1st time indoor grower, this is my plan

[StonyGeoff]

i live in australia. its coming on winter soon as its march 19, the first month of autumn. although we've had a heat wave recently and days are still reaching 39-40 degrees C! (100-104 degrees F)
my plant (was plants but my pots got spilled in week 3 or 4 of growth so only 1 has survived at this stage.. is being grown in soil, fed with miracle-gro, watered with rain-water, and lit by 1 30cm fluroescent tube (cool white). my grow room temperature is between 25-30 degrees C (77-86). my plant is 5" tall and is getting 22 hours of light per day at the moment. also it is day 39 of my plants life.

my basic plan is to continue vegetative growth in my "mini" grow-room until the plant reaches about 18" in height. then i wish to drop the daily light photoperiod back to 10/14 (day/night) for 2 weeks to induce flowering. then i planned to move my plant outside and let it flower in natural light. by then i should have 4-8 weeks of decent "autumn" weather before winter comes, in which to let the plant mature outside.

how does that sound? any comments so far?

thank you from a first-time grower attempting to learn as much as possible this first time round

cheers

 

[Smokin Moose]

What part of Oz are you in? You would need to be in the tropics to do what you propose. Day length is short enough now for you to immediately plant outdoors, in a very sheltered spot.

 

[StonyGeoff]

I'm in SA. not in a tropical climate unfortunately :-(
If I plant outside now I dont see it reaching 12" in height before it begins to flower? The outside weather here at the moment is not really consistent. this week it's 18-26 C days. next week it might be back up around 38 C.

ps, the seed for this plant was indica/sativa hybrid i believe, cannot be sure. i'll try and post a few pictures

 

[Smokin Moose]

At a stretch, you may just make it in SA. I don't think the frosts there are too severe in May. Good luck.

 

[StonyGeoff]

The frosts definately aren't a problem where I am Thank you

 

[StonyGeoff]

do the lamps need to be close to your plant during the early stages of vegetative growth?

 

[Smokin Moose]

Yes, specially with a small flouro. Get it as close as possible.

 

[StonyGeoff]

some of the leaves have turned slightly brown and curly. although i think this is a result of having been knocked over and the plant recovering. i thought it might have been the lamp was too close to the leaves on the plant..