With more and more technology and equipment out there, growing cannabis indoors might feel like a more natural choice for many beginners. But what if you want to stay close to nature, avoid starter kits, hydroponics, lamps, and instead get your hands dirty? Then you should try to grow cannabis outdoors! .

It’s not difficult to do. They call it weed for a reason, it grows really easily. While you will not be able to monitor every aspect of your grow operation like you would if you were growing indoors, growing outdoors will be extremely rewarding and a whole lot of fun.

If you have done any gardening in the past, transitioning into growing cannabis in your garden will feel natural. If you have not done any gardening before, you will get the hang of it quickly with a bit of patience and attention. No matter if you are the former or the latter – this guide is the right place to start. 

How to Start Growing Cannabis Outside?

Your growing journey starts before you even touch the soil. When you decide to grow cannabis, one of the first and most important things you need to decide on is the type of weed you will grow. There are multiple things you will need to take under consideration.

 If you dislike research and want to “go with the flow” instead, keep that attitude for another activity. Seed selection is a crucial part of any growing operation, and you need to do a bit of research and take a look at the facts before making an informed decision on which strain is the right one for you.

How to Choose the Best Cannabis Strain for Your Outdoor Grow?

Here are the few things you need to take under consideration when choosing your strain:

What Climate Do You Live In?

While cannabis loves to grow in warm places, not all of us have the luxury of growing (and living) in a warm climate. However, if you live in a place that has relatively warm summers, it is still possible to grow cannabis outdoors and make it work. 

Summers in Texas will be different from summers in Chicago. Therefore, it is crucial to find the type of cannabis that will feel most comfortable in your particular environment. A good practice is to go for variations that were developed in climates strongly resembling yours. 

Photoperiod vs. Autoflowering Strains

When looking at various seeds available in seed banks, you will soon realize that they are often split into photo and auto strains. The main difference between photoperiod and autoflowering strains is that autoflowering strains will start flowering automatically when they achieve a certain age (usually about 3-4 weeks). In contrast, photoperiod strains flowering period is set off by changing the amount of sun the plant gets. So, if you grow photoperiod cannabis strains outdoors, they will only start flowering at the end of the summer, when the amount of sun they receive is lower than at the beginning of their growing season. It is, therefore, light, not time-dependent. 

If you live in a climate that is not ideal for growing cannabis, and your summers can get a bit short, you will be better off growing auto-flowering strains. That way, you eliminate the stress of early autumn ruining your grow by starting the flowering process too early.

While you will, of course, need to make sure your plants have plenty of daylight, the flowering process will happen automatically, independently of how much sun they are receiving.

With photoperiod strains, this is not the case. You might need to modify the amount of sunlight that reaches your plants and, if you are a brand new grower, it all might be a bit too much to add to your already long “to do list”. Saying that, plenty of first-time growers decide to plant photoperiod plants and succeed in their endeavors.

If Autoflowering Is So Easy, Why Do Some People Grow Photoperiod Strains?

There are three main reasons why people decide to put the extra effort in and grow photoperiod strains. 

First of all, the growing stage takes longer and, with the longer and stronger exposure to the sun, photo strains often end up being bigger and stronger than autoflowering strains. As a result, your yield tends to be bigger and quite often with higher THC levels.

Additionally, photoperiod plants are much easier to manipulate. Since they have more time to grow, and since they are bigger and stronger, it is easier to train them and, in that way, manipulate the results you will get from your growth.

Thirdly, photoperiod strains can be cloned. If you manage to grow an amazing plant and want to clone it, you will be able to do so. While cloning autoflowering strains is in theory possible, it is difficult and hardly ever ends with success. 

No matter if you decide to go for autoflowering or photoperiod strains, if you follow this guide carefully, you will end up with a great grow. If it is your first grow, start with autoflowering, just for the simplicity.

What Do You Need to Start Growing Cannabis Outdoors?

Here are a few basics you need to take care of when setting up your garden to grow cannabis outdoors. 

Find the Right Space in Your Garden.

You need to make sure you have enough space for your plants to grow freely. As you might have figured out by now, photoperiod strains need more space than autoflowering strains. Getting to grow for longer they will grow both taller and wider. Check how big the plants of the strain you are using are supposed to be during the final growing stage, and then, with that in mind, make sure you provide each of your baby plants with at least that.

You also need to make sure that the space you choose has great exposure to the sun. Think about which parts of your garden the sunlight hits the most. Think about how the rest of your garden might affect your grow, especially during the flowering period. Do you have bushes next to your growing patch area which might obstruct the sun? Will the tree in your neighbor’s garden bloom and block the sunlight? 

Take some time to analyze your garden and observe the sun before selecting the ultimate growing spot.

Protect Your Plants From the Rain.

While your instincts might tell you rain should be good for your plants, the truth is that it can be more of an enemy than a friend. A few drops here and there will not cause you any major issues, but proper heavy rain or a storm may become a problem. 

First of all, heavy wind and rain during the flowering process can knock down your buds, which would be just horrible. 

