Outdoor Swamp Grow 2012

Welcome to my 2012 swamp grow!

I'm hoping to have 2-3 separate spots in this particular location, this is my 2nd year of growing in this spot. The technique I use involves a combination of low stress training and basic hydroponics, in which I cut bags of pro-mix directly in half, slit the bottom of the half 3-4 times vertically so water can be absorbed, then dig a 6-10" hole where there is a constant 2-5" water level always available for the roots to obtain water from when necessary. On top of that technique I like to allow my plants to grow 6-7 leaf sets high (about a foot or less), then I tie them down from the top, exposing the underside of the leaf nodes and allowing anywhere from 5-7 new individuals colas to sprout and grow up naturally towards the sun! This can be done multiple times i've found up until the plant starts to show signs of flowering and creates a perfect low lying, natural looking bush as you can see from the picture below of one of my better plants from last years grow.

In my first spot I have 3 - 3 gallon buckets currently,

In these buckets I have the following seeds and clones.

Bucket 1:
2x Big white x Endless sky 2010
Strawberry Cough (feminized)
Dutch Passion (feminized)

Bucket 2:
2 x Mars (clones)
2 x Strawberry Cough x Early Big Bud 2010

Bucket 3:
4 x Afghan Kush x Big White 2010 (clones)

At the moment I have fencing with quarter inch square holes to ensure no animals eat the newly sprouted plants. As the plants get larger and more foliage comes out i'll remove them.

For nutrients I use:
Basic Miracle Grow Fert (Vegetative)
Miracle Grow for flowering plants (Flowering)
Powdered Lime
Composted Cow Manure



Please feel free to post any comments or questions. Added advice and experience is always welcomed!

Edited by n8smith18, 27 April 2012 - 08:12 PM.

Good luck this year seems this will be a good grow to follow

Heres some photos for everyone to look at of last years crop through out the summer. Some pretty good photos here i'll be sure to post some more.

They all look great I can't wait to see what you can do this year

Good luck this year seems this will be a good grow to follow

Same to you sir, i've seen a couple of your outdoor grow journals and their pretty impressive! Lookin forward to seeing your grow in motion as well this year!

And here's a few more random guys that I found in some old pictures. 1-2) A grow box I made out of an old pc tower and some duct tape. Wired the fans to an old cellphone charger and took the light fixture off an old lamp I found laying around. Perfect for if you want to start some clones off without anyone knowing. 3) Part of the harvest from 2011 4) Some freshly cut clones off an old school breed I played around with

can you explain your swamp growing technique in greater detail. Like what exactly does having a water level of 2-5in mean?

can you explain your swamp growing technique in greater detail. Like what exactly does having a water level of 2-5in mean?

Yeah of course! The bottom of a pro mix bag is roughly 2' wide and 3' long. So like most swamps, the swamp I grow in has a water level that is close to ground level. So if you simply dig 6-10" down in a 2' x 3' square you have a hole that lets you promix bag sit securely in anywhere from 2-5" of water. That way the bottom of your pro mix bag will always have water that the plants can reach down to and use as necessary as they mature (make sure to cut holes in the bottom of the bag so water can be absorbed into pro mix! 4 vertical slits in the bag should be more than enough for proper absorption) The key is not to dig the hole too deep because then the roots won't stretch down throughout the whole bag down to the water if its too far up, instead they will stop and bunch up around the top where there isn't so much water, thus not allowing the plant to grow to its full potential. So dig until you have only a couple inches of water at the bottom of your bag and plan on there being a period with less water in the hole when its dry or maybe twice the amount when theres a rainy period.

Hope that helps, let me know if you want to know anything else about it!

Edited by n8smith18, 24 April 2012 - 04:31 AM.

Thanks for explaining man. You don't add any dolomite lime for ph? Do you know the ph of the soil or water that they are sitting in? What are you using for nutes?
Definitely will be watching, best of luck!

Thanks for explaining man. You don't add any dolomite lime for ph? Do you know the ph of the soil or water that they are sitting in? What are you using for nutes?
Definitely will be watching, best of luck!

