Heading down to the ranch. Be collecting duff and blending in….agenda
Heading down to the ranch. Be collecting duff and blending in….agenda
Carted Juniper duff, mixed medium, pulled rocks out of a grow Island, backfilled old pit with mulch to use as a future mix hole, smoked weed, finished pruning oak bush
Be at it again tomorrow. Heavy days
Be at it again tomorrow. Heavy days
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Blew off the ranch today to go run. In the 70’s today with a drop coming tomorrow. You can see the change coming in the clouds. Yesterday that cloud I showed was a haboob. It ended up raining dust…wet dust.
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Growing for personal supply for sure. Still have pounds left from the ‘22 garden but it’s going on 3 years old. Best to grow some fresh stuff.
There are elk in these mountains. Mule deer and Coues deer too. Mexican grey wolves, lions, coatimundi, black bears, javelina….good biodiversity…unique to this part of the south west. It’s interesting.
Ran through a power line easement where they’ve been cutting back the vegetation off the lines. This is where my garden mulch has been coming from. Power line easements can be difficult running. A lot of them go up and down steep hills directly…no switchbacks…but this section is rolling hills that stay mellow. I was checking to see the power company’s progress….as more piles of freshly chipped mulch started reappearing in parking turnouts…last week. Whole new supply.
Had help today
Got the rest of the rocks out of the old grow, gathered Juniper duff, and continued blending medium
Got the rest of the rocks out of the old grow, gathered Juniper duff, and continued blending medium
Beginning of a wind event. Not sure how much will get done on the ranch next few days. Might be we get some wild fires rolling out of this. My phone hasn’t dinged yet though.
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^ Started the session by digging out some of the top layer of this old animal corral for the dirt.
^ Raked around to blend it adding water
^ Added more Juniper duff to this piece and wetted it down
^ Several loads of creek bottom sand was then added to the beds. Carefully spread…because a little sand goes a long ways. Wet sand is heavy…but I figure there are minerals in it…and because I’m using so much forest duff and mulch I want to add some weight. I’m also using copious amounts of sand over top mulch along the edges of the top bed. Creates a solid barrier.
^ How things looked towards the end of the session. Bricked out some edges..pulled out a couple more T-posts…and pulled the logs I thought about using but now see no point in.
Next few days I plan to just add more duff…keep blending and wetting. Then it should be ready for planting.
* I’ll also go see the mulch pile again. I can definitely use more. Truck some down and spread it around
Hauled Juniper and Oak duff from 9-12 this morning then spread it and blended it with water. Probably another session like this tomorrow and it should be good on duff. Bring in some more mulch afterwards just because…it’s available so why not…
dilettante
Well-known member
Serious effort. Lots of space. I'm looking forward to seeing how the plants will grow. Will you be adding any fertility or is the duff enouff?
It is a lot of effort. I was going to grow 12 plants like last time…but I don’t need that much herb or work. Think I’m just going to do 8. Even 8 is more than enough.
Figure I shoot for a pound per plant. Ended up with between 15 and 16 pounds last time…even with the 12 plants being crammed too close together….and the West Island (the one I’m using only for mixing medium now) being shaded out by trees. Now with the upper new space opened being in a better position I think 8 plants spaced out better (no scrog this year) should produce well.
Nothing but the native stuff for medium. See how it goes. That’s the game. Outdoors is always a game. Different every time. Direct sowing adds another dimension as well…could easily fail me. Plus the seeds are 10 years old
….stored well but still
dilettante
Well-known member
I get it. Myself I usually end up growing as many plants as I can or more. I'm a sucker for variety and novelty. Rather have 12 small ones, that I have to water every day, than 4 proper ones. Hell, I will probably end up planting sweet corn, pop corn and flour corn in one garden and derail the the pop corn project, just because I wanna grow it all, see what's in there. Can't wait on the hopi blue and pink for another year...It is a lot of effort. I was going to grow 12 plants like last time…but I don’t need that much herb or work. Think I’m just going to do 8. Even 8 is more than enough.
Figure I shoot for a pound per plant. Ended up with between 15 and 16 pounds last time…even with the 12 plants being crammed too close together….and the West Island (the one I’m using only for mixing medium now) being shaded out by trees. Now with the upper new space opened being in a better position I think 8 plants spaced out better (no scrog this year) should produce well.
