Wondering how to tell the difference between indoor and outdoor cannabis seeds? Trying to work out which ones are easiest? Confused as to why Seedsbank doesn’t use ‘Indoor’ and ‘Outdoor’ as categories? This article answers all these questions and more!
For the novice, one of the more confusing aspects of buying cannabis seeds is the wealth of new terminology to get used to. Indica, sativa, hybrid; outdoor, greenhouse, indoor… it’s easy to see why people can get discouraged. Yet another problem caused by prohibition is that it can be hard to ask questions. Maybe there’s no-one to ask; maybe you don’t want to admit that you don’t know whether ‘indo’ is short for ‘indica’ or ‘indoor’. Fear not, this article will answer questions about the difference between indoor and outdoor cannabis seeds!
“What’s the difference between indoor and outdoor cannabis seeds?”
“Can I plant indoor cannabis seeds outdoors?” and “Can I plant outdoor cannabis seeds indoors?” are frequently asked questions in our Gardeners. The short answer to both of these questions is “yes”, but for those who want to make the most of their purchases, there is more to it than that.
In the beginning, all cannabis seeds were outdoor seeds! The debate over the exact evolution of cannabis continues, but we can be sure that the success of the plant as a global species is partly due to how adaptable it is. Some of the different forms it takes have evolved in response to the different climates it has migrated to, and some – namely the more recent ones – have been created by humans. Some cannabis seeds will produce plants that could thrive in the freezing extremes of the Ural mountains, where both the hours of daylight and the summers are short and cold. Some cannabis seeds will grow into plants that need the tropical lushness and even hours of light and dark that only the equatorial regions can provide.
But what does this mean for today’s beginner gardener, who just wants to know whether to choose indoor or outdoor cannabis seeds? Basically, there are two starting points. Either, what type of cannabis is desired will dictate where it will be grown, or – more usually – where the grow will be situated will decide what type of seeds to choose.
Where will the cannabis seeds be grown?
In a warm, sunny climate with long hot summers, there is no reason to set up an indoor grow room to replicate these conditions, as they are ideal for all kinds of cannabis (unless, of course, there are other, perhaps legal, reasons for not having a garden full of flourishing cannabis plants). In colder climates, the range of cannabis seed types that can be grown is restricted by the weather, but there are still plenty of options for planting cannabis seeds outdoors.
On the Seedsbank website, we have categorized the seeds into climate zones. These are ‘Sunny/Mediterranean’, ‘Temperate/Continental’, and ‘Cool/Cold’. If a grower wanted to cultivate a strain classed as Sunny/Mediterranean – Michka, for example – and lived in a climate that was indeed sunny and Mediterranean, then these would be outdoor cannabis seeds. If the same grower lived in the far North, where the climate is harsher and colder and the summers would not be long enough to permit Michka cannabis plants to finish flowering, then the Michka seeds would by default become indoor cannabis seeds. The climate zones could also be interpreted as ‘Indoor’, ‘Indoor/Greenhouse’, and ‘Outdoor’, based on the Northern European climate that the Netherlands enjoys (if you call this kind of climate enjoyable).
What kind of results are desired?
There are a range of answers to this question, which can help to narrow down options. If the priority is yield, the obvious choice could be Big Bud, but that strain needs a sunny climate or an indoor growroom to perform best. If neither of those environments is available, Early Skunk delivers gigantic yields outdoors in cold climates.
Advances in breeding have given us hybrid sativas that grow like indicas, delivering a potent high without the need for the rarefied conditions that were previously needed to cultivate sativa-dominant strains. Once more, the climate will inform the choice of seeds. This guide to the difference between indica and sativa explains more about this topic. Seedsbank is proud to offer almost-pure sativas, indicas, and everything in between!
How much experience does the grower have?
This is really the most important question, and the one that should be considered before any of the others. Growing cannabis seeds indoors requires the recreation of the ideal environment for cannabis of all kinds. Light, heat, wind, water and nutrients must all be provided by the gardener, who basically has to become a kind of nature deity. Growing outdoors encourages nature to do all the hard work!
We hope this article has been useful as an introduction to the difference between indoor and outdoor cannabis seeds. As always, if you have comments and questions, let us know below!
