The popularity of light deprivation cultivation is rising. Key factors for this increase in interest include higher quality yields and off-season harvest times. This allows growers who utilize this method to supply the market with a particular product when others are unable.

In light deprivation growing, horticulturalists use sunlight to fuel their gardens while employing environmental controls that aren't traditionally used in outdoor growing scenarios.

This blend of cultivation styles allows light deprivation gardeners to combine their knowledge of indoor and outdoor growing to produce exceptional crops. Light deprivation requires less electricity and allows for harvests during better weather.

Plant Photoperiods

The most definitive characteristic of light-deprivation cultivation is the artificial simulation which equals 12-hour light/dark photoperiods. With light deprivation, cultivators seek to mimic the photoperiods of late summer and early fall which triggers plants to produce flowers.

This idea of artificially-induced flower periods represents a merging of outdoor and indoor growing methods. While indoor growers have timers that simulate night and day in a grow room, light deprivation growers must think of other means to black out the sunlight during the 12-hour dark period.

Keep in mind that artificial light deprivation methods are only necessary in evening and morning in most areas. Exposing your plants to sunsets, moonrises, and the fresh air of summer nights generally improves their quality.

But, light deprivation enthusiasts must devise blackout systems that cover the entire canopy and exterior of their gardens to block all sunlight in the simulation of nighttime conditions.


Frames, Hoop-Houses & Greenhouses


There are three routes that you can take to create this framework: wood frames, hoop-houses, and greenhouses.



Tarp Systems

Choosing the right tarp-pulling system in a light deprivation operation is important for the duration of a flowering cycle. The tarp has to be pulled over the entire canopy of the garden twice a day for an entire 55- to 70-day flower cycle. This means that light deprivation cultivators have to be present twice a day, for two months solid, to ensure this task is complete.

In the novice operation, as seen with wooden frames and hoop-houses, it’s often possible to simply pull the tarp over the frame by hand or with the aid of ropes. To help with this process, growers also devise pulley systems mounted on trees and wooden poles to help with getting a tarp over a large or tall frame system.


Read More: Greenhouse 101: Styles and Materials

Airflow During the ‘Night’ Period







Once dialed in, light deprivation technology can be used to harvest early and often, particularly in late summer and early fall.