18 x 200 gal smartpots, Northern California, LVPK, Cherry Kush, OG kush, LA Con

[huligun]

most of the 40-50 plant grows look to be in 200 gals as well..but their yields are pushing 3-5 LBs.....im dissapointed because most of our 200 gals will only yield 2 #s if we are lucky...some of them like the LA con will only produce 1#.....next year we also have to focus on our vegstarts better, and better strain selection....and possibly use supp lighting. we get around 10 hours of direct light here...

I don't know if it was this thread or another, but someone suggested supplemental lighting to extend the vegetative period longer. It almost seems like the California Union of growers figuring out how to squeeze every dime out of an outdoor season. LoL no offense, please. Just when you see what we are capable of in other locations California is like marijuana heaven. You have a great climate and great politics supporting you. You have smart and industrial people trying harder and harder to do well. It is what built this country.

 

[Slangheat]

I don't know if it was this thread or another, but someone suggested supplemental lighting to extend the vegetative period longer. It almost seems like the California Union of growers figuring out how to squeeze every dime out of an outdoor season. LoL no offense, please. Just when you see what we are capable of in other locations California is like marijuana heaven. You have a great climate and great politics supporting you. You have smart and industrial people trying harder and harder to do well. It is what built this country.

From one californian's perspective...

Pot heaven begins and ends for me within my home/property. When I go out into public I am just as down low with what I do as I was before all of this came about. The world is full of pieces of shit looking to take advantage of things anyway they can; just because we can grow ourselves some smoke doesn't change those dirty fucks or reduce threat to us... in short, it's dangerous and risky still.

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

It almost seems like the California Union of growers figuring out how to squeeze every dime out of an outdoor season. LoL no offense, please. Just when you see what we are capable of in other locations California is like marijuana heaven. You have a great climate and great politics supporting you. You have smart and industrial people trying harder and harder to do well. It is what built this country.

Another Californian's Prospective:

LOL- California is certainly no heaven or haven. We attained the right to grow our medicine but unfortunately that is far from the end of the story as far as the Feds are concerned. Great climate? Like anywhere, in certain regions I suppose. Great politics supporting us? There are certainly politics involved but whether it is great and or supporting us depends on who you talk to.

In this business, there are smart and industrious folks here in Ca, yes. And there ARE those who's goal is to "squeeze every dime". Personally, I dont give much thought to the smart and industrious types or the dime squeezers. I prefer those who are caring and compassionate. These are the folks who either grow only for themselves and others who grow for those who cant grow or cant afford the absorbent prices at legal outlets.

Slang's right. Knowing how to grow is but a small part and it is not a "done deal" by any stretch of the imagination. Any number of things can happen to reduce a 6 month average length season of countless hours of work and dedication into little or nothing. And simply said, growing can bring out the best in people but it can also bring out the worst. It attracts the good, the bad, and the real ugly. And as a grower, trying to figure out who is who...can keep you up late at nite when harvest time is just around the corner...CC

 

[Securityfirst]

Things to improve for next year

Things to improve for next year

Here are some ideas from me

1) More than 10 hrs of sun per day. I think you have this covered with a new location right? I mean my friend has sold me pds out of mendo of cherry pie outdoor and it is beautiful and smelly, but they get all day sun!

2) Genetics, you have some beans right? So get started in a month or two and start from seed next year. Im going to look for F1 cuttings online or perhaps start some seeds. You just get way more bud and more healthy robust goodness. Another really beneficial thing to keep an eye out for is genetics that finish early. There is a strain out of humboldt that I keep hearing about at teepee meetings and what not called Pineapple Trainwreck #11. It is the stuff of legends supposedly finishing 9/7 what a pipe dream!! Seek out strains like that IMHO

3) Get on top of pest control. You guys have a zoo going on up there! I think a dryer (well butte is dry right?) or perhaps a less woodsy locale will serve you right. My neighbor is having a fucker of a time with caterpillars.Those things get right in the bud and take shits! Is spinosad a good solution? I like how he has whitefire og going too because I can look at his plants and kinda guesstimate when they are going to be done in his backyard and my property. Saves a 8 to 10 hr round trip.

