Motherlode Gardens 2014

[megayields]

ughhh I HATE poison oak..it's ALL OVER the Santa Cruz mountains.....thanks god the greenhouses are in the middle of a field with NO poison oak near it.

Keep killing it you two crazy kids!

 

[Drue Bleam]

ughhh I HATE poison oak..it's ALL OVER the Santa Cruz mountains.....thanks god the greenhouses are in the middle of a field with NO poison oak near it.

Keep killing it you two crazy kids!

 

[Shcrews]

We are getting biohazard suits to deal with the poison oak this year...


...seriously.

 

[Shcrews]

In light of the recent compliance check i think we have decided to keep our plant count at 50:

-30x 300gallon smartpots with soil, all plants from seed
-20x 150gallon smartpots with coco, all plants from clones (hardcore OG and Gorilla Glue#4)

I am on the fence about the 150's of coco, may go with all 300's of soil but last year our coco outdoors came out so nice!
any thoughts?

 

[theJointedOne]

i gues it depends on how much water you want to throw on them.

Id triple plant clones in 300's ftw! in soil

honestly if your trying to get the biggest/best harvest youd do all clone, seed is great but if you do 30 seed and only 1/3rd are stellar your stuck with 2/3rds of who knows what. Even if 2/3 are good...dont get me wrong i love seed more than most

not trying to tell you what to do, but imo id do 300's triple planted.

and do 3 diff high yielding high bag appeal varieties, that way you can stagger the harvest.

Have you even seen the 'hardcore og' outside? there are proven winners that you can source easy that will yield multiple times over what any og can.

 

[ponobegone]

im so tempted to do my deps with coco beds I love that stuff. when are you popping seeds or have you already?

 

[Shcrews]

i gues it depends on how much water you want to throw on them.

Id triple plant clones in 300's ftw! in soil

honestly if your trying to get the biggest/best harvest youd do all clone, seed is great but if you do 30 seed and only 1/3rd are stellar your stuck with 2/3rds of who knows what. Even if 2/3 are good...dont get me wrong i love seed more than most

not trying to tell you what to do, but imo id do 300's triple planted.

and do 3 diff high yielding high bag appeal varieties, that way you can stagger the harvest.

Have you even seen the 'hardcore og' outside? there are proven winners that you can source easy that will yield multiple times over what any og can.

thanks so much for your input! My issue with coco vs soil is that last year i used both, and my coco buds were much better looking than the same strains grown in soil.. lighter green, more crystals, much more of an "indoor" look. I think i posted a comparison pic on the first page of this thread. Unfortunately, many weed growers are only looking to produce volume, but I actually take pride in my herb and want it to be as good as it can be. The increased watering needs of coco are a small price to pay for the apparent increase in quality.

...I wish there were more people growing ganja in coco outdoors so i wouldn't feel like such a freak... I'm telling you it turns out way better IMO. I would do all coco but i already have a shitload of soil.

and now ya got me thinking because we already have seeds popped but i'm not committed to using them, and you make a very good case for tripple-potting clones being a better bet in this situation (i think we can get away with it). I have another outdoor location where i can grow the seeds if we decide to do that.

I have never grown the harcdore OG or the Gorilla Glue #4 outside, but i am definitely putting 10 glues outside, probably a couple hardcore OG's just to see how they do. What clone strains would you recommend for Motherlode Gardens 2014 full season outdoors?

 

[theJointedOne]

well, how did the coco buds burn? as compared to the soil? I know looks are important. I guess id feel kinda bad for the earth and my community if i used multiple times the water needed just to get a slightly better bag appeal. I hear ya though, i see your point.

if you do clones just make sure you run supplemental lighting ect, the trick gardens have the supp light over the 300.

 

[Shcrews]

well, how did the coco buds burn? as compared to the soil? I know looks are important. I guess id feel kinda bad for the earth and my community if i used multiple times the water needed just to get a slightly better bag appeal. I hear ya though, i see your point.

if you do clones just make sure you run supplemental lighting ect, the trick gardens have the supp light over the 300.

