Humid Temperate Colombian Andes Greenhouse Organic Grow

[CBDMed]

Hola a todos, and welcome to my Colombian Andes greenhouse organic grow!
I am somewhat autistic and CBD helps me to communicate. And also calm down, and sleep.
Long story but we are trying to start a sustainable farm operation. Colombian Organic certification is not practical because of government over-regulation, but at least I can grow organic medicine on the side.
My guys are working on a greenhouse. I have not seen it yet. Part of it will be for my medicinal plants (cannabis, coca, etc.)

Because we are near the equator (4 degrees north) our lighting is +/- @ 12/12 all year round.
Because of that, I bought two strings of "super bright" solar-powered LED lights to extend the "daylight", and shorten the night. (One for a backup, because it takes 2-3 weeks for stuff to get here--so anything that is critical, you need to have a spare.)

Like I say, I have not seen it.
My manager just sent me some photos, along with requests for instructions on how to grow the cannabis.
He says they hope to cover it with plastic next week. There will be a big 12-18" overlap-vent at the apex (because that is how they do it here).

They will anchor it with some concrete anchors, I guess.

I am a little concerned, because the contractor indicated before that he knew how to grow cannabis in a greenhouse so that it does not mold, but now today it turns out that he has never grown cannabis!?!?!?
(Umm, maybe he knows someone who grew cannabis in greenhouses before, and it did not mold, and he is confident of his ability at gardening?? No idea. I hope to ask him when I see him next.)

Anyway it is humid as anything here. We are coming into the dry season (US and northern hemisphere winter) so probably I will be ok, but long term I have a bunch of mold-resistant sativa CBD seeds coming.
I tried growing in a greenhouse on my roof before (long story) and it molded, and it was a blueberry haze--so now I am concerned.
Anyway, the best I can do is to get mold-resistant sativas, and see what makes it.

The soil is 6" of clay topsoil, and then sort of scree rock, clay, and sand, depending.
They plan to irrigate the rest of the greenhouse with drip irrigation, and they think to use drip irrigation for my cannabis also.
Haha, part of me is still asking if I want to plant in ground, or if I want to take an ice-pik to my fabric pots, and put them in a water bucket, and go SWICK.
I have a ton of hot soil (Subcool supersoil variant) sitting in trash cans that I could have hauled over there, and then we could recycle the soil on site between grows (and I would just need to bring in the nutes we need for reconditioning).

Alternately, I could learn how to amend the ground soil (which would probably be more familiar to the guys).
We have lots of cow, sheep, and goat manure, although we may have to sell the sheep (because they walk right through the electric fences, because of all of their hair). But the goat manure usually comes with straw that has to be composted.
I have not asked but I am sure there is plenty of compost--and if not we can fake it until we can get a compost heap set up.
If I decide to go in ground, how big of a hole do I want to prepare?

I have some indica clones I am doubtful will survive a greenhouse grow.
I want to try indicas in the summer, because the humidity is less. I have good hopes we can grow indica CBD in the summer (Candida), and then maybe in winter I can grow Dr. Seedsman 30:1 (which is sativa). We will see.

I planted seeds today in Solo cups and Root Riot starter cubes (because the seeds were old, and they handle moisture really well).
A lot of the seeds are regulars. I tried to go through with a magnifying glass and look for the ones that were round, and get rid of the ones that were oblong, in case that actually works (or in case I can actually figure out how to do it is more like it, haha).
(I'm not too sure if I did a good job or not, but at least the ones I put in the cubes were more rounder-ish than the ones that I sorted out as being "oblong".)

Everything was bought from a sponsor. (Or at least they were sponsors when I bought!)
CBD God
Harlequin BX4
Sour Tsunami CBD
Candida (sent to me by some cool grower)
Cannatonic
And (1 each) Delimed CBD plus

I was kind of freaked out to hear that the contractor who assured me that he knew how to grow cannabis in a greenhouse without molding has never grown cannabis before! (That was not cool.)
He has been very helpful so far, so maybe he had a good reason for saying that. (I hope to ask him the next time I see him.)

Things are still in the planning stages, so it would be great to hear any and all feedback.

 

[cbdhemp808]

¡Grande, grande! How many plants ya gonna grow in that thing?

 

[CBDMed]

The law is 20.

 

[cbdhemp808]

The law is 20.

It looks big enough for 100 or more big plants!

 

[CBDMed]

It looks big enough for 100 or more big plants!

Yes I think I get one end for my 20 plants, and then the rest they will use to sprout seeds, and also grow tree tomatoes (on drip irrigation).
(Tree tomatoes are not my thing, but they sell well here.)

20 full-size trees is so many...
Even if it turns out that I can only grow in the summer (I hope not), I think at long last, my medicine worries are finally over...

 

[Janluna]

Here for it! Hope everything works out!

 

[budnoob3]

Personally never grown in an area that large but if I ever get that lucky I’d start by treating kind of like an indoor tent, good air intake and exhaust, fans throughout, and try to grow as few as I can that are larger so as not to introduce too much humidity. One can dream

 

[Bill284]

Good work so far Amigo.
Will there be power to the greenhouse for ventilation etc?


