Tips For Growing Cannabis Indoors In The Winter

Tips For Growing Cannabis Indoors In The Winter

With winter here, many of you who may be growing cannabis at home might be wondering how to help your plants thrive during the colder months. The truth is that, no matter what the weather is like outside, you still have to pay attention to the right growing conditions for cannabis.

Grow cannabis indoors right during the winter, and you’ll find that it’s just as fulfilling as growing in the summer. However, considering that the temperatures outside are much colder, there are a few more responsibilities that you’ll need to do this winter.

Indoor Temperature

Your grow room will need additional heating during the cold, winter months. During the day, your cannabis plants should be exposed to temperatures of 75-86F, while at night it should be somewhere between 64-72F. It’s especially important to keep in mind that the speed of growth, and the quality of your grow, will be seriously affected if nighttime temperatures drop below 61F.

Additionally, you should be keeping a close eye on the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures especially during the first 3 weeks of the flowering phase. If the change in temperature when you go from day to night is far too big, this may result in stretched-out cannabis plants with wide spaces among its internodes. For optimum growing results in the first 3 weeks of flowering, the temperature differences from day to night should be around 3.6-7.2F. For the rest of the growing period, you should be looking at a discrepancy of around 18F when going from night to day.

Lighting, of course, will also play a role here. If you’re already using a lighting setup that gives off a lot of heat, you’re at an advantage because these will already give your plants adequate heat to stay warm enough during the day. But at night, a significant reduction in temperatures overnight may be dangerous particularly after your lights are switched off. To resolve this, just switch your cycles around: see what happens if you leave your lights on overnight to make up for the cooler temperatures, then turn them off at daytime when the temperatures are more consistent and appropriate.

If you don’t have one already, this winter is a good time to invest in a thermostat so that you can always keep a close watch on the temperature especially this time of year when it’s prone to rapid and quick changes.

Humidity

It’s also important to monitor the ambient humidity of your indoor grow during the winter. Between temperature and humidity, most novice growers tend to underestimate how critical humidity can be during the winter.

When temperatures in the air drop, the amount of water that becomes vapor also decreases. For example, when your air temperature is 41F, this can sustain much more water than temperatures of 60F. However, it isn’t just the amount of moisture in the air that will impact your cannabis grows in the winter; instead, you should consider how winter temperatures may increase the possibility of condensation especially when temperatures drop at night.

In other words, these damp conditions and drops in temperatures are perfect breeding grounds for mold and mildew. If you allow moisture and condensation to accumulate on your plants over a period of time, you’re setting yourself up for a devastating scenario. To solve this issue, keep your temperatures a bit higher than normal. It would also be a good idea to invest in a good quality dehumidifier for your grow room, which would make a huge positive impact in ensuring your plants grow well during the winter.

Winter tends to be the driest time of the year for many areas, which is why it can be problematic if you’re growing any kind of plant especially cannabis. Winter can mean that air in your grow room becomes too moist, and air brought in from the outside may be extremely dry. Either way, having a humidifier will go a long way. This, and a careful, close watch on your end will help you be on top of humidity levels in order to find that perfect balance.

The Bottom Line

During winter, closely monitoring your grow is critical to ensuring your plants withstand the cold temperatures. Small things can dampen your efforts, such as leaving a small window open which allows bitter, cold air to come in; having your heating systems break down at night; the presence of mold, and much more.

But that’s not to say that growing cannabis indoors during the winter is impossible, or even rewarding. It’s just a matter of taking charge with the added responsibilities during winter, and accepting that yes – you do have to be more careful than you normally would during other times of the year.