If you live in a warm climate, or are looking to grow cannabis seasonally, you may choose to grow your cannabis plants outdoors. Since it’s much more difficult to control all the external factors affecting your plant with an outdoor grow, it’s important to at least control and optimize your plant’s nutrients intake. This means finding the best possible nutrients to feed your plant.
We’ve simplified that process for you by finding the best nutrients on the market for your outdoor grow. Each nutrients solution offers its own set of benefits, and we recommend that you look through all the available products. However, if you’re busy and just want a reliable, quality nutrients solution to use on your outdoor cannabis plants, try any of the first three options listed below.
1. General Hydroponics General Organics Go Box
This nutrients kit from General Hydroponics makes it easy for first time growers by including everything you need to grow in one neatly packaged box. This line of premium nutrients includes a 16 ounce bottle of BioThrive Grow and Bloom fertilizers, and 8 ounce samples of General Hydroponics’ complete line of GO liquid supplements. Consider these 8 ounce samples like a tester pack, so you can try out some of their other products before committing to buying the full size
Why choose this product?
This product is our favourite overall organic nutrients solution. It’s easy to use, and comes with everything you need in one neat package.
What other growers are saying:
2. Dyna-Gro Liquid Grow & Liquid Bloom
These 8 ounce nutrient solutions contain all of the nutrients—both macro and micro nutrients—that your plants need to thrive. This nutrients package comes at a fantastic value, and is extremely easy to use, making it the perfect product for first time growers. The Dyna-Gro package will get you through both your vegetative and flowering stages of your plant’s grow cycle. All in all, this nutrient solution package offers 16 different nutrients that will help your plant live up to its full potential. This nutrient package is also a great product to use if your soil is not optimal. In other words, if you’re trying to grow cannabis in hard, infertile soil that’s full of pebbles, these nutrients solutions will help your plant to overcome these trying conditions. These nutrients solutions also make it easy for new growers by offering detailed instructions about how to properly feed your plants the nutrients provided. This will help you make a smooth transition from the vegetative stage to the flowering stage, using the right set of nutrients at every turn.
Why choose this product?
This nutrients solution is a great option for growers looking for value. This is an effective product at a great price.
What other growers are saying:
3. General Hydroponics CALiMAGic Quart
These nutrients by CALiMAGic are specifically designed for growers who need to give their plants a quick and effective injection of potassium, and other nutrients that are designed to optimize flower growth and flavour. The reason this nutrient solution helps your plants potassium intake is because it contains a healthy portion of calcium, which not only improves your plant’s root growth, but also helps your plant to absorb more potassium. This nutrient solution also offers a healthy dose of magnesium, which allows your plant to more efficiently produce chlorophyll, and glucose, which is a sugar that your plant needs to create energy. CALiMAGic’s general hydroponics solution is helpful for outdoor growers who are trying to grow fast-growing strains in order to yield as many plants as possible in one season. This is because these fast growing strains often experience nutrient deficiencies. So, if your plant’s leaves begin to turn yellow around their edges, try feeding it this nutrients solution.
Why choose this product?
This product has been known to enhance the flavour of your cannabis flower, making for enjoyable consumption.
What other growers are saying:
4. Espoma Co. Tree-Tone Plant Food
This nutrients blend by Espoma Co. contains 15 essential nutrients, without any toxic ingredients that could put the environment at risk. This low-environmental impact is partially why this nutrients solution is so good for outdoor growers. Espoma’s nutrients solution is best used after your plant is already sturdy and growing, rather than in its initial seedling/rooting phase. The slow release formula used in this nutrients solution will keep your plants healthy over time, while ensuring that your plants don’t get nutrient burn from being overfed.
Why choose this product?
Epsoma fertilizers have been shown to grow bigger plants that bloom very large. If you’ve never tried an epsoma fertilizer and want to experiment, try this product.
What other growers are saying:
5. FoxFarm Tiger Bloom Extra Strength
Tiger Bloom by Fox Farm is a potent nutrients solution with high levels of phosphorus to optimize your plant’s growth. One of the main advantages of this nutrients solution is to adjust the pH balance of your plants if it has gone out of whack, as well as reversing nutrients deficiencies. If your plant is growing more slowly, or looks smaller than you think it should, try using these nutrients. Tiger Bloom is also extremely fast acting, making it great for salvaging plants that are looking sickly and weak. This nutrients solution also offers an easy to follow schedule and set of instructions, so you can be confident that you’re feeding your cannabis plant the right amount at the right times.
Why choose this product?
If your plant is struggling to grow and you need to give it a quick and effective growth spurt, use this product.
What other growers are saying:
6. Clonex Rooting Gel
Clonex’s water based rooting gel isn’t exactly a nutrients solution, but it is highly effective if you’re trying to grow clones outdoors. This product, made in the United States, is even EPA registered and approved to be used on all medicinal crops and food crops. Clonex’s rooting gel is a rich combination of vitamins, anti-fungal components, hormones, and minerals, all of which are essential for successful and robust plant rooting and cell development.
Why choose this product?
This is the product you want to use if you’re looking to clone cannabis plants. This product lets you easily turn cuttings into clones by stimulating root growth.
