The growing large plants, outdoors, thread...

[napalisherpa]

Hey guys. I'm in the process of pruning some bottom branches of my 5g seeds. I was curious how much is too much? I felt like I didn't take out as many as I should have last year. I had a friend tell me to take them out before you get too attached to them. At the same time I don't want to take out too much foliage too early. The plants are about 2 feet tall. I've taken the first true node branches out, and am debating on whether or not to go up to the second node. Any input? What do you do?

 

[Bulldog420]

Napalisherpa - Your friend is mistaken. I wouldn't take any bottom branches at all. Why would you? The main thing to worry about with large outdoor plants is the interior of the plant. I personally try to take off a 1/3 of each branch starting from the base out. That keeps good air flow in the middle of the plant and helps keep bugs from getting a foot hold.

BTW - Enjoy those 5g seeds, I know I am still enjoying the fruits of my labor with the 5g last season. Good luck.


Edit: I don't really concentrate on thinning the plant until July, usually 2 weeks before flower induces. That way any stress wont effect the start of flower. I also don't like to take too many leaves/branches into flower, for fear of causing hermi's.

 

[Bulldog420]

You saying I should scrap the big, beautiful mother plants Ive been growing for 3 months?
I dont know dude. I want big plants.

This is why growing large plants isn't easy. You have to know how to veg, and when to place outside coinciding with natures light schedule. I have done what you are doing in the past, and yes, the clones taken at this time did better than the mother plants. It's all about rapid growth when they hit the large pot, and if your plant is root bound it will be very sluggish. I was like you once, thinking a large vegged plant is what it took to grow large trees. Read through this thread from start to finish and you will learn how and when to pop seeds and take clones, light scheduals, ext. Good luck this season, .

Edit: with that said, the mother plants still did well, but if I were to choose, I would pick a fresh clone over a 7' tall mother plant.

 

[Shcrews]

A lot of our Hardcore OG starts have been in 5gal coco smarties for a month+ , they are getting close to rootbound i think. The L.A. Cup Gorilla Glues in 10gal smarties are just starting to grow into the pots and are looking great. I think we should have used 10gals for everything.

Hardcore OG in 5gal smartie:

and heres a Gorilla Glue in 10gal smart pot:

At least we found a place that will mix and truck our dirt, so everything should be in the ground by next week. Might go with the recipe that boobs posted with some slight modifications.

 

[Cep]

The size of the plant does matter. For example I wouldn't put in 3" clones in July unless thats all I had. But I think it has been shown here that putting moms in as full term plants is not a good idea. I shoot for around a foot with good branching on starts. The main thing I try to avoid, aside from a bound root ball, is the woody stem tissue that you see on some older plants. They have a hard time reverting to that supple, lighter colored new tissue that you will see in healthy vegetative growth. Cutting clones a month or so before planting like Backyard suggests will prevent this from happening or using big pots but thats a pain in the ass.

 

[Backyard Farmer]

Okay you got me there Cep. LoL

However last year I did have one I put out at about a foot tall July 7 and it still came in at 1.5 LB ...

It's just less work to have a correct time table and you grow better plants and that usually results in more weed unless you messed something else up along the way...

On another side note I really like the Ferti Organic neem cake.

Summer is coming!!!

 

[chef]

Anyone here know where that pic of a monster blue dream is?
The one in a shack with the walls, roof panels off & it's sticking out 10' on all sides?
Pretty sure it's on this thread, have searched a bunch & no luck. Thx

 

[GanjaRebelSeeds]

Anyone here know where that pic of a monster blue dream is?
The one in a shack with the walls, roof panels off & it's sticking out 10' on all sides?
Pretty sure it's on this thread, have searched a bunch & no luck. Thx

 

[Cep]

Okay you got me there Cep. LoL

However last year I did have one I put out at about a foot tall July 7 and it still came in at 1.5 LB ...

It's just less work to have a correct time table and you grow better plants and that usually results in more weed unless you messed something else up along the way...

On another side note I really like the Ferti Organic neem cake.

Summer is coming!!!

Ha, just saying some might interpret literally. I put a tester out July 10th at a foot and a half and pulled 1.7. That plant is filling up the plot this year.

What did you pay for the neem? 1/2 ton or ton you said?

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

I have uppotted them all to 3gln pots to veg for another 3 weeks with the light cycle cutting back to almost match the times of the sun.
I have brand new clones of GG#4 in the cloner as well to put out. So we will do both this year and see.
I dont want to stick them in the ground because of rabbits. Thousands of them!
Thats why the bags will be bottomless. To grow as deep and wide into the ground as they need, but are raised up enough so the rabbits dont nibble my yield away 1 branch at a time.

