Sleepy Hollow Canyon-2011

OK, it's a "mini-canyon" but by the time I got it cleared, it sure seemed like a real canyon. The cleared area was similar to the back of the photo before beginning. You cant see by this photo, but there were several large pines (2-1/2ft in diameter at base) and a couple more almost as large that were removed along with 4 or 5 midsized oaks. Everything including lots of brush was dragged up the hill (using my trusty tractor) to a landing & bucked up for next year's firewood...And with that, the Sleepy Hollow 2011 adventure begins...
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Upper right corner shows where the trees were dragged and bucked and gives a little idea as to the depth of the "canyon". A seasonal creek is still running at the bottom of "Sleepy Hollow". At the rear of the photo is a greenbelt heading off into the forest where "Mr. Bear" lives. On more than one occasion last year, he would sneak in for an attempted late nite snack from my garbage cans. Hopefully, Mr Bear has no taste for meds or med farmers...

So, we have the place: Sleepy Hollow. Now, what are we going to do with it?

The Plan
18 plants- To be named later but an interesting mix of these and those...

Soil: Pro-Mix soil- In ground

Nutrients/Amendments- Sorry, if I told ya, I'd have ta kill ya...

Logistics, Theories and EWAGs (educated wild-ass guesses):
Due to the first year unknowns of Sleepy Hollow, specifically not knowing exactly how high the sun will track during the later summer months, only the north side of the Hollow (right side of previouslty posted 2 photos) will be planted. The slope is already receiving full sun 7:30am to apprx 6:00pm and should only get better. The length of Sleepy Hollow lies East & West so Mr. Sun travels up the Hollow from sunrise to sunset (bottom to top of photos) which should prove Okey-Dokey to the best laid plans of mice, men and the Cannibis Cowboy.

I am opting for "diggin in the dirt" rather than Smarties for a few reasons. The primary reason is that the slope of Sleepy Hollow is approximately 35-40 degrees or more, so for the time it takes to level out each 200 gal Smartie location, I might as well dig a hole instead. Other reasons are: The soil appears good: rather loamy and not a lot of clay although somewhat rocky (hopefully, me and the rocks wont have big issues) Another reason is I prefer an au-natural look to my gardens which is to say, if it can be avoided, I prefer not looking at big black tubs. So, approx 3'x3' holes tapered out at the top for feeder root expansion filled with Pro-Mix should put me on the roadayo to mucho successo...CC

Baby girls: Ready for the outside world...





OK girls, grab your sunblock and Ray Bans, we're headed for the sunshine...

The Medical Menagerie:

Blue Dream - (100% sativa)
Grand Daddy Purple - (100% indica)
Cindy 99 - (100% sativa, princess x princess 88)
LA Confidential - (100% indica, og kush x afghan indica)
Odyssey Kush - (90% indica, 10% sativa)
OG Kush - (sativa hybrid)
Querkle - (80% indica, purple erkle x space queen)
Romulan - (100% indica, cali x white rhino)

I think I have a respectable med lineup (Ive had better and a lot worse) but I am by no means a strain expert. Hell, I'm not an expert at anything in the grow game. My strains are all clones and supplied to me by folks at my local dispensary. If you pick them up in February, for every 2 you buy, you get one free. Works out to &10.00 bucks apiece. A little high but guaranteed to be what they say they are, also bug and disease free and plus I dont have to meet Carlos behind the Circle K, if ya get my drift. The only trick is keeping the clones alive 'til middle May when they hit the great outdoors. I grow both sativas and indicas because the patients I caregive for prefer the sativas as daytime medicine so they can get out and wreak havoc on the planet while using the heavier indicas for nitetime relaxation and sleepy time. CC

CanniDo Cowboy said:

At the rear of the photo is a greenbelt heading off into the forest where "Mr. Bear" lives. Last year he would come in from here on his way to my garbage cans. Hopefully, Mr Bear has no taste for meds or med farmers...

Click to expand...

Don't shoot the bears! Please.
You can get rubber buck-shot for a 12-gauge from your local sheriff/forest service probably.

If a needle falls in the forest, the deer hears it, the eagle sees it, and the bear SMELLS it.

