Any southern US growers with outdoor advice?

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
I live in a southern US coastal area with long hot and humid summers. I'd love to hear about any successful schemes people have used in this general area, especially about seasonal timing, managing heat stress, and indoor starts / outdoor transplants.

It seems straightforward to me -- plant in spring, nurse 'em thru the hot weather with good soil, nutes, water, and mulch, and they'll flower in fall when the light gets short.

But, I've also seen a lot of plants that you would think would do great here that just get friggin melted by our summers, no matter what you do. I have an indoor deal going now, which is fine, but I'd love to shoot for the big plants and massive colas that only outdoor growing can produce! Thanks..!
 

grassified

Well-Known Member
i dunno. But in hawaii we have a similiar climate, and plants do fine here most of the time. Marijuana is a very adaptable plant, I am sure with proper nutes and water it could even outlast your harsh summers.
 

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
Thanks, grassified... I suppose heat and humidity is heat and humidity, no matter where it is. Here, we're talking 95-100F for 3-5 day stretches regularly. One good thing is that, usually, the hottest days are not our most humid days, and vice versa.

Anyone else..? From NC, SC, GA, north FL, AL? These places are fairly different from islands, penninsular FL, other places that may be hot, but have a regular flow of ocean air across them.
 

dmanrenx

Active Member
i live in south mississippi, its easy to grow in the south, but during summers you have to water the plants a lot, m.j. grows in all temperatures except below freezing
 

Captaindeek

Active Member
i have grown in NC, SC areas i think its easy to grow around here, and dont really have a bad bug prob. i do agree lots of water so they make it ( :
 

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
Awesome.. thanks, folks! I know people grow a fair amount outdoors in the south, but it seems that most of the good local outdoor weed I've gotten comes from the Blue Ridge mountains... hence the question and concerns.
 

South Texas

Well-Known Member
How about advice from South Texas. It's brutal here, 08 had worse drought since the 30's. Considering a battle of my own ignorance, I done pretty (great actually) well. Learned so few things.
 

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
Fire away, South TX... I'm mostly curious how people have handled timing -- when to start growing in the hot south to assure enough veg growth and maturity, but keeping the overall start-to-finish as short as possible to minimize exposure, theft, etc.

You're probably a little drier than where I'm at (the Kalamazoo thing is a joke, if anyone is wondering..), but just as hot for sure.

I'm also thinking about trying to regenerate some of my indoor plants right after harvest by putting them outside, and hoping they go back to veg state. Any experience with that?
 

South Texas

Well-Known Member
Stole my heart. Love the attitude. Give me about 30 minutes, in the meantime, see the Spider mite cure post. Don't know what section I just posted in.
 

South Texas

Well-Known Member
Today is Jan. 7th. Temp outside says 68 degrees. In your note book, make note. The temp
recorded is under complete shade, NOT the actual temp in the full or partial sun. So...., with a temp of 68 degrees, my Babies are enjoying full sun & wind that is about 80 plus degrees, plus getting exercised. Meaning, the wind tears the molecular structure of the plant, like weight lifting, tear muscle tissue, to make it grow back stronger. Old time Farmers takes a beating limb & beats the young fruit tress, to make them grow back stronger. A Buddy stresses out plants intentionally to get some kick-ass plants in the field. If you use chemical ferts, close this post. Meth is great, but I don't feed my Babies Meth. 80% of the outcome will be what is below the soil level, the rest is what we see, and make a big todo as to what we see. If a person acknowledged solely what the plant needed, then it may be like this. A soil filled with all the nutes, minerals that it can absorb. A buried fish may add certain nutes, but the balance is too much here, not enough there. You want a perfect balance, as to what the rooting system can absorb & use. If your plant feels threatened, it will try to save itself, and become male/hermie. It/she will build an immunity against disease if given proper tools to fight against such. I use a shit-load of stuff to create "The perfect beast", the best soil that I can. There is a certain reason I use seaweed, whole ground cornmeal, molasses, Epsom salt, green sand, etc. But that's for later. Gotta go. If interested in more info, let me know.
 

beginningbotanist420

Well-Known Member
I'm in GA. Just make sure you don't plant on good hunting land. Last year, i harvested some nearly pure sativas well into deer season and one of my sites was stolen. Also, on those heat snaps when the highs are 100+, I used dry ice at the base of the plant to keep them steady. Of course, i only did this after it started flowering to prevent heat stress causing it to go hermie. Don't waste you're time during veg with relatively expensive dry ice, because what doesn't kill it only makes it stronger when its in veg. On those heat snaps when in veg, just make sure to keep them watered because water evaporates fast, and water will help prevent heat stress.

