Importance of direct sunlight??

Hey folks,

I'm thinking about trying my hand at a guerilla outdoor grow. I live in one of the least densely populated states east of the Mississippi, but even so, I can't envision finding a place totally open to the sunlight (like a field) where plants wouldn't have a chance of being seen. The only fields here are agricultural, and thus overseen. It seems like with guerilla gardening, you have to hide cannabis plants among other plants, unless you live in an area with no people for hundreds of miles (i'm thinking maybe siberia?)

I have many sections of huge undeveloped forest in my area where no one would likely go, but I assume these areas would not provide direct sunlight for forest-floor level plants. I was considering lugging in a bunch of great local organic soil and some organic nutrient sources and preparing some garden beds for like 6 outdoor plants in the woods. But would this even be worth it in a forest? I know a good strain with good soil and direct sunlight can easily provide a pound outdoors, but I just don't think it's realistic to give an outdoor plant much direct sunlight. And honestly I don't see how anybody does this anywhere because you're not going to find many places more remote and rural than the area where I live...

So what do you guys think, is this even worth it at all, or should I just stick to indoor growing? How do people do it? Thanks for any help!

You need full direct sun to get really good results.

they found a kush plant growing on a city street in Chicago last summer, and it was 7' tall before anyone noticed it.

Maybe pick a couple separate spots out in the open, and hope they blend in.

Ive seen great outdoor plants that arent in direct sunlight all the time. Ive only grown indoors so i cant confirm or object anything relating to outdoors. Just do your homework. Good luck man.

miztaj said:

Ive seen great outdoor plants that arent in direct sunlight all the time. Ive only grown indoors so i cant confirm or object anything relating to outdoors. Just do your homework. Good luck man.

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finding good spots for outdoors is hard to do if you dont spend a lot of time looking for a spot.in your area there is a spot somewhere someplace there is that little opening for you.spend time in the woods hiking,fishing even if you spend this year looking there is always next year to grow.look for a logging area a couple years old

It's kinda a big difference. 3 years ago i grew some plants that had only about 3.5 hrs of direct sunlight a day and the biggest plant got around 3.5 ft. Last season i found a spot where they got 8 hrs of direct sunlight and the plants got to be between 7-8 ft. If you have to then grow in those spots but i would suggest finding a pretty good spot you wont be disapointed.

^^^ true. and miztaj, what is your avatar?

yeah. It's hard for me to tell how much sun a plant would get in a given spot though. I mean if I find a small clearing but there are still tall trees around, it would at least get a lot of sun in during the hours that the sun is directly overhead. Would that be good enough? I just don't think I can find a very large area that is open and completely forsaken. I'm gonna be exploring in the expanse of forest I have in mind over the next few days (january thaw now so it's comparatively warm out); maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and find some great spots. If not, I'm just not sure if it's worth it. And to the person who had the 3.5 ft plant, was this with nutrients, good soil, etc., or just planting a seed in the groudn> Did you veg indoors first? Thnks for the replies.

SACReDHeRB said:

^^^ true. and miztaj, what is your avatar?

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Thats me in the woods kickin ass playin paintball. blending in pretty good huh?

My brother inlaw is going to let me plant 1 plant on their 20 acres this year.......shhhh my sister doesnt know. Gonna veg it indoors then transplant outdoors.

miztaj said:

Thats me in the woods kickin ass playin paintball. blending in pretty good huh?

My brother inlaw is going to let me plant 1 plant on their 20 acres this year.......shhhh my sister doesnt know. Gonna veg it indoors then transplant outdoors.

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6-8 hrs of direct sunlight is perfect.

bring a small hand saw cut a couple of small trees put a couple of plants where the trees are now gone.sounds good yo me

Climb a tree and plant it up there in a grow bag. No1 will look up there either

i do it, this spring will be my third year. I Grow in between two farmers fields in a small forested area that u can see from a busy road. Its not as hard as most people make it out to be, just start walking through forests, most areas have some spaces where there are no trees or very few. Just plant them there, or goo into a field with alot of tall growing weeds, clear out a small spot and put ur garden in their. With guerrilla keep in mind deer are a problem, lost 25% of my crop last year because of deer. More light will always be better but if u had more plants then it could equate to the late of sunlight. In a dense forest where little or no light gets to the forest floor your plant will be constantly stretching to look for light and grow very minimal amounts when flowering.

Yeah the plants that were 3.5 ft tall were given nutrients. The strain was Easy sativa by female seeds. That strain gets huge when given 7-8 hrs of sunlight. They were grown with fox farm soil and they were in the ground.

its hard to get the right place.some times the best is right next door or close.good luck!

i got some plants growing in a kind of forested area right now, they dont get too much sunlight with all the tree cover around them. Ill let you know how it goes, they should be done in about 2 more months, they probably just started flowering, but im 5k miles away from my plants soooooo.

grassified said:

i got some plants growing in a kind of forested area right now, they dont get too much sunlight with all the tree cover around them. Ill let you know how it goes, they should be done in about 2 more months, they probably just started flowering, but im 5k miles away from my plants soooooo.

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So i'm guessing that its not winter where you are.

listen to me man.....do not lug all that shit deep into the woods not knowing how much sun they're going to get!!!!! i did that last year and the plants ended up shaded and not doing jack shit (the ones that were in the forest). i went back down once and hacked the branches that i could get to away and cut a couple of small trees down. by then it was too late. i ended up harvesting 12 plants early cause they wouldn't do shit after i took em in the forest. i started scouting as soon as the leaves fell off this year!!!! can't stress enuff the importance of preparatory work to ensure a successful grow outdoors! you have to dig ur holes NOW to avoid all the tangle of the spring growth and while the various poison sumacs ivys and oaks are dormant. this year i'm getting a fucking chain saw and after the leaves come on fully, i'll go out there and selectively eliminate 1 tree here and one tree there. removing all evidence if possible. meaning i'll cut it into lengths and carry it out. now i know it'll be noisy and the chainsaw aint for evry1 but i saw some1 mention a hacksaw earlier in the post so u could go that route if ur not as lazy as me, need to be stealthier than i do, etc....

You will want at least 5 hours of direct sunlight. That being said, it is desirable to have passing shade on ur plants. It is much better to have shade, sun shade, sun, shade, sun etc... than just sun. Passing shade gives the plant a break form the heat and also makes it grow faster to reach for the sun. It is a common technique used in the plant industry. If we want to get fatser growth on a sun plant, we apply shade covering to make them reach.

Okay, interesting responses. I went scouting today, and found an area of state-owned land that I didn't know existed within 5 miles of my house. There are just some snowmobile trails on it, but it's not in a heavily populated area. Now it's winter and there's a few feet of snow cover so it's hard to tell exactly which areas will receive sunlight and which won't. But I def. came across spots where the evergreen cover was very sparse, and where I could look up and see lots of sky. Would this kind of spot likely get enough sunlight? I mean when the sun is low in the sky, it wouldn't shine directly on the area, but since it's a 20X20 foot area without tall trees, the sun would shine in anytime it was high in the sky. I think I might make a bed in a couple spots like that and try it out. Even if I get an ounce or two per plant it'll be worth it. Thanks again. And Crackerjax, it seems like you have expereince here, so does the kind of spot I described sound like it would receive sufficient sun? or would you need a much larger cleared area? thanks!

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