It is impossible to say for sure what is the best variety to grow in an outdoors. It all depends on the climatic conditions of the place of cultivation, which experienced growers use to choose the plant they like.
Almost all varieties of marijuana available on the market can be grown on most of the subtropical and temperate climate zones of Russia. Only in the northern part of the temperate zone, close to 65 degrees of northern latitude, is the choice narrowed considerably. A grower simply has to choose a cannabis variety which can go through its full life cycle from the beginning of the spring warming to the autumn frosts on the plantation. So first of all you need to study the climatic conditions of a place and then choose an appropriate variety. Since there will be plenty of such plants, the final choice is made purely on the basis of personal taste preferences of the gardener, the desired effect, the speed of maturation and the degree of fastidious
ness in the care of a particular variety.
Determining the length of a good period for growing cannabis in the outdoors
The best way to determine the length of a good time to grow marijuana in a particular area is to use archived data from previous years’ weather forecasts. Very detailed information for each day of any month can be found on the service “Weather Diary”.
If you plan to plant seeds in the ground, it is necessary to determine an approximate date of the first day, after which the minimum night temperature will not fall below +10 degrees. For planting plants already germinated indoors, the minimum night temperature should be more than +15 degrees. Usually such days coincide with the beginning of lilac flowering. The established date is the time of the end of frosts, and therefore the beginning of a favorable period of the year for the cultivation of cannabis.
The end of the favorable period is considered to be the day of autumn, after which the night temperature will steadily fall below +15 degrees. For frost-resistant varieties this value can be even lower. Usually it is +10 degrees. Hemp can withstand one-time drops in temperature below these marks, but if they become regular, it’s a cause for concern. To protect themselves from crop loss, many growers prefer to consider the end of the favorable period as the first fall day with these night temperatures.
For photoperiod varieties, June 20-21 is considered an important day in this period. It is after this date that the length of the day begins to decrease, which soon prompts the plant to start flowering. This usually occurs when the length of the day is reduced to 13-15 hours. Depending on the remoteness of the place of cultivation from the Arctic Circle, such a day comes earlier. For example, in Sochi it falls at the end of July, and in Moscow at the end of September. Therefore, the photic flowering period must necessarily be shorter than the time range between the approximate date of the beginning of flowering and the arrival of autumn frosts.
Remember that these calculations are approximate. They will only be used to select the right cannabis variety for the area. The exact dates of planting and harvests are chosen based on the actual weather situation. It is possible to minimize the risk of losing a plant or a crop if the life cycle of the plant is 2-3 weeks shorter than the estimated favorable cultivation period.
Choosing a photoperiodic variety for outdoor cultivation
Pure Sativa.
100% sativa cannabis varieties are capable of growing up to 2-4 meters in height. Their flowering time usually starts up to a month before the autumnal equinox, which in the northern hemisphere is September 23rd. Considering that the flowering phase of such plants lasts 9 to 12 weeks, with the rare exception of 8, the crop will not ripen until late November or December. Therefore, pure sativa can be grown only in the subtropical climate zone of our country.
Indica and hybrids
Pure indica and varieties with mixed genetics start blooming earlier than sativa, when the day length is reduced to 14 hours on average. Such varieties usually have time to harvest by late September, early October. Their main advantage is that the longer the growing season, the bigger they will grow and consequently the bigger the crop.
A great option for sativa lovers are sativa-dominant hybrids, whose long flowering period has been adopted from indica. Such varieties can be safely planted in May and harvested in late September or early October to enjoy this uplifting effect.
Choosing an autoflowering cannabis strain for the outdoors
The first autoflowering strain of Lowryder, created by the Joint Doctor sideline, revolutionized the world of outdoors cultivation. Since then, outdoor cultivation has been possible in regions with short summers. Thanks to the ruderalis genes, these plants are able to enter the flowering phase regardless of the length of daylight hours. This happens when the plant reaches a certain age, which is genetically established. As a result, the grower can know exactly the length of the life cycle of the variety.
Most autoflowering strains on the market will go from seed germination to harvests in 60 to 80 days. In northern latitudes this is long enough to produce a quality crop before the cold sets in. In southern regions, you can even grow 2-3 batches of crops per season. The ruderalis genes have also endowed autoflowering varieties with stronger immunity, which makes it much easier to cultivate them. The only disadvantage of autoflowering is the short growing season, which results in more modest yields for the plants. But this can be compensated for by the number of plants planted.
A selection of outdoors varieties
In this selection we’ve picked some of the most popular strains for growing outdoors this and last season. They are new to the market and have managed to outperform older varieties in terms of reliability and yield. And while there are complaints on cannabis forums, their number in relation to sales volumes only confirms the high quality genetics of these plants. For this year and the next few years, they should definitely be preferred.
Cookies can be grown
The autoflowering cannabis variety Girl Scout Cookies from the American cidbanks FastBuds is able to go through its life cycle in 8-9 weeks, yielding up to 300g of buds per bush. The finished product is known for its high 22% THC content, cookie flavor and killer lasting effects that lift the mood and inspire creativity.
Possible hallucinations.
For the gardening novice, LSD-25 will be a godsend. This unpretentious and hardy autoflower goes from seed to harvest in 8-9 weeks, enjoys 50-250 grams of finished product per bush and contains 21-23% THC. It’s endowed with a sour-sweet flavor with notes of skunk and diesel, and a killer multi-faceted influence that can cause hallucinations.
The multi-faceted pleasure of the West Coast.
The American cannabis variety West Coast O.G. boasts not only a fast life cycle of 8-9 weeks, but also large, dense inflorescences that are covered in amber resin and snow-white trichomes. Growing at 70-100 cm, this autoflower is capable of yielding up to 300 g of finished product from a single plant. Its impact is multi-faceted and perfectly balanced.
Dragon’s Fury.
The indica-dominant cannabis variety B.Lee Auto was named after a famous martial artist for a reason. His punch is lightning fast and powerful. It easily knocks a taster off his feet for hours. Rastischka is famous for its fast life cycle of 60-65 days, unpretentious cultivation and resistance to external negative environmental factors.
Devilishly huge.
The cannabis variety Big Devil 2 from the Spanish cidbank Sweet Seeds is one of the largest and most massive autoflowers in the world. It can grow to 150 cm tall and yield 300 g of buds per plant. This flowering plant makes its whole life journey in 9 weeks. It has a sweet flavor, incense aroma, and a killer relaxing stone effect.