Scrappy-doo has arrived! Fashionably late 2011 outdoor fun!

[Scrappy-doo]

Yes! My first outdoor grow!

I started off for this a few months ago but had massive casualties to my garden, losing many great genetics. So I started all over again and I'm compensating for the late start by popping lots and lots of beans.

I'll get to what I'm working with later, but for now I have a few pics of my plot. (Nothing planted there yet)


I park about 2 miles away in a safe inconspicuous lot and ride my bike to this location. I used to park on the side of the road where sometimes people park for a farm that's nearby, but I felt paranoid about having such an easily trackable link to me so close. I'm actually really enjoying the mountain bike, I'll get in some real good shape by summer's end

It's not the most stealthy place in the world, but I think it will work well. If you look in a couple pics you can see telephone polls. There is a road right there, but it is old and rocky, and gets very little traffic. You'll get maybe one car pass by every hour or 2, and they cannot see me but I can see them.

There are trails not too far away, which give me a good excuse to be out there.


If you look dead center at this next pic you can see someone come out of his home to check me out while I took a water break on a rock. Dude just stared at me for like 5 minutes.


I have some autoflowering plants at the plot now in 1 gal pots. I just transplanted them today from cups. I noticed something ate one of them, but I have 10 more. I'll take some pics if the rest survive till next time.

I used a deterrent called "deer scram" and sprinkled it all around and on the plants. It's made from leftover cow parts from the meat industry. Supposedly it provokes a fear response in deer because they smell what they believe to be dead deer and think a predator is around. People swear by it. We'll see how it goes.

Well thats about it. I have a question though for anyone who might be knowledgeable. We are supposed to get rain for 2 days starting Thursday. I don't want my potted autos to get their soil waterlogged before they grow into it. Is this something I should worry about or just let it be? I could rig up a cover if need be.

Thanks for visiting

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Well, I went to the spot today and I have to say I think the auto flowers are gonna be a bust. They'll harvest, but it's going to be pretty pathetic yield-wise I think. But it is a nice short run to help with my learning curve.

The first problem was timing. I germinated these and didn't have a plot, or much of a plan. They ended up sitting in some tiny cups for a couple weeks. Then I transplanted them to 1 gallon containers with promix and some MG nutes. Within 2 days we had a thunderstorm and the soil got waterlogged, and it is still waterlogged today.

So, here's where I'm at:


A total of 10 mostly sour 60 and a couple others. Skimpy yes I know. I don't expect a ton more growth. I already see pistils on one.

The good news is that the 'deer scram' works! Not a bite from any of the deer, rabbits, or chipmunks, and I've seen lots of all. I must say the stuff does stink though, but I don't really care.



Bugs are another issue however. I see some tiny little webs on a couple of them. I'm assuming mites but I have not seen any. I did however see a little hopping spider in my soil. Predator for mites maybe?

Another thing I'm seeing is this.



Can someone tell me what this little fella is under my leaf? I'm assuming it's a 'leaf hopper' because it hopped away when I tried to squash it. There are a few of them, and I noticed some white stuff on the stem where one of them was. Are these guys plant killers?

What would you recommend I do as far as pest removal? I bought a pyrethrin spray to kill'em, but if they're not gonna destroy my plants I'd rather not.

I have a bunch of other plants going out this weekend. Is there something I can use as a preventative for bugs or should I wait until there is a problem before I deal with it?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

 

[strawbrrygirl]

Hey Scrappy good luck on the rest of your grow! I would use DTearth for your bugs! It works great and your plants love its also cheap and easy to come by! What I did was take a coffee can poke holes in the top so you can use it for a shaker and put it on your plants at will and you can put it in the soil liberally! I have seen no ill effects even on new clones or youngins! It has MacroNutes in it! Try to make small plots instead of holes it helps bugs and critters and its easier to work with native soil and better nute coverage! Try like 1mx1m plots if you are able! I hope this advice helps! Stay Stealth!!!!

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Hey Strawbrrygirl thanks for the advice. So is the DTearth something you use as a preventative or would you use it on plants that already have bugs? From what I read it also kills them.

I hadn't thought of doing plots rather than holes. How deep do yo make yours? I plan to try a few different methods to see what works best for me.

Still wondering what I should do about those white grasshopper looking things. Are they harmful to plants?

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Man no love for scrappy and my skimpy outdoor grow

 

[Durdy]

Get a good pump sprayer and some neem oil! And also start spraying with some BT caterpillar killer NOW!!!! I like to alternate between those on a weekly basis. One week the neem the next the BT. It's a bitch when you have some frosty nugs and realize they are being eaten from the inside out by caterpillars!