4)Vegging. I think you have this one covered , you can have 25 in your new spot so maybe start vegging those grown up seeds starting 4/1/12 or so.....

This grow you have now is looking good, it sure is better than nothing. Cant imagine being in the midwest with beasters, and you know there is the whole learning curve for outdoor and greenhouse growing as well. I think that 10/10/11 is a full moon. We might do a full moon harvest but I also think that whitefire OG or just og's in general need longer than that. What are you thinking as far as harvesting goes? At our place it is not winter accesible and God knows when it is going to rain first so that is why 10/10 might be the date even though I can afford to wait depending on weather. We just got done with a 20 by 40 drying cabin to try and keep it all protected.

So peace out happy growing!

 

[terpene dreams]

Sorry to hear about all the bug problems. My buddy lets his hens into the growing pen to get all the bugs on the ground and around the pots.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

well bad news....the cats are spreading to the other plants and my buddy wants to chop this weekend so we are gonna start taking top colas from the plants most affected by the cats.....apparently many of our neighbors are also having a terrible problem with cats another friend lost almost half his crop.....these fucking god damn catepillars man!!! is there any other way to prevent them besides spraying? what are natural predators of the moths that lay the eggs?

SF- yea man definately working with some better genetics next year i was gifted some good cuts that came from seedling plants from another friend up in humbolt...and yes the veg and plant selection will be started earlier with emphasis on trying to get a nice rootzone established instead of just dropping 5 gals into 200 gals....maybe put them into 30s or something first..

and yes pest control is gonna be #1 priority cant believe we got hit so hard...we did a few sprayings spaced out but next time im thinking hit the ladies every 2-3 days with an assortment of everything available...

 

[Hydrosun]

Bats eat moths don't they?

Perhaps you need to build a huge bat house and have your hundreds of bats fly out every night and eat the shit out of the moths. You could then also have free fert for your 200 gals.

A stoned thought of mine, but sill would be really cool to see a hundred bats fly out and guard the neighborhood.

 

[organic P]

i have been spraying religously bt and spinosad. i mean religiously! with 3-4 gallons out of a quality back pack sprayer every 6 days. and i am still experiencing some losses. i dont understand how some people arent affected. i am starting to think the only way to keep em out 100 percent is with a greenhouse/hoop house with screens covering vents intake etc.

 

[Trinity Gold]

and yes pest control is gonna be #1 priority cant believe we got hit so hard...we did a few sprayings spaced out but next time im thinking hit the ladies every 2-3 days with an assortment of everything available...

That sounds disgusting. What you need to do is get some books in Integrated Pest Management , and also Hemp Diseases & Pests and do it correctly ... This is medicine we're talking about here. Be cool. TG

Here's one tip..If you're trying to control the pests when you already have them it is too late. At the clone phase, dip them in oxidate , conserve , and Akari and in the off season spray your spot with BT, Spinosad etc., to control the population before the grow even starts...

 

[Yes4Prop215]

yea thats what i meant only spray in veg....we havent been spraying anything lately thats why they are getting out of control...


but we did a bunch of sprayings in veg and they still hit....and yea organic P it seems the only way to solve the cat problem is greenhouse with filter vents....

hydrosun that sounds like a good idea! i gotta set up a bat colony somehow...

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

well bad news....the cats are spreading to the other plants and my buddy wants to chop this weekend so we are gonna start taking top colas from the plants most affected by the cats.....apparently many of our neighbors are also having a terrible problem with cats another friend lost almost half his crop.....these fucking god damn catepillars man!!! is there any other way to prevent them besides spraying? what are natural predators of the moths that lay the eggs?

