Autoflowering seeds have quickly conquered the hearts of cannabis growers due to the relative ease of plant management at any stage of their growing cycle. This way, a cultivator may no longer rely on the light and darkness cycle to make their plants start flowering.
The autoflower variety doesn’t need any extra effort to enter the flowering period, as the plants enter the flowering stage within a predetermined period, regardless of how much light or dark they receive. What can be better for a newbie grower inexperienced with navigating light cycles?
Still, even after making a choice for autoflower seeds online https://askgrowers.com/seeds/autoflower, you may be wondering whether to arrange your plantation indoors or outdoors. Some people simply don’t have options and place their plants where they can, while others have an opportunity to pick the open air versus an indoor plantation. So, which environment is better for your autoflower plants? Let’s find it out in this article.
Indoor Growing: Pros and Cons
Growing your weed indoors is a convenient variant; it has become popular among all kinds of growers, from individuals to large cultivation firms. This preference is explained by the fact that indoor growing allows getting decent harvests from a couple of plants put in a small growing area, and the plants’ immunity to pests and ability to create whatever climate you like with the help of heating and lighting devices. Thus, autoflower plants are an ideal variant for indoor cultivation.
Here are a couple of pros you should consider:
- Control. Those who set up an indoor growing room fully control the environment created for plants. They can schedule lighting however they please, arrange the ideal temperature and humidity for the weed, and watch them grow without external interference.
- Easy monitoring. The growers can track their plants’ health and notice the earliest signs of problems because they have 24/7 access to their plantations. Many people set up the growing room inside their houses, so there’s nothing hard about checking the plants daily.
- Maximum growth potential. By creating and controlling the environmental conditions for your plants, you can maximize the yields and ensure your plants grow healthy and potent.
- Quick yields. Indoor autoflower plants grow and flower quicker, so the growers are rewarded with yields in 8 weeks at the latest.
- Discrete growing. Indoor cultivation is ideal for those who want to keep their hobby secret from neighbors. Most growing room tents are odor-proof, so you can set up a plantation without attracting unwanted attention.
However, it should be noted that indoor growing still comes with several essential downsides you should know:
- High cost. Most indoor growing setups are expensive, so you should weigh all the pros and cons before buying all equipment. It should be a long-term endeavor to pay off these investments.
- Much management. If you have an indoor growing room, it’s only you who can create the ideal conditions for your plants. Thus, instead of letting your plants grow under the Sun and be watered by rain, you need to check all dimensions and control the settings in the growing room.
- Poorer composition. Let’s be sincere to ourselves, no LED or HID bulbs, no matter how potent and expensive, can give the plants the full range of light that the Sun would. Thus, be ready to consume buds with a poorer terpene profile and have lower cannabinoid levels compared to the plants growing in the open air.
Outdoor Growing: Pros and Cons
The most important criterion for choosing outdoor growing is that it is a more natural setup in which plants may thrive without human input. If your location is warm and sunny, and there are no weather extremes, you’re sure to collect decent buds from your plants without doing anything special.
So, here are the key pros for planting autoflower weed outdoors:
- Ease of growing. As we’ve just said, you may do nothing (literally!) and still get decent yields. All your plants need, including fresh air, sunlight, and occasional rains, are available in the open space.
- Organic growing. The plants growing in the open soil usually have more diverse terpene and cannabinoid profiles because they have access to a wide range of organic nutrients in the soil.
- More UV light. The Sun is the best bulb you can figure out for your plantation. It works exactly as it should, with no need to control the duration of light and darkness for your crops.
- No expenses. It’s all free of charge! All you need is a piece of land and some seeds; no extra equipment is required to reap the harvest.
Also, make sure to think about the bummers you can come across during outdoor cultivation:
- Seasonal growing. You can grow weed outdoors only during the summer and early autumn, which limits you to one harvest a year.
- No control over weather conditions. It may occasionally start pouring rain, or the autumn may come with unexpected, early frosts.
- Pollination risk. You might be surprised to discover that weed pollen can travel for miles, especially if it’s windy. So, your outdoor plants can occasionally pollinate by your neighbor’s males.
Here are a couple of pro tips for growers planning to plant their autoflower seeds outside:
- Opt for the outdoor setup if you plant the seeds in summer. This way, your marijuana plants will receive plenty of sunlight and will be able to give you the yields before the first colds. The plants will thrive with plenty of sunlight in their vegetative stage and will start flowering at the beginning of autumn, which is the most natural way for these plants’ development.
- Choose a pot for your plants wisely; it’s better to plant the seeds in the pots because you will have better control of nutrients than planting weed directly into the soil. Besides, select a large pot at once, as autoflower plants don’t stand transplanting and get too stressed if you decide to do so.
- Check the soil’s pH. It should be anywhere between 5.5 and 6.5 to benefit your plants.
- Water the flowers once daily. Avoid overwatering, and check the soil for dryness by putting your finger into it.
- Be patient, as your autoflower plants may take longer to mature in the outdoor setup. A regular duration of 8 to 12 weeks is okay for this arrangement.
Examine the Differences: Case of Pineapple Express
Let’s take a well-known strain, Pineapple Express, to illustrate how your plantation of autoflower species will do indoors and outdoors. When grown indoors, Pineapple Express offers a hassle-free and convenient experience, with the plants reaching only 60 to 110 cm in size. Besides, they start flowering early and are ready for harvest collection in around 8 weeks. You can collect much heavier yields indoors, reaching 600g/m2, while an outdoor plantation will provide only 100g of buds per plant.
Make the Right Choice
As you might understand now, autoflower plants are generally a breeze for a regular grower, regardless of indoor or outdoor growing setups. Thus, it all depends on your preferences, outdoor and indoor growing space availability, and risk tolerance. If you’re okay with leaving your plants outdoors and hoping for good weather, the outdoor growing business will involve minimal effort and expenditures. If you want harvests all year round, don’t want your neighbor to learn about your innocent hobby, and have extra money for an indoor growing setup, welcome to the community of indoor growers. In any variant, you will need to pay proper attention to your plants and supply them with sufficient water and nutrients.
Lana Braslavskaia is the author of this article. Lana works for AskGrowers and contributes her insightful research materials to educate the community of weed growers and users on safe consumption and productive cultivation.
