hey bud, remember im in OZ… 
if I had my way in an ideal world if I was growing outside… with no risk from neighbours or kids or cops or cows or bikies or… etc… the longer the plants are outside the higher the risk… but…
I would germinate just after the last frost, (or before depending on how giant you want them to get)…inside under lights… until they were through the seedling stage, then get them outside in giant pots or in the ground… in full sun… and I would use this soil recipe… Garrigan"s soil recipe - #7 by garrigan62
remember this would mean they are outside in the ground or big pots from sept-oct to April-may… this may not be the way others do it or may not even be the right way… 
its what I would do… but i would be aiming for mega yield… I used to add a lot of different teas, too… it was a while ago I grew outside though…
good luck with what you decide… 