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Oregon Organic Guerrilla 2009, with your host BACKCOUNTRY
- Thread starter BACKCOUNTRY
- Start date
My sick child had a minor surgery(are any really minor?) to correct a birth defect, and I am now assured that it will have a long, "normal" life. This puts our family at ease, thanks for the good wishes to all!
backcountry,do u have soil inside the terracotta pots?
maybe its blocking some of the tiny pores especially at the bottom.
The buried clay pots may clog up over time, especially if left dry for a long time. If this
happens, they need to be removed from the soil and scrubbed, or soaked, or refired to clean
out the pores
If silty muddy water is used, it will block the tiny holes in the clay pot and stop it from working
as well
maybe its blocking some of the tiny pores especially at the bottom.
The buried clay pots may clog up over time, especially if left dry for a long time. If this
happens, they need to be removed from the soil and scrubbed, or soaked, or refired to clean
out the pores
If silty muddy water is used, it will block the tiny holes in the clay pot and stop it from working
as well
Now that is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, been a while since I posted a update! 
We are not having a cool summer as many predicted, it is as hot as many of the summers I remember from my childhood, at the moment we are facing multiple back to back 100F+ days. And of course, no rain.
I'll start with my more conventional "pitcher" plants:
OR95 #1
OR95 #2
OR95 #3
I had to expand the fence of this one, it seems the deer like this area, and have been nibbling leaves that poke through the cage.
OK, now on to the Earth holes:
I recently discovered that I overestimated the water capacity of my Earth hole by double
, I'm amazed that I didn't catch my mistake while building the box and the hole, comparing the box to a 5 gallon bucket would have shown instantly that it couldn't possibly hold 10 gallons+. The actual capacity is about 6.25 gallons.
The good news is that the Earth hole wasn't using 5 gallons a week like I had thought, instead it was using 2.5 gallons, LOL!!! OK, hopefully I can keep my math errors to a minimum in the future.
I missed posting a couple updates on the Earth hole, so here they are back to back.
Earthhole test, Week of July 9-15
Daily totals
July 9- High 84F, Low 52F, Avg humidity 49%
July 10- High 87F, Low 60F, Avg humidity 46%
July 11- High 90F, Low 58F, Avg humidity 52%
July 12- High 76F, Low 59F, Avg humidity 56%
July 13- High 88F, Low 54F, Avg humidity 50%
July 14- High 94F, Low 54F, Avg humidity 41%
July 15- High 98F, Low 57F, Avg humidity 38%
Week totals
Average high 88F, Average low 56F, Average mean 72F
Average humidity 47%
Total Precipitation: 0.00 in
Water used in this period= 2.5 gallons
Earthhole test, Week of July 16-22
Daily totals
July 16- High 99F, Low 61F, Avg humidity 35%
July 17- High 100F, Low 61F, Avg humidity 38%
July 18- High 96F, Low 66F, Avg humidity 41%
July 19- High 98F, Low 57F, Avg humidity 37%
July 20- High 101F, Low 62F, Avg humidity 33%
July 21- High 100F, Low 64F, Avg humidity 39%
July 22- High 95F, Low 64F, Avg humidity 43%
Week totals
Average high 98F, Average low 62F, Average mean 81F
Average humidity 38%
Total Precipitation: 0.00 in
Water used in this period=5 gallons
Now that I am aware of my overestimation of my reservoir size, it is apparent that the Earth hole makes much more efficient use of water than I was thinking earlier. The plant is expanding quickly, and seems to be outgrowing my non-Earth hole plants, and the Earth hole plant is quite healthy, rather than slowing down its growth through hot/dry weather it instead seems to thrive on the bright sun. This is because as soon as the plant needs more moisture because of the heat, it can take it on demand, no slow downs, no heat shock, ever.
The week of July 16-22 saw my average high temps go up about 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the first two weeks of the test, in response to the hotter weather and steadily increasing size, the plant used 2.5 more gallons than before, water usage this week should be similar, or even higher.
