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Outdoors And Happy!

Now is The Time To Plant Cannabis Outdoors in South Africa!

We can all smell that the seasons have changed. While many will be shouting about Spring, we’re more excited that it is the beginning of the outdoors growing season!

It would be unpatriotic not to encourage every “Saffer” to grow some amazing outdoor! After all, the Constitutional Court has ruled it is legal to grow cannabis for home consumption.

The next question you, the reader, will be asking, is what strain/seeds should you be planting? Read more about when and where the best strains to grow in Mzansi below:

Time your Cannabis Strains

As you may or may not know, we’re not judging, there are two main types of cannabis: Sativa and Indica.

The main differences are:

Sativa has thinner leaves, taller buds (flower), and is known for being more of an invigorating high.

Indica is a more bushy, smaller plant with fatter leaves, porky heads, and a relaxing high.  

For the maximum crop yield for your Sativas, the perfect sowing time is mid-August.

If you are in possession of hybrid seeds, then mid-September is perfect.

Finally, if you have some lovely Indica seeds, you’ll need to wait till the end of September.

If you still want to read up more about the differences you can do that here.

Now let’s talk about natural lighting.

Cannabis Outdoors and in the Sunshine

Right, so marijuana is no shade loving plant. This means you’ll want to find the sunniest spot in the yard for your darling to grow big and strong. If you can allow your plant to bask in 12 or more hours in the sun, you’re winning. 

Let Mother Nature take the “lighting wheel”!

But if your planting area is a bit shady, our first suggestion would be to buy some California Lightworks rigs. 

If you are determined to grow your crop outdoors in the open air in a shady spot, you can plant the seeds a little later than mentioned above. This will help maximise sun exposure to the plant, as the sun moves with the seasons. 

It should go without saying, if you are planting your seeds later it means there will be less time now for your plants to be in the vegetative stage – which in turn means a smaller harvest. 

So, how long does it take for these beauties to produce a good harvest?

When to Harvest Your Cannabis

Now that you’ve planted your outdoors crop, when will it be ready for harvesting? Well, Mother Nature likes to take her organic time, and the plants should start flowering from mid to end of January. These timings are also dependent on the amount of sunshine in your growing area.

The more light means the plant will grow faster and be larger.

For the cannabis growing expert eyeing this blog, thinking, “But what about nutrients and…”

All we have to say to you is “Shhh! We’ll be talking about that in another blog – GOSH!”  

It’s also worth noting that the flowering period varies between strains. As a rule of thumb, Indicas have a shorter flowering period when compared to Sativas.

At the end of the day, this is going to a very organic, relaxing, and therapeutic experience. If you want to invest in a rig that guarantees a faster rotation, we can help you out.

But in the meantime, we are offering South Africans Zootly’s Nest, our all-in-one grow kit. So, if you are worried about forgetting something when starting to grow your own, no need to worry any more. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B13myPgBVVo/

And if you need any more motivation, cannabis is a great plant to look at.

Zootly Says: “I just like the smell of the plant in the garden, it’s like a lavender bush but with THC and CBD properties.” 

Words By: Andrew Macfarlane, budding horticulturist and seasonal fan of summer

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