I dug too deep I think

[neongreen]

Two by two wide, and about 3.5+ feet deep.

I didn't put as much organic matter (fairly well rotted down farmyard manure+ wood chippings) down there as I did in the upper layers, but there is some, and I'm worried this might go bad (anoxic), especially since the drainage is not brilliant, with fairly well compacted clay and stones being predominant between 3-4+ feet down. Above that, the stones are a bit looser, and smaller, with about 1 -1.5 feet of top soil.

I'm going to dig around the holes I've already dug to make them wider, but am I going to have to dig out all the organic matter I put down there?

I still have about 6 or 7 weeks before I plan to plant out, so the plants are vegging indoors at the moment.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=114970

Any advice much appreciated.

ng

 

[Jiu Jitsu Playa]

3.5 feet?????
good lord you trying to bury a body

 

[neongreen]

Lol Jiu Jitsu

Perhaps a little over enthusiastic

 

[El_Professor420]

Once ya dig them wider the dirt ya taking out will slide down into ya organic matter , and id leave the holes as is and just fill them up as theyre plenty big enoug now!

The rule of thumb is 2ft x 2ft x 2ft but the size of ya holes depends on whos digging them and how big ya want your plants to be, Id leave yours as is and fill them up with good soil and organic mix and plant when the time comes and not waste any more time or energy on widening them out.

 

[neongreen]

Thanks El_Professor

I'm not too sure how this is going to work out in terms of height. I want to keep the plants low when they are in flower, but if they get tall enough in veg, I intend to bend the plant over, and encourage the stem to take root in the next hole along, hopefully at least one of the plants (preferably two) anyway. I've dug two lots of holes in pairs, along side each other ( 0.5-1ft apart), so if a plant reaches round about 5 feet I estimate, that should be about the right height to bend it over, so the end result should be 2 holes/root systems feeding the same plant.

So that should be more than adequate going by what you said :smile:

 

[Jiu Jitsu Playa]

so your going to bend the plant over after 5 feet and jam the top of it into the other 3.5 foot hole to grow roots??

what have you been smoking?

when i seen the topsy turvy i was like nooo way


when i read this, i was like this guy is a idiot

 

[neongreen]

Basically, yes...

It's something I've never tried myself, but I've seen it done before, and as idiotic as it may sound, the size and vigorousness of the resulting bushes was plain to see.

Other plants besides cannabis naturally do this on their own, where as cannabis needs a little helping hand, but it will root from the stem on it's own if knocked/bent over by the elements or an animal in the wild.

Smoking skunk now, which is basically all I can get, which is why I'm growing these plants from seed

 

[Vengaza]

dont listen to jiu jitsu dont think he's an outdoor guy ;P

goodluck

 

[neongreen]

Thanks Vengaza

I'm not

 

[StickyFingerz]

That's a great idea! It works great and really can increase yield significantly. I'm going to do the same this season.

Good luck

 

[krk]

dig it up at the end of the year and see how deep those roots have gone...

 

[neongreen]

Thanks Sticky. I hope so. Let us know how you get on too

krk - good idea. I'll defiantly do that.

 

[dragunn]

careful using wood chips,a lot of woods arent good composted.

 

[neongreen]

Well, these chips came with the farmyard manure (store bought), so they should be ok, although I would rather there were not there at all. They are not very well broken down, but I've been using as an additive to the soil mix the plants are in now, and the plants seem ok, if a little under fed. I think I should have added more!

Here's one of the chips, which I should really remove from the surface, but I'm being lazy

 

[El_Professor420]

so your going to bend the plant over after 5 feet and jam the top of it into the other 3.5 foot hole to grow roots??

I guess you havnt buried the stem/stalk of ya plants before? Cuz when ya do so the stalk/stem starts to grow roots after awhile of being buried and if he tops the plants and trims off enough of the growth and places that into the ground the plant shall then start to root off the top of the plant.

