Maria's Subtropical Outdoor Guerilla Grows with Connoisseur Genetics (Perpetual Journal)

[Maria Sanchez]

Hey @Eltitoguay , @chilliwilli , @Nexus7 and @Disso -- thanks for the "Like" bombs!

 

[Disso]

I know most of you are here for the bat updates these days,
but I have some cute plants you can look at while you wait!

Access is better. Though I still have to jump through a relatively small hole in the outside wall.
It's easier than following the wall through the forest though.

But, just realized this today:
I will take photos of the bat cave every time I visit.
And if any authorities ask me what I'm doing there,
I can tell them that I like to come and see the bats, and show them photos.
It's a perfect cover story!
(I move my garden pics to a safe folder before I even leave the site.)

As for bits of knowledge, haha, just me doing the roughest job possible here!
Maybe we can all learn a little bit about natural revegging outdoors,
and how different plants respond differently to the light-cycles.
More indica seems to want to go easily into flowering at these light cycles around 12/12 to 13/11,
whereas the very heavy sativa plants really just veg when it's above 12/12.

Still feel like I need a bigger pot or two at the garden.
The bigger pots keep the moisture better and don't dry out if it doesn't rain much.
And with the chances that some of these girls may veg all summer,
we could have a medium (or bigger) sized plant or two by fall, and they'll need a lot of root space!

Bigger pots would be ideal, but either way, you may want to consider adding a mulch layer to your plants which will help them to retain a bit more moisture in general, and stop the top of the soil from drying out so much.
The dry, brown kind of reed/straw like plants growing naturally around your pots (as seen in the bottom family pic), could be a handy option for mulch!
You don't want to layer it super thick, but at least enough to more or less cover the soil surface. One thing to note, bugs quite like mulch layers too, beneficials and otherwise, so factor that in. If you have a lot of pest pressure it might not be worth it. One idea is to just test it on one plant first and see if you like the results before doing all of them.

Love that idea of posing as a bat photographer. You could claim you're a PHD biology student at (insert local well-known university name here) and you've been tracking and photographing local bat colonies for your thesis! Hahaha.. what fun. It really is the perfect excuse. Viva la bat!

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Bigger pots would be ideal, but either way, you may want to consider adding a mulch layer to your plants which will help them to retain a bit more moisture in general, and stop the top of the soil from drying out so much.
The dry, brown kind of reed/straw like plants growing naturally around your pots (as seen in the bottom family pic), could be a handy option for mulch!
You don't want to layer it super thick, but at least enough to more or less cover the soil surface. One thing to note, bugs quite like mulch layers too, beneficials and otherwise, so factor that in. If you have a lot of pest pressure it might not be worth it. One idea is to just test it on one plant first and see if you like the results before doing all of them.

Oh yes, of course! Thanks for the reminder.
I think since the last grow was fall through winter, and this started in spring, I forgot about the heat of summer coming along.
Yes, I must totally prepare a mulch of some kind.
Discussed this way back at the start of the last grow, actually.
I think I can source some nice small bamboo leaves just across the road that will work well for this.
Or those long grasses like you mention.
Shouldn't be too many problems with pests.
I still have that little mantis living on the plants helping me, hehe.

Looks like this coming week is fairly cool with regular rain.
.Actually, that is usually most of May around here, "spring rains" season.
But this year it's been much much drier and sunnier than usual.
Probably going to mess up the farmer's calendar at this rate -- climate change.

Thanks for this reminder!

Love that idea of posing as a bat photographer. You could claim you're a PHD biology student at (insert local well-known university name here) and you've been tracking and photographing local bat colonies for your thesis! Hahaha.. what fun. It really is the perfect excuse. Viva la bat!

I was thinking more of just someone who noticed the bats and regularly comes to take photos.
If I get too much in character, and become a professional chiropterologist (apparently that's the word!), I don't want to trip myself up. All it takes is for that person to actually know something about local bats, anything at all really, and I won't have a clue. "So, what kind of bats are these?" "Um, er, ...." Best to keep it simple and not too complicated for a back up cover story. Makes me think that I probably should find out what kind of bats these are!

 

[BC LONE WOLF]

They always send out a few to check me out.
But I think you're right, they know me already, and I'm not dangerous.
They will be my minions of the night!

View attachment 19004275

This is the main concentrated area.
But there are a number of other roosting zones.
Must be well over 500 of them in here, maybe near 1000!

The weather has been great, and they've made some good growth in the last week.
Update below...

Best fertilizer in the world and you seem to have a factory of it.

Bonanza

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Best fertilizer in the world and you seem to have a factory of it.

