Got down to 29 F: what to expect?

Grandma Weedstein

Grandma Weedstein

Well-Known Member
So temperature got down to 29 degrees Fahrenheit this morning on my outdoor grow. Plants looked covered in frost, but too early to tell damage and I had to go to work. What can I expect? Will they be mush when I get home? If they are, is any of that still usable?
 
Cover them at night with a sheet if it's gunna get below freezing

No clue how they respond to last night, but look towards the future

They are a tuff plant
 
How long was it below freezing? I live in Florida. 6 hours or more at 32* F or longer is considered a hard freeze. Plants would probably be toast if that happened. If you had frost on your leaves, those will probably be wilted and die. If it wasn't below freezing for more than 6 hours, the plant will still have been damaged and it may or may not survive, especially since you did not cover them. Best of luck.
 
Chris Scorpio said:
Cover them at night with a sheet if it's gunna get below freezing

No clue how they respond to last night, but look towards the future

They are a tuff plant
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BigD13 said:
How long was it below freezing? I live in Florida. 6 hours or more at 32* F or longer is considered a hard freeze. Plants would probably be toast if that happened. If you had frost on your leaves, those will probably be wilted and die. If it wasn't below freezing for more than 6 hours, the plant will still have been damaged and it may or may not survive, especially since you did not cover them. Best of luck.
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Yea covering them is not an option — way too big and I’ve got no structure to hang a tarp on. Plus I’ve got limited time for doing that kind of thing every night. What happens if there is a killing freeze? Is the bud still usable?
 
Grandma Weedstein said:
Yea covering them is not an option — way too big and I’ve got no structure to hang a tarp on. Plus I’ve got limited time for doing that kind of thing every night. What happens if there is a killing freeze? Is the bud still usable?
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Maybe put a few old fluorescent lamps near? 100/200 watts ones that make a lot of heat, if you have a outlet near... Too big to cover them? I even cover small trees in the winter... (2 meters tall)
 
fatbuds420 said:
Maybe put a few old fluorescent lamps near? 100/200 watts ones that make a lot of heat, if you have a outlet near... Too big to cover them? I even cover small trees in the winter... (2 meters tall)
Click to expand...
fatbuds420 said:
Oh btw, only put the lights if they are autos... If not, even a small heater on the lowest setting could work, as long as they stay above 10/15c they should be fine
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You’re obviously way more committed than me, LOL. There’s no way I’m gonna be putting up makeshift structures and covering the plants with blankets and stuff every night. Also, they’re way out in my field and I don’t want to be dragging a heater and extension cable out there. Either they live or they don’t, LOL. What I’m really wondering is: what are the adverse consequences of letting the cold temps kill them? Does that render the bud unusable or what? If that’s the case, I will just chop now. If there’s not a serious adverse effect — like completely turning the bud to mush — then I will continue risking it to let them grow a little longer.
 
Grandma Weedstein said:
You’re obviously way more committed than me, LOL. There’s no way I’m gonna be putting up makeshift structures and covering the plants with blankets and stuff every night. Also, they’re way out in my field and I don’t want to be dragging a heater and extension cable out there. Either they live or they don’t, LOL. What I’m really wondering is: what are the adverse consequences of letting the cold temps kill them? Does that render the bud unusable or what? If that’s the case, I will just chop now. If there’s not a serious adverse effect — like completely turning the bud to mush — then I will continue risking it to let them grow a little longer.
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To be honest it's hard to tell, but I'd give it a shot anyways. Worse case scenario you waste a few minutes watering them, I'm facing a similar issue too, but I've read that a few hours or cold ain't that bad. Frost is what kills weed
 
Yup, a little cold ain't bad, it's the frost that's the killer. That's why we cover them, to keep the frost off the plant. The only way to tell if the buds are any good is to look at them. I've heard of people storing buds in the freezer, but that's after they have been dried and cured. If most of the leaves on the plant have frost damage, I'd chop it.
 
It’s not much different then sayca tomato plant freezing. What’s happens to the tomatoes? Basically unusable after a heavy freeze. Can cook it down and hope for the best but chances are the plant did not get to the right stage in flower to produce any affect. I mean the trichomes did not go cloudy therefore they don’t have thc in then yet. Once those trichomes freeze, they don’t keep developing. They are like a liquid. Sorry to break that too you lol. Cover them with a 2x4 framed “green house” with poly.
I neglected to ask lol, how far into flower are they? Any pics of them?
 
BigD13 said:
Yup, a little cold ain't bad, it's the frost that's the killer. That's why we cover them, to keep the frost off the plant. The only way to tell if the buds are any good is to look at them. I've heard of people storing buds in the freezer, but that's after they have been dried and cured. If most of the leaves on the plant have frost damage, I'd chop it.
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They freeze them after they have finished there cycle. That’s the goal lol. I do the same.
 
Sask420grow said:
It’s not much different then sayca tomato plant freezing. What’s happens to the tomatoes? Basically unusable after a heavy freeze. Can cook it down and hope for the best but chances are the plant did not get to the right stage in flower to produce any affect. I mean the trichomes did not go cloudy therefore they don’t have thc in then yet. Once those trichomes freeze, they don’t keep developing. They are like a liquid. Sorry to break that too you lol. Cover them with a 2x4 framed “green house” with poly.
I neglected to ask lol, how far into flower are they? Any pics of them?
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Thanks for the advice but I think the trichomes will still have THC in them even if they’re not cloudy. I harvest some Cinex super early and it gets the job done, tho I have to smoke more and it doesn’t last as long. Can’t argue with free, tho, LOL. I mostly just enjoy fucking around with plants and smoking every now and then, so I don’t really care that much about producing top shelf bud, to tell the truth.
I attached a photo of a cola that I just harvested as a hedge. It could stand to go another couple weeks but if the cold didn’t get it, then the rain would’ve.
 

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Have you had a chance to see what the frost did to your plants?
 
BigD13 said:
Have you had a chance to see what the frost did to your plants?
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Yea the above cola survived just fine, as did the others. I’m just worried because tonight may get even colder. I chopped two colas just to have “something” in case of disaster but left about 10 remaining on that plant. Didn’t chop any from another one that’s less mature, or from another that’s more mature that I was planning to harvest on Friday anyway. Thanks for asking!
 
That's good to hear. I hope the rest survive. Keep us posted please.
 

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