Outdoor Grow Guide Australia

When people think of Australia, it’s unsurprising that they’d think of beaches, the Outback, and the hot, hot temperatures.

 

However, you might be interested to know that it’s really easy, and quite cheap, to grow marijuana in Australia – it’s not too hot to grow your pot… All you really need is a little bit of expertise and the willingness to research a few things. What, you might ask? Here are a few:

• The best time to plant seeds
• Which cannabis seeds are suited to which terrains 
• How often you need to feed, water, or expose your plant to sun 

Once you’ve mastered these, you’ll easily get shoots growing and before you know it they’ll be big and tall.

With this in mind, it might go without saying that areas with hotter climates and increased sunlight exposure may be more suited to growing certain strains of cannabis. 

That’s why we’ve created this outdoor grow guide Australia and calendar to help you through the growth cycle, informing you of the average temperatures and sunlight exposures per month. Read on to see how you can get those Sativa shoots to soar…

Northern Australia Grow Calendar

Australia can be a perfect setting for your outdoor weed to grow – especially in Northern regions, which give a unique climate and growth pattern compared to Central Australia. 

For example, unlike your typical four seasons, Northern Australia only has two seasons: a dry and a wet season. In this area, temperature is not so much an issue – but daylight is scarcer than in Southern and Central regions. 

Therefore, it’s important to pay attention to the following calendar and ‘grow bible’ we’ve crafted, in order to exact just how much sunlight your outdoor cannabis plants will be getting. You may even decide to opt for non-photosensitive strains, which have the key advantage of being less reliant on sunlight. We recommend White Widow as an excellent auto-flowering strain for beginners!

We’ve based the following research on data taken from two Northern Australian cities, Darwin and Katherine – we’ve done our research, now you can do yours!

Avoiding Mold and Mildew

If you opt to grow your outdoor weed in the wet, tropical season, it’s essential to remember that you’re growing in the summer months of Northern Australia. This means that you’ll need to grow cannabis suited to this climate.

Within this, you’ll need to keep an eye on mold and mildew – these can cause large issues if you grow weed outdoors without checking for them.

One of the key issues associated with mold and mildew is the presence of white powdery mildew. So just what is it?

White Powdery Mildew

If you’ve started to grow weed outdoors and notice that your leaves look as though they’re dusted in flour, you’ve probably got a nasty case of white powdery mildew on your marijuana plants.

This type of mildew is a fungal disease that affects any sorts of plants – from marijuana plants to common tomatoes. If untreated, this can spread to other plants you grow in outdoor environments, and can be potentially fatal to them.

This fungal infection commonly attacks marijuana plants in the Northern Territory of Australia, due to the higher humidity of these regions – ranging from around 70 to 80%. The Northern Territory is therefore particularly susceptible; as White Powdery Mildew only requires a humidity level of 55% to begin spreading spores.

Therefore, if you want to make growing marijuana as easy as possible, you’ll want to pay close attention to humidity and weather patterns to avoid such issues.

If your cannabis seeds begin to grow beautiful shoots, which develop into lovely leaves, it would be a real shame for them to be ruined by the madness of mildew.

Moral of the story? Pay close attention to the soil climate when you grow weed outdoors to avoid issues with your cannabis plants when harvesting.

And without further ado, here’s the calendar that will make life thousands of times easier if you want to grow outdoor weed strains in Northern Australia!

 

August

Average Temperature	20°C and 25°C
Average Daylight Hours	12.5 to 13 hours

August is where we start our grow calendar; and it’s the perfect time to make all of your preparations in order to grow weed outdoors. While you might be in a rush to get those seeds planted before frost hits the ground, there are numerous benefits to having a little patience.

Whilst September is the perfect season to plant and grow weed outdoors, August is definitely the month of preparation. Here’s what you need to do in August, to ensure that you’re ready to grow your cannabis in those nice, warmer temperatures of September:

1. Order your seeds – seems easy enough, however you need to give this a particular level of thought. You’ll want to opt for cannabis strains that will resist mold or mildew, as we said before.
   
   
2. Begin to prepare your growing area in anticipation for September’s growth season. This includes noting the temperature, terrain quality/ soil conditions, water requirements, and light exposure of your seedlings. You can use cannabis suitable fertilizer for extra nutrients, too!

And that’s it; 2 easy steps to preparing for marijuana growth. Your seedlings will be growing at their best in temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees, making September the perfect month to plant.

Can’t decide on a specific strain to start growing? No worries..we’ve got you covered with our Feminized Seed Variety Packs!

September

Average Temperature	21°C and 32°C
Average Daylight Hours	12 hours

While we should hope that you’ve bought your seeds in August, there’s still a bit of time to buy them now. Once your seeds are bought and the soil is prepared, you can begin the sprouting process.