Bonanza

Thanks for the Like bombs, @BC LONE WOLF !
Yes, I have a little guano factory bat cave.
With all of you so happy about that, I really need to check out the guano situation one day.
Thing is, the guano will be right under the bats.
I'm a little bit nervous about checking it out, let alone collecting it, with a hundred sleepy bats about 3 m above my head!

 

[Hasch]

I'm a little bit nervous about checking it out, let alone collecting it, with a hundred sleepy bats about 3 m above my head!

Yeah, I imagine it's a lil freaky all those bats right over your head, ready to flutter around you.

Maybe something like this?

No, but a sturdy hat and a large scarf?

Plus covid mask!
That's mandatory in my eyes! when you start scraping bat shit.

It is poop and bats can carry loads of pathogens (viruses etc) without getting sick (Intermediate host).

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Yeah, I imagine it's a lil freaky all those bats right over your head, ready to flutter around you.

Maybe something like this?
View attachment 19004835

No, but a sturdy hat and a large scarf?

Plus covid mask!
That's mandatory in my eyes! when you start scraping bat shit.

It is poop and bats can carry loads of pathogens (viruses etc) without getting sick (Intermediate host).

Ha! "Be Veggie" -- well, true, that's me!
I was thinking at the very least a N95 face mask, I wear one going in every time now.
And a hat, of course.
Yeah, the more I think about this, the more wary I am.
If I do it, I think I'll collect and store it somewhere to age for quite a while before use.
I guess I don't need much.

But a question for all the guano fans out there:
How will I know the NPK of this stuff?
I mean, will it be high N guano, high P or K guano?
To know whether to use it in veg or flower?
It's not likely I'm going to be testing this stuff.

It's another beautifully sunny day today, with more tomorrow.
Later into this coming week there will be a fair amount of rain.
Things moving along nicely at this point.

Oh, my first reveg Grail NLD pheno cutting didn't make it.
I put in absolutely no effort to keep it alive, I confess.
I may set up something on site, some little pots, with plastic over them, in the shade with ambient light only, and try again next visit.
If I can get myself organized enough, which isn't that likely...

 

[Hasch]

Last pic of my NewCaledonia

Lovely smells: mainly honey melon, with some Guava + Apricot

This is where she's now

A few days in the Monstera and then she goes into a large GroveBag.

 

[Nexus7]

Re bats: I would suggest some eye protection. Often people rub their eyes with dirty hands and the virus or bacteria can get inside the body!

Disposable gloves too!

 

[Rastafarout]

If you do get stopped yeah dont pretend to be a an expert you will trip yourself up

jus make weird bat screeches and roll your neck weirdly at the same time , then start moving your mouth like you wanna bite

But there’s a fine line you don’t wanna get locked up for being bay shit crazy ! So no biting

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Last pic of my NewCaledonia View attachment 19004847
Lovely smells: mainly honey melon, with some Guava + Apricot

This is where she's now
View attachment 19004848

A few days in the Monstera and then she goes into a large GroveBag.

For a pure tropical sativa, that's a thicc lady!
I love a guava aroma, I had this NL x my local sativa girl that was pure over ripe guava at harvest. So delicious!
Before the pic loaded, I was wondering "What's a monstera? Some fancy drying unit??"
Oh, I have one of these too, in my sitting room, haha!
I call her "Delicious Monster".

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Re bats: I would suggest some eye protection. Often people rub their eyes with dirty hands and the virus or bacteria can get inside the body!

Disposable gloves too!

Yeah, that's an issue too.
After covid, though, I just don't rub my eyes when I'm outside the house at all.

 

[Maria Sanchez]

If you do get stopped yeah dont pretend to be a an expert you will trip yourself up

jus make weird bat screeches and roll your neck weirdly at the same time , then start moving your mouth like you wanna bite

But there’s a fine line you don’t wanna get locked up for being bay shit crazy ! So no biting

Note to self:

1. Practice bat screech noises.
2. Do neck stretches.
3. Do not bite the police or medical personnel.

It's amazing the stuff you can learn from experienced cannabis growers!

 

[Eltitoguay]

Cousin María, about bats, and how to distinguish insectivores (whose guano is higher in N) from frutivores (guano higher in P): frutivores can be differentiated because they usually have a face more similar to that of a dog or fox, vulpine snout, claws on the second finger of the forelimb, and its smaller ears (in relation to the size of its head) and more tube-shaped (less open ears).
Frutivores also have larger eyes (relative to their head size) compared to insectivores, they have stronger jaws to be able to bite and hold fruits, and their wings are much wider to be able to carry and transport heavy fruits (relative to its weight).
Their echolocation is less precise than that of insectivores, but they complement it with much better sight and smell.
Fruit-eaters can be nocturnal or diurnal, (if yours are diurnal, they are almost certainly fruit-eaters)
The larger the fruit-eating species is (Africa, Asia, Oceanía) the more it differs from insectivores, while the smaller ones (América) are more similar to insectivores.

