Sleepy Hollow Canyon-2011

[CanniDo Cowboy]

another 530 brother. Thats interesting hamstring most the medical grows I see are not in the back yard. I am just jealous of your Dozer. would make our 400 gallon pots we need to fill much easier.

Hey Way... Yea, it does come in handy for mixing and filling but unfortunately, I cant use the tractor for the chore Id like to use it most for and that's digging them damn holes! Even an excavator/backhoe would be dicey. The incline is too steep and the last thing I need to start the season with is the retrieval of an upside down tractor at the bottom of the Hollow! LOL

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Are you planting in the bottom of the ravine and if so are you pulling them before it runs in the fall? Also fish ferts and bone meal might attract bears. I live just north of you in the 541 and am taking a couple years off growing, but this interests me because it looks like my property .The biggest problem for me growing anything outdoor was the deer .

Hey East...Well, my property isnt the "rolling hills of West Virginia" but it is rolling. The creek doesnt begin running till the rains come (obviously) and isnt much in Nov. A couple feet across and more like a babblin brook. If the plants are still there at that time (Nov), something is going terribly wrong...LOL

I dont get into the fish ferts or the bone meal. I do use a bit of horse-dukey now n then which is native to my property lol. The critters, including deer stay away because I have free-roaming dogs (big dawgs). We'll have to see what Mr Bear has in mind, hopefully I can sign him on as a patient or pay him protection money in the form of salmon from the fall run...lol

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

nice piece of land u got there. the rubber buck shot will only piss the bear off lol

Thanks pard...Yea, I would think the same...Perhaps a Yogi-type pica-nica basket would be better advised...lol

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Cool looking piece of land to be working, I'm jealous!

Much thanks Clunk!

 

[krunchbubble]

pretty cool setup you have there, wish i had something like that on my property!

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

pretty cool setup you have there, wish i had something like that on my property!

Thanks man!

 

[hamstring]

CDC

Very nice explanation I think you are correct that the ravine would act as a natural channel for air currents never looked at that way.
Also good to hear no worries of plants getting washed away during seasonal rains. I have to be honest the first thing that came to my mind, "This guys in for a big surprise when a big rain hits". I have seen those small ravines turn into creeks with rushing water 3-4ft deep. If I had studied your pic a little better I would have seen that this ravine does not see that type of water flow otherwise there would be evidence of it with washed out banks and a gathering of old trees and other debris.
Very nice choice looks like you put some effort into the choice of the area as well as the actual maintenance of the spot.

Well done cant wait to see some pics in the fall.

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

CDC

Very nice explanation I think you are correct that the ravine would act as a natural channel for air currents never looked at that way.
Also good to hear no worries of plants getting washed away during seasonal rains. I have to be honest the first thing that came to my mind, "This guys in for a big surprise when a big rain hits". I have seen those small ravines turn into creeks with rushing water 3-4ft deep. If I had studied your pic a little better I would have seen that this ravine does not see that type of water flow otherwise there would be evidence of it with washed out banks and a gathering of old trees and other debris.
Very nice choice looks like you put some effort into the choice of the area as well as the actual maintenance of the spot.

Well done cant wait to see some pics in the fall.

Ham, no serious run-off. I tracked the creek during a heavy rain storm and it turned out to be mainly hill run off from above. No tributaries or larger creeks dumping into it. Like I said in an earlier post, by the time the rains hit with constant and heavy amounts, the meds better already be in the cure shed...lol

And thank you kindly for your good words bro...greatly appreciated CC

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

OK, so let's take a look at my own process of getting the indoor grown clones outside and like my fellow grow brethren, do it in such a fashion as to hopefully avoid premature flowering (if that's your intention). Pretty basic stuff:

This year, I built a "knockdown" wood-framed ('round $90.00 in materials) greenhouse/halfway house for the plant transition process from indoors to outside and I'll tell ya why: A greenhouse kit can be spendy, I cant justify the bucks spent for only a couple of months of use each spring and plus I dont want it there all year 'round. Hoopies give up a lot of room on the sides especially if you have to hold your plants longer into the spring due to weather etc. It sucks to have to keep moving plants towards the middle of the hoop because of height issues and then you find yourself scrunched over trying to make your way down the sides of the hoop where height was a problem to begin with! Yes, simply removing the hoop plastic to work on your plants is an option but if you get a 2 or 3 day spring storm or longer, you can find yourself having to wait on the weather to pass when you really need to get in there now! One of the biggest benefits of a wooden frame for me: I can hang anything and everything without weight worries or attachment locations and by God, driving a nail or runnin in a wood screw for hanging shit just plum makes me feel good. I like to think Bob Villa would be proud of me...

