Where do these people get their info???? I grew outside for 15 years and thats all so wrong. If your climate is humid in the fall you make sure unattended plants get earlier in the day sun to dry the dew so mold won't be an issue. I've grown in the woods where the plants only got 3-4 hours direct sun a day and they grew great. People should get some growers guides before they make claims. Depending on the position of your house to the sun and what part of your atrium gets the most sun are the factors to be considered. Also if the sun is weak, the plants will stretch up to the source THEN thicken up so consider that when looking at your atrium. The tops will probably be over 8 ft off the ground UP IN THE SUN. Get on a ladder in your atrium in the sunniest part and then try to imagine what light you really will have on your tops. If light is slight under the plants canopy you can remove the SUCKERS to be used for cloning or to be planted elsewhere , given to good friends, planted for decoys for thieves or simply discarded since your secure garden will give you so much. Planting in good soil IN the ground always gives better results than in containers. I just looked at pictures on this site of a kids backyard plants, one in a container, the other in the ground, side by side. The one in the ground reminds me of when I grew my stuff outside with a stem as thick as your forearm and about 7 foot high and 7 foot wide. The one in the bucket had a stem half that size and was not nearly as big in width (drip line restrictions control width). I have no idea if they are the same age or strain but these proportions are similar to my experiences through the years of growing both ways. Yes, you can get great plants in a bucket, but if you take two clones of the same plant that are identical I'll bet you anything that the one in the ground will be phenominal next to the bucket plant. Obviously if the soil in the ground sucks and the bucket is primo dirt that will affect the results. Buckets have the advantage in the fact that they can have the light hours manipulated by moving them into the dark early in the season for early head stash. I'm not saying don't grow in buckets ever, I'm saying in a secure atrium you can get tremendous results with in the ground plants. Did I mention that I prepared my soil with enough organic material and polymer water retention granules that I never had to go near my plants ALL season til harvest (no watering, no fertilizing, no paths, no people seeing me, NO THIEVES) compared to daily attention and work to make smaller bucket plants. I even used 45 gallon garbage pails. The only time buckets were maintanance free was when I buried the buckets in the ground with large holes in the bottom. Buckets are cool if you need to move them or if you start inside then transplant them outside in the warm weather. Buried buckets can also be unplugged in the fall(great shock to the plant) for late strains that need more time, but your bringing in all the bugs to your grow room. I don't know how private your yard is but no one can be trusted when you have $10,000worth of plants in your yard. I lost a lot of "GOOD" friends over my plants. Some plants outside yield over 1 1/2 pounds if left to mature. I wish I owned an atrium in my house. Heart disease keeps me retired and out of the woods now, so no fun for me LOL I really hope this is helpful to your question. Never say never, and buy a growers guide by the real experts to confirm any advice people give you. It's worth the money to understand the FACTS, not the wives tales. I own many myself and they have always been helpful, even after many years of personal experience.
