UK Outdoor 2008 Guerilla Style

[Guest]

Hi folks

I'm an indoor grower, although for the first 10 of my 14 yars growing I only grew outdoors. I tried outdoor guerilla grows in 2005 and 2006 and both years it was a disaster, 2005 rippers, 2006 rippers, 2007 didn't bother.

I've spent the last couple of years searching for more out of the way places to grow a few plants and have found several likely spots. Over the next month I will chose three sites, always better than one in case it is discovered.

I'm at 53N so strains need to be both hardy and early. My prospective line-up of seeds for 2008 is as follows, all comments and suggestions much appreciated!

1. Purple Skunk x Mighty Mite F2s

I made these myself last year, I had both a male and female from the F1s that autoflowered at the 7th node (30 days exactly) and produced single colas bud sticks of decent quality indoors, I expect they will be better quality outdoors. I will start these in late March, veg them for 15-20 days under fluoros then plant them outdoors, hopefully they will be ready for harvest by the end of July.

2. Nigerian Nightmare - Reeferman Seeds

These are supposed to begin flowerign if given less than 20 hours light per day, so the plan is to start them indoors next week and veg them till early April then plant them outdoors and hopefully they will flower soon after going outdoors for an early harvest.

3. Egyptian Landrace

These didn't perform too well indoors but they are an authentic hash cultivar from Egypt so I reckon like esbe's Leb27 Lebanese and Femaleseed's Maroc these will work much better outdoors. I am growing these to make my own dry sift hash from.

4. Maroc - Female Seeds

Lots of folks have posted inspiring outdoors grows of these so I figured they were well worth a try.

5. Colombian Gold x Lowryder BX1 (CG x [CG x LR])

I made these a couple of years ago and haven't grown them myself, but three friends who have have superb results, basically a Colombian Gold that will finish early enough for northern Europe and will yield pretty well. I'm keen to see for myself.

I might add some more to that list, but for now, those are the definites.

I also plant to plant out some clones of these strains:

Kentish Cream Jamaican - one of the best strains I've seen or smoked, works great outdoors in the UK.

Cheese x Yumbolt - really nice strain, also works outdoors here.

Flo - the outdoor Flo from this cut Elevator Man grew in 2007 was fantastic, hopefully mine will also be!

Grapefruitbowl - a cut I've kept for 3 yars, superb fruity sativa dom that finishes in 60 days with large yield

Purple Afghan x Cheese - the mother is only a few weeks into flowering so not sure what this is like yet but is looking good

Purple Afghan - huge yield and intensely purple, sativa high

Hash Plant - from 7 year old seeds, only one germed and it's female, I took a lot of clones.

The Smelly One - a mystery strain, thought to be an old NL, very high quality

Cheese - cos it's wonderful grown outdoors and I love Cheese!

Sweet Afghan Delicious - this is an S1 of a superb Black Domina pheno, I had three, one was exceptional in veg so I cloned the hell out of it, not flowered one yet but should be really good.

The plan after picking the spots is to dig loads of one foot deep, one foot diameter holes and fill them with quality soilmix with plenty of ammendments - worm castings and slow release fertiliser, no blood fish and bone in case animals are attracted. Then in early April, I'll plant one plant per hole. I figure on between 10 and 15 plants per spot so between 30 and 45 plants total, I figure that's about the maximum hole digging and soil lugging I can manage without help. I'm not expecting big plants or big yields, hopefully by digging holes I can get at least half an oz per plant, my aim is at least a pound total and if I get half an oz per plant I should achive that.

What do folks think about lining the holes with plastic before filling with compost?

I'm also considering using hessian sacks instead of digging holes, I figure a sack with 10-15 litres of soil mix will work just as well as a hole fuilled with 15 litres of soil mix and be a lot less work. I've seen one or two grow using burlap sacks, anyone got any experience with this method? Anyone got any tips on where to buy suitable sacks in the UK?

 

[Ulysses]

Grow that Flo for sure. I'd put that baby in a thorn bush as it's too colorful and will standout like a glowing goddess among the weeds... Topped with a loonng veg- like I'm trying with my BBs ...

You have a ripper problem clearly. Consider someone may be on to the fact that you are a grower and they visit you "area" often...

I would not line the holes with plastic. You want the drainage in case of a big downpour. Also, the root system may blast off into the natural soil in the hole- and reward you with yield... Never tried the burlap thing.

