Cultivation Strategies | Outdoor vs. Indoor
Cultivation of medical marijuana is a hot topic in Missouri right now, especially with retail sales having begun and our industry slowly creeping into being fully operational. Cannabis cultivation is an ongoing source of discussion no matter the geography of the market. One of the oldest arguments has been outdoor versus indoor – especially the post-80s-era when Reagan’s contribution to the War on Drugs sparked illicit growers to find new ways to avoid detection of their plants and facilities, forcing some outdoor growers to move operations inside. But is there a true difference in Cannabis that is sun-grown versus climate-controlled indoor grows? Well, it turns out there is – but maybe not in the ways you might think. More importantly, there aren’t only two options – indoor versus outdoor – there’s a greenhouse – and repeatedly we heard about the benefits of the third option, more on that later.
Cost is the elephant in the room and we’ll get that one out of the way first. Outdoor grows typically don’t have the high expense of climate control, humidity regulation, lighting costs, or the racks and equipment capital outlays that an indoor grow would require. Outdoor grows will have a large capital outlay at the beginning, but over time, growing indoors is more expensive.
The ecological footprint is a key differentiator in the debate for indoor vs outdoor. Energy efficiency and use is most certainly an argument for outdoor cultivation and its smaller carbon footprint, but in regions like Missouri where our climate has 4 distinct seasons, the ability to grow outdoors with only the sun for warmth and light is limited to a shorter growing season when outdoors only. Although we talk about the reduction in carbon footprint when growing outdoors, in terms of impact to the environment, the grower has to practice sustainability and organic practices to avoid negative impacts to the land on which they plant and grow, so there’s a human dependency required in order to truly say outdoor is ecologically more responsible on all fronts.
Growing outdoors has the advantage of having the ability to use nature-driven sustainable practices like companion planting, implementing ground cover, and introducing beneficial bugs, which all add to a diverse, healthier ecosystem, but can be very labor-intensive. Indoor growing technology is advancing in leaps and bounds, which also aid in the ability to control environmental factors, including the need for water, nutrients, humidity, and temperature control, which can be extremely labor-intensive as well, but in areas like Missouri are a way to cultivate in spite of the climate.
The visual comparison is another key component of the indoor versus outdoor discussion. Logic tells us that something grown outdoors will encounter wind, rain, bugs, sunlight, etc. But indoor grows have their own challenges that aren’t related to those elements. For those reasons, it’s not unusual for outdoor harvested plants to have the appearance of looser and less intensely colored buds, but they also might have less scent and even a different taste. None of this is to say that outdoor-grown flower is of lower quality, we simply want to provide points that should be considered if trying to make arguments about the difference in appearance between the two growing environments.
Cultivators who want to appeal visually to the ‘shelf’ view of their flower typically choose to go with indoor-grown products, as the appearance of indoor-grown Cannabis typically requires less trimming and is more colorful, giving the perception of “prettier” buds.
Cannabinoids and terpene content can be different in an outdoor grow’s end product versus an indoor one, but arguments exist for both types of grows and while anecdotal evidence from the past few years exists that says that cannabinoids and terpenes are more pronounced in outdoor grows, changes in technology for indoor growing show that when lab tests are conducted for the same strain from the same seed, the cannabinoids and terpenes aren’t noticeably different between the same plant grown indoors versus outdoors. The same holds true in terms of potency, while there are arguments for potency being higher or lower depending on the indoor versus outdoor grow, lab testing has shown that in side by side comparisons, it’s not the growing indoor or outdoor that impacts the potency as much as the growing practices.
Yields are one area where there are distinct differences in indoor and outdoor cultivations. An outdoor grow in a place where climate permits a year-round cultivation season could be impacted by a number of environmental factors, and more than one harvest a year might not be possible. Indoor grows can have nearly perpetual harvests if the growing conditions are right and a good cultivation team is in place. Outdoor plants are usually larger and contain more buds in many cases, but with multiple harvests, the yield for indoor plants can be much larger depending on the number of plants, as well as the other factors we’ve talked about that can impact output.
Consistency and control are the biggest selling points in markets where the options exist to do both indoor and outdoor options. With indoor growing, the ability to have complete control over the environment in which the plants live means that the conditions of each strain’s growth cycle and harvest can be repeated and tweaked until the growing conditions are “perfect” and then easily replicated for all future harvests. The science available with indoor equipment provides growers with the ability to provide consistent light cycles, temperatures, CO2 concentrations, humidity, and pest control. Again, we would be remiss if we didn’t say again that neither solution is simply a question of inside or out – but the cultivation team’s diligence and practices impact the quality of the final product.
Impact of nature can’t be discounted, especially in light of the recent wildfires across the western side of the US in recent months. While the threat of wildfires can devastate an entire crop in minutes, nature’s bearing on destruction can destroy indoor facilities as well. Here in Missouri, tornadoes can do irreparable damage – which the residents in Joplin know all too well. Until a magical geographic utopian location with no risk of environmental disaster and perfect growing conditions exists, remember that currently, no operation can control the forces of nature.
In researching all the multitude of arguments for one method versus the other, one of the most interesting themes was that almost every cultivator we talked to and every resource we pored over all said the same thing – there is a third option – an outdoor greenhouse. Aaron Abrantes, cultivator at Sinse Cannabis had similar sentiments. “Greenhouse is the best of both worlds – you can take advantage of natural light, and protect the plants from the elements.
In places with sunnier, drier conditions, like Colorado, it’s easy to regulate temperature and humidity through evaporative cooling and keep dirt, dust and feral pollen out.” While Abrantes thinks an outdoor greenhouse setup might not be a great solution in Missouri as a result of the high humidity in the summer and the gloomy skies during winter, he did add that greenhouses COULD be set up, but more equipment would be required to be successful with a greenhouse, but with the right parts and knowledge, it has potential for success.
Another proponent of the greenhouse over indoor or outdoor is Gevin Gros, Chief Cultivation Officer for KIND Goods in Missouri and Strawberry Fields in Colorado. Says Gros, “Growing indoors isn’t something we do with our food when we have a choice, why would we do it with Cannabis if there were alternatives? Greenhouse allows us to take the great things from nature, like the sun and the great things from construction and technology, and really produce quality products. We’ll always choose a greenhouse when it’s an option – even in areas where we’re putting in applications, we’ll build indoor facilities because it’s required, but we’ll also help sell the case for eventually transitioning into a greenhouse.”
Our intent with this article was not to say that outdoor is better than indoor or vice versa – not to mention throwing greenhouse into the equation – but rather to provide some information for all three and point out that in some regions, outdoor growing isn’t feasible, and depending on the goals of the grower, one method might be preferred for reasons that have nothing to do with any of the considerations above – but for the sheer fulfillment of creating and sustaining life-saving medicine.
Tyler Morgan, of Sky Trace Farms here in Missouri, is a cultivator of CBD and hemp and despite the hard work of an outdoor farm, as well as running an incredibly busy CBD company, ask him on a good day if he’d ever do something else.
“No way. Growing on the farm or in my home garden puts me in nature and lets me make the connection with the flora and wildlife like nothing else.” Tyler’s home garden is one that takes advantage of companion planting and he has shared so many stories of how the wildlife – especially birds – have nearly changed their former habits and now visit his vista in droves, which is just how he likes it.