John Evans- how does he grow those giant veggie's?

[river rat01]

have you heard of this guy? geez, can you imagine a pot plant grown by this guy!
http://www.bountea.com/bountea_compost_tea_about_john_evans.html

he claims that his secret is compost tea, well ive used compost tea and I dont get those results.

is it the 20 hours of sun that his garden recieves every day?
well, i'm at the 32 parralell-however the fuck you spell that- old pink we need spell check on here, after all, we're just a bunch of stoner's, anyway, i get something like 15 hours of sun in the summer, and i dont get those results.
i seriously doubt that an extra 5 hours of sun will grow a 35lb zucchini.

is it the alaska humisoil that he says contains dozens of elements benificial for plant growth?
well ive used azomite which has 60 elements in it and i didnt get those results.

so the only other thing that i can think of is that he must be using seeds from giant plants.
i'm sure you've all seen the giant 400lb pumpkin seeds at home de pot- i tried to grow some this spring but they died, fuck if i know why.

i dont know, if anyone has any idea's as to how he's doing this, please share!

 

[etinarcadiaego]

Lol. I don't know about his secret but I do know that misspelled words are underlined in red as you type them (slang terms as well). Anyways, right click on the words underlined in red and it'll offer you alternatives that are close to the word you typed . . . .

Still this guy sounds pretty cool. He probably knows magic, and that's why he can do this stuff. Such bullshit, I can't believe I never learned magic . . .

 

[maryjohn]

I've never been impressed by a guy walking around with a big zucchini. Summer squash of any kind is hardly edible at that size.

It's not the size that counts, it's the nose and palate. Visually, I guess color, but usually things change when cooked anyway.

 

[HortProOrganics]

In my trade, I am very familiar with him. Sustainable agriculture being one of my fields, it's very true that creating a bio-diverse and complex soil structure can create huge yields. From cover crops to maintaining the microscopic workers happy for the soil structure, to inviting beneficial insect populations to site preparation and design, you can achieve a great deal, while improving the environment around you...so, it is possible, and yes, if one could gargantuan the Cannabis plant, it would be phenomenal!

 

[robbiedublu]

I don't know who the guy is and didn't look at the link but I know a bit about growing veggies. 15 vs 20 hrs of daylight = a 30% increase. Thats a lot. I'm sure the guy does use all kinds of good stuff to make his plants grow large. I'm positive that the most important thing he does though is choose varieties that are specifically bred for growing large specimens. Do some reading about record size pumpkins. It's all about the strain. Flavor, texture and all the other things that matter if you're actually eating your produce don't matter when you're growing for record size. I'm sure you could breed some gigantic cannabis plants if you disregard all other factors and just breed for size. What's the point though? That said, there are some threads with pics of some huge yielding outdoor plants. Do a search and you'll find them. Well over 10lbs if I remember correctly.

 

[vonforne]

have you heard of this guy? geez, can you imagine a pot plant grown by this guy!
http://www.bountea.com/bountea_compost_tea_about_john_evans.html

he claims that his secret is compost tea, well ive used compost tea and I dont get those results.

is it the 20 hours of sun that his garden recieves every day?
well, i'm at the 32 parralell-however the fuck you spell that- old pink we need spell check on here, after all, we're just a bunch of stoner's, anyway, i get something like 15 hours of sun in the summer, and i dont get those results.
i seriously doubt that an extra 5 hours of sun will grow a 35lb zucchini.

is it the alaska humisoil that he says contains dozens of elements benificial for plant growth?
well ive used azomite which has 60 elements in it and i didnt get those results.

so the only other thing that i can think of is that he must be using seeds from giant plants.
i'm sure you've all seen the giant 400lb pumpkin seeds at home de pot- i tried to grow some this spring but they died, fuck if i know why.

i dont know, if anyone has any idea's as to how he's doing this, please share!

Compost Teas. Period. And of course genetics plays a role also.

Check out http://www.microbeorganics.com/, The Soil Food Web Inc. and the Book Teaming with Microbes.

Most of us use this in our grows.

Microbeman is a poster here.

V

 

[VerdantGreen]

all curcubits are gross feeders and drinkers. they need warmth and loose friable soil.
if you want huge pumpkins grow them in loads of manure/compost - even on a compost heap and install a seep hose under them that auto waters them once or twice a day.

some varieties can gro big and still taste great - try crown prince - beautiful blue grey fruit that keep till spring and taste amazing.

V.

 

[vonforne]

all curcubits are gross feeders and drinkers. they need warmth and loose friable soil.
if you want huge pumpkins grow them in loads of manure/compost - even on a compost heap and install a seep hose under them that auto waters them once or twice a day.

some varieties can gro big and still taste great - try crown prince - beautiful blue grey fruit that keep till spring and taste amazing.