Other than that, you have it nailed down. Interesting strains there. I'd narrow the choices because 30-45 holes seems like alot to me. So many strains, so few holes???

 

[Guest]

I grew BB outdoors here a few years back, was superb, so I'm looking forward to trying the Flo.

The ripper thing was sheer bad luck both times. 2005 a load of kids stumbled across it and just tore up the plants and tossed them a few feet away. 2006, the plot was in an area that was cleared to bare dirt to build some new houses, just dumb bad luck, the plants were only there a month when the diggers moved in. This year I'm heading into the deep woods, much safer but a lot more work.

Well, I love variety which is why so many strains, also I like to hedge my bets as some may not perform outdoors here. I have someone to help me carry soil and dig holes, basically I'm gonna do an adequate sized outdoor grow multiplied by three, again hedging my bets so that if one plt gets discovered, the other two are there as backup.

10-15 holes per plot, take 3 days I reckon, one visit to each plot to clear undergrowth, dig holes, backfill with soil mix etc. Then come back a couple of weeks later to plant clones and seedlings into the new holes.

There are many small muntjac and roe deer in these woods so I'm thinking I'll have to buy a roll of chicken wire and make a circular fence for each plant. Spray em matt black and they are almost invisible so I've read.

I'm not looking forward to digging a load of holes though, and that means spening a fair bit of time at the spot, more risk. I'm gonna see if Ican find some sacks as that idea appeals to me a lot, the plants will root through the bag into the ground fine.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Spread the risk [of getting f all] by growing a few plants that will flower in anything, Easy Sativa and Early Pearl are my 2 "bankers" as September rains here [N.Spain] can ruin nice chunky indoor plants.

Mixing varieties is great, uniform crops stick out.

I would not bother with Maroc, Egyptian or Nigerian, personally I would look further south for climates closer to the UK's.... South Africa...... Swazi, Powerplant, Durban, Namibian [Tiki Bambata]...... those fluffy Sativa buds tend to laugh off rain.

Outdoor grows are a great way to grow out interesting crosses to their full potential.

Have fun !

 

[Guest]

Thaks for the tips Chaos, mould is a huge problem here so I definitely want to plant some verieties that will finish in August as September can be immensely wet here.

I've grown Durban x Skunk with success here and Powerplant, they take till October but in a good year can be very good producers. I still have some Durban x Skunk left and some Swazi x Blueberry I made. Most of my own crosses I've made are very staiva leaning however so no use outdoors here.

 

[Sammet]

I'd be concerned about lining the hole with plastic and the weather patterns we've had in recent times. I'd grow outside myself but I'm worried about flooding

 

[Guest]

Yeah, flooding was a big problem last year. I'm up in the mountains and my grow spots are at 800 feet elevation or more so no worries about floods.

 

[wotamess]

hey bh...

your strains sound great! (as per... )

i know folks are loyal to certain sites, but this thread: http://www.planetganja.com/highsociety/showthread.php?t=65978, now on it's 4th or 5th year is by and large the most comprehensive uk outdoor one i've come across. the people are extra cool, and we are constantly aiming at modifying strains for uk outdoor potential...

-wam-

 

[smokeymacpot]

dont line the holes with plastic. but do add water retaining crystals.

 

[Elevator Man]

Nice one BH - I'm looking forward to helping out on this one, in more than a typing sense too hopefully!

I won't bore this thread with my lists for '08 as I'll set up my own thread soon, but there's a great selection there. If I can get some decent Leb 27s cuts out by April, I'll make sure one or two of those 'escape'...

As for lining the holes with plastic - I've got issues with bracken in my spot - or the lack of real soil to be more accurate - just aeons of dead bracken. So I'll be doing the same thing - digging out and backfilling with good soil. I'm wondering whether just lining the sides might do it? Or a big growbag with the bottom cut out, so it can drain, but will still block invasive roots to some degree. That's my priority - letting MY root ball develop as quickly as possible before brambles and bracken begin to shoot.

I've got deer at my spot as you know, but I had no problems with them eating the plants last year, more just the clumsy fools sitting on them or walking into them! I had far more problems with slugs. But they were sorted by just laying heavy grit sand (not salt!) around the plants. Also I'm a little concerned that I might injure the deer with wire cages, especially if they're camouflaged. That would bring all kinds of unwanted attention, as it's hardly 'wilderness' where I am.

