Lets Grow Some Outdoor Monsters

[Nez]

Whats up icmag! I have come here many times and have learned a TON from many helpful people. (ROOTWISE, veg n out, fillthepotmore, Tom Hill, GoldCountry, yes4prop215 and many others).

I was hoping to start this thread and get people talking again about big outdoor plants and strategies on growing them.

Heres my plan::big grin:

build mounds measuring 8 x 8 - 18in. depth (or bigger)
ground will be tilled underneath mounds and amended with gypsum, rock phosphate and cow manure then covered with 3/4 wire mesh for gopher control

Soil and amendments:
native soil/roots organics 50/50 mix

I plan on doubling Tom Hills mix with a few additions in each mound:

chicken manure (1 cf ea)
bonemeal (steamed, not precipitated)
gypsum
lime
perlite

Additions:
cow manure
oyster shell
kelp meal
green sand
feather meal
blood meal
glacial rock dust

Cuts will be taken 4/1 and another round 4/7,
vegged at 16/8 and transplant around june 1 (weather permitting)

Any advice or tips is much appreciated

 

[GoldCountryGuy]

What do you want to discuss / talk about? In order for advice/tips, I need something to aim at or I could type for days. Thanks for the mention, I appreciate it. Happy growing!!!

 

[Sat X RB]

outdoor sativa grower here ... of Monsters? well sometimes.

but I 've found that chicken shit causes fast growth ... in the beginning ... and then there's no reserves left come flowering time. better use goat shit for gradual/lasting results and only a little bit of chicken shit to boost yr plants at the start.

you will be pH-ing your mounds, yes?

if you're using gypsum to provide Calcium ... it doesn't! altho it improves drainage.

dunno wot yr bonemeal will do but I 'd add Dolomite intead of Lime. often a combination of lime and dolomite works best. but Dolomite will ensure you have plenty of Magnesium in yr mix.

there's some pics of monsters in "Overgrow Australia" in the Aust/NZ Forum. drool ...

good luck from Oz!

Oh yeah ... and you'll need tp prepare in winter for a summer grow. you're leaving things late!

 

[Nez]

GoldCountry - thanks for the reply,
I'm wondering what amounts of each of my additions to toms mix would be most beneficial. Glacial rock dust for a few micros but i plan on still feeding with teas if need be. Being that toms mix is already high in N and Ca should i avoid adding blood meal and oyster shell? Any suggestions from you would be awesome and thanks again for the reply

Sat X - thanks for the advice on the chicken shit and dolomite. You boys in Australia know how to grow some big ones. I will be phing the mounds, my water is about 7.2, trying to be 6.4. Sound alright? The gypsum is for drainage and i plan on mostly mixing it into the native ground before i build the mounds. Iv been getting ready for the last few months now getting all my dirt in line and flattening my plot, just wanted to jump on here and make sure i wasn't making any big mistakes and get some advice from the pros/ maybe a newb or two.

A lot of you guys on here do it right and its truly inspiring to watch

 

[Nez]

First Grow

First Grow



This was my first grow back in 2009, nice spacing right

 

[Nez]

Damn id love to get my hands on some ganja rebel seeds, Ganja D has got his shit on lock. Theres always next year lol

 

[Sat X RB]

yes, that's what I 'd use the gypsum for.

and that pH number is fine. in the ground I think it doesn't matter much what the pH of yr h2o is ... provided it's not crazy.

sound muchly like you know what you're doing ... cheers from the Land of Oz!

 

[GanjaRebelSeeds]

Nice thread man. Taking cuts on Apr 1 and growing in 8 x 8 mounds,you'll be able to grow really large plants but unlikely serious monsters. In order to push above 6 or 7,you'll need to really keep them at 100% peak health and growth rate all season. A potential challenge for anyone.
8 x 8 is awesome though. That much soil can grow monster plants for sure. Although if your shooting for 10+ you may want to take your cuts asap and even that may be a stretch.

