Why is light deprivation so important to greenhouse Cannabis growth?
The ability to control the timing of your plants 24hr light cycle is key to making your cannabis flower. Cannabis in vegetative growth requires more light than dark so a 18hr/6hr light to dark cycle can help achieve natural big growth before flowering. When the lighting cycle is changed to 12hr/12hr the plants, believing it is late summer, will start to produce flower. Light deprivation is key in allowing greenhouse growers to control light cycles throughout the year in order to achieve multiple harvests.
How is greenhouse light deprivation done?
There are many methods of light deprivation that are currently employed by cannabis farmers. The basic setup for a greenhouse requires some form of material, a curtain, that blocks out light to be draped over a greenhouse. There are both manual and autonomous systems for deploying a light deprivation curtain. While smaller houses may be able to employ a manual system, larger greenhouses will require a motorized autonomous system in order to deploy large curtains.
Do I need to block out all light?
It is highly important when growing cannabis that light leaks are not present when the plants are flowering. That being said, many of the products on the market today block anywhere from 95%-100% of light. At 5% light penetration these 95% light deprivation systems may not be effective under full daylight. This is alright as long as the plants dark cycle is timed to match the night as closely as possible. A 100% light deprivation system can be effective at any time of day but comes at the drawback of lower breath-ability, which can also be a benefit as well as long as you can maintain proper airflow through the greenhouse.
Blackout Curtain Up
Blackout Curtain Down
Truly Total Light Deprivation
So I know you’re thinking “this information is super great but how will it help Truly Oreganic?” Great Question!! Here at Truly Oreganic we have chosen to use a non breathable, 100% automated, and 100% light deprivation system. What this system will allow us to achieve is nothing less than revolutionary for the newly established greenhouse cannabis market.
Going Green!!
The Truly Oreganic team is all about staying environmentally friendly and what better way to do that than cut back on our use of electricity. Not only do we have fewer supplementary lights by using greenhouses but the blackout curtain itself has its benefits too. The curtain does a great job of keeping heat inside or out. The outside of the curtains are white and the insides are black, increasing the efficiency of it insulating..
Reversing the Cycle!!
100% light deprivation in the middle of a sunny summer day is truly a sight to behold. While blocking out intense sun in the summer is a feat in its own, the curtain has its winter benefits as well. By reversing our lighting cycle in the winter, day is night and night is day, we can use our supplementary lighting to heat the house during the cold nights and reduce power usage yet again!
Sungrown Organics!!
That's right, growing in living soil while being fed with high quality compost teas are not our only secrets to success. Sun-grown cannabis can not be beat!! More light means more potent product. Truly Oreganic’s THC and CBD levels get that extra boost from full spectrum sunlight. The best of both indoor and outdoor growing all in one operation. You could not ask for better conditions to produce Cannabis!!