[duke]

my outdoor learning curve

my outdoor learning curve

hi i thought i would start a little thread on my outdoor antics and the accompanying lessons learned along the way,to start i will explain,though i have grown for many years now most of it has been indoor and climate controled my few previous outdoor attempts ended in either busts or plants being eaten by various wildlife,the only strains ive any luck with were all indicas and even then there were many losses.
since settling down i have been growing indoors and out in my garden in a small greenhouse some things i have learned are,dont start seeds to early in the season as you will end up with nearly all males if using reg seed,out of 15 afghan started just after the last frosts 14 were males!this i think is due to the lower night temps and short daylight hours confusing things.if you intend to grow them outdoor all the way then there is no point starting them early as you then have to tend them till daylight hours reduce naturally by which time they will be far to big to hide so leave it a bit longer and wait till daylight hours have reached 14 hours of light or so and then sow your seeds you will end up with shorter stockier plants better able to withstand the rigours of outdoor growing,also the ratio of male-female should be better.
i would say ime that clones are a better bet for stealth outdoor growing as height and stature are easier to control also you can assure that only female clones make it to your grow.
when using polytunel or plastic greenhouse make sure to tie or net the plants so as to stop the leaves ever coming into contact with the plastic sides as this causes rot and moulds to start,
a fan even a small 12volt one powered using batterys can help masses in keeping the enviroment right to encourage good growth and healthy air circulation is absolutely essential!
dont waste your time using soil go straight for coco fibre or coir compost using specific coco nutes,ensure regular repotting and checks for bug infestations as these if they remain unchecked will quickly cause sickness and disease.
slug pellets and copper wire will be your best friends outdoor as slugs/snails etc love to eat cannabis.
adequate protection maybe needed in the form of green garden mesh roll about 12 inches around the plants to deter rabbits and small creatures from eating your garden.
dealing with the smell!well i deal with this by having a large collection of smelly plants all round the greenhouse,rosemary,lemon balm,mint,lavender,curry plant etc this doesnt cover the smell so much as disguise it a bit and make it less obvious.the last resort is a big pile of manure stacked near the grow and stinking,the missus wasnt to keen on that one though!
i will add more to this thread as we go along and some pics peace all.

photobucket can kiss my arse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Today 05:41 PM

 

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Edited by duke, 19 July 2014 - 05:23 PM.
links to another forum

[The Dude Abides]

Hi Duke, sorry I had to edit your post because you had some links to another forum, unintentional I'm sure.

 

Some good advice there amigo but I thought the sex of the seed was decided at pollination?

 

Got to disagree about the soil comment, can't beat a bit of dirt, get them in the (well prepared) ground and they're off.

 

I only use my polytunnel for stealth purposes (hard to see what's in there), most plants would be better off outside.

 

I totally agree that a lot of folk start them too early, late April early May is about right.

 

All good things

 TDA

[duke]

Hi Duke, sorry I had to edit your post because you had some links to another forum, unintentional I'm sure.

 

Some good advice there amigo but I thought the sex of the seed was decided at pollination?

 

Got to disagree about the soil comment, can't beat a bit of dirt, get them in the (well prepared) ground and they're off.

 

I only use my polytunnel for stealth purposes (hard to see what's in there), most plants would be better off outside.

 

I totally agree that a lot of folk start them too early, late April early May is about right.

 

All good things

 TDA

 

hi dude sorry about the link,and yes it was an accident,as to the coco-soil thing i think purely in terms of yeild coco has the edge,but when it comes to the taste,smell and general yummyness good organic soil grown is often better but for our purposes coco works better than mud and is actually easier in many ways for nubes to manage,i have been mentor to a nube elsewere and taught him coco growing in 2 weeks,mud took me ages to get right!mostly because we was using far to hot a compost and didnt no better then,sativas seem to hate hot soils and gave me no end of probs,in coco they seem 100% happier,and yes the old tunnel is great for hiding your sins in,i was imagining the day we can plant them in the open sunny bit of the garden and just watch them grow like the yanks can,would be cool tosee the sunshine daydream in the ground,wow!cheers dude i will stop rambling now,peace
 

[stephen07]

Great read duke , I as well don't agree with the soil comment but their you go . I'm getting a polycarbonate greenhouse for next spring , I'll try some autos tho as I've never grown them b4 . I hear blue mystic is great for outdoors , not to smelly .
Cheers dude

[Slippery]

Looks lush mate, never done a greenhouse or coco, will be poppintg in!

 

GL

[duke]

Looks lush mate, never done a greenhouse or coco, will be poppintg in!

 

GL

 

hi slippery this is my diary link,thanks for looking in,peace http://www.t-g-c.nl/...am-and-friends/
 

[Spike]

I thought i started mine a bit late this season duke, middle of June i think, the Church im growing i thought id list it, the fucking thing is massive, which now means the White Widow, Black OG kush and The Doctor have a bit of shade i wasnt banking on lol, yes mate i got to agree on not putting the seeds in too early, i can remember when i used to start them indoors in january ready for the GH lol what a cnut.