What other growers are saying:
7. Superthrive Plant Vitamin and Hormone Supplement
SuperThrive’s highly concentrated mixture of vitamins and hormones is a great product for strengthening your plant’s roots, and reducing the stress your plant goes through when being transferred from medium to medium (transplant shock. This is also a non-toxic item, which means it will not harm the environment. This makes it a great product to use on outdoor grows. SUPERthrive is also a company that has been around for 80 years, making them a reliable and trustworthy choice. Use this product on new seedlings, or on cuttings that you’re trying to get to take root. This supplement also encourages foliage growth in your plants.
Why choose this product?
If your cannabis plant is still in the seedling stage and you want to give it an early head start, try this product.
What other growers are saying:
8. Down to Earth Crab Meal
Crab Meal by Down to Earth is an all natural, organic product, and an excellent source of nutrients. Since this product is completely organic, it’s perfect for outdoor use so you don’t contaminate your surrounding environment. One of the benefits of this product is to bolster beneficial microorganism populations that exist in the soil. Crab Meal is able to due this because of its high levels of chitin. Aside from cannabis, this product is often used to grow tomatoes, which have an almost identical growing process to cannabis (this is why “tomatoes” have become a sort of code-word on some cannabis growing websites, and books.)
Why choose this product?
If your plants are already extremely strong, try this product to give them an extra boost.
What other growers are saying:
9. Miracle-Gro Nature’s Care Organic Blood Meal
This OMRI listed organic supplement is packed full of nitrogen, which will help your cannabis plant grow quickly and healthily. Nitrogen is so important because it helps your plant to photosynthesize (convert sunlight into energy). It’s for this reason that nitrogen is so important during a plant’s vegetative stage. This is also a great product to use if you notice the edges of your leaves turning pale or yellow. It’s recommended to use this supplement every two months throughout the growing season. But be warned: do not use this product on young seedlings or clones.
Why choose this product?
This product is jam packed with nitrogen, and therefore, is a great supplement if you suspect your plant needs more nitrogen. Growers have also found that this product can successfully keep pests and animals at bay when growing outdoors.
What other growers are saying:
10. Down To Earth Fish Meal
Fish Meal by Down to Earth provides high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, making it a great nutrients solution to use during your plant’s vegetative stage of its growth cycle. This product words to promote the beneficial microbial life that exists in your soil, which help to fight off non-beneficial organisms and pests. Fish Meal also promotes the healthy and rapid growth of your plant’s roots. Ground-up fish (fish meal) sounds off-putting and strange, but fish meal has long been used by expert growers who want big results while still using an organic product. For cannabis growers, fish meal can increase the size of your buds. The eco-friendly nature of this product also makes it a great choice for outdoor growers.
Why choose this product?
This is the product you want to use if you like having massive buds.
What other growers are saying:
11. Root Naturally Azomite Rock Dust by Root Naturally
This soil additive by Root Naturally is a great product to give your cannabis that little extra push, and really make it thrive. Root Naturally’s Azomite Rock Dust is chalk full of minerals, including iron, calcium, and magnesium. This is a great product to improve root growth, and for maintaining fertile soil over long periods of time. However, be warned: this is a long-term product, so don’t expect it to kick in right way. Regardless, Rock Dust is a great value and worth the buy if you’re interested in experimenting and trying to give your soil an extra push. Just look at the rave reviews other growers are giving it.
Why choose this product?
If you’re looking to grow season-after-season and really establish a fertile bed of highly effective soil, use this product. Growers swear by it.
What other growers are saying:
12. Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Sensi
These nutrients solutions by Advanced Nutrients come equipt with pH perfect technology, to help you get your pH balance just right. This product comes in two bottles—an A & B solution for different growing stages. Each bottle is one Litre. The main takeaway from this product—aside from its effectiveness and reliability as a fertilizer—is its ability to keep your pH levels perfect, which your plant craves.
Why choose this product?
Use this product if you have issues keeping your pH levels balanced, or if you suspect you won’t have much time to check your pH levels as often as you should. This product will do a lot of the work for you.
What other growers are saying:
13. Ludicrous Nutrients Premium Marijuana Cannabis Fertilizer Eco Friendly
Why choose this product?
Try this product if you’re looking to produce lots of flower, or are looking to try out a new brand of nutrients.This nutrients solution by Ludicrous Nutrients features their signature blend of eco-friendly biostimulants to help your cannabis plants thrive and produce lots of flower. While their formula is proprietary, the company admits they use kelp extract to administer the amino acids cytokinins and gibberallins, which will give you healthier, more robust plants. This solution also offers benefits to your plant’s root development by providing a mixture of carbohydrates, vitamins, and humic acid. Since this product is eco-friendly, it’s also a great way to grow outdoors while being conscious of the environment.
What other growers are saying:
Conclusion:
It’s easy to get lost in a sea of options when it comes to nutrients. But the reality is, your plant is going to do just great no matter which one of these nutrients solutions you choose. If you’re looking for something straightforward, go with the first solution we listed! But if you’ve been growing for a while and are looking to experiment, try any of these other great products, and see what works best for you. After all, part of the fun of growing is carving your own path by developing methods that work for you and your unique growing situation. Good luck, and more importantly, have fun!
Want a second opinion on the best fertilizers for outdoor cannabis? Check out this great video by YouTuber THC HerbanGardener!
Want to learn more about the various terpenes that exist in cannabis? Read our comprehensive guide to cannabis terpenes!
Featured Image Credit: “Harvest Time” by Martijn is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0