Entrance and exit

[Jesco]

Jesco
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I would like to hear more on your large vs small plants experience.

I agree with your points about watering and feeding large or small plants its the same amount of work.
Personally I don't water or feed my plants I haven't done either for years.

What is your experience and thoughts about security?
Tying/keeping branches from braking or laying on the ground?
Any problems with hermies?

I know since I switched to fems I have a couple of hermies every year. It's usually localized only affecting the single plant but if I were going with less but larger plants it would be a higher % of seeded weed. Granted its a smaller consideration but I still think about it.

Not arguing just looking for more peoples' experience and spreading the knowledge.

Thanks

Hey hamstring, no problem.

First I should explain that I am in Tasmania, an island south of mainland Australia. We have a fairly short growing season and a cold climate similar to northern Europe. That also means we have different flora, pests and animals.

Anyway, getting back to my comment on watering. Once upon a time I did carry water into my 'cages' (never, ever again!). In those instances smaller plants are obviously less work than larger plants... thought I should clear that up.

These days I always pump water from creeks and streams. For that I use a large 3400 GPH bilge pump and 1" poly pipe. I have 22AH batteries that I use one at a time to run the bilge pump, they are not too big or heavy to carry into the bush, but will run my large bilge pump for at least two hours before that battery protector kicks in and cuts off the battery (this stops the battery from fully discharging and harming the battery). The pump is powerful enough to run two sprinkers and is totally silent.

Security: I always have at least two entry/exits, people have this knack for showing up in the most unlikely places and the strangest times... it has happened to me more than once, even though I live in a really remote area. Deer hunters and bike riders mainly.

When choosing a site, I avoid any area with trees suitable for firewood or timber, I also avoid wattle trees as they contain grubs highly prized for trout fishing. I have collected stinging nettle seeds and encouraged them to grow wild around my cages (as they do in my area). People and animals generally hate it and will avoid it... it doesn't bother me much and I'll just walk straight through it

Most people use 'cages' here because we have marsupial possums that LOVE cannabis... they will climb the plants, snap the branches and generally eat your best buds. A cage means chicken wire for sides as well as the roof, which is then propped up with straight tree branches. This season I built a new one, this time with no roof and only 6ft sided with the last 2 ft of wire on top left floppy... the possums don't seem to like the floppy wire and avoid it. This latter method only works if there are no tree for the possums to jump from nearby.

Training/controlling branches: I still need to refine this myself... fast growing and healthy plants have fragile branches as well all know :/ One thing I do is use electrical tape to bind the branches to the main stem, so that when you bend the branches down with weights or twine, they hopefully don't snap away from the main stem. Most branches I have snapped usually survive and continue to grow happily if left alone. Nest season I plan to try making a type of trellis from 'ringlock' agricultural fencing, I'm pretty confident this should solve the snapping branches issue once and for all.

Hermies with fem seeds: This is something I don't understand yet. I've never had it happen to me, and yet I have friends where it's happened this season and last season with seeds I also grew. Yet I got no hermies? Something is triggering it and I have no idea what... I have had a male from a fem seed once, but this is one out of probably 300 fems seeds grown by my friends and I. Luckily we caught it just in time...

Hope this helps, this is a great thread

 

[stoned-trout]

learn how to walk in the woods and your trail will be almost invisible except for the wisest of woodsman....yeehaw

 

[hamstring]

Hey hamstring, no problem.

First I should explain that I am in Tasmania, an island south of mainland Australia. We have a fairly short growing season and a cold climate similar to northern Europe. That also means we have different flora, pests and animals.

Anyway, getting back to my comment on watering. Once upon a time I did carry water into my 'cages' (never, ever again!). In those instances smaller plants are obviously less work than larger plants... thought I should clear that up.

These days I always pump water from creeks and streams. For that I use a large 3400 GPH bilge pump and 1" poly pipe. I have 22AH batteries that I use one at a time to run the bilge pump, they are not too big or heavy to carry into the bush, but will run my large bilge pump for at least two hours before that battery protector kicks in and cuts off the battery (this stops the battery from fully discharging and harming the battery). The pump is powerful enough to run two sprinkers and is totally silent.

Security: I always have at least two entry/exits, people have this knack for showing up in the most unlikely places and the strangest times... it has happened to me more than once, even though I live in a really remote area. Deer hunters and bike riders mainly.

