Bare Bones Outdoor Grow Guide

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Outdoors' started by MJ Gardener, Sep 30, 2010.

  1. #1 MJ Gardener, Sep 30, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 30, 2010
    Hey all! I'm a long time purveyor of this site, but I have only recently started posting. I have been a real gardener for quite awhile (first started pulling the "bad" weeds out of my grandmothers garden when I was a wee lad). Anyways, I have read many of the high rep grower guides, low rep grower guides, and everything inbetween. Well, while I obviously found tons of great info, much of it seems...overly complex to me. I found many references for tons of kinds of fertilizers and nutrient brands, ratios, when to add, when not to add, etc. As well as complex ideas on drying and curing times, and it all seemed a bit scary! Any of you newbie growers (like me!) ever get that feeling? That there is no way you can grow this without mucking it up? Well I certainly did! But then I kept reading, and used my brain and my experience growing other vegetables and drying out flowers for decorative use and such and I sort of whipped up MJ's Informal Non-Scientific Outdoor Grow Guide. I'd love feedback, and as always, no flaming please! :D

    So here it is, and its fairly self-explanatory. I plan on following this guide next spring/summe/fall when I do my first outdoor grow, and I will document with pics for everyone - oh, i'm growing Australian Blue, Medijuana, and whatever mystery seed my seed bank sends me! Also plan on crossing a male Medijuana with a female Aussie and seeing what happens! If anyone has already done this, let me know how it turned out please! So, onto my guide!



    Prepare the Plot
    -\tselect your grow site in fall
    o\tthat means scout it out – watch for snoopy neighbors, nearby airports with planes that fly low
    o\talso, covering the “duh” aspects: you need sun, good soil, close water source, and seclusion
    •\tmany guides say if you have bad soil, you can truck it in, or if too much water, elevate your grow; too little water, back pack it in…I say if you are gonna grow outside, it might as well be damn perfect, all that work is gonna make you mad and tired! But then again, not everyone can have a grow sight like mine…
    -\tdon’t till whole tracts (from the sky it’s a giant sign to your outdoor grow!), only prepare holes separated out through the plot, about 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep
    -\tmix in organic soils, nutrients, fertilizers (half strength)
    o\teverybody has got an idea of what brand is the best – either do the research (long and boring) or ask your local plant store (fast and easy!)
    o\tremember, as far as nutrients and ferts go, you are growing outdoors, as this is an outdoor guide!
    •\tThat means the soil (if its good and rich) is more than enough for your plants
    •\tNature is good like that! She takes care of her own! So don’t get all worried about NPK this, or bone meal that, or 5-5-5 schemes, if you have good soil, you will get good bud, period! It’s a natural thing, weed that is, and it grows just fine WITHOUT YOU MUCKING IT UP! So, when in doubt, just don’t add anything, and let nature handle her business.
    -\tleave it sit over winter/spring
    -\tmark with stakes so you don’t lose them in the spring foliage – these stakes can be used later for fencing


    Germinate
    -\ttake a glass (made of glass!) fill halfway with water, put seeds in and label appropriately
    o\tdiff seed, diff glass people!
    -\tSit for 24 hours on a warming tray, keep covered by dark cloth, we want zero light
    o\tThink about using a flat baking sheet and setting it on an oil heater set to low, should only be lukewarm to the touch when fully “heated”
    -\tThe seeds that sink are ready to go, the ones that still float, toss out


    1st planting
    -\ttake the viable seeds and place them face up (that “face” is the side that has split open) in ½ inch of dirt in individual Styrofoam grow pots
    o\tagain label!
    -\tMake sure soil is moist but not soaked, set in a well lit area of the house
    -\tShould sprout in a few days, let mature for a week or so till 2nd shoots appear


    Transplant
    -\tneed a knife
    -\ttake all the pots to the grow plot that you have already prepared
    -\tcut away the Styrofoam pot and plant whole deal into the prepared hole, water liberally (hard to over water when in soil, so don’t worry about root rot)


