Well, I'd say to start what is "very little"......is it 1"....2"?.....05"?....0"....and what in which months?...
What is native soil....what are the spots your working with (forest, open?), what are temps and humidity dealt with, etc.....and then maybe shoot for something which suits it all best and work around it, but, again, then we go back to "chasing it"...(cause you stated bad season....)
I was talking to a friend who lives in a desert environment, which has the monsoons come in, and he really wasn't able to tend often for various reasons which would be absolutely necessary for such a harsh environment (desert...up to 120's, no soil whatsoever, no water whatsoever), and then it kind of shifted to maybe go later, prep before monsoons, and then let the monsoons do half his work, and go from there........
You could alter approach...could do earlier things....could go AF....could go a combo (veg and get them ready and shoot for a trigger taking advantage of certain time periods and conditions and trying to avoid the worse ones...tail end of season......etc, etc....)
I mean, don't forget.....any and everything we do is what we determine...
Depends on spots also...I've had the same things in multiple spots throughout a wide radius, and my forest larger ones always have problems late season, while the smaller ones in open areas not only problem free (mold), but also best quality.....so, again, lot of variances just in spot alone....
No doubt about it sounds rough.......no doubt.....but, I mean...lot of things that can be done......and, sure......lot of them small things which in themselves not going to completely cure and address all problems, but, you know, as above...you build upon them, and layer multiple solutions and actions and you have a plan .....
If I was working with that, would be focusing I think on good prep, AF's, and on the earliest stuff possible with some 24/0 veg, etc, etc,.....
Just sayin....don't forget we are not bound by any one fixed approach.....
Sounds not too different from what I work with from August to finish...but with more extreme variation either way towards end...ie: One year harvest 100 and monsoons, the next could be 30 and snow....the next could be fine.....and so on......
But, as before.....I just worry about the "chasing it" thing.....and again...I've done it, so.......chasing it can be more disappointing than the alternative....ie: I've had seasons where I chased it...tried to mix it up based on previous season, only to see if I would have left it alone, would have turned out fine, so....consistency of ones season also the issue..(some environments basically clockwork year after year.....some completely different one year to the next, so......)
Options endless...could also try and counter with going early things, but then again your facing moisture issues (less/none), or go full term and then facing excessive moisture issues, and on and on....so....AF's earlier mentioned above, flip side is would be done with low moisture, but then with smaller things comes less prep and less water than larger ones, and on and on and on........
You know....all about manipulating approach to best serve one and their interests and the products needs in the most efficient way possible.....
I mean, no way possible to address (here, now) every single aspect about every single possible approach and issue..but lot of variation in what could be done and how......
I think if faced with such, I'd opt more to take advantage of lack of moisture (quality of product), shoot for early, prep well, and bring the water in....(prep would reduce visits and what you bring in to a degree...of course not completely, but, even if eliminates every other trip, a success....or even less......ie: 10 trips into 7.....7 into 4-5, etc.....)
Bottom line is I doubt there is almost (almost) no environment on the planet that people don't grow...so (I could say "Probably not in Death Valley", and 3 people might pop up and live and grow there, so ...you know.....)
I mean, I just try to discourage the "But I"....the "Can't", and the "yeah, but I'm", etc, etc....
You know, as above.....most of the time for every area and condition mentioned, there are people doing same area and conditions with success, so......
Majority of the time, none of us are alone...none of us work locations and conditions which no one has ever worked before, and so on......
I have a spot that's come up for next year......always waved off by a couple as an impossibility....mentioned briefly above somewhere....most would laugh and say "yeah, good luck with that".....already building supplies to bring in, etc....(ground might as well be just concrete.....)
I mean....this is certainly not the place to deem something impossible ........to me, this is the place that proves anything is possible
That being said, and said above, only leaves one to analyze and identify their problems and obstacles, research and or formulate the solutions (or multiple solutions), and, there you go.....
I feel best for one to spend their time and efforts on the objective instead of declaring an unfounded defeat prematurely....(which we saw quite enough of above...)
I don't know about anyone else, but there is nothing which is going to keep me from my objectives...(except of course workers which fail ....but that's out of their end anyway, so )...
I'll die before I give up and roll over.....and that's not an exaggeration either....I dont know how anyone else views this thing of ours, but when I commit to an op, I am indeed "betting my life" on it.....and I take it as such.....
(I'm also of the school that everyone should basically every thread, in every forum before embarking on anything.....because of course chances are they will see 10-20+ examples of that which they which they either do not know, or question, not to mention in the process, entire approach might very well change during the course.......a different one, a most cost efficient one, a more effective one, and so on.......which again, above, we saw an example of the result of not doing so.......)
There's always a way. For anything, anytime, anywhere.
Only question is how much is one prepared to do to address what their specific situation requires..
Few will say "whatever it takes", and even fewer will actually follow through ...
And in the end, that is probably the defining factor which separates one from another...one op from another....
I need to go back to running trees with a full irrigation setup, this year was experimental since Ive been playing around with the af's and im just not satisfied with them, they take at least 3 months and grow extremely slow, the only way your gonna get a plant that is gonna yield a half oz to an oz is if you your running in perfect soil mix, native soil doesn't work very well for them, 2 days of rain makes them mold out, least hardy plant you will ever grow and they stunt very very easily. Save your time and money on your regular stock.
Native soil 8-12" tall
Sunshine Mix with bone/blood/kelp 24-30" tall