Outdoor Growing in the California Desert. Is it possible?

[flylowgethigh]

I messed up my SKOHLP by going from 12/12 to 16 or whatever it was. A male and two females have ignored making anything but nice leaves. Respect the photoperiod.

I use green clean and add a little need liquid, for the SMS and their resultant PM.

Andro, I think Lowes has it out there in cali. Don’t disturb the nest, just feed queenie. Look up making ant art to see molten aluminum poured into the little fuckers holes.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Hey gang, since I am new to outdoor growing, I have what may be a stupid question....

Do the plants actually need full DIRECT sunlight?

Mine are on the patio and they get direct sunlight from about Noon until about 7 PM. The rest of the time, they are in "bright shade" (if there is such a thing. LOL)

They are growing great but I notice they are a little "stretchy". Is that from too little direct sunlight?

They are actually doing better than the others are indoors. I had some issues early on with over-nuting them. The ones I put outside have recovered completely. The indoor plants are still struggling. Here's a couple pics.

Thanks

 

[Mudballs2.0]

Do the plants actually need full DIRECT sunlight
no, technically not...but you would benefit strongly from it. A minimum of 4hrs direct sunlight is what i try for in my yard. They grow fine without it, it's just they are not classified as a shade-loving or full-shade plant. Yes that's what is causing stretch.

 

[flylowgethigh]

Where did you find green grass in Cali?

Have you been pissing off the porch when nobody’s looking?

 

[Ringodoggie]

Do the plants actually need full DIRECT sunlight
no, technically not...but you would benefit strongly from it. A minimum of 4hrs direct sunlight is what i try for in my yard. They grow fine without it, it's just they are not classified as a shade-loving or full-shade plant. Yes that's what is causing stretch.

Thanks, I might be cool. I just put the clock on it and the first direct sun hit at 11:02. The sun goes behind the mountains at a little after 7PM. So, for now, I am getting about 8 hours of direct sun.

@flylowgethigh , LOL I live in a condo and the place is all landscaped and irrigated and shit. Since I grew up in Ohio and saw green everywhere my entire life, I kind of prefer the "desertscape" look. LOL

 

[Chunkypigs]

use tan colored pots and go bigger next time 20-30 gallons if you have room. the new pots that have a band of water barrior on the sides will help you a lot in the desert. set up a board or piece of cardboard about a foot away to shade the pot while the sun shines and it will help. grow clover or whatever cover you like to keep the soil surface shaded.

all that will help as much in NY as well as the desert tho, good luck with the outdoor!

be glad you don't have these rodents eating your gear in the desert.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Well, you guys were sure right about the girls taking the heat. It's 115F in the shade today and even in the direct sun, these girls are loving it. I must say, I am surprised.

 

[flylowgethigh]

What I am doing is I put a tray of perlite under the bag, which acts as a water reservoir. The roots will go through the bag to the water. The tray is about 2” , full, and the bag sits right on it. I am amazed that plant is alive, much less doing well.

 

[Ringodoggie]

According to accuweather.com, right now, I am at 11 hrs and 20 minutes of dark and it looks like the plants outside are showing flowering signs already. Is it typical for outside plants to flower before they actually get 12 hrs of darkness?

Thanks

 

[Chunkypigs]

According to accuweather.com, right now, I am at 11 hrs and 20 minutes of dark and it looks like the plants outside are showing flowering signs already. Is it typical for outside plants to flower before they actually get 12 hrs of darkness?

Thanks

oh yeah, they all start at different times, makes a huge difference here in the east where the season is short.

Headband and Runtz are the first to flower here and are done in Sept.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks. I may put the other 4 plants outside. Yours look really super nice. I hope mine get that nice and frosty.

Thanks again.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Well, here is what we have so far......

Inside, the tent is at 12/12. Outside, we are almost the same at 12/12 and about 15 minutes.

So, even though I have both autos and photos, both are getting about the same game. This will all change later but right now, I am running out of home grown and I need to replenish my stash before I am forced to buy dispensary pot. LOL

Inside in the tent, I have 4 White Label Skunk#1 photos. They have been at veg for almost 8 weeks. I had some issues in the beggining and I lost some time in recovery. They are 'fair' now but getting better, not worse. I definitely lost some yield. They have been 12/12 for 8 days. 3 of them are starting to flower. One is late.

I also have 2 autos that are 11 days old. A CannaGenetics Northern Lights Auto and a Seed Cellar Zour Apple Auto. I plan to put one or both of these outdoors when they are between 2 weeks and 3 weeks old. I read that's the best time.???? I know 12/12 is not exactly the best for autos but it's what I have right now so I have to live with it.

There are 3 photos just sprouting on the right. A Barney's Farm LSD, a Barney's Farm Utopia Haze. And an Expert Seeds Expert Haze. Since we are at 12/12 outside and inside, I'm not 100% sure how these are going to work out. No veg time.

2 more autos that sprouted yesterday (sitting outside the tent) are 2 of the seeds I got from Seed Supreme. A Super Silver Haze Auto and a White Widow Auto.

Then, outdoors, I have 2 more of the White Label Skunk#1 photos. One has started flowering. The other is pre-flowering still.

The hot weather is over here in the desert. It's actually fucking raining today. I have been here a year and this is the third time I have seen it rain. LOL I fucking love it here. Sorry to see the 100F+ temps leaving. I love it hot.

Anyway, looks like mostly 90's and low 100's from here on out. I don't know how accurate the weather forecasts are here so we may still get some hot spells. Either way, I am ready to put everything I can outside and get some new sprouts into the tent.

In the longer term, I plan to run the tent 18/6 and run mostly autos and vegging photos. Certain times of year I can start photos in the tent and finish them outdoors when it is 12/12. Plus, I can run autos outdoors, most of the year. Lots to play with and lots of new experiments ahead.

Thanks for all the help and guidance. I owe ya'll a beer.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Well, I was able to make a nice change. I added a second tent in another room where I can get 12 hours dark and this tent is now on 19/5.

The 12/12 tent has 3 of the White Label Skunk and is doing not bad.

Outside, I have 3 of the same skunk. One was a runt, one was strong and the third came out about a week or 10 days after the other 2. Considering the rough start these plants had, they are recovering and doing not too bad. My first outdoor grow.

In the 19/5 tent I have 6 autos and 3 photos The photos are about 2 weeks old are going to go outside when the get enough veg on them. The 6 autos are assorted breeders, strains and the planting dates are staggered. Not on purpose but that's the way it worked out.

So, in less than 2 months, I should be starting to replenish my stash. In 4 to 6 months, I should be flush with pot again. I am used to having at least a couple pounds in reserve. I am down to a few ounces to last me until harvest.

 

[St. Phatty]

advantages of growing in the desert -
* warm enough for winter crops
* fewer problems with Powder Mildew.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Wow, this shit is fucking brutal. LOL Another 111F degree day. My tomatoes and peppers look really fucking bad. The heat is just too fucking much for them.

In a couple days, it's pretty much over and temps will go down under 100 but I am thinking about next year already. I see sunscreen as a possible help. Not sure if it comes in different levels or what. Something to learn about.

And... how about a mister? I am installing misters on my patio and I could put the plants under them. Somehow I don't see that working for plants the way it does for humans.

Do fans help reduce temps? I don't think so.

Gonna have to figure something for next year. This 110F+ stuff is just too damn much. I am going to go lay in the pool and think about this. LOL

 

[St. Phatty]

Do fans help reduce temps? I don't think so.

If you rig it up so that the box fan blows directly on a large pan of water, you will get some evaporation through cooling.

But you need to evaporate a lot of water to get noticeable cooling. Which of course drives the humidity up.

if I had more space and perhaps a few paid energy workers, I would set up a room with drying racks and just hang large sheets of cloth, terry-cloth, bedsheets, drop cloths, scrap clothing sewn together, that have been dunked in water.

Or maybe set up sprinklers so they spray water on the hanging cloth.

I wonder how much water I would have to evaporate to reduce temps from 85 to 75 in a 1500 square foot house.

heat of evaporation for water - Google Search

A calorie is about 4 joules, so you get about (very roughly) 2000 joules (watt-seconds) of cooling (energy removed) for every gram of water evaporated.

When people were dying in the heat wave in Europe back in 2003, imagine if the French minister had come on TV and told everybody to throw all their old clothes in the bathtub, and then hang it up to dry.

Even more interesting - he could have told them to go Golden Showers and just pee on each other. How many lives would that have saved ? About 15,000 people died in that heat wave.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I have a question about general outdoor flowering.

I have 12+ hours of dark from about Oct 1 to mid March. From Oct to Dec the hours of darkness increase as the day shortens and the plant's natural cycle and the photoperiod stuff are all knowing it's Fall and it's time to flower and procreate.

