Growing Cannabis Indoors Vs Growing Outdoors

 

For those of you who are lucky enough to have options, you may want to look into the ups and downs of each growing method. Of course, each has pros or cons depending on a variety of factors. Where you live in the world, how much space you have, if you can afford indoor equipment etc. It also depends on how experienced you are with plants as some forms of growth can be a little less predictable than others. The easiest way to figure it out is to have a look at each growing method, do some comparing, and see which one comes off as the best option for you. 

 

Indoor Growing

 

This can be done in a number of ways from one plant in your cupboard to full-on hydroponics. Depending on your budget you can set up a pretty impressive growing space indoors, especially if you have a spare room or a decent attic going. However, even if you just have a bedroom cupboard you can still produce some impressive plants. 

 

Pros: 

 

Shelter From The Elements – When you’re growing inside you don’t have to worry about mother nature. In certain countries, there will be a stable outdoor environment, but others can be a little less predictable. A strong wind, icy rain or intense heat can completely mess up your plants. 

 

Control – This is certainly connected to the need for shelter. Outdoors, as I said, can be unpredictable and a drastic change in humidity or temperature is a super-fast way for your plants to kick the bucket. You also control the amount of light hitting your plants, no more worrying about an extra sunny day or a day that’s completely clouded over. By maintaining your own optimal growing conditions you can make sure your plants reach their full potential. 

 

Year-Round Growing – Growing outdoors means you can only do it during the seasons where the conditions allow it. Indoors you can grow literally at any time of year and it doesn’t matter. 

 

Discretion – For some of us it isn’t ideal to just have our plants out in the garden for nose neighbours to see. Growing inside is definitely better if you want your crop to be your little secret. I would avoid indoor growing in attics if discretion is important as snow or birds can often give you away. 

 

Cons: 

 

Expenses – Of course, growing indoors can be far more expensive than growing outdoors. When growing indoors you have to create a full growing space including lighting, heat, fans, soil, light reflectors and umpteen other pieces of equipment. As you go on the expenses are only going to go up. Also due to needing to use a lot of machinery anything could break down at any time. 

 

Grow Lights Vs Sun Light – Unfortunately, we do know that grow lights just can’t be better than sunlight. The lack of UV radiation is the primary issue when it comes to using grow lights. This isn’t a massive con but it’s not ideal. 

 

Outdoor Growing

 

Pros:

 

Sunlight – I know we just talked about this, but still it is a definite pro of growing outdoors. No lighting system can match the sheer power of the sun that’s for sure. Real sunlight does a lot more for plants than artificial light can. The sun contains a good amount of UV radiation, well lots and lots of it, which is fantastic for the plants. When the plants are under real sunlight the buds will develop better, smell better, and have better taste. 

 

Space – When growing indoors usually you will have limited space for your plants to grow. Unless you happen to have a full spare room to use or a giant shed then you’re only going to be able to fit a few plants into your grow space. Outdoor growing means the roots can spread and the plants can grow to their heart’s content. You can also grow companion plants to keep the pests away. Improving plant diversity can be fantastic for your cannabis plants. 

 

Cheaper – Of course, if you are growing outside and you don’t need to buy all that equipment the whole thing will be much cheaper. Most of the bits you need are supplied by mother nature so for anyone strapped for cash, it is definitely the better option. 

 

Cons:

 

Nature – The biggest pro is also one of the biggest cons for outdoor growing. The sun and the great outdoor spaces are fantastic for plants, but other aspects of nature can be a nightmare. If it’s super windy or too hot or too cold or too humid then your plants will have a bad time, as we mentioned in the pros to indoor growing. Funnily enough, there is quite a lot of overlap between the pros for one and cons for another. If you can’t keep a constant eye on your green babies outdoor growing might not be for you. 

 

Pests – Pests are probably one of the bigger issues when growing outdoors. They can devour plants in absolutely no time at all. They can cause issues that are hard for growers to spot straight away, so by the time you see them it can be too late. There are lots of different types of pests, from bugs to mammals running around looking for a snack. Birds can mess up your crops as well if you don’t cover them with netting. 

 

Weather – Of course where you live makes a huge difference in whether or not it’s a good idea for you to grow outside. If you live in a part of the world that has beautiful long summers, plenty of sun, not too windy, not too much rain, very few storms etc, then you should be absolutely fine to grow outdoors. However, if you live in a place with inclement weather you’re kinda screwed as you can’t really move your garden if the weather goes crazy. 

 

So those are the basic pros and cons of growing indoors or outdoors. Hopefully, that will let you know which one suits you best. 

 

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