Elevator in the Forest

[ChaosCatalunya]

Hi EM, an interesting read as always, Bracken is far too quick growing for my liking ! I have just dried and started smoking a SAGE cut I had out this Spring, nice tasty gear, but due to the lack of rain - let alone cold - to threaten her, I have no idea if it will work for you.

Here in Spain, we have the opposite, Spring rains that did not come and now there is dry yellow grass everywhere, slugs are non existant, but plants/areas that get watered will stick out like sore thumbs... a local 'copter pilot was overheard saying about all the weed plants last week ......"It is like the bloody garden of Eden down there, everybody is at it"

 

[Elevator Man]

The bracken is a help and a hindrance really - although it's constantly competing, it's also great cover, and is practically inpenetrable to others if you don't know where the deer-paths are.

Also the big flies that live in it can really put some folks off - I had a cloud of them follow me last year - like a cartoon! They don't bite or anything - just land all over your face (eyes, lips and ears!) and lap up the sweat - it can take some effort to ignore them, but I can now - but to the unprepared, it's another great distraction from what I'm doing!

It's really lovely weather again now, so hopefully when I go back next week there'll be some significant growth to report - and maybe another planting or two...

 

[shroomyshroom]

dam Elevator Man i just read your whole thread took a while... i to grow out side... but aim for quick finishing pure indicas like skunk#1 and afgani... why arnt you growing more these type strains... they give heavy yield and nugs are hard and dence none of that air leafy stuff... i get your into crossing and all that but your plants seemed to yield very minimal IMO... what size were your holes if you dont mind me asking.. ?

 

[esbe]

so happy and sunny summer sunshine here and around 17-20 censius. looking forward to the forest elevator bro!

 

[Elevator Man]

shroomyshroom - simply? I don't like indica highs...

Also one or two indica-dom strains I grew last year (Hashberry, Early Special) were suckers for mold - the buds were so dense that when they got wet they trapped the water for days, with the inevitable result. It's generally slightly drier where I am than many parts of the UK, but even so, I prefer waterproof strains (like Flo) - and the high of that is so perfect for me that I'll happily put up with a lower yield - I'm not doing this for money, after all.

Also, I need to test certain strains for outdoor viability, and it's a handy 'storage space' for plants I can no longer fit indoors - two more will have to go out this week for that very reason!

Esbe - watch out for the next wave - we had thunderstorms all day today, and there were many tornadoes the last few days! Also check out this freaky story about a bunch of cows getting simultaneously killed by lightning yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8100953.stm

 

[shroomyshroom]

shroomyshroom - simply? I don't like indica highs...

Also one or two indica-dom strains I grew last year (Hashberry, Early Special) were suckers for mold - the buds were so dense that when they got wet they trapped the water for days, with the inevitable result. It's generally slightly drier where I am than many parts of the UK, but even so, I prefer waterproof strains (like Flo) - and the high of that is so perfect for me that I'll happily put up with a lower yield - I'm not doing this for money, after all.

Also, I need to test certain strains for outdoor viability, and it's a handy 'storage space' for plants I can no longer fit indoors - two more will have to go out this week for that very reason!

Esbe - watch out for the next wave - we had thunderstorms all day today, and there were many tornadoes the last few days! Also check out this freaky story about a bunch of cows getting simultaneously killed by lightning yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8100953.stm

fair call i hate mould with a passion... best of luck with your current grow

 

[little j]

i had to sign in for the freaky cow lightning story. hilarious. i always read your stuff though elevator. keep doing it. good luck this season.
thanks, little j.

 

[McSnappler]

Mad story about the cows! We had some serious storm action yesterday too, brutal. I love a good storm, but even I was going back to primal instincts and ducking for some of the louder claps!

 

[Elevator Man]

I paid another visit yesterday to put more slug pellets down after much more rain, and to plant another one - a Blueberry #1, from the '98 line, as it was getting large and in the way!

Not surprisingly, the slugs had been at work, and I found two happily munching on leaves midway up a plant - so they experienced considerable acceleration for the first time, as they were despatched into the nearest hawthorn bush. That plant, the Blue Satellite #2 seems more tasty, as the big cabbagey #3 was almost untouched - more for the files!

So I put more pellets down everywhere - just to remind folks, these are organic pellets, 'safe for children and pets', so I'm assuming that means deer and rabbits too. Not found any evidence of ill-health amongst the deer population so far, but plenty of fresh hoof-prints around my spot and bits of fur snagged on bushes, so they're clearly 'there'. But they're not eating my plants, so I'll let them be.

As for the plants, they're not as large as I'd like, but I'm having to remind myself they have a lot more space to put roots down than in pots - and they're all healthy and putting out new growth, so I'm not complaining. Sunshine again next week...

Left to right: MoFlo1B_2 (purple liquorice pheno), Flo#4 (green BB pheno), MoFlo1B_1 (green HOG pheno). Flo#3 (Purple Thai pheno).

 

[Peksman]

Great, but somehow strange looking plants...Ilike it

 

[Elevator Man]

Back again...

Back again...

Just time for a quick update on the outdoor grow, as I've been a bit busy. I went out yesterday knowing I would be pulling up bracken, and, as expected, it had shot up. The last two weeks have been perfect for cannabis (and bracken!) - days of sunshine followed by a day of solid rain, followed by a day of wind, and then sunshine again.

So there was a lot to pull, and although the plants had obviously become slightly shaded, there was clear, healthy growth on all plants. Now thay have some space they'll move even faster, and it won't take much effort to keep the bracken far back enough now.

The MoFlos and Flos all seem happy, and MoFlo1B_2, the liquorice pheno, is really settled in at over two feet, and required the tip pinching-out urgently. In fact. most plants got their tallest tips pinched, but I won't be doing it much this time, as I'd like them to be taller than last year.

