Outdoor Growing in the California Desert. Is it possible?

[BrassNwood]

@Ringodoggie
Safer sells a Neem oil Extract that has more punch and less stink then Neem When the White flies invaded the Veg shed I'd take the plants out and lay them down on the lawn then spray up there backsides, roll them over and hit them again covering all the undersides of the leaves where the little shitters hide. Let them dry and stick them back in the shed. Same with Powdery Mildew. Take them out, Lay down and spray with high PH water

 

[Ringodoggie]

I just harvested 4 outdoor plants and the harvest was very low. Wispy buds with a lot of single leaves sticking out. Almost like they wanted to re-veg. These plants got about 3 or 4 hours a day of direct light. If even that much. Right now at harvest I finally get almost 5 hours but for most of their life, it was less. And, it was a shitty Winter (so I am told) for SoCal and it was cold as fuck and cloudy a lot.

I may try another crop this time next year but this wasn't worth it. Simple not enough sunlight hours or temps above 60F.

I have 4 more plants maturing in one month and 6 more the month after that. I think each crop will get better as they have more and more light. My last harvest will be May 31 or just before.

I am looking forward to the Aug-Sept grow. That should be the best temps and most light for an outdoor grow for my patio. I wish I got more morning sun but it just doesn't hit me until almost 11AM. No matter what time of year.

I may try some autos outdoors in June and July.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I redecorated my stash cabinet.

California growing has been good to me. Nearly 3 pounds and 21 varieties.

I am what the 20th century rich Jewish people used to call ...... "comfortable". LOL

I am thinking I am over the legal limit for California? LOL Oops. Fucking born an outlaw, die an outlaw. LOL

 

[BrassNwood]

That is why i started to shake all mine for the Kief. The way the law reads it can be one or the other.

 

[Ringodoggie]

From NORML everything I grow is OK, unlimited amount??? Sounds fishy. I may actually read the code. LOL

And, since 2 of us live here, I can grow 12 plants. I think 12 per household is the max limit.

Cultivation​

Proposition 64, The Adult Use Marijuana Act, permits adults over 21 years of age who are not participating in the state’s medical cannabis program to legally grow (up to six plants, including all of the harvest from those plants). The law took effect on November 9, 2016.

Cultivation of 6 plants or more is a misdemeanor punishable by 6 months incarceration and a fine of $500.

Cultivation of any amount by a person under 18 years of age is an infraction punishable by up to 8 hours of drug counseling and/or up to 40 hours of community service.

• California Health & Safety Code § 11362.1(a)(3)
• California Health & Safety Code § 11357(b)(1)
• California Health & Safety Code § 11358(a)(b)(c)

 

[Ringodoggie]

Wow, the fucking SoCal desert was brutal this year. Great year to learn outdoor growing. LOL

I lost my second Hakkido.



I have 2 Congos and a handful of French Toast that are suffering with some burn but they look healthy, otherwise. I think these will recover just fine before flower time.

I expect seeing preflowers will be in late August?

 

[LBL]

Wow, the fucking SoCal desert was brutal this year. Great year to learn outdoor growing. LOL

I lost my second Hakkido.

View attachment 18869175

Have you ever tried measuring the temps on the soil in those black pots ? Looks toasty.

 

[flylowgethigh]

You want to run some of that SOHLP I made? It is pretty good with the heat in soil as long as you water it. Maybe shade the roots so the soil stays around 73-75*?

 

[Ringodoggie]

Have you ever tried measuring the temps on the soil in those black pots ? Looks toasty.

I just put a probe into the dirt and it was only about 90F. Air temp is about 100.

 

[BrassNwood]

Wow, the fucking SoCal desert was brutal this year. Great year to learn outdoor growing. LOL

I lost my second Hakkido.

View attachment 18869175

I have 2 Congos and a handful of French Toast that are suffering with some burn but they look healthy, otherwise. I think these will recover just fine before flower time.

I expect seeing preflowers will be in late August?

View attachment 18869176

Summer set under 24-0 lights. It's a whopping 21 watts of LED so who needs a timer?

The best above ground, outdoor, high heat, low humidity, planters for our zone are the big SIPs I made up years ago. 15-gallon party tubs. The floor is FRP they use on bathroom walls (fiber reinforced plastic)

A field of support cups to hold the floor up. Cut them slightly shorter than the wicking cups that need to stand up proud through the floor.

