Well the biggest problem is the light cycle, Ive heard that april/june is a good time to start, and the aim is to gather at the end of september- much later than the beggining of october and there could be frost

However very soon lowlife seeds are releasing autoflower outdoor plants, so light timing becomes a non issue.

a good way to deter pests is a grease strip around the base of the plant (once a reasonable size) and neem oil sprayed liberally