The growing large plants, outdoors, thread...

[FreedomGrower]

Just found this local company ... they mix huge fresh teas weekly ... think I'm going to try some out this year ... about to plant on June 1rst ...

http://www.gobiodiversity.com/products/index.html ...

 

[CaliGabe]

NOW.... thats what this thread is ALL about.......

I thought it was about growing large plants and all that's involved? This includes recipes and stuff. Nice pics Yes so how did you get them to that point and what's your program for the rest of the season?

 

[CaliGabe]

Just found this local company ... they mix huge fresh teas weekly ... think I'm going to try some out this year ... about to plant on June 1rst ...

http://www.gobiodiversity.com/products/index.html ...

Sounds like you're promoting a product.

 

[CaliGabe]

So Backyard Farmer I guess you're one of "people who have contributed since the beginning are now working with AEA" that you mentioned earlier. So you're one of the paid shills that's working for the fertilizer companies. No matter what all the other people on this site say, you're going to hawk their snake oil. Just start a new thread and all of you AEA people can hold hands and talk about the amazing benefits of your product. There is more to growing plants than dumping fertilizer on them.

That post proves to me how clueless you are regarding this subject.

Thank you for peeps like BYF, MJ and Cep et al for pushing the envelope. I keep forgetting Kempf is a clueless mofo.

 

[FreedomGrower]

Sounds like you're promoting a product.

Sounds like some ones in need of friends ... I'll post a pic of the brewer next time ... It's not like there are many commercially made teas that I would use ...

All right I'll dis a product as well ... I have to say the redi grow soil company in sac is the worst soil company in the world ... like really using bb's to weigh down your soil to short you... and selling something completely different than what was shown

Your right I don't have to show people how I run my farm or promote USA made local products (No farm tec Chinese steel here) or my experiences ...

I promote organics, and growing better medicine in greenhouses ...

If you have time to make your own EWC, Compost, and fish shit farms power to you ... I use products that are all ready to go ...

Probably just going to go with Pure-blend later on when they need food and try to keep it KISS ...

I put out some early last year and had trouble trying to keep them fed / pruned in bloom and ended up yielding the same as some smaller ones (Hollow Inside, all fluff) ... so I'm starting out later this year to make it easyier on me ... and the plants will hopefully yield better and take up less space as I have gone with more in smaller pots ...

Grow Nerd worry more about the dear than the gophers ...
Prop215 way to go on the early start ...

 

[Yes4Prop215]

i dont mind the product promotion at all, its how i learned about many amazing products like PPD, cal25 and EWSF norcal blend. i remember being approached by AEA and i really wanted to try their products as well however i was just too damn busy on the hill to be able to get that connected, but glad to see that the homies are doing it and will share their results so that i can try some out for 2015. I am still on that 2013 shit, and eagerly looking forward to an alternative to PPD since i smell like hooker pussy every time I'm done foliar spraying it.

My program is basic, no bottled nutes i use raw amendments you can find at any local garden store, i mixed alfalfa meal, fish meal, glacial rock dust, blood meal, and bat guano together with some Black Gold and Mykos and amended that into the mounds. I paid very careful attention to plant vigor this year and only selected the best starts. About two weeks prior to plugging, i hit my greenhouse veg starts hard with a top dress and right as they were in peak vigor and growing an inch a day i transplanted into the mounds. May 18-19th was the perfect day it was slight overcast with light showers, they got rained on during the night and the next morning it was high temps and full sun. This was the quickest transition i have ever had, the plants had zero shock and caught right away, they have been growing a steady inch a day since.

Here are my contenders for the June 1st veg start contest! Eager to see some of y'alls as well, wheres fillthepotmore at i was just ooglin over his 12lb mental flosses hope i can get somewhere near that level this season!

Asteroid seedling popped 3-1, (LVPK x Nevilles Haze)
exactly 5'6 from base of stem

Louie13 x FireOG seedling popped 3-1. a little taller at 5'8 but lanky

Gorille Glue bushes, she acts like she's seen open sun before can't believe this is an indoor strain. Really awesome lateral branching and the stem rub reeks of minty diesel.

 

[boobs]

anyone think they have an idea of the point of optimization for size of starts determined? I feel there is a point of diminishing return where having the biggest start isn't necessarily going to be the best plant four months down the road... so how big is too big? of course the health of the plant is a big factor as is what it is going into and the amount of root space it will have.

I worry that some of the starts I'm seeing posted will max out in size far ahead of when flower sets in... experience gives an idea of how much a plant can veg in the allotted time and there is something to timing up them maxing in size for their space to when flower sets I believe.

I also have observed bigger plants having a rougher time rebounding following transplant, I've first hand seen smaller plants not skip a beat and surprass their, initially, bigger fellows.

maybe there is a ratio we can determine of size in height/width of start to size of pot/mound of the final transplant? anyone want to take a stab at what they think is optimal?

ours have been in ground for two weeks and are two to three feet tall and in 8'x8'x12" beds, although the root space isn't limited to 8x8' due to our special circumstance of them being in 64 feet long beds giving them extra space to co-mingle.

a little late to discuss this for anyone trying to use the information being discussed NOW but maybe the amount of transplants is a factor we should talk about? we went from cups, to two's to fives to final bed.

 

[Cep]

anyone think they have an idea of the point of optimization for size of starts determined? I feel there is a point of diminishing return where having the biggest start isn't necessarily going to be the best plant four months down the road... so how big is too big?