Also, make sure you make cages of chicken wire! Its probably the deer that people were going to be potentially hunting that ate half my seedlings, then another 20 or so in May. Then ScrOG them through the wire for FDD-type bushes.

WAR EAGLE!
 

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the advice.. well taken. I'll actually be growing in my own backyard .. it's big, very private and lush with a lot of other plants. So, it will be very easy to tuck one here, one there. I just grow for my own stash and for friends.. Soil prep is an issue here where I live -- we've got about 6-8" of beautiful natural soil, then it goes to rock-hard, calcium rich clay and marl. PH is ~6.2 to 6.5 in general; I suspect the clay is higher.

I'm planning to pre-dig and prepare holes this winter -- about 2.5 - 3.0 wide and deep. I'm going to ditch the clay and backfill the holes with a mix of Ocean Forest, blood meal, and a little extra perlite for drainage. South Texas -- I'd be interested to hear the percentages you use of your seaweed, cornmeal, etc and the brands, too. These are things I've never bought in the past. I've had problems already with chemical nutes indoors, so I'm wanting to go organic on everything, indoor and out, from this point forward.

Thanks for the chicken-wire idea, too -- we live in a suburb, and the deer walk right down the paved roads at night. Lots of rabbits, too.
 

South Texas

Well-Known Member
See the index at dirtdoctor,com (read about cornmeal, zeolite, seaweed, compost tea, earthworms, Epsom salt, Aloe Vera, Garrett Juice and all kinds of neat stuff.) and the pics at compostcaptainalabama.com
Whole Ground/Stone Ground Cornmeal (not that bleached/enriched shit) will kill bad bacteria in the soil & also add nutes. Greensand & Epsom salt adds minerals to your soil. Liquid seaweed if full of nutes, and will kill spider mites if sprayed every 7 to 10 days, plus foliar feed your plant. You will not have spider mite problems if the Ladies are healthy, but spray the seaweed anyway. During the full moon, your Ladies will sing "We Will Rock You !!" Tabasco sauce, sprayed will keep rabbits away. For a plant cleaner, a new safe product is out called "Plant Wash". It's safe for everything. 100% pure molasses/Back strap feeds the plants & microbes & speeds the bio-breakdown of the soil for better absorption for the roots. You can order 1 plus lbs. of red wiggler worms on-line. The worms, along with the help of the microbial life, the soil will be constantly cultivated & enriched. Worm Casting/shit is the highest nutrient material known to man. I highly recommend using worms. However, stay away from poultry manure, worms don't like it. A product called Rose Glow (not other shit that sounds like it) was found to make EVERYTHING bloom like crazy. Master Gardeners use Super Thrive as an IV for sick plants & root systems. But a little of that during the entire grow should do really well. Fish Emulsion is great for Vegg state, but I add a little throughout until 30 days prior to harvest. For ant control, mop floors & clean counter tops with orange oil & water- 2 ozs. per gal, then pour used mop water on ant beds. Or, use Green Light ant bait with conserve. It safe for pets & people. D.E. (Diatamatious (?) Earth is good to kill caterpillars & such. Spraying Beneficial Nematodes in your back yard will take care of all the eggs laid in ground, fleas, grasshoppers, termites, and helps with ants. Only buy the ones on a blue sponge, sealed in a zip lock bag, refrigerated. the "dry" ones are no good. 1 to 2 million for about $8.00. The Zeolite absorbs nutes & time releases them, plus will balance your soil. Aloe Vera will regenerate plant tissue (fucking amazing), For fun, check out "How to grow Grapes for wine", the different styles of trellis systems. "Air Layering" is really cool, also.
Pick up your cornmeal, Epsom salt & Molasses at the Local Grocery store. The soil mixture has to be really mixed well together. I do the dry mix first. I use 5' plastic Kiddie Pool(s) for worms & mixing. They probably won't be available this time of year. A cement slab will work. Don't know why, but peat moss kills the microbes in the soil, but with good cultivators working your soil, water retention won't be a problem.