The coco buds actually smoked amazing. yield was much better too. Last year we put out some late plants in 7gal smarties, and the ones in coco yeilded 2-3x more than the ones in soil. Bigger, Brighter buds. As far as watering, wouldn't a 300gal soil smarty and a 150gal coco smarty both need about 30gallons water per day, or am i totally off?

for supplemental lighting, what do you mean "over the 300's"? i have heard of people planting in big pots early in the year, then keeping fluorescents over them at night until june, then letting the plants do their thing. Is that what you're talking about or do you mean something else? ...We are planning to veg everything indoors under 16/8 light until June, then put them outside with no supp lighting. do you think this is a mistake? have ample space to veg indoors, could get the plants plenty big before going outside.

Having a bunch of lights on our dark hillside at night would call a bit too much attention, unfortunately we are not miles out in the woods.

 

[theJointedOne]

The coco buds actually smoked amazing. yield was much better too. Last year we put out some late plants in 7gal smarties, and the ones in coco yeilded 2-3x more than the ones in soil. comparing yields in a 7 gal to those in a 300 is not the best) Bigger, Brighter buds. As far as watering, wouldn't a 300gal soil smarty and a 150gal coco smarty both need about 30gallons water per day, or am i totally off? (i have no idea how much coco would need but on a hot day i heard some dudes had to water multiple times a day with it, a 300 with soil should get maybe 30gallons every other day, it depends on if you mulch/size of root zone ect. You should have everything on drip and have the drip come on in the morning an hour before the sun hits, that way your water line isnt boiling hot and it gives the water time to soak up and not evaporate on contact withthe dirt

for supplemental lighting, what do you mean "over the 300's"? i have heard of people planting in big pots early in the year, then keeping fluorescents over them at night until june, then letting the plants do their thing. Is that what you're talking about or do you mean something else? (Nope, thats it) ...We are planning to veg everything indoors under 16/8 light until June, then put them outside with no supp lighting. do you think this is a mistake? yea id let them veg naturally in a cheap/easy hoop with a few cfl's and a mr heater. Your plants will like to be exposed to the sun. weather ect. if you veg them and just toss outside they arent gonna be happy for a week) have ample space to veg indoors, could get the plants plenty big before going outside. Just get some 20 ft pvc and some nice clear poly and make a hoop, toss a few cfls on timers in there boom

Having a bunch of lights on our dark hillside at night would call a bit too much attention, unfortunately we are not miles out in the woods. you can have them come on in the early a.m/ instead of the evening fwiw

 

[Shcrews]

LOL @ comparing 7gallon pots to 300gallons.

I was just saying that i observed a definite increase in growth rate and bud size when using coco instead of soil, all other variables being exactly the same.


General rule of thumb for watering coco outdoors is every morning give them 20% of the total container volume. that always worked for me at least. One could split that amount among multiple automated feedings throughout the day but i prefer to handwater all at once in the morning.


JointedOne, It sounds like you recommend in this order:

1. plant clones and seeds directly into their big permanent pots in early spring, using supp lighting over each big pot until June

2. plant clones and seeds into small (5-10gal) pots in early spring, veg outdoors in a hoophouse with supplemental lighting until June, at which time they are transplanted into big pots with no supplemental lighting.

3. plant clones and seeds into small pots in early spring, veg indoors under 16/8 light until June, at which time they are transplanted into big pots with no supp lighting.


#1 is not feasible at this location. #2 is feasible but my concerns are nighttime temps (~40 degrees) and also the task of building a hoophouse. My question is, what if i veg indoors (#3) but also carry the plants outside for a few hours of sunlight per day before June? i guess its not a question, just a lot of work. what would ya choose?

 

[theJointedOne]

i hear ya,

 

[Shcrews]

i hear ya,

i totally understand that i just asked ya a shit ton of questions haha thanks for your time and patience !

The hillside is turning green and the big pots are looking might empty right about now.....

 

[Sleeper7784]

Damn dude I'm a little late on this topic, but I'm with you on the outdoor coco boat. FTW!

I also feel like a freak taking about it to people... NOBODY runs straight coco outside. Except me and a possible a handful more.

I only run 20 gals in my yard, I feed every watering, once in the morning once at night, but summer watering for me consists of a 5 gal nutrient feed in the morning, then 2-4 trips out with 5 gal per plant of straight water during the day to keep her hydrated, then the last trip out there for the day is a 5 gallon feed.

So instead of using so much nutrition during the high temp days its really just keeping things hydrated frequently with cool water.

There have been times the plants are drinking so much water an hour after wateting, I look out the window and the whole garden is wilting from thirst.

The bigger pots are going to help you guys a lot.