    2nd planting
    -\tnow your babies are in their permanent homes
    -\tset up your fence, add insect/animal repellants to keep nasties away
    -\tkeep them watered
    o\tcontinue ferts as needed (if they are looking droopy or stagnant)
    o\tagain, in good soil, ferts are not that important
    -\tkeep the plots weed free (of the bad kind, not your good herb!)
    -\tsit back and watch em grow like the hearty weeds they are!
    -\tAfter 2 weeks, start checking the nodes for signs of early sexing
    -\tRemove the males immediately! (if you want to cross breed, keep one for seeding
    o\tDig up that male, transplant again to a bigger pot
    o\tTake pot far far far away from the females!
    •\tWe don’t want the pretty females getting all bogged down making seeds! We want that fine semisilla!
    -\tContinue to watch them, keeping them watered, weeded, and fed nutrients as needed


    Harvest Time
    -\ton your SATIVA plants, look for cloudy trichomes
    -\ton your INDICA plants, look for amber trichomes
    -\ton your HYBRIDS – pull them according to their mother/father ratio, I.E. if it leans towards sativa, pull when mostly cloudy, if it leans towards indica, pull when mostly amber
    o\tThere are 3 stages of color for TRICHOMES:
    •\tClear: the THC is just starting to enter, potency is low
    •\tCloudy: the THC is at maximum potency
    •\tAt this stage, your sativa’s are ready to harvest! To ensure maximum cloudiness, wait till you see a few amber trichomes before pulling (a few ambers out of thousands/millions of cloudy won’t affect your high
    •\tAmber: The THC is still potent, but the plant is converting it into CBD, which turns the cerebral head high into a couch locked stone!
    •\tAt this stage your indica’s are ready! Harvest when they are 50% to 75% amber to get that deep body stone
    •\tNOTE: If you are unsure of what you are growing, just wait till the midway point (50% cloudy/50% amber) or pull some at each stage (if you have enough plants)
    -\tCut as many of the leaves off the plant before you chop it down
    o\tThis will reduce work later!
    o\tDon’t man handle them! The trichomes can break and you will reduce your potency if you bust them all up!


    Drying time
    -\tYou will need:
    o\tTwist ties
    o\tString
    o\tSomething to hang the string on tautly – thumbtacks, nails, whatever you want
    -\tHang the bud in a dry, dark room with low humidity and a ventilation source
    o\tMany people worry about this stage. You will read many articles about temp controlled, humidity controlled, everything controlled rooms. Sounds like a science lab! Kinda scary if you ask me, and rather intimidating! Since most of us don’t have access to that kind of room, you can make due with what you’ve got, say an attic. Its dark and dry, but a little bit hot. So what? These are WEEDS! They are hardy and can handle being dried just about anywhere. Nature abhors a vacuum, so anywhere that is dry will due, as the air will suck the moisture out of your good bud in order to try and add moisture to itself! Just make sure the area is NOT damp/moist/humid or you won’t dry your bud, just make it more damp and possibly moldy!
    -\tKeep a fan on low speed, oscillating, but not directly on your bud. This keeps the air fresh!
    o\tSpot check your bud. Air stale? Open a window. Too much breeze? Close it off. You can feel when the air is right, just listen to your body, it knows!
    -\tIt should take 10-14 days to dry your weed, but it will be a little less if you are drying in a hot attic like me! Keep spot checking your bud every 12 hours or so to make sure it isn’t too dry or developing evil mold!
    -\tWhen the stems can snap (cleanly, not leaving strands behind), they are dry and ready for the next step, the cure!


