April is here and, with the extra hour of daylight we have just been handed and the temperatures climbing, it is the perfect moment to plant cannabis on your balcony.
How to grow cannabis on your balcony
The list of upsides to growing outdoors is endless: no electricity bills to pay and no grow kit to buy. All you need is water, soil, sun, seeds of your favourite strains, pots of the right size and a few tricks we are about to let you in on. Beyond the tasty harvest you will bring in, growing on the balcony is good practice at taking responsibility and looking after something.
On top of that, if the whole growing thing appeals to you but you are a total beginner, growing on a terrace is hands down the best way to not mess it up.
Keep a low profile and blend your plants in
People often say you can legally keep up to 6 plants per household (worth checking what actually applies where you live), but either way the smart move is to keep as low a profile as you can. Plenty of people mix their plants in with other legal ones, and that is not the best option: what you should really be doing is trimming them so they grow wide instead of tall.
There are loads of techniques for encouraging lateral growth and stopping your little trees from peeking over the balcony rail. The internet is full of growing wizards, so here is a tutorial walking you through the different cuts:
Keep the smell in check with aromatic plants
Smell is always going to be an issue and, if you lean towards strains with a big aroma, you need to be extra careful. In an indoor grow the ventilation kit softens the smell and pushes it out through a single duct; outdoors the smell goes wherever the wind takes it, and if you have got a bit of a busybody for a neighbour, better keep an eye on it.
We would recommend planting other herbs or flowers with a strong scent to cover the smell of the holy plant. Jasmine, roses, gardenias, rosemary, basil... round out your garden with other varieties and break up the aroma.
Go for autoflowering strains, they need fewer resources
Usually the more sativa strains tend to shoot up tall and indicas tend to turn into compact bushes. We recommend going with autoflowering strains for a few reasons.
The first reason is that they are easier to look after: if you have never grown before, better not to overcomplicate things and at least get something out of your first harvest. On top of that, they are not as visible to the neighbours and they need fewer resources in fertiliser, pots and extras.
Find the right spot for sun exposure
Autoflowering strains give better results because their flowering phase does not depend on changes in the photoperiod, and that is exactly why they are perfect for beginners. If you have got a big terrace with plenty of sun all day long, you will have no trouble and you can plant strains that take more months to finish. But if your terrace is small and only catches the sun for a few hours, autos are your best bet.
Use a pot of the right size
The pot is fundamental to the size of your plant, and it is just a matter of logic: small pots get you smaller plants, ideal if you want to keep the height under control. If you would rather squeeze out the biggest yield and you do not care about them popping up to say hello to the neighbours, go for pots of more than 30 litres.
Protect your plants with other varieties
Your plants are going to be up against pests, extreme temperature swings, strong winds and storms. In cases like these prevention beats the cure: plant companion crops that fight off pests and make your plants stronger.
Varieties such as petunias, marigolds, garlic or basil repel the beetles, aphids and spider mites that can wreck an entire grow. You can also go for chemical fertilisers and pesticides, but if we can fight them off by planting new varieties, all the better.
Growing cannabis on the balcony is a solid option if you want to save some money and have a few months of supply put away. And do not forget how rewarding it is to look after something every day: the day you plant the seed is not the same day you eat the fruit.
You might also like 5 Places to Eat Munchies in Madrid and plenty more over at The Smoker's Guide