Myself I've been considering going with much bigger pots and finding some sort medium to blend and help retain water a little longer. But most likely I'll just run my 20 gals like aleays

 

[Shcrews]

Damn dude I'm a little late on this topic, but I'm with you on the outdoor coco boat. FTW!

I also feel like a freak taking about it to people... NOBODY runs straight coco outside. Except me and a possible a handful more.

I only run 20 gals in my yard, I feed every watering, once in the morning once at night, but summer watering for me consists of a 5 gal nutrient feed in the morning, then 2-4 trips out with 5 gal per plant of straight water during the day to keep her hydrated, then the last trip out there for the day is a 5 gallon feed.

So instead of using so much nutrition during the high temp days its really just keeping things hydrated frequently with cool water.

There have been times the plants are drinking so much water an hour after wateting, I look out the window and the whole garden is wilting from thirst.

The bigger pots are going to help you guys a lot.

Myself I've been considering going with much bigger pots and finding some sort medium possito

haha no need to feel like a freak here! Real talk: outdoor bud grown in coco is better than outdoor bud grown in soil. (blasphemy!!!)

i think when growing coco outdoors it is crucial to use a big enough container so that only one large watering/feeding per day is necessary to keep the plants from wilting. It sounds like your plants grew too big for their 20gal pots! That's not surprising since they were full-season plants in coco. in 2009 I grew some full season plants in 10gallon coco smartpots and by the end of summer they needed water until runoff 2x per day. yield was amazing though, ~1lb each from 10gallon coco smart pots

 

[ponobegone]

you just talked me into a 10x10 coco bed dude

 

[Shcrews]

you just talked me into a 10x10 coco bed dude

nice, do it!!! i will love to see the result. run some soil to compare. have you given any thought to feeding this big coco bed?

sorry i forgot to reply to your previous post:

when are you popping seeds or have you already?

We popped our seeds last week, but thanks to TheJointedOne a few posts back, i am now having second thoughts about putting them in big pots. Might just triple-pot a bunch of proven clones instead of single-potting seeds. we want to hit at least 5lb per plant and all our seeds are unproven.

 

[Sleeper7784]

Don't move you plants from inside to outside back inside. The risk of bringing bugs indoors out weighs the benefits of the sunlight.

Ever...

Lol just put your full seasons out in April and let'em start doing their thing. They will adapt to weather conditions and temps.

Then for the smaller pots just veg. what you need, as long as you can indoors. And put them out in August no later than Sept. 1 to start flowering. At that time in the season the day you place them out there is day one flower. They'll finish 56-77 days. I've done this many times in 5 gal straight coco pots

 

[Shcrews]

Don't move you plants from inside to outside back inside. The risk of bringing bugs indoors out weighs the benefits of the sunlight.

You are correct, thats a basic rule. But we aren't running any indoor gardens at this location, the only plants inside are the ones that are eventually going outside, so outside pests are not an issue.

just put your full seasons out in April and let'em start doing their thing. They will adapt to weather conditions and temps.

The weather is warm enough by april, but don't you think if we put clones out in april they might start to flower? i have seen it before even in May. Maybe its different with seeds, but i think putting clones out before June without supp lighting is risky..

Then for the smaller pots just veg. what you need, as long as you can indoors. And put them out in August no later than Sept. 1 to start flowering. At that time in the season the day you place them out there is day one flower. They'll finish 56-77 days. I've done this many times in 5 gal straight coco pots

That is exactly what i did last year with great results. Put teens out in 7gal coco smarties on August 15th they finished October 15th. got a half pound per plant.

 

[Sleeper7784]

haha no need to feel like a freak here! Real talk: outdoor bud grown in coco is better than outdoor bud grown in soil. (blasphemy!!!)

i think when growing coco outdoors it is crucial to use a big enough container so that only one large watering/feeding per day is necessary to keep the plants from wilting. It sounds like your plants grew too big for their 20gal pots! That's not surprising since they were full-season plants in coco. in 2009 I grew suome full season plants in 10gallon coco smartpots and by the end of summer they needed water until runoff 2x per day. yield was amazing though, ~1lb each from 10gallon coco smart pots

Ha thanks Shcrews, glad to find a place excepted, I'm not shund or doubted. Lol

I will defenantly go with larger pots. The outdoor side of my world is totally for fun personal gratification.

Thanks for all the hard work you and drue bleam put in.