As soon as I pull in this healthy plant in October, and the theory is completely proven to me, I'll be setting into motion to create a version that will hold enough water to sustain the plant for 3 weeks+ in super hot weather, and 5 weeks in more reasonable weather. I'll also try to make the design easier and cheaper to build if I can. I'll try for a dozen for 2010
The future of the terracotta for me would be to use terracotta "bottles" connected through water lines to reservoirs. The water in the rez would need to be clean anyways to prevent plugging of waterlines, a side affect would be to keep the insides of the "bottles" clean. Now I need a source of terracotta bottles...........I'm sure I'll find them........
Terracotta irrigation systems would be a good alternative to Earth holes for plots with multiple plants, but would technically inferior to the EH due to the fact waterlines would be needed to feed the system. They would however be superior to traditional drip systems, since the terracotta bottles would be much harder to plug than drippers and small 1/4" lines.
Bacchus and randude101: Thankyou!
It hit 110F at my place today! It never really cooled down last night. I think I may haul a load of water to my plots this evening, late enough to let it cool down and get shady, and early enough to not get stuck in the dark half way back. Its a couple days early to water, but it makes me nervous when we have all these 100F+ days.
We are not having a cool summer as many predicted, it is as hot as many of the summers I remember from my childhood, at the moment we are facing multiple back to back 100F+ days. And of course, no rain.
I'll start with my more conventional "pitcher" plants:
OR95 #1
OR95 #2
OR95 #3
I had to expand the fence of this one, it seems the deer like this area, and have been nibbling leaves that poke through the cage.
OK, now on to the Earth holes:
I recently discovered that I overestimated the water capacity of my Earth hole by double
, I'm amazed that I didn't catch my mistake while building the box and the hole, comparing the box to a 5 gallon bucket would have shown instantly that it couldn't possibly hold 10 gallons+. The actual capacity is about 6.25 gallons.The good news is that the Earth hole wasn't using 5 gallons a week like I had thought, instead it was using 2.5 gallons, LOL!!! OK, hopefully I can keep my math errors to a minimum in the future.
I missed posting a couple updates on the Earth hole, so here they are back to back.
Earthhole test, Week of July 9-15
Daily totals
July 9- High 84F, Low 52F, Avg humidity 49%
July 10- High 87F, Low 60F, Avg humidity 46%
July 11- High 90F, Low 58F, Avg humidity 52%
July 12- High 76F, Low 59F, Avg humidity 56%
July 13- High 88F, Low 54F, Avg humidity 50%
July 14- High 94F, Low 54F, Avg humidity 41%
July 15- High 98F, Low 57F, Avg humidity 38%
Week totals
Average high 88F, Average low 56F, Average mean 72F
Average humidity 47%
Total Precipitation: 0.00 in
Water used in this period= 2.5 gallons
Earthhole test, Week of July 16-22
Daily totals
July 16- High 99F, Low 61F, Avg humidity 35%
July 17- High 100F, Low 61F, Avg humidity 38%
July 18- High 96F, Low 66F, Avg humidity 41%
July 19- High 98F, Low 57F, Avg humidity 37%
July 20- High 101F, Low 62F, Avg humidity 33%
July 21- High 100F, Low 64F, Avg humidity 39%
July 22- High 95F, Low 64F, Avg humidity 43%
Week totals
Average high 98F, Average low 62F, Average mean 81F
Average humidity 38%
Total Precipitation: 0.00 in
Water used in this period=5 gallons
Now that I am aware of my overestimation of my reservoir size, it is apparent that the Earth hole makes much more efficient use of water than I was thinking earlier. The plant is expanding quickly, and seems to be outgrowing my non-Earth hole plants, and the Earth hole plant is quite healthy, rather than slowing down its growth through hot/dry weather it instead seems to thrive on the bright sun. This is because as soon as the plant needs more moisture because of the heat, it can take it on demand, no slow downs, no heat shock, ever.
The week of July 16-22 saw my average high temps go up about 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the first two weeks of the test, in response to the hotter weather and steadily increasing size, the plant used 2.5 more gallons than before, water usage this week should be similar, or even higher.
