Ras' West Indian Style Outdoor Grow - NYC & Sour D

[WestIndianRas]

Hello fellow Weedologist. I thought it was time to post up the making of this years crop. Although this is my 1st journal, its not my first grow. Been at for many years off & on. Most of the time my brother is the one that grows every year with the goal of developing his own strain.

I do things a bit different. Im not into the big name nutes or soil. Im more of a traditional kinda guy. Me & my brother were taught by oldtimer that used tried & true methods. Nothing against the big name products. I just think its more of a challenge (IMHO). Im a big garden lover so i grow F&V's almost year round and i use the same method.....which our mother taught us growing up in the Caribbean.

As for the strain im working with this year. It is a locally grown bean from an avid (indoor) grower. Ive never ordered seeds but i intend to in the near future. Final pot is a 5 gal. HD bucket outside to the elements. This is for mobility purposes. I have enough drain holes to compensate the rainy days. Downside is they need to be watered often during the long stretch of dry weather....which is ok cause im out there tending to the garden alot. Its all fenced in so i don't have worry about animals. A weekly spray of tomato leaf (boiled down with a bit of garlic) spray takes care of any bugs. Works great on my other vegetable & fruit plants & trees. So far i haven't had any issues. Neem oil (and a bit of soap & water) every other week helps too.

What strain is it: NYC & Sour Diesel. from local seeds
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages: Hybrid, unknown percentage due to local tweaking
Is it in Veg or Flower stage: Veggie
If in Veg... For how long: Various stages
Indoor or outdoor: Outdoor
Soil or Hydro:Soil
If soil... what is in your mix: Sphagnum, Local Manure, Coco, Homemade compost, Perlite
If soil... What size pot: HomeDepot buckets
Type and strength of ferts used:Homemade West Indian style coal, manure, Dried and ground fish heads, Piss...and the dirty water from TT's tank (My pet turtle)

Without further ado, the family starting with the babies 1st. (1 & 1.5 weeks apart)

(2ish weeks)

(6ish weeks) LST'd & FIM'd. 2 in each bucket

The babies are backups in the event i get a sausage factory.

They have some good company...

One Love,
Ras

 

[Lester Freeman]

re: Ras' West Indian style outdoor grow - NYC & Sour D

Subscribed!

 

[WestIndianRas]

Re: Ras' West Indian style outdoor grow *NYC & Sour D*

A few throwbacks....
This is the accumulation of 6 yrs of breeding. To bad my brother didn't plant any this year. Mainly due to the long flowering period. We didn't harvest till Nov....which is stretching it for NY weather. We were leaning towards a indica dom. plant this year.

From year before last....

I was hoping to post some of my brothers grow progress but he only planted 2 beans and his dog knocked over one of them. The other is pitiful looking. So much that i didn't even bother taken a pic. I never seen a plant that has nothing but single blade leafs. Im thinking about giving him a few of mine but he did all the work the previous seasons, this year is my turn.

Anyway, tomorrow im heading to beach to collect some seaweed for tea. I worked out a deal with a friend of my brother. If i supply the ingredients, he'll make it for me. Ive been using his fish tea, seaweed, nutes. His compost that he makes. His manure/compost mix from good ol' Amber & Bettie. His 2 cows. Maybe i can get a few pics of his outdoor grow when i go over there.

In the meantime i'll leave you with a family portrait i took this morning...

 

[WestIndianRas]

Re: Ras' West Indian style outdoor grow *NYC & Sour D*

UPDATE: for the week of 7/07...A bit late in updating this thread as ive been super busy.

Ive gotten around to LST'ing some of the younger plants and relocated the one runt i have into its own pot. I wanna try and bring it up to par with its siblings so it will be treated differently then the others in terms of nute & water intake. Im still waiting to see what male/female ratio i'll end up with. From the looks of it im guessing 60% females out of 15 plants. Not including the 4 younglings. Ive given them their 1st watering in a bit over a week. We had some serious rain last week so i didn't have to till yesterday. They'll get their bi-weekly nutes this weekend. I got a bucket of tea bubbling in the garage so it will be ready in time for feeding. Other then that all ive done this week was trim some fan leaves.

Pest control has been good so far. There are very few chewed leaves compared to my veggie garden. inch worms chewed my collard green and left me with a few stems. I treat my fruit/veggie garden differently then my ganja plants. They get a different mixture of IS. We are entering inch worm & caterpillar season so i have to pay special attention to the entire garden. Im experimenting with a few different ingredient ratios with my IS to see whats best. Only pest i allow till lady bug season (end of summer/beginning of fall) are the ants. Those little guys help alot. I watch a bunch attack an inch worm right off the leaf. That thing was cut into pieces and carted off within an hour.

One of my plants ended up splitting on its own and one of the stems are kinda flat and the leaves are growing in a weird way. Random like going up the stem. And i can tell that this one is different from the others. I had a bean that was given to me last year that was different from i was planning on growing. I didn't label any of them so i don't know what is what. But can definitely tell its different from the others.

