Walkin' in the woods

B

barletta

Guest
Well, now is as good a time as any to fire up the 2009 outdoor thread :)

This will be a thread first detailing and rationalizing my plans, then a photo essay on the implementation of them :D

Let's get it up front. I'm a new grower. I have a passion for growing, however. I had a failed attempt at an indoor grow (security) when I was a kid, and I was scared straight for over 10 years. In those 10 years, I probably spent, on average ~$100/week on bud, or ~$5g's a year. $50g's. No problem, the economy was rockin and rollin, I was making plenty of $ to buy bud. I knew the penalties for growing in the state that I lived in, and I decided to forget about it.

Well, folks here in the states essentially STOPPED buying luxury/non-essential goods in ~04/05, and they STOPPED buying/re-financing homes ~06/07. I didn't go to college when I was younger, and started ~06, cause I knew I needed a degree (hell, I needed my GED first...). While I was in school, I had the opportunity to spend more time at home, as sales is generally 55+ hrs a wk. I got to know my neighbor, and he was getting this KILLER fukkin weed. Super nice guy, not a drug dealer, livin nice and broke, 2 dogs a kid and a yard with a fence...

I'm a freak for dogs, and especially well behaved/intelligent/athletic dogs, and me and my mutt and dood's mutts hit it off. We went to a park to take em for a run in the woods one day, and he tells me to 'Grab that.', referring to a black plastic bag on the floor in the backseat. I open it up and get hit in the face with 'weedplant'. Oh baby. I took the plant, and he grabbed a bag of mud, and a hand spade, and off we went - Walkin' in the woods. :D

The plant was an Early Durban, vegged for ~2months. We put her out in late June, at ~2' tall with a 2gallon root mass. The bag o mud turned out to be homemade castings, and I put the whole plastic shopping bag in the hole (~5lb). Dood was sort of shocked, as that was supposed to be for 4-5 plants, but he laughed and said, "Hope it doesn't burn her.". We went around, and he showed me 3 or 4 other solo plants that he had planted at that location. I was hooked.

Over the next few weeks, homeboy showed me how to take cuts and harden them off. He also 'told me' how to prep spots. I did the showin (and sweatin, lol). We put out ~30 clones in 2 large plots, and ~15 unsexed seedplants in another large plot. These we would split come fall. I also helped tend another few spots with indoor re-vegges in 3 gallon pots, and seedpalants/clones all mixed in. I just wanted to get my hands dirty.

Being the computer geek I am, I found the forums pretty quickly. I was just soaking everything in. After about 2 weeks drooling on icmag, I decided to fire up a lil closet. Now I was an indoor grower and an outdoor grower :)

Well, we pulled ~6lb from the plots, and over an elbow from the e.durban by Nov.1. Then I had the initiation that is 'outdoor trimming'. Of course, as the new guy, I trim what I'm told. Of course I wonder why homeboy trims all the colas, and I'm trimming all this 1/2gram popcorn bullshit...

So, first summer out, first successful grow, I managed to assist with the planting, tending, harvesting, and processing of over 10lb of bud.
 
Last summer was my first solo attempt. The goal was $50g, or over 10lb. Didn't quite get there, but I learned a shit ton. I prolly ended up pulling ~6lb total. This summer I KNOW I could do 10lb with 1/2 the effort that I put in last summer, now that I have the experience. If I'm driving by mid may, I plan on pulling 6 figgures. :eek:

Last summer I didn't have a SOLID plan. I knew about what I wanted to do (replicate what worked for summer 2007), but I didn't REALLY understand what that meant. This summer I have a plan.

7 locations
5 plots per location appx 75-100 sq ft each location (8x8 - 10x10) plots yeilding 2lb+ per.

That's 70 lb in the ground, figuring on the low side for 'per plot production'. I will figure on the low side thought the summer. I can figgure for 30% losses, and I have 49lb. Fukkit, let's whack off another ~20% - 40lb

40lb @3500 per = 140000
@4g's = 160000

The locations must have access to water, but must also not be in flood-prone areas. They must be safe from human traffic, but accessible for me. They must have a clear view of the southern sky. They must be protected from high winds. They must be far enough 'upwind' that they don't waft homegrown funk into prying noses come October.
 
The spots have to have fertile dirt. This is a luxury that I have that many other areas of the country may not. The dirt here is good to go. I can dig/till my spots by hand in 1 location. The other locations just require a small spade shovel, no long handles, no pick, no prybar... I want to find soil that drains well, yet is dark with organic matter. If it smells like methane, no matter how dank it looks, I'll pass. The smell of dank soil is instinctual, IMO. I try to look for diversity in the natural plants. Are there plants with flowers/berries? Are there plants with soft stems? Hard stems? bushes, trees, grasses, etc.. You get the idea. Weed is tough, but give it the best head start you can.

IMO, good soil texture/smell is second only to access to sunlight as far as plant health/yield. Frequency of water and hole size are close behind, lol.

