Diary Outdoor Tropical Test Grow #4 - Sand to the Beach

[tobedetermined]

Did you have to support those long colas?

I can't remember whether I did with The Church but whenever a plant gets up to 4 feet with heavy colas, I usually do. I just run diagonal strings to the tent corners and tie them off. Outdoors you can use 3 or 4 stakes around the plant and tie to them. High winds in late flower are the enemy. It looks like your grow area is reasonably protected but shit happens, so prepare ahead of time.

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

but man, tropical climate !? I need to see this lol

I don't know if its bcuz I am currently but are you thinking it will be good or unnecessary

Very nice grow and good happy plants, I can't understand how growers can keep them green with organics

Lol, again I am , but just to be clear I am not organic at all, I put a lot of chemistry on my grows

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

Outdoors you can use 3 or 4 stakes around the plant and tie to them.

Do I push the stakes inside the pot or attach them to the outside somehow? With these big girls I was wondering what I would do as my location does get the breeze but I never got to find out

 

[goingrey]

I always put the stakes in the pot but already when I put the plant in it. At this stage if you have a good way of attaching them to the outside maybe that's better as it won't disturb the roots?

 

[tobedetermined]

Do I push the stakes inside the pot or attach them to the outside somehow?

It depends . . . if you need them movable then inside obviously - but then they can also blow completely over. Outside the pot is more secure, but the plant has to be happy for the whole season in that spot.

How to Stake Your Cannabis

Old Dog Grows “High Wind Warning” Staking and Supporting your Outdoor Cannabis Plants for Max Yields

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

I always put the stakes in the pot but already when I put the plant in it.

Knowledge really is power. I read this and so many bulbs went off in my head bcuz I have had that thought on many other kinds of plants I have grown in these windy conditions but rarely implemented. This is something I have to remember for my next grows. For now though disturbing the roots is really a concern in my mind

It depends . . . if you need them movable then inside obviously - but then they can also blow completely over. Outside the pot is more secure, but the plant has to be happy for the whole season in that spot.

I doubt I will need to move them and blow over is not so much a concern as my mix is fairly heavy. When I had the girls above going because the base is relatively stable the plants themselves swayed and shimmied like gogo dancers in a good breeze. I could just imagine seeing broken colas after they put on real weight and caught a gust.

What are you thoughts on disturbing the roots of my current grow by staking inside? If I have to stake outside the pot, ideally, I don't want to pierce the ground cover mat I have them on now.

 

[tobedetermined]

Slide thin poles down the inside of the pot keeping tight to the edge and you won't really disturb that much. The plants are very resilient so a few damaged root extremities is just a tiny blip.

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

Slide thin poles down the inside of the pot keeping tight to the edge and you won't really disturb that much. The plants are very resilient so a few damaged root extremities is just a tiny blip.

Thanks.

 

[indica193]

I don't know if its bcuz I am currently but are you thinking it will be good or unnecessary

depends on what you are growing I suppose.
But indica leaning hybrids or heavy indicas could use a little veg before going outside in your location.. they flower instantly in your climate , indicas would grow just a little stump bud, very low.. like a cabbage > but I love seeing ~1-2 foot stumps done in 70 days from seed
This pic shows what happens without vegging indies

Courtesy of Chaman, another tropical grower from IC

L.E: I would also avoid repotting if you're not vegging beforehand

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

depends on what you are growing I suppose.
But indica leaning hybrids or heavy indicas could use a little veg before going outside in your location.. they flower instantly in your climate , indicas would grow just a little stump bud, very low..