As soon as I pull in this healthy plant in October, and the theory is completely proven to me, I'll be setting into motion to create a version that will hold enough water to sustain the plant for 3 weeks+ in super hot weather, and 5 weeks in more reasonable weather. I'll also try to make the design easier and cheaper to build if I can. I'll try for a dozen for 2010
No soil inside them intentionally, although some may get in occasionally, which I scoop out of course. The water I am using is clear water from a spring seep sitting on clean bedrock I hear you on the terracotta plugging up, but mine have not done that as of yet, all are transferring all their water in about 3-4 days. I anticipate cleaning the pots each year, but I'm not sure if I'll do it this way next year.
The future of the terracotta for me would be to use terracotta "bottles" connected through water lines to reservoirs. The water in the rez would need to be clean anyways to prevent plugging of waterlines, a side affect would be to keep the insides of the "bottles" clean. Now I need a source of terracotta bottles...........I'm sure I'll find them........
Terracotta irrigation systems would be a good alternative to Earth holes for plots with multiple plants, but would technically inferior to the EH due to the fact waterlines would be needed to feed the system. They would however be superior to traditional drip systems, since the terracotta bottles would be much harder to plug than drippers and small 1/4" lines.
Bacchus and randude101: Thankyou!
It hit 110F at my place today! It never really cooled down last night. I think I may haul a load of water to my plots this evening, late enough to let it cool down and get shady, and early enough to not get stuck in the dark half way back. Its a couple days early to water, but it makes me nervous when we have all these 100F+ days.
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nice...
nice...
whats up BC,
I have been lurking through your thread for a few months now. I gotta say, Looking Real Good. I just have a question, on the picture OR95 #2 is that a clone, that flowered then reveged? the reason i ask, is that i have a lot of Granddaddy cutts that look just like that picture. Do you clean up all the lower shoots, and scraggly growth right before they start to flower. and if possible, how much do you usually pull off a individual plant that looks like that?
thanks......
ENDUR.
nice...
whats up BC,
I have been lurking through your thread for a few months now. I gotta say, Looking Real Good. I just have a question, on the picture OR95 #2 is that a clone, that flowered then reveged? the reason i ask, is that i have a lot of Granddaddy cutts that look just like that picture. Do you clean up all the lower shoots, and scraggly growth right before they start to flower. and if possible, how much do you usually pull off a individual plant that looks like that?
thanks......
ENDUR.
HookaHittaH
Member
Nice results on the Earth Hole BC. Looking forward to your yield on her. Stay safe and cool out there...
At first i couldn't believe the consumption was that great. glad you were wrong. i was starting to worry that the consumption would be to great to actually build one miself.
you could connect an extra reservoir that would refill the other one.
ps. i can't wait to see how big it will be before you harvest it.
you could connect an extra reservoir that would refill the other one.
ps. i can't wait to see how big it will be before you harvest it.
Hollaachu
Member
Backcountry I will be doing earth holes in the near future those plants done using the Earth Holes method are amazing, great job Brother!!!! I have one very important question to ask per your expertise....I had two Nevilles Haze99 plants that were placed out in late May....I had only those two females, and they were planted inside 2'x2'x2' holes.....I went out to check my plots last week, and one of the plants had dried up and toppled over....I being angry as hell took a look closer, and as I inspected the soil i found Termites.....Have you ever had this problem before, and if so what should I do in the future to prevent this from happening again!!!! The other Nev99 is doing just fine!!!!
I decided to change up the day I go to check my Earth hole, as I usually do with my plants occasionally through the summer(in case they are being watched). So here is a report for the last 6 days.
Earthhole test, July 23-28
Daily totals
July 23- High 94F, Low 63F, Avg humidity 46%
July 24- High 99F, Low 59F, Avg humidity 40%
July 25- High 99F, Low 62F, Avg humidity 40%
July 26- High 103F, Low 63F, Avg humidity 39%
July 27- High 105F, Low 63F, Avg humidity 38%
July 28- High 108F, Low 70F, Avg humidity 35%
Week totals
Average high 101F, Average low 63F, Average mean 82F
Average humidity 39%
Total Precipitation: 0.00 in
Water used in this period= 5 gallons in six days, would have been about 5.8 for the week
This is really giving me a better idea of the amount of water Cannabis plants use under various temperatures(and humidity). During cool weather in June, and when the plant was small, it only used 3 gallons through the entire month of June.
