Elevator in the Forest

[Elevator Man]

Thanks a lot - I've never heard of that strain, but I'll check it out. For this year I'll definitely be running some of my new MoFlos, as they're all trying to flower under 16/8, which is great news for outdoors in the UK.

I'll probably drastically cut down the strains this time, and concentrate on size and guaranteed performance. So definitely some more of Esben's crosses, and I'll be ordering some Purpurea Ticensis soon, as that looks perfect for a hilly, cooler situation - that said, I have to assume that we'll get a proper summer this time - this can't go on for three years in a row, surely?!

 

[Elevator Man]

I popped out yesterday to have a look at my outdoor grow-spot and decide to what extent this year's project will take over my life! Not surprisingly, all was calm, and the stumps of last year's plants nearly all still standing where they grew. There have been one or two security 'issues' I've had to deal with over the last few months, which may involve a reduction in plant numbers, but that's probably sensible anyway, as it's a lot of hassle! It was gorgeous yesterday - really warm, and all the plant sites were in full sun already.

So I've decided to focus mostly on Flo and incrosses, as I know they will finish, and aim to get more than one plant of each pheno (I have at least four) out for maximum yield. My old purple never performed that well, but the new ones should be fantastic, as they're trying to flower under 16/8, and they should yield higher too

I'll also try some of the new Blue Satellites I have in flower now, and one or two others that I know can work - like OG Kush, etc. I have a feeling this summer is going to be a relatively 'normal' one in terms of weather, and so may get a decent harvest this time around. I'll update again once I get moving.

 

[rabid]

Good luck EMan. Ain't it great to take a day in the 'country'? Last years effort looked pretty good to me. I reckon this seasons' weather has to be an improvement and your going to have a bit easier time of it.

Sounds like you have a game plan with your Flo family and the BSats...you have anything else going OD this time? Please let us know how it goes. I think everyone enjoyed the OD thread you did...

 

[Elevator Man]

Hey there mate - how's it going? How's all the sativas?

I think this year's weather is going to be better, definitely - the last couple have been real anomalies, as the general trend here has been for hotter, drier summers, so this has really been a setback. But it feels more normal already, so fingers crossed. I'm going to run a lot less strains this time, as I know what will and what won't work now, though I'm still going to try one ridiculous sativa-dom, just for fun, clones and possible seed-production. So the main list from clones (and two of each, ideally) will be something like:

Flo (many phenos - four probably, from f1 and f3 gens)
Blue Satellite
'98 Blueberry phenos
OG Kush
Kentish Creme (mystery Jamaican)
Goldfinger (maybe won't work, but maybe will!)
'The Blues' (old UK clone-only)
Mystery Strain (old UK clone-only)

And then hopefully a few from seed, but it's getting a bit late, as I haven't started any yet - just haven't got the room for them...

 

[glock23]

Hey EM! Good to hear you're still doing well and you have outdoor plans for '09. I really want to pop those Thais, but I've been working me butt off and don't want to start them and put them out if I can't give them the love they deserve.

 

[esbe]

best wishes for your new season elevator bro!

 

[thepureskunk]

Nice Thread!

Nice Thread!

Nice work dude

As you know growing outdoors in the UK sucks really, but at the same time its a challenge and the taste of the outdoor bud is always very sweet!

Strain choice has to be priority number1 and IMHO strains need to finish end of Sept/early Oct...damn man nov is just crazy

Thanks to kind peeps such as esben, things are improving quickly....massive respect!

Peace, tps

 

[Elevator Man]

We're back again...

We're back again...

I took a walk out to the outdoor spot the other day - just for a recce, and to dig over some of the holes. All the stems from last year were exactly as I left them in November, except bleached out. The roots have all rotted down, and there really wasn't any need to supplement with fresh soil, as it was moist, rich and dark. So I dug in a generous helping of organic nutrient granules into nine holes, and gave them all a good turning-over. It's rained twice since then, so I'm happy.

