Outdoor Grow in Ireland. Complete Noob.

[Mickeh]

Hi.

I'm hoping to attempt an outdoor grow this summer. I'm in Ireland and I have access to miles and miles of fields and a forest area that's fairly high up.

I have been reading around on the forum and I read a few of the threads on growing in Ireland so its good to know that it can be done.
I've read OGMans thread here: https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/224076-july-harvest.html

Its interesting, but as its my first grow I don't really want to be spending $150 on seeds,

1. Can anybody recommend me some the best seeds for the Irish climate that are easy to grow? Preferably Autoflowering, Femenised and ones with a relatively short growing time.


2. I'm looking for something that's somewhat high yield. I'm use to the shite quality weed in Ireland so I'm not bothered if its not super skunk.

Some guidance in this would be greatly appreciated.kiss-ass

 

[BadKittySmiles]

If you're looking for a forgiving, well-yielding auto.. and I used to be a little too 'up myself' to recommend using them, but that's changing.. so if you're looking for an auto, this is an "Easy Ryder" by Joint Dr.

Genetics: Automatic AK47 x Lowryder #2
Type: Auto-flowering hybrid Feminized
Height: 10-25 inches (40-70cm)
Flowering Period: 6+ weeks
Harvest Date: 8 to 10 weeks

This photo came from TheMystery, his first grow ever I believe, seed started Jan 7th, and this was the plant yesterday (Feb 28th):

Otherwise, check out a few seed banks and just pick something you actually want to grow, find a description you like, and go for it If you just go on our suggestions you may pick something we like, but you don't really care for come harvest time. One suggestion I'll make taking your environment into consideration, is to lean towards indica, or indica dominant strains.

 

[mellokitty]

there are a number of BC seed companies that have a lot of good outdoor strains for a reasonable price point. (many of whom can be found at vancouver seed bank, among others.) i've never been to ireland (hope to someday) but i'm under the impression that our climates (i'm on the wet coast of canada) both tend towards dreariness and various forms of moisture falling out of the air, i would guess that anything that grows outdoors here would do well there as well. my suggestion would be to find as south-facing a spot possible.

happy digging!

 

[Mickeh]

If you're looking for a forgiving, well-yielding auto.. and I used to be a little too 'up myself' to recommend using them, but that's changing.. so if you're looking for an auto, this is an "Easy Ryder" by Joint Dr.

Genetics: Automatic AK47 x Lowryder #2
Type: Auto-flowering hybrid Feminized
Height: 10-25 inches (40-70cm)
Flowering Period: 6+ weeks
Harvest Date: 8 to 10 weeks

This photo came from TheMystery, his first grow ever I believe, seed started Jan 7th, and this was the plant yesterday (Feb 28th):


Otherwise, check out a few seed banks and just pick something you actually want to grow, find a description you like, and go for it If you just go on our suggestions you may pick something we like, but you don't really care for come harvest time. One suggestion I'll make taking your environment into consideration, is to lean towards indica, or indica dominant strains.

Thanks for the Info. Easy Ryder looks good. And its a fair price from what I can see.

there are a number of BC seed companies that have a lot of good outdoor strains for a reasonable price point. (many of whom can be found at vancouver seed bank, among others.) i've never been to ireland (hope to someday) but i'm under the impression that our climates (i'm on the wet coast of canada) both tend towards dreariness and various forms of moisture falling out of the air, i would guess that anything that grows outdoors here would do well there as well. my suggestion would be to find as south-facing a spot possible.

happy digging!

Hi mellokitty. Basically Irish summers can be wet, or very wet. Summer '10 was ok. 08 and 09 were terrible with rain nearly every day from mid June to September. Temps around 16-18 degrees. The hottest it'll get is maybe 22-25 degrees Celsius in July. But yeah, lots of rain and drearyness over here.


I'm think I'm gonna plant in a wooded area if I can find a clearing.

Do people recommend planting straight into the ground or growing in a pot? I think I'd prefer planting into the ground as I don't want my neighbors seeing me carrying plant pots into the woods.

I have access to horse manure and compost. Would people recommend me using either as fertilizer?

 

[BadKittySmiles]

Bring your pots into the woods in the middle of the night, wait for moonlight and don't use a flashlight (rhymed a little too much, but you get the idea ). You can bring all your supplies out there that way, and you can then wait until daylight in the privacy of your location, to put them to use.

Growing in pots gives you mobility while they are young, if the lighting turns out to be inadequate as the season continues, and especially if you learn your location may be compromised early on (that's if you don't feel safer, just abandoning the project).

And they can help you to better contain and control what you feed your girls, concentrating it into the main root ball, without it washing away. In addition to this, having larger-than-average drainage holes in the base of the pots allows the roots to grow outwards and downwards once they get older, so they can supplement your feed schedule and fend for themselves a bit while you're not around

 

[Mickeh]

Bring your pots into the woods in the middle of the night, wait for moonlight and don't use a flashlight (rhymed a little too much, but you get the idea ). You can bring all your supplies out there that way, and you can then wait until daylight in the privacy of your location, to put them to use.

Growing in pots gives you mobility while they are young, if the lighting turns out to be inadequate as the season continues, and especially if you learn your location may be compromised early on (that's if you don't feel safer, just abandoning the project).

