# 2011 Outdoor garden, trying to go large.



## Cali*Style (Mar 8, 2011)

The name should say it all.    What I am going to try and accomplish, will be a grow dedicated to hitting the 5 pound mark (Per plant of course). Before this becomes a tinkling match, I am not going to some how magically alter these things...  Just going to do my absolute best to provide an environment, that will allow these plants to reach their full potential.

 I have been reading countless threads and books on growing etc. As well as playing with little things here and there. I believe I have found a system that works well for me, and I am ready to use it in a large scale. 

 I will have plants in everything from 150 gallon holes to 5 gallon buckets, but I want to focus on large smart pots for this grow. I am currently starting seeds.

 By large smart pots, I mean specifically 250 gallon smart pots. Smart pots can be made to almost any size as far as I know...?  I have  seen 600 gallons, but they are ridiculous...  I have been reading on  large smart pots for a few years now, I think building them yourself is  MUCH BETTER than buying prefabricated pieces, and also cheaper by a good  amount.

 Cheap and easy smart pots: (Material list will be per pot, sorta...)


4 x 8' "t" posts
1 roll of 48" x 100' field fencing (Will make 12 pots)
1 roll of 48" x 100' heavy grade landscaping cloth. ( will make 12 pots)

Okay, measure out your growing area. Keeping in mind where any shadows  or other obstructions are. I stick a nail in the center with a string  attached to it, measure out 3' of string and walk in a circle with a  spray can. Next you are ready for posts, I use 4 per pot spaced evenly  and driven in until they are 4' tall. Next, you are going to cut a 20'  long section of field fence. I use landscape staples to flatten it out  on the ground. Next you are going to cut the entire length in half. Now  that you have a section of fencing that is 24" x 20' long, we are ready  to make the frame for the pot.

I start at any one of the 4 "t" posts and secure one end of the fence.  Then I line the 4 "t" posts on the inside with the remaining fence, you  will have an overlap... That is fine, it helps make the frame stronger.  Next, I fold the top 6" of fence down over itself creating a 6" cuff  around the top of the frame, this will do wonders in helping fight the  weight of the soil and keep your smart pot round.

Next you'll need to roll out 20' of cloth and cut it off. Then fold it  in half and cut it long ways. Now you are ready to line your smart pot. I  start at the top container and align the cloth and wire, I secure the  cloth with standard zip ties. I work my way around the entire top of the  pot, making sure that the cloth is aligned well. Once this is done,  work your way down the walls of the pot, attaching the cloth in what  ever pattern work for you. You will have roughly 6" of lose cloth on the  bottom, I fold it so it faces the center of the smart pot. You are now  ready to fill with soil, and plant.


 Soil will be fully organic using compost and worm castings that I have made, along with coco coir, perlite, silica rock, chicken manure, kelp meal, guano, bone meal, and all sorts of other goodies.




On to the pictures, not much going on yet, but here are the babies all the same.


























 Out of these seedlings, I will look for 12 plants that will be grown out in 250 gallon smart pots. Going to cut overall plant numbers this year significantly, it was far to much headache having so many strains last year...  Anyways, I am going to do my best to keep this journal up to date. There could be periods of time where I can't get to the journal, but please try and be patient with me.  If I am successful with this venture, I believe it will prove to be a good show.

 Wish me luck everyone, and Happy Growing!! Cali :fly:


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## Gixxerman420 (Mar 8, 2011)

Good luck and happy growing to you bud! GREEN MOJO your way :afroweed: I would love to be able to do an outdoor grow... I rent though, and there is only about an acre, no woodland... Indoors for now! 5 pounds per plant! Is this even possible? I am lucky to get 2 ounces per plant indoors! I know outdoor yields more but that sounds crazy big! Definitely subbing to this one and waiting on budding pictures! your babies look kind of small for 12 days... And they're awfully light green! Is this just the lighting or what soil mix are you using? Might need some N in there somewhere! JMO though
View attachment 161350

These are seedlings at 6 days... Half the age of yours, I think you need Nitrogen in your soil! 
View attachment 161778

This is a picture of a seedling at 14 days... Just for reference! Good luck brotherman!