V.

Vegetable expert. Have to talk to you more about that.

V

 

[geopolitical]

I use compost teas & composts in my mixes and get some really crazy results from them.

 

[Strainbrain]

... which one of you is the real 'V?'


-s

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

all curcubits are gross feeders and drinkers. they need warmth and loose friable soil.
if you want huge pumpkins grow them in loads of manure/compost - even on a compost heap and install a seep hose under them that auto waters them once or twice a day.

some varieties can gro big and still taste great - try crown prince - beautiful blue grey fruit that keep till spring and taste amazing.

V.

Si Senor, but, from what I have seen with my own NFT experiments, constant watering clearly beats intermittent. Someone on here posted up a really great idea a while ago, mixing soil and hydro... I think they run a plant into 2 pots, one soil and the other some DWC job.... I want to stick an open bucket under the ground and keep that topped up with bubbled water so the plant has it's normal existence in soil, but can get all the water it needs all the time, via the bucket. In my optimistic mind, that has to be better than just soil, no matter how good the soil is.

I remember a story about "how NFT was invented"... allegedly somebody walking round a farm, spotted plants by the edge of the field growing like crazy, their roots had spread into the stream at the fields edge, so the plant was being soil grown, but with NFT action on part of the root system, giving really exceptional growth.

I have also been thinking about the bottom of my Coco pots, normally the roots exit and air prune back to the drainage hole, but a couple seemed to do really well where I stuck the pot into another pot, with a bit of plastic sheet between the two, with a couple of pinprick holes to allow slow drainage. Like this, the roots that exited the bottom of the pot carried on, looking lovely, fresh and white and sat happily in the humid space between the 2 pots. Being a bit clever, you could sit this onto a DWC pot. Which will do better between 2 identical cuttings, both in 10L Coco pots, but one like this, sat on top of a DWC pot that gives the roots a bit extra ?

 

[VerdantGreen]

CC - i have used the double pot method for when my plants are in pots that are too small. the runoff is captured in the second pot and the roots grow through to drink it. worked quite well.

in general though i think weed plants prefer to dry out inbetween waterings rather than be at a constant level of dampness all the time.

which one of you is the real 'V?'

i guess that would be Von because he was here before me...

VG

 

[Che]

Giant cannabis plants are more than possible, you just need the right genetics, conditions, and an extended veg period, as well as the constant water source.

Back Country has had excellent results combining wick/reservoir technology with outdoor soil plants, have a look at his Earth Holes thread located here.

I think that with a good veg period (why not grow them over winter indoors?) and a well implemented irrigation system, you could surpass the 5lb per plant mark.. and strain dependent you might even flirt with 10!

 

[coxswain]

Check out Tom Hill's subforum.

 

[maryjohn]

Hey verdant, how about some varieties that don't get too big? Squash in particular? To be specific, hubbards that make small fruit? The second half always goes bad.

 

[VerdantGreen]

hi mj, butternut squash is hard to beat for small size, but there is one called Uchiki Kuri which has fruits of a couple of pounds and one called Bonbon with slightly bigger fruits both of which look and taste good. the crown prince isnt that big - fruits of 6-8 lb and flavor wise i think is the best of the lot. i make huge vats of squash and sweetcorn soup and freeze them, and i'm not a great one for adopting US traditions but pumpkin pie is lovely at xmas

V.

 

[jaykush]

he isn't the only one growing giant veggies. hes just the one known for it. genetics + environment play a big role imo.

the picture with the chainsaw and lettuce is pretty funny.

 

[habeeb]

I see he's in Alaska , maybe that has something to do with it ? I'm no soil biologist / ecologist, so I have no comment other then he's in Alaska.

 

[Microbeman]

I remember as a kid seeing photos of giant vegetables grown in Alaska. A lot has to do with the hours of sunlight. I'm sure that Mr. Evan's use of compost tea plus the fact he is planting in pretty much straight Alaska humus which contains lots of peat and is really ancient compost, has a lot to do with the health of his garden. I am an advocate of compost tea but do not view it as a miracle ingredient. A balanced nature garden will produce great results if given the time it takes to become alive. Many make the mistake of expecting immediate results in soil that has not had a chance to become structured with the appropriate microbial heirarchy. Even Rome was not built in a day.

 

[maryjohn]

Uchiki kuri - does that have an edible skin?

It's why I like kabocha so much. Slice it up, with a beveled edge, and simmer in stock.

The others you have to roast or boil first.