1/2" conduit hoop tunnel

[Phaeton]

The growing season for root vegetables varies, but the first week of June through the third week in August is traditional.
Climate change has some folks planting as early as the second week of May but last year an unseasonable frost occurred June 8, raising havoc instead of veggies for many gardens.
The traditional first week of June is still the safe time. And September cannot be depended on, the photos are from a plant during the last week of August a few years back.
Even auto flowering strains grow better if started early May and kept indoors for the first month.

So far the tunnel is really the savior of the garden. It rained another inch last night and is still raining steady. There were two days of mostly sun last week but rain five of the days and every single night. Marijuana just will not take 24/7 soaking and still grow.

 

[catalyte]

crazy pic! those definitely are some harsh conditions you are dealing with, so hats to you for working with it...

 

[Phaeton]

I hate posting too often, nothing of note happens quickly.
Yellowing occurs fairly slowly up to a point then takes off.
This post is a question.

Half (4) the tunnel plants are in 17 gallon containers and half (5) are in 5 gallon. They are separated left and right in the tunnel for logistical reasons. Four large containers on one side and five smaller containers zigged on the other side maintains reasonably even spacing.

Photos:
An overview from the end, small containers on the left with yellowing plants, large containers on the right with green plants. Line in middle is stabilizing conduit section.
Next photo is one of the four healthy plants. Green and symmetrical with faint greening on bottom two fan leaves.
All the plants in smaller containers are a much lighter green. This one is the worst but all five have brown spotted leaves. All leaves are drastically yellow but as of today only the fan leave, even some of the ones in the middle of branches, are brown and brittle.
Even the 4" runts (one in each size pot) are doing better than the full size in the five gallon pots as far as health is concerned. Color is good, buds are coming up on 1/8 gram.
Whole plant views of two small yellowed plants. The best of them and the worst of them out five plants yellowed. All four of the green plants are about the same darker green, some have a couple more yellow fan leaves on the lower trunk but color is good overall so no side by side.
I put in a photo of the other runt, it has Cat Grass growing around it to give perspective on size.

I have three problem areas. I do not normally grow in dirt, I do not normally grow outdoors, and I do not understand nutrition very well.

Is the difference between the two sets of plants, both Super Auto Chaze by Flash Seeds, all caused by container size? My indoor plants have reached over twelve ounces bagged and ready from plants in five gallon containers. These plants are still small by those standards.
Age is seventy days for the current photographs.

I'm not much good with nutrition either, do smaller pots need additives? The soil is live organic stuff from Lowe's in compacted 6 cubic foot bags.

Not much can be done for the rest of this year. No complaints, last year was a total fail, these plants are all alive and showing pistols, even the runts have a bud.
But if someone can point me in the correct direction to get a headstart on next year it would be a really kind act.

 

[catalyte]

it looks like your plants have a major calcium deficiency. Also by way of that deficiency they also have a nitrogen deficiency i'm pretty sure by the looks of those photos...

 

[kelly1376]

You normally grow hydro indoor don't you? Have you added anything at all to the bag soil? I agree with nitrogen deficiency. I'd mix up a few gallons of your hydro solution (I'm sure it has fast acting nitrate) and water it on one of those sick plants. You should see a positive difference within minutes, literally.

 

[Phaeton]

You normally grow hydro indoor don't you? Have you added anything at all to the bag soil? I agree with nitrogen deficiency. I'd mix up a few gallons of your hydro solution (I'm sure it has fast acting nitrate) and water it on one of those sick plants. You should see a positive difference within minutes, literally.

I am a bit shy of fertilizing dirt,but something needs done. I mixed a batch of half strength hydro nutes and watered with it.
I will see what tomorrow brings.

 

[CrushnYuba]

Wow. Could you be over watering? What is in your soil?

 

[bonghopper]

Next year try growing in the ground in there, you'll have massive root runs, bigger plants and way more fertility, I find its easy to give too much N in the ground. The ground will heat up just fine because its not soaked. Drip irrigation may help you out here too.

