Outdoor Grow Guide

[Dirtrider4460]

i dont think they are... i live about an hour south of Philly so i dont think its done raining here... June 21st sounds about right as far as the rain goes.. so dig my holes now, plant later... ok. what should i fill them with tho? i saw all this 20 this 20 that stuff.. what does that mean?

[SensiHead]

20 this and 20 that are percentages.
you can use a rich soil mix, if you're not planning on giving it fertilizer or very little(25-50% of the lowest dosage on label, once a month).
or you can use a not so rich mix or a soilless mix , if you're planning on giving it fertilizers
water retaining and draining are also important things to consider.
everything u need to know about soil mixes is there, thx to Corto:

Originally Posted by Corto Malteze

3. Soil Mixes

OldPork's Soilless Fish mix: Soilless means you use light mineral elements like peat/coco coir /vermi / perlite (= OP's Promix) instead of heavy compost, or all potting soil. Dig a 2'x2'x2' (50 liters) hole (or 3'x if it's very dry there). The peat/Pro will retain and drain the water (important to reduce water trips and for roots to not be under too much weight from the dirt). The soil needs to be aired out so the roots can easily dig in. You need little air pockets for the micro organisms to live in.

Builder's Sand is good for drainage - river sand can drain too much (very thin but can work too, don't add too much (10-20%), grit (Cantharis), rock dust, are good and cheap also).

In Dec-January-Feb. Prepare the holes, OLDPORK'S Soil Mix: Dig and take half of the native soil out and add 1 cup blood meal (can attract animals if placed too late, replace with alfalfa meal if nec.), 1,5 cups bone meal (can attract animals), 1 half-shovel of horse manure (a good kind from the store or one that's 6 months old), some "dolomite" lime (or eggshells organic) if the pH is too low (acidic: under pine trees / washed out soils/ some clay soils). Cover with mulch over Winter-Spring. Keeping the same holes amended every year is the best.

OldPork DO NOT use clay for the other half of native soil because this peat-clay mix will fall at the bottom of the hole (too heavy with wet clay), and eventually kill your plants.

The soil will have cooled off by May/June/July, when you transplant the (future) females from the 3 gallon pots (in beg./mid-July, most males will have started showing sex as light decreases so that should leave you with mostly females). You can use the soil in May-June if you have all feminized seeds or feminized clones or just bagseed you'll select females from later. Go easy on the nutes (even organic). Place the nutrients 1 inch under the root ball (make roots go get it + no burn): important (OP). OP recommends to not put toppings (like bat guano) real close to the stem (can burn the root ball)

When you plant in soil (June-July), add 40-50% peat, 20%worm castings, and a whole fish (OldPork's coolest trick!). This was a technique used by Native Americans for bigger yields and healthier plants. No need to empty it but cut it open so the entrails are out. Place fish 2-3 " under the 1 " layer of nutes and the 1 " layer of cooler dirt (no burn of bottom of the root ball). OP uses a small trout.


OP: You need "humic" acids and "fulvic" acids (brought in manure, worm castings and especially compost over time: that's where worms thrive in). These acids are crucial for the plant to regulate its nutrient intake and to prevent nute lock. So if you don't have compost dirt and manures, add a little "endomycorrhiza" / fungi (mushrooms) helps strengthen the root zone if no humic and fulvic acids in the soil. Store bought compost, worm castings will have less acids than if you have a compost and a worm bin at home.

OldPork's Digging Techniques 1: RAINY and CLAY AREAS: Start with a 1'x1'x1' hole if your area has a lot of clay and it rains a lot (esp. fall). 1x1x1 is enough to get a big plant (the roots will dig in the clay). If you make the hole bigger, when it rains a lot, the water will remain at the bottom of the hole (water doesn't go through the clay bottom and sides of the hole). This will kill your plants. As for a tree, when you dig, leave a mound at the bottom of the hole so that the root ball is elevated from the stagnant water that is circling the bottom. For clay and wet areas, start small and, gradually, each year (if you keep the spot), with the mulch, manure, worm castings, etc..., the mix in your hole will become richer and you can make the hole a little bigger every season.

OP's Digging Techniques 2: DRY AREAS (even with clay): Make a bigger hole (2-3') without the mound at the bottom and use a water retaining mix (peat + dirt). A bigger hole will keep the water longer than a small one. Make a perimeter wall with dirt around the hole (on the surface) to keep the water (+ rain water) for the plant, as done for trees.

Use pots for moving the plants in case. Use a 10 gallon pot at least per plant or more (25 gallons for biggest yield). As Cantharis puts it, "the bigger the roots, the bigger the shoots!".I used a wheelbarrow to move my 10-12 gallon pot.


Oldskool's soil mix: 30 cow manure - 30 peat moss or potting mix - 30 native soil

Cantharis' soil mix (For pots): 40 peat moss- 20 worm castings -20 sand and grit - 20 well-rotted cow manure - C's Proportions 1 ounce to a gallon of crushed egg shells (organic lime), use same proportions with dolomite lime.

Add rock dust (100 minerals)

Add sand, rocks if you want for drainage.

Other possible mixes

- 40 organic potting soil (or old compost, top soil), 40 local soil (no clay soil , no soil under pine needles) + 10 perlite (airs out, drains, use very little -doesn't feed the plant at all!) +10 vermiculite (keeps water).

