Hey all, same guy here just different name. Thank you all for the advice, I really do appreciate it. I truly recognize I haven't made it all the way through a full season yet, but I have done my homework, putting in hours of and hours of research. I will be starting a grow log this year when I really begin the grow season in mid-late April. If you are interested I would love to have all your input as I go along.
You guys mention the incredible amount of labor that gets put in between prep, propagation, and trimming. When I get out of work, I plan on working my tail off in the woods after I get out of work when every other 19-21 year old kid my age is partying, drinking and going to the beach, etc.. I have a strong back, and I lift weights all the time so I'm not too concerned with the physical stresses of digging holes, lugging bales, water and whatnot. I do that all day anyway on the farm.
As far as prep goes, my plan goes like this:
1. 40x Autoflowers get small holes (5-8 gal MAX) filled with Pro-Mix, manure topdress, rotted bark and moss for water retention and beneficial microbes, and 10-10-10 granular fertilizer as needed.
2. 60x Photos get native soil w/ tested pH in 6-7 range, supplemented with granular 10-10-10 fertilizer. Not ideal but practical and extremely cheap.
3. Water sources are close-by so no lugging through the woods
4. I failed to mention earlier that I have great spots picked out this year for the PHOTOS. It's the autos I still need to hide! Even then, I am confident in 2-3 patches for the autos. Still need a few more spots but I have a few more candidates picked out on Google Earth in remote areas near my house.
Propagation:
1. visit plants once weekly for light amounts of topping and heavy lollipopping, watering, general maintenance
2. Apply 10-10-10 fertilizer as needed throughout year. I have access to manure compost 15$ per bucket-load so hopefully I don't have to add too much synthetic nutes.
3. I also have leftover bottled nutes from last year. I'll never waste money again 20$ for 1 fox farm bloom bottle is crazy.
Security will not be so negligent year (deer and rippers were enough for me to learn). Last year was retarded I was only stolen from because my "friend" whose property I was growing on was VERY negligent in that he decided to get drunk and show a bunch of people from the wrong crowd where they were. 5 days later and they are gone! If he had just told me the next morning I could have moved them but regardless he is not my friend anymore. This year I have taken the necessary precautions in terms of security. Rippers won't be getting near me this year. I think of it this way: if you knew where a money tree was, would you show someone else or keep it to yourself? Also, plots are in clearings throughout the deep woods well off the beaten path. I am an expert animal tracker so I know how to conceal my paths and avoid other's. This ain't a backyard grow out behind the barn like it was last year.
As for my selection of genetics, we will find out as we go I suppose. If I had the money put aside, I would have gone with GetawayMountain seeds had I known put hey I didn't know he existed until just a few days ago. The 60 white widows I received for free, I have helped the guy grow them for years with no major bud rot incidents and harvests in late September (Central Maine gets first frost Sept. 30 - Oct. 7 on avg. so I should be good). For the autoflowers, I chose specific strains that are advertised to do better outdoors than indoors. They actually can be grown outdoors with great success. This guy made out like a bandit growing autos even further North than me: autoflower(dot)net/forums/threads/maximizing-outdoor-autos-guide-to-growing-under-the-sun.56402/
Ruby, I know you can't tell b/c you don't know me but don't think what I am doing is just too much confidence. I'll keep a log going if you want to follow. My drunk asshole of a friend is who screwed me over... Other than that I did everything right up till then. I've grown up around farms like I said. Other than the trimming, drying, it's not a whole lot different than tomatoes. I have plenty experience trimming and drying other's grows so I'm not worried about that part either. I understand bud rot can be an issue late in the year but I have the staggered harvest cycle w/ autos so I'll have a few chances. I'll be cutting down plants weekly starting mid July all the way through the end of September. I doubt that ALL of the grows will fail.
Anyway, that's enough of me talking about myself. Surely I will keep my updates on my own grow log, but I look forward to following this thread throughout the year.
