and just out of curiosity, what difference does it make if you start a photo inside?
you still need the 12/12 cycle to trigger flowering do you not?
i guess the hard and true outside photo guys here are from down south?
You start inside so they can grow vigorous and healthy in a controlled environment, so they can thrive outside. They have to be so mature to even show thier sex as well. I usually start indoors mid March-ish. They don't go out till there's just shy of 15 hours of light. They have to be hardened off so they don't get shocked. It's usually around memorial day when I plant. They will continue veg for about another month or so, this is why you get monsters that grow pounds outdoors. The summer solstice is June 21st, daylight starts to decrease. The plants will sense this over the next few weeks and naturally flip to flower, when exactly that happens is dependent on genetics.
It's doable here in The Northeast, but it takes more work. My last plant was out till just before Halloween, it was sativa dominant, Amnesia Lemon, I had been drying it with the blower for like two months at that point, covered it for frost several times, along with the others. I scrogged as well. I had no mold or pm in my grow for the first time ever, at least in the garden that I scrogged ... some very small spots of PM at the end, on inner leaves that came right off because the scrog allowed me to spot them. I spend a lot of time and energy on them, keeping pests at bay, pruning, training, covering for frost, leaf blowing... it's what you have to do to be successful in this climate. Zone 4, only a couple zones worse lol. I'm fortunate to have a full sun all summer location, like 12 hours. It helps for better faster growth, doing it anywhere remotely shaded here is basically pointless. Late fall the neighbor's pines take 2 hours of light in the afternoon... I've contemplated a shotgun "misfire" that takes out a tree top more than once lol.
Here's a couple pics of the Amnesia Lemon, the last girl standing. She was started about 3 weeks after my oldest girl I think, I'd have to consult the diary. Black Cherry Punch was started first, She was 30 ounces, This Amnesia was 16oz, just found my tally sheet the other day lol. The late starts only yeilded a few ounces each... so that's why we start inside.