My second season of outdoor growing

[FieldEffect]

Hi guys/girls!

This will be my second season of outdoor growing in the recently-legal SW US. I’m fortunate to live in a fairly moderate area (highs in summer just breaking 100), but it’s certainly dry. Last year was bagseeds, this year running a few autos and several photos. I wanted some diversity in effects/flavor and to try some different breeders, so I’ve amassed quite a seed collection, which seems like a common addiction. I’m running:

Hawaiian Snow (GHS)
Hella Jelly (HSC)
Snow-G (T20)
Avenue of the Giants (T20)
Sweet Afghani Delicious (SS)
Dragons Hashplant (DFG)
Super Lemon Haze Auto (GHS)
Runtz XL Auto (SS)
Critical Kush Auto (BF)

Autos in 3g airpots, photos in 15-30g airpots, plants almost 2 months old and been outdoors for about 4 weeks so far. Going to post a grow journal to the outdoor forum, and also planning on sharing my dry/cure cabinet design. Drying well is difficult out here, ~5-15% RH, so I’m trying to make that easier for us desert-dwellers.

Looking forward to learning, and contributing where I can!

[LemonadeJoe]

Welcome to Overgrow, @FieldEffect !
Your post is rather detailed, so deserves its own thread

[FieldEffect]

These are from 2 weeks ago…

Guess only one pic at a time

[FieldEffect]

Last evening family portrait. Did some pretty aggresive topping last weekend to keep them short over the season. It’s been super windy and smokey here from forest fires, but they’ve recovered well

[purpleFX]

Welcome to the overgrow.

[FieldEffect]

Different angle

Hopefully I get out of the 1 pic/post soon. The space blankets loose around the airpot in conjunction with the swamp cooler pad “mulch” layer have dramatically stabilized the soil temperature. It varies 65-75F over the course of a 95F day.

[AzSeaindooin420]

Those things are 2 months old? Maaaan I need to dial u in for more explosive growth. I’m down in az in an area we get 115 daily in July and august and my two month old plants are already 8+ ft
They can be seen here

AzSeaindooin420's summer grow log, my garden is going banana's!

[Screenshot_20220530-082056]

What u doin for soil and feed schedule?

[FieldEffect]

Hey, I’ve been watching your thread for a few weeks but only recently made an account. I love your greenhouse.

They dealt with a lot of stress when I moved them outside, I just planted in the airpots and put 'em out. The soil temps were breaking 95 and they just shut down for a week. I had been hardening off for about 2 weeks putting them outside a little bit longer everyday but they still got shocked. I did the mylar thing and the temps came way down, growth got quite a bit faster. I made sure it was loose so there is still air circulation on the outside of the bag, it just isn’t cooking in the sun. The autos are only a month old in the small pots.

It’s Miracle Grow potting soil (got it really cheap, like $4/cf), and I’ve been using fractional strength MG soluble fruit/vegetable because it was locally available. I am keenly aware now that is not a recommended setup, but what’s done is done. I picked up most of that stuff long before the season started and now I’m learning better. Last weekend I gave them their first full-strength dose (I had done 1/8 dose increments basically each week on Saturdays). I figured that would do while I did some research. Based on talking to some people around me and lots of research I settled on Megacrop 2-part which should arrive tomorrow. I’ll start at 50% and increment up. I haven’t seen any nute burn, which shouldn’t be suprising given my conservative feed schedule. I just didn’t want to buy 25lbs if I went with Peters 3-2-1 and there seems to be some advantages to MC 2-part besides the 2kg bag size availability. I’ve been watering with tap water at about 6.5pH.

I’ve been foliar spraying with kelp a few times a week in the evening. I just started adding some aloe (1 tsp or so of gel per L) based on comments you made in the other thread. I’m currently waiting on the soil to dry out a bit more before I water again, but I’ll try blending a leaf up in the water jug this time too.

So, what should I improve? I admire your monsters!

[MrWizard]

What is the logic behind the reflectors around the pots?

To keep root temp down?

Cheers,
M

EDIT: Never mind, I should have kept reading.
Thanks,

[Maddawg]

Welcome to the OG @FieldEffect !

@FieldEffect

The space blankets loose around the airpot in conjunction with the swamp cooler pad “mulch” layer have dramatically stabilized the soil temperature. It varies 65-75F over the course of a 95F day.