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[BigBudsBunny]

good luck bud!

 

[CBDMed]

Personally never grown in an area that large but if I ever get that lucky I’d start by treating kind of like an indoor tent, good air intake and exhaust, fans throughout, and try to grow as few as I can that are larger so as not to introduce too much humidity. One can dream

Thanks, budnoob3.
Frankly I am skeptical that all of them will make it.
@cbdhemp808 has a grow where he is basically trying to find strains that make it in humid environments, and I am trying to take hints from his grow.
I will see about stringing wire for fans. It sounds like that might be a necessary expense.
And were you talking about nighttime dreaming, daydreaming, or pipe dreams? Hahaha.

 

[CBDMed]

Good work so far Amigo.
Will there be power to the greenhouse for ventilation etc?


Stay safe
Bill284

Thanks, Bill!
If it is that close to the house (150 meters / yards) I think for sure we should run power for some fans.

 

[InTheShed]

I'm in!

 

[CBDMed]

Great!! Glad you are here, because I am sure to have some challenges, and you seem to have lots of answers!

I just wrote my guy and told him we will need to string electric power for 4 big fans for sure. (I bought the fans when I was going to grow on the roof.) I do not know what it will cost to string electric power for 150 meters / yards, but whatever it is, if it saves the grow from molding, it will be worth it!

 

[CBDMed]

good luck bud!

Thanks, BigBuds!

 

[Bill284]

Thanks, Bill!
If it is that close to the house (150 meters / yards) I think for sure we should run power for some fans.

Excellent.
I have 3 big fans blowing in.
It really helps.
Then I have fans inside around the girls.
And an 8 inch turbo fan for exhaust.
Don't skimp on the fans, they are vital.



Stay safe
Bill284

 

[cbdhemp808]

I just wrote my guy and told him we will need to string electric power for 4 big fans for sure. (I bought the fans when I was going to grow on the roof.) I do not know what it will cost to string electric power for 150 meters / yards, but whatever it is, if it saves the grow from molding, it will be worth it!

Your greenhouse will protect the plants from rain, and animals, and allow you to run lights for night interruption. Will you also be using it to make a warm environment during the colder time of the year? In my setup, our temperatures are very mild year round, so my veg house has screen walls, and my flower house has no walls. I don't use any fans, and rely on the natural airflow.

 

[CBDMed]

Excellent.
I have 3 big fans blowing in.
It really helps.
Then I have fans inside around the girls.
And an 8 inch turbo fan for exhaust.
Don't skimp on the fans, they are vital.



Stay safe
Bill284

Thanks, Bill!
Greenhouses here have a permanently open apex. Nothing (but nothing) is sealed. (I think their idea is just to put something around the plant.)
I think it will vent pretty well, but you are right, I may need even more fans around the girls.

 

[cbdhemp808]

I actually have a bigger greenhouse here that needs to be refurbished, and it needs to have a "ridge vent" added to release heat during the summer, because it can reach the mid to high 90s in there. My plan is to have 4 exhaust fans in the ridge vent, to pull the hot air out. They will be on a temperature-controlled AC outlet.

 

[CBDMed]

Your greenhouse will protect the plants from rain, and animals, and allow you to run lights for night interruption.

Will you also be using it to make a warm environment during the colder time of the year?

Great question.
Even with a 12-18" gap at the apex I am sure it will be at least a little warmer inside the structure. (The greenhouse on my roof is warmer inside than outside.)

I think they are "just building them the way everyone builds greenhouses here". I should know more when I go to physically see it in a couple of weeks.
The walls are typically heavy UV-resistant plastic sheeting (heavy UV visqueen), but they intentionally put lots of gaps everywhere, for natural ventilation.

In my setup, our temperatures are very mild year round, so my veg house has screen walls, and my flower house has no walls. I don't use any fans, and rely on the natural airflow.

Yeah, your setup is great!
I was told that the thing to do here is to string a rain fly, but not put walls. However, I think some strains are hot-weather strains, and are not adapted.
I think lots of guys grow here, and I think they do grow in greenhouses. So I should be able to find some adapted seeds.

I got some Mango Biche seeds from a Colombian source. (I think he said the seeds came from this valley, actually, so it may be adapted to this climate, but come to think of it, they usually grow in greenhouses here.)
I was told just to string a rain-fly, but I have not seen any rain-flies like that.
And come to think of it, NO ONE uses ANY kind of electrical fans here in their greenhouses. I wonder if they time it to bloom over the summer months, though. (That sounds like something that they would do.)
This is the writeup from The Landrace Team on Seedfinder.eu. It mentions greenhouse growing, so it should be doable. It DEFINITELY has a cerebral hit! But if your seeds are mixed (which they say most are now) you can get hermies. So we will have to see.

Mango Biche is a sativa variety from Landrace Team and can be cultivated indoors (where the plants will need a flowering time of ±116 days), outdoors and in the greenhouse. Landrace Teams Mango Biche is a THC dominant variety and is/was never available as feminized seeds.

