Hello everybody! I'm a young cannabis cultivator currently on my 5th year of outdoor growing! I've had a few grow journals on here before but i'm starting over fresh with a new account and hoping to really commit to keeping up with posting this year. I'm currently growing in an undisclosed location somewhere in New England and for the first time in years it's been a late spring! Im currently holding off on some of my planting until the beginning of june but, i'm still getting out just about every week now to prepare old spots and look for new prospects! Genetics ~ I use a mix of various local strains that are acclimated to the area I grow in. Typically in choosing these strains I look for breeds with short flowering periods, mold resistance, cold weather tolerance, and good bud structure (preferably Indica dominant strains) Soil ~ (Area depending) I normally use a mix of the ground soil and decomposed matter I collect from around the areas I grow in. There is seemingly never a lack of beautiful black decomposed soil in most areas I grow in so I tend to gather a few bag loads of that instead of carrying in massive 80lb bags of pro mix to every spot like I have in past years. However, In area's such a swamps with clay like soil and water a foot or two below ground level, I take the time to bring in pro mix bails, cut them in half, and use the bails to grow above ground. This method eliminates the need to water your plants throughout the grow season and in the past has produced some of my most impressive plants! Fertilizer ~ In the spring I dig a 3 foot hole in the center of each of my spots and place a generous amount of composted chicken guano and dolomite lime at the bottom. This method is very simple but over the years has produced amazing results without burning any of my plants. Other than that I sometimes use a time released outdoor vegetative formula from advanced nutrients , seabird guano, and ash during the flowering cycle. Everything Else ~ I'm a firm believer in low stress training (pulling plants over). In my opinion there is no better method for keeping your plants low, and at the same time this method increases your yield tremendously. As for keeping pests away I use some pretty simple solutions, coffee grounds and irish spring soap keep most animals at bay and in swamps I use a natural slug repellent you can find anywhere online. I'm very open to advice, answering questions, and hearing tips and strain choices from growers in my area, so feel free to comment freely on my forum! No question is stupid and no ignorance or stupidity will be tolerated!
So lets begin! Like I said the majority of my spots this year will be planted in june but until then here's some pictures of what I've got going on so far. A few shots of some small plants I put in a few of my spots this weekend, along with some perspective shots to help you see what kind of area's my spots are in!
While you wait here's some photo's of last years plants in different stages of the grow cycle! Enjoy ^_^
Here's a few more random pictures I found from last year! Some different types of hash I made, a toad I found in the bottom of one of my grow bags, some flowering shots, and a few random nature shots including some tasty chanterelle mushrooms I collected last year!
Thank you sir! Looking forward to seeing your auto's finish up in the next few months. Would love to know how much you usually yield from each plant? Was thinking of planting a few outdoors this year! @[member="VTyanky"] Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
And thank you kind sir,Lol, my 1 auto, so far is finished, drying nicely. My photo has 3-4 weeks, depending, till she gets the chop.
Well I must say the weather here in New England couldn't be more perfect for spot prepping! It's been in the low 60's and raining 2-3 times a week for about a month now, I'm still getting used to the normal spring weather considering for the past two years we've had incredibly early springs out here. I went out to one of my swamp spots earlier this week and trimmed back all the new growth. I also figured it was time to replace my promix bails so I brought in a new one, cut it in half, and added lime, composted cow manure, and a little chicken manure way at the bottom for the plants to feed from later in the season. Supposed to rain all weekend so hopefully that will give my new bails a good soak!! Pictures coming soon!
Things are looking damn good and glad the weather is treating you well...Love your grow spot J.E. And YUM chanterelles! A man with a spoiled palate. Good luck this year!
Aww you have really beautiful plants! Ill subb because i wanna see more,im new to growing world so im gona try to catch up with you guys,you can also see my grow journal it would be nice! Cheers... Sent from my LG-D505 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Quick update on what i've accomplished so far this weekend. Took a trip into one of my favorite holes for the first time this year. Its unbelievable how easy it is to dig the soil here. In this particular area theres 8+ ft of top soil anywhere you go along the river valley!! I added my usual chicken manure deep down in the holes, pelitized lime, and some slow release vegetative formula fertilizer. I threw in 3 clones ~ 2 x Lemon Sour Diesel - 1 x Purple Maroc and another 10 seedlings of some local varieties I have. I'll have to come back in a month and cut back more of those awful bamboo like plants you can see in the last pictures but other than that they should be good for quite a while.
Went out and brought some of my 30 gallon pots back to life. Added some two year old cow manure I found that was packed full of worms, along with some compost I picked up from a local farm. Five dollars for a fourty pound bag... I added some lime and dry leaves to aerate the soil a little bit. To the right of the plant there's a hole I dug that constantly has standing water in it. I like to let the pots get as dry as possible before setting the plant back in the water, they tend to get pretty soaked over the winter and during the spring. This spot is currently unplanted but heres a few pictures of my plants in the same spot last year during a few different veg, stages. I've also started a few very special seeds inside and begun working on a beautiful new summer home for them. I'll be sure to post some pictures and explain where the seeds came from later on next month but for now enjoy these pictures & the rest of your weekends! Peace & Love
So glad I stumbled across this! Fellow NE outdoor grower here, just put my babies in the ground today! Your set up looks great, can't wait to see how they turn out. One concern tho, do you think the plants may be a little close together? Once those ladies get big they might be all over each other… just a thought. Subbed!
@[member="LiftedLiving420"] Hey I appreciate that man, and I'm glad to have a fellow NE grower on board as well!! I do fully agree with you, any more than 4 plants in one hole is usually overkill. In most cases when I plant more than 4 it's because I either have more plants than I know what to do with our the plants are all un-sexed seedlings and I plan on having to kill around 50% of the plants if not more Also awesome Instagram man, keep killen it!
Update ~ \nIt's been quite a busy week/weekend but I did manage to plant 3 spots! A few of these spots have unbelievable sun exposure so I went the extra mile and picked up some more lime, a bail of sunshine mix, kelp meal, moo doo and some happy frog fertilizer. Ironically the natural soil had manure and ash in it from last year and upon re-digging the holes I discovered the soil is now overflowing with worms which in tern means worm castings galore all year The plants in the spot between the bushes are Panamanian red & Acapulco gold clones I acquired from a good friend of mine. I'm excited to see what they turn into and even more excited to smoke a piece of cannabis history \nIf anyone knows of any seed banks that offer heirloom genetics from overseas or, if you have your favorite strain(s) you grow around New England i'd love to hear about it! Over the years i've been awed every spring at the impressive stories the seed companies feed me to get me to buy their products.. However time and time again the strains remain to be rather average when grown outdoors so now I stick to local varieties and non-hybridized strains whenever possible. \nAlso threw in a few pictures of some shad I caught recently and some oyster mushrooms I found this weekend. \nTis the season \n
Thanks man, I try to take as many pictures as I can and might as well share haha I hate that day when you gotta chop a bunch down! How many do you currently have in the ground? Another question, have you had a problem with slugs/bugs in this area in years past? Im using a Dolomite Lime ring around each plant to prevent slugs, but I haven't done it before and just heard through doing some research on GC that it works, don't know if you've encountered that issue or if you plan to deal with them.