Here are the rest of the pic's...

These were LST'd yesterday. The one in the middle (runt) was transferred to its own (smaller) pot..

Family portrait...

Oh...and my brewing tea. (Fresh compost, Distilled water, Azomite, Molasses, Fresh fish emulsion & time )

Thank you for your time, ONE LOVE
-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

Applied the tea yesterday morning and by that evening my babies are looking perky. Checked my PH today and they're all between 6.8-7.0. I was having issues with my PH balance maybe like 2 weeks ago. Ive gradually added some lime over the course of the week with a week of nothing, preparing for the tea. Did the same thing with my peppers and tomato plants as i was getting end rot.

I whipped up another batch of pest control spray (Water, soap, Garlic, jalapeno/chile juice fresh out the garden) as they're eating up my cabbage and collard greens. I keep the family next to my pepper plants which helps greatly but preventative maintenance doesn't hurt.

The other things im keeping an eye on also...

And i can't forget the fam....

 

[WestIndianRas]

Not much of an update for this past week. Being that we're getting alot of rain, there's no real need to water. I checked the PH today and are within spec. Topped a few bottom branches. Thats pretty much it. Couldnt get any pics due to the down pour. Mother Nature said i they needed a soil flush I did move them a bit so they get less direct sun light (From 6hrs to 4 1/2-5 hrs) because some of them were getting heat stress. I will post up some recent pics during the week.


Thanks for taking the time, ONE LOVE,
-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

Here are a few i took yesterday. I accidently didn't dilute my nute mix enough and burned a few leaves. They're recovering good. Pruned a few fan leaves over the course of the past week. Mainly to keep from stressing them out anymore then ive done.

Ive been trying to get the runts to catch up a bit. Is it possible or they're just destined to be midgets for the rest of their lives? Any imput would be great.

I have about a month before preflower and i can't wait. My oldest ladies are on their 76th day of veg.

Going over my brothers house today to check out his ladies. Last time i was over there they looked pitiful so i had left him with a small nute package to bring them back to life which they've done. I'll post up some pics when i get back.

Thanks for taking the time, ONE LOVE
-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

UPDATE:
Im happy to say that out of 13 plants, 6 are females. 1 undetermined, and the other 6 are to young. And my best are all females. Im pretty sure the youngin's will be female...which will be great considering they weren't from fem seeds. The "undetermined" one just need a few more days.

Ive moved them around a bit for one, to get a better position for sunlight and two, they're stinking like hell & wanted to get them away from the fence and from under my neighbors window. I put the younger ones in a spot that will get them 1 extra hour of sunlight. Other then that i've been topping and trimming for the past 2 weeks in a push to get them more bushier. I think im gonna give it a good flush in 2 weeks before i switch to flowering nutes. Ive also added a layer to the soil (fresh Compost, Manure, peat moss, & pearlite) as i was having some potassium def. issues. This cleared it right up and they're healthy as can be.


Here are a few i took today. All except one are female

The one on the right is the unknown.

And the youngin'...

thanks for taking the time to read this...ONE LOVE
-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

I now have 9 females, 1 male, and 4 more youngin's yet to show.

Crappy photo but this was the sole male...

And the female...

....which i promptly cut it down.....

The pot to the left are two Sativa dom plants from some beans my brother gave me. They haven't fully showed their sex but i can still tell under magnification that they will be female.

The runt of the litter. It should be the same size as the ones in the pot on the above right.

These 3 are the youngest. Didn't bother to LST 'em. They were back up's. Just gonna let them grow out...unless they're male.

And something else im waiting to harvest.

Thank you for your time, ONE LOVE
-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

Manage to take some pics with my hi-tech zoom lens (magnifying lens taped onto my iPhone )

And some randoms while watering yesterday morning

 

[WestIndianRas]

Sorry i haven't posted an update. Been busy at work....

...Anyhow, We had a serious storm last week which flooded alot of the towns in my area which was pretty bad for most but a welcome watering for my crops. It pays to live next to the highest point of the area.

The good news is that i now have 11 girls & another possible male. The one Sativa still has some time so i won't know for another week or two. So the ratio is 11/2....which is really great. Far more then i hoped for. 8 of the ladies are in full flower which prompt me to give them some long awaited nutes (All natural Bio-Link 0-5-5) as i never gave them any food on their schedule day last week due to the down pour.....which im sure gave them a mild flush. The weather is alot less humid during the day and much cooler at night so they're starting to sprout pretty fast, tallest one reaching about 4ft. Fimming & topping has paid off as all of them have more then 15 main branches.

Lady bug season is starting and come next month i'll have like 50 circling just inside my front door in which will be put to work chomping on the unwanted pest. I manage to cath one patrolling one of my ladies checking the tops & bottom of each leaf. In the meantime i keep them close to my pepper plants & what i call the fly catcher (a dragonfly look bug) They handle any beatles & any other flying bug smaller then it. The smaaler spiders handle the ones you dont see. I just make sure hey dont lay eggs on the leaf ends as they will web the leaf into a barrel & lay eggs so i mist them in the mornings.

