making outdoor beds need ideas how to keep moisture if it doesnt rain.+rep

I took a year off from growing I still have not had a successful outdoor grow, last year I did all I could and had a good lil grow going bud thrips destroyed my crop halfway through flower. This year i am relocated and I wont be able to visit my plants but once every 4-6 weeks. I was planning on making 3 - 5x5 beds with 100-200 bagseeds per bed that way if only if some die and some are male I will still have some healthy girls left. Well I figured I would dig a 5x5x1 hole for each bed and fill that with mg moisture control and top that with a bag of sawdust from oak to hopefully hold moisture in between rains. If you have any better ideas please let me know. I know mg soil sucks but im broke and cant afford the good shit. I have some left over nutes from last year called dutchmasters grow A, and B. The dutchmasters worked great last year for my outdoor crop to bad thrips ate them. oh yea possibly a small trench just a few inches deep around my beds.

you can add "soil moist" to your grow medium. Its like gel that holds water. Not optimal but there aren't a lot of options other than religious watering.

Try using a Native American Rain Dance

http://www.ehow.com/how_5722524_perform-native-american-rain-dance.html <<instructions!

sand will probably work better than sawdust for tpping your gardens for keeping the moisture and it will hold moisture better than the sawdust too.
I have heard of very succesfull outdoor growers who top there plants with sand for this very purpose

I don't usually knock MG products,but that Moisture Control potting soil is pure crap.

You can use a simple ph neutral mulch,like straw on top of the soil after the plants are established.

Another el cheapo method is bentonite. It's the primary ingredient in most cat litter. You can find it at gardening/landscaping centers and feed stores. Mix it in with your soil.

Zeba gel
I have been using this stuff called Zeba Quench water absorbing polymers (made from starch, safe for food) for my outdoor guerilla grows.
Its amazing outdoors, in 110' heat they only got 1 gallon of water Twice a week (with mulch to hold the water in.)
In Stead of 2 gallons everyday like my tomatos an peppers need in my garden.
.

THIS SHIT WORKS!!!

zeba®
At a Glance
Zeba is a unique soil amendment that absorbs and releases water as needed by plants to help growers produce consistently higher-quality, greater-volume yields. Replicated trials and commercial grower results have consistently demonstrated yield increases and returns on investment of 2x to 6x.
[FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold]1. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold]Zeba BENEFITS [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold]Increases Soil Moisture Retention/ Improves Water [/FONT][/FONT]E[FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold]fficiency [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow][FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Increases soil&#8217;s moisture content, retention and supply to vegetation [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow][FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Increases soil porosity for improved passing of water and oxygen [/FONT]
[/FONT]Keeps plants cooler, increasing photosynthesis rate
Potentially reduces irrigation costs (water, electricity, labor)
[FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold]Increases Crop Yields [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow][FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Increases plant quality and yields [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow][FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Improves plant survival rate during critical development periods [/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Greatly improves rate of seed germination and emergence [/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Eliminates moisture stress in plants, creating larger plant biomass [/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Creates more rigorous root development [/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Improves plant survival rate during transplanting [/FONT]
[/FONT][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold][FONT=Tarzana Wide Bold,Tarzana Wide Bold]Environmentally, Socially, Economically Responsible [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow][FONT=Tarzana Narrow,Tarzana Narrow]Biodegradable and safe for all plants and vegetables [/FONT][/FONT]

The web site has all the details....
http://www.zeba.com/literature/categories.php?category=6


Its made from Cornstarch not petrolium.
Totaly safe.

It will pay for itself by less watering trips.
1 watering a week when its cool, Twice a week when its hot is all I did last year.

I get mine from amazon.com 16$


Also mulch, lots or it.
It works as good as the zeba.

Deep root watering.

Line the hole with plastic.

MG moistrure controll works pretty good has lots of coco coir to hold water.
I love MG soil an nutes its all I use.

Vermaculite holds lots of water (200% its weight) use it in the soil.

K ill give you a serious answer.

Rocks around the stocks of your plants make like a 1foot diameter of rocks. small big it dont rlly matter. mulch the top of the soil preferabley before you lay down the rocks. this will minimize the amount of moisture lost due to evaporation.

come on man really please keep your bad advise to yourself, everyone else that was actually serious recieved reputation for their good advise but you get none. Go mess with someone elses thread not mine, dont post again please don't even reply to this TokeSmoker420.

with the size of your plot your trying to plant to many seeds. they will only grow tall and lanky and try to compete with each other for light. in a 5' x5' bed i would plant no more than 4-6 plants at most to get the most from your work. if you plan on having succes plan on going to see your plants more often or else you will only be bummed out when things go wrong, which usually happens every season. you need to manage a plot by going every other week at the least. when things start to show pre-flowers you need to pluck the males before pollen sacks open. males will show over-night and in a couple more days produce pollen.
water polymers will help with your watering problems. go lighter than you would think with them a little goes a long way. then mulch around your plants when you get them in the ground.
if you try 100-200 seeds you are setting yourself up for disaster go smaller and you will harvest bigger.

and i made raised beds myself last year you can see pics here on the outdoor forum there is a thread i started with lots of pics of how i set them up. sorry i don't know how to put a link to it. it's under the name raised beds or something. they worked well and will be put to work again.

IgrowUgrow said:

come on man really please keep your bad advise to yourself, everyone else that was actually serious recieved reputation for their good advise but you get none. Go mess with someone elses thread not mine, dont post again please don't even reply to this TokeSmoker420.

Click to expand...

.... Actually you have to put a good moister controlling soil like MG's Moister control and if you were like me at a time I had a small plant growing in a hole full of MG Moister control and after a while of being out in the blazing sun it did dry out a little so I put pebbles all around the stalk and top soil and added some more peat before I covered it and watered it real good and the soil was good again. Plant grew amazon before someone ripped it.

soil moist works to it is potassium polyacrilate witch will degrade into acrilate witch is a Nero toxin yet the product is labeled non toxic so it is a matter of opion never heard of this happening thow