[BACKCOUNTRY]

Hello, and welcome to my 2007 grow!

Most of you know me, but I'll give a little backstory-
I live in the South-West quarter of Oregon, my climate is drier and warmer than most of the PNW.
I get about 2"-6" of rainfall from July 1st to Sept. 30th, which means I have a very dry growing season, water is a top concern for me, no other factor will matter without sufficent moisture. Also temps can go over 90F or 100f for much of the summer.
All this dry weather also means my plants are the focus of attention of any animal that loves green plants(they are rare here in Summer), I have taken many losses due to Deer and Pack rats.

All and all, as long as water is available, and the soil is fed correctly, its not a bad place to grow Cannabis.
My region is a series of narrow Valleys and moderately tall ridges, one after the other, flat ground is prized and rare. Add many types of tall trees, and (lots of)sunlight can also be hard to come by.


How and where I grow
I grow all Guerilla style, off my rural property, and usually on public or commercially own lands(owned by corporations, not people). Where and how I grow depends on how much water is available nearby.

In some of my plots this year, I will be using automated methods of dispensing water to my plants, using versions of gravity flow irrigation systems I have tested in my vagetable garden.
For more info click on this link-

Automatic irrigation systems

In other plots, I will use rare "oasis" areas where the soil is naturally moist, due to swamps, streams, or springs. These are rare and prized locations, they allow me more freedom from watering.

I mostly use organic methods for growing my food and Cannabis, this year all my plots will recieve nutrition mostly from llama manure.

Getting started!
My 2007 season started on Febuary 14th, when I started seeds germinating.
After using several different methods of starting seeds, I have settled on a favorite method-
I start by marking a snack size zip-lock bag with the strain being started-


I then soak a paper towel in water and fold it 3-4 times, and place seeds on its surface-


I fold the paper towel over the seeds and place the towel in the correct bag, the zip-lock is then hung in a warm place with a tack, and checked daily-


Germination usually happens in 1-4 days. As seeds show the tell-tale white root of germination I pull them out of the towel and place them root down in 8oz solo cups of seedling mix potting soil-


The seeded cups were placed under shop lights, which are available at Wal-mart and most hardware stores for $8-$15.

Going outside!
When my weather started warming in late March, I built a basic cold-frame(a type of mini-greenhouse) from 1"x"2 lumber and sheet plastic-




By March 28th I had 25 seedlings that had been upgraded to 16oz solo cups, and 22 were ready for transplant to gallons. I used Miracle grow soil for the first batch, and Organic fed soil for others, both have worked great.










By April 4th they looked like this-


By April 13th I had added more younger plants-


A total of 9 plants have shown female out of the original 25, all these females will be placed in plots recieving a pretty good amount of care.

The rest of the plants I place out after these 9 will be placed in naturally moist locations where plants will fend mostly for themselves.

The strains I am working with this year include my cornerstone strain OR95, and two hybrids of that strain, OR95x Northern lights and OR95xC99. The later is a new hybrid that has not been tested, both its parents show remarkable resistance to mold in my wet harvest season.

My personal strains
OR95 is a strain over 30 years in the making. It started when my father started growing his own in the bushes on his small acreage north of San Francisco, basicly the seeds of any good bud comming from Californias famous "Emerald triagle"(Humbolt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties) was kept and planted and crossed.

This grab bag of top grade genetics was brought with my family from California when we moved to Oregon in the early 80s, it was one more time crossed with a local stocky Indica that was probably related to the local strain "Tiller killer"(also known as Oregon 90).
The end product of inbreeding this cross is known as Oregon 95, or OR95. It is a plant with great old school Indica flavor and a balanced high. Plants often turn various shades of Purple, red, orange, and yellow during harvest season.













Here are some pics of the OR95xNorthern lights(ORxN)-









This will be the first year I grow the new OR95x C99 cross, so I have pics or info on that strain yet.

OK, lets get growing!

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Plot HM#1 (High maitenence)

I'm starting the season by planting my largest seedling, this plant is known to be female, so I am making sure it is provided with everything I can to grow big. It will be the only plant in this plot.

This plot is located on a steep south facing hillside, in a thicket of a local bush that grows thick, and will provide great cover from people on the ground, but they have been trimmed to make sure plenty of sunshine will hit the location from above.
The thick brush will also make protecting the plants from Deer easier.



I evaluated this plot for sunshine availablity using my Compass and sunchart(and inclinomter), my evaluation showed that this plot will recieve 12 hours of direct sunshine on June 21, 11 hours on Aug 21, and 7 hours on Oct 21(at the end of my season). These are all great numbers for each part of the season, this large quantity of light will allow my plants to grow large, with chunky buds.
Click this link for more info on evaluating your Plots sunshine potential- Evaluating Sunshine potential in your plot

I also tested the soil for Texture(hardness, softness, looseness) and PH.

