shit man i start seeds in feb. to march. the sooner you get them in the ground. I had 12 footers by oct. depends on weather. but if still cold out we start the seeds in a green house then move them outside. last season i planted a couple hundred clones outside in one of my spots. alot of my friends only use clones for the outdoor season. I am from humbodt county the emerald triangle, so plant as many seeds, or clones as u can. I even do 2 outdoor harvists. i have a couple green houses and about half way threw the summer I throw black tarps over the green houses to trick the plants into flowering, then in oct. to nov. we do the big outdoor harvest. as for the rain. it can be a problem sometimes, last season we got hit with a huge storm in northen cali about 3 weeks before harvest, and alot of the plants were so big they inded up on the ground becuse the buds were so big as soon as water hit them they snaped. we had to string them up in a couple cabins and kept a fire burning 24 hours a day to try to dry them out. but we still got alot of mold. mold is the worst thing that can happen. it can ruin a plant that you would get 4 or 5 pounds off of and end up with a quater pound becuse of mold. you dont want water on the flowers at all. outdoor is fun, its were all this shit started. its a differnt type of growing then this indoor thing. thats why i am trying to learn this indoor thing cause its so differnt. you should def try it. find a few good spots and plant. never all in 1 spot just in case you loose a spot for some reason. (theifs, cops, what ever) we always loose a couple spots . the more spots the better, u can never have to many.