Some beginner questions...

[Stoner420Chick]

This outdoor section doesn't seem to get too much use, although that's understandable for this time of year.

I have found a very good spot to grow some plants for over the summer, and would like to have a good understanding of what to do before it comes time to plant them. I am planning on germinating the seeds and then getting them started in solo cups or something outside while making sure they stay watered and stuff. Then once I know that they are going to grow I am going to plant them. I am going to spread them out so if a male grows or someone happens to find one or something it's not all ruined. THere is a brook that runs through the area theyre going to be planted so I plan on getting a bucket and watering them that way when necessary. I'm going to try and make sure that the soil is good in the spot that I plant them. I'm saving up as much bagseed as possible and I'm going to grow as many plants as possible, I would much rather end up with too much bud than not enough. I'm going to try and get enough for myself to have over a year's supply so that I don't have to spend any money on it at all over the year, and then can grow some more next year. Sound like a decent plan?

Now here's my questions:
How often do you need to water the plants? Obviously it is going to depend on outdoor conditions, if it rains a lot then they might not need watering and if it's dry they might need to be watered a lot....but water are some general guidelines to follow?

What is the best way to get the soil ready? How much soil should I get good in the area I plant them, I know outdoor plants can get big...but how much room will the roots take up??

How spaced out should I make the plants so that I don't have to worry about any males pollinating the females? I'm no expert grower, and I don't know if I'll be able to see which plants are males and which are females...I'm going to do the best I can to tell but I don't want to miss one and end up with some seeded plants.

How many plants would you personally want for a years supply of weed for yourself? I know this question would vary way too much depending on how much you smoke and stuff, but if you were to personally grow some outdoors how many plants would you want?

Any advice or tips for me??

Any help is appreciated. Hopefully all goes well and I'm puffing on some of my own grown buds come fall.

[LucySD420]

hey stonerchick, when are you planning on germinating? im from ma, as well and with this storm were getting tonight (in the western part of the state at least...) it kinda puts kinks into my plans with trying to think when to put my lil guys in the ground. good luck with your grow guuuurl

[Stoner420Chick]

I was going to wait until the end of April, maybe plant a couple on 4/20 and start an annual tradition I think I;m going to space out the time that I plant them though so that if there was a late frost then I still have some left over to plant or something and they don't all die. I think between me and my friends we're going to try and get 10-20 plants going. I really hope this all works out.

[OldSkool1010]

Soil Texture

Soil texture, or the way a soil feels, reflects the size of the soil particles. Sandy soils have large soil particles and feel gritty. Clay soils have small soil particles and feel sticky. Both sandy soils and clay soils are a challenge for Gardeners. Loam soils have the ideal mixture of different size soil particles.
When amending sandy soils, the goal is to increase the soil's ability to hold moisture and store nutrients. To achieve this, use organic amendments that are well decomposed, like composts or aged manures.
With clay soils, the goal is to improve soil aggregation, increase porosity and permeability, and improve aeration and drainage. Fibrous amendments like peat, wood chips, tree bark or straw are most effective in this situation.
Use Tables 2 and 3 for more specific recommendations. Because sandy soils have low water retention, choose an amendment with high water retention, like peat, compost or vermiculite. Clay soils have low permeability, so choose an amendment with high permeability, like wood chips, hardwood bark or perlite. Vermiculite is not a good choice for clay soils because of its high water retention.
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3">Table 2: Permeability and water retention of various soil types.</td> </tr> <tr> <th align="left">Soil Texture</th><th>Permeability</th><th>Water Retention</th> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Sand</td><td>high</td><td>low</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Loam</td><td>medium</td><td>medium</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Silt</td><td>low</td><td>high</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Clay</td><td>low</td><td>high</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="3">Table 3: Permeability and water retention of various soil amendments.</td></tr> <tr> <th align="left">Amendment</th><th>Permeability</th><th>Water Retention</th></tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Fibrous
Peat
Wood chips
Hardwood bark </td> <td>
low-medium
high
high</td> <td>
very high
low-medium
low-medium</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Humus
Compost
Aged manure</td> <td>
low-medium
low-medium</td> <td>
medium-high
medium</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td align="left">Inorganic
Vermiculite
Perlite</td> <td>
high
high</td> <td>
high
low</td></tr></tbody></table>