Indoor CBD Flower vs Outdoor CBD Flower - What Is The Difference?
When shopping online for CBD, you may have noticed that some CBD flowers are labelled as indoor grown, and others are labelled as outdoor grown. But is there a difference between the two?
The main difference is the obvious one – where the plants are grown before being cropped, trimmed and dried. Indoor flower is grown in controlled facilities inside a building. This means the grower is in control of all the variables; the amount of light, the temperature, the humidity and the levels of water each plant receives.
Outdoor plants are grown outside, where the levels of sunlight, temperature, humidity and weather are all determined by nature. This means the grower has less control over the key variables that make CBD plants grow, but they also have fewer overheads as they do not need to pay for light, water or nutrients if the soil is fertile.
What difference does it make?
Whether CBD is grown outdoors or indoors will have a noticeable effect on the flowers when they are ready to consume. Indoor CBD flower will have smaller and denser buds. Outdoor CBD buds will be bigger but lighter as the buds have developed in more space. Outdoor CBD plants will also have thicker stems and branches.
Some people believe that outdoor CBD flower has a more hempy, earthy taste, whereas indoor CBD flowers can be more fresh and fruity. While this might be the case, much of the taste comes down to how the CBD is dried, stored and delivered. Outdoor CBD is often grown on farms and so barns or outdoor buildings may be used, while indoor CBD flower is dried indoors, allowing the natural terpenes to cure.
Because indoor CBD isn’t exposed to the elements, these buds will usually have more trichomes. Trichomes are where the highest concentration of cannabinoids reside in the plant, so the more trichomes on the bud the higher the levels of CBD, CBG etc. That doesn’t always mean indoor CBD will be stronger than outdoor CBD though, much of the quality comes down to one simple thing…
What makes CBD flower magic
Indoor or outdoor grown, there is one thing that makes CBD flower good - who grows it! There are some exceptional growers producing world-class CBD bud, especially in countries like America. Here in the UK, we don’t have the right climate conditions to produce the sort of CBD buds you will find in places like Oregon or the Emerald Triangle of California. But we do have exceptional growers who know how to get the best out of indoor grows where we can control all the elements to get the best from the hemp plants. That's why at Flower Department, we hand-pick our CBD flowers for their exceptional quality quality from craft growers we know and trust.
So which is better, indoor CBD flower or outdoor CBD flower?
The truth is there is no definitive answer to this question. Instead, look for healthy-looking buds with a good level of trichomes. Check the lab reports for cannabinoid content and make sure the vendor has done their due diligence to inspect the products before they sell. Storage is important too, as badly stored CBD flowers, regardless of where they are grown, will taste bad. This is why we carefully control the humidity of our storage and include a free Boveda pack with all orders. Ensuring when your CBD flower arrives it tastes and smells as great as it did when it left our warehouse.