Landrace Teams Mango Biche Description​

Genetics: South American ganja cultigen
Region: Huila – (South America)
Strain: Mango Biche – Colombian Landrace
Sourcing: Personally collected at source in Huilia
Latitude: 1° N
Harvest: End of October
Height: 3 – 4 meters in optimal conditions in natural environment
Seeds: Regular
Vegetative stage: 16 to 20 weeks
Flowering: 15 to 18 weeks
Aroma: Sweet green mango
Grow Type: Outdoors,Greenhouse, indoors (requires experience)
Characteristics: Well known throughout the world for its delicious aromas of sweet green mango, its effect is clear, cerebral, lysergic and psychedelic, has great growth vigour in optimal conditions. Very resistant to continuous rains, pests and fungi.

Southern Colombian variety from the department of Huilia cultivated by local farmers. There are pleasant temperatures of 20° to 25° Celcius.
[Note: we run cooler than that here.]
The true Mango Biche was cultivated until 15 years ago in these beautiful places of the Colombian massif (mountain ranges between 1400 and 1800 metres above sea level).
[Note: we are higher than that here.]
Now there is variability and presence of indica genes, in the few places where they can be currently found they have high percentages of hermaphrodites damaged by inbreeding. Currently the cannabis market is dominated by the sale of Dutch and hybrid genetics, and the local varieties have been sidelined and replaced due to their long growth cycles.

Mango Biche is famous throughout the world for its delicious aromas of green and sweet mango, its effect is active, clear, cerebral and long lasting.
[Note: Yeah it is!]
This variety has a vegetative stage tha goes from 16 to 20 weeks, its flowering is between 15 to 18 and also 20 weeks. Under natural and optimal conditions it exceeds 4 meters in height, has great vigour and resistance to pests and fungi, it also withstands large amounts of water, its structure is conical. Most plants have a very symmetrical and cone-shaped pattern, some have very beautiful reddish and scarlet stems and petioles, with large thin and serrated leaves, leaves of 5,7,9 leaflets, maximum width of 2cm of a bright green clear colour. A phenotype has a combination in its purple green calyx in the last flowering stage. There is a phenotype that is not characterized by its strong aroma of Mango, it is a little more pungent, but without losing the mango background that characterizes this native colombian line. Its effect is cerebral and euphoric, very motivating and active, in some cases psychedelic and lysergic. The smoke is dense and with woody taste,s some very fragrant on the palate, they need a good cure to get the maximum potential.

An old Colombian Native line collected by Criposo Art in the 90s from the hands of local peasants from the 60s, 70s, offered to the public only through The Landrace Team. It has been preserved at 1500 meters during all this time.

Maybe that strain does well with humidity, but not all do.
Over time I will want to adopt what I can grow reliably in a greenhouse--but I think if you bloom out in summer it is no problem.
If it is a problem, I can try the rainfly with mesh walls. In summer the nights would not be cold, and they would definitely get better airflow.
But if I have a problem, I can try that, thank you.
Great suggestion.

 

[CBDMed]

I actually have a bigger greenhouse here that needs to be refurbished, and it needs to have a "ridge vent" added to release heat during the summer, because it can reach the mid to high 90s in there. My plan is to have 4 exhaust fans in the ridge vent, to pull the hot air out. They will be on a temperature-controlled AC outlet.

That sounds like the setup!
Yours is probably significantly more sealed-off from insects than this plastic greenhouse will be.
Probably I will have to train them when to use neem oil, and when only to use castille soap. Or possibly canola oil.
I am thinking I should probably wait and see how this goes, because these boys are focused on low-cost. They will have a passive operation, just what has worked well and been cheap for a long time.
I have met people who talk openly about growing, and I have smelled it growing sometimes, only I did not pay attention to what time of year that was.
Probably what they do here is to grow it full size and then let it bloom out in summer.
I guess with Mango Biche, hermies are a problem if there is contamination. Growing outside it will be difficult to avoid cross-pollen contamination. Growing inside would solve that but then we are back to cost.

When it is time I should see if I can get seeds from that "Colombian landrace" web page Deaká, as they also claim to preserve pure genetics.
Also their strain of Santa Marta d'Oro has a lot of CBD. (EDIT: Hahaha, if their Santa Marta d'Oro has a lot of CBD, then it is probably not the original! But for me it would be great!)

Probably the landraces are landraces specifically because they have survived long term here against weather and pests and etc. So if something is "from here" or it is adapted to this valley, it might just be the easy way to go, because then the local help can grow it using the existing tech without a lot of training or supervision from me.
For the short term, though, I will probably need to show them how to keep the plants sprayed-down with neem and castille soap, because I am sure Canadian genetics will need help defending against an open-pollinated, open-ventilated Colombian greenhouse environment.
They have got some crazy bugs here!!

Basically I thought I would just try to plant all the seeds I have already got, and see what survives a greenhouse environment.
And if I get seeded medicine, it has to go into the cob.
I am liking the cob a lot.

The overall thrust for the farm is to go low-cost, eco-sustainable, passive technology as much as possible, and I think the locals already nail that. (That is pretty much what they specialize in, is eco-sustainable.) But for cannabis, you need some genetics that are resistant to everything they have here (which is a lot).