Now, from Dec 21st until mid March, the hours of night decrease as the day lengthens and the plant's cycle thinks that it's getting toward Spring and it's time to shed old flowers and re-veg to start the cycle over again.

Now, I understand the plant won't actually start to reveg until it's photoperiod is over but isn't there some kind of influence that that makes the declining days of Fall different than the increasing days of Winter?

Just wondering how different flowering will be Oct through Dec 21st compared to Dec 21st until mid March (if at all).

Thanks

 

[Ringodoggie]

A month goes by since the last pics .......

The outdoor garden is going very nicely in spite of my learning curve and the brutal weather. Things have cooled off now and it's downhill from here.

The 3 Skunk are about 7 weeks outside with a couple weeks until harvest. The other 3 photos just veg'd indoors for 6 weeks and went outside yesterday.

Can't seem to get great pics outdoors. Need to see if I can catch the light better.

Look at that close-up on "outdoor-1". Look at all the shit on those leaves. We have had sandstorms (haboob), driving rain a couple times. Dust is everywhere. There's more bug shit on those leaves than I care to think about. I wonder how this stuff is going t taste. My first outdoor grow. So, this is what gives "Sun Grown" that special taste..... bug shit and sand dust. LOL

 

[Chunkypigs]

A month goes by since the last pics .......

The outdoor garden is going very nicely in spite of my learning curve and the brutal weather. Things have cooled off now and it's downhill from here.

The 3 Skunk are about 7 weeks outside with a couple weeks until harvest. The other 3 photos just veg'd indoors for 6 weeks and went outside yesterday.

Can't seem to get great pics outdoors. Need to see if I can catch the light better.

Look at that close-up on "outdoor-1". Look at all the shit on those leaves. We have had sandstorms (haboob), driving rain a couple times. Dust is everywhere. There's more bug shit on those leaves than I care to think about. I wonder how this stuff is going t taste. My first outdoor grow. So, this is what gives "Sun Grown" that special taste..... bug shit and sand dust. LOL

get a hose and spray them off everyday, bring them inside before sandstorms maybe...

 

[grayeyes]

I started some seeds a couple weeks ago and they are a few inches tall, now. I will transplant them from the #1 pots to the #5 pots in about a another week.

After that, I plan to start experimenting with one of them outside. I plan to give it a few hours per day outside, gradually getting to full time. Good idea? Or, is it better to hit her with it all at once and then leave her outside?

I have been watering these indoors every day. The dry is making the leaves a little wrinkled. Humidity is about 20%-25% in the tent. I can use a small humidifier to raise it if I need to.

I have an area next to my patio that might be ideal. I will get a picture and post it. I can't really dig a hole but I guess setting the bag on the sand would be better than setting it on the concrete patio. Yes?

And, it's right in the middle of some bushes so the pot, itself would be in the shade almost all the time. Is that good?

I'll post a pic in a minute. Meanwhile.............. DESERT GARDENING TIPS FROM RINGODOGGIE

If you are wearing flip flops and digging in the sand, make sure you don't dig into a fire ant colony. LOL Oops.

I didn't know about fire ants. I was raking leaves out from the sand and raked a colony of fire ants up onto my bare feet. I felt the little fuckers biting me almost immediately and started brushing them off of me. I didn't have my glasses on so I had know idea what they were. And, this was those tiny little red fuckers with a black ass so I couldn't see shit. I got most of them but a few kept stinging me until I got into the house and could see them. I looked at my feet and I didn't see any marks at all so I figured all was good. Woke up the next day... still no marks. I was surprised.

Then, about Noon, I looked down and my fucking feet were covered with puss filled blisters. Fortunately, I read about not popping the blisters so I saved myself that stupid move. But, I had about 10 areas like this one on my feet. You can see the little cocksucker grabbed a hold of me with his jaws and stung me 3 or 4 times.

Well, vengeance is mine saith the the man with the Ortho insect killer wand in his hand. LOL I dowsed them pretty good and watched them as they went into convulsions and died a horrible and painful death. Little bastards.

This was a few days ago. Today, I went out to check things out and the little mutherfuckers had a whole new colony set up a few feet away. So... I dowsed them again. LOL If they show up again, I'll talk to the landscape people about it. I live in a condo and they take care of stuff like this.

Still..... I learned my first desert gardening tip. LOL

Now you know why little kids go nuts for a magnifying glass. Instead of nasty smelling spray they just fry. Especially fun if you find the nest.