March is upon us, which means the beginning of the outdoor growing season for cannabis cultivators in the Northern hemisphere. It's an exciting time for outdoor growers, and you might already be licking your lips at the prospect of your first harvest.
Hopefully, you're preparing your garden to plant your next crop of green treasures, but wait – have you decided what you want to grow? There's still time to try something different. Seedsman recommends some of the best outdoor strains you can grow in 2023.
Why Grow Cannabis Outdoors?
If you've never experienced the joy of growing cannabis outdoors, you may wonder where the attraction lies. It's true that outdoor growing presents some challenges, but these are relatively easy to handle with a little know-how.
Instead of seeing outdoor growing issues such as weather, pests, and animal predators as reasons to keep your plants tucked away indoors, consider the upside. Outdoor cultivation has many advantages, such as harnessing the sun's power, saving money on artificial lights, and providing free rainwater. You'll also reap the benefits of better ventilation and more space to grow truly massive plants!
Where to Grow Cannabis Outdoors
An outdoor grow doesn't necessarily require a garden, allotment or plot of land. You can host an outdoor grow anywhere from a balcony to a rooftop. If you're really limited for outdoor options, you can produce an excellent cannabis plant on a window sill! No matter where you situate your plants, you'll still follow the same basic principles – natural light, water, and nutrients.
To recap, here are the advantages of outdoor growing:
- More space to grow bigger plants
- Potential for much larger harvests
- Free lighting
- Free water (depending on your local climate, you'll still likely need to hand water your crops)
- No need to worry about changing the light cycle
- Environmentally friendly
- Great ventilation to reduce the risk of mold
- Beneficial Insects
How to Choose a Good Outdoor Strain
When choosing cannabis strains to grow outdoors, the sky is the limit. This is because outdoor growers are usually less likely to be hindered by confined space, allowing for massive stretch and burgeoning plants. Of course, it depends on your setting. Gardens, rooftops, allotments etc., all allow a great deal of freedom in terms of space, but outdoor growing on a balcony or windowsill may mean your best options include smaller indica varieties and autoflowers. Autoflowers are a good pick for small outdoor spaces as they typically remain short.
When growing outdoors, it's essential to factor in more than just your preferred flavours and desired effects. For instance, knowing your climate, the number of daylight hours in relation to when you begin growing, and the resilience of your chosen strain are all ingredients that contribute to the success of your harvest. Look for strains with good mold and pest-resistant properties to eliminate some of the headaches that could potentially arise.
Depending on daylight hours/commencement time or how many harvests you hope to achieve, you might like to try autoflowering or fast-flowering cannabis strains. Due to their quick turnaround, these can allow multiple harvests in an outdoor season – some of our FAST cannabis strains are done in just 6 weeks!
10 Great Strains to Grow Outdoors in 2023 - Seedsman's Recommendations
When compiling our list, we've considered the above and included strains that specifically suit outdoor cultivation. Whether you're looking for photos or autos, classics or newcomers, you'll find a diverse range of genetics suited to outdoor growing.
Pest/Mold Resistant Strains
White Widow
As one of the best-known and most beloved cannabis strains, this 1990s classic is perfect for outdoor growing. It's a high-yielding indica/sativa hybrid that can produce as much as 800gm/plant after 8 weeks of flowering. This means a bumper harvest of juicy, dense, highly potent buds awaits.
White Widow is a highly resinous strain, reflected in the white, frosty, trichome-covered appearance which inspired its famous name. A reputation as a robust and relatively easy-to-grow strain with superb mold-resistance properties makes White Widow an excellent choice for outdoor cultivation.
White Widow's earthy, woody, fruity flavours make for a pleasant, smooth smoke. The high THC content of this strain pairs nicely with the balanced nature of sativa and indica, meaning a solid cerebral hit with soothing body effects.
Buy White Widow feminized seeds at Seedsman.com
Bubba Cheesecake
If you have yet to experience Seedsman's newest superstar, now is a great time to order a slice of Bubba Cheesecake. This stunning new indica-dominant hybrid is a blend of superb genetics; a PRE '98 Bubba Kush, and Cheese Cake, itself a cross of the sumptuous Wedding Cake and the ever-popular Exodus Cheese.
Bubba Cheesecake is a high-yielding strain suited to outdoor growth. As Bubba stretches to as much as 350cm, expect impressive yields of between 700-800 gm/plant after around 8 weeks of flowering. This is a highly resinous plant, so be sure to glove up when tending to those sticky buds.
If you enjoy the flavours of sweet licorice, Bubba Cheesecake will serve up a treat – and with high THC content of over 20%, this indica-dominant wonder packs a punch. Intense, long-lasting sedative effects one might describe as narcotic will see Bubba Cheesecake quickly rise through the ranks to become everyone's favourite new evening strain.
Order Bubba Cheesecake feminized seeds from Seedsman today
Killer A5 Haze
The talented breeders at Ace Seeds have a way with genetics. They make some truly unique strains with looks and features to wow – and Killer A5 Haze is proof of this. This highly potent sativa-dominant hybrid stubbornly resists pests such as spider mites and plant diseases like powdery mildew, making it a great choice for a hassle-free outdoor grow.
Killer A5 Haze likes a lot of nutrients, so keep this one topped up to maximize yields – outdoor cultivation can see you net a whopping harvest. This strain is especially suited to warmer outdoor climates, ready in the northern hemisphere in late October/early November.
If potency is your thing, Killer A5 Haze will not disappoint – but be aware that this strain is not for the faint-hearted! To the untrained eye, this is a beautiful, striking-looking plant with an ornamental aesthetic. However, with THC content between 23-30%, Killer A5 Haze carries a psychedelic cerebral effect that inspires giggles before giving way to a powerful sedative effect.
