I dug too deep I think

[neongreen]

Hey barletta - yeah those are killer techniques. IMO having a good root system is one of the keys to a good harvest, and these techniques can result in huge root systems potentially.

Another trick I'm using is "mycorrhizal fungi" which can be bought, and extend the capabilities of your plants root system even further, as well as lowering the amount of nutrients you need to feed your plant for optimum growth (a big bonus). See this link for lots of info: http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=101822

Silverback's post has also got me thinking about mounding too - since I have already dug deep holes, I might mound one of my plants as I won't have enough plot space to layer more than two.

If you didn't already see it, silverback's thread is also packed full of great info, here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=81797

Thanks for the info on shelf life. It's the guano and wormcasts that I'm most after info about, since those are the products I tend to have most difficulty fining round here. If I can stock up on those things in particular, it would save me allot of trouble in future, but there's no point if they will have degraded in the next year or two.

 

[barletta]

I'ma tag silverback's thread, and read it later, I'm dead on my feet, lol. I hear you ont he mykes, ng. I won;t grow a plant with out plant success, and I use an all purpose fert (espoma biotone+) that has bene bacteria and ecto and endo mykes. Killer dry fert at a killer price (~20 bux for a 25lb bag, bag will do 4-5 100Sqft plots (as a veg complete fert), or like 72 gallon pots indoors (as a flower base fert).

I don't think that guano and castings have a shelf life. Guano is generally fossilized already, and castings are basically good dirt. Rock Phosphate will boost the microlife (bacteria and fungi) too.

I need a steak and a nap

 

[neongreen]

That all purpose fert sounds neat barletta. You guys have all the cool products over there :wink:

I need to do a refresher course after not having grown for a while - I keep making beginners mistakes, despite having been growing for almost 20 years!

I just (re-)discovered that my fungi are all probably dead now since I'm using a peat-based compost indoors... I guess the plants will just have to wait till they are outside, and hopefully in the mean time, I can get some nutrients into the plot outdoors, give it time too cool off, AND get a reasonably good micobial population going in them.

Having done a bit more reading, and pondering, I figure I should be ok if I amend the plot with some hoof and horn, and some of the worm castings, over the course of a few days, since I want to give the natural population of microbes a chance to survive. I also intend to buy some bone meal, and work that into the soil in the next 2-3 weeks perhaps.

Thanks for the tip on the rock. I remember hearing that before now, and was debating weather or not to get some, but I'll definitely be getting some now.

The guano confused me a bit. They say it's "fresh", and comes with a microbial population, but I guess thats also partly to do with the other organic matter that they say is mixed in with it. I realize most guano is from fossilized deposits, but I'm not so sure this one is. I've never come across bat guano before (as a product) so it's mostly all new to me.

Heres a link to some info about the guano that I got - http://cavemans.co.uk/

Thanks for the input, and I hope you had a good nap mate! I'm about ready for a long one too I think :wink:

ng

 

[scaramanga]

Hi NG. I haven't seen any one mention this yet but 2 x 2 x 3.5 ft holes work out to be right at 100 gallons; that's freaking huge. You should have some nice trees by the end of summer. I've got to comment on Silverback's thread and say that it is quite informative, definitely recommended.

If you happen to want to pick up any more beneficial bacteria may I suggest Fungi Perfecti http://fungiperfecti.com/mycogrow/index.html. This is the company founded by Paul Stamets. They have some very interesting Myco blends in various forms.

Good Luck.

 

[nephilthim]

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

i do this if any seedling cuttings get to leggy to support their weight

 

[neongreen]

Hi NG. I haven't seen any one mention this yet but 2 x 2 x 3.5 ft holes work out to be right at 100 gallons; that's freaking huge. You should have some nice trees by the end of summer. I've got to comment on Silverback's thread and say that it is quite informative, definitely recommended.

