Tips for Californian desert grow?

[michael68]

Hi all, this season will be my first year growing. I'll be growing outdoors in a somewhat high desert climate in California. About 3,000 feet elevation, last frost in April. Summer highs in the 90's on average. Not a single drop of rain or frost until November usually. Not quite a desert as there are some trees and vegetation like grasses, etc.

My plan is to go with bagseed and start in May. Get about 6 plants or so in solo cups for a few weeks then transfer to 5 gallon pots of potting soil in their final locations, maybe dig a hole and place the pots in it to keep the roots cool.

Any tips for this type of grow in my climate? I know grows are done in similar places and even in my area since I came across a grow before. And people grow corn and stuff here.

 

[greennuggets7]

Kind of a tough climate it looks like but there are some ups. At least you have an unlimited amount of sun pretty much, unless your able to visit your spot at least once evry couple days you probably wanna avoid pots and go straight into ground as pots dry out real quick and throw in some water retention materials as welll as polymer crystals. You gotta be more specific as in guerrilla backayrd and specifications if not peope are not gonna be able to help you but thats AFTER you do research on your own

 

[northstate]

Well your conditions sound like mine... Started in early-mid april inside and matched the photoperiod (roughly) for when they hit the outside in late may about a foot+ tall. Outdoors I picked spots that created micro cllimates like wind blocks from a bush or rock. Making sheltered places so its harder for wildlife to eat your work or fencing of some kind is smart. Maybe get a couple clones if you can that are proven to go out along with your bag seed. Espoma ferts are cheap and very effective to mix in to the dirt. Add compost or mulch your prospective sites asap for best results. D.S. tokerMD has some great info about guerilla grows and moisture holding in soil, he is really experienced. I would grow in-ground and amend with a big pitch fork or pick axe with some kelp meal, epsom salt, sulphur(brings ph down) plus espoma bio-tone or tomatoe tone. Harden them off and they should do well, top dress with earth worm castings and compost whenever you can and maybe some high p guano for flowering? Good luck and have fun.

p.s. read in the Tom Hill seed forum "growing large plants outdoors" thread is of epic proportions if you are not familiar...NS

 

[Mountain]

I'm currently at about 4,000' in NorCal and technically high desert. My last frost is later. For one just put the plants in the holes without the pots. Why would you want to restrict the plants growth by the pots like that??? You can start earlier outdoors by putting them in a simple cold frame to get a head start. Since from seed they won't be mature sexually for awhile and therefore go into flower until later unlike a clone. High 90's are no big deal at all and don't worry. When you get up to about 115 then you've got serious problems.

Water will be your only issue.

 

[michael68]

Well your conditions sound like mine... Started in early-mid april inside and matched the photoperiod (roughly) for when they hit the outside in late may about a foot+ tall. Outdoors I picked spots that created micro cllimates like wind blocks from a bush or rock. Making sheltered places so its harder for wildlife to eat your work or fencing of some kind is smart. Maybe get a couple clones if you can that are proven to go out along with your bag seed. Espoma ferts are cheap and very effective to mix in to the dirt. Add compost or mulch your prospective sites asap for best results. D.S. tokerMD has some great info about guerilla grows and moisture holding in soil, he is really experienced. I would grow in-ground and amend with a big pitch fork or pick axe with some kelp meal, epsom salt, sulphur(brings ph down) plus espoma bio-tone or tomatoe tone. Harden them off and they should do well, top dress with earth worm castings and compost whenever you can and maybe some high p guano for flowering? Good luck and have fun.

p.s. read in the Tom Hill seed forum "growing large plants outdoors" thread is of epic proportions if you are not familiar...NS

I'll bookmark this info and check out those threads.

Thanks everyone.

I thought growing in pots would be a good idea since the dry surrounding ground can't wick away moisture? Maybe I had the wrong idea. I'll amend the ground and create bowls around the holes for watering if that's a better idea.

The grow will be about a 1/4 mile from my house. I'll start the seeds indoors and keep them close for the first weeks though.

 

[Mountain]

I'll bookmark this info and check out those threads.

Thanks everyone.

