is it good to start now?

[don caballero]

hello new friends!! first of all, great site and forum and lots of info which is very cool for us noobs.

so I am outside USA, been planting for three years now but this was only a double learning process just to take everything into account. now I am about to grow a bit more so I'll need few infos.

now in march we have around 12°C (53°F) at day and around 5°C (40°F) at night. The weather will get pretty warmer in next couple of weeks, summers go over 40°C (105°F) so it's like really hot till end of sep, and springly warm in oct, then it's gone. last year I left my plants till mid-november and buds just went fatter and fatter. this year I want to optimize the growth and harvest the most potent amount I can get. I also want to make a double harvest so I need some info on that.

so here are the house rules and you should tell me what's best to get the best harvest. I am planning to plant them in pots for indoor growth but they will be outside. it's more convenient this way so I can pack them into the garage easily when the storm comes and destroys them. since they will be in pots I want to try the technique in which you tie the plant down step by step so you get a nice wound bush. anyone tried that? also should I start inside? I always germinate my seeds inside but never tried to grow them inside for a while. I can also set up a greenhouse. which is best? I use unfertilized soil but as far as I can remember fertilizer always killed my plants instantly. I am using Plagron's grow and bloom ferts with garden water, nothing else.
last year I also didn't know when to switch between these two because the two-week grow period seemed kinda short to me since my plants had only 3 nodes at that time.

how should I do it right this time??

sorry for long reading, guys...

thanks

[Moosehead]

If you are growing outside in pots they should be very large pots if you want big plants. Your area gets very hot at times so plants might be better off in the ground and they will need a lot of water. If you are using ordinary garden ferts start with 1/3 or 1/2 the recommended amount and only after the plant is a few weeks old; only use ferts about once a week or less. If you are growing outside start using bloom ferts after you see buds starting. Plants should be at least eight weeks old (if grown from seeds) before flowering starts although they can be forced to flower earlier indoors. Hope this helps.

[drsnuggles]

I haven't tried LST, but from what I can gather there are 2 benefits to it:
a)High Yield due to even light distribution to all colas
b) Compact.

If you are going to use your garage, height should not be a factor, so you might want to consider some of the other options for those with lots of space, like the SOG method.

[Chrnc]

LST didnt work like i thought it would. i mean yeah i got compact but not a yield like expected

[don caballero]

so there's a limited amount when growing in pots. I have also got an alternative - three poles with multiple steel wires to tie it on, 20 feet long arrangement, 8 feet tall. we used it here for appletrees and vine. you just simply tie the plant down on the wire so you basically just have a very flat surface to work on (screen?). what's with this method? in this case I would use my yard soil so that roots can grow as much as they can. actually plants can grow normally as they would on a field but I am not very sure about nodes that go in four dimensions and the tie-down screen is just two-dimensional thing. can I bend the twigs the way I want? step by step of course. I also want to minimize the effort put into the growth since I am home only on weekends and my father will take care of the things meanwhile. he's an experienced gardener but don't wanna rush him about it.

what do you think?

haha.. i would so rob u.. most obhious and open looking outdoor grow area ive eva seen.

[don caballero]

actually not... the area is very well hidden but at this point it is still very exposed. in reality there are three series of parallel screens and the middle one will carry bud plants, other two will have some green vegetation on it. my neighbours are really tolerant people - no worries here. behind me there are tenths of acres of flat landscape and woods.
and of course the area is in our backyard so you have to travel 200 feet inside our property to be able to see that spot. pictures really tell nothing.

the area I will be working on is really just my responsibility and in my country if you don't sell it you can do whatever you want with it if it's on your property. what's yours is yours.
if you plant it on someone else's field there's an obvious black market interest involved.

[Chrnc]

im still with beats- on this one. but if your positive you can, then good luck man.

[don caballero]

Last year I didn't have any problems growing near it in pots ... I am just asking what would be best. Can I tie down the plant completely and remove the excessive leaves? I don't want bushes.

[Chrnc]

are you talkin about firming and LST at the same time?

[don caballero]

actually I am interested into any method that could save me a lot of time in future. I want something simple for my plants, there won't be more than 8 plants anyway. I was thinking of growing it in pots, but now I see it's almost not worth it.

when growing in a garden how should I start? First germinate them and then plant them? Or can I just throw the seed in and wait? Pots are easier, but I have put some seeds last year on the same spot and none of them has seen the sunlight.

well last year I was thinking of a greenhouse. Is it able to grow it completely inside? Like having the top roof on and just taken off the side panels. if you have any outdoor ideas I would be most glad. the thing is that I have the area space, the camo setting but I want it organized as well.

[Chrnc]

if you can grow in a green house, dont mess with anything on it, leave it like it is. green house plants turn out quite nice if you tend to them right. humidity is gotta be right, etc. if thats what your thinkin, check out the indoor section on GC

[plugged]

I remove excess fan leaves all the time. It provides more light to the bud sites and they regrow quickly. If you pinch them off rather than cutting, you will also save recovery time, meaning your plant will take less time recovering and it won't hinder growth as long.

[don caballero]

chrnc a very stupid question but are MJ greenhouses all-season thing? So I have to have it 100 % covered all the time? what about when temps go above 40˘C?

here in this part of Europe we use greenhouses to grown seedlings sooner outside, then the greenhouse is removed. I guess that's not the method with MJ. I'll take a look at that thread, thanks

[Chrnc]

idk about taking it down after it gets a good size but if you leave it in the greenhouse then youll have a nice plant. after your plants done then yeah you can take it down. you can plant them in the ground in the greenhouse or in a pot, etc. and for cold weather you can get a mini outdoor heater or a size to your liking. you can find them at a hardware store im pretty sure. no problem man.