Outdoor Growing in the California Desert. Is it possible?

[Ringodoggie]

Hey gang, I just moved to the Palm Springs area from why oh why Ohio and I would love to do an outdoor grow. Quite frankly, my new condo simply does not have a place to grow so I am hoping for an outdoor opportunity.

I see the hours go 12/12 about October 1st. However, the 2 months before that have a ton of 100+F days. It's been my experience that pot does not do very well over 90F and under 60F. So, the veg period would be pretty darn hot. I could use shade screen to help a little or maybe there are ways I don't know about yet. But, that's not the worse part.

Even worse, during the flowering months, the temps often go down into the 40s and 50's. Again, below the optimal 60F that pot seems to like.

I have been a grower for over 50 years and it's always been my favorite hobby. It kills me to think I am done. I moved from a 4200 SF condo to a 1400 SF condo and there is not a single place where I could have 12 hours of absolute dark. Fuck, there's only 4 rooms in my whole fucking place. LOL I set up a 3x3 tent in my room but I live in this room and there's always going to be light leaks. I worry about hermies. I hate to be relegated to growing autos the rest of my life.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

PS. I fucking love the desert.

 

[goingrey]

All I know about growing in the desert is that it has to be possible since @Cactus Squatter is doing it. Maybe he could give you some pointers.

You have to get an earlier strain than something that only starts flowering in October though. Fortunately that is most of them. Some might not actually need 12 hours of darkness even indoors and then outdoors you have the effect of the daylength getting shorter and light spectrum changing and all that making the plants flower. The earliest and fastest strains will even be ready to harvest in September.

Oh and cover up those light leaks in your tent. Totally possible to prevent them. What do you mean always going to be some, intake vents or what? Filters and angled pipes. Duct tape over any holes in the fabric...

 

[Cactus Squatter]

Desert growing is definitely a change from other climates but far from impossible. You can totally pull off a good grow in Palm Springs. You’re definitely not done by a long shot, just have some new tricks to learn. You’ll be surprised what the plants can take.

1. Strain selection is key. If it’s something that grows rocks indoors and in hydro, don’t bother. I personally stick to Sativas and Sativa hybrids like the stuff from ACE but good afghani and Pakistani hash plants will also do really well. So far all of their gear that I’ve tried has done well here, only the Neville’s haze x Panama R&D has been noticeably heat sensitive. My friends that try growing all the cake/cookies style plants don’t do nearly as well as I do.

2. Shade canopy is a must for some but not others. It’s really going to be up to the individual plant, but I run a 40% canopy over most and it works really well. It also keeps the soil bags cooler. I do have some plants that rock the full sun without issues. I currently have a volunteer that came up from last year that’s something of ACE’s crossed with Honduras x Panama. Full sun right on the edge of my patio radiating heat with zero issues. It’s seen several days of 120°.

3. Grow in ground if possible, lots of mulch on top. If you need to be in pots, use the fabric bags. Hard pots will hold too much water and heat and cook your roots. Good draining soil, yet good moisture retention. You mainly just don’t want the soil holding heavy wet spots long as it will rot quickly in the heat.
I’m not sure in Palm Springs if it’s a lot of old farmland being built on, or if it’s virgin desert soil. Either way you’ll probably need to play with it a little. Desert soil likes to compact and could have clay in it. If it’s virgin soil it also may have caliche and hard pan layers you’ll want to dig way past and then back fill with amended soil to prevent drowning your plants. My location has a hard pan about 6inches thick that might as well be concrete.

4. Watering is really going to depend on you, your individual micro climate etc. you can either do the SIP style putting water basins underneath the bags and letting them water from the bottom, or you can do like I do and top water. I do a combination of little sprayers on a drip line, as well as hand watering every few days to make sure they get fully watered all the way through.
My location is too dry for the sip style and gave me issues with the top 4-5 inches of soil drying out so I switched to the little sprayers. Just kind of play with it initially until you find what works in your location. Dry spots in the bags can also be an issue which is why I do the deeper hand watering and also watch how the water absorbs in every spot of the bag. If you see areas it is avoiding you may have a dry spot there that needs attention.

That’s about it. 99% of it is going to be strain selection though. Get good heat and dry condition tolerant genetics and they’ll rock for you.

I also flower all the way into January if needed. Temps got into the low 30s a few times and I just covered up those nights with a frost blanket over the shade canopy. Most of my strains last year were done oct-early December.
Destroyer and a purple honduras went long.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'm sure I'll be asking some questions once I get started. Thanks again so much. Growing pot has been a part of my life for... well, most of my life. I'm glad it's going to continue to be so.

Thanks again.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

Enjoy those Palm Springs mornings.

 

[Montuno]

Well, I am surprised by your fears. I think that, totally contrary to what you think, you are now in a privileged climate, with whose range of diversity in cultivable varieties, and their final quality, I don't think Ohio can compare (?).