When choosing a site, I avoid any area with trees suitable for firewood or timber, I also avoid wattle trees as they contain grubs highly prized for trout fishing. I have collected stinging nettle seeds and encouraged them to grow wild around my cages (as they do in my area). People and animals generally hate it and will avoid it... it doesn't bother me much and I'll just walk straight through it

Most people use 'cages' here because we have marsupial possums that LOVE cannabis... they will climb the plants, snap the branches and generally eat your best buds. A cage means chicken wire for sides as well as the roof, which is then propped up with straight tree branches. This season I built a new one, this time with no roof and only 6ft sided with the last 2 ft of wire on top left floppy... the possums don't seem to like the floppy wire and avoid it. This latter method only works if there are no tree for the possums to jump from nearby.

Training/controlling branches: I still need to refine this myself... fast growing and healthy plants have fragile branches as well all know :/ One thing I do is use electrical tape to bind the branches to the main stem, so that when you bend the branches down with weights or twine, they hopefully don't snap away from the main stem. Most branches I have snapped usually survive and continue to grow happily if left alone. Nest season I plan to try making a type of trellis from 'ringlock' agricultural fencing, I'm pretty confident this should solve the snapping branches issue once and for all.

Hermies with fem seeds: This is something I don't understand yet. I've never had it happen to me, and yet I have friends where it's happened this season and last season with seeds I also grew. Yet I got no hermies? Something is triggering it and I have no idea what... I have had a male from a fem seed once, but this is one out of probably 300 fems seeds grown by my friends and I. Luckily we caught it just in time...

Hope this helps, this is a great thread

Great to have Tassie with us. Nice to know that growing is the same everywhere. We all have basically the same problems when guerrilla growing. EVERYTHING!!! hehehehe

Hey celebrate no hermies brother!!! I am geographically challenged why would an island off of Australia have climate like Europe?

I just looked it up and it does look like more Britain like climate. High summer temps in the 70 - 75 deg (F). You don't have the freezing weather my midwest does but your winter temps are not conducive to growing 54 - 37 deg F outdoors.

It sounded like you still have lots of wild spaces is that true?

 

[hamstring]

learn how to walk in the woods and your trail will be almost invisible except for the wisest of woodsman....yeehaw

Thanks for contribution. I agree learning to leave a small footprint is so important. I try my best to keep my footprint a small as possible.

 

[Jesco]

Hey celebrate no hermies brother!!! I am geographically challenged why would an island off of Australia have climate like Europe?

I just looked it up and it does look like more Britain like climate. High summer temps in the 70 - 75 deg (F).

Yes, probably more like Britain rather than Europe itself - we can and do get hot summer days sometimes. We are blessed with high UV levels here which helps too.

You don't have the freezing weather my midwest does but your winter temps are not conducive to growing 54 - 37 deg F outdoors.

21°F is common here during winter, by planting time (mid-late September) it warms up but we can still get cold temps and frost. We are in the process of finishing off harvesting this week (the one part of it all I hate...) and already we have had some frosts. Hasn't harmed the buds though...

It sounded like you still have lots of wild spaces is that true?

Yes we do, and yet it's still hard to find that perfect combination of factors that make for a great growing site. We do have a lot of plantation forestry here, and of course they use up all the best growing areas, so it can still be a challenge to find really good, long term growing sites with access to water, good soil, light and privacy.

 

[Cox Jared]

Thanks for contribution. I agree learning to leave a small footprint is so important. I try my best to keep my footprint a small as possible.

When being paranoid as **** comes in handy.

 

[hamstring]

CJ

Keeping your head on a swivel is important brother. I don't like to ever get too comfortable when in in my grow area let alone the actual plot. I'm not the guy who's smoking a J and tending my plants noooo wayyyy. I am on point at all times.

In fact I can be digging holes or filling grow bags even tending plants and a feeling comes over me from no where. I get all anxious for no reason it just takes over my whole body. I will want to leave to get the hell out its palpable . Theres no sound or sight that triggers it it just shows up uninvited.

I have to take break and look around slowly convincing myself the feeling will pass. After a few minutes it starts to subside and I can then continue my work. So I know what paranoid is I promise you.