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## Cali*Style (Mar 8, 2011)

Heya Gixxer, thanks for stopping by!  Yeah bud, they are admittedly on the small side for being 14 days above ground. How ever, they are only receiving around 13.5 hours of light a day right now, and my night time temps are still dropping to around 55 deg f.  They are getting an additional 2.5 minutes of light per day. Anyways, that will give me the time I need to fudge their current photo period to natural photo period outdoors. I am slow playing these for a couple different reasons, but mostly to buy me some time.

 These will be in 30 gallon smart pots by March 25, and into 250 gallon smart pots by April 20. By April 20(from what I have been able to gather...), the night time temps will average 50 deg f.  This should produce a good base for regulating my temps inside my hoop houses.

 My soil mix is something I have been working on steady for the last 3 years, it produces some really nice plants.  

 The lighter color I will attest to the cold temps and the fact that these are Sativa heavy. They will flourish once they are allowed to start root production in their larger pots.

 As for the 5 pound mark, well that's just sort of a personal goal. I wanna see if I can make it happen. I had success last year with some 150 gallon holes I used, averaging 2.216 pounds per plant with 3 different strains. The largest plant  reached 3.5 (1665 Grams) pounds and the smallest was 1.7 pounds out of 6 plants. I think the genetics I have planned for this year will allow me to reach some good marks, but as with everything... Time will tell.

 Happy growing and be safe out there!! Cali:fly:


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## Hick (Mar 9, 2011)

:woohoo: .......... looking forward to it cali


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## Cali*Style (Mar 9, 2011)

Hick, thanks for stopping in man. :48:


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## MosesPMG (Mar 9, 2011)

:aok: outdoor grows are my favorite
cant wait to watch em get HUGE


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## Cali*Style (Mar 9, 2011)

Mine too Moses!!    Thanks for stoppin in :48: Cali


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## nouvellechef (Mar 9, 2011)

Maybe next year. Try outdoor DWC by burying a 32gal trash can. The earth will keep the solution kool. You want she beasts? Thats the sure fire way to get them.


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## Cali*Style (Mar 9, 2011)

That's twisted... But I like the possibilities for sure.  Man, I just toked a bowl of some gnarly thai.  Now I will think about this outdoor dwc thing for the rest of the day...:doh: 


But... let's think about this for a second.  If someone was to go through the trouble of sinking 30-50 gallon trash cans, then it would make the most sense to go with a recirculating dwc.  With the growth rates associated with dwc style growing, you would have to cage and still probably net the plants. Reservoir changes would be easy using rdwc though, and 30 gallon trash cans would provide some giant root balls for sure.  Well... If nothing else, I know what I am going to google right now.


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## nouvellechef (Mar 9, 2011)

Yep. Heres some more thoughts. I see it done each summer at WSU. The cans that are buried have a slot to drop in pump if need be. But the reality is, when done correctly using Lucas Formula, you dont need to change rez the entire cycle, unless something goes wrong. Yes on the RDWC for sure though. THe piping in the Earth that re-circulates the solution would also cool it as it passes thru the ground.

As far as the trellising. Its done with 2x4 that sit into those concrete blocks. Then 4" chicken wire is stapled down to the top of the 2x4. Basically a square of supported chicken wiring. Pretty big though. They will get huge when done correctly. 5lb's is bottom of the barrel using this method. 20lb's would be top end for right strain like AK47 or Hindu Kush or the like.

Ever seen world record pumpkins? Thats how they do it.

PS, Or heavy duty Camo snow fencing works too.


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## Cali*Style (Mar 9, 2011)

That's the same thing I was thinking...  Having that piping would act like a great big radiator.  Yeah I am totally still thinking about this.   Anyways, yeah...  Okay, say you sank your bucket and got everything plumbed into a main tank. I don't know for sure, but I would think like 4 of the 32 gallon trash cans linked together via 3-3.5" pipe, maybe even 4"??  The larger pipe would help tremendously with flow properties. They could be set up like one of the under current systems, well exactly like an under current system.