I thought growing in pots would be a good idea since the dry surrounding ground can't wick away moisture? Maybe I had the wrong idea. I'll amend the ground and create bowls around the holes for watering if that's a better idea.

The grow will be about a 1/4 mile from my house. I'll start the seeds indoors and keep them close for the first weeks though.

Honestly for a first time grower that thread in Tom Hill's forum will be Greek to you. Keep it simple. If you try and go from seed in spring and try and finish in 5 gallon pots you're in for trouble. Your plants will be rootbound before they go into flower, you'll have trouble finishing them and at the least your yields will suck. The polymer crystals will help with water retention and a heavy layer of mulch on top will also really help reduce water loss.

It really comes down to how much water you can get to your grow daily/weekly while maintaining security and how much is that?

As for the 5 gallon pots you'd be better off going from Solo cups to 1 gallon then 3 gallon then 5 gallon. You'll create a much better root structure than going from Solo cups right into 5 gallon pots. Determine sex of your plants while in the 5 gallon pots, or before, then plant your females so your not putting time and energy into dealing with males. With bagseed you're gonna need to watch for hermies during flowering as bagseed is most likely created from hermie plants.

 

[HighDesertJoe]

When I grow I like outdoors in the desert. I prep the soil with Kellogg's Amend then Osmocote and Super Phosphate it's real important that they are put right in the root zone. Then it's all about the LST and Super-cropping the crap out of them, I give them a weak feeding of soluble fertilizer every 3-4 waterings. I water DEEP. I end up with plants that I nick name the VW's they kinda of look like a VW Bug, I average about three and a half pounds of manicured buds a plant. I only grow Klunker Buds... What's a Klunker Bud you ask.. The sound a Big Fat Bud makes when it lands on a Triple Beam Scale...

Getting water to your site is really going to be a problem, if possible I'd start seeds right in the ground.
I water like the roots are as big as the plants kinda like they mirror them self.

 

[michael68]

Honestly for a first time grower that thread in Tom Hill's forum will be Greek to you. Keep it simple. If you try and go from seed in spring and try and finish in 5 gallon pots you're in for trouble. Your plants will be rootbound before they go into flower, you'll have trouble finishing them and at the least your yields will suck. The polymer crystals will help with water retention and a heavy layer of mulch on top will also really help reduce water loss.

It really comes down to how much water you can get to your grow daily/weekly while maintaining security and how much is that?

As for the 5 gallon pots you'd be better off going from Solo cups to 1 gallon then 3 gallon then 5 gallon. You'll create a much better root structure than going from Solo cups right into 5 gallon pots. Determine sex of your plants while in the 5 gallon pots, or before, then plant your females so your not putting time and energy into dealing with males. With bagseed you're gonna need to watch for hermies during flowering as bagseed is most likely created from hermie plants.

Was just reading a bit in the Tom Hill thread, might use something similar to his soil recipe.

I'm convinced on going in the ground though.

Can I buy polymer crystals at Lowes for example and are they safe to use? Just mix em into the soil?

I'll be able to attend my plants once a day at the max, although in June I'll be going away for a week so maybe I can just water them really well before I leave and drip a soda bottle with water or something. And I have to haul water in.

I wanna do as less transplanting as possible. I'll have about 6 plants or so, hoping for a few females. So it's no big deal if I waste a hole or two.

 

[michael68]

When I grow I like outdoors in the desert. I prep the soil with Kellogg's Amend then Osmocote and Super Phosphate it's real important that they are put right in the root zone. Then it's all about the LST and Super-cropping the crap out of them, I give them a weak feeding of soluble fertilizer every 3-4 waterings. I water DEEP. I end up with plants that I nick name the VW's they kinda of look like a VW Bug, I average about three and a half pounds of manicured buds a plant. I only grow Klunker Buds... What's a Klunker Bud you ask.. The sound a Big Fat Bud makes when it lands on a Triple Beam Scale...

Damn, those are some big plants.

What is your watering method and how often?

 

[HighDesertJoe]

I just make really big wells around the plants let it drip good and slow. With the newer soil amendments my ways a little out dated, it's work before with a little research I know I can improve these results.