Ok, I get you These were started in late January when daylight was 11h20m and harvested in mid April when light was 12h35m. They didn't get over two feet and one was more like 1 foot. But between three plants I ended up with 66 grams of the best stuff I have smoked in a while:

 

[indica193]

Ok, I get you These were started in late January when daylight was 11h20m and harvested in mid April when light was 12h35m. They didn't get over two feet and one was more like 1 foot. But between three plants I ended up with 66 grams of the best stuff I have smoked in a while:

I don't think you would even need that much soil/rootspace for plants so small
They are indeed beautiful, I wish I'd had a small sample (I love outdoor bud)
Is that light time year round? Do you get at least 14 hours in the season?
Damn, I like dwarf plants

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

I don't think you would even need that much soil/rootspace for plants so small

Lol this was from my second test grow and I was concerned about confined roots, you grow and learn

They are indeed beautiful, I wish I'd had a small sample (I love outdoor bud)

OMG just thinking about the smoke now brings me back, and after being jarred the scent was wonderfully overwhelming with the most distinctive smell being ripe mango.

Is that light time year round? Do you get at least 14 hours in the season?

I get between 11h4m and 13h12m. The big girls above were in the same exposure, same mix, same containers but were near the butter zone of light, started on April 15 with 12h33m and the day these pics were taken I got 13h12m. Plant #2 was 3 feet and plant #3 was pushing over 4 feet at what I believed would have been their ultimate heights with maybe a few inches more.

Damn, I like dwarf plants

Lol, well, need demands that I have some 'winter' grows that will definitely be with light less than 12H at some point so if G wills it, we'll probably get some little ladies

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

Sorry double post

 

[tobedetermined]

I have seen vids of Jamaican growers (?) who added a string of lights over their outdoor plants to keep them in veg longer but it would not be cheap if you wire it properly and it would advertise your grow to your neighbours.

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

it would not be cheap if you wire it properly and it would advertise your grow to your neighbours.

This. Cost and conspicuousness. I have thought about it two ways. Supplemental lighting outdoors and 18-6 indoors for veg and then take outside. Both have their cons and even bigger cons. Outdoors or indoors I would want to do it 'right'. Even though I was awakened to the fact that I don't need the big lights I thought I did by @indica193, I would still want a proper tent/cabinet inside or some kind of frame outside. The cost per kwh for electricity is currently USD 0.5 but LED SILs would help with that, although just thinking about it now the lens-less LEDs that I would want to run probably wouldn't withstand the elements outside .

Then there is the 'I am growing ganja' lights advertising to nosy neighbours and thieves outside. Even though having 5 plants at home is legal I would rather not be a shining beacon in the dark with this .

So if I do lights it would more likely be inside. Lol, you guys have moved me from not thinking about lights at all to now noodling about it as a real possibility.

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

Sunday, 04-09-2022

Did not get to feed during the week as there was significant rain. Fed today with CAB and runoff rain water. Noticed some mite damage and presence of aphids on some leaves. Is TADZE failing already or did I use it too cold last week?

SLH.1. Week 10. Plant getting frosty, putting on height and weight. The smell of it and the other SLH currently growing is unlike any marijuana I have ever encountered. For comparison, The Church smells like 'regular' ganja in bloom. This is something different. I don't have much experience with fresh lemons to say its lemony but its a sharp, 'citrusish' odour.

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

SLH.2. Week 9.

Plant getting even more snowy, putting on height and weight. As I suspected this SLH has caught up with the Church.1 in height but not body as yet.

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

The Church.1. Week 9.

Plant getting much frostier all over, putting on weight. Height gain slowed dramatically, so this may be it for height, @indica193, here's looking at you . Quite Sticky.

 

[indica193]

IMO you should avoid transplanting, topping, trimming etc, if you have no veg period.. You will get a bigger yield in your time zone
LST in case you have nosy neighbours
The girls are pretty

 

[Ananas_Comosus]

IMO you should avoid transplanting, topping, trimming etc, if you have no veg period.. You will get a bigger yield in your time zone
LST in case you have nosy neighbours
The girls are pretty

Thank you Depending on the strain I choose next, I was thinking I would try tying down around the edge of the pot in a spiral and/or untrained completely. I am just realising SLH.1 only put on an inch on it's longest cola, its the other stems that are catching up a bit more. I really thought I would get a little more height out of all the plants but I am not disappointed as it adds to my information on these late summer tropical grows.