And they can help you to better contain and control what you feed your girls, concentrating it into the main root ball, without it washing away. In addition to this, having larger-than-average drainage holes in the base of the pots allows the roots to grow outwards and downwards once they get older, so they can supplement your feed schedule and fend for themselves a bit while you're not around

Once the seeds germinate is it cool to just plant them outside (in a pot or in the ground) or do I need to babysit them for a while before bringing them outside? The latter is not really an option, but I may be able to find a secluded window sill if I absolutely need to.

 

[mellokitty]

i'm a bit more inland these days, (we're warmer in summer and colder in winter where we are) but that is pretty well what the actual Coast coast is like, maybe with a few more degrees.

manure and compost are both great ferts. definitely good for topdressing with.

planting seedlings and seeds both have dis/advantages: as you said, it's much easier to carry a bunch of seeds into the forest.
but, little baby seedlings are susceptible to all sorts of pests including but not limited to: slugs, rabbits, fungi, deer, aphids, all of which can *decimate* a plot of seedlings in a matter of moments. (depending on how often you check your plot, your plants can sprout and have this happen without you even being aware of it.)
a lot of these can be staved off pretty well once the plant is big enough for its own immune system (and 'don't eat me' chemicals) to start functioning, but again that means carrying plants into the woods.
you could use a tote of some sort, or you can pack some square plant pots in a box so they don't rattle around and carry the box out in a backpack as if you're just off for a day's meander.

 

[mellokitty]

in our climate(s) i wouldn't plant any seeds outside until after victoria day...

 

[Mickeh]

in our climate(s) i wouldn't plant any seeds outside until after victoria day...

I had to Google Victoria Day.

I was looking into a few strains and the websites also say not to plant til the beginning to mid May.

What are peoples opinions on Roadrunner #2 and Skunk #1? Both seem to be good for shitty outdoor weather and they're at a good price.

 

[mellokitty]

you don't have victoria day in the uk? well wth do WE celebrate her birthday for still? damned colonialism lol (oops, 'colonial' is a bad word for you guys too eh?)

only ever grown skunk 1 inside, but it's certainly a tough lady (hint: smells like.... )

 

[Mickeh]

you don't have victoria day in the uk? well wth do WE celebrate her birthday for still? damned colonialism lol (oops, 'colonial' is a bad word for you guys too eh?)

only ever grown skunk 1 inside, but it's certainly a tough lady (hint: smells like.... )

We spent 100+ years trying to escape British rule (not to sound like a crazed nationalist) so we tend not to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. Our big day is St. Patrick's Day. We're not part of the UK either. Just a little 'ol Republic on the edge of the Atlantic.

Is Skunk 1 autoflowering?

 

[mellokitty]

*cringing at my own foolishness* Sorry, i forgot it's *N.* ireland that's uk... (stoopid colonial education... lol)
(hint: we have a prime minister that says things like: "in canada, where we have no history of colonialism...") (<-AAANND anybody who's ever had a single canadian history lesson sits up and says "whaaa?")
seriously.
*prostrate*
forgive me.

...i don't know if s1 is autoflower, doesn't it say on the seed site?

 

[Mickeh]

*cringing at my own foolishness* Sorry, i forgot it's *N.* ireland that's uk... (stoopid colonial education... lol)
(hint: we have a prime minister that says things like: "in canada, where we have no history of colonialism...") (<-AAANND anybody who's ever had a single canadian history lesson sits up and says "whaaa?")
seriously.
*prostrate*
forgive me.

...i don't know if s1 is autoflower, doesn't it say on the seed site?

No worries. Most people just assume we're part of the UK. Ireland and the UK have a lot in common. Especially Scotland and Ireland.

I don't think it is. It doesn't say anything about Autoflowering.

How would I get it to flower then? Is it when there's 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness? Absolute noob here!

 

[mellokitty]

still realtime blushing a little about that faux-pas. considering how much joyce i've read, i should be hiding my head in the sand right about now ;p

here's what dutch passion has to say about their skunk #1 (which is probably among the most reliable skunk#1s out there):
http://www.kindseed.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DP%2Dskunk1
nothing about autoflowering. the early november harvest date would make me a bit nervous. i don't know much about the growing season there, but ours is not much reliably longer than, say, beginning of october, depending on the year, before stuff like molds start becoming an issue. one year we didn't make it to our plot until halloween and lost a lot of the bottoms to spotty mold (about 1/4 total weight). i would also probably shy away a little from putting something that says "Mold susceptible the last six weeks of flowering" outside somewhere wet and dreary.
well i just looked you up and dublin is at 53NLat, which is only about 4 north of where i am so i'm going to run with it being similar conditions:
generally, unless you're in or close to the arctic or antarctic circles, flowers are going to flower for you in the summertime. what you want to be looking at are expected harvest date (autoflower strains do tend to finish up earlier) and hardiness. unfortunately this means we might have to choose less dank strains to put OD, but it's sort of unavoidable in our type of climate. i find that tomatoes are a good indicator of the growing season for cannabis here; usually by the time i *start to think, "i should just pick ALL the tomatoes, green ones and all" it's about time.