Some window screen will keep the 1-inch layer of perlite filling the wicking cups and covering the floor from falling through the floor vents. Cut a notch out of the bottom of the fill pipe or you'll be waiting forever for the water to trickle in.

Drill the overflow hole just below the floor leaving a 1-inch air gap between the floor and the surface of the water.

These have both reached 10 years old and always perform best of the above ground. I need new party tubs and a rebuild as years in the sun has made them fragile and bits are cracking off. They can go up to a week between filling depending on plant size.

I never found anything close in a commercial design. They sit on the patio with all day southern exposure. Hottest spot in the yard. The abundance of worms I find when I drop in a fresh plant tells me they are happy campers, and the look of the plants tells me that 10-year-old organic soil is still rocking it with just a bit of chicken manure top amending now and then.

Latitude 33 (where we are) Aug1st is when the days shorten enough to trigger flower in most strain (14.5 hours) You'll see the signs of flower 2 weeks later on or about the 15th and know for sure the sex of all the regular seeds you planted.

 

[SolarLogos]

From NORML everything I grow is OK, unlimited amount??? Sounds fishy. I may actually read the code. LOL

And, since 2 of us live here, I can grow 12 plants. I think 12 per household is the max limit.

Cultivation​

Proposition 64, The Adult Use Marijuana Act, permits adults over 21 years of age who are not participating in the state’s medical cannabis program to legally grow (up to six plants, including all of the harvest from those plants). The law took effect on November 9, 2016.

Cultivation of 6 plants or more is a misdemeanor punishable by 6 months incarceration and a fine of $500.

Cultivation of any amount by a person under 18 years of age is an infraction punishable by up to 8 hours of drug counseling and/or up to 40 hours of community service.

• California Health & Safety Code § 11362.1(a)(3)
• California Health & Safety Code § 11357(b)(1)
• California Health & Safety Code § 11358(a)(b)(c)

Unfortunately, CA only allows 6 plants per household, not per adult (under the recreational law) and you can carry up to an ounce on you. However, for $149/year, you can get your medical license that allows you to grow up to 99 plants at a time (carrying limit is 8 oz I think). The license is easy and only takes about 10 minutes online. It's worth it, just to beat the stress, if you want to grow over 6 plants.
Best of luck in that heat. Very interesting thread, thanks for posting.
Peace
SL
Edit: There is no limit in CA on how much you can possess inside of your house.

 

[BrassNwood]

Time to select and start your seeds and or take clones for the fall set.
Aug 1st = Take clones, plant seeds
Oct 15th = Harvest, set out veg plants in just harvested holes to flower, take clones from them.
Jan 1st = Same
March 15th = Same
June 1st = Harvest, set out veg plants for summer.

4 harvests per year outside in the same little patch of ground. The 3 off season sets are when my high desert friend can stretch his legs and really grow as he lives in blast furnace Joshua Tree. Even big SIPS have a hard time in his zone.

 

[Astro1]

I having the hardest time keeping these fabric pots moist in the 100+ degree heat wave we're having in CA. The plants don't care about the heat at all, but the pots dry so fast that I'm having to water them 2-3 times a day. I usually hit them really nice once the sun hits the horizon, I then give them a splash by mid morning and by mid day I'm running out there to water again as I notice them droop. They perk right back up as soon as they get water. My concern is they're not even flowering yet and I'm having to water them as if they're in a hydro setup.

How are ya'll manging this...I have two plants...I'd imagine myself hating life if I had any more to take care. I'm thinking of running a sprinkler line off of one of my grass sprinklers to make it easier to give them a splash, but so far I've been having to get out there and top them off mid day when I notice them drooping. Super Silver Haze (left) Lemon Skunk (right). They're in 20gal pots....(maybe too small)

 

[BrassNwood]

I having the hardest time keeping these fabric pots moist in the 100+ degree heat wave we're having in CA. The plants don't care about the heat at all, but the pots dry so fast that I'm having to water them 2-3 times a day. I usually hit them really nice once the sun hits the horizon, I then give them a splash by mid morning and by mid day I'm running out there to water again as I notice them droop. They perk right back up as soon as they get water. My concern is they're not even flowering yet and I'm having to water them as if they're in a hydro setup.

