In this article we are going to explain you how to grow cannabis outdoors. Growing cannabis is interesting and rewarding process. In addition, growing your own cannabis gives you complete control of the entire elaboration process.
Growing cannabis outdoors is more economic than doing it indoors. Nonetheless, when you grow cannabis outdoors there are many things you need to consider such as the weather, best cannabis strains for outdoor growing or the soil you use for your plants.
How to Grow Cannabis Outdoors
Cannabis outdoors is cheaper than indoors as you do not need electricity for artificial lights. With outdoor growing you will rely on sun. In addition, you can even install a small greenhouse.
The cannabis plant is very versatile, and it grows in many different climates. Cannabis is indigenous to Central Asia and the Indian peninsula. Today, cannabis grows all over the world, even in the wild as feral cannabis. However, even if cannabis is highly adaptable to many different climates, you need to be careful with extreme temperatures. For instance, temperatures over 30ºC will impact the plant growth. In short, cannabis will not grow when temperatures are over 30ºC. Moreover, temperatures below 12ºC can damage the plant and even kill it. Furthermore, it is important to protect the plants from heavy rains and wind.
The Importance of Sunlight
Sunlight varies depending on the latitude and the season. For example, it is not the same to grow cannabis outdoors in Stockholm than doing it in Madrid and the sunlight varies drastically from winter to summer. Sunlight is fundamental for the flowering of your cannabis.
Give Space to Your Plants
Plants need direct sun during summer. Then when the season changes and less sunlight, the plants will start the flowering process. If the weather is too hot, you will need to choose a place where your cannabis plants can get enough wind. On the other hand, too windy place can damage your plants, so you might consider the option of installing windbreaks.
Furthermore, you need to consider the cannabis strain. Certain cannabis strains adapt better to a specific climate while others might have more problems to grow.
Cannabis Strains and Feminized Seeds
Growing from seeds means there is no guarantee to whether the plant will be a female or male. If the seeds are not feminized, then you will end up with both male and female plants. As you may know, male cannabis plants produce very small amounts of THC and they do not produce buds. Consequently, you will need to select the female plans and discard the males.
Nonetheless, there are possibilities to use the male ones. Male cannabis does not produce buds, but they have small amounts of cannabinoids in their leaves and stems. Moreover, you can use the male one for breeding (pollination) and even to produce hemp fiber. Male cannabis produces a softer fiber than female plants. In other words, it is ideal for clothing.
A cannabis strain has different phenotypes, in other words, the genes express in different ways. Some cannabis plants from the same strain will produce more buds, smell, density etc. This means that you will need to select the plants with better qualities.
If you are not an experienced cannabis grower, then you better buy feminized seeds as it will be much easier to grow than normal seeds.
Growing Cannabis Outdoors: Soil
You will need to dig large holes on the soil and add compost and other organic matter that will provide nutrients to the plant. Moreover, you can even send soil sample to a lab to know more about its composition. After you test you soil, you will know more about its pH and contaminants. After you know the results you will know more about materials and fertilizer that will enhance the quality of your soil. It is important you add fertilizer as cannabis requires large amount of nutrients.
In addition, it is very important that you water your plants. Rain and groundwater are essential for your plants to grow. However, big plants, and especially in summertime, require frequent watering. A big cannabis plant needs up to 35 liters of water.
Nonetheless, if you live in a rainy place, you will need to think about drainages as the routes can suffer from fungal disease if the soil is too wet.
Protect your Plant Outdoors
As previously mentioned, heavy rain and wind can damage plants outdoors. You can use windbreaks. In addition, rain in flowering season can be counterproductive for your plants. To protect your plants, you can construct a greenhouse.
Cannabis plants are quite resistant to pests. However, to prevent pests, you can keep your plants away from other plants that might spread pests to your cannabis plants. Furthermore, there are organic pesticides and beneficial insects to help you deal with pests.