The commercial hybrids and "refritos" (criticals-cokiees-etc) do not do better anywhere, and the volume and density that the buds can acquire, thanks to the low humidity that prevents molds, have no competition (in this I differ from the opinion of Cactus; although I am also a sativer).
As Cactus advised you, you should dig a hole in the ground, and as big as possible. The pots are pots of cooking roots.

I am trying this year to fumigate diatomaceous earth: they say that one of its secondary effects is to protect from solar radiation (I have now the maximum index of ultraviolet radiation possible, I believe: 11) and the heat.

Good luck and health.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks so much. I was at the grow store today and talked to an outdoor grower. He is in the high desert so it's a little different but still, it was nice to hear his stories and advice.

I am super looking forward to this.

One issue I have is that I am in a condo. I don't think I can just dig a hole in the ground. I was going to grow "in pots" on a "concrete patio" in the "direct sun". I can see, now, that's 3 strikes. LOL I'll be trying to think of some alternatives.

Thanks again for all the input.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

In that instance, I would do fabric pots. Take some shade canopy material and wrap it loosely around them so it kind of billows out all around the fabric pots. That will create shade and airspace. Keeping the soil cool is the important part I’ve found.

 

[mikeandnaomi]

100% can grow in Palm Springs. Amazing what some shade can do ..

 

[flylowgethigh]

The heat and light may reflect off the porch, making it hotter. That is where the shade comes in handy. I have a plant outside that is doing amazingly well in tremendous heat. 10 gallon bag sat on a 2" thick pot base pan of perlite. You could do the 7 gallon pan with perlite and a drain hole 2" under the top surface of the perlite, and set the bag on it.

That plant is the SKOHLP, and you can have seeds. Shoot me a PM if you want some.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

This is in full desert sun all day, taking daily temps up to 119°

 

[Montuno]

This is in full desert sun all day, taking daily temps up to 119° View attachment 18736872

Well, I don't know whether to be happy to find someone who is today 7°F "more comfortable than me" ("consolation for fools", the saying goes)...or to change goats for camels bearing in mind that I don't live in no desert, but hundreds and hundreds of kilometers from the nearest major desert and almost 39° North latitude... And humidity between 5% (all daytime) and 30% (at dawn)... I've been like this practically since the second half of May and the worst is still ahead of me; the second half of July and August...

Today, 112°F maximum in the shade, and 77°F in the 'coldest' of the night.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was wondering how I was going to elevate the soil to keep it off the concrete patio. That concrete gets hot as fuck. I was going to use a wooden pallet or something close. The perlite is cheap, light and probably a better insulator than most. Thanks again.

There is NO WAY I am digging any holes around here. The grounds are riddled with irrigation lines and all kinds of other shit. That's the part that suxs about condo living. No big deal. It's a patio grow. LOL

I germed a handful of seeds last week and I have 6 little sprouts in dirt, under my LED lights.

When do they become strong enough to put outside? I was planning to do most of the veg indoors (6-8 weeks) and then put hem outside to flower.

In this kind of heat, I imagine we water EVERY day?

Thanks again, all.

From the looks of the forecast, we are done with the teens of Summer. High today was 104. Barely warm. LOL More clouds than I have seen so far in the desert. I even saw a couple drops of rain yesterday. My first. LOL

Another question.... I can tuck this plant under my patio and it will get very little direct light. Or, I can put it where is gets it from sunup to sundown. If I have my choice, and I do, how many hours of direct light would be a good number. And, I imagine the morning sun is better than the afternoon sun????

Again, thanks.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

I don’t water everyday, it’s easy to worry about heat and end up overwatering them. I hit mine every other morning and most of the time that works well. If we have more wind than usual I will then need to do daily waterings. That’s with my bags sitting on the ground though.

For raising the bags I’ve got some friends that use pallets, some that use old salvaged boards, and one of them old railroad track pieces he had sitting around.

 

[flylowgethigh]

If I don't pour a couple gallons of water a day on outdoor SKOHLP, he turns brown. Watch out on sexing a plant inside under light, then taking it outside. I believe the photoperiod shock messed up my male, and the female SKOHLPs I gave away.

 

[Luckypup]

I am in Santa Clarita which is only a little better then PS and have grown without any isses besure to use plenty of perlite and vermite

 

[Ringodoggie]

I started some seeds a couple weeks ago and they are a few inches tall, now. I will transplant them from the #1 pots to the #5 pots in about a another week.

After that, I plan to start experimenting with one of them outside. I plan to give it a few hours per day outside, gradually getting to full time. Good idea? Or, is it better to hit her with it all at once and then leave her outside?

I have been watering these indoors every day. The dry is making the leaves a little wrinkled. Humidity is about 20%-25% in the tent. I can use a small humidifier to raise it if I need to.

I have an area next to my patio that might be ideal. I will get a picture and post it. I can't really dig a hole but I guess setting the bag on the sand would be better than setting it on the concrete patio. Yes?

