Last issue, the story was told of the Snohomish County Cannabis Creators (SCCC), a Seattle area cannabis creators co-op and virtual cannabis preserve. The SCCC was conceived by a small group of people in 1990 in reaction to "Operation Green Merchant", a federally choreographed bust of many growers and grow supply shops around the US.
    Although that story focussed only on indoor cultivation techniques, SCCC growers are a diverse bunch, and it was only natural that outdoor cultivation would also be attempted. Some people lack an indoor facility, or aren't keen on the idea of being directly connected to their crop for one reason or another. However, these people were in for a few surprises after becoming accustomed to the comfortable, easily manipulated and forgiving indoor growing environment.
    Anyone could guess that outdoor growing would be physically more of a challenge for a prospective cultivator than indoor growing, but it turns out that northerly areas hold additional problems that growers located in more temperate climates may never face. In this article I will discuss these unique obstacles, along with other important considerations and techniques of the successful outdoor cannabis creator.

Choosing a Location

     Outdoor cannabis creation is certainly more of a challenge than indoor cultivation for a number of reasons. First of all, it is a lot easier to decide whether you will grow in your basement or an extra bedroom than it is to find a suitable outdoor plot. Also, since outdoor plots are generally more likely to be discovered, whether stumbled upon by the hapless hiker or hunter, or rooted out by law enforcement or the ever-present rip-offs, it is a good idea to try to find several plots instead of just one. Already, you are in for a substantial chore, and the growing has not yet even begun.

Advance Preparation

    Many well prepared outdoor growers will scout out locations a year in advance, the summer before the actual growing will take place. This gives them time to become familiar with the areas, consider various planting options and experiment with camouflage, and also gives them time to dig holes and prepare the soil, all well in advance of the arrival of the plants and at a more leisurely pace, better suited to the lifestyle of most ganjaphiles. The task of doing all of this in a few weeks or months just prior to the actual growing season can be daunting to say the least.

Private or Public Land?

    Questions of private or public land, accessability, traffic (both land and air), soil conditions, access to water and sun exposure are a few of the things one should consider when seeking a suitable location.
Private land generally offers easier and more discrete accessibility, but increases the chance of someone being held responsible in the event of trouble. Using public land means that if anything goes wrong the chances of you being caught are near zero, but there is no practical way to keep an eye on things while you are away, and nothing to stop someone from discovering your secret garden.

Traffic

    Traffic considerations include such variables as campers, hunters, or hikers, who could observe unusual and suspicious activity such as someone carrying jugs of water through the woods, or actually sniff out or stumble across your prize plants. Air traffic should also be considered, especially if you are near an airport, definitely if it caters to small aircraft.

Soil Conditions

    Soil conditions vary greatly, but good soil should be slightly acidic to neutral in ph (6.5-7.0), well drained, have some organic content, and shouldn't contain too much clay or sand. Heavier soils can be (and likely should be) enhanced with soil conditioners such as peat moss, perlite and vermiculite.
    Perlite and vermiculite are especially outdoor grower friendly because they are extremely lightweight and easy to carry. Dolomite lime or wood ash can be added to increase acidity but should be used sparingly. Polymers (also known as watering crystals) can be added to dry soils to increase water retention, but should also be used sparingly.

Water
 
    Water is naturally a very important element to the successful outdoor garden. A little consideration of this fact in the beginning can go a long way towards saving you a lot of very strenuous work later on. A nearby spring or stream could turn out to be your single best asset. Consider that it is much easier to carry water downhill than up. If water must be driven in, plastic gas cans make great carrying containers and will arouse little suspicion in your car or truck. Of course, you would have to buy new ones just for this purpose.

Sun Exposure

    As far as sun exposure, a good plot should have a minimum of four hours of direct sun per day. Six or eight hours will be much better. South facing hillsides are ideal.

Pests & Problems

    Once you have done all of the above and decided on your favourite spots, mother nature then offers up her own array of potential hazards such as slugs, mold, deer, storms and inclement weather (which can be as much of a deterrent to the grower as the growing).

