Getting the Most from Your Outdoor Cannabis Garden in Minnesota

Getting the Most from Your Outdoor Cannabis Garden in Minnesota

If you’re growing cannabis outdoors in Minnesota, you’ve got a narrow but beautiful window to make the most of the growing season. Our climate doesn’t offer the long, warm falls you might find in California — so to get a strong, legal, and high-quality harvest, you want to plant smart. One of the best ways to do that? Grow both photoperiod and autoflower cannabis plants in the same garden.

Why both? Because Minnesota law allows you to grow up to eight cannabis plants at home, with a max of four in flower at any one time. By choosing the right mix of plant types and planting times, you can legally maximize your yields — and harvest at the ideal time, before the weather turns.

Start With Photoperiods Early

Photoperiod plants are the traditional cannabis strains that flower based on the hours of daylight. They need long days to grow big and strong in the vegetative stage, and they won’t begin to flower until the daylight hours start to decrease — usually around late July in Minnesota.

To give these plants the best shot, start your photoperiod seeds indoors in late April or early May. By mid to late May, you’ll likely be past the danger of frost and can transplant them outdoors once nighttime lows are reliably above 50°F — ideally closer to 60°F. These early-started plants will stretch tall, develop big root systems, and give you dense flower come harvest time, usually in late September or early October.

That’s the classic way. But it doesn’t take advantage of the full summer. That’s where autoflowers come in.

Autoflowers Fill the Gap

Autoflowers don’t care how much light they get. They begin flowering on their own, typically just 3–4 weeks after germination, and finish their life cycle in about 10–12 weeks total. This trait makes them perfect for Minnesota’s shorter growing season — especially if you want to squeeze in a second harvest before your photoperiods are ready.

Here’s the trick: plant your autoflower seeds around June 1–14. That timing gives them the long daylight hours of early summer to fuel fast growth and puts your harvest window between late August and early September — a perfect sweet spot before colder, wetter weather rolls in.

This timing also works beautifully with the law: while your four photoperiod plants are still in veg, your four autoflowers can be flowering. You’re still within the legal limit of four flowering plants, and you’re staggering your harvests — first autos in late summer, then photoperiods in fall.

Maximize Yield, Legally and Smart

With this setup, you’ve got eight legal plants growing: four autoflowers in flower and four photoperiods in veg, which will flip to flower just as your autos finish. You’ll get two harvests, you’ll stay compliant, and you’ll keep your garden productive all summer.

A few extra tips to optimize this method:

• Start your seeds indoors under lights to give them a strong start.

• Use pots or raised beds with high-quality living soil for better drainage and root health.

• Keep your plants well-mulched and consistently watered, especially in July and August.

• Watch for bud rot or mold as fall approaches, especially on the bigger photoperiods or ones where caterpillars have found a wonderful lunch.

  
  

Minnesota’s cannabis laws are friendly to home growers — but our climate can be unforgiving if you don’t plan for it. By mixing autoflowers and photoperiod plants, you can beat the season, double your harvest, and stay legal while you do it.

Now’s the time to pick your genetics and get those seeds started — outdoor season is just around the corner. We can help you at CannaJoyMN with a wide variety of seed choices that will be great for outdoor growing