Nothing but the native stuff for medium. See how it goes. That’s the game. Outdoors is always a game. Different every time. Direct sowing adds another dimension as well…could easily fail me. Plus the seeds are 10 years old
My ganja garden is scheduled for tomorrow. I decided on the direct sowing part (what comes where). At least the part with my own seed. Still working up the courage to just toss the few purchased seeds that I want to test into the dirt and cross my fingers. I want to see some Karakorum and Himalayan plants this year.
Nature did the culling for me last year. I lost more than half of what I planted and still had more than enough. Didn't even get the last two plants home. Left them in the spot to overwinter
I had 80 % germination on my properly stored 2012 seeds. How many do you plan to sow to end up with your 8?
What's the plan with watering? I don't imagine you get enough rain.
Nice man! On my property in California I had extensive veggie gardens. On this rental barrio house I have just that little front yard but I’ll max that space with cucumber plants.I get it. Myself I usually end up growing as many plants as I can or more. I'm a sucker for variety and novelty. Rather have 12 small ones, that I have to water every day, than 4 proper ones. Hell, I will probably end up planting sweet corn, pop corn and flour corn in one garden and derail the the pop corn project, just because I wanna grow it all, see what's in there. Can't wait on the hopi blue and pink for another year...
My ganja garden is scheduled for tomorrow. I decided on the direct sowing part (what comes where). At least the part with my own seed. Still working up the courage to just toss the few purchased seeds that I want to test into the dirt and cross my fingers. I want to see some Karakorum and Himalayan plants this year.
Nature did the culling for me last year. I lost more than half of what I planted and still had more than enough. Didn't even get the last two plants home. Left them in the spot to overwinter
I had 80 % germination on my properly stored 2012 seeds. How many do you plan to sow to end up with your 8?
What's the plan with watering? I don't imagine you get enough rain.
I could have a full blown veggie garden on that ranch property but it’s not mine and I don’t live down there. Everything would need to be fenced off from rabbits and deer and javelina. Too much effort. I don’t mind driving down to care for the herb garden but that’s more than enough work without living on the property. My time is limited this year due to being on call for Fire Season.
I’ll soak a lot of beans for the grow. Plant them then let them grow in the ground and make selections cull the rest. Using homemade cross that I selfed way back in 2015. So all should be girls. I have so many beans that I’ve made but only this line did I self. I started with 38 females last time. My numbers should be around there for this one if all goes well.
As far as watering…hand water with the hose….April-June. That’s the hottest time of year. Pre monsoon is also when we get our fires. Dry lightening strikes. That’s when I’m busy with work. April-August.
Our monsoon season usually starts towards the end of June. After June we can get hit with torrential rains/winds cloudbursts pretty much every week. A good monsoon season starts then and shuts down around end of August. Technically good for growing herb. Harvest season should be dry….but
…last time I grew here (also the first time here) we had a tricky season with rains way into September. Monsoon Season is when the high desert turns into jungle conditions. Humidity goes way up. Muggy even at mountain elevation. I love it. Makes it interesting.
I’ve been growing for so long and in so many ways….I like to mix it up. I have no interest in indoor growing any longer. I like the outdoors. Way more fun and challenging.
Man…cool…have fun!
More duff added. Bring in more mulch this week. Calling it good. Ready to go.
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Looks like a petting zoo!
Hola amigo. Hope all is well. You ain’t kidding about the challenge of outdoor growing. I have had more crops crash out in late Sept/early Oct than I care to count. But when you get a good season it almost makes up for the losses. Good luck this year.
Hola amigo. Hope all is well. You ain’t kidding about the challenge of outdoor growing. I have had more crops crash out in late Sept/early Oct than I care to count. But when you get a good season it almost makes up for the losses. Good luck this year.
Hey dude! Been a while.Looks like a petting zoo!
Hola amigo. Hope all is well. You ain’t kidding about the challenge of outdoor growing. I have had more crops crash out in late Sept/early Oct than I care to count. But when you get a good season it almost makes up for the losses. Good luck this year.
Like always I’ll document the ride. Take it day by day. I can’t cater to this grow like I could my last one. But I do expect to pull it off somehow. We just came out of what I believe will have been our last little bit of winter cold….this week begins the influx of summer.
I’m going to run all week…figuring it’s my last week of peace before the planting and work for the Fire season really gets going. Be in the 80’s by the end of the week.
