For outdoor cannabis growers, flipping leaves means fall harvest. During the month of October—colloquially known as Croptober—growers across Colorado cut down their marijuana fields, the first step in the plants journey to reach consumers in dispensaries.
Growing outside is reminiscent of the days before hemp was legal, when producers raised their crop in hidden fields rather than today’s high-tech indoor operations, which come with expensive lighting fixtures, air-monitoring equipment, and soil remediation.
But this is not easy. Farmers deal with unpredictable weather, pests, and natural disasters, such as wildfires. They also face a long-standing stigma that cannabis grown in the sun is inferior to a flower grown indoors. However, those who grow it outside — including in greenhouses — point to plenty of benefits. Lower start-up and operating costs allow them to increase their profit margins, while their operations have less impact on the environment.
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