I will be amending the natural soil with organic compost. The compost is composed of oak leaves, 'used 1 time' indoor soil, tons of coffee grinds/filters, tons of bananas, egg shells and teabags. It also composts all of the leftovers from the indoor/outdoor MJ grows, and the leftovers from last year's veggie garden. Last fall, I worked in ~30lb of rock phosphate and 30lb of greensand.

Last year, I had my yard compost (not nearly as rich as it is now...), and I added kelp meal, and an all purpose fert with lots of chickenshit and crab meal in it to my compost as I put it out. I put ~30 lb of compost down in 2 separate 'spots', and planted 1 plant in ~15 lb of compost. This fed the plants through veg no problem.

At 1 location, I had a problem with animals digging at the roots to get to the organic matter. They exposed the roots on most of my plants, and managed to pull a large plant out of the ground. If you dig/amend the spots properly, the plants are easy to pull out until the roots get a hold. If the plant is 'anchored' right off the bat, the soli may be too compacted (which restricts root/plant growth).

I'm not the first person to recommend this, so if you disagree, start your own thread :) If you are using organic compost/ferts on your spots, introduce some of it into the environment beforehand to allow the animals to investigate the new smells without fukking with your plants. Better yet, dig the spots ahead of time, and add the compost then. This will allow the critters to check it out, AND it will allow the compost to enrich the surrounding soil with microbes (and the surrounding soil will enrich the compost in return).
 
I mentioned access to sunlight as the most important factor in determining plant growth/yield. In the northern hemisphere, the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. In the process it tracks across the southern 1/2 of the sky. The sun is at it's peak 'track height' at the summer solstice (~June 21/22). After that, it will begin to slowly begin to sink lower and lower towards the south. Spots that are in full sun during may/june/july (when you are planting) may not get ANY direct sun come mid-September - when the plants are budding, and need the energy. It is very disheartening to put the work on a plant/plot all summer, and to go visit during the day in the fall, and the plant is just chillin in the shade all day. 1. It won't grow buds like it would in the sun, and 2. It will be WAY more prone to mold, as the sun evaproates moisture off the plants. Plants that stay wet get moldy.

Try to find spots where there is a very low horizon if you face due south. No trees or hills or buildings to cast shade. The sun gets quite low by October, and you can never have enough direct sun exposure. :D
 
Great words for the background Barletta, full of positive vibe.

For sure your new thread for the incoming season will be in gold !

Stay undercovered and safe
(I find your dogz magnificent, but identifiable on the picture you post here if I permit :eek:)

Sincerly, wish you all success.
 
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if you dont mind B ill be steeling idears from your thread and adapting then for my english outdoor grow this year
ill be doing another recon tomorrow iv set a small trail trap to see wat type of animal/human traffic are around the area
trail trap :-

mud pans-foot prints/animal tracks
iv put an old camo net over the bareground(so the bizzys dont sopt it from the air)
wev had some nice weather the last couple of days and im itching to get them in the ground

good on you B i hope it all runs like clockwork for you mate
 
Hey fellers, thanks for stoppin by, and feel free to drop off ANYTHING you think will help. :)
Proper
Planning
Prevents
Piss
Poor
Performance

I don't have to worry about choppers. I live near an area that is sort of a known grow area, so I just stay small in each location, and stay the fukk outta the 'park' ;) They pulled 10k plants in 2002 ~4 miles in a straight line from my house. I didn't know till the other day, and I lucked out not using that stretch of land (as it's PERFECT). They aren't lookin for a dood with a dog and a fishin pole ;)

I need to have access to water in each location, and I have to be able to get the water to the spots inconspicuously. The best way that I've found to do this is to plant locations either side of a stream, and use the stream as your path. Then I cut 'rabbit' holes in the thick bush to crawl through to the spots. Building/walking the holes sucks, but they keep deer/people out.

I will be watering 1 location per day, given no rain that week. 1"+ of rain in a week means that I don't have to go out for a week. Last summer, I didn't have proper access to water, and lucked out with a decently wet summer. Had I gotten the rain that we got in '07, I would have had problems. Dried up plant problems.
 
For the spots, I will be bringing my 20-30 lb of compost per. I pull up all of the visible grasses, and the roots that pulling the grasses up exposes. I want a big, naked spot, turned to a depth of ~18". Then I'll put down the compost and work it in. If the soil/compost mix seems at all dry, I'll get some water on it. If it isn't a drought, 6-10 gallons of water (1 trip with (2) x 3gallon bukkits, (2) trips with a 5 gallon, etc..) is plenty for a spot of this size. (70-100 sq ft)

I like to drop off the compost/plants/tools ahead of time, and stash them nearby the night before. That way I can go during the day with the dog and fishin pole, and not have anything incriminating on/near me. I will spend a few hours there, figguring out the location, so that I can see if anything is out of place. After a dozen visits, you really can tell where big animals walked, and you walked, and all kinds of stuff you never notice at first.
 