 

[Bo Hasset]

Just when you think you've seen it all... soil thieves!

I've had plants and all sorts of equipment pilfered over the year mainly from one particular spot that was hard to have anyone at 24/7 even during flower, not to mention the gang of roaming foothill tweakers who thought that not unlike God giving Israel to the Jews that that same God must have given them some slice of Butte county foothill heaven for them to use as they see fit.I'm sure everyone has a similar group of merry bandits in their neck of these woods that serve a purpose in their own way, but they are best dealy with lightly or not at all.

Anyway, that spot has been long gone andI thought so were any worries about thieving until we rolled up on a spot with 24 homemade 300-gallon breathable fabric pots that was last visited a couple months ago for some light amending and cleaning up. Went back today to make sure water and everything else was in good order for later this month only to find roughly 40 cubic yards and the chicken wire, eco-felt w/ fence posts squaring it all up completely gone. I mean not even a speck of dirt remains. It's like they vacuumed up any last trace that there had even beer soil and pots there.

Oh well... so is the state of the world. If they need the soil that bad then they're obviously worse off than me, so fuck em, but hopefully karma will spin their way soon enough.... so, long story short I'm out of some dirt.

Ever since I found this thread a few years ago I've been dying to try the recipe Tom posts at the beginning of this thread. However, I'm a little behind the 8-ball on this one in terms of letting the soil really have a nice long simmer, but since the 24 plants that will fill those 300 gallons have long since started their journey and are all in 10-20 fabric pots I'm thinking that if I prepared Tom's mix and fill each 300 and let it sit for his bare minimum of two weeks that, although they may burn a little and act fussy for a week or so, that they are already well established both above, and below, and should be able to adjust just fine.

I have some questions though for those that have followed the recipe verbatim, half assed or somewhere in between... if Tom is out there lurking these days some answers from him would be fabulous as well (obviously).

Hi Jenn,

I've played with a lot of different soil recipes over the years, 1rst year new soil mixes, as well as yearly additives. Here's a very simple mix that is well proven and I am comfortable recommending for those large outdoor containers. It gives about 50 cubic feet or just over 300 gallons (dry U.S), and fills a 6ft diameter container to a depth of about 18inches - perfectly.
25 bags black gold potting soil (1.5cf ea) Obviously, well all know that Black Gold is a fine quality product, but I'll need 12 pallets and I haven't been quoted any price for pick up or delivery in my area that is cheaper than $400 a pallet. http://www.kinneynursery.com/landscape-soil.html I've worked with a few of their blends in the past and know them to be consistent. If you check their bulk soils (link should take you straight to their bulk list) then you'll see they have what they call "Garden Mix". It's not a dead ringer for Black Gold in that EWC aren't the main ingredient and rice hulls instead of pearlite/pumice, but I think with a reduction in the total or dirt needed from the Black Gold portion of the mix that I could get even closer with the Garden mix by ordering less than the 12 pallet's worth of BG, but adding the missing parts back in by way of a few extra yards of EWC and a yard or two of pumice

4 bags stutzman farms chicken manure (1 cf ea) No problem here. I wish I could use Kinney's bulk litter, but who knows what the fuck is mixed in with that.

1 bag perlite (4 cf ea) No problem here either.

1 bag (50 lbs) bonemeal (steamed, not precipitated) Done.

1/2 bag gypsum (aprox 1/2 cf) - Edit -> 1/2 of a 40 lb bag (20lbs) This is the only other area where I run into a problem. As far as my limited and evolving knowledge can ascertain, while gypsum is a fine, fine additive it's one of those amendments that doesn't really kick in until the 2nd year. While they're both similar, comparing Oyster Shell Powder to gypsum is like Apples to Oranges, but as I understand it OSP is ready from the word GO. Would I be better suited to use it now and amend with gypsum in the fall for next year? Is my line of thinking and information completely wrong? And if OSP is an ok sub is it 1:1 when subbing out or a different ratio? Better yet, I'v read of people who use a combo of liming agents... would the be helpful at all here

Mix well, water thoroughly, let rest for 2-3 weeks minimum, transplant, and stand back If I can throw this together in the next 4 days and push it to the max an only wait 2 weeks I think I'll be alright.

