Especially urban dwellers who grew up without gardens don’t have the horticultural background that many rural children possess. It’s actually quite simple as long as fundamental mistakes aren’t made. One of the biggest mistakes when planting cannabis outdoors would be putting them outside far too early.
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Marijuana Suffers from Night Frosts and Cold Weather
When this article goes online in mid-April, many have already started their outdoor seeds and want to plant cannabis outside in early May. This can work out well, but it doesn’t have to. Due to global warming, it’s trending milder, but night frosts cannot be ruled out until the ice saints in mid-May. Those who want to plant cannabis earlier might have to accept total crop failure. Even without night frosts, it’s still quite cool.
When equally-sized seedlings are planted in early May, mid-May, and late May, those from early May are often the worst performers, as they suffer damage from poor weather in the first weeks.
However, it cannot be said categorically that from May 15th onward one should plant cannabis to achieve a good outdoor marijuana harvest. Those living in northern regions or gardening a few hundred meters higher in the mountains should start about 14 days later. However, there are also regions that are more sheltered and generally have milder climates, where early May would also work well.
Planting Cannabis from Mid to Late May: When to Start Seeds?
Those who want to plant cannabis from mid to late May shouldn’t start seeds as early as March. The cannabis plants should be about 30 to 50 cm tall and typically need 4 to 7 weeks of lead time. Not less and not more would be ideal. Large plants tend to have difficulty establishing themselves well. Smaller ones are more likely to struggle. Those who grow plants up to 50 cm should use more than just fluorescent tubes. Placing seedlings on a windowsill won’t suffice. Putting them on a balcony and bringing them in overnight or placing them in a greenhouse would work. Therefore, a dedicated grow room doesn’t necessarily need to be set up.
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It’s important that plants receive at least 18 hours of light daily. It’s sufficient if they get 6 hours of sun and 12 hours of weak artificial light.
Otherwise they’ll start flowering. It’s naturally important that the strains are suitable for outdoor planting. Not every variety is suitable for outdoor growing or finishes early enough. Those who can’t get clones should use feminized seeds. The flowering time should be specified as ending by late September. If plants flower longer, this is problematic for outdoor growing in our climatic conditions.
Planting Autoflower Cannabis
A specialty among cannabis strains are autoflower genetics. These begin flowering regardless of day length.
They typically finish in around 9 weeks. These strains also benefit from lots of sun, which is insufficient in May. Those who start autoflowers in April, plant them outside in May, and harvest in June probably have less good results than if they planted this special cannabis later. Those not wanting two harvests from the same location should calculate harvesting in July or August. Otherwise in July and September. If autoflowers are only pre-grown for 3 weeks and then planted outside, you can very successfully achieve two harvests from one location.
Basics of Cannabis Planting
Those wanting to plant cannabis outdoors must not only time it right, but also choose rainy weather.
Plants need to establish roots underground for a few days first, and only then is intense sunshine good for them. Otherwise it’s actually harmful. Those wanting to plant cannabis should look for spots where it can overgrow other vegetation or locations that are occasionally cleared. Plants must be able to receive sunshine. Southeast-facing locations are optimal. If seedlings were only grown under artificial light, their leaves will initially turn white and die off due to UV light, but fresh shoots quickly grow back and tolerate the UV light.
Those wanting to plant cannabis in cornfields should wait until the farmer has sprayed the corn. This should happen in June; May is too early. Outdoor marijuana plants naturally need to find water in the soil, but it shouldn’t have standing water. Too much clay or sand wouldn’t be good, but crumbly black soils are excellent. Some plants will always make it through while many will lag behind or die. There will always be some uninvited harvest helpers. You should plant cannabis in distributed locations to get through with at least a few plants.
Male plants would be recognizable at the beginning of flowering and should be removed to protect other plants. However, what’s crucial is choosing good outdoor genetics that mature on time.
You don’t have to plant cannabis by the end of May; June is also early enough. Those gardening in remote areas will generally have far less success on average than in gardens with regular watering and well-prepared soil. However, the danger of planting cannabis in your own garden and subsequently getting caught is considerably higher, as enforcement officers don’t hesitate to monitor discovered outdoor gardens with surveillance cameras.
