The Big Plant Growers Thread

[jackel]

some will say that the bigger the better. and i cant argue with the results that tom hill gets. However i can say that sometimes practicality outweighs outragous setup costs.
trial and error i believe is the key. this year i made 3x3x1 raised beds (5 2cubic ft bags of soil) and i placed wire mesh on the bottom to keep gophers n moles out, but also allows roots to penetrate the earth below if they so choose to. i cant tell u what they will yield yet as that time isnt here. however i can tell u they are pretty big and would have been bigger if i prevegged inside for a while like i normally do.
heres some photos of my setup

 

[fisher15]

Nice setup jackel, and good looking plants

Been thinking about this method, using a smaller planter, but digging out beneath them and replacing with good soil. My planters are sitting on rock/hard clay that roots will no doubt stop at. Did you replace your natural soil, or is it much better than mine?

 

[fisher15]

MH, for 'unlimited' growth, and if you're not into getting the backhoe out to dig up the rock, I'd make them...say 8' wide. 18"-24" tall is plenty. If you don't preveg a little and have a vigorous strain this may be overdoing it. My plants had reached the planter's sides by early July. Will be making wider, or digging beneath them next year.

 

[jackel]

fisher, some of my beds are on top of my holes from previous years. some of them arent though. its pretty surprising what roots will grow through in order to get water.

 

[fisher15]

I see...part of me says 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', but another part is telling me to push for more. Or it could be that I just want to play around with heavy machinery...

 

[jackel]

next year i am actually going to dig big holes with a backhoe. however time and money didnt allow for it this yr.

 

[Madhemp]

Thanks for the tips, it will save me from having to learn the hard way (as I am prone to do. While I'm asking advice, how do you set up your watering to cover such a large root area? I have to store and treat all of my water (very hard, very low Ph from the well) so I'll need to increase my storage/treatment tank, I've read in the posts 10 to 15 gal. per day is not unusual, I generally have to water more than most growers, as it is very hot and very dry where I grow. Is this figure acurate? I'll probably add capacity for future expansion but I just want to know if thats a good ballpark number.

 

[fisher15]

Huge plants, especially when it's over a hundred, will suck 20+ gallons a day. I made a big mistake in not setting up a drip system, as all I do now it seems is water. Dripworks 1/2" pressure compensating emmiter tubing has been reccomended to me. 1gph, with 12" spacing of the emmiter is what I'm looking at for next year. Spiral the tubing around the planter on top or bury a little in the soil so all is evenly watered. Dripworks.com

 

[nomaad]

Madhemp... remember to put as much thought into spacing as you have put into size. 18" x 4.5' are the size of my smartpots at 200 gallons or 18-20 x 1.5cf bags of dirt. The spacing needed for my most vigorous strains is 10 feet minimum. 12 feet would be better because i think that this year was a non-optimal veg for those strains.

so once you have decided on the size of your holes, you should do some serious thinking on the amount of spacing you'll need. if the size of your garden is extremely limited, you need to think about spacing BEFORE size.

 

[fisher15]

Good point nomaad. Yes, counterproductive to not properly space them when shooting for giants.

 

[nomaad]

Fisher, I have another friend close by who shares the same real name as you... In trying to tuck his whole garden behind the house, he crowded the fuck out of 200 gallon pots. Between shade and competition he is going to lose more than half of his original potential.

 

[fisher15]

Unreal. Bet he won't make that mistake again.

 

[Madhemp]

Once again, thank you much for the canowlage! I guess going large means going large in alot of ways! Oh well, thats why I wanted to start prepping early!

I also am prop215/SB 420 compliant, although I think its a crock and the government has no business being involved with pot on any level. (I am persuing happiness, so back off)

 

[Madhemp]

Nomaad, thank you also, another good point. I am lucky to have a large enough area so I can space them out, But I might not have thought they needed that much room.

MH

 

[nomaad]

i assume that since you're going to be growing some trees next year, you're not going to be smoking it all yourself... if you are... props. In the likely event that this is not the case, you are going to be selling some of it to your local dispensary. That makes you a commercial grower. You're pursuing more than happiness in that paradigm. Commercial agricultural producers of all kinds are subject to some kind of guidelines. So even if it were completely legal for anybody to consume the produce, the producer would have to conform to certain rules. If it goes the route of alcohol in the way it is treated by the law, you will need a special license to produce it.

So... I am kinda thankful for the loose guidelines laid down by 215/420 and the clarification provided in the Ag's guidelines.

Good luck on your grow. This year is my first ever, and its going very well.

 

[neongreen]

Huge plants, especially when it's over a hundred, will suck 20+ gallons a day. I made a big mistake in not setting up a drip system, as all I do now it seems is water. Dripworks 1/2" pressure compensating emmiter tubing has been reccomended to me. 1gph, with 12" spacing of the emmiter is what I'm looking at for next year. Spiral the tubing around the planter on top or bury a little in the soil so all is evenly watered. Dripworks.com

Is that not at odds with the "deep watering" philosophy?

 

[fisher15]

I believe the idea is to deepwater earlier in the season...may, june. When the plants get very large and need daily waterings, that's where the drip system is crucial.

 

[Madhemp]

Nomaad you bring up a good point, to date I've given away my extra (robin hood or idiot? you decide) granted I have never grown nearly as much as it appears possible following some of these guidelines.

My niave thought/hope is that with no government interference so many people would be growing that there would be very little commecial value. The "guidelines" for commercial agriculture allow for all types of shit that I would just as soon not see in my pot (think tobacco).......although some of those growth hormones...(I jest, i'm just trying to get back on topic........

 

[jackel]

this year i changed up my watering a little bit. normally i run a drip system, using adjustable sprayers and run them for 30 mins every morning. this year however im watering by hand.
i water every day with about 10-20gal of water/nutrient per plant. i use a wand and stick it through the cage and turn it from side to side covering the bed nicely.
as for treating ur water, if u have the money u can get a Dositron that can add ur ph adjustment. i use a Youngs Mixer/proportioner for my food. it hooks up inline with ur water line or garden hose and u put food in the bladder, set the ratio and just water.. works great. iv used the M/P feeder for 6yrs now.

 

[fisher15]

That's about the third reccomendation I've seen for the Young's proportioner. Jackel, I water the same way and it is horrible. Just takes up way too much time. I don't want to ask your numbers, but why no drip system this year? Better coverage?