 

[Guest]

i would dearly love some help EM, I've enlisted some extra labour in the form of a very willing and trustworthy close friend. I have revised my plan and I am going to do some hole digging, and I will probably line the sides with plastic - I was always referring to just the sides when I said 'line with plastic' it's to stop roots of other plants getting into the good soilmix in the hole and stealing precious nutes and moisture.

The other half, I am going to use hessian sandbags filled with soilmix. I plant to put about 10 litres in each bag and pre-prepare the bags then I can just go place them in the appropriate spots then return to place the clones/seedlings in them.

I already know some of the genes you have lined up and I am very interested to see how they perform, but I'll wait till your thread is up before passing comment!

I'm gonna see if I can buy a bulk deal of sandbags somewhere cheap as so far on the net all I can see is 10 for 15 quid. Wilkos have a great deal at the moment on some Forest Plus soil with added ferts, two 50 litre sacks for 6 quid, so I'm gonna pick up 4 of those. If I give each plant 10 litres of soil thats only enough for 20 plants, and I am thinking 20 is enough, certainly 20 x 10 litre sandbags is enough to be lugging into the wilderness.

We shall have to have a good chinwag shortly about our outdoor plans as I'm sure there are many ways we can help each other out. I can show you the area I am going to use, there are severalreally good spots so maybe with some extra help I can utilise a few of them to ensure at least some plants make it to harvest.

I have had plants stripped by slugs, big problem for me, i've used the blue slug pellets with great success, they last about a month or even 6 weeks before the rain washes them away and they need replacing. I place them in a circle round th base of the stem and end up with dozens of slug 'corpses' on the ring, really shows you how many of them would have got to the plant without the barrier. I've tried copper rings and they don't work that well.

Lots of rabbits and deer in my area, I think little fences may be essential. I think I;ll only fence some of the plants and see what happens. However, I think Iit might be better to use other more natural techniques such as sprinkling human urine around the place and scattering dog hair around, I'm sure I can find a local dog hairdresser that will give me sacks of the stuff. I've also heard that scented soap grated and sprinkled can deter mammals.

Let's pray for a good summer this year, last couple of years have been washouts pretty much.

 

[Guest]

Hi BH, I just spotted your ripper problem. There is no such thing as a trusted friend in this endeavor. Ive been growing for years and years and my wife of 20 years cant tell you where my plants are. No One. No One.

Im curious as to why you wouldn't modify your soil as opposed to packing it in. I grow in a couple of spots that are quite infertile but with a cup or two of lime, a little soil conditioner such as peat/compost and some fertilizer. I do that in the fall/winter so im ready come spring. What do you think?

 

[Guest]

Normally I would agree with you, but these are two guys I CAN trust and I'm gonna need their help with the heavy lifting.

As soon as the weather improves I'm going to go visit the site and examine the soil more closely, dig some little test holes and see just what it's like. I think it's pretty thin and rocky, but until I check it out I won't know if ammending the soil is an option.

 

[Guest]

Here's some pics of some of the sites I need to go and check out and see if they are suitable. They are all forest clearings on south facing slopes. I really love Goggle Earth, apart from just being generally fascinating, it;s so damn useful for checking out an area. Although I have lived here all my life (bar 9 years away in the city) and know the area like the back of my hand, finding forest clearings is a lot of walking unless you can check it out first with Goggle Earth.

 

[Ulysses]

Ummm. Those photos look like the tiles in my shower...hehehe

About what size do you veg your plants to before they go outside?

 

[la resistance]

very bad idea to post those pictures...

 

[Guest]

Well I cropped them so there's no identifying features, good luck working out where they are. They are all at different scales and represent tiny bits of a huge wooded area.

 

[smokeymacpot]

because you want to plant in an openish area, your going to have dog walkers passing through there. which is the same problems that i have... too many damn dog walkers
i think site #2 looks better as its not such an open clearing.

 

[Guest]

Actually, dog walkers won't be a problem, if you could see a wider view of the terrain you would be able to see why, there are many beaches and lovely places to walk a dog, the spots are all in inaccessible places nowhere near any roads and well off the beaten path. With so many good well used paths for the dog walkers, its pretty unlikely any will be wandering in the middle of nowhere in the forest.

I need to go check out the spots and see how much vegetation there is, see how easy it will be to conceal plants. I reckon there won't be a problem with hiding them though.

 

[smokeymacpot]

aye if you plant closer to nettles or bushes then theres less chance of being found. in the middle of nettles is even better.. no1 likes getting stung