 I have a source for uniseals... hxxp://www.aussieglobe.com/index.htm

I think it would take a whole lot of pumps to make enough o2, but you would need solid power at the site anyways. I know I have seen threads here and there about outdoor dwc, but I wonder what the final verdict is... Rain water or foreign matter getting into a reservoir could play hell with everything.  Anyways I'm stoned and rambling. 

Happy growing and be safe!! Cali


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## nouvellechef (Mar 9, 2011)

Everything just gets sealed if your thinking about rdwc. You main controller tank/can would be in the ground also. Yes and no on pumps. A couple AP100's would push plenty of water thru it. The controller would be on float valve and hooked to, ideally a cow/horse 500gal tank. Or old hot tub.

You would also be the first to do it. I have spoke with many that grow that have seen the outdoor DWC at the college. I mean massive growth rates.


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## Cali*Style (Mar 10, 2011)

Small update, babies are all doing their thing.  Gonna check soil temps today, have to go buy straw in the next day or two, and finish covering the hoop houses.

 Other than that just busy busy.  I will snap some pics today of progress. Happy growing!! ~Cali   :fly:


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## Cali*Style (Mar 13, 2011)

UPDATE:

 My husband was in a car accident, and wont be able to use a computer for a while. He is currently in the hospital but is stable and doing well. He asked me to post here and let everyone know whats going on, and said he will be back as soon as possible. 

 Sincerely, Mrs. CaliStyle


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## nouvellechef (Mar 13, 2011)

Wow. Sad. GL


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## OldHippieChick (Mar 13, 2011)

Well, please tell him that we're wishing him a speedy recovery. Thanks for letting us know what's going on Mrs. Cali*Style.


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## Hick (Mar 13, 2011)

Cali*Style said:
			
		

> UPDATE:
> 
> My husband was in a car accident, and wont be able to use a computer for a while. He is currently in the hospital but is stable and doing well. He asked me to post here and let everyone know whats going on, and said he will be back as soon as possible.
> 
> Sincerely, Mrs. CaliStyle



Thank you Ma'am   You can tell cali' for us, that he is missed and we all wish him a full and speedy recovery...... and welcome aboard!
I hope you were a.._'good wife'_ , and strawed that hoop house for him, ehh?...


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## Cali*Style (Mar 16, 2011)

Well, I am out and alive. lol  Sore as hell, but life rolls on...   Babies look pitiful, but they are alive.  They got left outside for two full days uncovered while I was away, thank goodness we didn't get a cold snap.  I am a real mess still, so things may be a little slow going getting back together... But I will do my best.

Lol Hick... Unfortunately, a few of my hoop house supplies were lost in the accident. But my wife has a bonus coming in another week or so, hopefully things will be back under way soon.

 Thank you for the concern and good wishes  ~Cali  :48:

I will snap some pictures today, the camera doesn't weigh much...  :/ lmao


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## MosesPMG (Mar 16, 2011)

Im glad your ok Cali. 
mojo to help you and your little ones


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## OldHippieChick (Mar 16, 2011)

Good to hear from you man. 
Wishing you a speedy recovery.


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## MichiganMedhead (Mar 18, 2011)

i just threw 35 white widows and 15 michiganders in cups. may the outdoor adventures begin. i may go start digging holes today.


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## Maittie (Sep 27, 2011)

Cali*Style said:
			
		

> The name should say it all.    What I am going to try and accomplish, will be a grow dedicated to hitting the 5 pound mark (Per plant of course). Before this becomes a tinkling match, I am not going to some how magically alter these things...  Just going to do my absolute best to provide an environment, that will allow these plants to reach their full potential.
> 
> I have been reading countless threads and books on growing etc. As well as playing with little things here and there. I believe I have found a system that works well for me, and I am ready to use it in a large scale.
> 
> ...


Love those massive plants in your garden. You better call in reinforcements for trimming time. Gonna be a good one.


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