A new Guerilla growing method.?

[DuskrayTroubador]

^ I second that notion, hamstring. Carrying seedlings out is a bitch and sometimes, you have to traverse rough terrain where ya may very well fall. Falling while carrying a crate filled with seedlings in cups of dirt no es bueno.

I'm gonna buy a pack of a hundred 20 oz solo cups off amazon. $18, not bad. Plus I figure an upside down 20 oz cup (with the bottom of the cup cut off) will give me about a 3-week headstart on the season. I can live with that for the very affordable price.

I was gonna go with something like the giant hawaiian punch jugs, that would give me a longer headstart on the season but would cost much more and, with the Sun being weaker earlier in the year and getting stronger as the growing season approaches, I'm not sure how much the extra couple weeks added on by having a bigger cold frame would really benefit the plant. Then again, perhaps the weaker sun is better considering that is the time when the plants are smallest/just sprouting and beginning to grow.

 

[hamstring]

^ I'm not sure how much the extra couple weeks added on by having a bigger cold frame would really benefit the plant. Then again, perhaps the weaker sun is better considering that is the time when the plants are smallest/just sprouting and beginning to grow.

I'm not so sure either because you have to transplant them from the cold frame and there is always a week or two of transplant shock be for they take off.

Last season I had both a cold frame and some swamp tubes. I started the seeds directly in the swamp tubes rather than transplanting them from the cold frame.

The swamp tubes were planted 2 weeks later but they quickly caught up to the seedlings transplanted from the cold frame.

 

[Kygiacomo!!!]

i use jiffy pots i keep them at the house till i see the roots about to poke thur the jiffy pot,once i see the white root trying to break thur they go to the hills..i give my seedlings about 4-5 hrs of direct sun each day then move them into the shade for the rest of the day..i have germed my seeds before on march 1 and then a 2nd round on april 1 to test out which would be bigger..the seeds that were germed later grew just as fast as the ones planted on march 1..i stopped germing on 1st of march bc of this..untill the sun comes out and gets the ground warm enuff they arent gonna grow that much anyways

 

[Team Microbe]

^ I second that notion, hamstring. Carrying seedlings out is a bitch and sometimes, you have to traverse rough terrain where ya may very well fall. Falling while carrying a crate filled with seedlings in cups of dirt no es bueno.

I'm gonna buy a pack of a hundred 20 oz solo cups off amazon. $18, not bad. Plus I figure an upside down 20 oz cup (with the bottom of the cup cut off) will give me about a 3-week headstart on the season. I can live with that for the very affordable price.

I was gonna go with something like the giant hawaiian punch jugs, that would give me a longer headstart on the season but would cost much more and, with the Sun being weaker earlier in the year and getting stronger as the growing season approaches, I'm not sure how much the extra couple weeks added on by having a bigger cold frame would really benefit the plant. Then again, perhaps the weaker sun is better considering that is the time when the plants are smallest/just sprouting and beginning to grow.

I'm not so sure either because you have to transplant them from the cold frame and there is always a week or two of transplant shock be for they take off.

Last season I had both a cold frame and some swamp tubes. I started the seeds directly in the swamp tubes rather than transplanting them from the cold frame.

The swamp tubes were planted 2 weeks later but they quickly caught up to the seedlings transplanted from the cold frame.

30 days is the cut off coming from an efficiency stand point - Silverback had a thread where he tested the theory of pre-growing for larger yields and it ended up being bunk because the clones he cut a month prior to to planting ended up being healthier and having more vigor than the 2 month pre-grown clones. He thought it had something to do with the big growth spurt seedlings see in early veg... nothing beats the photosynthesis you find in the great outdoors so naturally a plant hitting that growth spurt outside will grow bigger and faster than one that has already hit it indoors under T5's, or even HID's for that matter.

1 month pre-veg FTW!

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

Yeah the above is along the lines if what I was thinking. I'm not going to transplant at all though.

I'm going to put seedling mix in the center of each hole and put the germinated seeds directly into that. Cold frame on top (buried about an inch) then a ring of sand to stop slugs (done it before, works wonders!) Then chicken wire around all of that. The chicken wire will be buried about 6" to stop any digging critters. I also zip tie the wire together at the top so deer cannot reach in.