I'm probably only going to put four out in the next couple of weeks - all Flo or MoFlo, and all guaranteed to finish - the Flo by end of October, but the MoFlos will be done by end of Sept., according to my calculations. I might put an 11-week MoFlo to see if it triggers early or late, which would be handy to know. Following those in a few weeks will probably be a Blue Satellite, to see how that does, maybe an Appalachia, and a Mystery Strain and 'blues' too, as they should just make it. After that I'll try and get some Leb 27s out by Solstice.

So I'll probably end up with about ten plants this time, and really try and maximise the growth. The weather will be better this year, definitely, so I have much higher hopes of a decent harvest, all being well.

 

[esbe]

thx a lot for cheers tps! dont we just love challenges?

really nice bro, im shure last years holes will do fine for you!

know what happend to pg?

 

[Ulysses]

I'd love to see how the 11 week MoFlo does outside... It's kinda my goal to get to a longer flowering MexiThai leaning Flo...

Hey! I took a clue from you and cut down the number of holes/patches I was going to run this year! Now, you break out all kinds of clones and seedlings... You're going to be very busy... Hell, I want some semblance of summer for my self, not just tending plants and sneaking about in the forest, hehehe! AND OG Kush yet!

I dearly hope the weather across the pond holds up well for you- it all starts to go wonky late October right here...

 

[Elevator Man]

I'm going to get the first four plants out this weekend, as it's rained solidly now for a few days - the ground will be so wet I won't need to water them again for weeks, and they should get moving quite quickly a result. These are all MoFlo and the original green Flo - they can all cope with damp easily too, should it keep raining for a while.

After that, in a couple of weeks, will go two Blue Satellite of different phenos - one is too huge already to grow in the cabinet, and I'd like to see if they can finish OK here. Also growing out is a Kentish Creme, which is also fine in the UK outdoors. After that I'm not sure - I've got more MoFlo and Flo clones, which would be big enough to plant out in a month, and maybe some of the indica Blueberry f3 - dunno really. I'm not panicking, and have plenty that can go out, but just need to make sure they'll actually finish this time.

The final line-up will get clearer as time progresses, and I'm much busier than I was last year, so I need less plants growing much better ideally, and with less visits. But I'll update once these first four are planted, hopefully with pics.

 

[blackone]

I'll be tagging along again It's gonna be interesting to see how you do this year.

 

[Elevator Man]

Still raining, still dreaming...

Still raining, still dreaming...

Well I nearly postponed my trip today due to torrential rain, but thankfully it stopped for just two hours this afternoon, so I was able to get out and plant all four as planned.

I also managed to get a few more of last year's holes dug over, and got plenty more organic granules dug in, and a little sand, just to help drainage, as the clay layer at the bottom of the older holes was getting a little stiff. But there's plenty of good soil, rotted roots and nutes in there now, so I can just add more plants as the weeks progress. Sadly the weather was too dodgy to risk taking the camera, but I'll get a few pics next time I'm out, assuming they're still there!

As the last plant went in, it began really pissing it down, so I retreated to 'the den' for a big fat spliff and admired the spot yet again. I love it there, even in these conditions...

 

[Elevator Man]

The indoor situation is almost getting out of control now, and so I've decided there'll be a few more going out than I planned, if only to give me some room to start some seeds! So in a few days I'll put out an Oaxacan Gold, Blue Satellite #2, and MoFlo1B_1 - the 11-week sativa pheno. There's two more BlueSatellite phenos to go out in a month, when they're rooted properly.

After that I'm stuck on whether to put out a big Goldffinger or not, as it's the only copy I have, and I'm wary of putting anything outside without backup! And the Kentish Creme, of course. It's gonna get busy...

Of course, next visit will also let me know whether the first batch have survived OK - it's rained a lot this week, which means slugs are the main worry - not sure of they're tasty enough for deer at this stage.

 

[Elevator Man]

Wow - what a day. Easily the best day of the year for me so far weather-wise - not a cloud in the sky from morning till night. I got three more plants in the ground - a Blue Satellite, another MoFlo (the 11-week pheno), and the Highland Oaxacan Gold. That one might suffer, as it's very close to the ground, with spindly stems, but then it'll grow quickly.

