Off-Grid Spring-Fed Hillbilly CBD Greenhouse

[Simon Limon]

Dragon flies are super effective pest predators.

Check this out, from one of the premiere growers on 420, @Van Stank: Temple Of Bloom
(scroll up just a tad from where they link takes ya)

I assume you pointed me to the black widow story... what a great tale!

 

[bluter]

a very small "zit" on the underside of the leaf that looks slightly translucent when viewed from the top of the leaf.

sounds like the description of a mite egg

very poor pic for reference ...

darker dot on the left is an active mite. translucent dot on the right is a mite egg. there are a couple other mite eggs higher up that are barely noticeable. there is some of the mite damage visible as well.

mites are generational so the approach to control needs to take that in to account. you can knock the live ones out and have double the infestation a wk later.

 

[Van Stank]

Hey Simon, I am going to pull up a chair and try to catch up on the grow!

Dragon flies.....really cool predator insects and one of the most amazing aerial acrobats I have seen in the skies. We get hundreds of them patrolling our yards air space when the bugs are out.

 

[Simon Limon]

The dew is so heavy in the morning that the outside plants are soaked and dripping. The need for a shelter from the dew and general dampness around here just got another push -- a few days ago I learned that my left shoulder is completely worn out and must be replaced. I've been in almost constant pain for months now, the results of having cut about ten cords of firewood in a chainsaw marathon. Being 75 years old literally hurts!

The inside Critical Mass plants are busy building colas but the Dutch Hawaiian is still stretching. A few days ago I supercropped the inside DH to keep it more or less at eye level. A couple of the CM are actually above eye level but I'm curious to see how much higher they will go so haven't touched them. The foliage inside the greenhouse is so thick and wide that I have to stick my head into the bushes to be sure I'm watering the pot and not just pouring water away.

Is there a point at which I should quit or reduce watering, something we typically do with our tomatoes at the end of the growing season?

 

[Van Stank]

The plant will naturally slow down its water uptake when its drawing into the harvest window. I know a lot of people look at trichomes, but for me the water uptake is a better indicator of the plant being in the chop window than looking at trichomes. Just my opinion. It will be a drastic reduction when she slows down.

 

[greenjeans]

Being 75 years old literally hurts!

I feel for you Simon!!! You got about 7 years on me but I try to avoid marathons!!! I finally learned to pace myself and constantly remind myself "Take it easy - no rush" I limit the number of loads per day, even tho at the time I think I could do a few more - I know I will pay dearly for it later. I hope you can get that shoulder fixed up!!

 

[Simon Limon]

I feel for you Simon!!! You got about 7 years on me but I try to avoid marathons!!! I finally learned to pace myself and constantly remind myself "Take it easy - no rush" I limit the number of loads per day, even tho at the time I think I could do a few more - I know I will pay dearly for it later. I hope you can get that shoulder fixed up!!

"If it is worth doing it is worth overdoing!" has been my motto. And unfortunately I have the surgery scars to prove it.

The beautiful forest close to us where I typically gather over 100 pounds of chanterelles every fall was clearcut in March. The logging company left an unusual amount of slash, including neat piles of "buckskin" logs from standing dead trees. They did this to compensate us for the huge mess created on our entry road. I was in a classic kid-in-a-candy-shop situation, cutting wood as fast as I could before they opened the cut to commercial firewood people.

 

[Van Stank]

Always nice to get a treat like that. I have been putting off my wood cutting and gathering while I worked on other projects this year but we are down to crunch time and I can't put it off anymore.

 

[Simon Limon]

I hand water every other day, 4 gallons each to 8 clones and 4 cucumbers. Lugging 400 pounds of water around the warm crowded greenhouse is a good morning workout. The plants continue to broaden and foliage is really crowding the paths.

I've considered thinning the plants out a bit but between pickling, canning, mowing, watering and other end-of-summer chores I just don't have enough energy left over.

I spoke with a much more skilled vegetable gardener about the disappointing tomato crop (also in cannabis mix soil) and he blames poor pollination. He suggests releasing lady bugs into the greenhouse next year.

Thanks to the rich cannabis soil mix the cucumbers are giving me enough to can and ferment about a pint a day, plus a couple of large slicing cukes.

 

[Simon Limon]

The greenhouse this morning with the Dutch Hawaiian sativa in the foreground. It is the tallest plant and still hasn't shown many pistils or cola formation.

All of the CBD Critical Mass plants are forming colas.

My wife and I are doing our best to keep up with the cucumber plants by each eating a large cucumber every day.