How are ya'll manging this...I have two plants...I'd imagine myself hating life if I had any more to take care. I'm thinking of running a sprinkler line off of one of my grass sprinklers to make it easier to give them a splash, but so far I've been having to get out there and top them off mid day when I notice them drooping. Super Silver Haze (left) Lemon Skunk (right). They're in 20gal pots....(maybe too small)

View attachment 18869821

Wrap them in plastic. White if you can as that will help keep the root zone cooler. All that exposed surface acts like a giant wick and will keep sucking the moisture out. The big SIPs (self-irrigating planter) I posted a few entries ago can go days without topping off the water reservoir. They've grown some of my best plants over the last 10 years in Southern California.

 

[sublingual]

Regarding desert growing, I thought I would pass on to you all what researchers on the Kona Coast found when lowering the root zone temperature. They found that all plants thrived when they ran pvc pipes underground with cold ocean water. This was part of the studies growing marine life on shore with deep sourced seawater. I think it was used water, still cold that they used to cool the roots, I could be mistaken on that though as I just read the results and focused on them.
The point though, if one could run cool roots in hot climates, and, if it facilitates a grow, is potentially valuable (if it fits your bill).

 

[BrassNwood]

Regarding desert growing, I thought I would pass on to you all what researchers on the Kona Coast found when lowering the root zone temperature. They found that all plants thrived when they ran pvc pipes underground with cold ocean water. This was part of the studies growing marine life on shore with deep sourced seawater. I think it was used water, still cold that they used to cool the roots, I could be mistaken on that though as I just read the results and focused on them.
The point though, if one could run cool roots in hot climates, and, if it facilitates a grow, is potentially valuable (if it fits your bill).

In ground here works far better IME then above ground and the fabric bags are the toughest of all to keep moist enough in our low humidity. I'm not so bad off being close to the coast with a nice marine layer most mornings but once that burns off the humidity will drop 20 points into the low 40s even here. I lived further inland for years and know that brutal desert air all too well.

 

[Ringodoggie]

How about misters?

After I water my pot plants with properly pH'd water from jugs I fill and sit overnight..... I use the garden hose and simply water and spray my other patio plants with the pH8+ water from my hose. Oleander, bougainvillea, aloe and a few others.

However, on occasion, if it's early morning and the sun has not hit the patio yet, I spray my pot plants, too. I wouldn't do it during flowing but in this veg stage, it doesn't seem to hurt.

Would a mister during the hot and sunny part of the day be a bad idea? I remember reading 50 years ago that spraying plants in bright sunlight acts like a magnifying glass and burns the leaves. But, old knowledge is most often useless, these days. LOL

So.... misters during the day?

 

[sublingual]

How about misters?

After I water my pot plants with properly pH'd water from jugs I fill and sit overnight..... I use the garden hose and simply water and spray my other patio plants with the pH8+ water from my hose. Oleander, bougainvillea, aloe and a few others.

However, on occasion, if it's early morning and the sun has not hit the patio yet, I spray my pot plants, too. I wouldn't do it during flowing but in this veg stage, it doesn't seem to hurt.

Would a mister during the hot and sunny part of the day be a bad idea? I remember reading 50 years ago that spraying plants in bright sunlight acts like a magnifying glass and burns the leaves. But, old knowledge is most often useless, these days. LOL

So.... misters during the day?

The U. of Hawaii sports teams are called "rainbows." It can rain 20-30times a day. Usually 30 seconds of rain and 20 minutes later some more. There are rainbows and double rainbows almost constantly during these "passing showers." Foliage there is helped and not injured by water.
I can't speak to desert conditions and the effects of atmospheric water, but misters may work, but I haven't personally used them.
You could, and I have done it in the past with success, dump the ice drawer into the watering barrel and lower the water 30-40 clicks below ambient. watering the containers during the hottest part of the day will drop the root zone enough for the plants to cope. You may have to trial and error, dial it in a bit as to timing.

 

[Astro1]

Wrap them in plastic. White if you can as that will help keep the root zone cooler. All that exposed surface acts like a giant wick and will keep sucking the moisture out. The big SIPs (self-irrigating planter) I posted a few entries ago can go days without topping off the water reservoir. They've grown some of my best plants over the last 10 years in Southern California.

This worked well and made a bigger difference than I expected. I covered just the top of the pot around the stem with white plastic garbage bags on a recent trip away, and this definitely helped keep them moist and consistent all day. The've greened up a good bit as well and are doing great. Thanks!

 

[Astro1]

Just to prove they're doing much better