In the first 2 weeks of the test, my high temps averaged 88F-91F, and my plant used 2.5 gallons(per week). In the last two weeks, the plant has packed on some size, and my highs have averaged 98F-101F, water usage went up to 5 gallons per week. Not really unreasonable since the plant continues to grow at a fast pace through the hot weather.
I have no idea when this heat wave will drop us back to more reasonable temps, but water usage should also go down.
Endur- No, these are not clones, they are sexed seedlings. I'll probably get 3 or 4 Oz off each. I've never cleaned up the scraggly branches before, but maybe I'll give it a try this year, see if it makes the colas bigger.
Gantz- I was VERY relieved to find my mistake on the water capacity, it turns out this basic idea that drives Earth boxes and Earth holes is actually very efficient, I don't think I've had as nice a plant hand watering the same amounts. Thanks again for the heads up on the Earth box, I now seem to have the ultimate Guerrilla irrigation system I've been looking for(for a long time).
Hollaachu-Hmmmmm, never dealt with termites before. It sounds like they must have bored through your stalk? I don't even know any good home remedies for termites, any suggestions? Anybody?
I still need to get water to my pitcher plants, I was going to swing through and get them last night too, but ran out of sunlight. 107F today, maybe it will cool to 100F before I need to hike...........
Earthhole test, July 23-28
Daily totals
July 23- High 94F, Low 63F, Avg humidity 46%
July 24- High 99F, Low 59F, Avg humidity 40%
July 25- High 99F, Low 62F, Avg humidity 40%
July 26- High 103F, Low 63F, Avg humidity 39%
July 27- High 105F, Low 63F, Avg humidity 38%
July 28- High 108F, Low 70F, Avg humidity 35%
Week totals
Average high 101F, Average low 63F, Average mean 82F
Average humidity 39%
Total Precipitation: 0.00 in
Water used in this period= 5 gallons in six days, would have been about 5.8 for the week
This is really giving me a better idea of the amount of water Cannabis plants use under various temperatures(and humidity). During cool weather in June, and when the plant was small, it only used 3 gallons through the entire month of June.
In the first 2 weeks of the test, my high temps averaged 88F-91F, and my plant used 2.5 gallons(per week). In the last two weeks, the plant has packed on some size, and my highs have averaged 98F-101F, water usage went up to 5 gallons per week. Not really unreasonable since the plant continues to grow at a fast pace through the hot weather.
I have no idea when this heat wave will drop us back to more reasonable temps, but water usage should also go down.
Endur- No, these are not clones, they are sexed seedlings. I'll probably get 3 or 4 Oz off each. I've never cleaned up the scraggly branches before, but maybe I'll give it a try this year, see if it makes the colas bigger.
Gantz- I was VERY relieved to find my mistake on the water capacity, it turns out this basic idea that drives Earth boxes and Earth holes is actually very efficient, I don't think I've had as nice a plant hand watering the same amounts. Thanks again for the heads up on the Earth box, I now seem to have the ultimate Guerrilla irrigation system I've been looking for(for a long time).
Hollaachu-Hmmmmm, never dealt with termites before. It sounds like they must have bored through your stalk? I don't even know any good home remedies for termites, any suggestions? Anybody?
I still need to get water to my pitcher plants, I was going to swing through and get them last night too, but ran out of sunlight. 107F today, maybe it will cool to 100F before I need to hike...........
were on opposite sides of the spectrum backcountry! you have to find places near water and i have too much of it to even put plants directly into the soil!
great idea, now you've got me thinkin. I live out in a swamp where after about a foot down of digging the rich swamp water just starts flowing in. i have tried digging out about a 3' wide hole with a large tub inserted (found out this was way harder than it sounds in a swamp haha) with holes punched in the side of it and filled with soil. i cut the bottom off a 3 gal. pot and "planted" it within the lager tub sticking out about 8 inches from above the large tub. water would seep into the the large tub and would keep the soil in the small pot wet but way too much so, to the point where the bottom half of the soil was practically soupy.