This sounds promising…

Here is to the good times to come on the OG

[DougDawson]

Welcome to OG @FieldEffect

[mainerJ]

welcome @FieldEffect . you are in a good place here. lots of good people here to help with your grow and to share the knowledge gained from the experience of growing over the years best wishes for your grow…

[FieldEffect]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I’m very much looking forward to learn from you guys, and share what I can.

Watered this morning with a few inches of whole blended leaf per gallon (I’d guess about 1-2 oz, I didn’t weight it), with a little kelp and silica. Sprayed some kelp/aloe foliar last night as well. What’s a good guideline for the amount to use when watering? I’ve seen widely variant figures - about 1/4 cup of juice per gallon per coots? At this rate my kitchen aloe plant is going to be extinct shortly, going to need to get some extract for this to be sustainable. This a reasonable choice? BuildASoil Horticultural Aloe

The tomatos are really loving that foliar, and it seems the herbs do too.

[AzSeaindooin420]

Have u ever considered brewing actively aerated compost teas with an air pump? I got some good recipes I can share and would keep you entirely organic instead of the synthetic salts

Do you have a composting worm bin yet for FRESH castings?

For everything u have been doing to try to keep root and soil temps down this might just be the answer for ya to accomplish the goal

https://rainsciencegrowbags.com/shop/ols/products/eclipse-solar-shield-soil-protectors

[AzSeaindooin420]

@FieldEffect

Miracle Grow potting soil (got it really cheap, like $4/cf), and I’ve been using fractional strength MG soluble fruit/vegetable because it was locally available. I am keenly aware now that is not a recommended setup,

Hey at least ur aware, the lil green grow dots in the miracle grow soil just provides too much nitrogen through the entire grow when the plants diet changes during flowering cycle. So plants may grow and look amazing but gonna likely be harsh smoke at the end

Soil is easy to build for pretty cheap, I personally do
50% compost (half and half Scotts humus and manure and mushroom compost but can use steer manure or another compost)
25% peat or coir(I favor coir for soaking water up easier)
25% pumice, lava rock, rice hulls or perlite(lava rock is preferred but got deal on perlite last round of building)
1 cup per 10 gallon Dr earth tomato veggie and herb

This can also be found on my “let’s build 500 gallons” thread

[FieldEffect]

I’m totally open to doing the teas. I can’t go catch a fish to throw in there like you do though

I’ve been looking into composting, but not really worms. There is so much information (just like growing pot) that it’s pretty intimidating to bite off. It takes me a while to digest information, so I’m typically reading for a month or more before I go out and actually do something. But, hell yeah, let’s give it a go!

I’ll go back and see what I can gain from your other two threads here (at least the ones I’ve already been looking at - the outdoor grows).

Was about to post that reply when I noticed your soil reply. Definately. I actually made my veggie beds using a similar recipe (1 part steer manure, 1 part mushroom compost, 1 part peat moss, 1 part native soil) and they are doing good but drainage isn’t great. The native soil is pretty alkaline so I didn’t do any lime. Next season I’ll be building my own soil for sure, and using the lava rock or rice hulls. Need to get my own compost pile going Thanks for your input man!

[AzSeaindooin420]

Haha ya well that’s been a new fun one that’s been working out but I’ll message ya the recipes I use and the twists with it

The worm bins are easiest to manage. Literally just a dark blue tote from Walmart for under 10 bucks, hopped on eBay and got a lb of worms for 35-40 bucks and throw em in with a pile of fan leaves and any other green waste from the garden, ur gonna want the red wigglers (eisenia fetida). Started a bin a year and a half and have more castings than I know what to do with

The peat moss should have drug ur pH down a bit since it’s typically 4.5-5.5 which is better for ur alkaline soil since coir is neutral at 7. I use coffee grounds to drag my pH down if needed and fireplace ash instead of lime to drive it up. Ya u def need to do something for drainage in that mix or ur gonna have root rot or stagnant issues

[AzSeaindooin420]

Clicked back and it posted so had to finish editing

[ReikoX]

@FieldEffect

This a reasonable choice? BuildASoil Horticultural Aloe

Yeah, probably not a good as fresh but it’s nice and concentrated. Use 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. My grocery store sells giant aloe leaves for about $2.

[FieldEffect]

Well guys, I really appreciate the input! I’m going to get started with some compost teas shortly, seems like a neat organic concept and easy enough to implement. AzSeaindooin’s getting great results with them, I’ll give it a go!

Was out inspecting the ladys and noticed unusual amount of insect activity - it’s been real hot today maybe that’s the deal. I’m having a hard time identifying these guys. Maybe white fly and cucumber beetles?