Secondly, you should remember that the cannabis plants you are growing are bred to produce high yields, not to survive big weather fluctuation. Plants caught in heavy rain can break under pressure, and sometimes the damage can be so big they will die. 

Thirdly, excessively moistened soil can attract unwanted guests, such as mildew, fungus, and mold growth. While there are certain tricks to prevent these intrusions from happening (for example, by changing the soil’s pH levels), the easiest thing you can do is to protect your growing patch from the rain. This can be done by either protecting the field by building tent-like protection with plastic cover or by simply putting your plants in separate containers (such as big plant pots), which will allow you to move your plants indoors when bad weather is expected. 

I have lost many plants and a lot of weed in my outdoor growing endeavors. Growing in a wet climate like the Lower Mainland(near Vancouver BC) was especially hard on the thick buds in the middle of fall. So if you choose to grow cannabis outdoors, keep your eyes on the weather and plan ahead!

Choose the Correct Container.

Talking about putting your plants in containers. As a first-time grower, you might want to consider putting your germinated seeds into soil-filled pots instead of planting them straight into the soil in your garden. 

Putting your plants in pots gives you the power to move them around and, most importantly, bring them indoors when need be. This is not just useful to avoid rain and wind, but it is also one of the best ways to protect your plants from sudden temperature drops.

Remember to put your germinated seed in a pot big enough to support a fully grown plant. Once again, it is safer to overestimate than underestimate. If a plant does not have enough space to develop, its roots will not have enough access to the nutrients in the soil and, as a result, will not produce big and healthy buds. So always allow plenty of space for your plants. 

Make Sure to Use the Right Soil.

No matter if you decide to grow your plants in pots or straight into the soil in your garden, you will have to make sure the soil you use is top quality. You can not simply pick up some dirt from the side of a road and expect your plants to just magically grow.

Soil is your plants’ food. The better the quality, the stronger and healthier your plants will be. Experienced growers like to make their own mixture of soil, monitoring closely various ingredients that end up in the mix. If this doesn’t sound like something you want to spend your time on, then worry not. There are plenty of ready-made mixes out there for you to try.

Drainage

Something you should know about great soil is that it has excellent drainage. This is important because you do not want any water to get stuck in the soil for too long, resulting in issues mentioned in the previous paragraphs, such as mold. 

The best way to tell if the soil you are looking at does indeed have good drainage is to put your hand in it. It should feel fluffy and airy.

If you do not want to purchase any soil and want to use what you have in your garden instead, do make sure to test your soil first. While you might think the soil in your garden is good enough, you will not know until you test it.

Nutrients

You have to remember your plants will need constant access to multiple ingredients, the three most important ones being nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and phosphorus (P). Are you sure your garden is full of these ingredients? Just because you grow cannabis outdoors doesn’t mean you can skip out on nutrients!

Store-bought fertilizers are a good source of nutrients. Make sure when you buy your fertilizers, all of the above three mentioned ingredients are present. You will probably notice it is also possible to buy these ingredients separately. It might happen that your soil (no matter if it is store-bought or not) will end up short on one of these ingredients at some point as plants tend to have very different appetites. Your particular cannabis plants might happen to enjoy a little extra potassium. If that happens, you can always purchase the necessary nutrients, mix them with water, and then use that water to feed your plants.

To put it simply, if you want to make life easier when growing for the first time, use store-bought soil with fertilizers and put your plants in pots. This will allow you to have the highest level of control with the lowest effort.

How to Care for Your Plants During the Vegetative Phase When You Grow Cannabis Outdoors?

You have set up your space for your plants. You have successfully germinated your carefully selected seeds. l You have placed them in the ultimate position that allows them to bathe in the sun for hours, provided them with all the food they might want. And you have even come up with a strategy to protect them from unexpected weather fluctuations. But how do you make sure your plants remain healthy and strong until the flowering stage?

Manage the pH Levels.

It is impossible to talk about growing cannabis without talking about pH levels. You have to know that cannabis has its preferred pH levels, and it will react quickly and strongly to any pH fluctuations. It is, therefore, your responsibility to ensure that the pH levels are just right.

When growing outside, the ideal pH for the root zone (the area of the soil in which roots grow) is between 6.0–7.0 (on a scale from 1 to 10). Your cannabis plants will only absorb nutrients when the pH level is between these two numbers. Any fluctuation above or below that window will make it impossible for your plant to use the nutrients it is surrounded by. If you do not check and adjust the soil’s pH levels, your plants might starve, even when surrounded by nutrients.

Fortunately, fixing pH levels is very easy, especially when caught early. To catch it, you will need to purchase a PH meter. They are relatively simple to use – just make sure to follow the attached instructions carefully. Do not skip any steps. Ensure you calibrate it properly, and consider wearing gloves while running your tests to ensure your body chemistry doesn’t influence the pH reading.

If you realize you are dealing with an imbalance, you will simply need to add a pH adjuster solution (pH up or pH down) into your water, which you will then feed to your plant. Problem solved!

