I am getting hot temps over 100 degrees plus. What is everyone else doing. I’m putting mine in the shade the best I can. Growing Jack Herier Afghan and juicy fruit. Anyone else getting concerned about the heat.
1 Like
Increasing airflow will help.
6 Likes
It doesn’t seem to bother mine if they’re wet enough.
If you’re using salt based nutes then Lighter on the feeding during the heat too.
They’re going to use more water at those temps than food. 
7 Likes
Getting shade and light balanced best I can. As soon as I chop my autos this weekend, I’m actually bringing outside to the inside. With 98° temps and 110° heat indexes, no telling how hot the black bags are getting. I can’t even keep my vegetable garden from totally drying without watering 2-3x a day.
6 Likes
Mulch is a game changer in high heat. I use a few inches of straw to keep moisture in and heat out of the root zone. If they are in pots you can put it a hole slightly bigger than your pot keep the roots cooler too. Then mulch over and around. If your humidity is below 30% or so you can make an swamp cooler pretty easily and cheaply. I’ve also used misters and a fan to do the same thing. Note if you go with the misters, they and the fan need to be far enough away from the plants that they don’t condensate on the plants. If it’s over 100 and dry that’s not very far though. These are all techniques I use in my grow. Although I am finding I need the misters/coolers much less with a good mulch layer.
3 Likes
Just need to water more. If you restrict sun, the plants may go into flowering mode. These plants grow in some of the hottest climates….
3 Likes
Great info. Especially liked that straw was specified for its lighter color to keep ground cooler and less nutes…guessing the heat drying the soil daily will cause quicker salts buildup?
2 Likes
Thanks for the great info
Any time, I have the same problems here in NM. Shade cloth can help, and I’ve never seen it cause flowering by itself, but less light does mean less growth and sometimes less density in the end product so I would avoid it if you can.
2 Likes
Just bought the mulch have straw thanks for the great information
1 Like
Mine are in black nursery pots, big, like 15-20 gal. We went through a heat wave a couple weeks ago and I draped old bed sheets over the pots, JUST THE POTS, around the edges, not the soil, and watered down the bed sheets periodically. Kept the pots nice and cool. And the straw definitely helps a lot.
1 Like
Plants that are potted outdoors will dry out quicker requiring more frequent watering. The roots will also get too warm in hot weather if the soil is unprotected. A few inches of mulch may help a little, but to keep the roots cool in hot weather, and warm in cooler weather you need to deep mulch. 8" deep min.
2 Likes
Hello whats up im brand new to this site but i have some concerns about my plant its only 4 weeks old but looks likeits dying, i have it in a 5 gallon vucket straight top soil gets water everyday and its utside only 1 little drain hole in the bucket
Put bigger brain holes in it don’t water everyday it’s only five gallons, if it’s hot move it in shade best in morning sunlight unless your temps are be low 80 during the day in the sun. Use some type of nutrition if your only using top soil.
1 Like
@Belteshazar In a 5 gal bucket you need lots of drain holes. I would bet she is over watered. When you water, do it slowly. Give a few splashes and give that a few minutes to soak in then a few more splashes. Repeat that until the bucket is heavy. Don’t water again until the bucket is light. You can also stick your finger in the soil up to the second knuckle, When it feels dry it’s time to water again.
@greggy2 I would mostly agree there. I can’t speak to the keeping them warm part. I can say there is a point of diminishing returns to keeping it cool. I start with 2-3 inches, then let my cover crops and other seedlings grow up through that. Much more and my seedlings wouldn’t pop up. Then when I top dress I add another 2-3 inches. I did take some measurements since I was curious. I took about 30 measurements in 4 different areas. Ambient temps were between 97 and 100 degrees and 15%RH. Bare soil in the sun 2" down was about the same as the air. In the shade it was 88 degrees. In my new garden with 1-3" of straw the soil was 76-78 degrees. I have an older patch that has 6-8 inches of straw and it was 76-77 degrees. I should also note that ambient temps were close to a degree higher on average in the 6"-8" area. More can help but the biggest boost comes from the first few inches and depending on the methods used in the grow more can be counterproductive at times.
I understand some Growers may not be able to do this because of a short grow season I used to grow in 5 gallon nursery pot that usually became root bound and didn’t matter how much water it quickly dried up and plant’s became wilted 
fast in the Sun 
I find huge benefits in growing in the ground roots stay cooler and no visible pots or grow bags simply dig a hole and put the soil of your choice and the amendment you choose
1 Like
Well I now have two fans going, placed mulch in the 17 gallon containers. Temp is now 78 and the greenhouse is 85. Will get one more fan to put in. Thanks for all the advice.