Last year I grew the biggest plants I've done or seen in person yet and I took those cuts in mid March. They were grown in 10 x 10 beds that were at least 18 inches deep with killer soil that had been built up for years and then really nicely amended.

If you want to try some seeds it's a little late for monsters but I'm happy to hook you up. Pick any one of my varieties available on seedbay you would like to try. Send Clarence a pm and reference/copy and paste this post. He'll need your seedbay info and user name. Also tell him my bad for all the extra work he does for me,lol.

What clones are you going to be running?

Peace..

 

[Nez]

Ganja D - Thanks for posting man. Your plants were the first big plants I ever saw back when you were with humbollocal. I read that entire thread page to page. From then on your posts were always the ones i looked for and your grows were always something i dream of one day achieving. you the man

The fact that your hooking me up with beans is unreal! I honestly can't think of words to type to show you how grateful i am. It's a big deal for me to be able to grow your gear, i really appreciate it. BIG thank you man.

Alright back to plants..big grin:

Mounds:
10x10 mounds it is and i think I'm gonna go with veg n out and put them pretty close together because I'm limited on space. maybe a foot or two in between to get ladders in

Strains:
I was going to run Blue Dream, Green Crack (from seed), and maybe cherry pie. I have 2 1/2 week old cuts now of blue dream that i was going to clone off of, but now I'll probably continue to veg until june,
sound alright?

Does anyone put anything under their mounds for gophers?

 

[theJointedOne]

Nez- I wouldnt worry about protecting the entire mound from gophers, just the main root ball. They make, and its pretty easy to fabricate, some nifty root ball protectors. Basically heavy duty smiliar to chicken wire that is molded to fit into your hole pre transplant. so i.e. you dig out your hole in the mound, place the root protecting molded mesh wire inside the hole, then finish transplanting as usual. Worked well for me, and nice peace of mind considering the small investment in time and money.

Nice thread, subbed....

 

[mapinguari]

if you're using gypsum to provide Calcium ... it doesn't! altho it improves drainage.

That doesn't seem quite right.

I keep finding stuff like this:

"Gypsum is a fertilizer product and supplies the crop-available form of calcium (Ca2+) and sulfur (SO42-). If these forms are deficient in soil, then crop productivity will benefit if gypsum is applied."

It helps to have an idea of the soil you're mixing in when deciding whether to use dolomite, too, as some places the extra Mg is not helpful.

 

[Nez]

Nez- I wouldnt worry about protecting the entire mound from gophers, just the main root ball. They make, and its pretty easy to fabricate, some nifty root ball protectors. Basically heavy duty smiliar to chicken wire that is molded to fit into your hole pre transplant. so i.e. you dig out your hole in the mound, place the root protecting molded mesh wire inside the hole, then finish transplanting as usual. Worked well for me, and nice peace of mind considering the small investment in time and money.

Nice thread, subbed....

Great tip man, thanks. I have a couple rolls of 1/4in. mesh wire that i was going to roll down, but I'm going with your advice. Il make a 2 or 3 foot cage with only the top open, and plant in that in the mounds.

 

[Nez]

That doesn't seem quite right.

I keep finding stuff like this:

"Gypsum is a fertilizer product and supplies the crop-available form of calcium (Ca2+) and sulfur (SO42-). If these forms are deficient in soil, then crop productivity will benefit if gypsum is applied."

It helps to have an idea of the soil you're mixing in when deciding whether to use dolomite, too, as some places the extra Mg is not helpful.

Can anybody else weigh in on whether or not gypsum is a good source of Calcium? Sure theres better options for Ca but now I'm just curious what people's opinions are on it

 

[soursmoker]

Nice thread man. Taking cuts on Apr 1 and growing in 8 x 8 mounds,you'll be able to grow really large plants but unlikely serious monsters. In order to push above 6 or 7,you'll need to really keep them at 100% peak health and growth rate all season. A potential challenge for anyone.
8 x 8 is awesome though. That much soil can grow monster plants for sure. Although if your shooting for 10+ you may want to take your cuts asap and even that may be a stretch.

