Update: State of the Garden
This one is just about tied up. Helper is coming on Tuesday to throw all my old rootballs together, smash them up with some worm castings and DBHBB ammendment, and mix the second run batch of soil with me. Then it will cook for a month while I take a break. Some of it has been sitting a while so I hope it’s still all ok. I guess i’ll find out
Thanks to all who joined in for the journey - it was a bit fraught at times compared to last year which I’ll just chalk up to teething problems related to introducing a new grow style to the outdoor garden and trying a few other new things as well. I couldn’t be doing any of this without the gang of buddies I have here cheering along and enjoying the wilderness with me. Special thank yous to a couple of folks for gently and humorously peeling me off the ceiling when I ended up there for a second, you know who you are
Onwards!
Things to remember for next year:
For a 16sq ft (4’x4’) raised bed ammended for Doc Bud’s High Brix kit, the correct drench amount is 15-45ml (.5 -1.5oz) - where 15ml would be the minimum and 45 would be quite strong. I remember that early on I was feeding at about 25 or so and that seemed great so that’s probably the starting point and then adjust up or down as needed. If I ever scratch my head about that again, someone please wave this post in my face
When growing more than one plant in the raised bed, choose plants that will likely have a similar flowering start and duration because CAT Drenches apply to all plants in the bed.
Reviewing the line-up:
Candida CD-1 is a beautiful plant to grow.
It is lovely to look at all the way through, seed to harvest, except when dropsy-ing in the fully intense Australian sun, remember?
I eventually worked out that it was absolutely the intensity of light which was responsible for this phenomenon.
In very slightly filtered sun and super happy (very light cloud cover):
And then same environmental conditions - and same amount of moisture in the soil - but with no cloud cover:
Didn’t matter if it was hot or cold, wet or dry - although getting very dry in veg seemed to make it a bit more pronounced. Light parch-soak cycles for this one. Things improved as it entered flower but the phenomenon was still observable until I put the light diffusing rain cover on - then the
Candida really shone!
Even with a cover I don’t think I’ll grow it outside again. It seemed sensitive to swings in the environment and it’s a very important part of the medicinal garden. It yielded a bit over 3 ounces of beautiful sativa buds. I think I need more than that to get us through.
The upshot this is that Candida has to get cycled into the indoor run, which significantly changes how I’m planning for that.
Other things are changing that plan as well. Two things actually.
The first is that both
White Widow and
Critical Mass buds are going to need a serious quality control inspection for signs of rot /mold. SweetSue posted some images yesterday of what brixnewb had identified on a small amount of her dried Carnival buds as rot setting in. In the pictures it looked nothing more than a slight browning on the stems and some of that appeared of both WW and CM in the period after the budwash that had me furrowing my brow a little at the time of trimming and jarring - but none of it was the budrot I have seen in the past so i let it go. Maybe that was a mistake. I need to inspect.
Second thing is that I think I am a little underwhelmed by the
White Widow as a toke.
It’s potent enough, dont get me wrong. I’m just not sure it’s right for me tonally, i that makes sense. It’s edgier than I like and the balanced head-body effect isn’t quite right. I think I may like things a bit leaning a bit more strongly one way or the other. It’s also very piney and tends to make my heart race. This one was intended to fulfill the role of my regular go to toke, so some re think needed there.
Grow-wise it was a treat to grow - all the way through. ANd it had some great friends...
And beautiful structures.
It gets super thick and juicy, leafy buds which is not ideal here though. So a great audition, beautiful and vigorous plant but perhaps not the atmosphere we’re looking for in the final product. Nothing personal - purely preference based. NEXT!
Critical Mass may also suffer some loss during the QC inspection. I’ll get a buddy to help me out who has seen a lotta buds in his time and I’m sure well work it out. It’s not exactly my kind of toke either but I knew that already & that’s not why i grew it. I grew it for topical oil and smoke for some buddies (working fellas who like a heavy hit at the end of a day). So we’ll see how it fares. The first batch of topical from it is a success so I’m happy about that. It was also to be the source of some pain relief/sleep aid dosing oil for me. How well that goes will depend on the QC inspection. It’s not very rot resistant at all and I let it go way too long - I may pay for that. All that said it is one I will grow again - just under different circumstances as I still think its an excellent option for topicals - it grows super vigorously, stretches like a sativa and flowers like an indica wth very few leaves and it is high yielding and potent
So, also a strong first audition, will probably get a callback sometime
I feel very well prepared to move into next outdoor season with a bit more experience under my belt on the High Brix kit growing.
The choice of strains for next year will change a lot. I’d been thinking that the tent was gong to be for longer flowering sativas and other things that take a little longer and may be rot sensitive. Ironically the only plant that shows not signs of that this is the Candida which went the longest and latest, go figure.
In any case I have some Delicatessen Lily for out there next year which I’m super excited about, along with some DDA x Northern Lights crosses from beez0404 which I think might go well. It’s a long time between now and then tho’ so we’ll see what the year and an indoor grow bring me.
I have a lot going on in my head about what I might grow in the tent alongside the Candida so while we say goodbye here to another summer in Amy’s Garden of Eden I may open another thread to canvass some experience and knowledge from all of you to help me decide. I have a lot to choose from
so it’s going to be a question of assessing my needs and likes and picking something appropriate.
I’m a long way now from where I stared this post - wrapping up the summer grow - and am fully into planning for the next adventure in the tent! Looking forward to the next great adventure.
Thanks again for following along all my 420 friends and family. It keeps me buoyant and inspired having you all to grow alongside and I can’t express my gratitude enough... except by taking as much eye candy as I can for ya’ll
And speaking of yummy and critters that would like to eat your plants
I ahve to sign off with a memorial. We are now certain that our resident old man swamp wallaby has passed on. He has been an almost daily visitor for years and we ahve now not seen him since January. There are plants in the garden starting to flourish that we know he used to eat, it’s a strong sign. Wherever he is, I hope he has an endless supply of banana peel - his cannabis we always thought.
Bye bye little buddy - we have loved having you here all these years
Stay uplifted my friends!
the outdoor growing season is finished for me now and I have a little hiatus between that and doing a small run indoors. So there’s not a lot of growing action going on at the moment.
geez 1oz herb to 1cup of oil is pretty potent, by my reckoning. 
!!!
To your wallaby buddy 
Cycle of life
thanks for joining me Reave. I appreciate all your kindness and generosity of spirit!