by Greg Green
The grower and the great outdoors
Many a smoker will say that the best cannabis they ever smoked was outdoor cannabis. This says a lot about natural sunlight and the outdoor environment. If you live in a climate that is warm enough for tomatoes to grow outdoors then you have the climate to grow some good weed. As an outdoor grower you may either choose your own back yard or a guerrilla grow in a woods or field. We have discussed this in a previous chapter before, so we will not go into what the two types are here.
When you have found a plot that suits your needs you can then start to prepare your plot. Seeds that are planted in untreated ground will have a low germination rate. Also you need to think about when to grow. The months of March and April are very good times to start your plants because when your plants are mature and begin to flower it should be about August to September which is just about the time daylight hours start to decrease. So in April you want to find your grow spot. Try to remove as many weeds as possible during your grow plots preparation and do not leave heaps of earth around for people to notice. Carry the earth away in bags if you have too. You can then simply sow your seeds in the ground. Do not burry them too deep, a 1/2? to 1? is fine. You may choose to add some pre-made soil to the patch, which you have bought from the store. Again, find a soil with a NPK value where N is higher than P and K values. This is helpful because you will find that bag soil does not contain living masses or potential living masses such as weeds. Even though you may have treated your outdoor soil, it may still contain seeds or spores from weeds and other plants. You will most certainly have to weed your outdoor area nearly every week during the initial stages of the grow.
After you have sown your seeds simply sprinkle some water over them. That is all you need to do. It is that easy. You do not need to adjust the soil pH yet or feed the soil. What you have done should be fine for starting seedlings.
If Mother Nature does not provide water for your plants then you need to draw water and feed your plants when they need it.
Some outdoor growers have got some cute ideas. Some growers germinate their seedlings indoors and place them into pots. They cut away the base of a pot and hold the bottom in using a piece of cardboard and sticky tape. They then go to their grow area and clear away the weeds. They then dig small holes and place the pots into the hole, removing the piece of cardboard before doing so. They then cover the edge of the pot so the pot can not be seen anymore. The roots will grow down through the hole in the bottom of the pot and into the surrounding outdoor soil. This method has the advantage that the seeds have already germinated. If you are a really cute grower then you will consider cloning all females and growing these in pots before transplanting the pot and plant to the hole in the ground outdoors. Amazing or what! You will have all female outdoor plants! It is also a good idea around the second week of vegetative growth to spray the area with some pesticide.
Cannabis growing is really fun because the more you know, the more tricks you will invent by yourself to get the most out of your yields. Some of the best cannabis growers are very exotic with their grow methods. A number of people have even tried outdoor hydroponics to get their plants to grow bigger and better.
When growing outdoors you need to keep your plants in good shape and free from any unwanted predators that may find your top cola and leaves to be quite tasty. We will talk about this in the chapter about pests.