So, here's the inside scoop on the "Knockdown" Halfwayhouse/greenhouse:

I built this one 7'wide x 12' long with 5' side walls (love them high side walls!). Plenty of room for transitional plants and still be able to move around inside. Floor to roof peak is around 7ft to maintain an outdoor "low profile" yet head bumping and prolonged stooping is kept to a minimum. Just throw the 2 "rails" on reasonably level ground, slide the trusses into the guide blocks (no nailing), throw on the cover and boom-bada-bing, yer off n growing. The primary reason I like a "knockdown" is it is only used as a "halfway house" until the plants go in the ground and then will be either used as a "black box", taken down and stored for next spring or used during the summer months as a shaded carport for my miniature motor home...lol

The "knockdown" down in the Hollow and ready for spring veg duty

Tarped from early sunset till apprx 8AM to keep neighbors from thinking a UFO landed on the property due to supplemental nite lighting

Tarp is removed apprx 8AM, supplemental lighting off if sunny, left on if cloudy or worse.

Plastic pulled down if sunny, left up if cloudy or rain. If the day is a mix of sun and clouds, I leave the lites on. Premature flowering is not an option! The biggest thing to guard against when the plants are fully exposed is branch damage or a complete "blow over" on windy or gusty days. Still in pots and being very "weak" to the elements, even a stiff breeze can wreak havoc especially with the taller sativas. I learned along time ago, a stake inside the pot doesnt cut it. I drive a 4-ft plastic green stake next to the pot, 3 or 4 inches into the ground. It would be safer and less maintenance to leave the plastic up full time but this period is what I call "boot camp". They have to get tough so when they are transplanted, the worst is already behind them which is to say, they are fully acclimated to "the natural order of things"which minimizes any setbacks.

You can see the benefit of tall side walls. I place the taller sativas along a wall with the shorter indicas thru the middle to insure equal sunlite for all. I'm able to run 4ft flouros because of the beefy wood trusses. IMO, I find dangling single bulb fixtures a pain to work around...

 

[hamstring]

CC
Dude I love it looks like my cold frame only on steroids. Everything reminds me of guerrilla growing but with added feature that it’s on your land so you can super size all of the same practices.

I use a cold frame built especially made to go up and come down easily every season. I'm building houses your building skyscrapers. Keep this tutorial going I want to see the swimming pools you will be calling holes.

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

CC
Dude I love it looks like my cold frame only on steroids. Everything reminds me of guerrilla growing but with added feature that it’s on your land so you can super size all of the same practices.

I use a cold frame built especially made to go up and come down easily every season. I'm building houses your building skyscrapers. Keep this tutorial going I want to see the swimming pools you will be calling holes.

LOL man, just puttin my contractor skills to work...Sure aint using em for much else these days LOL And yea, it is somewhat like guerilla growing in that even tho it's on my land, I still find myself lookin over my shoulder when I head down in the Hollow lol I reckon some habits die hard.

I'm not lookin forward to the holes but I always see em as a right of passage. Swimming pools could be setting the grow-bar a might high unless of course, I opt for a small track-excavator...anything's possible...LOL CC

 

[hamstring]

I have to bet in a ravine your going to find quite a few rocks. Hey CC assuming there is a cat 1 PTO shaft on your tractor can’t you rent a posthole digger? (Doin a little vicarious growing here sorry for hoggin the thread.) even if the holes aren’t large enough in diameter it would be a start right?

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

I have to bet in a ravine your going to find quite a few rocks. Hey CC assuming there is a cat 1 PTO shaft on your tractor can’t you rent a posthole digger? (Doin a little vicarious growing here sorry for hoggin the thread.) even if the holes aren’t large enough in diameter it would be a start right?

Hey Ham...naw, nothing vicarious or hoggish here man. I appreciate ya tagging along, your interest and input. We think a lot alike: Yea, in the old days, before it was called "guerilla growing", a 2 man post hole digger with an 8-inch auger was considered high tech! LOL I'd take that in a heart beat and just munch out the holes but unfortunately my rig doesnt have PTO and even if it did, the ravine hillside is too steep to operate the tractor safely or sanely not that having to be sane ever stopped me. LOL

The biggest problem is whether the tractor could even climb back out. I dropped it over the hill bout 20 ft on a test run, engaged the 4x4, threw it in reverse and just spun all 4 wheels. I had to used the loader bucket to "crawdad" back up onto level ground. The bucket left a mess from diggin in each bite and I dont want the hillside looking like a bomb site from the air. LOL

Another problem is getting the tractor sideways on the hill. Traversing along the bottom is out because it wont completely dry out till June or later and there are some large rock outcroppings Id have to dodge. Traversing any higher up the slope would seriously increase the tip-over pucker factor and most likely worse. It is my semi-professional opinion that turnin my tractor loose on the hillside would have the same outcome as the bull in the china store. LOL Call me anal, but I want the hillside pristine and undisturbed other than the plants being there. I'm not a naturalist, a tree hugger or a perfectionist. OK maybe a little of a perfectionist... LOL

I'll post a plan of attack here shortly and yer right bro, rocks do seem to grow more on hillsides...lol Thanks again Ham CC

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Ok, after hand digging several "test" holes, there will be no plan of attack, other than retreat. Just kidding. Too late for that. i have discovered Sleepy Hollow holds a terrible secret. It is one rocky S.O.B. Little f'n rocks, big f'n rocks and f'n rock riffs so large that I think theyre connected to the San Andreas earthquake fault line, some 500 miles from me (note the riff behind the rock bar. I think it ends somewhere in LA) Somewhere in the back of my brain I hear the voices of the Smart Pot crowd, laughing & jeering, sayin: "Nanner nanner med boy, we told you so...".CC

After 2 hours of digging in just 1 hole, that's me, curled up under my hat in a fetal position, blowing snot bubbles and looking like a wilted clone... Grow Gods- 1, CanniDo Cowboy- 0...

