Can I get some yield estimates for this set up outdoors :)?

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

Basically I was planning on doing like 40 plants outdoors in black trashbags(to save hassle of digging holes)... Due to money retraints, using around 2.25 Gallons of soil in each bag.

I've read indoors people can yield about 1 ounce or so in 2 gallon pots, but how much would this yield outdoors?

Here's my soil mixture

12 cups Perlite
12 Cups Vermiculite
12 Cups MG Organic
2.25 Tablespoons of Rare Earth(for moisture retention and stem strength)
1.5 Tablespoons of Dolomitic limestone Limestone
(The rare earth is about 1 TBSP per gallon and the lime is about 1/2 Tablespoon to a gallon)

I'll be fertilizing with the K.I.S.S method using Maxibloom.

Plants will get an average of 4-5 hours of direct sunlight, while the rest will be varying on and off as the sun changes positions throughout the day.

Any tips/advice?

Edit

lease read thread before posting :}

Manitoid · Jun 9, 2011

tip: more soil per plant, even if you are digging it out of the ground. Planting in the earth rather than in bags will be your free answer to more soil per plant. chop it up, and mix in the stuff that was going to go into each bag into the native and plant away

advice: good luck!

.clunk · Jun 9, 2011

Like Manitoid said, dig some holes and add your amended soil to the native soil - you'll get much better results and you won't be watering twice a day to try and keep the bags from drying out.

I dig 12-18 gallon holes in the bush, pick out the rocks and roots then mix in approx 25-30% peat/perlite, a cup of lime and call it good. I grow half pounders this way and it costs me only a few dollars to amend each hole, can't beat that for cost effectiveness.

IMO, you'll be much better off growing 5 big plants in holes you dug then amended the soil rather than doing 40 in tiny pots. If you already have 40 female plants on the go, think about digging some big holes then planting each one with 3-4 plants then training them outwards from each other with bamboo stakes, or LST training them outwards.

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

I understand I can get far more yield with more soil.. though there's some reasons we are not digging in this area. The forest around it is intensely think. We had to clear it out to get to our spot. So now there's tons of briars and debree on the ground, it would take us days to clear out the ground before we could even dig there.

Though based on the conditions in the first post, how much yield per plant am I looking at, on average.

Also, to add a little side note, the number of plants isn't important to me. Only like 10 of these plants are high yielding specific strains. 5 Super Cali Haze, 1 Northern Lights, 1 Amergedon, and some other seeds from intensely dank bud(all femed).

Everything else is just mids seeds. And I've grown dank from mids before so I'm not worried about the mids part, they are just free seeds, and I have hundreds.

PoopyTeaBags · Jun 9, 2011

you should try and find a better spot -=P 5 hours of direct sun is not alot and if its so thick youll be doing alot of work for nothing....

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

Trust me, I have picked the best spot for my circumstance. It may be more than 5 hours, I don't know, I could sit out there one day and meditate for 12 hours to watch the sun, but I don't know. 5 was just an estimate.

and I'm really not doing that much work

. I've got it worked out very easily. Once we get the plants out there, not hard... we'll have like 5 40 gallon buckets filled up with water(yes I have a clean source)I'll use a hand pump or just cyphen the water out of the resoviors into gallon jugs when watering.

Slangheat · Jun 9, 2011

Why go with so many plants, yet such little dirt?

40x2.25=90 .. you could go with 2 plants 45 gal each and get a much better harvest imo. or even just 1 90-100g.

Green lung · Jun 9, 2011

Sounds like a saggy ass bag of dirt if you ask me. lol

PoopyTeaBags · Jun 9, 2011

do you know how often youll be there watering a 2 gall pot??? like twice a day....

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

Slangheat said:
Why go with so many plants, yet such little dirt?

40x2.25=90 .. you could go with 2 plants 45 gal each and get a much better harvest imo. or even just 1 90-100g.

Hmmm, You know, I never really thought about that to be perfectly honest. I figure every plant had its limit. Maybe we'll trash some of the mids seedlings like 10 of them and combine the bags into a giant pot that's like 20 gallons for the heads.

Would this actually be better than each individual plant?

Green lung said:
Sounds like a saggy ass bag of dirt if you ask me. lol

Yes, they are

PoopyTeaBags said:
do you know how often youll be there watering a 2 gall pot??? like twice a day....

I figured once a day with the additional of the rare earth to hold the water, maybe even less, hmm I guess i'll find out soon enough.

---

Would I really get more yield from 1 plant in a 20 gallon, than 10 plants in a 2 gallons each? Also, what about disease? If I cut 10 plants for one, and that one gets some incurable disease and days... I lose so much.. when beforehand that disease could be potentially limited to a few plants. How much less often would I have to water a single plant in a 20 gallon?

fukndenny · Jun 9, 2011

is this a guerilla grow? if so prepare to basically live out there with those small containers you'll be watering a lot.

