Growing cannabis in South Africa comes with its own unique set of challenges — and none are more frustrating than our country's most infamous disruption: load shedding. Cultivating marijuana, especially indoors, is already a demanding process that requires dedication, care, and consistency. But what happens when Eskom throws off your entire light cycle? Is load shedding the biggest pest of them all? And what can you actually do about it? Let’s find out.
Table Of Content
- How Load Shedding Affects Indoor Cannabis Growing
- Load Shedding During Vegetative Stage
- Load Shedding During Flowering
- OG’s Simple Solution
How Load Shedding Affects Indoor Cannabis Growing
Indoor growing is the fine dining of cannabis cultivation — a craft where every detail matters. Growers take pride in their setups, calculating nutrients to the millilitre, timing feedings to the minute, and pruning each leaf with care. But there's one disruption that no grower can control, and it strikes at the core of your plant’s growth cycle: power outages.
Mould, bugs, and fungi? We can fight those. But the unpredictability of Eskom’s rolling blackouts throws a much bigger wrench in the works. South African growers face a unique threat that often gets overlooked: load shedding can ruin your entire harvest.
There’s a saying: “You can’t control the weather.” Indoor growers might laugh — after all, they control daylight, humidity, temperature, even wind. But Eskom reminds us that there’s one element we still can’t fully manage: electricity.
So, what happens when the lights go out? What’s the actual risk for your plants? And most importantly: what can you do about it?
Outdoor growers, you’re in luck — the sun’s not controlled by Eskom. But even you might run into issues with irrigation systems or pumps. For indoor cultivators, however, the stakes are much higher. Cannabis plants are incredibly sensitive to light cycle disruptions.
Fact 1: Cannabis enters flowering based on changes in daylight hours via floral meristem identity gene activation.
Fact 2: Environmental stress — including inconsistent lighting — can cause female plants to turn hermaphrodite, producing pollen and seedy buds.
Load Shedding During Vegetative Stage
Interruptions during the veg stage stress your plants and confuse their natural rhythms. If light is cut off frequently or inconsistently, your plants may enter the flowering stage too early — before they’ve reached their full vegetative potential. Worse, frequent shock can lead to hermaphroditism, especially in feminized strains.
Learn how to spot early signs in our guide: How to Grow Regular Seeds. If you see pollen sacs forming in pre-flower, act fast to avoid self-pollination and a ruined harvest.
Plants need a stable light cycle to stay in veg. Sudden darkness may convince them to “switch sides” and begin flowering — way ahead of schedule.
Load Shedding During Flowering
Surprisingly, load shedding during flowering isn’t as catastrophic — unless it’s prolonged or paired with poor ventilation. Extended darkness might stunt flower growth or lead to conditions ideal for powdery mildew. But one of the biggest risks is actually the opposite: light leaks.
If emergency lights (like torches or backup LEDs) are left on during your 12-hour dark cycle, your plants might experience light poisoning. Just one stressed hermie plant can pollinate the entire grow room — and leave you with seedy buds.
OG’s Simple Load Shedding Solution
The key is consistency. Stick to 18/6 during veg and 12/12 during flower. Don’t add or subtract hours to “make up” for lost time. The best thing you can do is supplement lighting during outages — but do it smartly.
Generators and UPS systems are expensive and often overkill for home growers. Instead, invest in a reliable, battery-operated light that automatically turns on during power cuts and turns off when the power returns.
Yes — this kind of light exists. We found models that charge while plugged in and only activate when the power goes out. No 2AM wake-ups required. Just plug it in, set it to standby mode, and let it work for you during night-time grows.
Important: Make sure to unplug or switch off your light after load shedding ends, especially if you're already in the dark cycle. Light leaks during the plant's rest period are just as dangerous as darkness during the light cycle.
So there it is: a simple, cost-effective fix that protects your plants and saves your sanity. Grab one or two “load shedding lights,” and remember to check settings to avoid accidental stress later.
If you do end up with a few seeds, don’t panic. Hermie seeds often result in feminized offspring — nature’s silver lining. But if they came from pollinated regulars, expect a 50/50 mix of male and female plants. That’s a story for another day: Understanding Weed Seeds.
As South Africa edges closer to full legalisation, we can’t help but wonder how the surge in indoor cultivation will impact the already overloaded power grid. But for now, grow smart, plan ahead, and keep your garden on track — with a little help from Overgrow.
Ready to power through load shedding? Shop Overgrow’s elite cannabis seeds and grow with confidence.