OR

- 80 FoxFarms Ocean Forest + 20 perlite. Formula used by many outdoor growers. Excellent results but pricey. Organic and rich In rich soils, use no or very little fertilizer (already in the excellent quality soil). Not for sprouts.

OR

Use what's on the site (Oldskool's tip) so it's not too thick, sticky, compact, or too loose. You can use local sand for drainage. Also humus, rotten dead tree decay, natural compost under rotten dead trees (can be acidic careful, not under oak trees), old leaves, little rocks for drainage.
Or You can just use the local soil: if you do anything, till the earth, take out the big rocks, and add some "dolomite" lime (Greenmeany uses it) /crushed eggshells (Cantharis)/wood ashes for pH. Some wild soil can be excellent (use pH meter, 10 dollars, to be sure). Mj likes 5.5 -
6,5-6,8.

The plant can water itself but you need THE spot with just enough moisture but not too much that it'll rot. It's very rare. Most gardeners water their plants. It's many hours (over 100 hours for 3 small spots) of hard work but it is well worth it in the end. Regular gardeners whose soil is too "wet" use wooden planks (box) to make an elevated garden at home. Only the tips of the roots are in the water, the rest is dryer. The water level can't go up like in a river though or this will wash off the dirt in the wooden box you built. I think it could work on a humid type of soil. The plant can live alone like that but the box is visible (placed on the ground) - camo.

You can dig a hole in the spring or summer (if you're reading this in June!), fill it up right away and plant. Don't use as much manures or meals. Add 20 worm castings (no burn), 20 sand, 30 peat moss/perlite/vermiculite (no burn) or good potting soil, 30 native soil. You can do great too but the bud won't be as heavy and tasty.


Peace. GC Rocks!

[Dirtrider4460]

sweetness thank you very much!!! i will keep you guys posted on how things go and if i have any other questions!!!

P.S. my 2nd mj plant sprouted today i didnt think it made it but it did :]
my other one however is getting very tall.. id say a good 2 1/2 inches now.. is that good? lol i would assume any growth is good at this stage yes?

[Corto Malteze]

Beware of the soil mix especially as seedlings (and always actually). Make sure you have 1/3 total of the airy stuff : perlite (or lava rock) 1/6, vermiculite 1/6 + peat (1/3) and compost (1/3)+ some worm castings for food . If the soim mix isn't airy enough, the plants will seem ok in first weeks and then just never take off and die. I learned it the hard way and this is really stupid. Check out Dankohzee's seedling mix or Cantharis'. I'm starting many seeds over tonight lol. I'll get something in the end lol.

Dankohzee's great post:

What I would do is use peat as your base, add up to...say...1/6 vermiculite, find some gravel or rubble as Cantharis uses, wash/screen/sift it, and add it to your mix--about a sixth in ratio. Now you have a third of your mix consisting of aeration. Of the remaining two thirds, you could add mostly peat, but then sure, throw in a few bags of potting soil like miracle grow organic choice or just some quality soil if you want. For every hole your mix will fill, throw in a few cups of castings as well. And don't forget the lime.

We don't all have access to the same supplies, but the concept behind a good soil/less mix is simple and can be achieved in any number of ways. Approximately a third aeration in a peat based mix with some dry nutes like castings, bone meal, and blood meal, and lime and you cannot screw it up. You just cant. Don't give them any nutes at all until they have at least threee sets os serrated leaves and then give it to them at quarter strength and build them up to a full dose. If you use something gentle like Biocanna you won't have to worry about burning. Hope this helps man.

Here's more important information by Dankohzee and Cantharis to get a good start and know what you're doing from the very beginning (not like me lol):

http://forum.grasscity.com/general-o...-guide-10.html

[Dirtrider4460]

that was very helpful!!! thank you very much! im deff gonna jump on that right away lol

[Corto Malteze]

Originally Posted by Dirtrider4460

that was very helpful!!! thank you very much! im deff gonna jump on that right away lol

Glad it helps. Don't do the same mistake I did and you should be fine.

[SensiHead]

2 weeks ago, while browsing some outgorw journals, i found a post containing a link to a thread with a big chart showing all the NPK values of different organics(bat guano, meals, castings, manures and suchs)
but i forgot to subscribe or to bookmark it and i cant find it, anyone can help me find that thread please???

and lets say i start with a 6.5 ph soil mix without any lime, am i going to have ph problems in august-september-october?? im planning on feeding low dosages(25-50%) once in veg, and twice in flowering of organic solution thats been ph buffered around 6.5-7.0

can someone tell me a rule of thumb when using lime please.

thx

[Corto Malteze]

I pm'd you a list.

[SensiHead]

thx man,
i dug a few holes and ive noticed worm in the native soil, thats good news right?

[Leapfrog]

Yeah it is.

[SensiHead]

LOL, allright thx

[Leapfrog]

Originally Posted by SensiHead

LOL, allright thx

You're welcome!

PS: You know why it is good, do you?

[Dirtrider4460]

i dont so u can tell me lol

[SensiHead]

im guessing it means the soil is fertile and there's beneficial bacteria

[UnderXCover]

This guides really helped me out with some things, but i still have a couple questions and am looking for somebody to answer my blog/thread, if you think you can help me with my outdoor grows please visit me, thanks.