Growing Marijuana Indoors vs Outdoors – Which is Best for You?

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Growing marijuana indoors or outdoors both have their pros and cons. The following article will dive into why you might prefer to grow your pot outside or inside. Many reasons to help you make your decision ranging from your personal preference to your geographic location all ultimately play a part in your decision on which way to succeed.

So is It Better To Grow Indoors or Outdoors

When considering which route to take for growing your marijuana either indoors or outside ultimately the decision should be made based on what suits you the best as the grower.

Some things you will want to consider in the decision making process are;

  • What will the quality of the plants be if you grow them indoors or outside?
    • The best way to get this answer is to know what strain and variety you want to grow and whether that plant does better in the full sun or controlled conditions.
  • An important factor is what the cost or price will be to grow indoors vs outdoors.
    • Growing indoors with special lighting and a grow tent and other supplies can add up.
    • Growing outside you could just pick a spot plant the seeds and hope for the best which is a much cheaper option.
  • Next up is having control of your garden.
    • Obviously if you are indoors you have almost 100% control of the grow op. I say almost because things can happen. A family pet can get into the plants pot and dig up the dirt or chew and kill the plant. Anything like that could possibly happen.
    • If you are outdoors there will not be as much control as the weather and animals or birds could affect the success of the crop. Don’t forget the pests that might take a liking to the herb.
  • The harvest or yield you get from your plants is something to consider as well.
    • If you grow indoors you can control everything from lighting intensity to the amount of time the lights are on and off. You control what type of soil is used and fertilizer as well as the heat and humidity of the grow room if you chose.
    • If you decide to grow outside you don’t have any control over how much light the plants will be exposed to and if it rains you cannot control that either. You could control the soil if you put the plants in pots or dug up the earth and put your desired soil in the ground.
    • Considering the above two points either could affect the size of the buds and plants. That being said some varieties of marijuana might prefer being outside vs inside and vice versa. That will be something you should check into when purchasing seeds or clones.
  • In the above section we covered a bit on lighting soil and climate.
    • You are more likely able to control the lighting and climate growing indoors vs outside.
    • Soil can be controlled in both places especially if you use a pot outside.
  • Security is my last item for this section.
    • Obviously if you are growing indoors your grow op should be secure unless you have a curious pet or friends that decide to help themselves.
    • Growing outside is a security risk in my mind. Someone could find your plants and yank them out of the ground. Today Drones are getting more popular and there could be people using them to search in back yards for things to steal. I would expect that a flowering marijuana plant would be a hot commodity for a thief.

Do Plants Grow Faster Indoors or Outdoors?

If you are growing outdoors and live in a hot tropical climate and start your grow at the beginning of the summer I feel you will have a really good grow however the plants will grow in accordance to the light cycle of the sun which could take 3 or more months before your plants are ready for harvesting. This would be any region close to the equator, north or south of it.

If you live in the northern USA, Canada or somewhere else in the world in the northern hemisphere you probably shouldn’t grow pot expecting to have the biggest buds as the intensity from the sun might not be as strong as the plants need for maximum growth. Also the length of grow time required might not be met in these regions.

If you grow indoors you can probably speed up the time it takes to grow a plant into flowering and bug buds by cutting back on the lighting just after a few weeks of the vegetative state. Switching between the right lighting from vegetative to flowering will speed up the process enabling you to grow some nice buds in as little as 8 weeks if you stay focused on the crops attending to their every need.

 

Is a Greenhouse Considered Indoor or Outdoor

I would say that growing weed in a greenhouse is a hybrid of growing indoors and outdoors. If the greenhouse has a glass roof that the sun can shine through then you get the benefit of the sun shining on the plants. This would be the growing outdoors portion.

Since the plants are inside a shelter assuming with walls and a roof then you can control the air flow inside as well as possibly the temperature if you needed to cool it off or heat it up by either shadowing the plants when necessary or exposing them to the sun’s rays as required. You can also control how much water the plants get if inside a greenhouse. If the plants were outside you would control how much you water the plants but you can’t control the amount of rain that will fall on the marijuana outside. This would be the growing indoor portion.

Indoor vs Outdoor Yield – Which Way Will Give You Bigger Buds?