    Curing
    you will need:
    gardening scissors
    latex gloves
    a table
    mason jars – the kind your grandma does her caning with
    good tunes and a whole lot of time and patience!
    -\tNow your bud is down to about 12% water, but we have more to do with that fine herb you just spend 5 months or so growing!
    -\tDe-leaf your bud the rest of the way, as much as you can
    -\tBreak the bud off the stem
    -\tContinue to clean the bud of excess leaves, but don’t break the big nuggets apart
    -\tThis process sounds short, but on 5 lbs of weed, this can take awhile!
    -\tGently put the nugs into your mason jars.
    o\tYou can lightly squeeze the bud when you do this. Some of the trichomes will break, and during handling of the bud, the oils will be spread over the rest of the nug, which will enhance the cure!
    -\tDon’t pack them tightly, you need air to be able to circulate
    -\tWhen the jar is full, close it up tight
    -\tThis step is annoying! Lots of growers say you should open the jar every 3 hours for 5 minutes to air it out, then close it up…who has that kind of time?!
    o\tAt this point the moisture content of your bud should be low enough that the moisture level of the air wont rise sufficiently in just a few hours over the 60 odd days you will be curing this weed (haven’t ya’ll taken any meteorology courses?!)
    o\tFor the first week, open them twice daily
    o\tSecond week, just once daily
    o\tBy the third week, you should only have to open your jars maybe 2x per week
    •\tI mean really, who wants to open and close 30 mason jars every 3 hours for a 2 months. Not I! I will prob get flak for saying that, but I guarantee even the finest connoisseur wont be able to tell the difference! …unless you get mold…mold is bad! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MOLDY BUD! Get it the hell out of yo damn jars! And then fervently pray it doesn’t spread! WHICH MEANS CHECKING EVERY FREAKING HOUR! But hey, if you don’t care about your bud, I don’t either!
    o\tKeep up the 2x per week opening for the next 5 weeks, longer if you are feeling squirrelly
    o\tReally though, a 60 day cure is plenty good! More is just like those damn wine connoisseurs who think a bottle of 97 Shiraz really tastes SOOO different than a 98 Shiraz from the same company..which means same barrels..which means same field…which means the same grapes! But I digress…back to the BUD!
    o\tKeep the jars stored in a cool, dark, dry place
    o\tNOTE: if you are checking on your jars and see moisture beads, open them up IMMEDIATELY – and not just the jar with moisture, all of them! Then check back hourly if you can to make sure it doesn’t flare up again. If it does, you will need to increase your opening time cycle (which also means you DID NOT dry your weed enough before the cure! Dirty step skipper! Bad…BAD!)


    Now What?
    -\tok, you germed it, planted it, sprouted it, transplanted it, planted it again, cut it, dried it, and cured it…yikes! So after your months of sweat-inducing labor...what? You think growing outside in 95 F weather is easy? Screw all you indoor growers! Lol, im just playing…no seriously, you are all lame…
    -\tSO you have done all your loving and crying and sweating and swearing…you are DONE! (Oh, and you probably vegged some 15ft monsters that make those 18inch tall indoor growers plants look like sissy’s!) If you have to ask what now…well you are dumb, but I will say it anyways….
    -\tLike snoop dogg said, heeeyyyyyayayayay!, smoke weed e’ry day!

    -\tOK! I don’t really hate indoor growers! I just felt cheeky writing this after a very long day! Hell, most of the weed I smoke is prob grown indoors anyways!

    Ok, so I wrote this in Word, and posting here made it all squirrelly, so I added the link attachment, it will read much better
     

    Attached Files:

  2. I bet you have finger cramps from all that typing. Your information looks great.

    Tip: I have found that people who smoke lots of weed like to look at pictures while learning.:smoke:
     
  3. Great Post!! Thank you.
    My question is....do you "flush" your girls that are in the ground?


    Thanks

    Peace, Love, and Harmony
     
  4. #4 MJ Gardener, Oct 1, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 1, 2010
    I will have pics to put up as soon as possible! I need a better camera tho, and after the iPhone geotag threads, I can't use my phone. Which sucks, cuz it takes beautiful pics and video!

    Oh, and that? Lol, I typed that up in about 45 minutes. I'm a college boy, 10 page papers are the norm for me, so that lil thing ain't nothing! haha!
     

  5. If you end up using ferts, yes flush them. Regardless of outdoor "in the soil" grows or "in a pot" grows, the plants will suck up whatever you feed them and will need flushed. In my experience gardening regular veggies and such, if you have quality soil, ferts aren't really needed. When the soil is good, ferts/nutes won't really make your plant grow significantly larger, in fact it may not help at all. What is a fertilizer anyways? It is essentially food that is designed for plants in ground that has lesser quality soil. Good soil means fertilizing is not needed. And if you are growing outdoors, why would ever plant in poor soil? So the long and short is, if you have good soil, you don't really need ferts, so you won't have to worry about flushing! If you do end up using some fertilizer, then yes, 7-10 days before your harvest, flush with just some high quality H2O, and you will be golden.

    Happy growing!
     
  6. ok, you germed it, planted it, sprouted it, transplanted it, planted it again, cut it, dried it, and cured it…yikes! So after your months of sweat-inducing labor...what? You think growing outside in 95 F weather is easy? Screw all you indoor growers! Lol, im just playing…no seriously, you are all lame…

    lol, i hear ya... ;)

    i would love to have one of those fancy indoor setups..


    aphids, drought & mold... oh my.
     
