Off-Grid Spring-Fed Hillbilly CBD Greenhouse

[MaddHacker]

Wow, I have been doing this CHIT for a long long time, and I have never seen some of the methods you are using to " LST and Training " in general.. Nuts and wrenches..... I am definitely here for the distance, and can't wait to see some more of YOUR " Hillbilly " Methods... Man that is Nuckin Futz...... LOL... Green day to you.. and to all

 

[CattleTurd]

its a form of LST called weight training

 

[One Of These Days]

⛓⚙

 

[CattleTurd]

Wow, I have been doing this CHIT for a long long time, and I have never seen some of the methods you are using to " LST and Training " in general.. Nuts and wrenches..... I am definitely here for the distance, and can't wait to see some more of YOUR " Hillbilly " Methods... Man that is Nuckin Futz...... LOL... Green day to you.. and to all

LST - Low Stress Training for cannabis plants

In this helpful and practical article we'll look at some simple, non-destructive ways to manage plant height and at the same time optimise light penetration and maximise the homegrown harvests from your cannabis garden, both indoors and in the great outdoors.

www.alchimiaweb.com

Weight training for plants
An different approach to training cannabis plants is the use of small weights to gently and gradually bend branches, permitting growers to shape plants, opening them up to greater light exposure, increasing secondary branching and at the same time strengthening the branches and preparing them for the weight of the buds to come. This method can be particularly useful in outdoor cultivation, where using small weights offers the advantage of allowing plants to move and sway in the wind, which, in combination with the weights will greatly reinforce branches.

 

[Simon Limon]

Weight training, huh? Well, I'm going to call this the Heavy Metal technique.

I ran out of all the weights and paperclips this morning so had to go back into my toolbox and also the dark inner reaches of my shop (approximately 80 years old). I came up with this stuff:

By the time I was done I'd used all of it, including the coat hook and padlock and another box of small paperclips. Hopefully the box of S-hooks from Amazon will arrive tomorrow, though our tiny local post office isn't the most reliable.

I made an effort to level or flatten all six plants to an equal height, which is an average of about 14 inches (today). By the time I'd finished it looked like this:

The pair of taller plants on the right are the "Free Rangers", the Critical Mass indicas that I started to LST and then let go free.... and then decided to LST again as they were shooting up like beanstalks.

The difference between the inside LST plants and the two outsiders is remarkable. This is a Critical Mass in the foreground and a Dutch Hawaiian behind.

Almost time to feed the dogs and tuck the six girls in for the night.

 

[CattleTurd]

Nice. When you harvest there will be nuts and bolts and washers falling out of your buds.

 

[andIhalped]

Weight training, huh? Well, I'm going to call this the Heavy Metal technique.

I ran out of all the weights and paperclips this morning so had to go back into my toolbox and also the dark inner reaches of my shop (approximately 80 years old). I came up with this stuff:

By the time I was done I'd used all of it, including the coat hook and padlock and another box of small paperclips. Hopefully the box of S-hooks from Amazon will arrive tomorrow, though our tiny local post office isn't the most reliable.

I made an effort to level or flatten all six plants to an equal height, which is an average of about 14 inches (today). By the time I'd finished it looked like this:

The pair of taller plants on the right are the "Free Rangers", the Critical Mass indicas that I started to LST and then let go free.... and then decided to LST again as they were shooting up like beanstalks.

The difference between the inside LST plants and the two outsiders is remarkable. This is a Critical Mass in the foreground and a Dutch Hawaiian behind.

Almost time to feed the dogs and tuck the six girls in for the night.

Everything's looking great

At this point, you don't need to keep LSTing. Just a matter of pref. Depending on your headroom, you could let 'em go vertical, but no harm in continuing LST. FWIW, I usually stop when the plants are close to flower, but that's because I'm usually out of horizontal space in my garden.

I had a good friend who only used the weight methods for LST--I usu. have a few branches with washers hanging from paper clips, as a matter of tribute, on my grows.