Hey scaramanga - They are getting even bigger now! Two holes became one 6 x 2 x 3.5 trench (albeit I didn't dig quite as deep when I extended). I'm actually supposed to be keeping the plants small, but I won't be too disappointed if I fail miserably :smile:

If you happen to want to pick up any more beneficial bacteria may I suggest Fungi Perfecti http://fungiperfecti.com/mycogrow/index.html. This is the company founded by Paul Stamets. They have some very interesting Myco blends in various forms.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the link, although I'm not sure it's a good idea to order from overseas, in case I risk any unwanted attention. I still have at least one other local product that I have yet to try, so I'll probably go with that first, and see how it compares. Still, interesting to see what is available to our good friends overseas :wink:

i do this if any seedling cuttings get to leggy to support their weight

Yeah - it works a treat. I also did the same recently, and the plant went from being the leggiest to being the stockiest plant in no time at all. Putting a fan on it also helped though, so I cant attribute all the success to having buried the stem, but I'm sure it played a large part.

 

[THC123]

When you bend your plant , dont let it touch the ground

 

[neongreen]

THC - thanks for the warning, but please read the whole thread. The whole point is to have the upper parts of the plant in close contact with the ground. There's no chance that the plant will come to any harm. Exactly the opposite in fact!

Have a look at silverback's thread, which is packed full of good info http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=81797

ng

 

[THC123]

Aight i'll check it and lol you where right , i didn't read the whole thread

 

[neongreen]

Good man :smile:

It's a shame these techniques are not more widely known amongst growers, as I think they can be very useful. They are well known to gardeners in general though as silverback said, and hopefully growers will start to catch up, given a little prodding :wink:

 

[THC123]

yeah i read it , and damn , i am becoming itchy to try it this year.

And if i won't try this techynique this year , i will try it next year , makes a whole lot of sense.

You are a source of knowledge sylverback

 

[neongreen]

Nice! Let us know how you get on THC.

Everyone does it a little differently, so hopefully we can find the best way to apply these techniques.


I snapped a couple of pics of my plot while I was working on it today.

This is the finished 6 x 2 x 3.5 trench.

I'm still digging the un-dug areas between the 3 remaining holes, which will become an 8.5 x 2-3 x 2.5-3.5 trench eventually. It's not straight or very even, but that won't matter.

In the above pics you can see the bottom (almost) of the trench, where the clay is. Just above the diamond shaped sticker on the spade handle is where the surface of the ground is, although you cant see it because of the dirt piled up there.

Closeup of the topsoil that came out of the hole

It's good soil, but hasn't been worked/dug for a long time, and has become quite compacted.

 

[scaramanga]

Wow NG, those are some truly awesome trenches. Like anything else in life you get out of it what you put into it. And by the looks of it you certainly have a very good start. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure. Good luck.

 

[neongreen]

Thanks scaramanga.

I'm actually finding the digging quite therapeutic. As long as it's in short/sharp doses anyway lol!

As well as the physical labor I'm putting in, I'm also trying to get the best collection of ingredients/amendments/ferts together that I can, and the list just got a bit longer.

So far I've used:
Composted farmyard manure (will use about 5.5 50ltr bags in total I estimate)
Garden lime 4-6 cups
Sterlized bonemeal (about 2kg)

Still to use/work out where best to use/get:
Wormcasts
Hoof & Horn
Dried Blood
Fish Emulsion
Indonesian Bat Guano
Gypsum (powdered)
Rockdust
Seaweed Meal
Comfrey Pellets

I've been reading up on how these things are best used, but still could use any tips if anyone out there has any :wink:

I'm also waiting for some green manure seed (mustard since that should be fast, right?) that I ordered, although I'm not sure that 5 weeks is enough time to make it worth while. Anyone?

Also splashed out on some of this new stuff, which sounds great!

GARDENN

Introducing GardenN
Yield Increasing Microbes

GardenN is a new breakthrough in organic gardening that helps all plants to successfully take nitrogen from the air using naturally occurring soil microbes.

This promotes a larger, healthy root system and balanced growth leading to higher yield and crop quality. GardenN’s unique freeze-drying technique captures the optimum blend of microbes and super-concentrates them into a useable form. Rehydrating with water awakens the microbes and once applied to the foliage with a watering can or sprayer, they enter the plant through the stomata. If droplets fall onto the soil, the microbes enter through the roots.

