Tips for best possible outdoor crop

_EQ

Active Member
Lots of information and knowledge on here! Any of you have any tips for someone that wants to push their outdoor grow to its limits? Realistically my outdoor grows have always been lackluster compared to my indoor grows. Some of you seasoned outdoors growers what are some things you do to get the best buds?
 

DancesWithWeeds

Well-Known Member
First, a lot depends on where you are. I'm in Oklahoma so there is a long growing season. I usually start my plants late in April to get them out in early may. (Remember the days are shorter so your indoor lighting should be about 14 hours on to keep them from going into flower when you put them out). I plant in the ground, not in pots.

It's never too late to amined your soil, but it's best to get it ready in the fall. I start with a hole 4 feet diameter and 18 inches deep. The hole is refilled with the 1/3 soil, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 manure. Do side dressings thru the grow of compost and manure.

Most of the problems that I have seen are caused by people feeding their plants. There's nutrient burn and deficiency. Stay with organic and in the the ground and those problems mostly go away.

Pest control is easy enough if you pay attention to your plants. My total pest control is first: Keep the plants clean. I like to hose them off maybe once a week early in the morning while the is still dew. Second: Spray once a week with soapy water and then with BT.

One major thing is don't try to love them to death. They are plants, just like you tomatos. That's about how much attention you should give them. Just keep them fed and watered and the bugs off.
 

DMChiz

Well-Known Member
First, a lot depends on where you are
Exactly! Geography is pretty important. That factors into a lot of different aspects as @DancesWithWeeds mentioned.

I’ve grown organic and it’s produced great bud for me over the years. However, I live in Toronto and the growing season north of the 49th is truncated to say the least. To that end, I’ve switched to Maxi nutrients as organic takes a lot longer to break down and become plant available. In my region and timeframe, I need to push ‘em a little more.

Growing outdoor is the highlight of my spring, summer and fall. You’d want to get your seeds popped by late April/early May to start inside so you can hit the ground running when the weather cooperates.

Most importantly, have fun. Gardening is a trip.
 

_EQ

Active Member
Thanks for all your answers yall! To answer some of your questions, I’m in MA
What grows in the area you plan to plant in?
so it’s a garden that my grandfather normally grows his vegetables in every year. The usually fixings onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, etc. it’s pretty much all compost from cut grass and the previous years dead cuttings and veggies that didn’t make the cut. We live in southeastern Massachusetts it can get very humid. I usually like to have my plants out for mid/late may but I had some clones that were being difficult in the EZCloner (last time I use it). My main concern with planting in the garden is that every so often a lawn care company comes and sprays our front lawn with whatever the fuck. I’ve been interested in going organic so my goal is to try and aim for as organic as possible.
 

_EQ

Active Member
Exactly! Geography is pretty important. That factors into a lot of different aspects as @DancesWithWeeds mentioned.

I’ve grown organic and it’s produced great bud for me over the years. However, I live in Toronto and the growing season north of the 49th is truncated to say the least. To that end, I’ve switched to Maxi nutrients as organic takes a lot longer to break down and become plant available. In my region and timeframe, I need to push ‘em a little more.

Growing outdoor is the highlight of my spring, summer and fall. You’d want to get your seeds popped by late April/early May to start inside so you can hit the ground running when the weather cooperates.

Most importantly, have fun. Gardening is a trip.
Yeah so I’m in New England, Massachusetts to be exact. We have shitty weather 90% of the time, weather it’s a ton of rain, or extreme humidity and heat. So far this year we’ve had a ton of rain and wind. I planned on going organic in 10 gallon fabrics. I’m a little late this year but I just transplanted clones into their final pots.
 

_EQ

Active Member
Yeah so I’m in New England, Massachusetts to be exact. We have shitty weather 90% of the time, weather it’s a ton of rain, or extreme humidity and heat. So far this year we’ve had a ton of rain and wind. I planned on going organic in 10 gallon fabrics. I’m a little late this year but I just transplanted clones into their final pots.
Our season can be pretty short too as once October comes around depending on the weather we can hit low 40s some nights
 

_EQ

Active Member
First, a lot depends on where you are. I'm in Oklahoma so there is a long growing season. I usually start my plants late in April to get them out in early may. (Remember the days are shorter so your indoor lighting should be about 14 hours on to keep them from going into flower when you put them out). I plant in the ground, not in pots.

It's never too late to amined your soil, but it's best to get it ready in the fall. I start with a hole 4 feet diameter and 18 inches deep. The hole is refilled with the 1/3 soil, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 manure. Do side dressings thru the grow of compost and manure.

Most of the problems that I have seen are caused by people feeding their plants. There's nutrient burn and deficiency. Stay with organic and in the the ground and those problems mostly go away.

Pest control is easy enough if you pay attention to your plants. My total pest control is first: Keep the plants clean. I like to hose them off maybe once a week early in the morning while the is still dew. Second: Spray once a week with soapy water and then with BT.