Strangely, the most sativa plants out there, the Oaxacan Gold and the Blueberry#2, seem least comfortable, and haven't grown as much as others. They may need a sandier soil, perhaps, as the conditions have been pretty favourable so far. Although they'll probably flower later, so maybe they put less effort into height and more into rooting? One pleasant side-effect of this grow is I finally get to see the Blueberry #2 with more than three-pointed leaves...

Anyway, here's most of the plants - the only one missing is a Blueberry #1 (indica pheno), which is still settling in after a late planting, but it looks healthy enough:

L to R: MoFlo 1B_2, MoFlo 1A_RH, Highland Oaxacan Gold, Flo #4, Flo #3



L to R: MoFlo 1B_1, Blue Satellite #2, Blue Satellite #3, Kentish Creme, Blueberry #2

 

[wdr]

positives vibes for you

great strains, great grower,great plants.

will be watching.

 

[smokeymacpot]

wheres the leb? lol

 

[Elevator Man]

Where do you think? In the bin, about a month ago. Out of 30 seeds germed, five split, one made it above soil, and it was a male. I tell you, I'm jinxed with that one...

 

[smokeymacpot]

hmm! no one else had "that" trouble lol
try the Tasgg3dp!! its lovely indoor.

 

[Elevator Man]

I know, it's weird, and it's not as though I normally have problems with germing seeds, or excessive males. And it's the one strain I really want to grow outdoors here - driving me crazy. Next year...

 

[smokeymacpot]

leb27 gave me lots of males too, seems normal for it. but those germ issues.. well i have thousands of seeds so i'll test how viable they are. i havent used any this year... decided to use a nice clone instead. so no early weed for me! leb finished mid sept last year for me, was abit weak like, but nice to have something early on.

 

[coxswain]

Just time for a quick update on the outdoor grow, as I've been a bit busy. I went out yesterday knowing I would be pulling up bracken, and, as expected, it had shot up.

Hi there Elevetor-man. Nice strain selection and care for plants. I sort of bumped into this thread while reading a thread on DJ SHort test grow section. (Btw: nice job with those cocoa and vaniluna strains.)

I was pulling bracken just to get to my plants and then I had to pull some more to free some of them. Weather conditions made it go up high. Pics before and after:

 

[Elevator Man]

Ha-ha - welcome to my world! And thanks for the comments...

It seems bracken's biggest defence is simply vigour, as I haven't seen much evidence yet of 'chemical attack' - I've been looking for some deficiencies or problems with my plants to indicate that, but they all seem fine, other than slow growth on one or two. It's a pity the Cocoa Kush wouldn't flower here - I assumed that would also be true for the Vanilluna, so didn't want to waste a plant that woudn't finish. My indoor one will be done in a week though - yum...

I'm still trying to get back out to my spot - over two weeks now, and there's been plenty of rain with some good sun, but not as much as before - been a bit crappy recently. Still, they won't need watering for weeks now, if at all, so that's one job saved. I should get out in the next two days, and will update with some new photos too. Good luck with yours.

 

[Elevator Man]

End of July

End of July

The rain finally stopped long enough, and I finally found the time to get out again today, to find the bracken, as expected, now up to head-height (and over, in places) - here's what I'm having to wade through:



I've found putting gloves on, and affecting a weird kind of breast-stroke whilst walking is the best way to deal with it - that way it doesn't break and leave a visible track behind me, but falls back into place. As only I know where the paths are, I can come and go more or less without trace.

The plants are mostly doing fine, and growing vigorously - one or two have issues of slow growth or slight chemical imbalance. The main problem, as last time, was removing enough bracken to get light to the plants, which were all in the 'leaf-up' position - now they all have a wide circle around them, and I don't think I'll need to remove much more. At the moment there's no deer acitvity at all - the bracken was totally undisturbed since the last visit with no visible tracks. All pics are described from left to right:

The tallest of the bunch is still the MoFlo 1B_2, which is at three feet now - still reluctant to branch, so I topped it again, and will leave it alone now. If it carries on like this it could be 6 feet by the end. Her close relative, the MoFlo 1A_RH is close behind but not quite as stretchy. Both have the classic 'DJS green' leaves and almost black, smooth stems:



The Oaxacan Gold is growing now, but still not as fast as I'd like - nearby the green BB Flo #4 is bushing out nicely, and showing much darker stems than the usual burgundy. Next up is the PT Flo #3, which has really put on a spurt since last time - still skinny, but getting better, and with some beautiful purple highlights:



The problem plant is the MoFlo 1B_1 - the 11-week sativa pheno. It's showing quite severe leaf discoloration, 'brassy' highlights and some cream spots on the leaves - presumably some kind of deficiency, but not sure what yet - I'm going to look it up shortly. But it's clearly not happy, as the leaves have the sort of 'wrinkly' appearance I've seen before when a plants' struggling - if anyone has any ideas what this might be, please chime in?



Next up are the two Blue Satellites, #2 and #3. The first one got very badly nibbled by slugs early on which put it back a little, but now it's really taking off. #3 has dropped the huge 'cabbage' leaves now and seems to look less indica. Then two pics of the Kentish Creme, with its very distinctive leaves, and finally the Blueberry #1, which is behind all the others by a few weeks, hence the smaller size. The Blueberry #2 is also not really growing much, and wasn't worth a pic today...



I applied a top-dressing of the organic veg granules and a liberal dusting of bat guano too, which instantly absorbed moisture from the soil, so won't blow off. The next good rain will wash all that in, and keep them nice and green as they build up to flowering.

I'm still debating the wisdom of topping one or two again, even though they're shooting up, but I won't touch them again now. I'm expecting the two purple MoFlos to flower first, but you never know - first time outdoors for half of these, so I really I have no idea at this stage...