If he hit your TC last year, he will hit them again this year. And he will take the same path. You gotta have one big fence to stop a bear.

Don't be the jackass from 'The Green Rush' talking about having to shoot a bear if needed.

Since your garden ain't moving, try moving your trash cans.

Rednick said:

Don't shoot the bears! Please.
You can get rubber buck-shot for a 12-gauge from your local sheriff/forest service probably.

If a needle falls in the forest, the deer hears it, the eagle sees it, and the bear SMELLS it.

If he hit your TC last year, he will hit them again this year. And he will take the same path. You gotta have one big fence to stop a bear.

Don't be the jackass from 'The Green Rush' talking about having to shoot a bear if needed.

Since your garden ain't moving, try moving your trash cans.

Click to expand...

Red... A) I'm certainly no jackass and B) Mr. Bear is my bud although weve never met personally which is probably best in the overall scheme of things. He has always been welcome to come and go as long as he behaves himself. I adjusted the trash can situation a long time ago and see no reason to resort to firearms, garden or not. And a garden would never be worth killing an animal for, IMO...leastways not anything of the 4-legged variety... Now, if Mr Bear were to wanna take a run at one my horses, which he hasnt to this point, then the rodeo would be on. I'm quirky that way... CC

Looks like a lot of work props for that and sounds like youv'e had some success in the past; a tractor and horses. All the med grows I see are in the back yard why did you pick
somewhere in the bush? Don’t get me wrong I love the idea, not a container fan because as a guerilla grower less is better. Also why the ravine because it gets the most moisture interested in your choice?

Have you been there right after a rain to check run off?

Good luck to you I will keep my eye on this one cool idea.

what hamstring said.

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.

WayOutHere said:

another 530 brother.

Thats interesting hamstring most the medical grows I see are not in the back yard.

Click to expand...

I am just jealous of your Dozer. would make our 400 gallon pots we need to fill much easier.

Click to expand...

Agreed my comment was uninformed I have no legal med grow experience and we get too many uninformed comments in our everyday lives .

I will say that the ravine was an interesting choice compared to other grows in general, sticking with things I have experience with.

Your reply appreciated no need to have a bunch of white noise in threads we are trying to educate ourselves here.

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 .

Hamstring. I think what it shows is. medical grows are everywhere. : ) The Ravine is an interesting choice. I am assuming it does not have much flow in the winter? I am having perspective issues. based on I see the pile of logs in the back so I know it is far but I cannot determine how far.

hamstring said:

Looks like a lot of work props for that and sounds like youv'e had some success in the past; a tractor and horses. All the med grows I see are in the back yard why did you pick
somewhere in the bush? Don’t get me wrong I love the idea, not a container fan because as a guerilla grower less is better. Also why the ravine because it gets the most moisture interested in your choice?

Have you been there right after a rain to check run off?

Good luck to you I will keep my eye on this one cool idea.

Click to expand...

Welcome Ham (and others) to the Sleepy Hollow! The area I chose was not because of preference. First, it offered the best "out of sight, out of mind" potential in regard to possible nosey neighbors and or passer-byers. I say "possible" because this is my first year on the property and I dont know what the neighbors reaction will be if they happen to see my garden. And I dont want to use perimeter privacy fencing because in my area, that's like putting up a ~MARIJUANA HERE~ sign! So, I opted for the "tucked away" approach.

Second) Growing on a semi-radical slope can be advantageous, if planned right, IMO. In my case and in the interest of being primarily as discreet as possible, the sativa strains, which we all know are typically known for excessive height, by planting them lower down on the slope allows them to reach full potential while maintaining a discreet and safe garden. In other words, from a reasonable distance, which in my case would be my nearest property fence line, visibility "down in the ravine" is zero. Also, by growing the sativas lower in the Hollow, topping and or having to bend the plant over(which often leads to the dreaded "snapage syndrome") to minimize detection isnt necessary. Along the same line of thinking, the other strains (indicas), even tho not the taller growing sativas, will be planted higher up the slope, but again, still low enough to not be seen from outside the property.

