Summer Trip, Outdoor Grow: How to Prep Your Cannabis Plants Before You Leave

To keep your cannabis grow alive while you're on vacation, line up a trusted person to water, time your trip around your plants' growth stage and prep everything before you leave: transplant into bigger containers, stake the plants, deal with pests and leave clear, written watering instructions. Summer is prime time for growers, but it's also when trips come up. With good planning and a reliable plant-sitter, you can enjoy your time off without sacrificing your grow.

Just like with pets, you need someone available to look after your plants while you're gone. That way their needs, like watering, feeding and pest protection, get properly covered.

A few prep steps before you leave will make your plant-sitter's job a lot easier and keep your plants healthy and growing strong while you're away.

These proactive moves go a long way toward keeping your grow space healthy and thriving, so your plants can keep growing without a hitch while you're out of town.

What do I need to know?

Growing weed in summer is the best thing you can do. But what stage your grow is in when you plan a trip is a crucial factor in making sure your cannabis plants get the care they need while you're gone. Whether they're in vegetative growth or flowering determines their specific needs and the risks of leaving.

It's always better to plan your trip before you start your summer grow, especially if you haven't germinated your seeds yet. That gives your plants enough vegetative time to reach a good size and solid yield potential before you leave.

This strategy works especially well if you're traveling around the end of the year or in early January in the Southern Hemisphere, where we're based (in the Northern Hemisphere, think late June or early July): starting your plants in January (July up north) still leaves them plenty of room to develop.

Still, we know not everyone can schedule their trip around the summer grow cycle. If you're leaving with a grow already underway, especially in the vegetative stage, there are specific precautions to take so your plants are fine while you're gone.

What to do before you travel

Before you hit the road and leave your cannabis grow in someone else's hands, take some precautions and make sure everything's in order so your plants are well looked after while you're away.

Keep in mind that nobody will care for your plants with the same dedication and know-how you do, especially if your plant-sitter has never grown cannabis before. So leave everything organized and give clear instructions before you go.

One of the most important things is explaining in detail how and when to water. Below are some practical tips to cut down the risks and keep your plants protected while you're gone.

Tips for your summer weed grow

Plan for growth

Before you leave, think ahead about how much your plants will grow so the branches don't end up in full view of nosy neighbors. Tying down and bending branches, or doing some extra pruning, helps keep things low-key and avoids trouble while you're away.

Time the start of flowering

Figure out when flowering will kick in so you can pick the right container size to leave your plants in. If they're likely to start flowering while you're on vacation, transplant them into a bigger container ahead of time so they keep growing healthy.

Weatherproofing

Tie your plants to stakes before you leave to protect them from storm or wind damage. This simple step can save your plant-sitter from having to do emergency first aid when the weather turns ugly.

Transplant before the trip

If you're leaving with plants in veg that have been in the same container for at least 20 days, transplant them into a bigger one before you go. That gives the roots room to develop and helps prevent nutrient deficiencies while you're gone.

Pest control

Leave your plants as pest-free as possible. Preventive sprays of natural products like neem oil and potassium soap can help keep pests in check. If you already have an infestation, deal with it before you leave so it doesn't do serious damage.

Clear instructions

Besides prepping the plants, give clear instructions on how to water properly and which fertilizers to use, if any. Make it clear that no fertilizer goes on without your OK, since that can lead to overfertilizing.

Clean and organized

Before you leave, make sure your grow space is clean and tidy, with every tool your plant-sitter might need easy to find. A detailed walk-through can also help cover any questions that might come up while you're gone.

Follow these tips and precautions and you'll cut the risks way down and leave your plants in good hands, so you can enjoy your trip with peace of mind.