JOJO420 · Jun 9, 2011

My estimate is hardly anything worthwhile. As has been stated, you will be watering 2 times a day. If you do not , you will lose all your plants to drought. And you have to factor in bugs and animals. If your plants are constantly dry, the chance of getting a bug infestation just increased. Not to mention that all your roots will be cooked. I jst cannot say with any faith you will harvest anything with 2.5 gallons of soil over the long outdoor season. Good Luck, I think your gonna need it

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

Okay, thank you for the tips everyone. I haven't put any plants in the ground yet so it's not too late... back to my previous question though.

Would I really get more yield from 1 plant in a 20 gallon, than 10 plants in a 2 gallons each?

Also, what about disease? If I cut 10 plants for one, and that one gets some incurable disease and dies... I lose so much.. when beforehand that disease could be potentially limited to a few plants.... and how much less often would I have to water a single plant in a 20 gallon?

Also, what about 5 gallons of soil, in say the homer home depot buckets? 20 Gallons per plant is a bit of a stretch for my budget, and I'm atleast trying to grow 7 high class strains that I have germed... all the others are mids seeds

How long could a 5 gallon go without watering on 95 degree days?

organic P · Jun 9, 2011

fwiw: a large plant, in a 20 gallon pot, in mid summers heat, can drink up to 5 gallons a day.

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

organic P said:
fwiw: a large plant, in a 20 gallon pot, in mid summers heat, can drink up to 5 gallons a day.

I'll have 3 40-50 gallon trashcans consistently filled up with water out there so access to water wont be a problem.

I am thinking of using 5 gallon buckets, how well would these hold up in comparison to the 2 gallons in terms of water usage, water requirements, yield, etc? I appreciate all advice and tips.

superbolan · Jun 9, 2011

you may wish to look into some of those polymer watering crystals

.clunk · Jun 9, 2011

I've grown 1/4lb plants in a 5 gallon grow bag easily and have seen people get much better results than I did. 5 gallons of soil is a little more reasonable size to grow in although you'll still need to water daily as the plant gets bigger.

My preference is always to dig holes and amend the native soil, but if you can't then using grow bags would be favorable to the buckets you mentioned. 5 Gallon grow bags are a little lower and wider, so they have a wider root mass and will be more stable in high winds and not stick out like a sore thumb. They'll also be cheaper than the buckets, unless you find a free source for those.

The only upside to the buckets that I could see is that they'd be easier to pick up and carry in case you have to move your plants to a safer location or a spot with more sun.

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

superbolan said:
you may wish to look into some of those polymer watering crystals

I have a MORE than suggested amount of Rare Earth in my soil per gallon. The people at the grow store said it is just as good as water crystals and provides added benefits such as water retention throughout the structure of the plant.

.clunk said:
I've grown 1/4lb plants in a 5 gallon grow bag easily and have seen people get much better results than I did. 5 gallons of soil is a little more reasonable size to grow in although you'll still need to water daily as the plant gets bigger.

My preference is always to dig holes and amend the native soil, but if you can't then using grow bags would be favorable to the buckets you mentioned. 5 Gallon grow bags are a little lower and wider, so they have a wider root mass and will be more stable in high winds and not stick out like a sore thumb. They'll also be cheaper than the buckets, unless you find a free source for those.

The only upside to the buckets that I could see is that they'd be easier to pick up and carry in case you have to move your plants to a safer location or a spot with more sun.

Can I find grow bags at any place other than a hydroponics store?

JOJO420 · Jun 9, 2011

Would I really get more yield from 1 plant in a 20 gallon, than 10 plants in a 2 gallons each?

My experience is yes. Not all the time, but most of the time. There are times and situations where 10 will out gain 1, but in this case you are better off with the 20 gallon. If you cannot water all 10, you lose all 10. If you cannot water 1 you lose 1.

Can I find grow bags at any place other than a hydroponics store?

I have found them at Home depot, wal mart, lowes. True value stores, OSH, anD most garden center's or hardware/nursery stores

The rare earth and the polymere crystals ARE NOT a replacement for soil or soiless medium. They only help a little bit to retain moisture. In the case of a 2 gallon bag we r talking hours of moisture, not days. The pot might be a little more moist for another 4-5 hrs past what not having the rare earth would do.
Upgrade to bigger pots or grow bags or holes or whateva you can do is my recommendation.

Xtensity · Jun 9, 2011

JOJO420 said:
My experience is yes. Not all the time, but most of the time. There are times and situations where 10 will out gain 1, but in this case you are better off with the 20 gallon. If you cannot water all 10, you lose all 10. If you cannot water 1 you lose 1.

I have found them at Home depot, wal mart, lowes. True value stores, OSH, anD most garden center's or hardware/nursery stores

The rare earth and the polymere crystals ARE NOT a replacement for soil or soiless medium. They only help a little bit to retain moisture. In the case of a 2 gallon bag we r talking hours of moisture, not days. The pot might be a little more moist for another 4-5 hrs past what not having the rare earth would do.
Upgrade to bigger pots or grow bags or holes or whateva you can do is my recommendation.

Hmm. Out of all the times I've been to homedepot and lowes I have never seen this grow bags. Would you be kind enough to provide me a link to what they look like?

Can I get some yield estimates for this set up outdoors :)?

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