I liken Sleepy Hollow to climbing Mt Everest. Stay in the lower area of the Hollow and all should be well. Plant too high to where the plant tops are visible, and Ive entered the possible "death zone"...

As far as the actual plants growing on a slope, here's what Ive learned from my past seasons in the "guerilla game": First, think of a set of bleacher seats at a ball game. Each seat row is higher than the last to afford visibility. Pretty simple concept. If you apply the same idea when planting on a slope, you get the same benefit. Each plant can be planted a minimal distance apart from each other going up-slope because each is higher than the last. So, competition for sun, just like visibility from the bleacher seats, is kept to a minimum, unless of course the plant in front is wearing a big hat!

Another advantage to slope growing and this is only my humble opinion based on experience: Growing on a slope or ravine contour seems to reduce mold possibility. There, I said it. Here's my theory why: One of the biggest reasons for mold late in the season is lack of air flow, especially if the plants, at maturity, end up too close to each other. The flowers generate a lot of heat from the resin making process and simply put, the air, if any, cant circulate to maintain an even balance between outside air temp and actual flower temp. Hence, mold begins to develop. My theory anyway. Slope growing, on the other hand, when possible, allows for better air circulation in and around each plant (yep, it's the bleacher seats theory again).

Too, a slope or even small ravine can act like a natural air moving funnel. You ever heard that expression "Wind whipping down the canyon"? Ravines, canyons and even slopes can act like a sideways carburetor, pulling air from one end and thru to the other end. Even on a still day, you can stand at the lower end of a ravine and often feel a breeze being generated by the natural contour of the ravine itself.


Slope/Ravine Growing 101 Review- (IMO)
1) Closer planting/growing tolerance = more plants which increases efficiency use of garden space
2) Decreased detection
3) Increased sunlite exposure per plant vs flat/level garden
4) Premium air flow, reduction of mold threat

Disclaimer: I dont advocate or claim growing on a slope is in anyway better than level-plot growing. It works for me simply because it's what I have to work with and it happens to lie east to west, benefiting full sun. That said, if youve ever traveled thru the Napa Valley wine country and talked to Earnest & Julio, they'll tell ya : Growing on steep hill sides: Isa gooda thinga"... CC

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

Sup CC, I be somewhere in the 530 myself! Not blessed with the property you are though...

Ran Grandaddy Purple last season and I gotta admit it was a pretty mold-prone strain for me. Heard many other people who've had the same problem with it outside...

Love your tractor and spot, gonna make sure I tag along for this... best of luck for the rest of the season!

hamstring said:

Looks like a lot of work props for that and sounds like youv'e had some success in the past; a tractor and horses. All the med grows I see are in the back yard why did you pick
somewhere in the bush? Don’t get me wrong I love the idea, not a container fan because as a guerilla grower less is better. Also why the ravine because it gets the most moisture interested in your choice?

Have you been there right after a rain to check run off?

Good luck to you I will keep my eye on this one cool idea.

Click to expand...

Ham- Hopefully Ive explained my reasons for the location in my previous post. Ive been keeping an eye on the seasonal run-off creek all winter and even in the hardest of rain storms, in only gets about 3' wide, 3" deep or so. My closest plants to the creek will be better than 10ft uphill, the reason being the further up-slope= more and longer sun exposure.

The depth of the "ravine" standing at the top and looking at a horizontal and level line across may have a 30' drop at most so a difference in moisture in the bottom area vs up-slope, once the creek dries up, should be nill. The Hollow is not real narrow at the bottom, apprx 15ft across and apprx 200ft wide at the top. CC

Slangheat said:

Sup CC, I be somewhere in the 530 myself! Not blessed with the property you are though...

Ran Grandaddy Purple last season and I gotta admit it was a pretty mold-prone strain for me. Heard many other people who've had the same problem with it outside...

Love your tractor and spot, gonna make sure I tag along for this... best of luck for the rest of the season!

Click to expand...

Slang, thanks for the best wishes pard and glad ta have ya riding along. I'm no mold expert but I do feel that good air flow in and around the plant(s) is vital...CC

lol rubber buck shot that will just piss the bear off.

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