You could also consider supercropping...more info here: Hows & Whys Of Supercropping

But most importantly, you're doing great. XLNT journal, compadre.

Grow on!

 

[CattleTurd]

Weight training, huh? Well, I'm going to call this the Heavy Metal technique.

Heavy metal sounds way better, thanks.

 

[Simon Limon]

Everything's looking great

At this point, you don't need to keep LSTing. Just a matter of pref. Depending on your headroom, you could let 'em go vertical, but no harm in continuing LST. FWIW, I usually stop when the plants are close to flower, but that's because I'm usually out of horizontal space in my garden.

If I stop LST can you guess how high these plants might go? I'd rather that they don't go above my head -- I have a bad shoulder and raising my left arm is literally a pain!

 

[andIhalped]

If I stop LST can you guess how high these plants might go? I'd rather that they don't go above my head -- I have a bad shoulder and raising my left arm is literally a pain!

It depends, a lot, on the strain. Sativas can double in ht during stretch. But I've grown some hybrids that barely stretched at all. IME about 1.5-2 feet of vertical is about average....BUT averages often don't apply.

Grow on!

 

[Simon Limon]

It depends, a lot, on the strain. Sativas can double in ht during stretch. But I've grown some hybrids that barely stretched at all. IME about 1.5-2 feet of vertical is about average....BUT averages often don't apply.

Grow on!

OK, after going back to the hardware store for another bag of heavy nuts I've reconsidered and made the tough decision to stop LST. I'm very curious to see how high they grow and hope that AndIhalped's prediction of up to 2 feet of vertical growth is accurate. There is plenty of headroom if they go higher but for convenience I'm hoping for no more than 4 feet total height.

My two outside plants are another story entirely. I'll post more photos later but I wonder if untrained outside plants are at risk of falling over? Mine are about chest high right now and show no sign of slowing down. They have serious stems.

 

[irie lion]

Hey Simon! Your plants are looking great and you're doing an awesome job training them. I have seen some growers using weight training before with good results. Stretch is definitely strain dependent.

 

[andIhalped]

OK, after going back to the hardware store for another bag of heavy nuts I've reconsidered and made the tough decision to stop LST. I'm very curious to see how high they grow and hope that AndIhalped's prediction of up to 2 feet of vertical growth is accurate. There is plenty of headroom if they go higher but for convenience I'm hoping for no more than 4 feet total height.

My two outside plants are another story entirely. I'll post more photos later but I wonder if untrained outside plants are at risk of falling over? Mine are about chest high right now and show no sign of slowing down. They have serious stems.

You could continue to LST the outdoor plants--or supercrop--while letting the others go vertical. If your outdoor plants are already chest high & your target is 4' high, that makes sense. Plus the outdoor plants are most likely to add the most vertical.

Many folks provide support for outdoor plants (stakes, cages, etc).

Grow on!

 

[Simon Limon]

I did a heavy watering today with the hose instead of a 2 gallon can, making sure each plant was soaked. They also got a morning foliar feed with Magic Green and late in the afternoon a gallon each of a liquid fish and kelp tonic.

Out of curiosity I measured one of the Critical Mass stems: 1.25 inches. The plants in grow bags are a pretty uniform size of 3' x 3' x 14 inches.

The Critical Mass in soil outside has very strong stems so I'll probably let it go without support until it looks hazardous. I'm very curious to see what it will look like fully budded out as it only has about 8 or 10 stems, compared to 30 or more stems on the potted plants.

Here's a top down view of the Critical Mass:

I'm going to be like that annoying kid in the backseat asking "Are we there yet?" in regard to the flowering of these plants. When I look at all the new growth on the plants I've trained I wonder if they are going to create even more stems or is this pre-flowering?

 

[CattleTurd]

They look so good. Some real motivation.

 

[andIhalped]

The Critical Mass (CM) shouldn’t stretch a lot. Never grown it, but it’s indica dominant & indicas generally don’t stretch much.

The info I found on CM is that it tends to put on fat buds, which are susceptible to rot, so you’ll have to be vigilant about that, but that’s a ways off.