Now you need a good base to start with. 60% of the mixture. If you can find grass fed cows in a pasture, get as much fresh or old cow manure as possible, or at least one 5 gal. bucket per plant. Not from a feed lot, that shit will grow 2 dicks on a very happy monkey. Check the local papers for people raising Rabbits. Rabbit manure is a goldmine. Worms do best in straight rabbit or cow manure. Go on-line for the nearest mushroom farm. If one is close enough, a full, near over loaded truck load can be had for $20. bucks. People have grown lots of vegetables straight in this material. It's free or cheap. But if you can't get it, not to worry. The excuse is top dressing for your yard. Look at the pics at the Compost Captains sight also, how healthy the plants are. That fucker knows what he's doing.
This is the South, there will be more than enough pure sunshine, so if there is some shade, don't worry. I LOVE dappled shade. When the temp says 100 degrees, Dude, that's in the shade. I ask, via on-line, the weather man how many lumen the full sun puts out. 72,000 to 90,000. Ask your local weather person. For cammo & masking the pot odor, get some nylon trot-line cord at Walmart or whatever to plant vines. Sweet Peas puts out good ordors. Ask the local Nursery person about highly odorous vines. For a "living Privacy Wall", plant Cucumbers, canalopes, blue mountain green beans(running, not bush), cherry tomatoes, the moon vine & bird house gourds. The shortest day was around Dec. 21. Determine where the sun will fall during the dog days. Morning sun is said to be better than evening sun. A black or dark green water hose left under pressure in full sun will "Steam". Not good. City water, not good. A plastic 55 gal. drum is good to let the water release BS in the water. There is a thing I ordered on line at some Nursery Supplies place called a "Dram". Don't know how to spell it, rhymes with Palm. All it is is a male/female waterhose adapter that connects to your outdoor facet, and has a ball valve in it, with a 1/4" tube running from it. It's worth it's weight in gold. Just set a 5 gal. bucket next to the facet, add any & all liquid nutes in the bucket, pre-measured of course, and fill with water. Your nutes can be sprayed as far as your hose will reach. The dilution depends upon the water pressure. I like to wet the soil prior to feeding, so the nutes will not stay on top. There is a feeding system called "air something" where a high pressured tube is stuck in the ground, the air pressure makes a small hole for air, rain, nutes and/water to get to the root system. With this concept in mind, force your root system to travel. Take a 3/8th" fiberglass stick/rod, & poke holes 3 inches outside the plants canopy. One every 6" inches or so. Fill them with nutes, especially on the high side where less water is available. What the goal is, is to allow your root system to grow twice as big as with normal ferting methods. If this shit isn't fun, get back in the damn closet. Also, in your mind, pull a root bound plant out of a pot. See the rooting system contoured to the pot, going in circles? So,... NEVER dig a round hole, always with conners to force the roots to dig in. That, with the nute holes, we just may have something to behold. Keep your plants top soil about 3" below natural grade. That serves as a mini water catcher. Plus, during a rain, the lightening puts pure, natural nitrogen in the rain water. Fucking cool. You'll want your plants to "Get Some". Plus, you can dump a gal. of water quick, without waste. The world largest tomato growing people ferts twice per week. So once per week , with that big healthy root system, Oh Shit ! Thus far, all we have is a few items from the store, and a place to mix up the Perfect Beast. Plus a few of this & that. Time to get started. A Diary is needed. See Part 2.
 

