Fun In The Sun 2016 - Tiger - Ape - Pitbull - Gorilla & More - Run Wild

[Major PITA]

Update (Week 14 of Veg)​

The pool party is over! Five girls made the cut and all took the "Green Mile" down to their final resting place. The lights are down so now we get to play in the pool.

Their farewell close-ups:

LH

GT(+) Thirsty, but I want them dry for transplant.

GG4

GASS Also dry but doing well.

AS

ZD (with supercropping from hell)

Road trip!

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
I was concerned about my soil mix (still am), but all the plants are doing great right now. I feel like such a maroon. After all the bitching I do to people about over-watering, I was actually under-watering. I do have a feeble excuse:

1) I wanted my soil to be porous but wasn't sure how the pumice would do compared to perlite. I added pumice at the rate of about 33% - a higher rate than typical potting soils. My soil is porous - probably too much so.

2) Pumice is very light, but not as light as perlite or peat. I'm so used to lifting pots to feel if they need water, I let these get too dry. I'm used to the feel of Promix, so my "lift method" let me down with this new soil and the additional heavier pumice. I'd guess a 7 gallon pot of my soil is about 10 pounds heavier than if it was Promix. Enough for me to think it still had plenty of moisture.

3) I opted to NOT add a wetting agent. This blend is slower to take on water initially. It wants to rinse through until it has a chance to soak in for a while.

Add all these together and I ended up with plants that confused the heck out of me. Luckily it was an easy fix and I think I've found a rhythm and technique for watering them effectively. After using 7 gal pots and a saucer, it will take some time to get used to the large cages they are in now - with nothing to tell me what the runoff is like.

First up was AS

Next came GT(+)

The gang is all back together looking a little beat up and a lot smaller - to me.

LH was my favorite looking plant when I moved them but it took the transplant the worst. It had been watered the day before so it was very heavy and it is one of the younger plants so the roots didn't hold on as well as the others. I hope she does OK. They all looked good this morning!

GASS didn't make the cut. I put her and an extra LH in my previous garden. GASS hermied on me slightly indoors so I don't want it next to the rest. I may chop her.

That's it for this week.

 

[drcannabi]

Awesome Major!

Great work my friend. This is going to be an awesome grow. I can't grow outdoors so I live vicariously through guys like you and Conradino lol! Great job getting them back to health!

 

[Governmentchz]

Wow Major, those plants look terrific. I'd say your mix is working quite well to this point, and considering you're still getting your feel for this size/round/soilmix, it's exciting to think it will only get better.

I mean, you still have the entire outdoor season to let them rip.

EDIT Are you going to foliar feed them at any point?

 

[Major PITA]

Awesome Major!

Great work my friend. This is going to be an awesome grow. I can't grow outdoors so I live vicariously through guys like you and Conradino lol! Great job getting them back to health!

Wow Major, those plants look terrific. I'd say your mix is working quite well to this point, and considering you're still getting your feel for this size/round/soilmix, it's exciting to think it will only get better.

I mean, you still have the entire outdoor season to let them rip.

EDIT Are you going to foliar feed them at any point?

Thanks guys! I'm really pleased with how it is going so far. The soil is doing better than I expected but it is still very early. If they take to the transplant OK, then I think I'll be on cruise control - until I'm not. I need to keep any eye on the mites cuz I know they are a commin'.

Foliar (and just about anything else) is a possibility. I don't currently plan to foliar. For one, it is a fair amount of work once they get bigger. Also, the residue left behind makes it much more difficult for me to catch mites early on. It masks the bugs on the under side and if it gets on top, it also masks the damage in the beginning. Finally, I have wonder what it does to the flavor of the final product. I don't have a good way to mist on a light feeding when dealing with big plants.

 

[Conradino23]

Spray compost tea to boost the system. My plants are regularly hosting ants, spiders, flies and whatnot... but practically no damage after they've been sprayed with various bacteria, fungi, protozoa and everything else that's sitting in compost tea. You can try a lot of stuff and see which thing works. At this point you can also use garlic spray, totally organic but keeps a lot of bugs anyway. I hope this mix of yours is gonna work. Were they inoculated in the beginning?

 

[electro gypsy]

i'm just waiting for him to hit the shower so I can sneak in and drop some Blue Lotus seeds in that pond

 

[PeeJay]

They look happy as can be.

I've never used pumice before which is dumb since I could drive 10 minutes and fill the bed of my truck with it for free...

 

[Governmentchz]

I had a pond like that in my back yard. We put a few little, and one really big coy in there and sat on the patio as the sun was setting. That big coy wasn't in there for 45 minutes when a 3' owl swooped in and snatched that tasty morsel right in front of us. It wasn't an expensive one, but even $25 for less than 45 minutes of...whatever you would call that.

 

[Major PITA]

Spray compost tea to boost the system. My plants are regularly hosting ants, spiders, flies and whatnot... but practically no damage after they've been sprayed with various bacteria, fungi, protozoa and everything else that's sitting in compost tea. You can try a lot of stuff and see which thing works. At this point you can also use garlic spray, totally organic but keeps a lot of bugs anyway. I hope this mix of yours is gonna work. Were they inoculated in the beginning?

