Norcal I know the short internode power of a T5. If they still shot up under them it isn't because of flower stretch you got some monsters on your hands.
AliasAO I have a all welcome outdoor thread where I have posted many details. I do some plants that I plant and never visit. I have some that have to be visited in severe drought conditions only, I have some that I try to water when they need it but feed them before veg when planted and again around July 1. The a 50'50 veg flower feed August 1 and a flower feed Sept 1. If it doesn't rain pretty good twice a week I water. I want a pound off these plants. They all get fenced. I count on these. Watering is the biggest factor when it comes to plant size. If they get all the water they can use they will get as big as they can get.
I also have a spot where I try to grow some bragging rights outdoor Divas. I visit them whenever I want. There has to be a way in and out that doesn't matter how often you go there won't be a trail. The best way is walking in a creek and then into a side patch or a cornfield. But there are other ways. I don't count on these because when they are that huge they can be seen from the air. I have had 2-4 pounders in my DIVA plot. They need tended though. Water at least every other day.
Bugs just are not a big problem outdoors. Pot plants grow fast and can easily outgrow insect damage. Yes a swarm of locusts could wipe you out but in nature other bugs, birds and animals eat insects pests and keep them under control.
Immunox Plus is a systemic insect and disease spray you can use every 2 weeks to keep mold, mildew and insects at bay. I spray it in early flowering and have never had a problem with using it. I told somebody this last year and later they said it made their buds taste funny. So use at own risk during flowering. But if you get major bugs use it in veg.
Snails can be a problem. Just sprinkle some snail kill in a circle a few feet from the plant in early spring when you plant. When they get big it isn't a problem. They can kill and topple a small plant.
Put a fence around your plant. Otherwise you will have the heartbreak of rabbits or groundhogs or deer. Deer can still nibble when they are big but they will out grow it. Rabbits and groundhogs can eat the whole young plant and there is nothing to grow.
