The benefit of being in the great outdoors is that you don’t really need to worry about light too much.
1. Lighting outdoors
The sun will provide all the light a plant could need and much more. There is no way to duplicate the sun’s intensity, and it’s just a better light source than anything you could produce artificially.
Transplanting from indoors to outdoors
If you transplant your plants from indoor artificial light to outdoor sunlight, however, they could be shocked by the intensity. This would certainly not be an ideal way to start your outdoor growing experience as you might see the plants lose vigor and ultimately die.
If you sowed the seeds outdoors in the bright sunlight, your plants will already be acclimated to the sun for the rest of their lives. However, when transplanting from indoors to outdoors, you have to ease them into it.
At first, place the plants in a location that has shade for part of the day to ensure that the sun’s rays hit them directly but for a shorter period of time. This is assuming you will leave them in portable pots rather than planting them straight into the ground.
As they start to get used to the sun’s rays, gradually move them more into the direct sunlight until they are receiving light all day. It shouldn’t take more than 7 or 10 days to get the plants acclimated to the sunlight.
2. Clouded or shaded areas
Light can also be a problem if something is blocking it from getting to your plants. If you live in a cloudy area, for instance, the plants might not be receiving enough direct light from the sun. You may have to bring the plants indoors at night and put them under lamps, so they get a full dose of light for the day.
If you are guerrilla farming in a forested area, your plants might be at risk of having the light blocked out by taller trees in the area. Although the trees provide security and cover from any potential onlookers, they may also limit the amount of light that your plants receive. It will be difficult to transplant them once they are in the ground so you may just have to deal with the limited amount of light.
Some growers utilize the landscape to receive the most light. When planting on the slope of a mountain, make sure that you plant on the south side (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere). This is because the sun will go from east to west, but it will be in the southern half of the sky. If the plants are on the southern slope of the mountain, they will receive the most sunlight possible throughout the day.