Shop Killer Haze A5 Feminized Seeds Here
Durban Poison
Dutch Passion's Durban Poison has the kind of genetics almost tailor-made for outdoor growing. This fabled strain has abundant mould and pest resistance, taking some of the more common headaches associated with outdoor cultivation right out of the equation. This is a strain that can hold its own in many environments.
As a sativa, it's a safe bet that Durban Poison will undergo a remarkable upward stretch. Many reports indicate a plant height of up to three metres by the end of flowering. This is a relatively simple strain to grow due to its famed resilience. It is an excellent choice for anyone beginning their outdoor growing journey.
Durban Poison is loved for its spicy/herbal aromas and flavours and its uplifting head high that gives users a classic sativa energy buzz.
Durban Poison feminized seeds are available at Seedsman.com now
Fast Flowering Strains
Outdoor growers like fast-flowering strains to produce multiple harvests within a growing season or to avoid climate-related issues such as limited daylight hours, seasonal frosts, or mold from the early onset of damp weather typical in some climates.
C99 X Blueberry FAST
Seedsman's own C99 x Blueberry FAST is a high-speed, fast-flowering sensation. Taking just 45 days to flower, this rapid cannabis strain is one option if you're looking for more than one harvest during the outdoor season.
It's a sativa-dominant hybrid that takes a quick stretch. Even though it's a smaller plant, yields are still highly respectable at up to 450gm/plant when potted outside - a great return for such a rapid grow.
The C99 and Blueberry parentage bring a sweet, fruity flavour to the fore, and effects are typically sativa - dreamy and uplifting, with a relaxing body effect from the Blueberry indica in the mix.
Try C99 X Blueberry FAST feminized seeds today
Amnesia FAST
If you're looking for a fast-flowering, high-yielding sativa that kicks like a mule, your search is over. Seedsman's Amnesia FAST gets you in and out in just over 50 days of flowering time and has a THC content around the 25% mark.
It's a relatively short plant, but it will still produce great yields. Amnesia FAST has beautiful plants that grow aggressively during the vegetative phase, then flower quickly and become covered in glittering trichomes.
The taste of Amnesia FAST is deliciously sweet and fruity, with an uplifting, strong, and creative effect like a good sativa.
Seedsman's Amnesia FAST seeds are available now
Cream Mandarine F1 FAST
Sweet Seeds have perfected the art of producing excellent FAST genetics, and Cream Mandarine F1 FAST is a perfect example. If you're in a hurry, how does harvest after 49 days of flowering sound? FAST!
This powerful indica-dominant hybrid offers more than sheer speed – Cream Mandarine F1 FAST is good for yields of up to 600gm/plant of quality buds when planted outdoors. This prizewinning strain is known for its vigorous growth and generous production of dense buds.
THC content is high, between 18 and 22%, meaning this delicious and fruity-flavoured citrus strain has powerful relaxing qualities.
Pick up Cream Mandarine F1 FAST seeds from Seedsman.com
Autoflowering Strains
Autoflowering cannabis strains allow numerous benefits to cultivators, including harvesting sooner (in many cases) and, therefore, multiple harvests per season. In addition, autoflowers offer a more manageable plant size, which some cultivators prefer, bringing a more hassle-free grow. For outdoor growers who have concerns such as streetlights or urban lighting, autoflowers can negate any concerns surrounding light at the flowering period as they siwtch to flowering based on age rather than the light/dark cycles used for photoperiod cannabis.
Girl Scout Cookies Auto
Easily one of the most popular varieties of the last few years, Girl Scout Cookies has been the strain on everyone's lips at some point. There's a reason for that; GSC is known for producing euphoria and full-body relaxation and having some widely-reported therapeutic benefits. For these reasons, this Cannabis Cup-winning beauty has been in high demand.
This autoflowering variety comes courtesy of FastBuds and is the result of crossbreeding two of the best GSC phenotypes with autoflowering genetics. An excellent choice for beginners looking to grow great-tasting therapeutic cannabis with genuine ease, GSC Auto is highly recommended for outdoor growing. All the benefits of the original parent, none of the hard work.
OG Kush Auto
For those looking to cultivate in a smaller space outdoors, OG Kush Auto is the answer. It may be small in stature at only 100cm, but this beauty puts out bumper crops. 400gm/plant from such a compact structure is hugely impressive!
Those rich harvests contain some extremely dense buds, covered in the kind of resin all good cannasseurs dream of. You'll find OG Kush Auto pretty straightforward to grow and extremely rewarding.
THC content comes in around the 20% mark, so the potency of OG Kush Auto is assured. It's a mostly indica variety and well suited to chasing away aches and pains while promoting the relaxation you want after a hard day. The sour citrus flavour you'd expect from a Kush is present, but spicy, peppery notes add exotic intrigue to the taste profile.
Buy OG Kush Auto feminized seeds from Seedsman today
Northern Lights Auto XXL
00 Seeds offer an autoflowering version of the classic Northern Lights strain with a neat twist. For those who want to grow cannabis legally but discreetly, this variety has a much lower aroma profile than other versions of the strain, while growing slightly larger than the regular autoflowering NL strain.
This is a highly adaptable variety and equally at home in many different grow media and soil types, making it an excellent choice for those looking for a versatile strain that needs little care. Yields are around 200gm/plant outdoors.
Flavours, aromas and effects of the original classic Northern Lights are all present and correct in this larger autoflowering version. The trademark sweet/spicy Northern Lights flavour veteran smokers know and love is to the fore, with the powerful relaxing effect sure to soothe you at the end of a busy day. This highly resinous strain is sure to be popular with those who make concentrates and extracts.
Northern Lights Auto XXL seeds are available from Seedsman.com