The sprouting process should only occur when day-light hours have exceeded 12 hours a day. Sometimes this isn’t possible, and that’s fine. If that’s the case – you can begin your sprouting indoors rather than outdoors, placing your seeds on a windowsill with artificial light supplements. This level of light is absolutely crucial to the overall growth system – as a lack of sunlight could cause your plants to flower early.

The mother plants should be your priority in this time – you’ll want to grow them seriously and intensively. This means careful monitoring of your light exposure. You may want to use the mother plants as clones further down the line – so as much dedication as you can manage at this stage is vital. Your clipping stage should begin next month, if all goes well with this.

Flowering

When your plants have begun to flower, they can thrive comfortably at room temperature and limited humidity, compared to outdoors. Any temperature under 28 degrees is perfectly sufficient; as this encourages potent, trichrome-rich buds that can be enjoyed and smelled – even before burning!

However, any temperature above 28 degrees can unfortunately cause terpenes to evaporate, slowing the growth of the bud. If your buds are overheated at this time, you’ll be burning away all of the good stuff you’re wanting to yield… leaving you with lower quality buds to take in at harvest time.

Any man worth his salt knows we’re wanting skunk, not junk – so follow these tips carefully for max success!

Finally, at 6-7 weeks in, your plants will be producing an optimum level of terpene; so it’s here important to carefully monitor temperatures so that these beneficial chemicals don’t evaporate. Nothing should be left to chance; you’ll want to control every aspect!

October

Average Temperature – 20°C and 25°C | Average Daylight Hours – 12.5 to 13 hours

By this calendar month, you can safely move your marijuana plants outdoors. The average daylight level will now exceed 12 hours, meaning it’s safe for your seedlings to thrive outside. What’s more, temperatures at this time will rise – so it’s essential that your seedlings receive enough water at this time.

Thankfully, water won’t be sparse by the time November rolls around; as you’ll have an increased amount of regular rainfall edging into December.

Finally, if you’re planning to clone your cannabis plants, you’ll need to engage in clipping from the mother plant.

November

Average Temperature	20°C and 25°C
Average Daylight Hours	12.5 to 13 hours

By November, your plants should be thriving! If you grow a set of auto-flowering cannabis plants, you should begin planting at this point, meaning they’ll be ready for harvest come February.

However, one of the key facts to remember here is that growth patterns may vary by strains. Therefore, you’ll want to do a bit of research on the benefits of each strain of marijuana seeds before making any speedy decisions over which strain to opt for.

In Australia, November is the hottest month of the year – so it’s vital that every plant receives enough water to keep hydrated. Do keep your eyes peeled – as the increased humidity and temperatures of this season could lead to a development of mold.

December

Average Temperature	25°C to 34°C
Average Daylight Hours	13 hours

Provided you started preparing in August and planted in September, your marijuana plants should now grow in the vegetative stage of the calendar. This means that your marijuana will begin to sprout outwards and upwards!

In addition to this, anyone who’s opted for auto-flowering plants should notice them flowering around this time.

January

Average Temperature	24°C to 32°C
Average Daylight Hours	13 hours

Ah, January – the start of the new year. This month sees Northern Australia gain a higher humidity and temperatures compared to other months. This humidity, as we’ve noted, is a potential trigger for mold, mildew, and other nasty stuff.

For that reason, you’ll need to ensure that you’re very conscious of your preservation skills to care for your growing marijuana.

At this time, you’ll notice your plants developing pre-flowers, which is when you can identify sex differences – i.e. which plants are male and which are female. The males must be removed from the growing area at this time; this prevents them from fertilizing the female growing marijuana as such pollination will reduce your yield… and nobody wants that!

If you’re new to growing your own weed, or want to save time, you can always try feminized seeds for a fully female crop!

 

 

February

Average Temperature	24°C to 32°C
Average Daylight Hours	12 to 13 hours

By February, your out-flowering plants will have more than likely reached a harvestable state. This means that you need to clip each bud, hanging them up to dry.

The drying process of marijuana plants can take up to 10 days – but how do you know when it’s finished?

Well, if you bend a branch and it cracks, you’ll know your plants are completely dry. For regular outdoor weed plants, harvest time is noticeably fast approaching due to the reduced daylight hours.

March

Average Temperature	23°C to 33°C
Average Daylight Hours	11 to 12.5 hours

Now you’ve reached this portion of the grow calendar, you’ll notice that this portion concentrates on the harvesting of your outdoor grow.

March is the perfect time to begin harvesting your cannabis plants, though some growers prefer to wait a little longer to prolong the growth process.

