By Max Sargent


The light deprivation or “light dep” technique allows you to control the hours of light your outdoor cannabis plants receive. When you trick your plants into thinking that the shorter light periods of autumn are beginning, they will speed up the flowering process. The benefit of this is that you can make your plants flower at will. This will allow you to achieve two or more outdoor harvests per season! When your plants are budding in summer as opposed to autumn, this can have even more advantages. Let’s take a closer look at light deprivation for cannabis and how to make use of it for a better harvest.

WHEN CAN I USE LIGHT DEPRIVATION?

For most European growers, plants receive on average 12.5 hours of light in September. In the winter months, however, the days will be quite short with plants only getting about 7-9 hours of light. Most of the time, outdoor marijuana crops will finish their flowering in October with some strains waiting all the way until November.

The cool temperatures and rainy weather throughout most of northern Europe in late autumn means a significant risk for bud rot. With the light deprivation technique, you can force your plants to bud as early as July. The intense sunlight and higher temperatures of the summer can improve the quality of your bud, minimising the risk for mould and rot. From July on, when the natural sunlight hours start decreasing, you won’t need to keep using the light dep technique as your plants will have already moved into flowering.

Light Deprivation To Avoid Rotten Cannabis

WHAT IS A GOOD TIME FOR FLOWERING BEFORE THE WEATHER GETS BAD?

Some growers prefer to use light deprivation on their plants at the beginning of July. If you ensure that your plants get only 12 hours of sunlight, they will begin flowering. After three weeks with your light deprived plants in flower, you won’t need to cover them any longer since the days will be sufficiently short. Pretty much any strain grown this way should be ready for harvest long before the weather gets too ugly!

LIGHT DEP TECHNIQUE: HOW TO COVER YOUR PLANTS?

How to cover your plants will depend first and foremost on how many you have. But regardless of whether you only have a couple outdoor plants, or want to cover-up an entire greenhouse, what’s important is that your cover is 100% light-proof. Using any material that allows light to filter through, or leaving any gaps in coverage could prevent your plants from flowering or lead to hermies.

The easiest way to make a cover for your plants is with a thick, light-proof plastic cover or some kind of tarp. You should be able to find suitable materials at any well-sorted grow shop. With the help of some clothespins, you can easily make light-proof bags that will fit over your plants and their containers.

Black plastic bins of a suitable size can also be used for the light deprivation technique as long as they are fully light-proof.

Alternatively, instead of covering up your plants, you can also move them to a dark room for the purpose of light deprivation. This may work well for a small number of plants grown in pots, but may become a big chore in the event of many plants. Furthermore, the requirement of moving your plants in and out on a daily basis may end up taking more effort than it’s worth.

PLAN YOUR LIGHT DEP PROJECT WELL

In theory, covering your plants isn’t rocket science. However, there are some things to consider before you start out with your light deprivation grow project.

First, know that cannabis is very sensitive to light in the dark/night cycle during the flowering phase. Your precious plants really want to be left alone, undisturbed, and in complete darkness during these hours. Sometimes, even slight disturbances from accidental light exposure can make them grow poorly, leading to all sorts of problems.

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Covering your plants under some type of container or light-proof tarp with the sun hitting can increase temperatures and create a higher risk of moisture buildup inside. So keep an eye on these things as well. If you can, move your covered plants to a shady area out of direct sun.

Cannabis Plant In A Balcony

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE SIZE OF YOUR PLANTS

Your plants may be small right now, but they likely won’t stay that way. Many strains, sativas in particular, can stretch considerably when they flower and may reach gigantic proportions. It is relatively easy to underestimate the final size of some strains. Take this into account when coming up with an effective way to cover your plants. If you make or purchase covers that are too small, you run the risk of the technique failing.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO COVER YOUR PLANTS?

It doesn’t matter whether you put a cover on your plants in the morning or the evening. But you need to be consistent and do this at the same time everyday so that your plants don’t get more than 12 hours of light. Once you start, you can’t change your schedule around during the light deprivation grow phase. Think about what works best for you; whether you want to do this in the morning or the evening.

Lastly, before you start with your “cover up activities,” you might want to consider whether moving your plants around or having a “bag” on them will raise suspicions with less-than-trustworthy neighbours. It can be a good idea to do your gardening duties at a time when it’s less likely to draw someone’s unwanted attention.

WINDOWSILL GROWING INDOORS CAN BE IDEAL FOR LIGHT DEP

Some growers don’t use a dedicated tent or a grow room, they simply grow marijuana on a windowsill. This can work fairly well assuming that the plants get plenty of sunlight through the window.

Such a windowsill can be an excellent way to implement the light deprivation technique because all you require are light depriving blinds or curtains. After your plants receive the necessary light exposure for that day, you can simply close the curtains or shut the blinds. No moving of your precious plants required and no covering of your plants! Some who grow this way on a sunny windowsill say that they get excellent results from it.

Windowsill Cannabis Plants Light Deprivation

AUTOMATING YOUR LIGHT DEP GROW

No question, the requirement for consistency when you cover and uncover your plants on a daily basis can make such a project quite tedious. You will, after all, need to do this everyday for several weeks. And as if this isn’t already challenging enough, the plants unfortunately won’t handle mistakes or forgetfulness too well either. Expert growers who use light dep to maximise their harvests will normally automate the process.

The windowsill technique is a great example where you could automate things easily. For this, you only need a timer and an electric curtain rail. Simply set the timer, and all the light dep work will be taken care of for you!

USE LIGHT DEPRIVATION FOR TWO HARVESTS PER SEASON

Growers normally make use of light deprivation when they want to max out their harvests. The technique can help facilitate two, and in some cases, three harvests per outdoor season. A popular method is to grow a group of plants the “normal” way, and cultivate a separate group using light dep. The light deprived crops can then be harvested as early as August while the other plants will be ready in autumn.

Know that cannabis light deprivation may not work equally for everyone. The best way to go about it depends on various factors, including your local climate and your plant’s environment. This is why some experimentation with light dep can be worthwhile. In time, you will find a way to achieve optimal results from this technique.

WHAT ABOUT AUTOFLOWERING STRAINS AND LIGHT DEPRIVATION?

Autoflowering cannabis strains have the advantage that they do not rely on the natural daylight cycles for their flowering period. Most autos will do fine with 13-18 hours of sunlight, with some growers even using a 24 hour light schedule. Since autos won’t respond to changes in light hours, using any light dep technique for these strains wouldn’t make much sense. However, growing autoflowering strains, in particular “super autos” that grow larger and produce bigger yields, can be a good alternative if you want to grow outdoors, but don’t want to rely on natural daylight hours.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: