As easy as it sounds, growing plants outdoors comes with a lot of challenges. Know this; once you start growing, you'll find yourself fighting against nature's elements to protect your little green friends. Outdoor welcomes you with a scorching sun, harsh winds, heavy rain, and other stressors that will, without a doubt, show up at any phase. As easy as it sounds, growing plants outdoors comes with a lot of challenges. Know this; once you start growing, you'll find yourself fighting against nature's elements to protect your little green friends. Outdoor welcomes you with a scorching sun, harsh winds, heavy rain, and other stressors that will, without a doubt, show up at any phase.

When we compare outdoor growing with indoor, one of the biggest benefits of indoor growing offers is complete control over the environment. You can set up the perfect temperature, airflow and you will never have to worry about hail or rain again. However, when you're growing outside, you will battle all the things. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps not, and sometimes you may get lucky, while other seasons may greet you with all the natural elements in the same month depending on the climate.

All of these factors cannot only slow your growth but also affect yield. Now we know things can get pretty frustrating when the weather destroys your entire crop after investing all your time and efforts which is why we would like to help you understand some common experiences and how to protect your outdoor grow.

PROTECTING YOUR OUTDOOR PLANTS FROM HEAT

When you grow outdoors, there is a growing calendar that you are bound to follow. You plant in April and harvest in October, growing in June, July, and August. Plants need plenty of light through the sun, but watch out; it can also harm them!

WHAT DOES HEAT STRESS LOOK LIKE?

When plants suffer from heat stress, it's always pretty obvious. You'll notice the leaves fold in that will look almost like taco shells. The longer you leave them in that condition, the worse they'll start to look. The leaves will start to twist and curl in different directions, continuing to roll upward.

PREVENT HEAT STRESS IN THE FIRST PLACE

Take measures to prevent heat stress by keeping them watered in the first place, particularly when there's a heatwave. When you keep your media moist, it will keep the roots cool, which in return will help keep your foliage cool. Now, understand that this doesn't mean that the media should constantly be drenched. You will also have to make sure that you do not overwater the plants since that will lead to its own issues. Don't worry; we have a guide on How to your plants properly just for you!

Move your plants to the shade or simply install a shade net instead for the hottest parts of the day. These are just a few things that you need to be careful about. The amount of sunlight the plants get affects when they begin flowering. If your plant doesn't get enough sunlight, it may lead to flowering prematurely. Oh, and also, the type of garden pots you use plays a huge role in heat stress. A black plastic pot absorbs more heat than a tan fabric pot would.

PROTECT YOUR OUTDOOR PLANTS FROM WIND

Another factor to keep in mind is to protect plants from wind. We know that airflow is amazing. A light breeze does nothing but benefits the plants; however, if the wind gets too aggressive, it can easily snap the branches over, especially when the flowers start getting heavy. Trust us; it's as simple as setting up a trellis net across the plants with stakes. Take this example of what this is supposed to look like. When excessive wind strikes, the trellis netting only allows the branches to travel an inch or two and then catch them. You will face much lesser chances of snapping branches.

PROTECT YOUR OUTDOOR PLANTS FROM RAIN STORMS

New growers ask outdoor growers if they need to move plants to a covered area when there's a huge storm. Does heavy rain harm plants on the foliage? Rain is more damaging when it's growing flowers since excess moisture around the buds can lead to serious mold problems like but rot. So how do we protect our outdoor grow from the rain?

MOVING PLANTS OR COVERING THEM

When you see a huge rainstorm on a forecast, you have two options to deal with your situation:
A. Cover the plants
B. Move them to a covered shelter
Both of these are options are fine, but covering them up is quite easier. As the plants grow bigger, shifting them to a different location can worsen unless you have them on a cart with wheels. With your trellis system setup, it is as simple as throwing a trap on the stakes to create a roof but it works only if the stakes are taller than the branches.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR OUTDOOR PLANTS FROM FROST?

Though we have a complete guide on How to protect your outdoor grow from frost, we still want to give you a quick 101 This most likely will not be a problem if you're following your outdoor growing calendar we mentioned earlier. However, in early April, some climates may struggle with frost and cold mornings. Prevent these issues by setting up the garden properly by covering the plants at night. Not to mention, make sure the plants are old enough and hardened before shifting them outside if the frost is a concern since young plants are pretty susceptible to frostbites.

INCREASE YOUR PLANT'S RESISTANCE TO OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT STRESSORS

Till now, we have just discussed ways to avoid outdoor environment stressors, but did you know that there are ways to increase the plant's resistance to stress? Add supplements to the existing nutrient package to toughen the plants to find the right genetics.

WHAT SUPPLEMENTS INCREASE THE PLANTS RESISTAN

CE TO STRESS?

Here at Grooindoor.com, we carry different additives that can help your plants and their chances of survival under stressful situations. These include kelp meal, humic acid, and silica.

KELP MEAL

According to many studies, a kelp meal can increase a plant's resistance to heat stress, which makes it the perfect candidate if you face a hard time with extreme drought or heat. It is also a great fertilizer that increases nutrient uptake, germination rates, and increased resistance to pests, diseases, and frost.

HUMIC ACID

Humic acid is another way to increase stress resistance. It has protective abilities, particularly when combined with Kelp Meal. When you combine these two nutrients, they act synergistically, strengthen the plants, and cut back on the damage excess wind, heat, and other stressors. Confused about the difference between Humic acid and Fulvic Acid.

SILICA

Silica is a superfood for plants. It has so many benefits and does so many things to help your plants reach their genetic potential one of which is increased resistance to diseases, stress, and pests. It also increases the plant's resistance directly to storms and winds since it strengthens the plants' cell walls. Thicker and stronger branches are tougher to break, increasing your plants' resistance to heat stress. And most importantly, silica increases growth rate, nutrient uptakes, and more. If you ever plan on adding supplements to your regimen, silica is all that you need! Need more info on Silica, check out or post on the benefits of silica for plants.

CHOOSE ROBUST, RESISTANT STRAINS TO GROW

Set yourself up for success by doing a little bit of your own research before grabbing genetics for outdoor growing. Most strains are a little finicky and don't do quite well when faced with stress. On the other side, you'll see some strains thrive in dry and hot climates. If you live in such climates, these strains can get you big yields, cutting back on the amount of work done to protect the garden.