South Texas

Well-Known Member
I read the ingredients of Ocean Floor, and ordered/used Earth Juice. Both is dead on track. Here's the rule of thumb. It takes 7 cents to make 16 ozs. of ice tea. The Restaurant charges $1,00. That is the basic cost ratio. A lot of work & strain selection went into my last harvest. Afghan, Kush, Orange & pure sativa. Different highs, THC levels, etc. And with all the variety, the main thing raved about was the taste. That's cool. And nice, but my goal is to enjoy building a model car, as opposed to buying one. It's a passion thing. This is for people that has a passion for growing, not hiring somebody to do the labor of love for you.
Ok. holes dug, cornmeal & shit had, time to go see the Local Nursery. Dress shabby. Make a list. Take $200 bucks, plan on spending 100 plus. Start with the basics. You need 60% organic compost. These people grow eye candy plants, but don't waste money on hype marketing products. Ask what compost they use. It will be cheap, but good quality. Get 2 big bags of that, or whatever 60% of soil needed, if you haven't scored the free good shit. I had a load of mushroom compost, so I got 2 40 lb. bags, Now potting soil, I like Lady Bug Rejuvenate. 2 to 4 bags. Any potting soil that contains no chems & has microbes in it. 2 bags of perlite, one of vermiculite, just for grins. A bottle of liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, 5 lb. bag of green sand, a bottle of compost tea, I like Medina Hasta Gro, Plus, but a liquid filled with living microbes is the main goal. Any product by medina, black kow, Lady Bug or Living Earth is to be trusted. Some Super Thrive & Rose Glow won't hurt. Now, if you have a garden rake, head home. tomorrow, we start building The Beast. In the meantime, see KC Brains Seed Co. Later.
 

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
Awesome... I'm printing this out and putting it into a manual! I've used Black Kow for years on my ornamentals -- they love it!
 

South Texas

Well-Known Member
Before you start mixing, see "Marijuana Growers Handbook". I tried to attach it,... :sad: My Kiddie Pool will hold about eight 5 gal. buckets, so for measurements, start with that. The amount of molasses ranges from 1 to 2 TBS. per gal. Add 2TBS., mix & dump in empty 5 gal. bucket. Same for fish emulsion. All of the other liquids, read the directions, seaweed & whatever other liquids you have, and set aside. Now for the dry mix, 4 cups of Whole Ground Cornmeal. 2 1/2 lbs. of the Green Sand, Epsom salt, one hand full per plant, so add 8 hand fulls. Mix until you puke. I then add the liquid to the shit in the Kiddie Pool, but you may have to put the dry mix in the holes first. If so, wet the soil in the hole with plain water first (don't want to wash all the nutes to the bottom of the hole). Then add 1/4 gal. of "Tea" to each hole slowly, more later & more later. The soil will be great, better in 30 days, even better 6 months to 1 million years, as long as the microbes don't dry out. No more Epsom salt will be needed. If no worms, you can't use Canadian Night Crawlers, they can't be away from cool weather. But a local bait shop may sell red wigglers. 4 or 5 per hole. They reproduce double per month.
Feel with fingers, 2 inches down into the soil. When it's dry at that depth, water/feed. Since your soil is pre-ferted, feeding don't have to be done for a LONG time, but a little every week will be good.
Males mature faster than the Ladies, and... the growing season will be VERY long. So I suggest having 2 plantings. First when threat of frost has pasted. You can cover at night with buckets-just after you add 80 degree water to stave off the soil getting cool at night. Once the Babies are doing well outside, germinate more seeds to set out in July. The 2nd. crop will do 2 things. It will get you fresh pollen for the first crop, plus, after you FINALLY finish harvesting, trimming & curing, and take a month off, the 2nd. Ladies will be ready, around Nov. The pollen is for pollinating one branch per plant only, cross breeding, all that fun shit.
If you have a couple sexed Ladies in pots, once they get about 4' tall, you could cut off every branch on one side of the entire plant, rub some seweed , Garrett Juice or Rooting Compound on each fresh cut on the stalk, then bury the plant in a 4" deep trench, with the root system buried well. The results will be that the remaining branches, say 10, will all be like 10 individual plants. Lay the plant on it's side for 2 days prior to cutting, so all the branches will be vertical. Top 30 days later(20 top colas) etc. Have Fun.
 

Attachments

South Texas

Well-Known Member
The whole thing is a fucking Blast to me, we're hooked. See you on cell block C, if you don't put stealth above Blast. Cool.
 

SikSol

Well-Known Member
good to see a fellow tx grower here, im in central tx, havnt tried luck at outdoor growing here though, if i do this will help alot thanks. BTW know of any tx 420 events coming in the not to distant future? I know the doobie awards are in march in austin.
 
Top