then a shelving unit can hold many mother plants. the metal ones have many lengths of vertical pipe for shelving height.look at the picture MNS has of the shelving units of clones/seedlings on the instagram for an idea. you can keep moms small, only capable of producing 20-30 a time easily in a 5 gallon pot. also, if you build a greenhouse for little plants in the spring, I cant recomend enough a heater. I am in michigan, a little futher south than you as our average cold ass winter night is 15 degrees, with the ocassional drop to -5 when nature hates us.
If city ordinance wasnt in the way for me, I already would have had a rather large heated greenhouse for all year vegetables.
 
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