Does this make a difference? Not massively- it’s mainly personal preference that will dictate this choice. People up and down Australia will grow and harvest weed in different methods, and as long as you’re focusing on the health of each and every bud, there’s no bad way to do this.

April

Average Temperature	22°C to 33°C
Average Daylight Hours	11.5 to 12 hours

At this month of the season, you do need to begin harvesting if you haven’t already. This is because the dry season is beginning, and will soon have its way with your plants if you don’t watch out.

There’s a small chance of bud rot here due to the humidity – and if you spot a spoiled bud here it’s critical to remove it straight away, before it damages other parts of the plant. As rot spreads rapidly, you don’t want one small issue to affect the entire crop. Everybody, even beginners, know that rot can spread at this rapid rate – so be sure to take care and follow this solution.

Now you’ve harvested your plants without a problem, like a true Australian, hang your plants in a humid-free space and dry them out for up to 10 days. If you’re looking for recommendations for the best product with awesome potency, we recommend our Gorilla Glue strain.

East, West South, and Central Coast Grow Calendar

Now, these regions of Australia, such as the Southern Coasts, are a lot different to Northern areas. With this in mind, growers will have to pay attention to the slight differences in these calendars, which will affect results of their plants based on climate.

If you want to be one of the best growers around, with plenty of successful yields, listen up.

We’ve taken the following data from the areas of Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne – the Aussie big three!

In Central Australia, you’ll generally feel hotter days in comparison to the Southeastern regions – which are wetter and colder. That’s because this region is much more tropical than coastal areas, meaning that growers need to pay perfect attention to watering for the best results.

Here’s the outdoor growing calendar for these regions of Australia!

August

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 8°C to 18°C – Desert: 7°C to 23°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 10.5 to 11.5 hours – Desert: 11 to 11.5 hours

One commonality between this calendar and the previous one we talked about is that August is perfect for growers’ preparations. The worst of the cold weather is behind you, so it’s time for you to prepare the area you’re going to grow your plants. You need to consider plenty of things, with a few being:

• The soil temperament and conditions of the season
• Water levels required
• Equipment – such as a spray bottle

Now that the worst of the cold and frost is behind you, you should purchase your seeds as soon as possible and begin the germination process in the soil ASAP. The growth season in Australia can last a long time, and growth in this outdoor setting is perfectly suited to plants with a Sativa dominant gene. In contrast, Indica dominant plants aren’t as prosperous in the heat; so always ensure you’ve done your research before you head for the potting mix.

Many growers forget those vital tips – so make sure you’re not one of them.

Moreover, the perfect growth temperatures, as we’ve discussed earlier, are between 20°C and 25°C. Therefore, unless it’s an unnaturally warm month in Australia, it’s best to plant your seeds with a potting mix indoors and wait for the temperature to rise before they can become outdoor growers.

If you plan to exclusively grow your seeds outside, you’ll want to wait a while for soil conditions, temperature, and humidity to improve. This isn’t a nightmare, fear not growers – as you can utilize this waiting time to prepare your soil with worms, compost, and other nutrients needed.

For those of you growers that plan to clone, you’ll want to grow the mother plant in this time – and this can perhaps be done more easily indoors. If you prepare the mother plant at this time, you’ll be able to take cuttings with plenty of time to spare for the coming outdoor growing season.

September

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 9°C to 20°C – Desert: 11°C to 27°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 11.5 to 12.5 hours – Desert: 11 to 12.5 hours

Now you’ve hit September in Australia, you’ve got a very, very low risk of frost – especially in warmer parts of the country. Therefore, if you haven’t already, you need to buy your seeds to grow your plants!

If you’re ahead of the game (like a true Aussie) and have prepared your soil too, you can safely place your young plants on your windowsill, so they can begin to sprout… exciting!

A young marijuana plant, whether that’s Sativas or Indicas, needs an array of nutrients and positive conditions to grow and flourish in the fields. This is just like most crops, so it’s basic information to keep in mind. Everything you need for a successful growing period includes:

• At least 12 hours of light a day – for energy to grow
• Close attention to the level of sun light received – and if you need to, you can buy artificial sources. There are a lot of ways to get around this, such as a grow lamp – so don’t worry, you’ve got plenty of time before the growing season
• Adequate preparation if you’re intending to grow a mother plant for cloning. If you prepare the plant this month, it’ll have a better growing quality when it comes to yielding outdoor clones in the coming months

October

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 11°C to 22°C – Desert: 15°C to 32°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 12.5 to 13.5 hours – Desert: 12.5 to 13 hours

By this time, your plants should still be sitting on the window ledge patiently. Unless you’ve needed a supplement, i.e. via a lamp, your plants won’t require any extra artificial light because of the increasing light of day.