If you take my advice, I wouldn't rummage in your friend's excrement, which will also be very fresh.

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Cousin María, about bats, and how to distinguish insectivores (whose guano is higher in N) from frutivores (guano higher in P): frutivores can be differentiated because they usually have a face more similar to that of a dog or fox, vulpine snout, claws on the second finger of the forelimb, and its smaller ears (in relation to the size of its head) and more tube-shaped (less open ears).
Frutivores also have larger eyes (relative to their head size) compared to insectivores, they have stronger jaws to be able to bite and hold fruits, and their wings are much wider to be able to carry and transport heavy fruits (relative to its weight).
Their echolocation is less precise than that of insectivores, but they complement it with much better sight and smell.
Fruit-eaters can be nocturnal or diurnal, (if yours are diurnal, they are almost certainly fruit-eaters)
The larger the fruit-eating species is (Africa, Asia, Oceanía) the more it differs from insectivores, while the smaller ones (América) are more similar to insectivores.

If you take my advice, I wouldn't rummage in your friend's excrement, which will also be very fresh.

I defer to your bat-ological knowledge!
Though, to be honest, I was not planning on getting close enough to my batty friends to see the shape of their snouts, claws, eyes or ears. The ones that fly past me will not be getting a selfie, either!
Though, the nocturnal / diurnal situation is something I can note.
During the day, there are a lot of bats in there.
95% are sleeping, about 4% are jiggling around while hanging upside down, and the other 1% are on Maria patrol.
But I don't know how many are around during the night, to take role call and see if everyone is home during the day time.

 

[Eltitoguay]

...

 

[Maria Sanchez]

My other concern is dogs... I think that the packs of dogs (with or without a human owner) that can be found in places like the Philippines or Thailand, are much less potentially dangerous than those in Europe, Western and Central Asia, or America, where it is easier to find molossers and/or prey dogs and/or dogs of breeds suitable for defense/attack... In Spain, every year, dogs kill between 3 and 6 people... Here there is also the circumstance that there are herds herding cattle in the fields, without human supervision for a good part of the day, generally by large Spanish Leonese Mastiff-type molossers (which By the way, they have been the cause of the several deaths that we have already had this year). As you rightly say, fleeing from them by running should only be the last option, if we see that the attack is certain, and we have the possibility of, by running, getting to safety in some way; If not, it is better to face the attack. The management of your gaze (never look directly into their eyes), how to approach/away from them (not straight and directly, but laterally with semicircles and without turning your back), can make the difference between an attack and a neutral or even friendly reception. Likewise, our body position, frontal or lateral to them, is very important: facing them with our body turned laterally (a little or completely, 180°) is a sign of calm and peace, but also that we might prefer to flee rather than defend ourselves; while frontally we give a message of self-confidence and that we are willing to defend ourselves, but also that we could be willing to attack...
This lateral or frontal posture to the dog is by no means trivial, to the point that before selecting a future defense dog, there is a test called "Defense test without physical contact", in which a helper ("figurante canino" in Spanish) stands a few meters in front of a dog next to his owner, and without moving but only turning his body on his feet, alternating frontal and lateral posture according to each dog (accompanied by his gaze), he triggers from a attack warning to the direct attack, in the "suitable" dogs, and in the unfit one ("no suitables") the emission of calm &peace signals or the attempt to take refuge in its owner or even the try to escape...

A spray with a lot of lemon juice and/or vinegar can be effective to prevent or repel the attack of certain dogs (if it is "powerful" physically and mentally, one of those that get angry when hit), if the ostentation of a stick is not enough.

You have some big doggos in Spain, it seems.
These ones here are part the ancient local breed, part pets abandoned or run away.
They're fairly docile, bark a lot but won't challenge people at all.
And these ones are fed by some local ladies and maybe the temple around the corner.
So they're pretty chill and not dangerous at all.
I've been observing them for almost a year already.
I've only seen them once at the garden, during rain, so I don't think they hang out / live in normally.
But, I shall keep safe, thank you!

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Busy weekend so no update or visit.
Rainfall should be keeping them happy these days.
Maybe later next week or next weekend.
Hope you're all doing well!

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

Do you miss getting over to the Bat Cave? LOL

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Do you miss getting over to the Bat Cave? LOL

Alas, we had to cancel our regular engagement for tea and scones.

Meanwhile, Mother Nature has obliged with the rain.
It's nicest when she gives them a short but heavy drink,
and then turns the sun back on for their photosynthesizing enjoyment.

If my girls are growing anything like my tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers,
next visit is going to be a fun treat with some lovely little happy bushes.

PS: thanks @Consolidated for the like bombs. Is your user handle named after the band?