Thoughts on outdoors dwc?

[GMEtotheMoon]

Longtime lurker here, just recently joined.

Been growing photoperiod cannabis strains on and off for the past ~18 years. 2020 really reignited my passion for gardening as I was finally able to grow some monsters outdoors in the comfort of my own back yard. Fast forward to 2021 and my family has relocated to Central Florida.

Being from the Midwest my entire life, I can’t help but envy the SE FL climate and have recently spun up my first hydroponic setup, currently indoors. My wife isn’t a fan of my indoor gardening and I’ve been heavily debating vegging them a few weeks inside, then moving the entire setup outdoors and leveraging the FL sunshine as my light source. Despite my best efforts, I’m not finding a ton of information as it pertains to outdoor hydroponic cannabis grow, especially in winter! Any pros/cons/considerations would be much appreciated!

current rig;
2 plants - photoperiod feminized gelato, each 3 weeks old today
agromax 65 led (3000k)
general hydro flora, grow, bloom, micro
cal mag plus
regen-a-root
5g homer buckets (2 total, one per plant)
sunlight supply ecoplus eco air 2 - 2 outlet, 126gph, 3w pump
4” x 2“ agromax round air stone (1 per bucket)

Really been wanting to upgrade my pump, insulate my buckets and bring this entire setup with the exception of the grow light outside for flowering..

 

[CannabisMingus]

I’ve been heavily debating vegging them a few weeks inside, then moving the entire setup outdoors and leveraging the FL sunshine as my light source.

Nothing wrong with that idea in general, just not the reverse (outdoor to indoor) due to pest and related issues.

outdoor hydroponic cannabis grow

Your main problem will be reservoir temps. I successfully run DWC with res temps in the lower 70's (indoor) but I dose Hydroguard. Even with a robust inoculation program your roots may take a massive hit on growth, even if you somehow are able to avoid Pythium and its allies.

IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[CannabisMingus]

Longtime lurker here, just recently joined.

And to AFN!

 

[GMEtotheMoon]

Appreciate the feedback. Ironically I do have hydroguard on my shopping list for my next visit to the local hydro shop.

Good call out on reservoir temps. Mine have been in the low 70’s indoors with the aforementioned eco air pump. I have been looking into air diffusers specifically designed for the buckets as well as chillers, but with this being my first hydro run and given temps are mild in winter here I’d love to be able to skip a chiller at least for now.

Avg temp by month where I live is as follows;
Nov 78 high, 60 low
Dec 73 high, 53 low
Jan 71 high, 49 low
Feb 74 high, 52 low
Mar 77 high, 55 low

My thinking was to insulate my 5 gallon buckets with a heat retentive & reflective product. If I need to invest in diffusers and/or upgraded pump(s) to keep res temps down, so be it.

My gelato girls in this system currently are maturing at an incredible rate compared to my coco/soil grows in the past so I’d love to expose them to some FL sunshine, even during winter!

 

[CannabisMingus]

My thinking was to insulate my 5 gallon buckets with a heat retentive & reflective product. If I need to invest in diffusers and/or upgraded pump(s) to keep res temps down, so be it.

You might pull it off in the winter. You may need an aquarium heater in your res at some point. If you do, do NOT rely on the built in thermostat - make sure you use an outboard heater controller (not some cheap crap but a solid one like Johnson Controls). Aquarium heaters and UV sterilizers fail - a lot - sometimes with catastrophic consequences.

That being said, you should try it on an experimental basis first (not your main grow nor prized genetics) and make sure you do a grow thread on AFN so we can all learn!

 

[GMEtotheMoon]

Here are the two gelato ladies. They are each exactly 3 weeks old today since taproots popped from seed and propagated in my aerogarden for a tad over two weeks.

They were transplanted from the aerogarden to these 5 gallon buckets this past Thursday (Day 5 since transplant).

Current PH: 7.25 via Hanna Instruments Groline
Current PPM: 825 via Hanna Instruments Primo

Notes:
I have reason to believe my PH meter already needs a replacement probe as I've calibrated it several times and my friends bluelab pen showed ph readings in the 6.5 range when tested a few days ago.

I didn't wish to shock the girls by changing the res out already, so I've been adding a drop or two of PH Down each morning and monitoring PPM in tandem.

 

[GMEtotheMoon]

Update:
Plant on the left is doing quite well. Very bushy from the lst I did a week or so back. I'll probably tie her top down again here to get the new growth more light. You can see in the attached picture I have the 10w LED from my aerogarden sprout pointed at the lower growth. Ordered mylar reflective sheeting to fully encompass each bucket.

Tried mainlining the plant on the right, accidentally broke one of the nodes off. Oh well.

Note:
These girls already smell a decent bit. I have an Ona block and Germ Guardian Hepa Allergy Filter in my grow space (lower half of a closet) but still, I think the lack of a fully enclosed, carbon filtered space is ultimately the cause.

I will be going on a family trip where I'll need to be placing these girls outside, which presumably will have these girls start to flower (East Coast FL).

Any advice or suggestions as I work towards putting these girls outside is tremendously appreciated! I'm planning on putting them outside by 10/23 which would have these girls at ~5.5 weeks from seed.

Mods - When I pull the trigger on moving my gear outside is it possible to convert this thread to an outdoor grow?