# Outdoor growing

> Outdoor growing is cultivating cannabis in the ground or containers under natural sunlight, where the season's day length controls when photoperiod plants flower.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/outdoor-growing.html
- Also written: outdoor, outdoor grow, growing outdoors, full sun, full-term outdoor
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Outdoor growing uses natural sunlight in open ground or containers. [Photoperiod plants](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/photoperiod.md) grow vegetatively through the long days of late spring and early summer and start flowering as nights lengthen in late summer, finishing from early autumn to late autumn depending on cultivar and latitude. [Autoflowers](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/autoflower.md) ignore day length and can be planted on a rolling basis in warm months.

## In practice

Sunlight is free and intense: a clear midsummer day can deliver a [DLI](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dli.md) of 50-60 mol/m²/day or more, well above typical indoor levels. Plants grown in large beds or the ground can become very large. Key decisions are cultivar choice (finishing before the autumn rains and frosts at your latitude), site (6-8 h or more of direct sun, airflow), soil preparation, and pest and mould management. Late-flower rain and humidity are the biggest risk to the crop through [bud rot](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/botrytis.md).

[Home growing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/home-grow.md) outdoors is legal only in some places, and rules often cover visibility and plant numbers. Check local rules.

## Don't confuse with

- **Greenhouse**: under cover, often with [light-dep](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/light-deprivation.md) and climate control.
- **Guerrilla grow**: growing on land you do not own or control.

## Related terms

[Indoor growing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/indoor-growing.md), [Greenhouse growing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/greenhouse-growing.md), [Light deprivation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/light-deprivation.md), [Hardening off](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hardening-off.md), [Companion planting](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/companion-planting.md)

## Read more

- [Your first grow: a plan from seed to jar](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/first-grow-guide.md)