Where and When to Plant?

This section outlines three different gardens in three different locations: indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor. The examples show different planting and harvest scenarios that use the natural advantages provided by each garden and the varieties grown.

Three Gardens

This section outlines three different gardens in three different locations: indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor. The examples show different planting and harvest scenarios that use the natural advantages provided by each garden and the varieties grown. 

For more complete information about each type of garden, see chapters on Grow Rooms, Case Studies, Outdoors, and Medical Cannabis Varieties.

Indoor Gardens

Maintain mother plants and clones 18–24 hours of light daily. Induce vegetative plants to flower by providing 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness and 12 hours of light every 24 hours. Once the dark/light schedule has been set to 12 hours dark and 12 hours light, most varieties of cannabis will flower and can be harvested in 60–90 days.

First Harvest

Indoor Spring Crop – 90 days

This indoor garden is growing under T5 fluorescent lights. The T5s are able to supply plenty of light for vegetative growth. The plants are in individual containers and are easy to move in the garden.

01 January – Move well-rooted 12–18-inch-tall (30–45 cm) female clones into room under 18–24 hours of light.

21 January – Transplant clones into 3-gallon (11 L) containers.

30 January – Induce flowering with 12-hour days and nights.

07 February – Take cuttings and start the next crop of clones. Give clones 18–24 hours of light.

30 March – Harvest first crop.

Second Harvest

Indoor Summer Crop – 90 days

The garden on the right is about one week ahead of the garden on the left and will be harvested a week earlier.

01 April – Move well-rooted female clones into room under 18–24 hours of light.

21 April – Transplant clones into 3-gallon (11 L) containers.

30 April – Induce flowering with 12-hour days and nights.

07 May – Take cuttings and start the next crop of clones. Give clones 18–24 hours of light.

30 June – Harvest first crop.

Third Harvest

Indoor Autumn Crop – 90 days

The plants on the left will be ready to harvest in about one week. The plants on the right are about two weeks into flowering and will be harvested in about six weeks.

01 July – Move well-rooted female clones into room under 18–24 hours of light.

21 July – Transplant clones into 3-gallon (11 L) containers.

30 July – Induce flowering with 12-hour days and nights.

07 August – Take cuttings and start the next crop of clones. Give clones 18–24 hours of light.

30 September – Harvest first crop.

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Greenhouse Gardens

Greenhouse crops can be harvested two or more times a year, but most often greenhouses are planted in the spring and yield a single harvest in the fall. In cold climates, greenhouses must be heated. All greenhouses must be vented or cooled in warm weather. The basic harvest scenario below shows how to harvest three greenhouse crops every year.

First Harvest

Greenhouse Spring Crop – 90 days

This Mexican greenhouse needs shade cloth and supplemental lighting at night to keep plants in the flowering growth stage. The days and nights are between 11and 13 hours long all year round. This is the perfect photoperiod for flowering in cannabis.

01 March – Move bushy well-rooted 1–2-foot-tall (30–60 cm) clones and seedlings into greenhouse.

01 March – Long 12-hour nights and short 12-hour days in spring signal cannabis to flower.

15 March – Remove any male plants. To distinguish plants, look for male pre-flowers.

15 March – Transplant clones and female seedlings into large containers.

15 April – Darken greenhouse after 12 hours of daylight, until harvest.

30 May – Harvest: The less intense sunlight will make for smaller buds than harvests later in the season.

Second Harvest

Greenhouse Summer Crop – 90 days

Black plastic is alongside this light depravation greenhouse. Every day the black plastic is pulled over the greenhouse to “black it out” and create a total of 12 hours darkness, which induces flowering in indica and sativa varieties of cannabis.

01 June – Move bushy, well-rooted 1–2-foot-tall (30–60 cm) clones and seedlings into greenhouse.

15 June – Remove male plants; male pre-flowers distinguish male plants from females.

15 June – Transplant clones and seedlings into larger containers.

01 July – Induce flowering by “blacking out” (covering) greenhouse after 12 hours of light.

15 July – Verify the gender of all plants. Remove any remaining males.

01 August – Maintain flowering by covering greenhouse after 12 hours of light until harvest.

30 August – Harvest a heavy crop of top quality medicinal cannabis flower buds that have received maximum levels of sunlight.

Third Harvest