Protect Your Plant From the Cold.

Cannabis plants like it warm. They grow best in warm conditions, which is why you grow your plants outdoors in the summer months. Unfortunately, weather is unpredictable, and sometimes things can get out of control, especially at night. Find your favorite weather app and check it religiously, or set up alerts that will inform you about significant weather changes. 

If you expect a sudden drop in temperature, you will need to act fast. Plants overexposed to low temperatures will either cause a growth stagnation or lead to death in the worst-case scenario. Anything below 68ºF (20ºC) is considered to be too low of a temperature for cannabis, with anything below 54ºF (12ºC) being deadly.

If you grow your cannabis outdoors but in separate containers, the easiest solution is to bring the plants indoors and make sure your heating is turned up. If, on the other hand, the plants have been planted directly into the soil, you will need to bring warmth to them and bring out some heaters.

Just make sure you place the heaters far from any flammable materials and do not simultaneously use too many extension cords. You want to avoid any fire hazards or creating a power shortage in the middle of the night, leaving your plants out in the cold.

How to Water and Feed Your Plants?

Like with any other plant, cannabis also needs to be watered. Just because we want to protect it from the rain doesn’t mean it does not want to be watered. It just means that the watering routine is all on you! Growing cannabis outdoors doesn’t mean you leave it completely up to nature, though I have done that, with very little success though.

We can not tell you how much water your plant will need. It depends on the breed, on your weather conditions, the amount of sunlight, etc. A good rule of thumb is to start by watering it once a couple days- a bit more generously during the seedling phase or if you live in a dry climate. 

Don’t Over/Under Water Your Plants!

After you are done watering, the soil should look darker and moist, but it should not turn into mud or a puddle of water – it is possible to overwater your plants! If you are too eager when watering and accidentally drown your roots, your plants will not have enough oxygen to grow and might attract mildew. This is also why high-quality soil with great drainage is so important.

You should also look out for signals your plant will send to you if it’s overwatered or thirsty. The state of the plants’ leaves is the best indicator for this. If your leaves start to curl at any point, show strange spots, or turn brown and willow, then you know something is off. Here are a few basic telltale signs that your cannabis plant is not happy:

• Leaves are droopy and curled down – overwatered
• Thin and “”papery” leaves – underwatered
• Yellowing leaves combined with one of the above symptoms – poor watering practice
• Yellowing leaves, with no other symptoms – Nitrogen Deficiency
• Yellowing leaves with Spots, stripes, or patches – check your PH levels

Do remember that your plants’ water needs and general appetite can change throughout their lifetime! So if you nailed it in the first week, do not assume you can just keep on doing what you’re doing until harvesting time! Instead, keep monitoring your plant’s progress and adjust both nutrition and water levels as needed.

Protecting Your Plants From Pests and Other Enemies When Growing Cannabis Outdoors

When you decide to grow cannabis outdoors, you need to accept that you will need to think about pests and mold more than your indoor growing friends. 

A bug infestation is very easy to identify. Usually, you will see the bugs, their eggs, or bites on the leaves. Your plant will also look generally sad and without much life in it – and can you blame it?

Getting rid of an infestation is very hard. If you think your plant has been attacked by bugs, you need to identify exactly what they are and follow the recommended techniques to get rid of them. Therefore, it is much better and much easier to prevent your plants from getting sick in the first place.

Be careful when buying clones from another grower. It is much easier to get your farm infested by someone else’s clones than from your own or when germinating seeds yourself. If you buy clones from another grower, make sure their farm is squeaky clean and has not dealt with any recent pest issues.

Another way of dealing with these issues is to use chemical repellents. We do nevertheless advise against it, as it harms the environment, as well as your final yield. Who would want to smoke buds full of chemicals? Here are some alternatives to chemicals when it comes to protecting your cannabis from the elements outside your home:

Companion Planting.

The more diverse the environment cannabis grows in, the bigger the chance your plants will stay protected. Plant basil, mint, marigolds, onions, garlic, and peppers near your cannabis. They are natural pest repellents, and they will work as an invisible shield for various pests.

Natural Pesticides Repellents.

If you want to go for an easy solution, look for natural repellents available in stores. Some people recommend repellents that include urine of pests’ natural enemies (a bit extreme, but as long as it works!) or garlic sprays.

Fences and Screens.

Humans are not the only living creatures that enjoy a bit of cannabis now and then. 

Animals like rabbits and deers are famous for their love of nibbling on cannabis leaves. Build a fence to protect your plants from these adorable predators. It is also a good idea to build a fence if you are a dog owner too. You want to make sure they do not dig out the soil!

When it comes to little bugs, you can buy a special screen to prevent insects from getting on your leaves. 

Conclusion

If you are wondering whether you can grow cannabis outside as a first-time grower, the answer is yes! If your climate and living situation allows it, give it a try.

As long as you read this guide and follow our instructions, your first outdoor grow will be a success. Enjoy the adventure!