Outdoor Grow

This is my first outdoor grow and Im not very familiar with it. I put my plants outside near the end of march (I was able to do it because my weather is usually warm/humid) and I have been pinching/LST/Lollipopping them for a bit now. I was wondering what you guys thought about my first outdoor grow and what I should do. Im also unsure of when to EXPECT harvest because im used to harvesting in 60-80 days! They are all unknown strains in 5 gallon fabric pots. I will be spraying neem oil on them soon so that pests do not touch them and I have a kind of fence setup around them for deers. Thoughts?

outside you wont see a harvest till at least October, in my experience. and dears dont really eat my plants, but the do love to dig their nose into the soil and huff/puff. so maybe a fence? they look fine to me, just keep at it

Is the 5 gallon pot going to last till October? Wont it become root bound? What will being root bound do to it?

im no outdoor expert. i mostly work inside, but i think it will work. bigger wouldnt hurt though, or straight in the ground.

Thank you Erysichthon! What yeild do you think I can expect from this?

2 oz per plant if you do better than i do outoor.. i realize thats low. but im not outdoor expert again. 1.5 at least per plant. its hard for me to do more than that in a pot.. maybe you can do better

You are definitely going to want to up pot and probably soon.
Can you run them in 5 gal smart pots to the end?
Yes...but IMO you are going to be sorry you did, when you have to feed like crazy, water 2-3 x a day or more once it gets hotter out, and your yields will definitely suffer!
If you are flat stuck in that size for some reason, and summer gets hot where you are, you might consider burying the smart pots about 2/3-3/4 into the soil. This will help slow water loss from evaporation and offer some amount of insulation to keep root zone temps down on the hottest days

If you can't or don't want to put them directly in the ground (into big holes well amended w good soil for each of them), AND you can transplant them- stick w the smart pots and go as big as you can afford to fill w good dirt!
100g (or more!) is not an uncommon size for a long outdoor run. 50 gal is still ok. 20 will still see you watering often and feeding a lot before too long in the heat, but it would be an awful lot better than trying to run in 5!

The bigger your root zone, the easier your job will be in the long run- and bigger, happy plants = much better return for your effort and investment!

Good luck! They look happy so far

What do you think you would do if you were me? I cant get any more soil and Im not sure how good the dirt in the ground is.

First....5 gallons is way to small. I would repot in the ground if I were you. (As long as the soil is not clay)
Second...be careful planting that early. Your plant can go into flower when done that early (depending on how old it is)
They look healthy tho. So that is good.
Feeding spikes would be a good cheap way for you to go if you plant in ground and are limited in cash.
You should have posted in the outdoor section....you will get more help from us outdoor growers

910.theplug said:

What do you think you would do if you were me? I cant get any more soil and Im not sure how good the dirt in the ground is.

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I concur w/ @ganga gurl420. A *HUGE* benefit of growing outdoors is you're usually not constrained by pot size, and *generally* the larger the root system, the bigger the yield, as long as factors including hours of direct sunlight and nutrient profile don't present other limitations.

Were I you, I'd check the quality of your native soil (see here for some starting points: https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/project_ideas/soil_quality/ if you're unsure), and if it seems sufficient, re-pot your plants directly in the ground. If not, just keep doing what you're doing and prepare for next summer; i.e. raised beds, compost, manure, etc.

With an 8 month growing period (March - Oct), 40 gal pots, and tender loving care, one wouldn't be surprised by a 3-5 lb yield per plant.

So what if the soil in the ground is a problem (I dont know what to look for honestly). Would I still put them in the ground? Would I need to dig up the soil and put it back in the ground to break roots and lighten up the soil? Or if the soil is just awful, would I be better off leaving them in the 5 gallon pots?

910.theplug said:

So what if the soil in the ground is a problem (I dont know what to look for honestly). Would I still put them in the ground? Would I need to dig up the soil and put it back in the ground to break roots and lighten up the soil? Or if the soil is just awful, would I be better off leaving them in the 5 gallon pots?

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You might consider actually reading and following what others are suggesting. I'm done here.

910.theplug said:

So what if the soil in the ground is a problem (I dont know what to look for honestly). Would I still put them in the ground? Would I need to dig up the soil and put it back in the ground to break roots and lighten up the soil? Or if the soil is just awful, would I be better off leaving them in the 5 gallon pots?

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You would be better IMO planting in the ground than leaving in 5g pots. Even if you can only amend w one more bag of soil, split between all holes- imperfect soil is likely better than way too small pots.

if you are going to go this route, and not test the soil... you are starting at a deficit and I don't recommend it.
But I get that sometimes you just can't.
What you CAN do, for free, is to do some homework.

What plants (esp weeds) are growing where you intend to plant them?
What do those weeds like?
That will help you figure out if you need lime, or peat, or something else to help make the native soil more acidic or more alkaline.
Then you can amend your native soil w something not too expensive, and be prepared to feed ... which will probably cost more in the long run than a properly amended hole...but it does at least stretch out the cost a bit so it may be more Do able

Personally? I'd put them in the ground.
If you have a lot of moles or gophers there... I might put them in a hardware cloth lined hole in the ground.

Good luck!