Growing marijuana in guerrilla is certainly not an activity suitable for beginner and inexperienced growers: the stakes are high, but so are the risks. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that guerrilla fascinates growers from all latitudes, fueled by the myriad of anecdotes and stories passed down orally and on the internet.
- Guerrilla outdoor cultivation tips
- The importance of water in guerrilla cultivation
- How to choose the substrate for guerrilla
- How to protect your plants in guerrilla
- Which autoflowers to grow in guerrilla
We, for our part, could tell you about the time when the Canadian breeder Chimera, a guerrilla master of cannabis, almost broke his neck climbing down a cliff that led to our cultivation and turned around saying, “Filo, I will never visit your guerrilla cultivation again.”
Or when during an irrigation inspection of our guerrilla, we were surprised by arriving helicopters and started running wildly along the riverbank, hiding face down among brambles and bushes for several hours.
We could only retrieve our cars parked on the country road after three days, when major Italian newspapers were publishing a crime story: “SEARCHING FOR TOMB RAIDERS, THEY FIND A LUSH, FULLY-EQUIPPED PLANTATION” (incidentally, a legend still available online).
The purpose of this guerrilla guide, which we will update over time, is not only to tell anecdotes and curiosities about guerrilla but also to give you indispensable tips and strategies for growing marijuana in guerrilla, maximizing results and reducing risks.
Guerrilla Outdoor Cultivation: Techniques, Art of Improvisation, and Adaptation May Not Be Enough
What is outdoor cannabis guerrilla cultivation?
Undoubtedly, guerrilla cultivation can be described as a lottery, or better, quoting 'the buddy': “Guerrilla is like roulette, red you win, black you lose!”, an exciting, adrenaline-fueled adventure, but also with a fair dose of anxiety.
Guerrilla cultivation is certainly a challenge. Hunters, mushroom pickers, forest rangers, thieves along with wild boars, moles, and parasites—everything can wipe out the fruits of hard work.
Choose Your Outdoor Growing Kit
However, with a bit of luck and good adaptability and improvisation skills, you can achieve incredible successes and unique experiences in marijuana cultivation.
As in life, the unexpected is always around the corner, and knowing how to improvise is certainly not enough, as experience, which is only gained over the years, is essential.
Carrying on your back 34 kg batteries with 5000 L/H bilge pumps on slopes and cliffs, or connecting solar panels and irrigation systems, laying 150m of hose at night, are tangible proofs that the most determined, cunning, and courageous have the most success in guerrilla.
What is certain is that guerrilla cultivation will lead you to breathtaking adventures... You can learn more by consulting our guide: Outdoor cultivation: how to grow plants outdoors.
Guerrilla Gardening: Water Must Never Be Missing!
Let's start with the basics: choosing the right location for your guerrilla gardening. The site must have certain characteristics to be considered suitable:
- Camouflaged and well hidden;
- Accessible water source in sufficient quantity;
- Solid soil structure.
It's important to clarify that these are not optional factors but essential to avoid significant risks. It will also be crucial to have quick (and brief!) access to the guerrilla cultivation for obvious security reasons.
The prerequisites mentioned above, combined with excellent knowledge of cannabis plants and cultivation experience, allow for remarkable achievements!
Water is truly the essential element that must never be missing. Consider that a plant is composed of 85% water and can absorb between 5 and 20 liters of water per day.
Battery-Powered Automatic Irrigation System for 10 Plants
Practical, functional, and energy-efficient. Easy to assemble and program, the system conveniently regulates the frequency and duration of water distribution.
Buckets and tanks are some of the most commonly used tools by growers, especially for fertigation. However, as the number and size of plants to be watered increase, other techniques and strategies complementary to human supply and transport must be adopted.
But what techniques are we talking about? How can we ensure a water supply for our plants? Let's assess the guerrilla cultivation context: in humid and mountainous areas, you can 1) collect moisture with nylon sheets or 2) collect rainwater using tanks.
Anyway, it will be important to evaluate everything based on the size of the crop. Needless to say, following the example of ancient agricultural civilizations, the most experienced growers try to position themselves near watercourses which, with their springs, veins, and streams, are certainly suitable places for our purposes.
Outdoor Guerrilla Marijuana Cultivation: The Substrate is Crucial
For outdoor guerrilla marijuana cultivation, the soil structure is fundamental. It's important to stay away from tufaceous or clayey soils, which do not guarantee good drainage and have a fairly acidic pH.
