Hey all! Before I ask my question, I have to say this is an excellent site…and I’ve appreciated all of the valuable advice found throughout this forum! This is my first grow, (it’s gorilla style lol) so far I’ve planted 8 outside and I have 5 more lil’ ones that I plan to transplant next week. I have 2 locations, one with 2 plants and the other with 6. Well formerly 6 , I planted them in the early morning two days ago and when I returned to check on them today, I found that in the place where 3 plants had been---there was a hole with the 3 lil’ seedlings---roots up---cast to the side. The people who own the woods are pretty old straight laced folks and I’m sure that had they found them they’d have called the cops rather than dig ‘em up. The other thing is that I put three plants about 4 feet away in a much easier to access place and very obvious to see from the other spot---and those one’s are doing fine. Also the seedlings were very small too---barely 3inchs and were just starting to grow their first set of 3 pointed leaves so they'd really have had to been looking to find them. As well, all of the plants were obscured by a heck of alotta of other tall green plants as well a few thorn bushes---none of which seemed to be disturbed when I visited today. Save for the hole about a 3/4 of a foot deep and maybe a foot wide. (they were planted to close together) I really don’t think that the people who own the woods would play games with me like that. (ie. make a point of not disturbing any of the wildlife around it) Plus my mom’s currently having a little fued with those neighbours (funny funny stuff, but whole other forum, hehe) so they’re more likely to try to screw me over and phone the police. Plus very very few people go hiking in those woods except them and I’d planted them at 4 in the morning so I don’t think any people saw me. But I can’t help it, I’m still freaking out a bit. I planted those 6 in a somewhat wide corner about 5 feet up from a creek. Is it at all possible that an animal dug them up? The surrounding soil was pretty sandy, save from the compost soil that I grew my seedlings in. What do you guys think? My brother thinks that I’ve completely lost my mind, he’s 100% positive it was an animal and that I’ve become way to invested/paranoid about it. Lmao, he’s instructed that I employ the www.leavethemthefuckalone.ca policy to gorilla growing---only visiting my babies at the end of July (to take out the males) the end of September (to harvest whatever survives) and only if absolutely necessary to water in case of a drought lol, but I dunno is really likely that animal (maybe a pickpocketing beaver?) would dig my mj up in exactly the same spot where I’d planted 2 days ago? (Plus regarding visitation rights, it’ll take a lot of self control not to visit seem them every week!) Anyway I’m sorry for writing you guys a small novel but any thoughts on it would be really appreciate. Regardless thanks for keeping such an excellent site going... happy growing 'n tokin' all! ~~
Well if non of the surroundings are disturbed then my guess would be that it is indeed some type of animal. I know my outdoor ones got attacked by rabbits within a week of going outside. Ya never know though, maybe some kids stumbled upon them and decided to confuse you. My sisters guide group found a plot of plants when they went camping last weekend, they planned to move them about 30 yards from where they were into a less obvious spot (which woulda confused the hell outta the grower) then got lazy and did nothing.
haha....hippoPOTamus huh, Highgirly420? You must mean my brother! j/k Thanks Cornflake and highgirly420 for responding tho, i'd half a mind to do a midnight run last night and move the other 3 plants, which i wasn't at all looking forward---i'd almost tripped over my ass last time when i'd planted them in the dark. But the more i think about it, the more i'm sure you guys are right and it was some pesky little animal, which i'd definately perfer over a larger pink animal with a snout that would smoke my babies and still probably throw my ass in jail. It's crazy how quickly i've become attached to my babies...they're just fuckin' adorable! I'd started them completely as a lark---sure none would grow, but as soon as the first ones sprouted...my eyes kinda glazed over as i began to imagine what i could do with a bountiful (has to be bountirufl) harvest...'ooh' me thinks..."i could finally make those magic brownies" (one of my life goals---hehe, -i've been told that i need a life) And then my mouth started water and it hit me...i might never have to buy weed again,,,and all of a sudden my fingers started waggling together and i couldn't resist cackling "Egg---cellent...."-----all this i got from one sprout i should add. Yes, yes i do need a life! Anyways...thanks ya'll...take it easy! ~~
You ever smelled a freshly plowed field? Wild animals love to dig in freshly worked soil and the smell of fresh dirt will certainly bring them in. I think the whole ideal is that they relate that smell to food for some reason and they think something has recently been buried there to eat so they investigate by digging in that spot. Around here we have trouble with deer and rabbits eating the plants but usually the number one culprit of a dug up plant is a Fox or Raccoon. I know it's a pain in the ass no matter what did it. After i work a plot and transplant my babies i always pour either moth flakes or moth balls around my spot and rest assured animals hates that smell and it keeps them away better than anything i've ever tried. After a couple of good hard rains you may want to freshen up the spot with some newflakes/balls until your plants are well on their way. Good luck.