The chicken wire stays until the plants are a couple feet tall. The plants will grow right through the top of the cold frame and then I'll cut it off.

This way plants are fully protected and there is zero transplant shock.

 

[Team Microbe]

I like that idea a lot ^

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

My main concern is that I've never buried the chicken wire 6" before, only about 2" and I'm concerned that at 6" deep the roots may grow through the chicken wire and then I'll be pulling them out whenever I pull out the chicken wire (unless of course I just open the top and leave the chicken wire in place...).

Even if it doesn't seriously hurt the plant (as many more important roots will be deeper than that) it would still surely stunt it. One thing I'm trying to avoid altogether is any sort of stunting of growth.

 

[Cola Candy]

edit: posted in wrong thread. Apologies to everyone!

 

[hamstring]

My main concern is that I've never buried the chicken wire 6" before, only about 2" and I'm concerned that at 6" deep the roots may grow through the chicken wire and then I'll be pulling them out whenever I pull out the chicken wire (unless of course I just open the top and leave the chicken wire in place...).

Even if it doesn't seriously hurt the plant (as many more important roots will be deeper than that) it would still surely stunt it. One thing I'm trying to avoid altogether is any sort of stunting of growth.

My first swamp grow and I used the water bottles with the bottoms cut out to germ the seeds. Worked great as the seedlings emerged i decided to also cut the top off the water bottle for a little protection while still allowing the plant to grow.

When i harvested ( 5 gal buckets) all the water bottles had been root bound. I had to cut each bottle off before I could dispose of the root ball.

I'm not saying it hindered the plant but its a bitch to have to cut all those bottles off while in the stressful harvest time. It would have been easier to remove them while the plants were still smaller.

I would be careful your fencing could be engulfed with roots. I don't know what type of fauna you are dealing with ( rats and gophers??) but if possible I wouldn't bury the fencing. It could be hell trying remove roots.

 

[hamstring]

30 days is the cut off coming from an efficiency stand point - Silverback had a thread where he tested the theory of pre-growing for larger yields and it ended up being bunk because the clones he cut a month prior to to planting ended up being healthier and having more vigor than the 2 month pre-grown clones. He thought it had something to do with the big growth spurt seedlings see in early veg... nothing beats the photosynthesis you find in the great outdoors so naturally a plant hitting that growth spurt outside will grow bigger and faster than one that has already hit it indoors under T5's, or even HID's for that matter.

1 month pre-veg FTW!

TM ,Thanks for the thread.

I totally agree not to mention the wear and tear. After being guerrilla'ed in many of my plants have broken stems and missing leaves.
That's nothing that some hemp twine wont fix but they are not able to use their full growing potential if they are using a large portion of the energy healing themselves.

Go seeds!!

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

My first swamp grow and I used the water bottles with the bottoms cut out to germ the seeds. Worked great as the seedlings emerged i decided to also cut the top off the water bottle for a little protection while still allowing the plant to grow.

When i harvested ( 5 gal buckets) all the water bottles had been root bound. I had to cut each bottle off before I could dispose of the root ball.

I'm not saying it hindered the plant but its a bitch to have to cut all those bottles off while in the stressful harvest time. It would have been easier to remove them while the plants were still smaller.

I would be careful your fencing could be engulfed with roots. I don't know what type of fauna you are dealing with ( rats and gophers??) but if possible I wouldn't bury the fencing. It could be hell trying remove roots.

Good looks. I'm mainly cutting the bottoms off of the cup so that in case I don't get there in time to remove the cups, the plants will grow right through and not be trapped. Also ventilation purposes. I'm going to take the cups out once the plants outgrow them.

I think I'm going to take your word on not burying the fencing. Like I said before, I haven't had problems with digging creatures before with the fencing only slightly in the ground, so I may not even bother burying it this year around. Although, I will be using completely different locations from last year.

I don't use any sort of blood/bone meal or fish or anything. Native soil and some soil I dig up from a farm where cows have been shitting for decades. Nothing of interest to be smelled by any critters, so I'm hoping nothing decides to start digging.