i think your method might be the key to a pretty much self sufficient watering system within the parameters of swamp soil. if i took your setup and just cut some slits around the top of the reservoir it would be filled continuously. I would not bury it as deep as you have but leave it so the coco coir wick extends to just below ground level where i could connect it to an above ground soil bag or pot. maybe even use one of those long tree pots so the coco wick and dense potting soil is in one tube attached through the top into the reservoir making it a solid unit. I think as long as the soil the plant is in is above the water line within the soil of the swamp, soupy over watering can be avoided.
word up, good idea man, now you got me started on my own adapted adventure for next summer...
tell me what you think, i will be tuning in to see how your plants turn out, which are looking good by the way haha. you say OR95 is your own strain? what did you cross to get your final product?
great idea, now you've got me thinkin. I live out in a swamp where after about a foot down of digging the rich swamp water just starts flowing in. i have tried digging out about a 3' wide hole with a large tub inserted (found out this was way harder than it sounds in a swamp haha) with holes punched in the side of it and filled with soil. i cut the bottom off a 3 gal. pot and "planted" it within the lager tub sticking out about 8 inches from above the large tub. water would seep into the the large tub and would keep the soil in the small pot wet but way too much so, to the point where the bottom half of the soil was practically soupy.
i think your method might be the key to a pretty much self sufficient watering system within the parameters of swamp soil. if i took your setup and just cut some slits around the top of the reservoir it would be filled continuously. I would not bury it as deep as you have but leave it so the coco coir wick extends to just below ground level where i could connect it to an above ground soil bag or pot. maybe even use one of those long tree pots so the coco wick and dense potting soil is in one tube attached through the top into the reservoir making it a solid unit. I think as long as the soil the plant is in is above the water line within the soil of the swamp, soupy over watering can be avoided.
word up, good idea man, now you got me started on my own adapted adventure for next summer...
tell me what you think, i will be tuning in to see how your plants turn out, which are looking good by the way haha. you say OR95 is your own strain? what did you cross to get your final product?
Part of the inspiration for Earth holes came from swamp tubes, and other swamp growing methods where the potting soil of the planters come in contact with the swamp to help draw moisture to the plant. Similar techniques meant for the swamp have already been in usage for awhile.
What I kind of did here was create my own miniature swamp under my plant..........
What I kind of did here was create my own miniature swamp under my plant..........
NightVision
Member
Great job BC!
The Earth Hole Plants look much greener and bushier. Thats a lot of work you have to do in order to get a decent grow. Have to do what ya have to do.
I get about 3-4" a month down here, probably an 1.5" just today. The humidity makes it very hot though, it would be great to only have 46% humidity, its ususally 60-95% this time of the year.
Cool Dog.
The Earth Hole Plants look much greener and bushier. Thats a lot of work you have to do in order to get a decent grow. Have to do what ya have to do.
I get about 3-4" a month down here, probably an 1.5" just today. The humidity makes it very hot though, it would be great to only have 46% humidity, its ususally 60-95% this time of the year.
Cool Dog.
30 second before i got to this post in your thread i had the same exact thought.
If the swamp won't come to Backcountry...Backcountry will just make his own damn swamp
We just need now to find a way to build it fast, simple and inexpensively and the number of successful outdoor growers will increase tenfold.
You know, a couple seasons ago I was pursuing some of the swamp growers threads, and looking the various methods used to get water from the swamp to the roots of the plants. Almost all growers use potting soil in direct contact with the water/mud of the swamp, to transfer moisture to the soil of their planter.
After wishing I had a swamp to grow in, it occurred to me that I could possibly grow my plants in swamp tubes, if I built artificial water holes to put them in. Of course the idea passed from my mind, partly because it seemed like stoned fantasy, but the idea stewed in my mind.
When you(gantz) gave me the heads up on the Earth box, it kind of drug the idea back up in my mind, I mean essentially the Earth box is a self contained miniature swamp grow. My next step was to try and make a version of the Earth box that allowed for growing larger plants without making it out of huge toteboxes, inconvenient to be drug out into the field.