  7. Really? I guess I'm just too much of a naturalist. I love the outdoors too! And besides, you have to grow an extra pound of green just to cover the electric bill of those indoor grows! To be honest, dealing with the bugs and the watering and all that crap with outdoor grows is tough, but it makes the end result just so much nicer! I have had the experience of actually smoking weed I knew to grown outdoors, I swear it just...better! Like i say, Sun>Grow Lamps :) Nuff said!

    Oh, hope you liked my bare bones guide and happy growing!
     
  8. Definitely Like It!

    i have to agree with you sir that the outdoor enthusiast who enjoys this hobby continues to learn forever on.
     
  9. What about the use of molasses up to harvest time? I've heard varying opinions...none of which convinced me either way. You seem to know your stuff and I would really appreciate your input. Am so full of questions... and just trying to learn how to finish this 1st grow in the best possible way.
    Thanks
     
  10. Well, on the topic of what I'll call "additives", i.e. molasses, sugar, orange juice, pomegranate juice, etc, I typically go with the no answer. Less is more, so to speak. Now I have not tried it, so I can't speak from experience, but from my research on the subject, many people have added things from that list to try and change the way their weed tastes when its finally done. I too am unconvinced that it works. Whatever flavorings you add shouldn't really affect the taste in the long run IMO. The plant cells absorb material via osmosis. This osmotic effect allows the cells to regulate what goes in and what doesn't. Now water and micronutrients can pass this barrier. What I'm unsure of is sugars and what not that are simply disolved in water (that makes up your juices). I have a hard time believing that enough sugars would be transmitted through the barrier to affect taste.

    Additionally, after you eventually harvest, dry, and cure your fine herb, I doubt those flavorings would last the process. I've read reports that adding things like molasses have mildly affected taste, but reduced bud potency, but these are scattered and have no empirical evidence to back it up.

    When it comes to growing, less is almost always more. If it doesn't happen in nature (i.e. it doesn't rain molasses or orange juice...), you probably don't need to be doing it to your bud, especially at the risk of damaging the bud (too much sugar) which could reduce bud potency or even kill your plant!

    If you want to experiment, be my guest - take notes and pics so we here at GC can have some idea of what it really does! Personally, I vote no on getting fancy with your bud. Let nature do her job - good soil, good water, good grow! No additives necessary;) And you'll probably have stronger bud too!

    Hope it helps and keep the questions coming! If can't answer it, I'll find out who can! (I love research...aka, I'm a nerd) :D
     
  11. Thanks for the great guide man! This is definitely going to help me out with my first grow! I know that pine tree make the soil around them very acidic, but it is the only area really available to me, how would you suggest neutralizing that?
     
  12. just one issue and thats with the size of your holes.  I always, no matter what, give my root ball a 3 x 3 to 4 x 4 hole, as deep as i can get it, even taking a breaker bar and breaking up the bottom layer.  i will scoop out all this dirt, add back some of the good soil with amended soil (my own reused supersoil mix ) then put the plant in, burying the rootball.  when the roots take hold in the fresh mix that plant will just take off in its new invironment, next thing you will have a 10 ft x 10 ft tall indica monster.
     
  13. Any need for gravel or anything.in the bottom of the holes? Which is better, 3x3 holes or 4x4?

    I dont do drugs, I set plants on fire and breathe.

     
  14. Flushing in a completely organic soil is not required and many of the chemmy ferts u may be using cant be flushed from a plant. Flushing is a hydroponics term andmethod carried over into soil gardening erroneously.
     
  15. Molasses is mainly used in compost teas to feed the microbes as they multiply in the solution. But can be used directly wateredinto an organic soil to boost the microherd and give the plant carbs and sugars it would otherwise have to make itself. I use it that way a couple times throughout flower nothing crazy. Feed the soil not the plant.
     
  16. Not to mention molasses chelates nutrients and has calcium, magnesium, P and K among some other micro nutes i dont remember off hand. Its good stuff just dontoveruse it and get blackstrap unsulphured .
     
  17. #17 QuadSportz06, Aug 29, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 29, 2013
    simple minds grow kinds.....someone who agrees with my theory.
     
    teas, shmees   whos got time for all that fancy jazz
     
  18. just really depends on how big you want your plants to get.  i have seen blue dream get 18 ft, almost to the powerlines in 4 ft holes.
     
  19. supersoil and teas i make myself..... IMG_20130830_091503.jpg no fancy shit here just mother nature and my love.
     
  20. That bitch is 12ft tall^
     

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