Yes!

I use a good amount of powdered lime in each bag every year. And for nutrients I just use basic miracle grow fert (yellow and green box) once a week in a gallon jug for vegetative (once the plants over a foot tall) and for flowering I use miracle grow for flowering plants (pink and green box) in a gallon jug and water them every week and a half - two weeks. Sometimes I'll add a little dehydrated cow manure, bat guano, or something natural to the mix. But never use anything like fresh manure, or decomposing meat or food for a fertilizer. Animals will dig your plants up in search for food and leave your plants dug up and laying in the sun.

I use these two basic fertilizers because I know it works, It's has simple instructions and I know the strength of the product isn't overly powerful and won't burn my plants as long as I don't water them more than once a week. (tempting to try to put as much fertilizer on your plants as you can, but not worth it when your they are all dead from it)

However, If you have a spot you can't afford to visit every week. I'd advise getting osmocoat time released balls. These allow the plants to get nutrients every time it rains, for up to 3 months! and will insure your plant doesn't get over fertilized as long as you don't use more than a handful of the balls for each plant.

Simplicity is key. Since were growing outdoors we only get one shot, so I figure theres no need to toy around with expensive fertilizers promising this and that and just stick to the basics!

Do you poke holes in the promix bag?

Past experiences with Animals and pests!

Growing in a swamp comes with a few consequences..

Coffee grounds as general repellant:
I've found that spreading coffee grounds all around your grow spot decreases animal activity from larger animals and vermin. And as it rains out the smell only gets stronger and spreads further!

Slugs and Snails:
I suggest immediately getting slug pellets from your nearest hardware or garden store. I've had slugs single handedly destroy clones in just a few days and these pellets will completely solve the problem! You'll come back to a ring of dead slugs happy as ever your plants are no longer disappearing by the hour.

As for the rest:
I suggest getting rolls of small square screen and placing circles of it around your small plants, so no animals can get at the main stem or small leaves. This is especially important when there isn't much new greenery around and animals are hunting for something small and new to snack on. After your plants begin to develop a more woody stem no animal will be interested in munching on your plant and you can remove the screens for added camouflage

Do you poke holes in the promix bag?

Yes!, sorry forgot to mention that! Put about four vertical slits in the bag and that should be plenty for proper absorption

Here are some more feminized seeds I started 2 weeks ago. A friend of mine gave me a deal on some outdoor indica feminized seeds! Excited to have a good sativa and indica mix this year! The bud is some ak47 I just picked up. Looks and smells amazing!

And some Larger clones that i'm training to grow sideways early on. Hoping these two will be my secret weapons for the makings of some huge plants this season!
Along with some late season clones for my other spots!

This is after two weeks from sprouting, under led lights set on 24 hours.

Edited by n8smith18, 24 April 2012 - 05:57 AM.

Word n8, I used MG my first year and it worked pretty well and was real simple.
Slugs are a BITCH. Hate those lil bastards. I've heard rings of dolomite lime? diatomaceous earth and copper keep them away.

Thanks for the info, I may try this next year or start a few late this year. The only difference, i am going to use smart pots, that way i can mix my own super soil.

I also had the idea of possibly creating a small raised bed out in the swamp, it would be like a mini sea of green.

Word n8, I used MG my first year and it worked pretty well and was real simple.
Slugs are a BITCH. Hate those lil bastards. I've heard rings of dolomite lime? diatomaceous earth and copper keep them away.

Yeah a ring of lime, sand, a container of beer they can get into and drown in. Quite a few natural ways to get rid of them

A few (kinda bad) shots of some natural soil spots I put together today in a different area. I threw some small seedlings in just for fun pretty much, I'll come back in another two weeks with clones for each of these spots. I've found that not all spots need pro mix or fancy soil to grow well. Usually the top couple inches of soil on the ground are rich in decomposing material and just require a little lime and hard work to make.

Raspberry Cheese Cake clones are in! Can't wait to grow these again this year, large buds, finishes in september with no mold! Thats why it's my secret weapon