Ok, locations scouted and selected.

Spots dug and prepped.

Now we need plants :) I'm going to be starting ~60 seeds mid-March. The earliest that I can reasonably plant is mid/late May, so that gives me ~2 months from seed. I will take cuts from the females, and shipping the seedplants out first. If I get 30 females, 20+ will be 'indica' enough for me to put out no problem.

I'm going to be running:
Pack of Shit
~30 devil f2's
~20 g/sk f2's - I'm running these for the first time now, and I may have to replace em if they seem very sativa dom.

And I have cuts of EQ and (at least 1) SSH to get out, too.

I'll end up playing around with the Spice x ssh's as well. :)
 
Walk in the Woods?

More like snowshoeing in the woods here LOL!! Snow is still knee deep to over ass deep out here....even in places down low once you get a lil ways from town.

I'll try to get out as soon as I can. Spring Bear Season opens in April. Some Forest Service roads might be passable by then....but not likely with the snow we've had this year. That shit is DEEP once you get away from town and gain a lil elevation.

SativaFan:)
 
Once the first round of seedplants plants sex, and I have taken cuts, I'll drop another round of seed. I'll start forcing these plants on my deck by shading them for a solid 12hrs daily starting ~June. I only want to shade them for 2-3 weeks, and I want to get them used to the natural sunlight BEFORE the solstice. If I fukk with them too late in the season (past ~July 4ish), they will just flower in these long stringy pieces of shit. They will neither get large in veg nor will they have hard buds. Short and loose.

So they get shaded till ~June 15-20, then they'll just show on their own. When they show, they go :) I'll prolly use some Spice x SSH for that round.

July 4. Boom.
50+ seedplants out. 100+ cuts out. :D
 
Yeah, bro, it's still shitty here too. ~20 deg and windy. At least the sun is warming up during the day :) I'll get out there stompin around in April. Trout season opens then.

It pays to plan ahead. :D
 
barletta said:
Yeah, bro, it's still shitty here too. ~20 deg and windy. At least the sun is warming up during the day :) I'll get out there stompin around in April. Trout season opens then.

It pays to plan ahead. :D
Click to expand...

You should come out here to trout fish. This state is famous for trout fishing :)

You'd have a free place to stay and all the weed you could smoke. I'm not hauling ur ass out of these freezing ass streams though if you get blitzed and fall in :)

Whitewater and kayaking rafting is VERY big here too. Great places for that too if you're into it. Althogh those people are nuts IMO LOL!!

The Middle Fork of the Flathead river forms the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. I know lots of people who raft that one...There's also been some bad accidents rafting on the Middle Fork. Mostly dumb ass tourists from Florida or some such who have no repsect for wild rivers. The Middle Fork is no river for amateurs when it's at peak flooding.

SativaFan
 
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I love reading about outdoor grows. I can hardly wait for the ground to thaw in my neck of the woods!! I'll be sticking around and keeping my fingers crossed for a great season for us all!!
 
Yeah, when I was in HS, the plan was to move to the central/northern US rockies and be a ski bum in the winter and a ff guide in the summer. Imagine how pissed off the guidance counselor is when you tell him that, and you have a 1460 sat first time through :D

Then they gave me a phone script, a phone, and a commission structure. :D

They took that away, and gave me some seeds and a broader sense of how things work... ;)
 
barletta said:
Yeah, when I was in HS, the plan was to move to the central/northern US rockies and be a ski bum in the winter and a ff guide in the summer. Imagine how pissed off the guidance counselor is when you tell him that, and you have a 1460 sat first time through :D

Then they gave me a phone script, a phone, and a commission structure. :D

They took that away, and gave me some seeds and a broader sense of how things work... ;)
Click to expand...

Oh My...another "black sheep". I know that feeling well.

My SAT wasn't near 1460 but was pretty good...1350? I think it was. I also scored percentile wise on what Florida gave seniors then...95th+ percentile I was in.

I was a "disappointment" I know to my family.

But then I've always done pretty much what I want...selfish prick that I am:)

I'm loving life more than ever now though.


SativaFan
 
Hey man there is an old sayin in these parts...

If you let someone down they were leaning too hard.

Meaning FUCKEM! Do you, and if you don't hurt anyone in the process, you are golden. :D

Yeah, I had all the answers. :rolleyes:

Hey dcdondro, do you have an outdoor planned? :)
 
Hey Sativa
Glacier national beautiful country out there, definatly the most harcore winter I've ever experianaced in the lower 48. I was in the tetons for a winter yrs ago doing the snowboard bum thing for awhile. Great flyfishing too B if you have the chance chk out the snake river, I've heard the area has gotten pretty built up over the yrs but built up in Wyoming usually means both roads in town are paved.

Man I'm going stir crazy this winter more then usual, can't wait for the thaw
 
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