Knowing the difference between an indoor grow and an outdoor grow can allow you to make an informed decision on how you would like to cultivate cannabis.
And, if you've not done so yet, you should check out our step-by-step guide for growing weed at home.
With the constitutional court ruling last year declaring that growing cannabis at home fell under the right to privacy, we've started to see a change in tides for cannabis culture in South Africa.
Nowhere has it been more evident than the competition Stark Ayres is running to see who can grow the biggest dagga plant.
But where is best to grow weed indoors or outdoors?
We'll take a look at how exactly indoor growing differs from outdoor growing, the pros and cons, and which one will work best for your intentions and available means.
Growing weed: Differences between indoor and outdoor growing
Outdoor growing is the most natural way to grow, you utilize the sun's light and in most cases will plant directly into the soil.
Growing cannabis outdoors is typically more difficult than growing it indoors, as you will in most cases have to deal with pests and weather conditions which may hamper your growing efforts.
Indoor grows are more controlled and allow for a better environment for growing, with the ability to control things like temperatures and humidity. High humidity can lead to bud rot and powdery mildew forming on the plant, while temperatures that are too cold can stunt the plant growth or in some cases even kill it.
Happy indoor weed plants. Photo: TSA.com Indoor sounds great right? Well it is, but there are some areas of indoor growing that make it quite a challenge. Firstly, indoor growing is by no means cheap.
A sufficient lighting setup for a 4 4 foot grow tent can cost in excess of R5000, with high-end options running more than R10 000 for the same area. There is also the cost of electricity to run these high powered lights, and even in cases where highly efficient lighting is used, you're still likely to see a big rise in your electricity bill. Add to that the cost of air conditioning and dehumidifiers and you'll realize that a moderate scale indoor setup can set you back as much as R30 000.
Outdoor grows are a challenge, but when done right can be extremely rewarding.
The sun is by far the best light for growing, it offers a full spectrum which helps cannabis thrive. Indoor grow lights do their best job to mirror the natural light one receives outside.
One area where indoor growing takes a massive lead over outdoor though, is in the ability to grow multiple harvests a year indoors, as opposed to a single annual harvest outdoors.
Cannabis requires 12 hours of darkness a day in order to flower, in nature this occurs with the changing of summer into autumn, meaning you get one flowering season a year.
With indoor grows, you can control the light and choose to flower your plants when you want to. Because of this, it's common for indoor growers to have several harvests a year, as many as 4 when growing fast flowering or auto flowering strains.
To make things simple, let's compare the most prominent pros and cons for both indoor and outdoor grows.
Pros of growing weed indoors
Full environmental control
Little to no pest problems
Ability to trigger flowering
High THC percentages due to environmental control
Can grow throughout the year
Cons of growing weed indoors
Expensive setup and running costs
Pros of growing weed outdoors
Excellent light quality
Extremely cheap to start
Plants can get larger and give more yield
Easier to allocate space to grow
Cons of growing weed outdoors
Pests
More likelihood of mildew or bud
Only one harvest a year
Quality of weed grown indoors vs outdoors
South Africa is unique in the way we discuss our cannabis, indoor is almost always tied to high grade bud while we use the term outdoor' to refer to the cheaper lower quality bud, the kind you usually find sold by car guards.
However, the truth is that a good outdoor grow can rival that of an indoor grow and in some cases even surpass it. In America, there are large dispensaries which sell predominantly outdoor grown bud, but because the flower was grown well it compares with indoor.
Large colas of cannabis present in an indoors grow setup. Photo: TSA Locally however, outdoor has been given a bad name because of the way that large scale outdoor grows are done. Large scale outdoor growers in Swaziland and Lesotho for instance have historically put their flower through some sketchy drying and curing practices.
In addition, the buds are usually then shoved into black bags and compressed. The process of bricking weed is one that makes it easier to transport, but also decreases the quality dramatically. This is why low grade weed, that most refer to as outdoor will typically have very little trichomes on it.
If you were to compare a nug from one of these growers to that of an outdoor grower, perhaps growing under shade cloth and who dries and cures their bud correctly, you will see a large variation in the quality. It is certainly possible to get your outdoor to look as good as some indoor does.
With that said, it's certainly easier to acquire high quality bud from an indoor grow. In most cases, given that you have the right equipment, you should be able to achieve good quality bud. Because of this, many outdoor growers consider indoor growing too easy and prefer the challenges of the outdoor grows, utilizing natural farming methods and specialist pest control in order to create high quality natural buds.
An example of well grown outdoor cannabis, in this case a Jack Herer autoflower. Photo: TSA.com In the end, it's not so much about either one being better than the other, they both have the opportunity to provide you with high quality flower. However, for newer grow
Most recent headlines
03/01/2026
A still from OBEX by Albert Birney, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance...
02/01/2026
Freezing Florida: NHL's EVP, Entertainment Bob Chesterman on Taking the Wint...
02/01/2026
NHL Winter Classic 2026: TNT Sports Prepares for First NHL Outdoor Game in Sunsh...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
Knowing the difference between an indoor grow and an outdoor grow can allow you to make an informed decision on how you would like to cultivate cannabis. 
