Tropical Adventure

[River Rooster]

Somewhere towards the Tropics of Capricorn the journey begins. Through the jungle of prickly and itchy things in hidden clearings where hopefully nobody will go some new gardens have been prepared.

Posting this here to learn and share th novice grower but luckily have acquired some good genetics and solid advice from Mr Donald Duck. These have been bred outdoors in a similar climate.

 

[River Rooster]

Some beans germinating these are ‘Fat Mango x Z99’ also some ‘Neville’s Haze x Z99’

 

[growsjoe1]

We have lift-off. Wishing you the best of luck.

Some beans germinating these are ‘Fat Mango x Z99’ also some ‘Neville’s Haze x Z99’

 

[Swamp Thang]

Show us da jungle River Rooster. Show us da jungle, where da monkeys call from the treetops at the break of dawn, and where the bull crocodile heralds the full moon with a throaty roar. Show us da jungle where the bird-song symphony strikes up with the rising mist from the cascading river. Show us da jungle.

 

[River Rooster]

Thanks Joe I’ll be needing it. Hey Swamp took some photos of the jungle today..

This jungle is in recovery it was probably paddock about 30-50 years ago as most of this area was cleared natures way of mending it is filling it with spiky things to say leave us alone..

Climbing Calamus palm fills the area all parts of this plant have hooks that if you try to pull away from can rip your skin, you need to stop and go backwards once you are hooked! The tendrils are the worst as they can get thin and then hard to see

 

[River Rooster]

As the pioneer species do there thing the next succession of longer living species start to show, in these areas there isn’t as much understory to get through and the species are far more diverse.

Stinging tree, most painful plant in the world glad I didn’t walk into it today!

 

[River Rooster]

Found some water today don’t think I will try and set up a pump this year as it may be dry by the time I would need it I have some passive water collection set up at the grow spot, got about 100 litres collected from 20mm of rain and going to add some more. The clay soil hold a lot of moisture I’m hoping that plus a lot of mulch will get through flowering. The other grow spots have better access to water.

Managed to get six leeches when crossing that water

 

[River Rooster]

Mango Haze direct seeded 2 weeks ago.. today I direct seeded a bunch more some of the seeds were falling off the sprouts already so hopefully wasn’t too late for them haha.

Using the napier grass stems as little fences I learnt need to put them in upside down or they start growing haha..

The grass at the back 3m tall

Planted a row of 12 we will see what lasts the direct seeding

1. Mango Haze
2. Mango Haze
3. Nev Haze x Z99
4. Nev Haze x Z99
5. Noid because dropped seed
6. Nev Haze x Z99
7. Nev Haze x Z99
8. Nev Haze x Z99
9. Nev Haze x Z99
10. Fat Mango x Z99
11. Fat Mango x Z99
12. Fat Mango x Z99

June direct sun 8.30am till 4pm
September direct sun 8am till 4.45pm
October direct sun 7.15am till 5pm

 

[Swamp Thang]

Absolutely fantastic jungle pictures, Rooster. The dense triple canopy looks so familiar. I know those thorny climbing palm vines with the long black hypodermic needle thorns on the stems and those vicious recurved hooks on the tendrils. The inner core of those vines is carefully extracted from the thorn-covered bark in my neck of the woods and used to make really artistic cane furniture that is sold to city slickers for top dollar.

Man, I love these jungle pictures. So nice to see old timber still standing. Looks like somebody is doing a great job of keeping the chainsaw bandits out of that area. I can see that the seasonal rains are in full swing over there as they are here. There is something magical about being in the forest and hearing the approaching roar of an inbound tropical storm, with that mixture of dark grey and white puffy clouds creeping ever closer as the wind picks up and sways the tree tops.

Have poncho will travel. Lightning and thunder are the aspects of an unexpected tropical rainstorm that can get viscerally scary in the swamp forest. I'll never forget winding up in a fetal position on the wooden floor of a stilt hut during a sudden deluge deep in the swamp while a monster thunderstorm unleashed artillery barrages of thunderclaps with simultaneous blinding lightning flashes that roasted the air around me and left a lingering smell of burnt sulfur. That was as close as I ever got to exploring the concept of life after death haha.

I've got a few stories about leeches as well, I chit you not. You don't feel them latch on, but after a while, you get a subtle itch and then look down to see what looks like a bloodied chunk of cow liver hanging on to your leg, or between your toes. That is a fully engorged leach, and when you apply a cigarette lighter flame, it vomits blood as it lets go. Not for the squeamish, those leeches.

One thing is for sure though, when you clear a nice grow spot in that primeval jungle, the chances of discovery by any other human being are very low indeed. Standing by for more pictures as the grow show gets underway. I'm starting out really late this year here at the Equator. My seeds of Purple Paralysis just popped yesterday, so I won't be pulling down any monster colas come September

 

[River Rooster]

Hey Swamp sounds like you have had some wild times out in the swamps.. it’s always interesting spending time out in nature by yourself. Most of this area was felled 100 years ago there are still some really old trees around though I’ll try get some photos of old ones love visiting ancient trees.

I’m hoping to be harvesting these in September too and will start some more to harvest right up to end of November then by mid December the storms and downpours will come. Right now is approaching our shortest days, July will be a bit cold I think the ones finishing later will do better with some warmer veg time.