Moreover, you’ll want to continue ensuring your plants receive 12 to 13 hours in light per day. If you’re an Aussie that resides in a warmer part of Australia, however, you may want to remove your plant from the window if you notice temperatures rising. Now, you could probably outdoor grow safely.

You’ll know when you should start growing outside when the temperature reaches 21°C. However, you’ll need to make sure that you bring your plants inside overnight; as this way, they won’t suffer from dropping temperatures.

If you’re a keen cloner, make sure your strain of the mother plant is ready for growing this month – as, again, this is one of the key parts of growing that is easily overlooked.

November

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 13°C to 25°C – Desert: 18°C to 35°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 13.5 to 14 hours – Desert: 13 to 14 hours

Here, you’re well into the summer season – so you can keep your plants outdoors in the glorious Australia sun over both day and night. Make sure you bring your plants back in if you notice a drastic temperature drop, i.e. below 15°C.

If you’re wanting to plant any auto-flowering marijuana seeds, do it now so they’re ready to harvest in February.

December

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 15°C to 27°C – Desert: 20°C to 36°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 14 hours – Desert: 14 hours

This is the last month of increasing daylight hours in Australia; after this they’ll fall back down again towards January.

This means that your weed plant will grow massive amounts during the vegetative period of this month. Growth will expedite here, and if you grow auto-flowering plants, you’ll notice flowers appearing.

January

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 13°C to 25°C – Desert: 23°C to 39°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 14 hours – Desert: 13.5 hours

Though the amount of light decreases in these months from day to day, January and February are the hottest times of the year in the good country of Australia!

In January, you’ll notice two main things:

• If you plant auto-flowering strains, they’ll flower here at a very big rate
• If you just plant a regular strain, you’ll notice pre-flowers

This month is an incredibly important period for any grower – especially for seeds that are non-females or feminized. If you’ve bought feminized seeds, you’ll expect about half of your yields to be male plants.

Your harvest will be significantly smaller if you don’t remove these pesky males from your crop, due to their pollination of the females. Remember this information and use it wisely… as it has the possibility of affecting yields.

How do I identify the sex of a plant?

If you’re struggling with this, all you should do is glance at the pre-flowers a couple of weeks before their reproduction period. If you can see wispy white hairs, known as pistils, you’re looking at a female weed plant.

In addition, you can spot male plants by looking at what grows between their nodes. If you can see a small pollen sac that looks a bit like a grape beginning to grow, you’ve got male plants on your hands.

February

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 17°C to 28°C – Desert: 22°C to 37°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 13 hours – Desert: 13 hours

If your plants have reached the flowering point, with care taken to ensure females and males are separated, then they’ll be able to thrive at room temperature with a lower humidity. Any temperature under 28°C is perfect – so long as you’re not adding C0₂into your grow room.

As we explained earlier on, lower temperatures will cause potent trichrome-rich buds to grow – and this plant will give off a strong aroma. However, if you go over 28°C in your growing environment, the terpenes in the plant will evaporate. This way, the growth of your weed buds is significantly slower, and you might be burning off all the goodness.

Pay particular attention to terpene production in weeks 6 and 7 to avoid this issue.

March

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 13°C to 25°C – Desert: 18°C to 33°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 12 to 12.5 hours – Desert: 12 to 12.5 hours

As soon as you hit March, Autumn is edging closer and closer. This doesn’t drastically impact anything, as temperatures will remain relatively high.

However, this is where the growing season is reaching an end, due to decreasing daylight hours – so it’s a great time to begin harvesting.

April

Average Temperatures	Coastline: 13°C to 23°C – Desert: 18°C to 28°C
Average Daytime Hours	Coastline: 11 to 11.5 hours – Desert: 11 to 12 hours

And here we have it, April, the end of the grow season – Autumn.

If, for some reason, your plants are still growing and haven’t quite reached harvest time, you may want to consider harvesting them prematurely. This is because, at this time, the temperature can be slightly more unpredictable.

If the weather unexpectedly gets too cold, bud rot is a seriously increased risk which could be to the detriment of your entire yield. If you do, unfortunately, encounter any bud rot don’t panic; just remove it immediately.

 

Verdict

From all of this information in our Outdoor Grow Guide Australia, it’s easy to see that different regions of Australia have varying climates, daylight hours, and times at which growing and harvest are best. There are no two regions of the country that are the same!

It’s crucial to remember this when growing an outdoor plant – whether it’s a single plant or an entire patch. The patterns, steps, and know-how is all the same, and it’s invaluable when becoming a master of the growing and harvest of weed buds.

Make sure you choose a season that works best for you, accounting for humidity, heat, water, and more. Never forget how much sunlight cannabis plants need, and remember how to spot mold and mildew, and you’re good to go for outdoor grow. Enjoy!