Hopefully you’re in the arid part of WA, where rot’s less of a threat outdoors. Plus the hillybilly greenhouse will help reduce the rot risk.

Grow on, compadre!

 

[One Of These Days]

Hey simon do you know the thc% and cbd% associated with your plants?

 

[Simon Limon]

Hey simon do you know the thc% and cbd% associated with your plants?

Good question! I ordered the Critical Mass clones by telephone and was told the THC/CBD ratio but hey, I'm an old guy and immediately forgot. The 2 Dutch Hawaiian are a mystery as they were a gift from a friend-of-a-grower I don't know. I've been searching 420Magazine for more details on these plants but haven't yet found any details beyond what AndIhalped told me above in regard to budding of Critical Mass.

 

[Simon Limon]

The Critical Mass (CM) shouldn’t stretch a lot. Never grown it, but it’s indica dominant & indicas generally don’t stretch much.

The info I found on CM is that it tends to put on fat buds, which are susceptible to rot, so you’ll have to be vigilant about that, but that’s a ways off.

Hopefully you’re in the arid part of WA, where rot’s less of a threat outdoors. Plus the hillybilly greenhouse will help reduce the rot risk.

Grow on, compadre!

This is very helpful, especially the 'heads up' on the fat bud risk as we are in the Cascade foothills and get a lot of rain. I have a feeling that I'll probably need to do some serious thinning to maintain good air circulation. Right now the inside plants are quite thick with stems and leaves, though oddly enough only the single inside Dutch Hawaiian has yellowing of the lowermost leaves.

Yesterday I removed most of the metal weights but they are well hidden among the jungle-like growth and hard to find. This what I've come up with so far:

As often as I scrutinize each and every plant I still can't tell if they are beginning to flower or not. Until I'm certain they are in flower I guess I'll continue feeding with the usual "tonic" of fish fertilizer and liquid kelp.

On a side note I transplanted some weak cucumber plants into the pots left behind by the four clones I gave away some time ago. For the cukes this has been "rags to riches" and they are now head high (trained on string) and threatening to produce far more than we can possibly deal with.

 

[andIhalped]

Good question! I ordered the Critical Mass clones by telephone and was told the THC/CBD ratio but hey, I'm an old guy and immediately forgot. The 2 Dutch Hawaiian are a mystery as they were a gift from a friend-of-a-grower I don't know. I've been searching 420Magazine for more details on these plants but haven't yet found any details beyond what AndIhalped told me above in regard to budding of Critical Mass.

I've smoked retail high-CBD Crit.Mass. Fairly common strain in PDX dispensaries, usu. clocks in at about 10%:10% CBD/THC, so fairly balanced. So yours'll prob. come out somewhere in there.

On the rot front (I have to deal with annually, too, here in OR), pruning for ventilation is definitely a big help. Start at the bottom. Depending on the strain, I'll also take out weaker stems. I try to train so that buds don't touch each other during flowering, but that's not necessary--I just get a bit zealous. This plant is sorta what I aim for ventilation & budwise:

lebnep1-agosto tarde.JPG

• andIhalped
• Aug 25, 2018

(coindentally that plant's a high cbd lebanese x nepalese pheno; which is wonderful, BTW!)
The greenhouse will help a lot--keeping rain & dew off. I also shake water off of my plants every morning, which helps. Some folks also run fans in greenhouses to help.
Rot avoidance is certainly doable even in our PNWet Sept./Oct. My outdoor plants (no greenhouse) made thru a VERY wet late Sept. last year--I lost about 2g of bud to root outta a final yield of about 400g of dried flower.
BUT: the fatter the buds, the more potential for rot. So don't worry, but do exercise caution. Once into budding season, familiarize yourself with what rot looks like & if you see some CUT it out immediately & get it away from all the other plants.
But hazards aren't the point. Dealing with them is.
Keep yr eye on the prize, but enjoy the process!

SepCola.jpg

• andIhalped
• Sep 4, 2018

early-lebnep.jpg

• andIhalped
• Sep 7, 2018