A new Guerilla growing method.?

I can make it out to take the domes off. What do you use a minimum Temps to put out under a dome and at what temp do you remove the dome?

^ i go by gut. i think this is the best way.

I used Clear plastic cups with the bottoms cut of, upside down and pushed into the dirt about an inch and watered around the outside to hold them in place. Planted seeds, the plastic keeps critters at bay along with cutworms and provides extra warmth and protection. The plants will eventually grow right out the top and you can just leave the cups in place until harvest. TADA

iTarzan said:

Chickenwire fences... I like to buy 25 and 50 foot rolls of 2 feet high chickenwire. Then I sit at my picnic table where I made 2 marks 3 feet apart. Then I place a roll of wire on the table. I have 2 bricks I use as weight to secure the fence when cutting it.

Put the chickenwire roll with the loose end down. Put a brick down on the wire so a few inches stick out. Sit down and pull out the fence until it is at the 3 foot mark and weigh it down with a brick. Then cut with snips at the mark near the roll and in front of the first anchor brick.

You can cut 8 fences from a 25 foot roll and 16 from a 50 foot roll. It is very efficient. Then I just form the fence by bending over the loose ends of the 3 foot lengths. This gives you a 1 foot diameter fence loop.

Then I step on them to flatten them out. I let them outside and they get weathered and lose their shine. When I scout new spots I just take them out to the area in the winter and leave them hidden under brush or covered up with dirt and leaf litter.

The first year you start as soon as you select your spots carry some fences out their first. I use to have 400 fences hid all over the boonies. I might only use 50-100 per year and rotate spots. I used to use 200-300 yearly and a few years 400. It is very similar to running a trap line. many are still out there and about a 100 or so are behind my garage. I have them when needed. They come in handy in the garden too.

IMHO if you don't fence it is going to be very disappointing in the end. Groundhogs and rabbits will eventually strike. Early on they eat the young plants and later on they strip the bark, ring the trunk and kill the whole plant.

Deer seem to be a seedling or young plant problem. They might munch on the tops some but the plant can outgrow the feeding. When they are budding they don't seem to eat the buds. They taste them but they don't seem to like them and leave them alone when sticky and stinky.

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lol, We used to do this in south Louisiana, make "Pillow Style" crawfish traps, perfect cover, just get a fishin license and yer good to go!!!

Those grave shots are very amusing!

ShakiraLoba said:

Do seedlings grown from seed really need protection from the "harsh sun"?

I think that approach is applicable to seedlings started under a T5 but it doesn't make much sense to me to have to harden off seeds started outside. Seeds have been sprouting outside unprotected for millennia.

Maybe there's something I'm failing to see, but like I said I thought the only plants in need of hardening off toward the sun were transplants.

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No not from seed they don't, I should've specified that in the beginning of that post. Seeds or cuttings started under T5's (or even HID's I would think) need to be gradually introduced to the intensity of the sun. However, I've seen seeds germinate and sprout under the full sun and they do just fine... actually they do very well from a porch or a window. But out in the elements where we can't tend to them is another story... I like the bottomless cup idea where you flip em over and let the seedling grow up through the hole at the top. I think that would work best, the dome would have to be vented well to not cause the seedlings to overheat in the direct sun I would think.

I used Clear plastic cups with the bottoms cut of, upside down and pushed into the dirt about an inch and watered around the outside to hold them in place. Planted seeds, the plastic keeps critters at bay along with cutworms and provides extra warmth and protection. The plants will eventually grow right out the top and you can just leave the cups in place until harvest. TADA

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djbb

^ yes. this idea eliminates the heat trap from mini greenhouse domes. also brings up the cutworms. these critters kill a lot of seedlings.

The retired breeder, Greens, also found that his plants did best when planted outside as seeds:

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=1956864#post1956864

He mentioned to me at a later time that they were sprouted seeds.

gunna

Slugs can be a Major problem early on so besides sand, de powder, copper wire peremeter rings,

Clear plastic cups filled with BEER buried around the location will kill many of them as they will get drunk and drown in the liquid,

Or might the beer attract other critters wanting to get there party on ?

Have used it successfully in the past but it may be a concern ?

Check this out everyone, I found this over at:
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/SEASON-STARTER/productinfo/6266/


"Season Starter #6266 (Set of 3 Season Starters) This early season plant protector allows you to extend the growing season by planting earlier, even when temperatures drop below freezing (to 24 degrees F.). The multi-channel design allows water to heat during the day, then releases that heat at night when temperatures plunge, forming a sort of miniature greenhouse around plants. Harvest tomatoes 4 to 6 weeks earlier than normal with this product."


It looks like there's water inside of the plastic, creating a greenhouse effect for those early season starts. I like it!

I challenge someone to come up with a cheaper DIY version of this product... it goes for $15.95 (set of 3) but I bet there's something out there that's cheaper and can be filled with water; creating the same effect for a lower cost. This would be great for someone running under 10 plants, but a little pricey for those bigger sized grows.

I would think a ring of water bottles taped together would work.

^^^ and i believe better (because of the larger thermal mass)

BigNoise said:

I would think a ring of water bottles taped together would work.

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Great idea!

