Arizona Outdoor Growing

HyphyNstoneD

New Member
I am about to start planting some marijuana outdoor in Arizona and I could use any help I can get. It will be very hot so does anybody know any ways to help my plants work through the heat??? Or any other help would be nice.
 
Yes I am going to use pots and a good organic soil and I will add perlite which I think is what you are talking about, theyre little white balls that hold in water. I think I will take them out of the sun in the middle of the day though thats a good idea thx 4 the help.
 
using a good mulch will help with retaining water. also if you can, use pots that arent colored black. im sure you know wearing black on a hot day is brutal.
 
Yesss very good idea what exactly is mulch though??? The soil mix I was planning on using is a controlled mix of organic potting soil, perlite, masonary sand, worm castings, and a good premix. Does anyone have any experience growing in such hot and dry conditions??? Is there a chance that because it is so hot out that the plants will die??? I think that as long as i keep them nice and moist and spray around the plants once a day to simulate humidity they will be ok... I hope...
 
If stealth isn't a requirement, maybe a shade/"roof" no bigger than the canopy and placed right over the plant so it blocks or at least cuts down on the direct sun around "high noon" but still allows 100% at all other times?

Regarding putting your pot in pots, I have had plants die in containers & look like they were baked while the same (type of) plants thrived in my garden. I don't know if the earth provided any insulating value or not, I guess in AZ in August it's probably too hot to lay on naked but what about a couple of feet down? Oh, and I just realized that your soil is probably bone dry and would suck up a good portion of the water that you give your girls. Now I get it (I'm slow lol).

What about one of those evaporative coolers that they use at some sporting events to keep the crowd from going toes up? Swamp coolers or whatever they're called that throw a mist?

And... Have you ever considered setting up a hydro system outside? You could even do a simple "giant bubbling reservoir" that the roots grew directly into although you'd want to seal the top as much as possible so that your only loss would be transpiration and not evaporation. It'd be kind of like a grow room with the best light ever lol (and maybe a few bugs).
 
I kinda thought bout doin that but I dont want to spend alot of money in case the sun does kill them and I dont really know enough about the hydroponics and stuff to do that. Ya it is a really hot time to be planting them i wouldnt do this but I have to grow them over the summer b4 i go back to college kuz i cant grow at my apartments down there and i dont really want to either. The soil would be to dry tho ya, waaaaaay to dry lol. The mister is a good idea i will look into it if i can find a descently priced one and same with the canopy i think im just going to move them into the shade during the hottest time of the day though.
 
I would put a cover ( what is it called " sheepcloth" or something like that) over the soil and every container to keep the direct light off, and I would put wood chips or mulch on top of soil as well. This will help you retain water and I might think about getting an extra bag of the big chunk perilite and mix it in with your soil.
If your worried about the direct light on your plant you could go buy that camo netting from a army surplus store. You know the stuff they use over some of there bases. It has big holes in it. That is if you can depending on your spot.
 
check out jardiniercorp and their subirrigation autopots...

its basically a double bucket where the top is the soil and the bottom bucket is a reservoir and the reservoir supply is wicked up via capillary action...

will hold 2-3 weeks worth of water.. definetly recommend the shading, and misters to increase humidity..

also, look into non-circulating hydroponic methods in a trashcan... minimal expenses required..

finally plant as many plants as possible, expecting some to die, but experimenting the whole time to find the best spot...

dig whole for the pots and set the pots inside the ground . use as big of pots as possible...

cover the tops of the pots with landscape fabric material or coffee grounds w/ filters

putting the containers in an area of ur backyard that has increased humidity (by a water feature perhaps?)
:ganjamon:
 
Good ideas man thx alot those pots sound awesome ill check um out n look at the prices n ya i should b planting around 10 or 15. Thx again.
 
the water polymers I talked about are not perlite. Perlite aids in drainage. The polymers are like what's in a babies diaper. They start out as little grains and swell to geletin types blobs when wet. They then slowly release their moisture over time allowing a plant to go days or even weeks without watering.
Adding Water Absorbing Polymers
 
The polymers are like what's in a babies diaper. They start out as little grains and swell to geletin types blobs when wet. They then slowly release their moisture over time allowing a plant to go days or even weeks without watering.
Adding Water Absorbing Polymers

Oh your poor babies!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist (believe me, I tried).
 