My goal is the most amount of protection for the young plants possible without fucking with the roots or stunting the plant in any way.

 

[hoss1111]

I'm going to be trying this method too this year. I make my own beans on the side for fun , so I can spare a few hundred no problem. Sounds like you guys got this down, so I'm pretty confident.

Last year driving to and from with plants is the worst... This way I'm only driving home with em haha 50% less risk , that's tons well worth it to me.

I kayak to my spots and fish the whole way there and back but I can't take more then 20 ish plants at a time, not this year

Thanks guys I'll report back on succsess

 

[Team Microbe]

I'm going to be trying this method too this year. I make my own beans on the side for fun , so I can spare a few hundred no problem. Sounds like you guys got this down, so I'm pretty confident.

Last year driving to and from with plants is the worst... This way I'm only driving home with em haha 50% less risk , that's tons well worth it to me.

I kayak to my spots and fish the whole way there and back but I can't take more then 20 ish plants at a time, not this year

Thanks guys I'll report back on succsess

Nice man, I was considering investing in either a kayak or a canoe this year for the same reasons. It seems like it would be the perfect tool to get to untouched locations... or at least places that would rarely be traveled

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Plan on ordering a bunch of 40oz clear plastic solo cups for a larger protective dome.

Item number PXG40-0090

See they also make a 44oz clear cup too.

PRG44-0090

 

[Tactical Farmer]

Idea of the larger cup would allow more room for burying plus growth.

 

[badmf]

I like em big to start and transplant at 2feet, I wrap em in wet newspaper and bundle together, p[lace in the backpack and I off, I do adjust light times to get close to natural light as possible, and shade cloth em for a week, I use an auto timer connected to daisy chained 32 gallon trash cans well hidden in a large bush, Have to go in to check and adjust water times clear line drippers etc I also use watyer polymers and mulch. See yas

 

[idiit]

top picture is of soa mg/ tw seedlings planted from paper towel sprouts directly into potting mix filled cups. clear dome secured on top with irrigation stakes. diatomaceous earth sprinkled heavily inside and outside cups before leaving. this batch of sprouts were planted directly into the od cup 5/4/2015.
diatomaceous earth washed away by heavy rain and replaced before I left this site.

^ how it looks when I leave except fresh de sprinkled heavily inside and outside cup before I leave.
you can see how the heavy rain not only washed away the de but was so forceful it washed potting mix up the side of the clear dome. cup removed from hole, seedlings replanted in potting mix filled cup before re-burying cup with clear dome attached.

shot of the irrigation stakes used to secure clear plastic dome thru the bottom of the cups and into the ground. I step on the top of the irrigation stakes driving them thru the bottom of the cup and into the ground. I haven't had 1 cup/dome upturned/dug out by furry critters this year.

 

[idiit]

^^ this patch had close to 100% survival rates. some other sites had 0% survival rates. overall 50% survival rates. from here on in I go transplants. the mini greenhouse technique allows me to get a lot of plants outdoors before the late may/early june transplant season starts.

 

[SapoVerde]

Good thread!

I'm also very much into no effort guerilla growing. Just planting seeds, and coming back to harvest. Everyone interested in the topic, I'd highly recommend looking into seedballs or seedbombs. There is a thread for sure on here somewhere, but if I remember correctly, people didn't seem to quite get the implications of this. The short version :

Seedballs are handmade balls made out of clay mixed with soil/compost/whatever, water and seeds. Just mix clay powder with soil, moisten the mix, form little balls with your hands, put one or many seeds inside the ball, and then let your seedballs dry.

To plant, just lay or throw them on the ground where you want a plant to grow. The seeds only germinate in a rainy period, they are protected from animals, you can add supplements to the seed balls, they are easy to transport in massive amounts and so on. No dome needed, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if one is able to get to the spot easily.

Pretty neat .

 

[idiit]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=112582

^ seedbomb thread. doesn't look like anyone here has done it yet ( cannabis); no pics.

interesting. I see "concentrate plant material" potential near creek beds. would definitely look like a wild hemp patch. nice stealth. after year 1 there would be plenty of seeds for future cannaterrorism.