 

[River Rooster]

Went to spot Number 2 today this spot is a bit close to where people hangout and walk dogs but hopefully nobody is crazy enough to go into Guinea Grass it’s full of ticks and mites.. Plenty of water here and will need it because we are working with a small amount of organic matter and lots of quartz sand.

Only top 100mm-150mm is organic matter the rest is just quartz

I put all the organic matter to the side then dug some of the sand out and threw to sides then put back the organic matter and dug some more organic matter on top now there is about 300mm of soil and it is mounded on the sides so rain water will pool in. Lots more digging to do as I go down the double row but got the first section planted out with 6 direct seeds and mulch back on top.

 

[Swamp Thang]

That elephant grass is brutal stuff to try and clear, and it grows back real fast. Long as you're on top of it though, it is the ideal cover for a hidden grow spot. Man, that topsoil layer looks rich and fertile. You'll definitely see some monster colas when the plants mature in that area.

What a mighty river that is. I imagine some large tropical fish species can be hauled out of there. If it is legal to do so, you could bury long flexible bamboo poles in the riverside mud, and dangle hooks on the end of short 3-foot lines with impaled live bait of frogs or minnows as dusk gathers. By daylight, some large splashes might greet you as you get near the crime scene.

As long as there aren't any predators that dig deep, the entrails of fish make for spectacular fertilizer buried a foot under the roots of your newly transplanted shrubs. Tried that myself and the plant leaves quickly turned a really dark green, with fat resinous mega-buds forming as harvest time drew near.

 

[River Rooster]

Haha Swamp Ting the elephant grass is all growing back so fast I read the roots go down at least one meter deep I will need to stay ontop of it but I have endless supply of mulch.

Of these two spots one is very clay and the other is quartz sand they could not be more opposite so it will be interesting to see how the plants respond

 

[River Rooster]

Some seedling germinated a few weeks ago they are all labeled and numbered plan is to clone them all and then flower them all looking to reverse a small clone then make some fem seed or if there is a nice male save some pollen from that also. But lots of fem seed would be nice for direct seeding out at the spots..

Mango Haze
Neville‘s Haze x C5 Mango
Nev Haze x Z99
Fat Mango x Z99

 

[Swamp Thang]

Great idea to take numerous clones and maintain mother plants indoors under lights right up until the very end of the growing season before the mothers go out to flower. You get way more than your money's worth spent on seeds that way. Well worth the extra time spent growing the clones out. Talk about having one's cake and eating it too haha. Great minds think alike. Very robust seedlings you've got there by the way.

 

[Donald Mallard]

great pics mr rooster ,
cant say i miss that wet jungle , when its wet ,
or those stinging things ,,
some of the most painful things around they are , ive lost several nights sleep from those bastards ,, lol ..
they are meant for the mega fauna , to help keep them away from young trees in an area where an old large rainforest tree has fallen ,
a way of letting the forest regrow ,
they are bit harsh on puny humans ,, lol ...

good luck with your grow man ,
hope she does ok for you ,, your timing seems slightly early ,
but not by far , lets pray for some dry weather in the coming weeks ..

 

[Swamp Thang]

Agreed that the greatest dangers in the jungle are not large beasties, but those tiny insects one hardly ever notices until they strike. Standing in a dugout canoe years back and hacking away with a machete at an overhanging tree that blocked the narrow creek, I got showered with what initially felt like tiny biting ants.

By nightfall, my skin was alive with a generous scattering of tiny burning sensations similar to embers dropping on my skin from sitting too close to a campfire. Twenty-four hours later I was on a drip in the hospital heavily sedated to quell my primal panic, while maggots squirmed within tiny little volcanoes all over me, feasting on my flesh and occasionally popping out for air as I gaped in abject horror.

Took four days of heavy antibiotic IV drips to kill off the last of those hideous little invaders, and for weeks afterward I was covered in a mosaic of angry red scabs that took forever to heal. That incident taught me NEVER to hack away at tree limbs directly above where I'm standing. Another time I got stung by a poisonous caterpillar which caused my arm to balloon to twice its normal size by the next morning, as I drifted in and out of coherence. The things a ganja grower does to evade the long arm of the law could fill a book.

 

[River Rooster]

They haven’t got me yet Donald but that was a bit of trap with where they were.. going down a slippery hill, was looking for some water and a new way out/in. Good I have a second way now and nice to see more of the surrounding area..

As for timing yeah I don’t expect them to go as well as If they were started a bit later but plan to keep planting over next two months. Will be interesting to see the difference in growth.

That sounds like hell Swampy no flesh eaters here that I know of we do have mites that lay eggs under your skin causing a horrible itch they like to find the warmest spots so go and lay them right up your pants.. I think I might be getting immune to them haha

There is a tick that has a poison that my body reacted to with hives pretty scary allergic reaction and didn’t know what had caused it till my partner found it on my neck. Apparently the reaction can get worse the second time so I carry some medication just in case.

 

[River Rooster]

Today I potted up the rest of the home project seedlings into 6l pots

Perlite heavy mix and some mulch on top

Think I got them at the right time

This NH x C5Mango #4 was the only one to have 2 triple leaflet first leaves

Decided not to cull this deformed MangoHaze #02.. Would you cull it?

 

[big315smooth]

whoa dude those jungle pics are awesome. such a different foliage than to what i have