Cannabis seed germination for outdoor growing begins in the spring, and the cannabis seed market is currently a booming global sector. Seeds should be started at the end of April to have an outdoor harvest by Mother’s Day, as they take 10-15 days longer to mature than clones.
According to David Downs, Senior Content Manager at Leafly, he prefers to grow from seed, especially regulars, which grow enormously outside. He adds that seeds have a lower risk of viral or insect infection than clones do.
On the first day of spring, he begins sprouting seeds indoors. He raises the young indoors where it is warm before relocating them outdoors in 30-gallon canvas pots.
Downs prefers to keep his grow setup straightforward, utilizing Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil with additions, well water on a drip timer, and BT to control caterpillars. He intentionally uses equipment vetted and screened for outdoor operations by organizations like Humboldt Seed Co, Archive, and Terp Hogz.
Since many breeders and farmers are unsure of how their plants will respond to outdoor fluctuations in heat and humidity, he prefers to use strains tested outdoors. Downs strives to cultivate strains that are difficult to sabotage, resulting in a growing season that is more productive and fruitful.
Meanwhile, for Shaping Fire podcast presenter Shango Los, given that he lives on Vashon Island in the Pacific Northwest, he wants strains that will finish flowering quickly enough during the brief summers.
He wants to produce primarily auto flowers, which he can start growing on June 1 and harvest before the rains come in late August. Los is most enthusiastic about the sandalwood, lemongrass, and yuzu-scented Purple Pope blend created by Gnome Automatics and Night Owl Seeds.
He also enjoys Mephisto Genetics’ Northern Cheese Haze, which combines the funkiness of bloomy-rind cheese with some of the haze’s fresh sunshine-dried linen sweetness.
The most dependable photoperiod strain for where he lives is Mandelbrot’s well-known Mendocino Royal Kush, which completes in around 50 days. Los is especially enthusiastic about a recent partnership between Mean Gene From Mendocino and Emerald Mountain Legacy called Royale with Cherries.