They are too big when they start to decline in health. For some growers that might be as little as a foot tall if they are in small pots with poor soil…

I like around 1.5'-2' tall with pliable stems and growing really fast. Bigger plants in pots just get hard to take care of and more easily root bound. That size for me is manageable and they aren't as back breaking to transplant.

 

[Backyard Farmer]

Cep I'm with you, a big plant in a large pot is no fun to deal with ...

I like them 2 ft tall or so and ripping , in a seven gallon grow bag that I cut off...no root circling!

 

[grow nerd]

Today I got some T-posts, electric wire, deer netting, and more.



Deer netting to be installed at an angle, like this:



This nerd fears no deer.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

boobs thats an interesting point you bring up and one that i will be studying this year, as i have 3 terraces out of the 8 that are filled with much smaller and younger seed stock that was popped late march/early april. they were barely a foot tall when i put them into the greenhouse on april 15th, and their vigor is very fast and they are quickly catching up with the march 1st seed stock.

i also have 3 skywalker alien seedlings that i popped in february, that were going hard and seemed to slow down although some are already 7 feet. so basically i have 3 waves of generations and we will see what does best.

in general i think that march seed stock is totally fine and shouldn't have any issues losing steam in august/sept. however running plants that were started in january and february might run into those issues, however its not the actual plant start date that matters so much as the overall care taken of the plant.

you could have a totally healthy plant popped in late march, but you let it get root bound, deficient, or go limp just a few days and it will lose way more steam compared to a healthier one popped earlier.

theres also the transition and transplanting stages that can shock a plant and kill its vigor. last year i had a bunch of younger clones that were cut march 15th, theoretically they should have had the right vigor to make them go all season, however they were transitioned incorrectly and suffered stress in their early june planting, which stunted them the whole season. so overall, i believe plant health is more important than a specific time frame.

if my 6 footers were barely growing at all and showing signs of root bound, stress, or deficiency, i would yank them. but they are going full steam ahead and putting on an inch a day so its safe to say their vigor is OK. il post pics of the smaller 3-4 foot seedlings at the same date, and in september we will see what does better!

Here are some of the smaller seedlings, popped in april and were under a foot when they transplanted into 5 gals on april 15th into the greenhouse. They literally got sun as soon as they sprouted, only CFLs for the first week. They are about 3 feet but i have a feeling they will catch up no problem.
Animal Cookies x (tangerine dream x plush berry)

 

[Mcgruff]

Amazing plants Yes4Prop215, very healthy. Awesome roots Backyard Farmer. I believe in selecting for root vigor as well as good branch structure. A strong 1 1/2 to 2 foot bush started from seed in early March is my goal by planting time. I will also take 1 or 2 gallon bags over plastic pots any day, the starts always seem to root better.

For all the people out there who reuse their soil or use a hot soil mix, do you have a favorite buffer soil to plant directly into? I know Black gold is popular on this site, I use Mendo Mix because its a light part coco soil mix and cheap where I am.

 

[Stank J.P.]

5G's

5G's

5G's blue. Popped bean on 3/21, plugged in 5/5. Right around 5' minus a couple inches after topping today.

 

[HorseMouth]

I like a bigger plant, closer to 4 feet tall, when she goes into her final Bed. For me, (All Light Dep at this point) I don't have the time to give the plants all of the month of July to Veg, then the beginning August to stretch. The chance of forest fire smoke, hail, 20 deg. nighttime temps, prying eyes, higher moisture levels, the beginning of the strong winds bringing in colder temps and general Mother Nature tomfoolery has me working for an earlier harvest.
I'm not a big fan of the Late September/October Sun to finish my ladies up either. I love Mushroom compost, earthworms and finishing in a strong July and August Sun. Also, As long as I'm up-planting into larger and larger containers and use proper support, I'm not really missing a beat, when I get them into the ground.
Already I'm a week into 12/12 in one bed, eyeballing mid/late july with a shot at a re-planting. So Far my happiest ladies are the ones I cloned on Jan 30th. (There was a New moon that night).
Just dealt with a low PH (5.2) about 14 inches down in the soil, It was my amino acids additive (BE-1, too strong) that I fixed with Liquid Sand. Raised the PH, and got the calcium flowing again.

Hope everyone is well.

Peace

 

[Luther Burbank]

Photosynthesis stops above certain temperatures as stomata close to preserve water. I'm wondering if varieties from hot climates will continue to photosynthesize at higher temperatures or if the plants merely have a higher heat tolerance in general. Anyone from hot climates or with varieties from regions like Thailand have any input?

 

[Backyard Farmer]

It gets over 100 here with humidity below 20, if that were true, shouldn't my plants die?

I just water enough so they can transpire as much as their environment demands.

Which is a lot.

 

[Cep]

Photosynthesis stops above certain temperatures as stomata close to preserve water. I'm wondering if varieties from hot climates will continue to photosynthesize at higher temperatures or if the plants merely have a higher heat tolerance in general. Anyone from hot climates or with varieties from regions like Thailand have any input?

Regarding only temp ideal is around 78F. The upper limit is around 113F, where the enzymes responsible for photosynthesis start to denature. Plants won't die at that point, but they won't be growing.

 

[Cep]

Even though I like 2 footers I do have some bigger girls. Black Cherry Soda's. Haven't run them yet and not supposed to be very potent, but very pretty plants:

Loving the foliar treatments too:

Also worked in 22 yards of compost this past week. Man I miss the back I had when I was 18 and am envious of all those using big equipment.

 

[stoney917]

Wheres the pies prop?????? Heard great things bout that tang/plushberry

 

[CaliGabe]

Loving the foliar treatments too:

Whoa that's perky!