Last year I grew the biggest plants I've done or seen in person yet and I took those cuts in mid March. They were grown in 10 x 10 beds that were at least 18 inches deep with killer soil that had been built up for years and then really nicely amended.

If you want to try some seeds it's a little late for monsters but I'm happy to hook you up. Pick any one of my varieties available on seedbay you would like to try. Send Clarence a pm and reference/copy and paste this post. He'll need your seedbay info and user name. Also tell him my bad for all the extra work he does for me,lol.

What clones are you going to be running?

Peace..

VERY VERY kind of you man!

 

[Nez]

VERY VERY kind of you man!

EXTREMELY EXTREMELY KIND! I wish i could do something to show my gratitude. D - if you ever need a hand I'm not too far of a drive lol. I will definitely document the grow and share it on here. Once again, Ganja D, thank you brother

 

[SunGrown]

Can anybody else weigh in on whether or not gypsum is a good source of Calcium? Sure theres better options for Ca but now I'm just curious what people's opinions are on it

I think oyster shell flour is better, but that's probably because I use that instead. I noticed much better growth since I started using oyster shell a few years back. So that's what I use now.

It provides slow release calcium, helps with acidic conditions, and helps the microbial life.

Dolomite can make things toxic if you have enough mag already.

 

[boobs]

GoldCountry - thanks for the reply,
I'm wondering what amounts of each of my additions to toms mix would be most beneficial. Glacial rock dust for a few micros but i plan on still feeding with teas if need be. Being that toms mix is already high in N and Ca should i avoid adding blood meal and oyster shell? Any suggestions from you would be awesome and thanks again for the reply

While I'm certainly not GoldCountry here are my thoughts on the subject.

Have you used Tom's mix before and found it to be insufficient in some way? If not, I think the consensus on tweaking it is that you shouldn't... stick with what's tried and true. By changing it I'd be worried that you'd be imbalancing an already proven and thought-out mix.

 

[GEMiNi GENETiCS]

Gypsum is good if your soils are hard and full of clay .... Helps loosen them but that takes time .... Yr 1 will be okay ... Yr2 better ... 3 even better ...... And so on

I agree w boobs ..... But if your going to tweak anything do only 1or2 items to minimize any future issues ..... Too many variables and you won't know what's helping or hurting your girls ....... And if you have an deficiencies use a journal ... Note them and top dress .... Next season use your notes to tweak and before long you'll have a killer mix that works for you and your grow style .... But I'd start w Toms mix un-altered if you haven't run it yet


For them B.I.G. Girls ..... Get em root bound in a 5-gallon bucket by June then transplant

 

[Nez]

While I'm certainly not GoldCountry here are my thoughts on the subject.

Have you used Tom's mix before and found it to be insufficient in some way? If not, I think the consensus on tweaking it is that you shouldn't... stick with what's tried and true. By changing it I'd be worried that you'd be imbalancing an already proven and thought-out mix.

hey boobs thanks for the advice man. I should have worded that question differently it did sound like i was asking goldcountry directly, my bad. I haven't run toms mix before. I probably should just run toms mix the way it is, take notes, and add what i feel is necessary if anything next year.

 

[Nez]

Gypsum is good if your soils are hard and full of clay .... Helps loosen them but that takes time .... Yr 1 will be okay ... Yr2 better ... 3 even better ...... And so on

I agree w boobs ..... But if your going to tweak anything do only 1or2 items to minimize any future issues ..... Too many variables and you won't know what's helping or hurting your girls ....... And if you have an deficiencies use a journal ... Note them and top dress .... Next season use your notes to tweak and before long you'll have a killer mix that works for you and your grow style .... But I'd start w Toms mix un-altered if you haven't run it yet


For them B.I.G. Girls ..... Get em root bound in a 5-gallon bucket by June then transplant

Thanks for posting Gemini, great advice. No reason for me to make it harder then it needs to be