  • When growing outdoors your plants are exposed to the sun and there isn’t anything better. The sun will help your plants grow flower and produce incredible buds. Unfortunately you also have the clouds and the rain as well as temperatures that can fluctuate drastically which could stunt the plants growth and maybe even freeze and kill the crop. You risk the end of the grow season getting cooler at night and day which will slow down buds growing in size.
  • If you grow indoors you get to control pretty much everything about the plants success. If you use the most powerful lights and fertilize properly ensuring the soil dries out enough between each watering you could grow some massive buds.
  • What this can sometimes boil down to, is not only the elements of outside or the somewhat perfect conditions inside is the variety you chose to grow. Some plants just grow larger buds naturally so make sure you check how the seeds you buy will grow. Some people like plants like a sativa that could grow big and tall with big buds but might take quite a while to be ready for harvesting. Others might prefer growing a shorter plant in the indica strain that will take a shorter period of time to be ready for harvest and cure.

To maximize the size of your buds make sure to use a powerful grow light. For a better explanation check out my article about 1000-watt grow lights. 

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Outdoor Flowering Time vs Indoor

Outdoor flowering time will always be dictated by the season and sun. Unless you plant auto flower marijuana plants then you can speed up the process a bit.

Indoor flowering time can be manipulated by adjusting the time you have your lighting on for. You can potentially take a pot plant that might take 3 to 4 months to flower and bud outside to having a plant start to flower after just 3 to 4 weeks indoors.

These time frames will always differ from seed to seed and strain to variety. However after practicing by growing and experimenting after half a dozen grows you will find out what works best for you and what you need to do to tweak the growth pattern.

 

Is There a Difference Between Indoor and Outdoor Plant Pots?

I think the answer to this is that it boils down to your own personal preference. The only difference I can think of for outdoor marijuana plant pots is they might be a bit thicker. I have seen some pots made out of nothing more than chicken wire shaped in a large circle and filled with soil to grow the pot above the ground level. You probably wouldn’t do this inside however it wouldn’t be a bad idea by any means.

For indoor pots using a cloth pot is gaining more popularity because the soil can dry out easier. This prevents root rot and molding. It also allows the plant to be water thoroughly more often which allows more fertilizer to potentially be absorbed.

Greenhouse vs Outdoor Garden

Using an outdoor grow house or greenhouse is a great idea because you can combine the benefits of the outdoors with the sun hitting the plants to benefits of the indoors like temperature control.

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Outdoors you cannot protect your garden from the strong winds and frost yet in a greenhouse you can.

If you have the luxury of using a greenhouse go for it.

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Switching From Indoor to Outdoor

Switching your plants from indoors to outside is good to do if you want to take advantage of the sun’s heat and rays.

If you are bringing your plants out for some sunlight once in a while its fine to do just make sure you don’t leave them in the full sun for too long. Even though overall the sun is great for growing marijuana if the plant is not used to being in sun it can actually get too much and show symptoms of wilting leaves. This means the plants need to be put in some shade ASAP before too much damage is done.

If you are thinking of moving plants outside for the duration of the grow then take a week to gradually expose the plants to sunlight in order to strengthen them up for outside so they can withstand the direct exposure without wilting and burning

Bonus Benefit of Growing Marijuana Indoors

First off when growing outdoors you are stuck having to grow your crop according to the Earths annual seasonal cycle.

If you choose to grow indoors you can have plants growing in different rooms at different stages. Let’s say you just grow 2 plants but you don’t want too much bud at the end of the plants life because you don’t want it to go to waste.

The solution is to stagger your plants in their growth phases. If you have the luxury of growing in two completely separate rooms you can totally do this. Start one plant and once it gets to the end of the vegetative stage for that plant start your second plant. This will stagger when your plants are ready to be cured and eventually smoked so you will have a constant supply of the ganja.

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So After All That Should You Grow Pot Indoors or Outdoors?

Of course it’s always going to be your decision. Depending on where you live in the world and how long your summer season is. It can depend on how much of a hurry you are in for the plants to finish the flowering stage to be harvested and cured. Consider those things and you should know what will be right for you.

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Myself personally I live in Canada with short summers and unpredictable springs and fall so I don’t take anything to chance. Indoors is the way to go for me. I get full control of the environment.

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Good luck.

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