The GardenN microbes, called endophytes, fix nitrogen within plants as well as in the soil surrounding the root zone, making the nitrogen available to plants as they require it, and feeding the soil for future crops. A larger root system leads to more efficiency in uptake of other major and trace elements, resulting in improved yield, taste and appearance. Plus...you will save on the cost of other fertilisers and plant foods!
GardenN is certified Organic, safe for use on gardens shared with children, pets and wildlife.

Pack can be split into two or more timed applications. Full Instructions included.

More information and FAQ can be found at at www.Garden-N.com

4g pack. Makes 10 litres solution to treat up to 200 m2

 

[scaramanga]

Therapeutic huh? After a little too much digging I feel like I need therapy, physical therapy.lol

NG are you planning to leave the mix in the ground for a little bit before planting, or are you just going to go ahead and pop 'em in there?

 

[neongreen]

Hehe scaramanga.

Yeah, the mix will just sit there for the next 5 weeks or so, aside from the green manure (if that goes ahead), and I'll probably dig some more composted farm manure into the upper layer of soil. I also intend to brew some compost teas to beef up the micro-herd in the soil.

 

[neongreen]

Long overdue update!

Long overdue update!

I didn't do the green manure, but all plants were transplanted into the trenches about 3 weeks ago.

Here are some pics I took when I planted out and did the first round of layering/mounding.

Blowfish

I trimmed off all the lower leaves, as this plant seemed more suitable for mounding and was smaller than I would have liked, considering its been vegging for 85 days.

This pic was taken last time I grew out some BF, almost exactly the same time of year, and the plant was bigger and in the ground 6 days earlier.

This time around It's in a sunnier spot and and a (hopefully) much better prepared hole, so it's going to be interesting to see which turns out better!

Trainwreck

I trimmed off a couple of nodes further up the stem with Trainwreck#1. The grey stuff scattered around is the mycrorhysal (I can never remember how to spell it!?) fungi

Brfore

After

Trainwreck#2, being tall and skinny was a perfect candidate for layering, so also got the same treatment as Trainwreck#1

You can see the twig I used to pin the stem in the soil before I pressed it in here.

After this I covered with a bit more soil, so that the bare nodes were under the surface. You can also see a small twig I pushed into the ground to keep the main stem pointing up, and off the soil.

Taskenti

Lastly, but not least, the Taskenti also got layered in the same way as the Trainwreks

It has what I think is the prime spot, where it should get the most sun out of all the plants, and it's size made it the best candidate for layering IMO. The lower branches are nicely below the surface, but big enough so that I was able to leave a fair bit of foliage above the surface.


The Task is in the same trench as Trainwreck#2, which is the bigger of the two trenches

The other trench with the Blowfish and Trainwreck#1

 

[neongreen]

Pics from two days ago

Pics from two days ago

Blowfish

Trainwreck #1

Trainwreck #2

Taskenti

 

[neongreen]

Last round of layering

Last round of layering

Today I carried out a second round of layering on the plants, and the Blowfish was also topped in preparation for a second mounding, although the first was more like a burial than a mounding!

Here's trench#1 with the Blowfish, and just off the left edge of the 1st pic, Trainwreck#1. Taken just after they got a little water.

Trainwreck#1

The new layer is just right of center in this pic, and the old layer is hidden by foliage at the left edge of the pic.

Trainwreck#2
From above. The first layer is just left of center, and the new layer is to the left.

First layer on the far left of the pic below. I removed the stick that was pinning down that layer, since it's well and truly rooted. Another twig is pinning down the stem at the far left, but that is also hidden by the foliage.

Another angle

Closeup of the stem/side shoots between the old and new layers.

Taskenti

Forget to get some closeups this time. I'll get a few next time

That's all the layering I'll be doing this season. Now to see how they react


Silverback - What do you reckon?

I estimate about 9 weeks of veg time left. I'm just giving the occasional water/foliar plain EWC tea, alternated with diluted EWC tea plus seaweed extract and fish emulsion. Apart from the anti-slug measures, they are pretty much left alone.

 

[smokeymacpot]

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

whats the yeild increase like on those side branches with mounding ?