This first wooden box I built was not so easy to build, my next idea is to use a 18 gallon tote. A larger bucket used as the wick placed inside the tote, with a hole cut in the totes lid, which allows the media in the bucket to contact the potting soil, and water the plant. I imagine I'd use a garbage bag to contain the soil, it seems to be working fine.
I can get 18 gallon totes for around 5 bucks, 3-5 gallon buckets for free($3 if I buy new), Garbage bags are cheep, so not including the potting soil, one should be able to build nice Earth hole for well under $10, maybe for under $5.
The homemade pre-fertilized organic potting soil and Coco I used cost under $5 for the 10 gallons used here, maybe lots less if I realy crunched the numbers.
So about $10-$15 dollars max for the Earth hole 2.0, maybe lots less for a good scrounger. Not too shabby considering it could make life lots easier on you and your plants, especially in truly dry/hot climates.
This summer is shaping up to be much warmer than usual, high temp records are being broken all across western Washington and Oregon, the highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle happened yesterday. And nearly every city along the I-5 corridor in Oregon has broken records.
A great season to test the Earth hole!
Yeah, humidity is a killer, we can have either super dry or super humid periods in summer, but super dry is more common this time of year. Southwest Oregon has a moderate rain shadow, due to the Klamath and coastal mountains between the interior valleys and the pacific ocean to our west, these mountains also help to block us from moist air.
But remember humidity is bad for humans, dry air is bad for vegging cannabis plants.
After wishing I had a swamp to grow in, it occurred to me that I could possibly grow my plants in swamp tubes, if I built artificial water holes to put them in. Of course the idea passed from my mind, partly because it seemed like stoned fantasy, but the idea stewed in my mind.
When you(gantz) gave me the heads up on the Earth box, it kind of drug the idea back up in my mind, I mean essentially the Earth box is a self contained miniature swamp grow. My next step was to try and make a version of the Earth box that allowed for growing larger plants without making it out of huge toteboxes, inconvenient to be drug out into the field.
This first wooden box I built was not so easy to build, my next idea is to use a 18 gallon tote. A larger bucket used as the wick placed inside the tote, with a hole cut in the totes lid, which allows the media in the bucket to contact the potting soil, and water the plant. I imagine I'd use a garbage bag to contain the soil, it seems to be working fine.
I can get 18 gallon totes for around 5 bucks, 3-5 gallon buckets for free($3 if I buy new), Garbage bags are cheep, so not including the potting soil, one should be able to build nice Earth hole for well under $10, maybe for under $5.
The homemade pre-fertilized organic potting soil and Coco I used cost under $5 for the 10 gallons used here, maybe lots less if I realy crunched the numbers.
So about $10-$15 dollars max for the Earth hole 2.0, maybe lots less for a good scrounger. Not too shabby considering it could make life lots easier on you and your plants, especially in truly dry/hot climates.
This summer is shaping up to be much warmer than usual, high temp records are being broken all across western Washington and Oregon, the highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle happened yesterday. And nearly every city along the I-5 corridor in Oregon has broken records.
A great season to test the Earth hole!
Yeah, humidity is a killer, we can have either super dry or super humid periods in summer, but super dry is more common this time of year. Southwest Oregon has a moderate rain shadow, due to the Klamath and coastal mountains between the interior valleys and the pacific ocean to our west, these mountains also help to block us from moist air.
But remember humidity is bad for humans, dry air is bad for vegging cannabis plants.
Hollaachu
Member
Backcountry, I recently went to ask.com, and came up with something that will quell my Termite problem organically!!!! I was sent to a site that sells Orange Oil.... Then I went to Ebay and found a company over there that handles all types of concentrated distilled oils, even Neem!!!!The man that I called said if I were to use it on my plants(tomatoes is what I told him they were lmao!!!), I would have to dilute it by a ratio of 1 Tablespoon per gallon of water!!!!He said that Orange oil has a drying effect if used in a higher rate!!!! So I went ahead and ordered the Orange Oil, and I will post back up here to let you know how it all works out for me!!!! Thanks.... Holla!!!
very nice detailed thread bro, im lovin the earth holes, 5 gallons in a week, i think i put that down twice a day here. been pretty dang hot lately as well here.
take care
CBF
take care
CBF