On the contrary, look for "humic" and peaty soils typically found in the undergrowth; the abundant organic vegetable material present in these soils will be a valuable ally.
But how do I identify good soil? Try digging at the edges of a forest clearing or near a watercourse; the presence of a first layer of symbiotic fungi (mycorrhizal), easily visible to the naked eye, will indicate abundant microbial activity.
A place like this could be ideal, even if infested with some rather uncomfortable botanical species, including brambles and nettles, which you will have to get rid of.
But this is where the guerrillero's mettle shows, who in spring is not afraid to fill their arms with stings while trying to eradicate cubic meters of brambles.
Let's stick to the soil theme with another relevant aspect for good cultivation: the size of the hole. Here too, you will need good physical and mental resilience to cope with painful blisters and calluses, typical side effects when digging 30-50-100 holes of 50x80 cm.
For the initial rooting start, we recommend mixing (in a 50:50 ratio) with specific compounds that you can find in specialized stores. Avoid universal nursery soil like the plague.
Instead, use solid amendments such as guano, chicken manure, worm humus, animal or plant compost, phosphate rock, lupins, seaweed, etc., which will provide the substrate with everything necessary to have healthy and robust plants and a high-quality final product.
However, years of experience and shared knowledge teach us that with a suitable place/soil, amendments are needed less. Key concepts remain prevention, plant health, and stability during flowering, which are essential in guerrilla cultivation.
Make sure you can count on trichoderma and symbiotic fungi, especially in the initial phases, to ensure protection from pathogens and better absorption of elements. Apply natural products such as neem oil, pine oil, horsetail, quassia, sodium silicate on and under the leaves and stems using a spray.
This will allow you to protect the plant from the main micro-enemies such as spider mites, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, scale insects, etc. Do it consistently, and you won't need to resort to extreme remedies like chemical herbicides that would reduce the final product's quality.
Pathogens and Storms: How to Protect Your Plants in Guerrilla Cannabis
We have talked about some enemies of cannabis plants in guerrilla outdoor. But we haven't mentioned the main enemy, especially during flowering: Botrytis.
Use micronized rock powder rich in silicon, vaporized until pre-flowering, which will be a valuable defense ally for the plant. You can observe its action with the naked eye: as humidity increases, the plant becomes covered in dew, and the gray silicon patina on the leaves disappears, absorbed by the water.
Potassium Soft Soap
Potassium soft soap, a natural product used in organic farming to combat unwanted insect infestations.
This will reappear only once the sun has dried the plant. Rock powder increases the plant's absorption/dehydration capacity and will protect it from molds.
Let's move on to another type of threat represented by summer storms, which are increasingly taking on the thunderous and sudden features of tropical storms. Bamboo canes, often used for tomatoes, are an excellent support and anchor for our plants.
The most ingenious growers use them to anchor their "wonders," using connecting cords to help distribute the weight better. But beware: in this case, if one falls, they all fall!
We end this journey into guerrilla growing by saying that, often, as in life, success is determined by concurrent forces that we can control to a greater or lesser extent.
Check Out Our Category of Plant Pesticides and Protectants
Where our control cannot reach, we can only rely on good karma and positive energies. Below are the soil characteristics and materials used by these skilled and lucky growers.
Autoflowering Outdoor in Guerrilla: The 5 Best Plants Suggested by Grow Shop Italia
Here is our very personal guide to guerrilla cultivation of the best plants suited to this technique:
- Purple Gurilla Auto by Guru Sage Seeds: A cross between the famous Gorilla and a powerful Purple variety, resistant, productive, and also very potent. Vibrant colors and easy to grow, recommended for growers of all levels.
- 60 Day Grapefruit Auto by Guru Sage Seeds: One of the fastest autoflowering cannabis varieties that will allow you to harvest its fruits after only 60-65 days. High production and small size, allowing for discreet cultivation.
- Epsilon F1 Auto by Royal Queen Seeds: The fastest of the automatic varieties, an offspring of famous strains, offering uniform growth and a significant aroma, along with high potency and a short flowering cycle. Ideal for quick and homogeneous harvests.
- Gorilla Cookies FF by Fast Buds: A feminized photoperiod seed that completes abundant flowering in 7 weeks. The result is tasty, potent, with Kush notes and THC up to 29%. Easy to grow and perfect for growers with short outdoor seasons.
Also highly recommended are short-flowering photoperiod varieties like the Fast version by Sweet Seeds.
Choose the Best Feminized and Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds