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The outdoor garden is just up and running, we look forward to seeing how this plant will do and how she will look. So far so good, the journey only gets exciting from here on through and we hope that we will be blessed with an abundance of beautiful buds!
Two of our plants (Divine Og Kush and Afghan Original) were originally started in 1 gallon infinity pots, we had prepared two 10 gallon infinity pots with the bases removed and sat them on the top of our 12X2 foot outdoor garden bed.
We decided we would like to try a cover crop this year as we learned how beneficial it can be for the garden environment and richness of life in the soil but we had also read that it may not be the best of methods when it comes to Cannabis. Cover crop roots may actually strangle the much needed roots of the Cannabis plant so we decided we would try it this way, with them raised above the bed and we went with a 5 seed blend by Black Swallow Living Soil. We will be maintaining the cover crop by simply trimming it and tossing it back to itself, hopefully it will break down and feed off of its own nutrient system. If we find it is having a negative effect we will have to remove it, so far it looks incredible and the plants are doing well.
Our first step to the outdoor transplant started with the AGN Dip, it is a product meant for trees specifically but we found it did a wonderful job inside so we used it for the plants outside, that we hope will be as mighty as a tree and it all starts with a great root system.
The first initial outdoor feeding was a tea blend that we brewed in our 70 gallon rain barrel, we let it bubble over the course of three days. For the most part it was made up of Bokashi Pro-Gro by My Good Green Home but we did add our own combination of other products that we have become fond of. The mix consisted of Gaia Green Organics 4-4-4 along with their brand of Kelp Meal, Seaweed Extract, Insect Frass and some Bone Meal. Hydro Bio was our choice of microbes and of course we made sure to down our PH to 6.5 by using the TNB Naturals PH down.
Once dipped and planted, a good 20 litres of this tea was enjoyed and the growth has been incredible in just a week. The work has begun! Throughout the week they were top dressed with the Gaia Green Organics 4-4-4 along with a sprinkle of their Rock Dust Blend and the water maintenance averaged out to be 20 litres of ph’d water every other day in order to maintain the life of the microbes by keeping them moist.
Note* A thin layer of hay was used for a bedding in hopes of maintaining moisture as well.
(We have already had an issue with tiny black caterpillars on one plant and then another, so we gave everything/one a couple of treatments with the N-Force, hopefully the situation has been rectified.)
What a difference two weeks can make, as you can see everyone of our girls are looking spectacular and the fun has just begun! (6 separate diaries)
We have been sticking to a nice diet schedule and they are thriving already, it has not been difficult to keep the pots moist as of yet but we expect the upcoming heat will have us working at it twice a day.
Another barrel of tea was prepared and thankfully the rain held off while it brewed, to this we added the microbes and we found that the Ph level was perfect as it sat at 6.4 so no adjustment was needed. Happiness could be seen by each of our plants after they enjoyed the treat and they stood tall and proud as they reached for the sky.
Right now we are keeping a good moisture level in the pots by maintaining them with 20L of water minimum each day, our Ph levels have been ranging between 6 and 6.8 which seems to keep them flourishing.
Pruning of inner branches and defoliation has added to their growth and they are very much enjoying the natural elements, branches of each plant have been topped thrice and they seem to become stronger bushes everyday.
They have had a dusting of insect frass and it will soon be time for another top dressing of amendments, we have found the hay has made a big difference so far in keeping the top of the soil bed cool and damp.
Our ladies have enjoyed a seaweed foilar spray along with a photosynthesis enhancer spray made by MBX and as of now the previous mentioned problematic bugs, have moved along.
Our cover crop is working out wonderfully and we have only trimmed it once thus far but it will soon need another trim! We are enjoying our garden very much and it will only get better’
When a girl stands out~she is~OUTSTANDING!!! It is easy to say we love everything about this plant and she seems to enjoy life just as much. This girl has a richness of green that is much darker than any of our other plants, she is also the tallest of them all and it is almost hard to believe that she was one of our untouched seedlings. We have yet to see her crave a thirst or falter in any way, she is always reaching high to the sky in a happy stance and the rain storms have only made her stronger. Just like the rest she enjoys the Bokashi tea along with water in between although she seems to have a good personal maintenance of love thanks to the cover crop. We have decided not to take any branches off of this girl, we are enjoying everything about her and we look forward to seeing what she can or will do. So far, she is a star!
This is another of our favourites in the garden this year but unfortunately she also showed signs of deficiencies. For her she went a dark green which we found quite beautiful but it is also caused us to have a better look at her and it was apparent that attention to all would be beneficial in the long run. (See below) This girl is doing well regardless the hump and she is the tallest of our ladies. Once again we wish we had topped her up a bit more but we really don’t expect that she will disappoint us in any way.
Aside from our regular regimen we have had to step up our game due to yellowing leaves, more so on our Kush plant which we noticed right away and we had to start a treatment immediately to rectify the situation.
Hyshield has been added to the rain barrel once a week to provide an overall health booster.
We used Sensizyme from Advanced Nutrients to promote a good root wash and clean up the overall health of the soil.
Fearless Gardener Rocket Fuel was used as a supplement in the soil and as a foliar spray which they happily responded to very quickly. We also used the Fearless Gardener Flavonator which we hope boosts the flavours!
In addition LIFE by Hydroponic Reasearch has been used to benefit the Rhizosphere Organisms and Mycorrhizal Fungi.
We have also added Gaia Green’s Power Bloom, Diatomaceous Earth as well as their Rock Dust Blend to the top coat.
The most recent treat for them was MBXGROW microbes which they loved and of course they had a dose of Dutch Science Nutrients Cal/Mag, this seemed to perk them up right away. We now have new growth that is coming in healthy and green, we hope that this is the last of our issues for these girls and that they grow steady on.
Afghan Original is the bad ass of our bunch and we love her! As you can see she is already bulking with flower and some of her leaves have a gorgeous fade. We thought this girl may be the one to take her time but she has surprised us, she also seemed to benefit very much from her cleanup and to say the least she is thriving!
As august passes us by we expect to see many changes over the next couple of weeks and this is when things get exciting. We have cleaned up branching that would only become little bits and act as a distraction to the main tops of the plants where we want the most focus, it has been a very wet season and we anticipate the dreaded bud rot so we thought the airflow would benefit them, they seemed quite thankful to have the extra energy.
They have done well with the wind and we do hope they continue to strengthen themselves so that they can hold their blossoms once the weight of them sets in.
We have continued on with the same care although we did add Epsom salts to the diet last weekend which we will continue to do every couple of weeks. The weather has been somewhat strange with cooler temperatures at night and reaching a high heat in the afternoon, it has helped us with water consumption as there haven’t been many days that they showed a thirst but they really don’t appreciate the cool nights. Hopefully we get some balanced weather over the next few weeks with a little less rain. As for now, we enjoy and appreciate the beauty that unfolds before us.
Love Love Love, we are in Love! This beauty is a fine pick for the outdoors in our climate and we wish we had three of her to say the least, she will be the first to be harvested in our garden this year. There have been minor issues throughout the season with her and she maintains the weather changes very well. Like the others, she has had her pick me up by a dusting of coffee grounds in her top coat and we have been adding Epsom salts to our rain barrel once a week for the last three. We found this to really help with the yellowing leaves and we like the natural approach. There is a strong spicy and sweet smell coming from her and the beautiful aroma is carried gently across our yard in the breeze, did I mention we LOVE her? The next few weeks with her are going to be great and we hope that the upcoming weather be less wet, Mother Nature is in charge.
Afghan is amazing, the next two weeks should take her into a perfect harvest time especially for our season. We wish we had planted three of her in our garden this year and we would love to grow her in the future. The cover crop has been an asset throughout and we find the two in this bed have needed very little care aside from the weekly treats and or amendments. We will do more research on what seed blend would best accommodate our needs but it really helped to provide constant moisture, conserve rain water and therefore saving us on water which is a blessing from Mother Nature! This plant holds strong in all the wicked storms and she is sweating a sweet scent that waters the mouth. The treat this week was a blended barrel of Mbx grow, Flavanator, Rock Hard, seaweed and of course the Epsom salts, otherwise she had a watering can of water here and there as a thirst quencher along with the heavy rains. Harvest time is a blink away for her and we are very excited about it!
Rain, Rain and more Rain. That is the only issue in our garden at this point and we are on the lookout for bud rot on each of our girls. The season is changing quickly and we no longer believe the girls in the garden will be harvested in the order that they should, they will come done as long as they can stay healthy. It is unfortunate but the outdoor growing adventure can sometimes be harsh, either way we always appreciate what the plant gifts to us. They all had a taste of the microbes and we are now sticking to a daily watering although we will add the Epsom’s once a week, at the moment we have sunshine and the temperature seems right which is something to be thankful for.
Afghan is wow and this will be her final entry before the harvest log!
Afghan was a beaut and she would have stayed up longer if the rain had let up. The denseness of her buds is what we admire although it is also why she started to rot. The scent of her is strong and mouth watering. Overall we would grow her again outdoors, this was a strange year with the weather and it is unfortunate but we are quite sure every strain would rot just the same. Hopefully next year has a better balance but that is the way it grows outdoors.
As for curing, it was not typical for us at all. First she was washed but Afghan was not trimmed nor was she properly managed, she hung for six days and went in a paper bag for moisture redistribution way to late. Aside from that we had to use a triple beam for an estimated weight and we were unable to get a wet weight so please take the number and outcome lightly. Bone dry does not mean she won’t be enjoyed, she will be made into hash and or edibles.