Maybe 6-8 two liters all in a circle would be enough... it would take more spring water bottles since they're smaller in diameter. I'm definitely trying this out this spring. I know it's going to work.

Sounds ok for small growers, but for big grows just plant more seeds.
Most people seem to use clones for grows then seeds to be honest.
If I was starting seeds outdoors or in the ground in a greenhouse I started them in seedling trays, transplanted to 1 liter pots then into the ground. Sometimes I just plant seeds in the 1 liter pots, easier. 99% germinate and get transplanted, if I am going to plant thousands+ of plants outdoors I just plant in the ground and get over 90% to germinate.
If the seeds don't germinate maybe they are old or poorly made?
Most or all pests can be controlled if you act preventively with Bio controls and predators.
-SamS

^ very true - genetics play a big role in vigor and resistance outdoors, however I feel like with plants being that young in their life cycle - it becomes harder bring health levels high enough to the point that it would ward off pests... at least in that short 1 month period of time. This is why I like to use some sort of barrier for early starts, deer around my area really seem to enjoy nibbling on clones and seedlings but ignore the plants once they reach 2'+

Seeds are more vigorous than clones in my experience, but clones cost much less from a grower stand point obv so when running bigger grows, it would only make sense to use cuttings (unless you breed or have serious $$$ to blow on beans)

Team Microbe said:

Check this out everyone, I found this over at:
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/SEASON-STARTER/productinfo/6266/

View Image
"Season Starter #6266 (Set of 3 Season Starters) This early season plant protector allows you to extend the growing season by planting earlier, even when temperatures drop below freezing (to 24 degrees F.). The multi-channel design allows water to heat during the day, then releases that heat at night when temperatures plunge, forming a sort of miniature greenhouse around plants. Harvest tomatoes 4 to 6 weeks earlier than normal with this product."


It looks like there's water inside of the plastic, creating a greenhouse effect for those early season starts. I like it!

I challenge someone to come up with a cheaper DIY version of this product... it goes for $15.95 (set of 3) but I bet there's something out there that's cheaper and can be filled with water; creating the same effect for a lower cost. This would be great for someone running under 10 plants, but a little pricey for those bigger sized grows.

Click to expand...

Looks like a great thing for in the backyard if you don't have a greenhouse but I don't see me taking those things + water to fill it to any guerilla spots. A cut off bottle over the plant as greenhouse might not be as effective but it'll help a lot as well, heating the soil and protecting it from cold winds.

Yeah it would be best for spots with water already for that sole reason. I think this is better for the guy putting out less than 20 plants for personal use... not so much bigger grows. I like the cut off bottle idea but it would be as bulky as the water collar, no? Unless they were stackable or something...

This is not a "new" method at all.....I remember my first year growing when I was 13 I cut plastic water bottles in half and used the bottom half to make a "mini greenhouse" and had a perfect germination and survival rate. Back then there was no internet, maybe there were books on growing but I sure as hell did not own any. It just seemed like common sense that this method would work well.

Although I have started seeds outdoors many times using this method, I only actually started them "in the bush" once. The other times were in my parents back yard and my apartment balcony as a young man. Starting them right in the bush fucking sucks, I would only do that if there was absolutely no other option which I don't see happening to me.

Can I ask why exactly you guys have no other choice but to start them in the bush? Do you live with family that is totally against it? Are you living in a place with such harsh laws you won't risk having plants in your house that don't stink and are easy to conceal for 2 weeks?

I got a friend who lives in a basement apartment with the owner of the house and his wife and 2 kids living upstairs. The owners are totally against weed and my friend is totally illegal no medical. He starts hundreds of plants by putting CFL's in all his kitchen cabinets and the area other the sink and any other cabinet with doors that open that is big enough to house small plants. I have walked in days before he was going to move them outside and there was zero smell or any other way to know...

It is very easy to start seedlings inside without anyone noticing. Many things can go wrong in the bush. Friends of mine have tried to make cold frames and they get stomped and destroyed by deer. Deer are very fucking curious creatures and can tell right away when something is out of place and they will investigate. I have had many deer dig up my holes even with nothing in them that attracts them. They can just tell that it is not native and get curious and dig to check it out so I am sure when they see plants in a cold frame deer and other animals do not just walk on by...

The one time I tried to start seeds in the bush I tried many different ways because literally every time I would try I would go back the very next day and the deer already fucked everything up so I experimented and of course you can keep them away with fencing and things but again, especially if you had to purchase your seeds, I would never start them in the bush unless 100% necessary

wegobigupnorth said:

T
Can I ask why exactly you guys have no other choice but to start them in the bush? Do you live with family that is totally against it? Are you living in a place with such harsh laws you won't risk having plants in your house that don't stink and are easy to conceal for 2 weeks?

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For me as a guerrilla its a lot easier to carry 40 germed seeds, many with a tail showing, in a ziplock bag and plant them straight into a cold frame ( if you want to start early for big plants) or straight into their swamp container later in the season.

Try carrying 40 seedlings/clones to your spot all while-------Parking you car, riding your bike for 30 minutes (and sometimes even getting in a canoe after that) and then walking another 30 -40 minutes through the bush to put those seedling in their final resting spot. I have done that and I always had beat up plants.

There are risk and rewards for both techniques but for me seeds are they way to go.