Selecting a good location for an outdoor grow can be crucial to a successful growing season. Although cannabis can perform well in many environments, there are certainly some considerations to make when choosing your outdoor location. Some of what you should consider has to do with the legalities of outdoor cannabis gardening in Missouri. However, since we’ve touched on that in a previous article, let’s have a look at the basic environmental factors.
Soil and Drainage:
Although there are certainly ways to prepare your soil for cannabis, if you have the option you should always start with the best soil available. Dark, crumbly soil is great for cannabis and is an indication of a lot of organic content. However, if you aren’t starting with great soil you might consider raised beds. Further, planting on a hillside can be a challenge during heavy rainfalls as that excess rain can wash out your beds – plan ahead for this.
Raised beds are great for drainage. Cannabis does not like wet feet and planting in low-lying areas that get and stay saturated is not a good idea. While this might be nice in the middle of summer; you will be sad come fall when the roots rot out from under the gorgeous buds that were forming. Similarly, if you plan on using a manufactured soil (bagged soil), avoid digging holes and filling them with potting soil. The difference in soil types will usually prevent cannabis from extending much beyond this hole, the potting soil will dry more quickly in some cases, but in other cases this acts like a miniature pond and traps water and rots roots. When in doubt, raise those beds!
Sunlight:
Cannabis is a sun-loving plant and in order to enjoy the greatest growth, full sun is recommended. South facing slopes are perfect, especially if there isn’t much tree-cover nearby to block the rising and setting sun. Planting rows oriented east to west will help maximize sunlight as well. Be aware that planting directly on the north side of a house, privacy fence, or tree-line can drastically reduce the light your plants receive. You see, in Missouri the sun is never directly over head. In fact, sunlight always comes to us from a slightly southern position. This is why moss and algae grows so well on the northern side of our houses and trees.
Air:
Folks rarely talk about air flow when planting outdoors. However, it can be very important and should at least be considered. For example, one of the reasons why indoor gardeners utilize a lot of air-flow is to prevent micro-climates in the canopy and to keep fungus spores from settling on leaves. In order to infect a plant, powdery mildew and botrytis spores must settle onto a leave and remain undisturbed for 6-12 hours while it germinates and taps into the plant cells around it.
I have planted apple trees in low-lying areas without adequate air-flow. These trees suffer from a regular case of powdery mildew and often receive the first and last frosts more strongly than their neighbors on top of the ridge. With this in mind, it will be better to surround your plants with a chain link fence lined with shade cloth (for a sight-block) rather than a solid privacy fence that will block the breeze.
Finally, too much air-flow can be an issue too and unprotected plants can be ravaged by storms and wind gusts in general. Strike a balance, if you can.
Welcome to 2020, gardeners. We hope your year is full of bounty. If you appreciate our work, don’t forget to like and share using the links below this article.
Happy Harvests!
— The Lit Farmer —