Give the whole place a 2" layer of compost (well composted manure/'Humified compost' ) some mineral supplements - seaweed meal, epsom salts or other magnesium supplement, borax etc and dig it in to loosen the soil, and then grow some plants in it - fertility building green manures ideally - such as phacelia and vetch, these are a great combination, and are very easily pulled up by hand in about April, so the ground warms up before planting in your herb.

Great way to grow some fruit & veggies too. A dwarf cherry, greengage/plum or pear would do well in your open tunnel.

 

[Phaeton]

The season is ended. A flood watch starts tomorrow and lasts for the six days of heavy rain. The temperatures will not break 70 F until next spring.
The half strength hydro nutes helped the plants in the large containers from going any more yellow. The plants in the smaller containers seem beyond help.

A single plant in a medium container was brought inside and put in a utility room I threw together for it. 400 watts squarewave CMH on top, 324 watts T5 on one side (54 watts 10% UVB) and 150 watts passive LED on another side. 13 watts of Far Red happen for a half hour during lights on and off (18/6). Close to outside spectrum and much better temperatures.

The best looking large plant also came inside but went to the budroom (12/12) as that was the only spot having an area it would fit. Not as much light but the temps are up and humidity is less than 100%, which really helps.
I have photos from both ends of the tunnel showing the plant on a wagon ready to come in, the rest of the plants...a weather miracle could happen so they will continue to get fed.

Last year the outdoor harvest was zero, a few of the less than a quarter gram buds were tried but deemed unsmokable.
This year looks to be in the two ounce range. Figuring the labor since May first when the seeds went in until the harvest, wages are under the legal limit. Twelve plants started and two saved, only one of them looking to yield over an ounce.
But last year was zero, so this is infinitely better, I am a Math major, this years crop was truly infinitely times larger. I tell myself this so I will try again for a third time, starting in April and transplanting twice to fit them inside for five weeks.

The tunnel could not make more sun but it raised the temperature up to ten degrees depending on wind and it kept the rain off the plants. Even with the two week boost from the warming climate the growing season is less than 90 days, just over 100 with the tunnel. This is still too short without luck involving herself on the good side.

Two ounces this year. I am retired and with no indoor plumbing I go outside every morning. Pouring a measured amount of water into each container once a day really does not add to the chore load. Being easy to please keeps my outlook cheery.

 

[Phaeton]

Snow has been reported a couple hundred miles north of here. See pictures in post #21 for what has happens less than a week from now in years past.
Slowly I am figuring the new patterns. Snow and rain come from the southeast and east as well as the traditional west. When growing up the wind out of the east meant hot (93F) and dry in the summer and cold (-60F) and dry in the winter.
Now summer days over 80 can be counted on the fingers and the same for winter days under -25. The yearly average is massively higher but the summer average is down.

The utility room I found for the plant is from removing the furnace. With the warmer winters the lights warm the house the entire winter. Last year was the coldest in five years and the bypassed furnace was not used even once, so now it is in the yard awaiting sale.
If only the cost were not cold wet summers. As recently as 2004 I could still grow outdoors without worry of too much rain. We are now in our tenth year of not reaching 90 F even once. It was 93 F on June 23, 1983. I remember because I got married that day, the sweat blamed directly on the weather.

If next year is another early snow again then I will give in to reality, but until that third year in a row I maintain hope.

 

[kelly1376]

Dang man sorry to hear the outdoor harvest didn't work out. Those plants look pretty big guess they just took too long to flower and you ran out of time?

 

[catalyte]

keep up the good work.

It's pretty ballsy for you to try what you were doing outdoors this year with the rough conditions it sounds like....

 

[Phaeton]

I grew outdoors pretty regularly from 2001 through 2006, after that two out of three years were wet and useless. It has gotten worse every year since.
This year with both a tunnel and a dark shed I figured on getting something. The shed got plants already budding but the light levels and temperatures were so low they quit maturing, Used to be a solid six weeks of good weather never dropping below 70, This year was less than two weeks.

It is 20 to 30 degrees warmer all winter to make up for that. Last year I finally took the furnace out because it had not got below zero for three years in a row. It hit -25, just to teach me about being smug. Still better than the -60 of the old days. The furnace room has one of the outdoor super auto Chaze finishing up and it is starting to fill out some.
It won't get huge but looks to be a couple ounces.