 

[feenom]

your root system will cook inside containers with high heat. put em in the ground and let the earth insulate the roots. don't make the soil too drainy, add polymer crystals and/or vermiculite to hold water if you are not able to water them often. if you can check on the soil moisture content every 2-3 days and have access to penty of water to soak then you need not fret about anything. you also may want to consider using some shade cloth 30-50% for the super hot days (high 90's +).

 

[kannubis]

start alot more than you need for sure

you'll end up with some that are crispy critter bait

 

[HighDesertJoe]

your root system will cook inside containers with high heat. put em in the ground and let the earth insulate the roots. don't make the soil too drainy, add polymer crystals and/or vermiculite to hold water if you are not able to water them often. if you can check on the soil moisture content every 2-3 days and have access to penty of water to soak then you need not fret about anything. you also may want to consider using some shade cloth 30-50% for the super hot days (high 90's +).

What he said.

 

[Mountain]

your root system will cook inside containers with high heat. put em in the ground and let the earth insulate the roots. don't make the soil too drainy, add polymer crystals and/or vermiculite to hold water if you are not able to water them often. if you can check on the soil moisture content every 2-3 days and have access to penty of water to soak then you need not fret about anything. you also may want to consider using some shade cloth 30-50% for the super hot days (high 90's +).

I don't see the need for shade cloth when you're in the 90's. One of the major problems with container growing outdoors in the summer is when the sun hits black plastic pots. That's real trouble. A friend had 2 identical plants (clones) outdoors and one in a black plastic pot and the other in a light brown clay pot, both same size, and the one in plastic had serious issues while the clay container plant was fine. Another thing with clay, besides the lighter color, is it breathes so a bit of an evaporative cooling effect. After that started wrapping plastic pots in panda film white side out and even in high heat no issues. I mean stick your hand on the side of a black plastic pot that's in the sun...yikes!

With Smart Pots, not available at that time, even though they're black they breathe and evaporative cooling effect and have seen many large plants growing just fine in very high heat with the sun hitting them.

 

[HighDesertJoe]

Cannabis growing in the full sun in the desert can have problems that from my experience I remedied with a little shade.

 

[kannubis]

I have used burlap from home depot for making a shade canopy that is effective in keeping the leaves from getting cooked on sensitive plants when its over 95° on my back porch.

 

[feenom]

I don't see the need for shade cloth when you're in the 90's.

With Smart Pots, not available at that time, even though they're black they breathe and evaporative cooling effect and have seen many large plants growing just fine in very high heat with the sun hitting them.

Mountain,
What I had recommended was shade cloth for the extremes starting in the high 90's +. By no means is this absolutely necessary, but can only help the plant to thrive in the extremely high temps.

Being here in the northern part of the state I have seen many days 100+, did the plants take it ? of course it's a hardy plant! However, I don't think any expert will tell you that they thrive in these high temps, they just take it. It sounds to me, based on the frost dates/precipitation levels that michael is in the high desert in the southern part of the state. If that's the case he could be 10 degrees warmer on average (weather.com avg temps susanville, ca - 4,000 ft eleveation vs victorville, ca 3,000 ft elevation). At the very least I would give young ladies some shade if hot weather came early on in their life.

Does anyone know if smart pots keep the soil cooler than the earth? I didn't take the time to get the temps in my 200 gal smarties vs my earth beds this last year, but it seems to me that the earth is a damn good insulator. No doubt the smarties are night and day compared to non-permeable pots, but I just can't be convinced that they keep the root mass cooler than the earth would. Please note that you would need more frequent waterings with a smart pot vs the same volume hole.

 

[michael68]

Shade cloth for the real hot days seems like a good idea but I don't know if it's plausible for my guerrilla grow.

I could try and plant near what few trees/junipers there are for filtered shade.

 

[feenom]

i assumed it was a legal grow since it's in Cali....don't worry about the shade if you are trying to conceal them in addition to shade them. you will lose lumens planting amongst trees.

 

[cannascholar]

I'd say the ground would keep em cooler. Smart pots are black which doesn't help with heat.