The Australian outdoor grow calendar runs from August to April (a few months or so depending on the specific situation and location). This marijuana calendar will guide you in your growing efforts for the subsequent 7 to 9 months. This is a great way to help beginners (and old) growers plan their grow calendar and make better use of their time. While it may seem early, it’s important to prepare for the outdoor season now.
August
This is the best month to prepare for the upcoming growing season. Particularly in the warmer coastal regions of Australia, this is the time to get your growing area and plants ready. There is no frost to worry about this month, so you can begin growing your marijuana.
So, order the seeds and start the germination process immediately. Because the growing season can be long in most regions of Australia, a Sativa dominant plant should do well in an outdoor grow environment. Indicas do not do as well in the looming heat, so make sure you know what you are getting when researching and ordering seeds.
The seedlings will grow anywhere between 20-25 degrees Celsius; thus, unless it’s unusually hot this month, it is good to grow the seedlings indoors and wait for the temperature to rise enough to take them outdoor. In case you plan only to grow your plants outdoors, you’d better wait. As you wait, prepare the soil by eliminating worms and adding compost.
If you plan to clone, it is good to start growing the parent plant this month (preferably indoors). This way, you can get the cuttings for the growing season a bit early.
September
This month, the warmer regions of the country have a reduced risk of frost. If you have not purchased your seeds yet, you should do it now. In case you already bought them, and your soil and all other necessities are set, feel free to put the young plants on your windowsill to germinate.
Be careful with the hours of the day, since young marijuana seedlings require at least 12 hours a day to obtain enough growth energy. If you are at the beginning of the month when daylight is less than 12 hours, enhance the natural light using a grow light. This is vital as it prevents the plants from early flowering (which might be a big waste).
If you are nurturing a parent plant for replicating, make sure it is ready early the subsequent month, so there is plenty of time to grow the clones outdoors for several months.
October
In case you grow some of the plants on the window ledge, they do not need additional artificial light from October, as the amount of natural light increases significantly. Still, you want the plants to get the maximum amount of sunlight, so try to see if your plants can get a minimum of 13 hours.
If the daytime temperature is sufficient (if you live in warmer regions of Australia, for example), you can take the plants from the window ledge and put them outside. After the daylight temperature upsurges to 21 degrees Celsius, you can remove them. With that said, ensure you return your plants at night as the temperature will drop even further. If this applies to you, start cloning your parent plant in October.
November
At this time, the temperatures should be high enough to make it look like a real spring or summer! In November, it is okay to leave cannabis plants outside all night and day provided that the temperature does not drop under 15 degrees. In case you are nurturing auto-flowering seeds, plant them in November so that you can harvest them in early February.
December
December is the final month that daylight hours increases. These hours begin to decrease again in January. In other terms, you may expect the marijuana seedlings to grow big this month since they are in their vegetative stage. Growth must accelerate. When you grow auto-flowering cannabis plants, the flowers will appear.
January
Despite the slight decrease in the daylight hours, Jan and Feb are the hottest months. In January, you may expect an auto-flowering marijuana strain to bloom and produce large flower clusters. Meanwhile, the “regular” (not-auto-flowering) cannabis plants will begin to generate “pre-flowers.”
January is a very important month for non-feminized seed growers. If you purchase feminized seeds, you might expect around half of the plants to be male. If the male plants are not removed, they will pollinate the females, significantly reducing their yield.
You can recognize the sex of the plant by the appearance of the “pre-flowers” a few weeks before they can reproduce. So it is essential to utilize this period to identify and eliminate male plants. To recognize males, watch out for tiny pollen sacs that resemble tiny grape-shaped grains. You can identify females by their bracts that are teardrop-shaped and may eventually develop faint white markings on their pistils.
February
After your plants get to the blossoming stage, it might thrive at moderate room temperature with little humidity. Except you are adding extra CO2 to the grow space, a temperature below 28 ° C is perfect. These cooler temperatures create powerful, trichome-rich buds that you can enjoy and smell before burning.
They should not exceed 28°C, since higher temperatures will cause the terpenes to vaporize and slow down the buds’ growth. In case your buds are very hot during this period, the good stuff will burn as they grow, leaving little smell or taste during harvest.
March
In March, fall is approaching, but temperatures should be moderately high. However, the number of daylight hours decreases, so the growing season is quickly coming to an end. If the plants are still hanging and you have not harvested them yet, it’s probably a great idea to begin doing it now.
April
April marks the end of the outdoor growing season since fall has arrived. If your plants are still working in any way, harvest them since the temperature can drop suddenly and randomly. If the weather turns wet or cold, bud decay is a major risk (ruining your crop). If you notice bud rot, immediately remove the whole bud or it will affect the other buds.
Conclusion
While the whole Australian coastline doesn’t have the same climate, it’s important to know your specific area and weather patterns. Remember that sunlight is key – if the plants get enough sunlight, it should be fine.
