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Northern California Outdoor - 400 Gallon Raised Beds

GlaZed420

Active member
How early is too early to get my plants outside and planted into their forever home? Soil will be delivered next week sometime. I will let it cook for a week to 10 days and then fill my beds. I assume getting my seed starts out beginning of May late April isn't a big deal. A little supplemental lighting is probably required to keep them from flipping eh?
 

Lyfespan

Active member
How early is too early to get my plants outside and planted into their forever home? Soil will be delivered next week sometime. I will let it cook for a week to 10 days and then fill my beds. I assume getting my seed starts out beginning of May late April isn't a big deal. A little supplemental lighting is probably required to keep them from flipping eh?

i think days are long enough now
 

GlaZed420

Active member
i think days are long enough now

Really? I've put out seed starts before mid April for curiosity and all 4 went into flower. I'm toying with the notion of using Christmas tree style LED lighting until mid May to make sure they don't flower. Will this be sufficient?
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
This is what i found with putting them out... Clones will always flower before June 1st. Seeds it depends. If you give them supplemental too long, they will flip when u put them out without supplemental.
If you don't mess with the light schedule from the start they won't. Last year i popped seeds in feb under a t5. As soon as they got a set of real leafs, i put them in my heated greenhouse in a corner that doesn't get supplemental lighting. No flippy floppy. If u let them sexually mature under grow lights, they will flip flop.

I don't think it's to late to put them in a little hoop outside. How many sets off leafs do you have? I think they just need to be acclimated to the natural light schedule before they sexually mature. Because the days are getting longer, they know it's not time.

If it's too cold now to put them in a hoop,
The other option it's you can string up a couple bulbs outside like you would do for clones.
 

GlaZed420

Active member
This is what i found with putting them out... Clones will always flower before June 1st. Seeds it depends. If you give them supplemental too long, they will flip when u put them out without supplemental.
If you don't mess with the light schedule from the start they won't. Last year i popped seeds in feb under a t5. As soon as they got a set of real leafs, i put them in my heated greenhouse in a corner that doesn't get supplemental lighting. No flippy floppy. If u let them sexually mature under grow lights, they will flip flop.

I don't think it's to late to put them in a little hoop outside. How many sets off leafs do you have? I think they just need to be acclimated to the natural light schedule before they sexually mature. Because the days are getting longer, they know it's not time.

If it's too cold now to put them in a hoop,
The other option it's you can string up a couple bulbs outside like you would do for clones.

Thanks bud. They are at 9 nodes and they have just been topped. One plant has shown pistols but none of the rest. They started at 24/0 but for past 3+/- weeks have been on 18/6. I'd hate to put them out now when I'm 2 weeks out from having soil in boxes. I also know allowing them to get too big indoors is a no no
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Thanks bud. They are at 9 nodes and they have just been topped. One plant has shown pistols but none of the rest. They started at 24/0 but for past 3+/- weeks have been on 18/6. I'd hate to put them out now when I'm 2 weeks out from having soil in boxes. I also know allowing them to get too big indoors is a no no

Put them in a little hoop house until may with a couple cheapo light bulbs in it . Get a couple pieces of pvc and stretch some cheap plastic over it. Put them in 15 gallon pots spaced out. In may, plant them into your beds.

The reason it messes plants up to veg inside too long it's because people keep them too crowded inside in little pots. And also when the nice sun comes, they aren't used to it.
 

calisun

Active member
With clones and no supplemental light I wait until there is 14 hours 45 min of light. There are some varieties I can put out before that and they won't trigger but in general at least 14 45 is pretty safe. Maybe wait until 14hrs 55min light for a real early variety.
 

Lyfespan

Active member
you have to try and match lighting cycle outside, at least get the lighting down to 16 on that way they arent experiencing such a swing, that could cause issues. also watch the temps the first few days outside
 

GlaZed420

Active member
With clones and no supplemental light I wait until there is 14 hours 45 min of light. There are some varieties I can put out before that and they won't trigger but in general at least 14 45 is pretty safe. Maybe wait until 14hrs 55min light for a real early variety.

These are seed starts no clones
 

GlaZed420

Active member
Got the raised beds just about finished. Dropping soil in on Thursday.
 

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calisun

Active member
Got the raised beds just about finished. Dropping soil in on Thursday.

Looks good Glazed.
When I make garden boxes in my area I till or dig up the earth a little under where I am going to place the box. I add a little gypsum and humic acid to help open the soil up, as I have a lot of silt and clay in my area. I also put some hardware cloth 1/4" or 1/2" under the box to prevent all the gophers in my area from getting in. You may have no gophers and good soil under your boxes and not need to do the extra work but something to think about if you have similar conditions to me
 

GlaZed420

Active member
Looks good Glazed.
When I make garden boxes in my area I till or dig up the earth a little under where I am going to place the box. I add a little gypsum and humic acid to help open the soil up, as I have a lot of silt and clay in my area. I also put some hardware cloth 1/4" or 1/2" under the box to prevent all the gophers in my area from getting in. You may have no gophers and good soil under your boxes and not need to do the extra work but something to think about if you have similar conditions to me

Thanks bud. I don't have gophers fortunately on my site. The native soil is very much so hard clay. I might break some of it up just in case the roots decide to out grow the beds.
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Those boxes look good! Is it possible they are a little close together? Its hard to tell scale. How many feet do you have between centers? Like stalk to stalk.
 

GlaZed420

Active member
Those boxes look good! Is it possible they are a little close together? Its hard to tell scale. How many feet do you have between centers? Like stalk to stalk.

Ya they're definitely close together. It was a compromise in my household :D. They will have just about 5'x5' and 17"-18" deep. They're probably going to grow into each other a bit but it is what it is. Should still get a little big :D
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
I think you have to do something about that... Do less plants, depp them to keep them small, or take a clone off the plants you have now and plant it mid June.

U popped seeds in feb. They would grow into each other if they had 10'x10'. 5x5' will be ��. Don't think that they will not get enormous because it's your first year. All you have to do is water them and support them and they will be 10' wide.
 

GlaZed420

Active member
I think you have to do something about that... Do less plants, depp them to keep them small, or take a clone off the plants you have now and plant it mid June.

U popped seeds in feb. They would grow into each other if they had 10'x10'. 5x5' will be ��. Don't think that they will not get enormous because it's your first year. All you have to do is water them and support them and they will be 10' wide.

Interesting. I sprouted 18 seeds, I just did my final round of selections. I removed the males (damn they grew so nice :() mutants/dwarfs/poor vigor. Im left With 6 plants to choose from
 
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