Cannabis Grow Guide by Royal Queen Seeds

By Steven Voser

Find out how much sun your cannabis plant needs, and how to best take advantage of it.

The more sunlight, the better; that’s the golden rule for growing weed outdoors. Unfortunately, we don’t all have access to a terrace, balcony, patio, or garden that receives full sun all throughout the day. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at weed’s passionate relationship with the sun, and show you just how much sunlight your outdoor plants need to produce a great harvest.


Why Does Cannabis Need Sunlight?

Through the power of photosynthesis, cannabis plants transform light energy from the sun into chemical energy to fuel their growth. Your weed plants use the energy they soak up from the sun to convert the water, carbon dioxide, and minerals they get from their environment into oxygen and energy-rich sugars to develop healthy roots, branches, and foliage.


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What’s the Difference Between Sunlight and Artificial Light From Grow Lamps?

Whether sunlight “beats” artificial grow lights is an age-old debate in the cannabis community, with proud, loyal legions on either side. At RQS, we’re firm believers that there’s no replacement for Mother Nature, but we understand that growing indoors under artificial lights also has a lot of benefits.

Growing cannabis indoor

We personally love growing under the sun because it’s free and there’s simply no industrial lamp capable of replicating the sun’s power. However, providing cannabis plants with 10–12 hours of unobstructed sunlight can be challenging for the average home grower, especially when you’re trying to keep your plants out of sight from prying eyes.

That’s where indoor growing really shines; not only does it allow you to run really private grows, but growing under lights also has the added benefit of giving you a lot more control over your plant’s environment and light cycle.

Growing cannabis outdoor

How Much Sunlight Do Outdoor Cannabis Plants Need?

Cannabis plants are happiest when they get between 10–12 hours of direct sunlight per day. As you’ll likely have witnessed with your own eyes, weed plants grow really vigorously, and hence need a ton of solar energy to fuel their growth.

However, it is possible to grow healthy cannabis plants outdoors with a minimum of 6 hours of uninterrupted sunlight. Just keep in mind that these plants will grow slower and therefore may produce lighter and lower-quality yields than plants getting optimal amounts of sun.

Can You Grow Cannabis With Indirect Sunlight Outdoors?

Read through a few grow forums and you’ll find plenty of growers who swear they’ve made it to harvest with just 1 or 2 hours of direct sunlight per day. Cannabis is, after all, a hardy plant that can withstand some pretty rough conditions when growing in the wild.

However, when growing weed at home, you’ll want to provide optimal conditions to maximise the size and quality of your yields.

If they’re growing in the shade, your plants will reach for the sun and develop long, lanky branches, few bud sites, and light, airy buds with less resin.

When Do Cannabis Plants Flower Outdoors?

Outdoors, photoperiod cannabis plants will flower after the summer solstice, when the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer. In the Northern Hemisphere, this happens gradually after the June solstice, which usually occurs on June 20th or 21st, depending on the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, cannabis plants will gradually start flowering after the December solstice, which takes place on December 20th or 21st.

Keep in mind that outdoor plants will start flowering gradually, as the daytime hours will diminish much more gradually than indoors, where you will flip your plants from veg to bloom with the flick of a switch.

Sunlight hours

Is There a Difference Between Sunlight in the Equator vs in the Hemispheres?

Yes, there is a very big difference between sunlight in the hemispheres and the equator (or intertropical zones between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn).

Given the Earth’s orbit, its poles tilt toward the sun during different times of the year; the Northern Hemisphere is closest to the sun on the June solstice, while the Southern Hemisphere is closest to the sun during the December solstice. The closer a pole is to the sun, the more direct sunlight it receives, and the longer the days in the corresponding hemisphere.

The equator, however, continually remains at the same distance from the sun. Hence, it gets a constant 12 hours of sunlight all year round.

When to Grow and Harvest Cannabis in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

Outdoor growers in the Northern Hemisphere will typically germinate their seeds in between spring and early summer, depending on their location. Along the Iberian Peninsula, for example, growers might start in early March and manage to grow two full crops of autos by August. Further north, however, growers will have to start a little later to avoid facing frosts, rain, hail, or other unfavourable conditions.

Growers in the Southern Hemisphere, on the other hand, might kick off their grows as early as September, and will typically harvest between March or May, although some sativas might be ready by early June (depending on the genetics and the local climate).

When growing outdoors, it’s important to know what genetics you’re working with and how they’ll respond to being planted during different times of the season. If you’re growing big sativas, for example, you may want to start your grow a little later to avoid the plants getting too large. If you’re working with fast autos, on the other hand, try to get your seeds in the ground as early as possible to squeeze two harvests into one growing season.

Celandar

How to Grow Weed Outdoors Along the Equator and in the Tropics

As mentioned earlier, areas along the equator receive a steady 12 hours of sunlight throughout the year. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area sitting on the equator, you might be able to grow cannabis outdoors all year round (weather permitting, of course). In these areas, photoperiod strains might behave similarly to autoflowers, flowering automatically once they reach maturity.

The Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, on the other hand, receive up to 10.5 and 13.5 hours of sunlight per day following the summer and winter solstices (respectively). In these areas, you might also be able to grow cannabis all year round, depending on the weather, and might find your photoperiod strains to flower based on age rather than a change in light cycle.

Understanding Tropical Cannabis Strains

While cannabis may have its roots in Asia, the plant has managed to spread and adapt (thanks to the help of humans) to almost every corner of the globe.

Varieties that have adapted to the unique climate and light cycle of the tropics and equator typically germinate much earlier than those adapted to grow further north or south.

They may also stay in veg much longer, and even continue developing foliage as they flower, leading them to produce elongated and airy buds.

Just remember that, although equatorial photoperiod strains might behave similarly to autoflowers, they aren’t true autos. Autoflowering strains contain specific genes from Cannabis ruderalis that cause them to flower based on hormonal changes triggered by age. Photoperiod equatorial strains don’t have this gene, and thus their flowering might still be triggered by light changes (as minimal as they might be along the equator or in the tropics).

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: