Growing autoflowering cannabis seed indoors has always been the preferred option since you won’t have to worry about the changing seasons, climates, or weather. They are essentially safe indoors in a controlled environment.
But when it comes to growing outdoors, what benefits would it provide for the plants? And if there are, when is the right time or season to plant your autoflowering cannabis seeds?
When is the right time to plant autoflowering cannabis seeds?
One thing is for sure, autoflowering plants love the sun. This means that summer is the best season to plant your seeds. The only problem is that it is not always summer throughout the year. Plus, there is the dreaded winter that makes you unable to plant anything—you may even find it hard to grow your autoflowering plants indoors due to the dropping temperatures.
That being said, it is indeed a challenge to grow cannabis, especially if you take note of the season changes or climate.
It may seem impossible at first glance, but believe it or not, you can actually plant outdoors as long as you take advantage of the sun’s presence and the weather.
If you are located in the Mediterranean part of Europe, you can actually start planting the seeds during mid-April or early May. Just make sure that you are clear from any existing frost, which may prove to be troublesome to your cannabis seeds’ growth cycle.
After that, you can be expected to harvest your crops by the end of July. By then, you should be able to plant another crop early August and expect its harvest time to be on October.
Soft Secrets also supports this fact in their article about growing cannabis outdoors in Europe.
Basically, you can plant any time of the year as long as the sun is up and provides enough heat while keeping away from the cold climate as much as possible. Temperature is your enemy when it comes to growing autoflowering cannabis seeds.
You should always take note of:
- When to plant your autoflowering cannabis seeds
- When to harvest
- And lastly, see if it is possible to sow another crop after harvesting the latter
These are very simple questions that you should ask yourself whenever you plan on going for the outdoor approach.
What are the benefits of growing autoflowering cannabis seeds outdoors?
There are actually a lot of reasons why growing autoflowering plants outdoors is much better than growing them indoors. One of them has got to be its quality. No number of light bulbs will ever replace the sun’s heat.
Let’s discuss these benefits one by one:
It is an inexpensive option, unlike growing them indoors
Just like most plants, cannabis plants don’t really need electricity to grow. And by electricity, I mean the usage of light bulbs and ventilation.
This method is much more accessible than that of indoor growing because beginners would only need a few pots, rich compost, and the sun’s heat. That’s all there is to it. Indoor enthusiasts would spend a lot of money on grow tents, LED lights of fluorescent lights, electricity, and even an empty room.
Take note that the operations are almost non-stop, which means that their electric bills are at an unreasonably high amount. We don’t want that, right?
Unless you have the resources for it, you can go for it since it is still a great process of growing cannabis plants.
High-quality plants
Naturally, if you let your plants grow without the need for a controlled environment, you would achieve a higher quality yield. Unlike those that are grown indoors whose leaves are not as lush the outdoor plants.
In fact, outdoor-grown cannabis can grow up to almost six feet tall. Plus, they are proven to be healthier since they are grown the natural way.
So, if you planted outdoors, you can expect greater yields once they are ready for harvesting.
Environment-friendly
Since you are growing them outdoors, you are actually contributing to the betterment of the environment. Excessive consumption of energy is proven to be dangerous to the environment, which is why growing weed outdoors lessens the strain in energy, oil, and coal consumption from power plants.
This is evident in the excessive consumption of energy when growing cannabis indoors.
Verdict
If you decide to grow your autoflowering crops outdoors, you will be doing yourself a favor as well as the environment due to its underlying benefits.
The only thing you be mindful of is the best time to plant your crops. A lot of planning is needed for you to be successful. Especially if you live in a country where the winter season is just a few months away.
This is not to say that indoor planting is not effective. Indoor-grown cannabis can still yield high-quality crops, but outdoor crops are, in fact, the better variant of grown cannabis. Plus, they are very inexpensive, which encourages a lot of enthusiasts to grow outdoors instead—given that it is legal to do so.
So, I hope I answered the question regarding the best time to plant autoflowering cannabis seeds in the UK while adding in some other important information you should take note of.
If you have some more questions regarding outdoor planting, let me know in the comments below!