There is a stark contrast between the things that you will have to factor in when you are cultivating cannabis in an indoor and outdoor environment. Obviously, in an indoor grow, you will have full control over the conditions in your garden. As an indoor setup will aim to simulate and copy the elements of a cannabis plant’s natural habitat without having to consider the seasons in a year, you can grow and cultivate your weed seeds at any time that you wish! Outdoor growing, however, will need to check on the growing schedule.
This is one of the key features that make an indoor growing garden so attractive in the first place. But because outdoor growing for cannabis plants is also something extensively applied in today’s weed scenes, a lot of people would actually prefer it much more than an indoor one!
Of course, having an outdoor growing operation will inherently mean that your cannabis plants will be exposed to the different fluctuations in the climate. Each location poses different seasons in the year, and this is something that should not be taken lightly, especially for plants that are as sensitive as cannabis! This means that for outdoor operations, you are going to have to follow a cannabis-growing schedule!
Why Should You Observe The Cannabis Growing Schedule?
Cannabis plants are naturally known to be very durable and resilient plants to survive the wild habitats that they are found in. But once they are domesticated for flowering and bud production, they do a whole lot more than just survive! Since all of the surrounding conditions will eventually influence the way that these buds will be able to develop their potency, the changes and fluctuations in the weather will play a key role in the overall quality of your output!
Sure, cannabis buds and flowers can still bloom if kept under the bare minimum standards of their growing conditions. But will these buds be just as potent and resinous as the ones that are grown under the optimal conditions? No, they will not! As such, following the right growing schedule for cannabis plants will generally maximize the efforts you put into your whole growing operation. Since you have already decided on growing marijuana plants, you might as well do it properly!
Different Places Would Mean Different Seasons:
Keep in mind that places will essentially display various climates based on their location with the equator as the basis! Tropical areas close to the equator will generally only have two distinct seasons: hot and cold. It may start snowing in one place during December but not in another! You see, these are all the little details that will have major effects on the way you should approach your cultivations.
Timing is key when planning out your whole growing schedule. From the very start of the year up until the month you decide to have your harvests, everything in between will need an adequate plan set out for them. While it may sound a little crazy, there actually is a right time to even buy your weed seeds! This process takes into consideration the place you buy them from, where they were produced, and how you were able to get your hands on them!
Planning For The Possibility Of Natural Calamities:
We know that there is no practical way to determine the exact time when a natural calamity will occur. However, with all the weather forecasts and predictions that we can have access to with a few simple clicks on our phones and computers, our growing schedules can contain a lot of information that can help us plan out our growing operations.
Come summertime, the heat may be too much for your plants to handle. As such, you will need to place them under some shade! On the other hand, spring might bring strong winds and rainstorms that will also require you to adjust the positioning of your plants. There are a lot more things that you should be aware of when growing outdoors.
The Different Time Frames To Consider And Growing Schedule
This guide that we are going to be providing you guys with, will take into consideration the different climates and seasons that you can observe in places of the Western and Northern Hemisphere. This includes the countries of the USA and Canada, as many growers would benefit greatly from the advanced planning of a growing schedule outdoors.
The very first stage of your outdoor growing operations should usually take place around the time of the Spring Equinox, which usually starts around the middle weeks of March. This is when you will actually start germinating your seeds and introduce them to their seedling stages.
Afterward, the heat of the Summer Solstice (mid-weeks of June) starts making its way into your gardens. The long hours of sunlight in addition to the winds and air circulation of the seasons make this a prime time for the transplanting of your seedlings into their final growing medium. Because the vegetative stages of your plants will demand a whole lot of sunny days and warmth, this time is the perfect stage to set up a very robust and hardy plant structure!
Welcoming The Fall Equinox
Next up is the Fall Equinox that occurs during September. This period will have shorter days and slightly cooler climates. And lastly, of course, is the Winter Solstice in December. For the cold days of the winter, snow might cause some significant damage to your plants. In addition to increasing the water content of your buds, they can literally freeze and die out in cold climates.
What Are the Things To Do Throughout the Outdoor Growing Schedule:
The steps of growing cannabis plants will require you to carefully lay everything out in your growing schedules. Keeping a notebook and jotting down all the important details of your gardens (such as the strain types, is highly recommended. Also, having a calendar and marking all the important dates beforehand will allow you to keep a closer eye on the whole outdoor growing operation.
Growing Schedule: When To Buy Marijuana Seeds
The timing of buying marijuana seeds is something a grower must not overlook. As a result, they end up delaying their whole growing operations due to not having some marijuana seeds at hand! You see, the time in which you will actually have your seeds ready for germinating will depend on your source of marijuana and where you are located. If you live in a place where cannabis use and cultivation are legal, then this makes buying it a lot easier. Any local weed shop or dispensary in your area can get you seeds in no time!
However, the same can’t be said about growers who need to have their seeds shipped out from online marijuana seed banks! If you live in areas that are near the sources, then it will take around 5 to 14 days to receive your seeds. But if it calls for international shipping, it may even reach well up to a month!
Timing your purchases will need you to consider where you are getting your seeds from. If you fail to do this, then you may see the window of your growing schedule pass by without getting anything done! You should have your seeds at any time before March.
Germinating Marijuana Seeds Indoors
When the first week of March starts rolling in, this is when you can start germinating your weed seeds. With the start of the Spring Equinox, days will start heating up and you will have longer days ahead! However, you will be germinating them indoors so a warm, dark, and moist environment is ideal. The window for germination will usually last for the whole month of March. Germination can last anywhere from 3 days to even 10 days, depending on how well you execute it.
Keeping The Seedlings Indoors
Once your seeds successfully germinate and enter their seedling stages, you will want to hold off on introducing them into their growing medium for the time being! We recommend tending to your seedlings up until the midweeks of April in the indoor setup. Keeping them in their germinating medium of rockwool and regularly moistening the medium will allow your plants to fully develop a healthy rooting system, which will make their introduction into the soil much easier.
Also, the conditions and climates outdoors still might lack the required heat and amount of sunlight during March and the early weeks of April. Remember, they will need a lot of sunlight and heat! These optimal conditions will usually start during the middle of April.
Transferring Seedlings Outdoors And Transitioning Into The Vegetative Stage
As April reaches its peak and the sun starts shining brighter during the day, you can now transfer your seedlings into their final pots and soils outdoors! After you do this, it won’t take long until the cannabis plants enter the vegetative stages. Your crops will pretty much spend a substantial amount of time during this phase, often taking around 3 to 4 months of vegging. Do not worry, though. It is normal for your plants to spend so much time developing their structures and significantly expand in size.
During the vegetative stages, the seasons will cause the plants to experience the transitioning of the Spring Equinox into the Summer Solstice in June. The standard lighting patterns for the vegging plants are generally set at 18 hours of sunlight per day. This makes it very ideal to have them in this stage of their lives during the hottest times of the year.
Topping, Firming, And LST
Around the early weeks of June or early July of your growing schedule, just around the Summer Solstice, your plants could now benefit greatly from proper training techniques! This pretty much takes place during the middle stage of vegging, where the plants will start bringing out their full sizes and heights.
This also results in the development of more colas which will eventually lead to the development of bigger yields.
The Flowering Stage Also Occurs During The Summer Solstice
Your marijuana plants will undergo the blooming and growing of marijuana buds in their flowering stages. The lighting patterns will be reduced from 18 hours down to an equal 12:12 ratio of light and darkness. Flowering usually takes no less than 7 weeks to fully bloom and develop the right amount of potency and consistency in the buds. Outdoors, this pretty much gives you a window for flowering from July up until mid-August of the growing schedule.
During the first weeks of August, you can also start pruning and defoliating your gardens. This final stretch that happens right before the harvests give the plants a sudden boost in lighting and air circulation, which can definitely enhance the performance of your cannabis plants in developing marijuana buds.
Growing Schedule And Harvest Time
As the Fall Equinox begins emerging from the corner, your harvests are something that you can see happening in a few week’s time. We advise growers to wait for the Fall Equinox to begin (which is on September 21) before harvesting. The rule of thumb for outdoor growing is to wait for the morning after a descending moon to start plucking out your buds.
That is all there is to it! By the start of the Winter Solstice, you should have already had your weed buds comfortably stored into containers for use throughout the winter seasons. You can pretty much do anything with your buds at this point. Go ahead and try out a recipe for edibles! Roll some joints and share them with your friends! After a year’s worth of work in cultivating these plants, you deserve to enjoy the full use of your harvests!
The outdoor growing schedule that many growers observe is something that you should have a good feel for. While it can be quite unpredictable at times, sticking to the general growing schedule makes sure that you don’t stray too far from the methods that have been proven to give you the best outputs possible!