 

[Joe Brewster]

I've considered thinning the plants out a bit but between pickling, canning, mowing, watering and other end-of-summer chores I just don't have enough energy left over.

best find some energy, with fall coming ,damp morning & warm days bud rot sets in real fast.
get some air flow in there & start cutting back on the water a bit
watch for any leaves that start getting droopy & browning in the buds

 

[Simon Limon]

best find some energy, with fall coming ,damp morning & warm days bud rot sets in real fast.
get some air flow in there & start cutting back on the water a bit
watch for any leaves that start getting droopy & browning in the buds

I've been keeping one end of the greenhouse closed during the day and all doors closed at night. I did this on the assumption that warmer temperatures would encourage flowering. Also, closing it up completely at night does reduce the moisture I often see on the leaves early in the morning.

Might it be better at this point to open the house up completely during the day? The tomato blight here is so bad in early fall that we literally can't grow tomatoes without a grow tunnel -- or preferably, a closed greenhouse.

 

[Joe Brewster]

I've been keeping one end of the greenhouse closed during the day and all doors closed at night. I did this on the assumption that warmer temperatures would encourage flowering. Also, closing it up completely at night does reduce the moisture I often see on the leaves early in the morning.

Might it be better at this point to open the house up completely during the day? The tomato blight here is so bad in early fall that we literally can't grow tomatoes without a grow tunnel -- or preferably, a closed greenhouse.

Yes During the day, get it to dry out as much as possible . I put a tarp on the side to block view of my plant, which caused less airflow & in days it started to get stem rot in the bud.
Looked good in the morning, later in the afternoon when I started looking at the plant a bud looked droopy, was hot & damp in the middle, mold on the stem in the bud The humidity could not escape, happened in hours . Lost maybe 1/2 oz
I should have done a lot more leaf trimming in the middle

 

[Joe Brewster]

assumption that warmer temperatures would encourage flowering.

Dry & the threat of dying will encourage flowering . All plants main goal in life is to make seeds, be it in fruit or flowers

 

[One Of These Days]

Your hard work shows Simon, your girls are beautiful.

 

[Simon Limon]

We continue to have cloudy cool weather with occasional showers so I've kept the greenhouse closed, trying to maintain the temperature in the 70's and low 80's. We are in the mountain climate zone with a summer season about 2 weeks shorter than the lowlands so I'm surprised that the Dutch Hawaiian sativa is barely showing white pistils, whereas the CBD Critical Mass girls are definitely forming colas.

I'm confident by now that I'll have far more cannabis from the greenhouse girls than we can possibly use so rather than go to the hassle of protecting the two outside plants from the weather I may just let them tough it out.

I pickled another quart of tiny gherkins today. Here's a baby cuke that will be ready to pick in two days. The cucumbers just won't give up!

 

[greenjeans]

I may just let them tough it out.

I'm thinking I'll be dodging frost here soon as well.
If any of your gals get frosted I would be interested in the results - did you harvest, etc.

 

[Simon Limon]

I'm thinking I'll be dodging frost here soon as well.
If any of your gals get frosted I would be interested in the results - did you harvest, etc.

The harvest, especially outside and without protection, will definitely have to depend on our notoriously undependable weather. We could have fair temps and sun well into October or we could be wearing our barn boots beginning in late September. I don't recall early frost being much of problem but that's because our personal garden harvest ends with squeezing 30 gallons of apple juice. We don't push the seasonal growing limits much at all because the rewards haven't proven to be worth the considerable risks. We're in a microclimate and can be 10ºF colder or warmer than neighbors two miles down the road.

 

[greenjeans]

We could get an early frost any nite from now on - I have prepared to drape the four outdoor gals - that should stretch me another two weeks or so. I moved Jeff into the greenhouse - she is skinny with one huge cola about 16" long and about 3" across - total opposite to Beulah who is about 5' wide and 10' tall - not sure how big all her colas are - can't see that far!! I have to get the ladder and climb up outside and look thru the roof.
Keep us informed of the results of frost etc.

 

[Simon Limon]

We've had 2.5 inches of rain with more on the way. It has been several days since I've watered the inside girls but they show no indication of drought stress.

Should I wait until they show wilt to water again? The stretch is obviously over and they are forming beautiful colas so I assume their needs are reduced.

Do I continue to give them bloom booster nutes?

The Dutch Hawaiian in the greenhouse is just beginning to form a bud-like cluster with pistils, so I'm guessing it will be well into October before she is ready to harvest.

Speaking of harvest: I'm not trying to grow maximum potency with these plants so I wonder if I can harvest earlier than full cola development. Perhaps one plant at a time but if so, what degree of development would be the minimum to get a useful medical bud?