I am trying to work up the courage to try my first grow. I am not able to just grow it out in the open so I have to grow it outside, in the woods around my house. The lighting will be poor. The climate is southeast Illinois. I really just dont know what I should do. Is my only option to just use AutoFlowers and pray? I am assuming without DIRECT sunlight most of the day, nothing else will even work.
I would LOVE to get some advice on this.
Welcome to the forum @Alcedes. Sounds like youāll be feeding the deer this summer.
One of the things youāll have to deal with is the animals getting high on your grow.
I suppose you can use some type of repellent. I would make sure to bring my dog with me, and pee around the area. Also you may be able to use an extension saw to clear some branches this winter.
Best bet is to use some auto flower indica may not need as much light as a sativa.
I tried that technique back in college but lost my crop to the animals when they were tender seedlings. Maybe you can get them going inside and transplant them after they are a foot of so tall.
Happy trails!!
Welcome to the neighborhood. I donāt know much about growing in the woods but I would imagine the lack of direct sunlight you would get a leggy plant without much in the bud development. Iām sure someone will chime in that has more knowledge about this. Happy Growing 
The current thought was that I would start the grow indoors, and then transplant them outside when they start to develop smell. I was kinda hoping this would help. Also, when I say the āwoodsā, it is not out in the middle of nowhere. It would be within 100 yards of my house. I am hoping that the general proximity helps with critters.
Iāve been growing in the woods for 30 years, about 400 miles north of you. I get huge plants but they donāt develop a lot for flowers in the woods. You might be able to do better because of your climate being further south.
I hear people talk about deer eating their plants, but I have never had it happen and I have a lot of deer where I live. It always seems like thereās something they like better in the woods and just walk by cannabis plants. I cannot say that other people havenāt lost plants to Deer but so far in 30 years Iāve been real lucky.
Also editing to say that I never used to feed or water my outdoor plants, I start them indoors and plant them in secluded spots in the woods. Come back in the fall and thatās it.
That is a great point! My woods is surrounded by corn and soy fields, and filled with walnut and acorn trees. So there will ALWAYS be something better to eat.
Could be the rabbits but someone was getting to them before they got more than a foot tall.
Iām in north Texas so could of been either. I only tried growing in the wild one time. Later on when I had my own house with a nice security fence was I able to get it going outside with full light and a Chow dog that loved laying under it during the day.
But maybe I am wrong, but IF I use auto flowers, and keep them indoors till they start to get smelly, wouldnt my plants only be outside for a few weeks at most? And since they are autoflowers, wouldnt they develop just fine in the low light?
I used to spread blood meal around the plant good source of nitrogen and rabbits and deer are repelled by the smell
Iām in DFW area myself, small world. If you have Instagram, we all synch up on there regularly. Mine is same screen name and picture.
They still need good light to develop decent flowers. Sunlight does have a way of penetrating through Forest canopies. I would look for an area that has a lot of underbrush growth because you know that the sun is not being choked out in those areas. Also, corn fields are a great place to grow.
I have a few areas I have picked out for a test grow. Each feature large amounts of what I have always called āUmbrella Plantsā. I figure if they can get that green and strong, there must be plenty of light getting through during the day.
And it is worth mentioning, my plants WILL get plenty of sunlight. My woods are not so thick to block out the sun. But it is not DIRECT sunlight beaming down in all its glory.
From what I was reading I was hoping that auto flowers can make due without DIRECT sunlight beating down on them
The trick to autoflowers is that they do not need a change in the light schedule to start flowering. They still need some light intensity to produce well.
Well crap. I guess it doesnt make any sense to purchase any seeds then. I am not sure I have any place that will get more than a couple hours of direct sunlight beaming down. thats a shame. /sigh
If youāre only going for yourself, youāll still get something off them. You just not going to pull 4/6 oz per plant like what is possible indoors. My outdoor Autos last year oh, none of them hit the one ounce mark. I also had to deal with a lot of Bud rot because they like to kick their flowering time right in the wettest part of my season, humidity is a bitch. I will say that what little I got from the outdoor autoflowers was very strong and potent.
Also remember that I am way far north of you and your conditions could be a lot better than mine even in the woods.
You know with a medical card you can grow 5 plants in Illinois. If you donāt have a card and you should get caught. Growing is a misdemeanor. It carryās a $200.00 fine. You sure you have to go into the woods that far? Iāve seen plants grown in backyards in very exclusive neighborhoods. Just one plant doesnāt draw much attention.
Good luck
We grow 2021 one plant outside western grail grew 5ft high 4.5 around gave us 35 ozs trimings and 9 ozs buds. She was in direct sun and was fed lquid horse poop,FF nutes rain water house water pruned and LSTāED WHEN needed
Northern Illinois here probably not too far from @fast-grow. I usually start a few autos inside then kick em out when the temps are right. If you keep them short you can camo them in with the rest of your garden plants. Biggest problem I have around here is the hemp farms seeding my stuff
Corn fields used to be great place but now the herbicides used now will quickly destroy anything tat hasnt been genetically designed to live in the environment.
So after everything I think I have understood with you all trying to help me, I have decided to just purchase a 3x3x6 grow tent. From what I am reading, that is āEasy-Modeā growing anyway. I can keep it in multiple places around the house, garage, or hunting lodge in my yard pretty easily. And from what I understand, all I have to do is add water and wait this way lol.