Slugs

    Slugs seem to particularly love ingesting cannabis, yet although it may be easy to sympathize with them, they can end up being a problem that must be dealt with. Not only will they munch lots of holes in the leaves of your plants, but the areas that they slither across become extremely susceptible to mold. This includes the stems, which if attacked by mold will quickly cause entire branches to perish.
    Snail bait should definitely not be used since it is quite toxic and ends up soaking into the soil where the plants are growing. A very effective and environmentally friendly alternative is beer traps. Apparently not only do slugs love cannabis, they love beer too. (Never knew that you had so much in common, eh?)
    Beer traps are made simply by cutting cans of cheap beer in half, and setting the bottom half of the can, filled partway with the beer, near the base of each plant. The slugs will climb right in and drink themselves to death. Sometimes, a few of them will opt for a little herb before they drink, so keep a close eye out for molding stems in any case, and use a dilute solution of baking soda dissolved in water and applied with a spray bottle to combat any mold. Do not attempt to use this remedy on any part of the plant except for the stems, however. Doing so will simply result in more severe damage to the plant.

Mold

    Molding buds are generally caused by too much rain late in the season, and there is little that you can do to prevent this, other than selecting a mold resistant variety to grow in the first place.
    If you do find a moldy spot in a cola, (often indicated by the sudden death of an otherwise healthy leaf protruding from an otherwise healthy bud) remove the infected portion of the bud, being careful to get every bit of the mold, even if this means destroying a quantity of healthy tissue.
    Keep a close eye on the problem area after that, and if there is a recurrence it is probably time to harvest, even if the buds are not fully mature. Mold can spread very quickly so be wary.

Deer

    Deer can be dealt with by fencing in your plot with chicken wire, but in most cases this can be very impractical. Another idea that seems to work well is to use Irish spring deodorant soap. You could possibly use any strong smelling deodorant soap, but when I heard about this idea the person specifically said Irish Spring, and I've never tried any other kind.
    Deer have a sensitive sense of smell and are offended by the strong odour. By cutting off strips of Irish Spring with a pocketknife and spreading them around the area you will cause the deer to look elsewhere for a meal. Remember to use a generous amount of soap and to regularly add more, as the soap will dissolve in the rain and weather.

Over 40º North

    Going through all of this effort to select and prepare suitable plots, and then dealing with mother natures creatures and weather, is common for growers in all parts of North America. However, for growers living in areas above forty degrees North latitude, there are still more important things to be aware of before you can expect a bountiful harvest.

Choosing a Strain

    Cannabis is what is called a "photoperiod determinate plant". What this means is that it has the ability to measure the length of the night in its environment. As experienced indoor growers know, the average amount of darkness needed each night to induce flowering in most vanities is around twelve hours.
    In the spring and early summer in these more extreme northerly areas, the nights can be as short as eight hours or even less. In Washington, they will not reach twelve hours until mid September. The freeze then comes by the end of October, proceeded by heavy rains. What this means is that the further North you find yourself, the more you will find environmental conditions that cause the plants to start flowering later, yet at the same time mandate that they must finish sooner.
    The trick is to find an acclimatized "early" variety which will start flowering with less than twelve hours of darkness, and yet will also still produce high quality flowers. Not long ago finding such a strain was a near impossible task, especially in the northwest US, because virtually all of the common strains were bred exclusively indoors, where the light cycles are easily manipulated.
    These indoor strains often had no resistance to things like molding and cold weather, all too common elements in the rainy northwest. Only a very few people in the area, those who had maintained a consistent outdoors breeding program for many years, possessed the seeds of success, and all others were left to fend for themselves.

Extending the Season

     By planting only at low altitudes you can extend your season slightly since higher altitudes will freeze first, and if these spots happen to be near bodies of salt water you may be able to add another few days or a week due to the salt content in the air. Late planting can also help plants ripen sooner, since smaller plants will generally finish more quickly, as evidenced in the "sea of green" growing method.
    Of course, that was then, and things are quite different these days. With the advent of Marc Emery direct seed sales and the many other brave seed merchants that have sprung up recently, people can no longer say that obtaining a suitable outdoor variety is much of a problem. By starting out with a strain of cannabis that was bred outdoors in a latitude similar to that where you are growing, you will avoid the disappointment of reaching the end of the season and having a crop of plants that have only begun to flower.

Get out there!

    These are only a sample of the adventures that await the potential outdoor cannabis creator, but with commitment, fortitude, careful planning and determination, anyone should be able to overcome the obstacles and end up with a harvest that will well compensate your efforts not only in your mind, but also in that of those fortunate enough to call themselves your friends. So get out there, and may the ganja goddess smile down upon you.

For More Info
For a free copy of "The Home Cannabis Creator," you can download it at: http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_cultivation.shtml