Hey Yes-man...yea buddy, life sucks and then ya get cats! Just a quick reply. Cats dont spread per say. Unlike spider mites which can, the moths and or butterflies lay eggs at random on any given plant. It's all about preventative maintenance and I'm sure at this point, no one has to tell you that...Stay with it pard..., good, bad or ugly, it's almost over and next season, we all get to start fresh again...CC

 

[Trinity Gold]

yea thats what i meant only spray in veg....we havent been spraying anything lately thats why they are getting out of control...


but we did a bunch of sprayings in veg and they still hit....and yea organic P it seems the only way to solve the cat problem is greenhouse with filter vents....

Saying youre going to spray with everything you can as often as possible is disgusting bro. Again, please learn about establishing an IPM program and get the Hemp Diseases and Pests book and you will be ahead of the game. The second book has just about anything you could encounter and multiple ways to solve the problem. Respect. TG

 

[Yes4Prop215]

i looked into IPM and im following the basic steps i identified pests before spraying....we used the lighter most organic sprays first before trying the other not so nice ones....i also followed recomendations based on other growers on IC about what to use...it seemed most people favored the monterey spinosad. i did not spray any of this on the nugs....we didnt spray enough during veg. i only put down 3 sprays once they transplanted most were for spider mites because that was what i was concerned about most at the time....so we used about 2 sprays of SNS 17 and 1 spray of floramite in veg...then when flower hit my partner only applied 1 spray of monterey at budset. i told him to stop using pesticides and he was just spraying them with water up until around week 4 of flower....so since week 3 or so of flower they have not seen any pesticide just water.....i follow the same practice in my indoor id rather not spray buds and just let whatever happens happen...if it gets real bad then pick early, i would never even consider spraying nugs past 1 month flower with anything besides water......i smoke my own bud so i definately dont want to smoke pesticides..

my mistake this season was focusing too much on spidermites, i didnt even consider catepillars or rodents to be a problem...honestly at this point id rather have spider mites than cats. ive been talking to alot of local growers and its varied across the board, some arent getting any cats at all, and others have already picked and pulled because they were hit so hard...it might be strain resistant the moth could be attracted to OG kush because she selectively hit those plants. nothing has landed on the LVPK yet, but we have found cats on the CP too......both of the OG and CP are indoor strains and they are not suited to outdoor growing...so next year going to run things from the outdoor folks instead including some clones from seedling mothers..and i have some interesting beans i will start popping soon...triangle x deep chunk and plush(DSDxSour bubble) to name a few

 

[warthog]

yeah the bud cats seem to be a steady issue for you guys.. honestly i wouldnt worry one bit about mites outdoors, but if so than it can easily be prevented with simple organic pesticides.. ive never experienced problems with mites outdoors even though ive seen em.. usually slugs are the culprit for outdoor growers, at least here in the east. but again, its easy to prevent slug damage.. you guys have slug issues out there?

 

[h^2 O]

wow! Very awesome dude. I can't wait to see the harvest! I'm gonna guess and say....30pounds...or something...

 

[Trinity Gold]

Monterey Garden Spray is basically water bro. If you want a good spinosad product buy a quart of Conserve SC

 

[bongbong]

I had no cats this summer but a friend just a few miles away was cursed with them. But i did have a severe mite prroblem with a few plants even though they were sprayed with avid as young clones when set out in july. The sour d kushes were mite magnets but still yielding great.

 

[jescowhite]

sorry to hear about the cats. I've seen a few but luckily nothing that looks like an outbreak. I have a few plants with mites but so close to being done I'm going to ride it out, not seeing as many of the natural predator bugs right now, garden used to be full of them.

 

[cyat]

hey prop you can spray flowering plants with spinosad, it will handle your mites too if done every 2-3 days. it does not affect the buds. Thats how I got rid of mites on my first lvpk cut. mighty wash had my buddy doin backflips it worked so good, not cost effective for outdoors tho.

 

[warthog]

i wouldnt spray anything on my buds, even if it is "safe".. i use all preventive sprays up untill the first week of flowering(showing pistils, not crowns). buds sprayed after 3 weeks will leave a nasty taste. another thing to add to the mite convo... maybe you guys get mite problems from buying clones? im thinking ive never had issues cause i start from seed