The soil was still very wet a few inches down from all the rain last week, so I didn't need to water them, and just scattered a few polymer crystals in case we have a dry patch. The other plants from last week were all fine, and untouched - here's a couple:



I got some more sand and (animal-safe) slug pellets down around each plant, and drenched them all with neem spray, and then sprayed liberally around each plant with piss, which should last nicely in the sunshine - worked OK last year.

Next up is a the colossal Blue Satellite #3, which has leaves bigger than my hand already, and could end up really spectacular, and a Kentish Creme too - just waiting for branches to grow out a bit longer for cloning. I might even put an Appalachia out, but I have no idea on trigger-times, and doubt very much whether they're ever been grown outside at 53 Lat before - anyone?

 

[Elevator Man]

3rd Planting

3rd Planting

I got three more plants out today - the huge Blue Satellite, the weird-leafed sativa Blueberry, and a Kentish Creme - I'm hoping the first two will finish, but I'm always prepared for disappointment in this game! The weather was incredible again for the third day running - not a single cloud seen all day, with no haze, so very, very bright, and quite hot too!

All the existing plants were fine, with no slug or deer damage, though looking a little parched, so once I'd planted the new ones, I went to the stream nearby and filled up a large water-carrier and gave them all a good drink, for which they looked instantly grateful!
Once they've put out some longer roots, I think they'll be OK with regular rainfall, but I'm always on standby in any drought situations. That's partly why I've reduced the number of plants this year, so I can manage any watering properly.

But so far all good, apart from one or two minor security issues, which I'm working on. The bracken is shooting up now, so in two weeks I'll be back to my regular job of removing it from around the plants - sweaty work that...

Here's a few pics of a few plants:

Highland Oaxacan Gold:



Blue Satellite #3:



Sativa Blueberry:

 

[Elevator Man]

Rain at last...

Rain at last...

I'm so pleased - it's finally pissing it down, and properly too - that's saved me a job this weekend, as I was concerned this sun was going to require more watering - not now.

I've got one or two more lined up to go out now - a single Leb 27 that I think is female, based on structure at least, and I'm trying to decide on something else - I just got given a 'G13' plant (clone from a seed-grown plant, apparently) - it looks nothing like the previous G13 I have (which I suspect to be G13 X Diesel or similar), and is quite tall, so I might put that out as well just to see how it grows out.

We'll see - will update once I've made my mind up, but I'll try and visit the plot anyway this weekend just to see how they're all doing.

 

[Elevator Man]

I popped out again yesterday, after several days of pretty much constant (and sometimes torrential) rain, expecting to see the results of an acre of slugs having a salad-fest, but surprisingly, most plants were fairly untouched - no pellets left, so I put more down, and they seem to be working. The ground is sodden now, which means no watering for a month probably, and we're back to scorching sunshine again. The bracken is shooting up now, so I'll be busy soon!

To be honest, they hadn't grown as much as I'd hoped, but last week was very dark indeed, and I think with all that water and some real sun now we'll see some improvement. They all look very healthy though, so I'm not too worried. I'm waiting for a single Leb 27 to sex before putting it out/binning it. It'll be a male - they always are for me. I'm jinxed with this strain - hardly ever get many to germ, and when they do they're usually male. Ah well.

I'm still trying to decide whether to put the Appalachia out, but it'll make a nice flowering plant for indoors in about three weeks, and I'm tempted to just go for it again and screw the outdoors this time - and a single SAGE S1 which looks lovely, and should be female - again, it's a risk, as I have no idea whether they'll flower in the UK. I'll decide soon enough. I did take some pics yesterday, but on reflection they weren't very interesting, so I'll wait a bit longer...

 

[esbe]

hope they will explod now bro! heres its damn cold and we had 11 cm of rain in 15 hours

 

[Elevator Man]

I think you got the same shit weather we had last week - it did move north-east, so it's likely. If it's any consolation, the gorgeous weather we're having now is also moving your way, so just hang on another day...