The texture turned out to be a Sandy loam, which is pretty close to perfect, the only problem being it won't hold alot of water very long without help, but being a naturally loose soil, the Cannabis roots will grow fast in it. Click here for more info on Soil texture- Evaluating your plots soils: Soil texture

The PH tested at about 6.5, which is pretty good on its own, it won't need any help. Click on this link for more info on testing and ajusting PH- Evaluating your plots soils: Testing your PH

I decided to dig holes in the 30 gallon range, because I am looking for a large plant here-


To dig a hole of the correct capacity, I used some math:

1 cubic foot contains 7.48 US Gallons

1 cubic foot is a cube that measures 12" in depth, width, and length. To find cubic footage of a hole, measure its width, length, and depth, and then multipy each number like this for example- 2'x2'x3'=12

I want a 30 gallon hole, so I divide 30 gallons by 7.48, and get 4 cubic feet- 30/7.48=4.

So I need a 4 cubic foot hole, after some figuring I disover that a hole 1.5' wide by 1.5' long, and 2' deep will contain 4 cubic feet(or 33 gallons)- 1.5'x 1.5'x 2'= 4 cubic feet.


I decided to try something different this season, I lined the holes with plastic sheeting, cutting a hole in the bottom for drainage. The idea is to try and reduce loss of moisture and nutrition to the surrounding native soils. I tossed 4 Table spoons of Water holding crystals in the bottom of the hole, to help catch moisture leaving the hole.

OK, here is whats going in the hole:

3 gallons of llama manure, NPK 1-1-1(also to help raise organic content for moisture retention)
2 gallons of Peat moss(to help moisture retention)
2 cups(1TBS per gallon) of Kelp meal for Potassium and trace minerals
2 cups of Azomite(similar to Dolomite, interchangable) for Cal,Mag and PH buffer
2 TBS 12-8-4 Seabird guano
8 TBS of water holding crystals total

First I filled the hole 1/2 way with native soil, then I dumped the llama manure and Peat moss on it, and then mixed it well-


Next I added 4 more TBS of Water holding crystals(front white pile), my Azomite(on left), and my Kelp meal(on right)-


I continued to mix these amendments and fertilizers together, mixing in more native soil to raise the holes surface to natural ground level-


I transplanted the plat to the plot, she is a OR95x C99-


At this point she is about 9 weeks old, and nearly 12" tall, its about 15 weeks to the start of bloom, and 24 weeks to harvest-


I sidedressed around her drip line with 2 TBS of High N Seabird guano, to give her a immediate boost so she can find all the other goodies in the soil-


I rigged up a "rat cage" in a cone shape from 1/2" hardware cloth, and placed it over her to protect her from attacks by Deer and Pack rats-

Click on this link for more info on protecting your plants from Deer-Protecting your plants from Deer

I have 3 more females and 6 more probable females to plant in the next week or so, plus several dozen more spread across my local country side, stay tuned!

[BACKCOUNTRY]

*reserved*

[pipeline]

Lookin great! I think she'll go... maybe!

Cool little cold frame ya made! KISS!

I would have had seed planted outside last weekend, but instead I had to do soil prep.... It was a cold, wet winter, no time to dig..... Right behind ya!

[Paddi]

God damn BACKCOUNTRY. This is gonna be THE outdoorthread 07

Great info and pics


Peace
Paddi

[ReeferDan]

I think im going to have to pull up a comfy chair for this thread, looks like that first lady will be very happy in her hole.

Keep up the good work backcountry, i'll be following closely.

1 question for you, when you rig a gravity feed reservor with a hose going down to the plant, what do you use to disperse water from the hose? Do you use one of those tube ring type things with holes in it or a dripper line or what? Im trying to figure this out for a guerrilla grow im planning.

Thanks!
ReeferDan

[badmf]

Yo Bro Lookin' good. But will you enclose the top of your cage? PS does llama manure stink? lol

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Thanks everyone! I'm hoping to have a good season.

Originally Posted by ReeferDan

........ when you rig a gravity feed reservor with a hose going down to the plant, what do you use to disperse water from the hose? Do you use one of those tube ring type things with holes in it or a dripper line or what? Im trying to figure this out for a guerrilla grow im planning......

Check the link in my sig, my irrigation thread will explain.

Originally Posted by badmf

...But will you enclose the top of your cage? PS does llama manure stink?...

Rats don't attack my plants in spring, mainly only in late summer/early Fall when it is dry, so the wire is just to keep the Deer off them.
I'll change the shape of the cages later on so they will protect the lower trunk from getting skinned by the rats, and a more substantial chicken wire cage will be built for protectiojn from Deer.

llama manure is actually pretty mild in smell compared to most manures, and it is also very gentle in its release of Nitrogen, making it safe to use fresh(green).

[Highlighter]

Go get 'em!

[bartender187]

great thread BC, glad to see your up and running..... to a gooooooooood season *chears mate*

take care,
bartender187

btw... interesting strains