Arite kool i take a look at um n maybe add them to my soil mix but would that affect the amount of watering that i would do??? Like would I have to water it less because those would hold more water in???
 
I live in the Mojave desert, but the Sonoran desert poses most of the same challenges for growers. I do an indoor-outdoor organic grow, with individual plants in 3 gallon pots, and the pots set down in rolling garden carts.

Each cart has a layer of river rock on the bottom, upon which I pour water to help add moisture around the pots.

I wrap wet newspapers around every pot, then lay wet crumbled newspaper wads on the top of the soil of each plant.

I then drape the sides of the rolling cart with shadecloth, and extend the shadecloth over the tops of the soil. This works splendidly to keep the soil moist during the heat of the day in the desert.

I have found no problem with multiple strains--both Indica and Sativa dominant--in handling the heat of the desert sun, as long as the soil was kept cool.

I do bring my plants in at dusk, as they are now on 12/12, and into flowering. Indoors, we have air conditioning, and I also leave a humidifier on in the grow room. On cloudy or overcast days (not many, but it does happen), I leave the plants indoors with fluoros and cfl's over them, and around them. I don't have HPS or HID lights, so I augment the sun with 2 banks of overhead T5 fluoros, and CFL's on the sides.

I currently have 18 plants in flowering, and all are thriving, flowering profusely at every node. They are only 2 weeks into flowering, and have a ways to go, but they really do well getting natural sunlight.
 
I bet that method of "in and out" gives you a nice harvest.

Are you at all troubled by insects?

Do you allow the humidity to drop towards the end of flowering?
 
Hi Tortured Soul,

"I bet that method of "in and out" gives you a nice harvest."

From your lips to the God of Cannabis' ears!

This is my first grow, all experimental, so I'm hoping you are right about getting a nice harvest! I have had nightmares about waking up in the morning, opening the grow room door, and finding them all dead.

"Are you at all troubled by insects?"

Yes, definitely. Lots of aphids get on the plants in the back yard, especially the roses in the spring, but Ladybugs do a great job of eating them. This year I put 1000 ladybugs on my girls at night, and they stayed on the plants for several days, ate all the aphids before they flew away.

I have had mites, but since I inspect every plant with a 30X loupe every evening before bringing them inside for the night, I catch them before they do much damage or reproduce. I've found that Safer Soap works wonders, and does no damage to the plants.

"Do you allow the humidity to drop towards the end of flowering?"

Since this is the first grow, That's an NA question for me! But yes, that's my plan. I have this cute little penguin humidifier that I can dial up or down to any level of humidity I want. It's analog, not digital, but it works splendidly!

I've made so many mistakes--and I suspect most all beginners do, but I'm serious about learning to grow, and have always enjoyed gardening in general. Here in the desert, I'm especially drawn to anything green.

Our Mojave Desert landscape resembles the surface of the moon. HyphyNstoneD lives in the Sonoran Desert, which is much more green and diverse. It can be challenging to grow non-desert plants of any kind in either of our arid climates. Especially anything with broad leaves--like Indicas. Still, I'm amazed at how well they can do with a bit of vigilance and pampering.

Thanks for your response, TorturedSoul!
 
I was growing Nirvana's Big Bud until the end of june when someone stripped it down to the stalk, (those A-Holes) just started to bud no real bud sites. But the plant was thriving at that point, temps over 100. The plant will adapt and you still will get higher yields outdoors thanin under the AZ desert sun! Good luck.

A large portion of cotton comes from southern az from its soil, which means with a lil bit of nute help you can grow straight in the ground if you want (which I was doing), yet I recomend digging out a good size hole and filling it with your Fox Farm or something that is designed to grow in.
 
use cow shit and mushroom compost. dig a few holes about as deep as the shovel head and about as wide. mix it up and your plants will love it and grow monstereous budz up in Az. especially in the white mountains. Herb will grow anywhere as long as u water it and take a little care of it you will be happy with the results.
 
Ever have probs with the srp meter readers coming into your backyard?
 
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