Watch for mold on an outdoor grow

[teflon]

Hello again.

Just wanted to give those of you that are starting plants indoors to move outside when it warms up.

Last year I moved my mother plant outside once the ground warmed up and all risk of frost had passed. She was in a 5 gallon pail before the move and about 24 inches tall, very, very bushy!!

Over the summer she grew about 20 good branches to over 8 feet tall. In the fall when she started to bud I knew this would be my biggest harvest ever.

She was gigantic in late September when we had a late afternoon deluge. The rain pounded her flat because of the weight of the buds and the fact that I had never added any extra support like stakes or tomato cages.

I found her flat on the ground a few days later and almost cried. I made stakes out of branches and made some supports with twine. The bottom branches were badly bent but not broken.

But I didn't leave enough room between the branches and leaves and she got moldy. So bad that most of the inside of her rotted out.

I ended up with very little bud. It was painful since she was my only plant outside.

The morale of the story? Plants started indoors to any appreciable height will need to be staked or supported when moved outside. They do not develop a good main stalk inside and this can come back and bite you during late fall.