Thanks man.
Honestly, in my past experience, Nevada County on average grew slightly better weed than Mendo. Humboldt and Mendo are more well known but we've been growing up here just as long and weed grows well in our arid zone. Sacramento is a central hub for transport because of the I-80 and and I-5 interstates. When I used to live down there I'd get herb from both the Emerald Triangle and Nevada County and 90% of the time NC weed was more potent and pungent. Of course, more recently with the proliferation of knowledge, grow supplies, and legal medical grows, Sacto, Napa, and Frisco areas are nipping closely at our heels. In the last ten years the herb from all over NorCal has improved 1000% so I don't think there's a clear winner anymore. If you live in an area that grows excellent wine grapes then you can easily grow potent monster cannabis. In the last 5yrs I've done the Pepsi challege with numerous strains of locally grown outdoor and indoor. The outdoor has won in taste, potency, and structure almost every time, but the indoor wins in looks 4/5 of the time. My most recent tester was some Girl Scout Cookies. They were absolutely identical in taste, smell, and trich formations, but the outdoor was just slightly better in potency.
When I started growing outdoor 3yrs ago I was totally blown away by the sise and potency of the plants in my garden. They have improved every year with the techniques I've picked up between here and the last forum I was on. My nute costs have dropped by 90% and the harvest output improved by 70% last year. If you live in NorCal you should have no problem growing outdoor trees using your indoor knowledge. Dude, outdoor is soooo much easier. The only things you'll need to learn are when to plant, how to support their sise, and effective pest control. The pest control was the toughest but after trying a few expensive ineffective pesticides I've settled into two types that are both cheap and 99% effective. Early in the season I use Triazicide ($12 or less for the hose attach bottle) and Bonide Pyrethrin ($13 for the concentrate). Both kill everything, including the dreaded Russet and Broad Mites. You need at least 30 days for the Triazicide to completely dissipate, whereas the Pyrethrin can be used up till the last week (possibly later but I like a little cushion). @$40 Azamax is about 70% effective on Spider Mites but doesn't work on Broads or Russets and @$50+ Nuke Em is an absolute joke that does nothing but burn the plants. Monterey or Captain Jack's are less than $20 and are effective against caterpillars, while $8 Garden Safe makes a pretty decent mold inhibitor.
I'd love to see you grow some monster outdoor dank.