And, it's right in the middle of some bushes so the pot, itself would be in the shade almost all the time. Is that good?

I'll post a pic in a minute. Meanwhile.............. DESERT GARDENING TIPS FROM RINGODOGGIE

If you are wearing flip flops and digging in the sand, make sure you don't dig into a fire ant colony. LOL Oops.

I didn't know about fire ants. I was raking leaves out from the sand and raked a colony of fire ants up onto my bare feet. I felt the little fuckers biting me almost immediately and started brushing them off of me. I didn't have my glasses on so I had know idea what they were. And, this was those tiny little red fuckers with a black ass so I couldn't see shit. I got most of them but a few kept stinging me until I got into the house and could see them. I looked at my feet and I didn't see any marks at all so I figured all was good. Woke up the next day... still no marks. I was surprised.

Then, about Noon, I looked down and my fucking feet were covered with puss filled blisters. Fortunately, I read about not popping the blisters so I saved myself that stupid move. But, I had about 10 areas like this one on my feet. You can see the little cocksucker grabbed a hold of me with his jaws and stung me 3 or 4 times.

Well, vengeance is mine saith the the man with the Ortho insect killer wand in his hand. LOL I dowsed them pretty good and watched them as they went into convulsions and died a horrible and painful death. Little bastards.

This was a few days ago. Today, I went out to check things out and the little mutherfuckers had a whole new colony set up a few feet away. So... I dowsed them again. LOL If they show up again, I'll talk to the landscape people about it. I live in a condo and they take care of stuff like this.

Still..... I learned my first desert gardening tip. LOL

 

[Mudballs2.0]

I started some seeds a couple weeks ago and they are a few inches tall, now. I will transplant them from the #1 pots to the #5 pots in about a another week.

After that, I plan to start experimenting with one of them outside. I plan to give it a few hours per day outside, gradually getting to full time. Good idea? Or, is it better to hit her with it all at once and then leave her outside?

I have been watering these indoors every day. The dry is making the leaves a little wrinkled. Humidity is about 20%-25% in the tent. I can use a small humidifier to raise it if I need to.

I have an area next to my patio that might be ideal. I will get a picture and post it. I can't really dig a hole but I guess setting the bag on the sand would be better than setting it on the concrete patio. Yes?

And, it's right in the middle of some bushes so the pot, itself would be in the shade almost all the time. Is that good?

I'll post a pic in a minute. Meanwhile.............. DESERT GARDENING TIPS FROM RINGODOGGIE

If you are wearing flip flops and digging in the sand, make sure you don't dig into a fire ant colony. LOL Oops.

I didn't know about fire ants. I was raking leaves out from the sand and raked a colony of fire ants up onto my bare feet. I felt the little fuckers biting me almost immediately and started brushing them off of me. I didn't have my glasses on so I had know idea what they were. And, this was those tiny little red fuckers with a black ass so I couldn't see shit. I got most of them but a few kept stinging me until I got into the house and could see them. I looked at my feet and I didn't see any marks at all so I figured all was good. Woke up the next day... still no marks. I was surprised.

Then, about Noon, I looked down and my fucking feet were covered with puss filled blisters. Fortunately, I read about not popping the blisters so I saved myself that stupid move. But, I had about 10 areas like this one on my feet. You can see the little cocksucker grabbed a hold of me with his jaws and stung me 3 or 4 times.

Well, vengeance is mine saith the the man with the Ortho insect killer wand in his hand. LOL I dowsed them pretty good and watched them as they went into convulsions and died a horrible and painful death. Little bastards.

This was a few days ago. Today, I went out to check things out and the little mutherfuckers had a whole new colony set up a few feet away. So... I dowsed them again. LOL If they show up again, I'll talk to the landscape people about it. I live in a condo and they take care of stuff like this.

Still..... I learned my first desert gardening tip. LOL

Im sorry you found out about fire ants in such a hostile way...they are vicious aren't they. Growing up in southeast US its just an accepted thing lol. Omg that was good read. Thnx ringo

 

[Ringodoggie]

Hey gang, how about insects?

I ASS U ME that we have the same basic insect problems as everywhere else. Spider mites being the first one to think about since they are the hardest to get rid of. I have a couple gnats so I put up some yellow stickies.

Also, on that topic.... I see a nice opportunity for "indoor/outdoor" growing. In why oh why Ohio, that is not even thinkable. Even one day outside and the plant could have a dozen different bugs. LOL Again, I am going to ASS U ME that it's the same story here. We have mostly flies and mosquitos and gnats here but it's the ones you don't see without a scope that get on the plants.

I am transplanting today or tomorrow. Out of the #1 pots into 3 and 5 gallon bags.

It's still pretty hot here so I may keep them inside for another week. We don't go 12/12 here until Oct 1. I'll have them outside by Sept 1.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I put 2 of them outdoors yesterday as a test and they have responded very well. I may put 2 more out next week.

Thanks all, for all the encouragement and tips.