Looking forward to seeing what your little ladies do!!

Grow on brotha

 

[strawbrrygirl]

O.k I love for a moment!!!DTE works for both its kinda like glass shards but a powder and it slices them little bastards up!!!Plots are way better for me! I use a tool called GardenClawGold and it works wonders!! Do not buy the knockoffs their welds brake total garbage!! I only dig 6 to 10 inches but make sure you break the soil clumps down!I am and have grown S60 outside and autos are a pain in the ass they do not transplant well! They get stunted very easily and watch for mold when buds are about halfway done!!Theres your love bro!!!! Take care!!!!!!!

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Today was a bad day.

Today was a bad day.

Really bad. I almost got caught out. So many things went wrong security-wise, I am most likely dropping my operation.

Let me start at the beginning. I woke up today with the intent to transplant 1/3 of my seedlings into the 2 holes I dug. I worked for the last 3 days prepping the land. The holes were much more work than I anticipated. Approximately 1/2 of the land is rock. Every time I dug my shovel into the dirt I hit a rock. So it was a slow and grueling process of digging out one rock after another, some of them weighing 30 lbs or so. Needless to say, a shovel hitting rock makes noise.

The location is very difficult to access, and once you are inside of it, it is almost impossible to be seen. The only place I could possibly be seen is from a single rock ledge, way off the trail, and it would be difficult to spot my plot.

That being said, there are 2 houses, each is approx 200 yards away through thick ass vegetation and forest. Impossible to see me, but I can be heard if I'm loud.

So today I decided to wait until the it cooled down a bit before going out to transplant. Headed out at about 6:30. I took my plants to a close location in the car, stashed them behind some bushes, and drove to my parking spot 2 miles away. I rode my bike back, stashed it behind some bushes, and picked up my plants.

Just as I got close to the trail which begins at the road, I saw someone coming down it, with his dog. I instantly turned around and walked back from where I came. He did not see my face, but obviously saw there was a guy carrying boxes toward the trail that turned around.

I was in a bad spot instantly. Seen. So I continued walking 1/4 mile and looking back over my shoulder, I did not see him. So after a few minutes I cautiously walked back to the trail. He's nowhere to be seen, so I go up it, and hike to my spot, stopping every 20 feet to listen. Being as quiet as possible.

The path I take is along the road but uphill from it. I can see the road but am covered pretty well from being seen. As I got close to my spot, I saw for the first time on that road, a police cruiser driving down it. It did not stop, it drove by slowly, and continued off.

It definitely spooked me. However I considered that it did not stop so I probably was just driving down the road. Thank God I don't park on that road. I did not see it again. I thought maybe the guy with the dog could have called, but why would he? There's no reason for him to suspect I'm growing, I don't think. He saw a guy carrying boxes that turned around. Still it did not sit well with me. Not at all. Maybe be heard digging before and put 2 and 2 together. I don't know.

So I arrived at my plot, later than anticipated, with a bunch of plants to put in their new home. I quickly transplanted them but I could see it was already starting to get dark. I finished as fast as I could, but by the time I was done, I knew I would not make it out of the forest before dark.

The place where my car is parked has a rule that you can only park there until sunset. I fucking forgot about my car. Not good.

So I quickly finished and started my way out as fast as possible, not being as stealthy and quiet as usual, attempting to get to the road while I could still see what's in front of me.

I decided to take a short cut, which brought me close to one of the houses. As the house was coming into view, with me hurrying loudly through the forest, now just about completely dark, I hear dogs barking, and suddenly I see a flashlight shining in my direction.

I freeze and drop to the ground. I've been caught. I was heard rummaging quickly through the forest. Dogs barking. I see the flashlight through the trees waving back and forth in my direction, then the person walks a bit closer, and another sweep of the flashlight. I'm laying on the ground, frozen, protected from the light by a tree, but unable to move. The person walks closer. Part of me wants to just get up and run. What if they called the cops? I should just run. No I should just sit there and be silent. Time wasting.

After about 5 minutes, the flashlight disappears and I don't hear the dogs anymore, but I do not hear the person go back in the house, so I don't know if they're waiting to hear the sound again or what. I end up staying for about 20 minutes silent and listening. In that time, I notice a car pass by twice. The same car. It had looped around and come back from the same direction twice. WTF.

So after a while of waiting, I slowly get up and when the coast seems clear, I make my way down to the road, and sprint to my bike.