Thanks conrad!
I have seen plenty of spiders, flies, ants and the like, but so far (knock wood) the only thing that did any damage outdoors last year were the mites.
As to an inoculation, I will say "No." I don't know what it is or how it is done.

i'm just waiting for him to hit the shower so I can sneak in and drop some Blue Lotus seeds in that pond

No need to wait, eg. Drop 'em!

They look happy as can be.

I've never used pumice before which is dumb since I could drive 10 minutes and fill the bed of my truck with it for free...

Give it a spin. You might like it. So far so good and it won't break down over any reasonable amount of time like perlite.

 

[DrZiggy]

I had a pond like that in my back yard. We put a few little, and one really big coy in there and sat on the patio as the sun was setting. That big coy wasn't in there for 45 minutes when a 3' owl swooped in and snatched that tasty morsel right in front of us. It wasn't an expensive one, but even $25 for less than 45 minutes of...whatever you would call that.

Winged Sushi! A Big Hit with the Ospreys here.

 

[Duggan]

Winged Sushi! A Big Hit with the Ospreys here.

Ya eh Ziggs,..hey Major , brotha, your gonna kill it ! OK, ..those roots are gonna be in the native soil within weeks from today... You have a really good head start on the summer bud...lookin good. How will you water them ...and i agree with Conradino about spraying them, Major, have ya got one of those sprayers you pump up and use a wand ? That would be perfect , wouldn't it, and you could do the whole bunch in 15 min's. Anyhow ,you will know very fast, just how good your soil is...if they all thrive after the transplant...your all good....watch em explode. Like i said...your gonna need a bigger ladder.

 

[OlderGrower]

May I suggest these new fangled things they sell called gloves Major P. The will protect your hands from getting so dirty and your wife will love you for wearing them because it keeps your hands supple and soft.

Looks great by the way, though I had no doubt that they would look any way other the great if they were in your care

 

[Duggan]

OG, ya eh brotha...hey Major, what's up....no gloves?...

 

[DrZiggy]

plants look awesome, Major!!!

Go GT!

 

[Conradino23]

Inoculation is done with spores of mycorrhizal fungi, Major. This is a first step for me every season, I do it while I germinate the seeds. This is what really gives them upper hand in any kind of weather. Too dry or too wet doesn't matter as long as roots are using their little helpers.

 

[Major PITA]

I had a pond like that in my back yard. We put a few little, and one really big coy in there and sat on the patio as the sun was setting. That big coy wasn't in there for 45 minutes when a 3' owl swooped in and snatched that tasty morsel right in front of us. It wasn't an expensive one, but even $25 for less than 45 minutes of...whatever you would call that.

That would be a bummer. WE had coy for several years in another pond closer to our house. Our nemesis was racoons. We had to put a net over the pond. They finally succumbed to a very cold winter when the pond froze solid. I was surprised they made it as long as they did 'cuz the pond froze every winter.

Ya eh Ziggs,..hey Major , brotha, your gonna kill it ! OK, ..those roots are gonna be in the native soil within weeks from today... You have a really good head start on the summer bud...lookin good. How will you water them ...and i agree with Conradino about spraying them, Major, have ya got one of those sprayers you pump up and use a wand ? That would be perfect , wouldn't it, and you could do the whole bunch in 15 min's. Anyhow ,you will know very fast, just how good your soil is...if they all thrive after the transplant...your all good....watch em explode. Like i said...your gonna need a bigger ladder.

I do have a 2 gallon sprayer. It works great for big plants but does not put out a fine mist-like spray. It really drenches the plant. It is what I will use and I will be spraying in veg - hopefully before I see any mite damage. When in mid-bloom, I hope to not need it.

OG, ya eh brotha...hey Major, what's up....no gloves?...

Gloves? We don't need no stinkin' gloves. I've been splitting firewood for the last couple of weeks. The holes in my gloves capture more dirt than shield me from it. Time for a few new pairs.

May I suggest these new fangled things they sell called gloves Major P. The will protect your hands from getting so dirty and your wife will love you for wearing them because it keeps your hands supple and soft.

Looks great by the way, though I had no doubt that they would look any way other the great if they were in your care

Thanks OG! I look forward to your 200-gallon-pot pot. I'm glad I'm not the one filling them, however.

Inoculation is done with spores of mycorrhizal fungi, Major. This is a first step for me every season, I do it while I germinate the seeds. This is what really gives them upper hand in any kind of weather. Too dry or too wet doesn't matter as long as roots are using their little helpers.

Ahhh! Then "Yes." The soil was inoculated with myco. It also has neem meal in it. I understand it provides some protection from soil pests in addition to the nute's it has.

 

[BlackPolo23]

In here Major! The plants are huge and healthy

 

[Major PITA]

In here Major! The plants are huge and healthy

Pull up a lounge chair. This will take a while. A couple of these strains may never finish since my weather will probably stop cooperating in November.

 

[Nismo12]

That AS will be a damn tree! Very well done. Can't wait for september/october.

 

[Major PITA]

That AS will be a damn tree! Very well done. Can't wait for september/october.

Last years was a bit rangey and made it to a little over 8'. This year I tried to keep it shrub like. AS has more than 60 solid bud sites right now. We'll see what her growth habit is from here.