B
B. Self Reliant
Well, I've been growing indoor hydro for some time now, & I find that it suits me well. I know myself well enough to know that I'm a numbers guy, not a touchy feely guy, so I like the way hydro is very absolute.
That having been said, i wanted to give the outdoor thing a try, and this year I actually did it. I'll give you all a rundown on what I've done so far, and hopefully I'll get some suggestions and help from some knowledgeable folks. . . maybe even some upper-midwest outdoor growers!
Here's some of the basic info pertaining to my grow:
I ordered seeds for a place that later turned out to be less than reputable. I won't even say which strain I tried to order, because I'm not convinced that I got what I ordered. Let's just leave it at I have since ordered from Seed Boutique, and I'll never order from anyone else but them in the future.
I germinated 3 seeds and all three sprouted. I grew them under a T5 fixture & window light in 1.5" rockwool cubes until they were transplanted into keg cups filled with generic potting soil. The little one in the back didn't make it, but the other two really took off! I've only grown from clones up until this point, so germinating seeds was a great learning experience. I can't wait to pop my AK-47 seeds along with my Mazar-I-Sharif freebies!
The above images are from right around June 1st. I wanted to put them out earlier, as my location was very secure and I tried for large plants, but my frost date prevented me from putting them out any sooner. They must have been about 5" tall or so. The chicken wire loops won't be used next year when I plant a larger garden. There's too much other lush vegetation for the large number of deer to worry about my plants. It's just extra work and it was difficult to pack in.
Each hole was 2'x2'x1.5' deep, and they were too big for my short growing season. I filled them with half native soil, which is quite good, and the other half was cow manure and sphagnum peat moss from Home Depot. It was topped with Osmocote. I'll go with 18"x18"x12" deep holes next year. I'm not sure what I'll do for soil amendments next year, but I liked knowing that the Osmocote was easy to carry in and it would act as a fail safe if my organic amendments were lacking something. I just don't know much about this soil stuff, so any helpful comments would be much appreciated. I know that I'll definitely dig my holes this fall, but I'm a little unclear as to whether I should fill them in the fall or wait until spring. . .
The above images are from around the middle of June, & it was the first time I hiked into them since the June 1st transplant. I watered them even though it had rained enough.
The above images were made on September 13th. Of the two plants that were put outside, one was a male, and I let it spread it's pollen so I could have seeds to cross with my cut of LA Confidential that I grow inside. Although the quality of this bud doesn't look to be anything special, the size, shape and heartiness of this strain seems to be great for my location. If the finish date is appropriate, I'll cross it this winter with the LAC.
This is the only plant remaining, and she's doing quite well. Nice branch structure and no mold despite lots of dew and heavy rainfalls throughout the summer. i've only been to the plot about 4 times, so I'm stoked. She was fed Fox Farms Cha-Ching twice in late August.
That's about it. I'll harvest by the first week in October due to my frost deadline, so I'll keep you all posted on how she turns out. i learned quite a bit from this grow, and i look forward to putting out a couple dozens plants next year.
Any help or advice is much appreciated!
-B.
That having been said, i wanted to give the outdoor thing a try, and this year I actually did it. I'll give you all a rundown on what I've done so far, and hopefully I'll get some suggestions and help from some knowledgeable folks. . . maybe even some upper-midwest outdoor growers!
Here's some of the basic info pertaining to my grow:
I ordered seeds for a place that later turned out to be less than reputable. I won't even say which strain I tried to order, because I'm not convinced that I got what I ordered. Let's just leave it at I have since ordered from Seed Boutique, and I'll never order from anyone else but them in the future.
I germinated 3 seeds and all three sprouted. I grew them under a T5 fixture & window light in 1.5" rockwool cubes until they were transplanted into keg cups filled with generic potting soil. The little one in the back didn't make it, but the other two really took off! I've only grown from clones up until this point, so germinating seeds was a great learning experience. I can't wait to pop my AK-47 seeds along with my Mazar-I-Sharif freebies!
The above images are from right around June 1st. I wanted to put them out earlier, as my location was very secure and I tried for large plants, but my frost date prevented me from putting them out any sooner. They must have been about 5" tall or so. The chicken wire loops won't be used next year when I plant a larger garden. There's too much other lush vegetation for the large number of deer to worry about my plants. It's just extra work and it was difficult to pack in.
Each hole was 2'x2'x1.5' deep, and they were too big for my short growing season. I filled them with half native soil, which is quite good, and the other half was cow manure and sphagnum peat moss from Home Depot. It was topped with Osmocote. I'll go with 18"x18"x12" deep holes next year. I'm not sure what I'll do for soil amendments next year, but I liked knowing that the Osmocote was easy to carry in and it would act as a fail safe if my organic amendments were lacking something. I just don't know much about this soil stuff, so any helpful comments would be much appreciated. I know that I'll definitely dig my holes this fall, but I'm a little unclear as to whether I should fill them in the fall or wait until spring. . .
The above images are from around the middle of June, & it was the first time I hiked into them since the June 1st transplant. I watered them even though it had rained enough.
The above images were made on September 13th. Of the two plants that were put outside, one was a male, and I let it spread it's pollen so I could have seeds to cross with my cut of LA Confidential that I grow inside. Although the quality of this bud doesn't look to be anything special, the size, shape and heartiness of this strain seems to be great for my location. If the finish date is appropriate, I'll cross it this winter with the LAC.
This is the only plant remaining, and she's doing quite well. Nice branch structure and no mold despite lots of dew and heavy rainfalls throughout the summer. i've only been to the plot about 4 times, so I'm stoked. She was fed Fox Farms Cha-Ching twice in late August.
That's about it. I'll harvest by the first week in October due to my frost deadline, so I'll keep you all posted on how she turns out. i learned quite a bit from this grow, and i look forward to putting out a couple dozens plants next year.
Any help or advice is much appreciated!
-B.
that's me tho