I get the bike, and get the fuck moving to my car, parked 2 miles away. It's already completely dark. I hope to hell that no one comes to check on that lot.

I suddenly get a glimpse of shadow, signaling that a car is behind me. It's a rocky, twisty road, so I know I haven't been seen. I race on, but realize I will not make it to the end without being passed, so I quickly jump off the road with my bike and hide in some bushes, waiting for the car to pass. It does. Same fucking car that passed by twice before. WTF?

So once it's out of view I jump back on my bike and haul ass to my car. When I'm about 3/4 of the way there, I see headlights in front of me. I keep riding as if I'm some kind of long distance biker. When I get close to it, it I see that it's a pickup truck from a town worker. The truck with the single red light on top. A guy calls out, asking me if I'm the owner of that vehicle in the lot (I have a bike rack). I don't stop, but say yes as I drive past him, and he says I can't have it there after dark. He drives off.

2 minutes later I get to my car and take off.

I'm safe, but royally fucked.

The thing is, I left that box I carried my plants in with at my plot because I rushed out of there. I just stashed it in the bushes. The cups that the seedlings were in are in it. I need to go back and get it.

As much as I want to just stay the hell away, I have to go back tomorrow morning and get my stuff, and wipe away any trace I was there.

So many things went wrong today. I fucked up. Bad. Hopefully I can get my stuff and avoid some real trouble.

 

[mapinguari]

Wow, Scrappy, what a riveting story. That's the kind of excitement you only want so much of, tho. Good luck man, I hope things work out for the best.

The guy with the dog prolly thought you were some homeless dude living up there.

 

[Durdy]

Smoke a Fatty and a take a deep breathe

 

[Manstien]

Scary shit man my heart is racing just reading that......honestly is it worth it to go back..? I wouldn't..hell no.

 

[Scrappy-doo]

I have to go back. The cups have my prints on them.

I'll drive by and get a feel for the scene, and if it seems ok I'll park the car and ride in as usual, and then take a hike to the plot. But I"ll take the long way, making sure I'm far away from the road.

The thing is, even if the locals suspected something and went looking around the forest there, I doubt they would find my setup. You have to really get within 20 feet of it to see it, and go through some wild 5 foot tall vegetation on rocky ground. If you don't know exactly where it is you won't find it.

 

[Duplicate]

Well if this growing thing doesn't work out for you, you could always stick to the writing. Not a fun story, but very well written.

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Thanks for the support everyone.

Well, I'm off to get this done. Fingers crossed.

 

[angustotse]

Hey man

chill out and think for a minute

the cops aren't going to fingerprint plastic cups or whatever to catch a super-duper small time grower who already knows the jig is up.

Just leave everything as it is, forget about the spot, and never go back.

It's really, really silly to try and go back so soon when you almost got in some deep shit.

If anything, the homeowner thought you were trying to burgle him and you're lucky you didn't get shot this time...don't go back again

 

[silver hawaiian]

I agree with angustotse.

Great to hear you're safe, man. I'd leave it be and chalk it up to an education of some kind. (Most are either painful or expensive, or both!)

Good story, too - not in the actual goins-on, but good writing, and it has (or seems to?) a safe ending, .. Soooo!

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Thanks for your concern, and most solid advice.

I did go back however, and am just returning home. All appears to be safe and quiet there, and I have recovered said sensitive material. I managed to come and go quietly and unnoticed.

I now I have some contemplating to do, consideration of my options. I really need this harvest and don't want to lose it, but that was a little too close.

Well I have to go to my real job now, so I guess that's it till next time.

Ah... the life of a part-time grower.

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Update time.

Update time.

So I decided that I must finish what I've started. Things have been very quiet at the site and all is back to normal.

Here is where I'm at.

Plot 1


I realize it's not very easy to see. That probably ends up working out better for me though.

Here's a Blue Satellite 2.2


These are both DJ Blueberries


Plot 2


These are most all feminized. When I have more time I'll go into more detail of what they are. Everything is very healthy.


The deer scram works amazingly well. Not a bite anywhere. I see no bug damage either. All is peaceful in the garden.

I'm going to be starting a new plot at a different site. I'll have mostly guerilla gold #3 there. Start setting it up tomorrow.

 

[Durdy]

lookin good my friend!

Do I have it right that your back and growing at the spot you had your mishap at?

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Hey Durdy yes I am back at the spot. After considering what to do about it, I decided to go back to it because it's very difficult to access, and I really don't think anyone is going to go down there. I just make sure I go much earlier and am extra careful entering and exiting. No problems since.