 

[Eatatjoes]

That's one big a** rock to move, maybe hire on some help?
If you pay by the hour I'll come give ya a hand, if you pay by the hole then your on your own

I read that the canyon is steep and next to impossible to drive down but there has got to be some kind of equipment that can help? At two hours manual labor per hole, the cost would work out. Your time is valuable and you wouldn't have to break your back. I used to work underground construction, they have a tool for every job. Good luck brotha

 

[hamstring]

That’s a big deep hole. I’m guessing the hat is 8 inches tall so 32-36 deep? What’s your goal 3-4 lbs per? Have you ever read that wider rather than deeper holes work well? Is the top foot or so any easier or richer soil than the next 2 ft down what are you thoughts about 2-3ft mounds of the best soil (either richer or just easier to remove)that you can find from the ravine or close by?

I dig mine for guerrilla growing 12-16 deep by 24 wide tapering as you go down to maybe 10 inches at the bottom. Also when I dig a new hole, because the soil is so much less compacted, I get a mound when it all goes back in and I think it helps the seedlings get started better.

That hole was some hard work and it takes hard work to have a successful grow---- good luck to ya .

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

That's one big a** rock to move, maybe hire on some help?
If you pay by the hour I'll come give ya a hand, if you pay by the hole then your on your own

I read that the canyon is steep and next to impossible to drive down but there has got to be some kind of equipment that can help? At two hours manual labor per hole, the cost would work out. Your time is valuable and you wouldn't have to break your back. I used to work underground construction, they have a tool for every job. Good luck brotha

Hey Joe...Welcome to the Hollow bud and thanks for the wishes ...Thanks kindly for the offer of help but anyone I hired would have to be as crazy as me...lol

Ive done the test holes and the biggest thing Ive learned is digging equipment is out. Will post more on than in a bit. Seems like Ive been breakin my back most of my life so why stop now? lol Joe, we all know when it comes to med growing, time is irrelevant, whether we like to admit it or not. I know, cause ive sure wasted more than my share on stuff that didnt work out...lol What keeps me going is the stuff that does work! CC

 

[Eatatjoes]

Man your telling pure truth. There's nothing like working in my garden trying this and that, I know of no better way to waste my time. I wanted to say that maybe a hand held two man gas powered post hole digger might help but after seeing that rock down there, it would just tear up an auger.
Do you think there's gold in your hills? Just curious.

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

That’s a big deep hole. I’m guessing the hat is 8 inches tall so 32-36 deep? What’s your goal 3-4 lbs per? Have you ever read that wider rather than deeper holes work well? Is the top foot or so any easier or richer soil than the next 2 ft down what are you thoughts about 2-3ft mounds of the best soil (either richer or just easier to remove)that you can find from the ravine or close by?




I dig mine for guerrilla growing 12-16 deep by 24 wide tapering as you go down to maybe 10 inches at the bottom. Also when I dig a new hole, because the soil is so much less compacted, I get a mound when it all goes back in and I think it helps the seedlings get started better.

That hole was some hard work and it takes hard work to have a successful grow---- good luck to ya .

Hey Ham, welcome back...good insight and suggestions...The original plan was 3' x 3' holes...Not gonna happen! I'm shooting for a 2'-6" x 2'-6' size(more explanation in next post) due to severe rock conditions. As far as yield, I have no idea. LOL A combination of unknowns: First year in the area and strains I havent grown before makes it difficult to estimate. I'll settle for healthy plants and quality medicine the first year. I'll be posting details of the adjustments to the holes and should keep the project on track. Stay tuned for a complete update! Thanks again dude!

Meanwhile, the ladies lie in wait, most likely wondering if the CanniDo Cowboy is gonna pull this deal off...

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Man your telling pure truth. There's nothing like working in my garden trying this and that, I know of no better way to waste my time. I wanted to say that maybe a hand held two man gas powered post hole digger might help but after seeing that rock down there, it would just tear up an auger.
Do you think there's gold in your hills? Just curious.

Hey Joe! yea, an auger gets hung up in them rocks, somebody might get flung into the next county for sure! LOL Funny you mention gold. Been coming across some good chunks of quartz and each time I check em close....ya just never know...I'm been hopin I come across some nuggets and put an end to my sufferin...CC