Been a while since last year’s battle with the weather. This year I am using my small backyard diy beds and rubber maid totes. I am using the same soil in the last two Summers and added some compost, worms, beneficial fungi, and a cover crop used during first part of veg.
This year along with my “no till” inspired grow I am choosing to flower early in mid Summer. Using my small veg hoop house, I am utilizing a camping tarp doubled over to insure no light gets in.
I began light deprivation in early June after most of my plants got a healthy start a scrogged.
I say most of my plants because I’ve had some difficulty with a few organic experiments.
Clones from a local professional and medical grower start my veg with high hopes.
Know my short schedule I plants the clones outdoor in mid April and they managed to stay dry under my thin plastic sheet on the top 50% of the hoop house. Using CFLs at night I keep the plant in veg.
The experiments started with my compost teas from three different piles.
Fresh clippings, dry broked down green veg, and dark leafs and seed pods. 3 out 4 plants took will to the feeding but the HQA:2, from a test mother, didn’t.
She was in the lead weeks before first feeding but pH levels or an unknown pest problem. My guess was ants that I had notice days prior.
After solving pest issue with cayanne pepper solution sprayed around the grow area, I then tried my hand at wood Ash.
A recent burn provided me the opportunity to gather some fresh ashes. I mix the ashes in with my regular compost tea and again most of the plant loved it but the HQA:2 and now the Diesel were not eating. I figured the wood Ash messed with the pH too much and blocked the roots. So I flushed right before flower and that was the down fall of HQA:2, which is a great strain, but I made mistakes.
Sour Diesel was late to form buds. I believe I had a light leak, evident by 5 premature sacks on the lower inside of the Sour D.
I fixed the problem and going into week 3 she turned around. HQA:2 flowered as soon as I flipped and she has some amazing color, I believe because of injured leaves, but she is frosty.
Having elevated the tote to avoid pests I increased her drainage and temps during the day a cover in the evenings made HQA’s pot dry out fast.
Luckily going into week 5 the two leaders , Agent Orange and Grape Ape, both in beds, have enjoyed every minute of life.
Battling the cold spring and being stressed and trained and trimmed.
They both are chunky girls that are organic outdoor grown with indoor scrog type training. Lollipoped in pre flower and defoliated in week 2, they are top heavy and the lower but a catching up.
My priority on this grow was to keep cost at a minimum, use organic sustainable methods, and use minimum water. I believe that the costs and carbon feetprints of grows around American can be almost zero after intial investment. Using waste from off season or other crops and local organic waste breaks down to cutting costs for fertilizers for farms. I am using this method on a new soil mix in the works for part 2 of this season.
A mix up growing methods and the understanding of what the soil wants and how to insure healthy root uptake on nurtients.
Cannabis can be cost effective and safe for the environment and neighbors. It is a medicine that has been over shadowed by modern medicine. In these days of uncertain healthcare why no start growing what will help you live a happy healthy life. Cannabis can also be a lucrative safe industry if the US government ease’s the financial lockdown of marijuana companies. Farms now need to be conscious of the impact on the land and the consumer in regards to cost transferring to inflation and the nesecity of large overhead in industrial grows.
Stick around for the harvest and part 2.