Here are a few pics that ive taken over the past week....

As the storm started rolling in...

I have the tallest ones in the isle of my raised beds. Doesn't stop the smell though lol

The tallest one of the bunch is the possible male. I'll pull when i know for sure...

The runt is the smallest lady of the bunch but she's starting to catch up. I moved her to the front so she gets the most direct sunlight. I will transplant her into a bigger pot this coming week.

My tomato plants are measured at a bit over 5ft. The big girls are not far behind.

I have ladies all over. Making sure everyone gets equal lighting

close up...

Here are a few i took today....

Tank you for taking the time & read this. ONE LOVE
-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

Long due update...

Not much has changed since the last update. Been defoliating as much as possible and watering more frequently as they've been pretty thirsty. Its now every other day. Today is the 4th week of flowering and while some are slower then others, they're starting to catching up. It looks like i'll be harvesting from late Sept. till late Oct. My goal is to cure it in time for my birthday (xmas eve)

One thing i regret doing is pairing up the plants in the buckets. Ive noticed that the single ones are thriving far better then the 2 in one. I only did this in the event i had a 50/50 or there about of male/female. I had no idea i would be getting nearly all females (12 outta 14). Im going to do things much differently come next season. 2015 will be to try some new flavors that ive never tried. Mostly indica though. Its hard to do Sativa here outdoors. My window is from May to Oct. My brother went as far as Nov. to the point he had to bring them in the house at night to keep from frosting. My Sativa dom. plant is just now starting to flower while the rest are in full bloom. Im gonna test one Sativa by starting it indoors in March/April to see if i can get it to be ready by Sept/Oct.

Ive been meaning to take a few pics of my brothers 2 ladies but everytime i get there its already dark out but his is doing great after he gave them some nutes i gave him awhile back. Gonna give him bloom nutes tomorrow.

Anywho, here are some pic's i took yesterday....

The youngin's

Runt is doing great now that i transplanted her into a bigger pot.

I call her Chunky..

And Slim...

Random group shots of the rest...

Thank you for taking the time & read this. ONE LOVE
-Ras

 

[J189RFC]

Wow those really are lovely, subbed!

 

[WestIndianRas]

Manage to get a shot of my brothers 2 ladies. These look WAY better then that last time i was over there. These were dragged and kicked up against the house by his dogs when they were in the veg stage. When i saw them last, they were on deaths door. The Fish Emulsion & Blood meal i gave him bought them back. They are so much fuller then mine.

You can see the 2nd one behind the bush. Just follow the pot.

-Ras

 

[WestIndianRas]

Went out after work & took a f ew pic's with a real camera rather then the usual iPhone pics. No updates worth writing about.....oh, some of the oldest plants are in their 4th week of flowering, youngest are in their 2nd week with a few in between. They stink to all hell & pretty sticky. Im seeing about 30-40% of milky tri's to clear. They've gotten pretty furry over the last day or two. Partly do to the lower humidity. This is the first real week it wasn't humid.
Keep in mind that everything i put into these were all natural.

Here are a few close up's i took the other day....
(Kinda weird. Almost no tri's)

Some of the closes buds i could get to.

-Ras

 

[brightlight]

Nice looking deep green Ras. Healthy plants!

 

[WestIndianRas]

Thanks

UPDATE:
Ive run into a few problems. One of my ladies are starting to get bud worms which are eating my precious buds. Good thing i check them almost every day. I manage to loose 3 nice size buds which were basically mush. I did salvage a few pieces of them. I went over the rest of the plant with a fine tooth comb as well as all 12 of my ladies. The lady in question will be ready to harvest within the next week & a half. Im debating weather or not to cut that time in half just in case i loose any more. In my opinion its at the beginning of its ripeness.
(The lady...)

The next problem....which is entirely my fault....was to grow two plants in one bucket. The original plan was to have only one in each. I had no idea i was going to have so many ladies. It would be stupid of me to kill off some of them & it was to late to transplant. Well this has come back to bite me. I have 2 pots where one lady is dominate over the other stunting its growth. The bucket isn't wide enough for 2 plants even though the roots haven't reached the bottom of the bucket. The dom. ladies will be ready to harvest in the nest week & half while the stunted ones will be ready a few weeks after. They're a few weeks younger. My solution is to push up the harvest date a few days so the stunted ones can recover. I staggered them by age for this reason but some were to close in age. The other are doing fine. The yield won't be as expected. The 2 plants combined will give me a bit more then i would get if i had planted one in each. Oddly enough, i think the runt will be the biggest yield for one plant. Just because its in a its own pot. The one pictured above had 2 but the other was a male. That plant sprouted soon after i remove the male. So as of now i have 2 harvest dates. Thats not including the 2 that ill be cutting early.

Here's an example of stunted growth. 2 different plant in 2 different pots that are the same age.

And the group shot....

And this is my dry box. It has hanging racks inside.

Im already planning next years crop. Alot less & a bit more variety.

-Ras

 

[David Bowman]

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