ya im with qtip. i do alot of planting and has seen 100's of times where diff animals have dug up freshly dug things. they have learned that humans have very strong steel and digging implements. they have learned if they only root around after we are done doing all the hard work (breaking up sod and soil surface) that its a buffet of freshly dug soil flora and fauna just there for the taking. what, u ask, is doing this? rabbits, squirrels, mice voles and moles, skunks, birds, deer, bear, opossum, etc... pretty much any thing in the wild that is hungry. one last thing... remember, even tho u arnt watching them, they are watching u cuz u are in their home. as soon as u leave that gorilla farm, about million diff organisms are gonna look at ur plant to decide if its food, enemy or just another useless piece of the landscape, like a rock. fungi, disease, animals including insects, other plants looking for water and light and food, humans, not to mention nasty ditchweed pollin... fact of the matter is, ur lucky to make it a year in the wilds of the earth, much less put on a 1lb of flowers unseeded. so now u ask me, 'froggy. whatchaya do about it?' 1 blend into ur surroundings. make it look like its suppose to be there. leave the area looking just like when u started it. personally around my part of the world, we have a plant called 'ragweed' its looks somewhat like weed and grows like it. i usually mask my plants on the edge of a stand of that stuff. i also like grass in the summer that gets hi. 2 roundup. chemically mow the area once by a nice spray of roundup just a day or two before planting. not too big but just enough for the dripline of the plant (how wide the plant will get at full weight.) 3 mulch. make sure there is sumthing hiding the soil. raked up leaves, pulled up grass, sticks, whatever but hide that soil line. this also prevents water loss on hot days. 4 sticks and logs. what i do is hide everything in stick and logs. this way it looks more natural and the sticks protect the soil line from animals and weeds as well as letting water and no sunlight thru. 5 12ft tall plant is easer to see than a 3 ft tall plant. i put a log on my plants to lean them down so they arnt 12 ft hi but 12 ft wide. i dont care so much if an animal get it, but if a human does... 6 have a good reason to be where u are if u are there at the same time someone else is. this is only common sense but make sure u have ur story straight. always have an out. keep ur wits and make sure u know what u are doing. good growin...
Hey there, thanks you guys for the great advice/reassurance! You guys are right though, growing weed is quite a bit harder than it appears. My seedling---to outdoors success rate so far has been pretty shameful. Out of 11 transplanted into the cruel harsh woods, so far only 4 have survived. (another is in critical condition, kinda a lost cause I’m afraid, something ate the head off of it and all that is left is the stem and the 2 lil’ round leaves, poor thing) But I still have 2 lil’ ones growing inside, so this time I’m going to wait until they get a little bit stronger and older, maybe 6-8 inches (any larger then that and the folk’ll start to get antsy---they really don’t seem to be buying the whole catnip thing) and I’ll start bending the stems a bit to bulk ‘em up. I’ve already taken some of your advice QTIP and Froggy and covered the surrounding area of the 4 survivors with leaves, moth ball flakes and then just so I wouldn’t be accused of restraint, I sprinkled a soap solution and a homemade bug repellant around the lil’ ones (nothing too toxic tho---don’t wanna see a circle of dead beavers and raccoons surround my plants---the soap and red pepper solution was just gross to taste) and then tied some of my hair and my dogs and bro’s fur next to them. It was kinda funny, while I was doing all this, I was thinking about what you said Froggy about the millions of little critters that were probably wondering what the fuck I was doing there and I swear to God, I look up and there was this little woodchuck or beaver watching me from the edge of the creek…scheming no doubt---had to laugh at that. As well, Froggy your log advice was gold! With my 2 bigger ones (one’s a foot and a bit and the others just a foot tall) I was thinking about training them sideways but I was worried that seeing a plant tied to the ground with a rope might not be as stealth I’d have planned. (Not that anyone should be looking around there to begin with, but I get a lil’ para..when I think about getting caught and there’s always the chance you know, that the neighbour’s dog might sniff out a raccoon or rabbit having a midday munch on my plants and because the neighbours never seem to be far from an animal’s ass they might notice something a lil’ outta the ordinary) But logs will make it look natural and they’re kinda like a natural divider, nobody really likes to climb over a jagged dead tree, ‘specially when there’s a shorter and easier path to get to where they’re going. Anyway ty ty ty ty ty for all the great advice, it’s definitely being put to good use! Take it easy and happy tokin!!!