So, I'm looking for something that will absolutely work (there are no guarantees in life, but especially in this game). However, I can't think of one half-compotent person from this board I've ever heard use this mix and complain. Because this a spot that gets used yearly I'd obviously like to put in a batch of soil that can actually be built on year after year, but because it's a little late in the game to have to start a whole garden from scratch (minus the clones I have rocking the g-house w/ supp lighting and backup 300 gallon geoPots) I've got to go with something proven. I consider Tom's mix proven despite never using it myself... I want to save money and plastic and forgo pallets, but if it has to be Black Gold that's fine really... better to spend the 7K now, than lose it and more later b/c another mix was half that, but totally foreign to me. My other two proven mixes are 2/3 Happy Frog/Dr. Earth and 1/3 PRO-Mix HP. Or a 60-40 of EJ's Amazon Bloom (to me it's hands down the best bag soil on the market, with Dr. Earth right behind them in terms of bang for your buckto the rest perlite/pumice/vermiculite. I've

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

Thats a shame...but a blessing in disguise.
They could have waited till the flowers were a few days from harvest, all juicy and plump and well flushed, and took it all.
Atleast now you know that there are thieves in them woods.. that know where your spot is.
Dont ever use it again.

 

[Bo Hasset]

I live in a place where it's impossible to miss some people's "spots". I should have made it clear this "spot" is a 3 acre parcel in full compliance with state law with a legal residence established. No one stays there during the off-season. That's why the dirt was able to grow legs and walk off. It would have never happened anytime during the next 6 months someone is staying there. Total grow secrecy is an illusion up here for the most part.

 

[anonymousgrow]

Haven't poked around in icmag in a while, just wanted to say hi and send out some good vibes. It's great to see so many gardens up and going; doing good things. We are still looking for a spot for the year. We have looked at a bunch of crappy places and done a bunch of hiking and exploring and visiting with people. It's been a crazy ride losing everything but I am sure we will end up on top again.

 

[COconnect]

I live in a place where it's impossible to miss some people's "spots". I should have made it clear this "spot" is a 3 acre parcel in full compliance with state law with a legal residence established. No one stays there during the off-season. That's why the dirt was able to grow legs and walk off. It would have never happened anytime during the next 6 months someone is staying there. Total grow secrecy is an illusion up here for the most part.

Duuuuuude.. rough. Reading your first post about it makes me absolutely sick. I've got pots and dirt out at multiple spots and ugh.

I had guessed where you were at from the name, I'm up the road a touch, and the area is rough. Fucking methheads. That's why we keep the defenses on hand, ya kno? Idk my best wishes go out to you, I hope you can have a season somehow.

 

[nomaad]

Howdy. Popping in to say hi. Hope everybody has a great year.

 

[CaliGabe]

Howdy. Popping in to say hi. Hope everybody has a great year.

Nomaad! Hope all is well brother. I go by many names yet Gabriel is the real deal AKA J1 guy.

 

[Bo Hasset]

Duuuuuude.. rough. Reading your first post about it makes me absolutely sick. I've got pots and dirt out at multiple spots and ugh.

I had guessed where you were at from the name, I'm up the road a touch, and the area is rough. Fucking methheads. That's why we keep the defenses on hand, ya kno? Idk my best wishes go out to you, I hope you can have a season somehow.

I'll have a season, not worried about that. I'm looking at it as a somewhat positive in that I either get to try some new dirt (i.e. Tom's recipe if I can get some answers to my questions in the first post). If that doesn't happen then it's off to the rip-off store to place an order for 8 pallets of Happy Frog (AKA tree bark mulch w/ lots of endo and ecto mycos and bacteria added) plus 4 pallets of Pro-Mix HP to fluff it out.

Funny thing is, this location isn't anywhere near my namesake for a handle and despite the bad name this ridge gets sometimes I've never had a stitch of trouble even when I was fresh off the boat from Colorado a few years back and knew all of 2 people up here. This place is what you make it and you get treated the way you act, and I act like a grown-up, not an ATV-riding, meth smoking, backwoods hillbilly who steals soil. Would never happen up here.

 

[Arminius]

Almost go time!!

Almost go time!!

I rearranged my OD nursery today. The two 4x4 tables will be mostly T5 lighting, and the two 2x4s will be full sun, with suplimental lighting. I intend on placing plants on the ground in 5 gal pots as needed. I am a bit behind on amending my soil, but I will make it work, and expect to have the first two plots loaded by June 15th with the early crop.

A bakers dozen of Blue Dragon, and several trays at various stages of rooting.

Getting the OD starts set up was enough motivation to get back to brewing Capsulator's beneficials

 

[Mcgruff]

NOMAAD!!!! Its great to see one of the old guard back in here. I feel like every year this thread rebirths itself and every year we lose a few of the people that started this monster. If we could somehow get Butte , Nomaad , TomHill , Ganja D , fillthepotmore back in this thing it would be amazing. This thread is like school to me, if I have reread it 5 times already, thanks to everyone. I miss you guys

Some guy on here was talking about turning this into a book, I feel that with the right editing there is more info on here than anywhere else. This could be THE book on outdoor monsters!!!