Growing cannabis outdoors last year was a very interesting experience. I want to move into growing indoors under controlled environments, but I figured that as a first step/MVP 'spike' if you will, outdoors with autoflowers would be a low cost test to get familiar with the process. No lights or exhaust setups, just sunlight and the rest of mother nature.

It was tough. Humidity. Insects. Mold. Are they getting enough light? Too much water? Not enough water? Am I amending the soil correctly? Am I giving the right nutrients at the right periods of development? In Michigan we're able to grow up to 12 plants, so I had quite a few. It was definitely a labor of love.

I also became so appreciative of plants during this period. Every morning I looked forward to waking up and checking on them, adjusting the air flow, watering, attacking any pests, and of course admiring all of their new development. I would talk to them sometimes, they really became good friends. I would tend to them in the evening, with my dogs wandering around the yard with me. I really enjoyed the cadence/structure that it gave to my life.

In the end, my harvests were absolutely terrible. I went out of town right at the tail end of my first crop and they were lost entirely to botrytis. I don't think I was giving them enough food throughout their lifecycle either. A second crop for the tail half of summer never got enough light due to the way my property is laid out, so I would move them in the afternoon to an area with more sun. All of these factors combined - they were weak plants and didn't fully develop.

But alas the experience was great. It was a complete failure at first glance, but I learned so much about how plants grow (specifically cannabis), their structure, temperament, toughness, etc. Now I feel totally prepared to transition to indoor growing, so that is the silver lining. I'll probably start out terrible with that too, but practice makes perfect.