Ive never personally tried this method but ive read about it on many other plants that do very well, good luck and keep progress of ya experiment

 

[neongreen]

El_Professor thanks again :smile:

I don't see any specific reason to top, but was considering it as an alternative to bending the whole plant, which could put greater stress on the stem since it would need to be bent more. Or would it? I'm not sure if there might be more of a danger of the branch splitting away from the stem. I suppose I'll just have to try it and pray

I'm not that good with photoshop, but I'll try and illustrate what I mean

A = un-topped
B = topped

I considered crushing the stems, but I think that just makes them more woody/less flexible. Perhaps I should take the fan off them and raise the light lol !?

 

[Guest]

Layering will work fine with cannabis. Ihave and older thread called "Yeild increasing planting method", that discusses both layering and mounding. Layering is when you lay the plant over and root any part of it in an effort to develop an independent plant. It works fine with cannabis. When you plant a plant that you intend to layer, lean it at planting time and plant it crooked so that when you start leaning the plant, youre not pulling against the trunk.

Mounding is another very good way to grow cannabis. Moundning is the act of burrying the plant deep to where all of the branches are below grade with just the top half of the plant extending above the soil level. Each branch will develop roots and will become a quasi independent plant. Holes for mounded plants should be larger as it becomes the equivalent of growing 3or 4 plants in a single hole.

good luck

 

[neongreen]

Thanks for stopping by silverback. That's just the kind of info I was hoping for. Much appreciated mate!

 

[neongreen]

I'm thinking about adding some more amendments to the area that I've dug. Two of the 5 holes that I dug have become a 6ft long trench now

So I have about one and a half months before I plant out - which of these would be a good idea to add to the soil now, or more useful later perhaps?

Wormcasts
Hoof & Horn Nitrogen (N) 13.0%
Dried Blood Nitrogen (N) 12%
Fish Emulsion 5-2-2

Fresh Bat Guano
Nitrogen 8+%
P205 1%+
ph 6
Potassium 1%+
Microflora
Chelates
25% organic matter

Also considering getting these:

Kainit
A more readily available soluble source of potash than rock phosphate this natural product is used in horticulture and agriculture, supplying magnesium (10-12%) also. Ideal for use on tomatoes, vegetables and fruit trees which have a high demand for these two essential plant foods. Potassium Oxide 13% (K20) (K 10.8%) Magnesium Oxide 6% (Mg) (Mg 3.6%) Natural source of Potash and Magnesium

Rock Potash
Produced from natural potash rock is ideal for all organic growers. Particularly suitable for fruit trees and bushes which have a high potassium requirement, tomatoes, vegetables etc. General organic use to balance organic fertilizer and composts devoid of this essential element.



The topsoil here is already pretty good (PH is slightly alkaline, nice and dark, although little visible organic content), and I'm wondering if I'd be wasting my money on all these amendments?

One last question - does anyone know what the approximate shelf life is for the organic products listed above? Is it worth buying any in bulk to use in the future?

TIA
ng

 

[barletta]

DAMN the Monkey King!!!

DAMN the Monkey King!!!

Layering will work fine with cannabis. Ihave and older thread called "Yeild increasing planting method", that discusses both layering and mounding. Layering is when you lay the plant over and root any part of it in an effort to develop an independent plant. It works fine with cannabis. When you plant a plant that you intend to layer, lean it at planting time and plant it crooked so that when you start leaning the plant, youre not pulling against the trunk.

Mounding is another very good way to grow cannabis. Moundning is the act of burrying the plant deep to where all of the branches are below grade with just the top half of the plant extending above the soil level. Each branch will develop roots and will become a quasi independent plant. Holes for mounded plants should be larger as it becomes the equivalent of growing 3or 4 plants in a single hole.

good luck

^^^GREAT POST^^^

The guy who turned me on knew how to get busy outdoors, and he told me about mounding, but he didn't call it that. The one plant that we buried deep yielded ~20oz, nothing else that summer was over a lb. I forgot all about it, and I am possibly going to be short on seedplants. I'm gonna deffo bury and (re)top the branchier ones.

Are there significant risks of disease/stunting with these methods? Would it help to scar the stem/nodes/fan stems?

EDIT - ng, I would bet the dry ferts would have a shelf life longer than you should worry about, but I'm not a doctor (I play one on youtube). I know the rock phosphate last forever.