One major thing is don't try to love them to death. They are plants, just like you tomatos. That's about how much attention you should give them. Just keep them fed and watered and the bugs off.
Good info here thanks dude! I’m in New England, MA to be exact. We have a fairly short season here, and I’m already behind I had some funky clones that didn’t wanna root for like 3 weeks. But we get a lot of rain and humidity here most summers. This spring so far has brought the most rain I’ve seen in my lifetime (28 years). I’m trying to go organic, I’m used to growing in coco. But since it’s so hot and humid here I have to shut down the basement grow until September.
 

topcat

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all your answers yall! To answer some of your questions, I’m in MA

so it’s a garden that my grandfather normally grows his vegetables in every year. The usually fixings onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, etc. it’s pretty much all compost from cut grass and the previous years dead cuttings and veggies that didn’t make the cut. We live in southeastern Massachusetts it can get very humid. I usually like to have my plants out for mid/late may but I had some clones that were being difficult in the EZCloner (last time I use it). My main concern with planting in the garden is that every so often a lawn care company comes and sprays our front lawn with whatever the fuck. I’ve been interested in going organic so my goal is to try and aim for as organic as possible.
Perfect. If it's good for tomatoes, it's good for cannabis. Don't overthink it.
 
It gets humid and rainy where I'm at as well.

1. Out of the dozen strains I've grown outdoors Eleven Roses holds up the best against botrytis, it has a loose bud structure that doesn't trap moisture like dense nugs do.

2. Like others have said keep the morning dew off the plants.

3. Shake the plants after it rains or if you got a leaf blower blast the plants with that.

4. If doable put the plants in an area where they get the morning sunlight as soon as possible to get rid of that morning dew.

5. Air flow is important, don't let em get too bushy, lollipopping and gut the interior of the plant to increase air flow.

6. Look after the plants as best you can and keep the plants as healthy as you can so they can have a better chance of fighting off botrytis.
 

Red Hard Head

Well-Known Member
Wether organic or conventional using homemade compost extract will make everything easier better and more optimal.
I have 5 yds compost to make extract with that I use for my deps and full sun. This was the most profound change for me, I didn't need to brew AACT any more.
Water. Lots of even watering.
 
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Red Hard Head

Well-Known Member
Wether organic or conventional using homemade compost extract will make everything easier better and more optimal.
I have 5 yds compost to make extract with that I use for my deps and full sun. This was the most profound change for me, I didn't need to brew AACT any more.
Water. Lots of even watering.
Using compost extracts, i rarely have PM even in poorly ventilated dep. Botrytis? Lol. Maybe 1/4 lost in 20 pounds. Over or imbalanced fertilized plants get bugs more often. Moths fly past my plants.
Sometimes morning dew isnt morning dew. It can be a sign of over watering.
I use over head watering starting in mid july. Not just spraying the leaves clean. This strengthens the plants structure as well as getting it ready for fall rain. This helps decrease botrytis.
 
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bigskymtnguy

Well-Known Member
I've grown outdoors in Vermont but am now blessed with more conducive conditions here in Montana. Always have been an organic grower and watered with aerated compost teas. The biggest difference between average and really good quality crops for me was when I started to use light dep beginning July 1. Gives the girls a chance to flower while it its still warm and sunny rather than combating the variable October temps and less intense sunlight.
 
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Nizza

Well-Known Member
I live here In MA, the caterpillars usually get you, or the torrential downpours , humidity, and so on
-It is nice to be able to bring the plants under shelter or inside during hurricanes
-It is good to have a fan blow on them once they start to bud up enough where they can mold
-caterpillars usually get in there and mess everything up. This could be fixed with netting + predatory insects if going for no pesticides, otherwise use the proper stuff (BT?)
-fast flowering strains or light deprivation to get you closer to the finish line earlier
-morning sun also helps with the morning dew
-you can lose anywhere from 10% to 50% of a harvest overnight, so don't get your heart set on it. Try and grow mold/ pest resilient strains! Good luck. go check out the MA 2024 outdoor growers thread (use search function)
 
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_EQ

Active Member
I live here In MA, the caterpillars usually get you, or the torrential downpours , humidity, and so on
-It is nice to be able to bring the plants under shelter or inside during hurricanes
-It is good to have a fan blow on them once they start to bud up enough where they can mold
-caterpillars usually get in there and mess everything up. This could be fixed with netting + predatory insects if going for no pesticides, otherwise use the proper stuff (BT?)
-fast flowering strains or light deprivation to get you closer to the finish line earlier
-morning sun also helps with the morning dew
-you can lose anywhere from 10% to 50% of a harvest overnight, so don't get your heart set on it. Try and grow mold/ pest resilient strains! Good luck. go check out the MA 2024 outdoor growers thread (use search function)
Thanks for the reply and info! Will def make use of the MA GROW Thread. I’m not fully into organics I would like too but for right now I would just like to have outdoor buds that are somewhat on par with my indoor buds. I have read about BT and for sure will be using it. In terms of beneficial insects, I have ordered some green lacewing larvae and am looking into either lady bugs and also predatory mites for soil. My previous outdoor grows were all in my grandfathers garden that were planted directly into the ground. This grow I went with half in pots and half in the garden. That way I can mitigate atleast half of my crop away from rain and wind if need be. I’m still very new to growing it’s an awesome hobby of mine, I’m curious as to how you would deprive them of light? Especially the inground ones?
 
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