Low humidity during flower

[ROSTERMAN]

Nice, don’t think I’m brave enough to put my first outdoor grow right in the dirt but I’ll bet they grow much better than in the pots I planned to use. Maybe I’ll at least try one this way.

 

[user 60570]

How big a hole do I need to dig for an in ground plant and what should I put in it to get it ready for spring?

hey there….

size of hole depends on size of plant when transplanted

for example , I veg my plants indoors in the early spring and I like to get them 3-4 feet tall and in 5 gallon buckets and hardened off before transplanting outdoors

then I dig a hole about the size of the 5 gallon bucket , maybe a little deeper , then I put about a gallon of ProMix in the bottom of the hole and sometimes I throw in a handful of time released ferts , like Osmocote

for smaller plants I dig smaller holes ….as a general rule , I try to dig a hole about 3-5 times bigger than the container they are growing in if that makes sense

the garden area is tilled about a foot deep and has a lot of chicken manure on it and in it from the 10+ years of growing in that same area , about 30’ x 60’

hardening off the plants to acclimatize them to outdoor temps and synchronizing the outdoor hours of daylight with the indoor lights is also a challenge

all the best

 

[SubmarineGirl]

hey there….

size of hole depends on size of plant when transplanted

for example , I veg my plants indoors in the early spring and I like to get them 3-4 feet tall and in 5 gallon buckets and hardened off before transplanting outdoors

then I dig a hole about the size of the 5 gallon bucket , maybe a little deeper , then I put about a gallon of ProMix in the bottom of the hole and sometimes I throw in a handful of time released ferts , like Osmocote

for smaller plants I dig smaller holes ….as a general rule , I try to dig a hole about 3-5 times bigger than the container they are growing in if that makes sense

the garden area is tilled about a foot deep and has a lot of chicken manure on it and in it from the 10+ years of growing in that same area , about 30’ x 60’

hardening off the plants to acclimatize them to outdoor temps and synchronizing the outdoor hours of daylight with the indoor lights is also a challenge

all the best

So your dirt where you are planting is enriched with all those goodies from the year before. My dirt is where I plan to remove an azalea bush and put it in its place. What can I give my dirt now to help in the spring? I have lots of worms here. My vegetable garden squares are full of them, so is the whole yard. I’m thinking this alone would help but was wondering if I should put anything in now to help in the spring. I don’t have access to good chicken poop. Also about the light challenge, do you think if I leave my lights on all day in the tent and just dim them really low at night it would help with the challenge of the transformation from inside to outside. I have LEDs and although it would be a nightly effort it may be worth a try. It’s not real dark around here at night outside like it is in my tent with the lights off.

 

[kevinn]

My 2 cents is that if you have a good inside grow situation, stay there. I have lost more than 1 crop to bud rot here in VA. September is always hot, rainy and humid. At least where I am. A lot of hard work, to just have to throw in trash.

 

[SubmarineGirl]

My 2 cents is that if you have a good inside grow situation, stay there. I have lost more than 1 crop to bud rot here in VA. September is always hot, rainy and humid. At least where I am. A lot of hard work, to just have to throw in trash.

There will always some kind of action going on in the inside tent. Just thought I’d give the outside thing a try this spring too. Looks like we are both in the same area south of the mason dixon. I have a lot of shade in my yard but sunshine here and there. I have had good luck with vegetables here outside and seem to have reasonably good soil throughout the yard. My biggest problem will be with critters although there are ways to deal with that too according to my new friends here. So sorry about your crop you had to trash. I know that must be a bummer. I would cry I’m sure…

 

[user 60570]

So your dirt where you are planting is enriched with all those goodies from the year before. My dirt is where I plan to remove an azalea bush and put it in its place. What can I give my dirt now to help in the spring? I have lots of worms here. My vegetable garden squares are full of them, so is the whole yard. I’m thinking this alone would help but was wondering if I should put anything in now to help in the spring. I don’t have access to good chicken ****. Also about the light challenge, do you think if I leave my lights on all day in the tent and just dim them really low at night it would help with the challenge of the transformation from inside to outside. I have LEDs and although it would be a nightly effort it may be worth a try. It’s not real dark around here at night outside like it is in my tent with the lights off.

from the sounds of it , your dirt sounds good

we top dress our plants with stuff like bat and seabird guano and my favorite , worm castings , feeding them 2-3 times a month…

or we make teas and feed them 2-3 times a month….otherwise just regular tap water and rain when we have it

here is the dealio on transitioning from indoor to outdoor ; when vegging indoors I keep lights on 24-7 or at least 16-8

so if I put them outdoors from 24 hours of light to say 12 hours of light , that plant will most likely start to flower

so the trick is to get them outdoors when there is enough light to keep them in veg until the fall

or you can manipulate the outdoor light by adding some outdoor lighting and turn the light on an hour early before sun comes up and leaving them on for an hour after sun goes down….

but that is a hassle , we have done it successfully several times

what works best for us is when we have plants in 5 gallon buckets we set them outdoors as soon as it’s warm enough , mostly early March and most of April….

but we bring them in every night and keep them under the lights for an hour or two

that is a hassle too but not so much because my garage faces south and it’s easy to move 20-30 buckets in and out twice a day

so yeah , taking the plants in and out as much as possible is the hardening off process that works for us

im sure there are many other ways

 

[SubmarineGirl]

from the sounds of it , your dirt sounds good

we top dress our plants with stuff like bat and seabird guano and my favorite , worm castings , feeding them 2-3 times a month…

or we make teas and feed them 2-3 times a month….otherwise just regular tap water and rain when we have it

here is the dealio on transitioning from indoor to outdoor ; when vegging indoors I keep lights on 24-7 or at least 16-8

so if I put them outdoors from 24 hours of light to say 12 hours of light , that plant will most likely start to flower

so the trick is to get them outdoors when there is enough light to keep them in veg until the fall

or you can manipulate the outdoor light by adding some outdoor lighting and turn the light on an hour early before sun comes up and leaving them on for an hour after sun goes down….

but that is a hassle , we have done it successfully several times

what works best for us is when we have plants in 5 gallon buckets we set them outdoors as soon as it’s warm enough , mostly early March and most of April….

but we bring them in every night and keep them under the lights for an hour or two

that is a hassle too but not so much because my garage faces south and it’s easy to move 20-30 buckets in and out twice a day

so yeah , taking the plants in and out as much as possible is the hardening off process that works for us

im sure there are many other ways

Thanks for your detailed response. Do you think it would help if I started seeds in February under lights then put them outside in March when they are just out of the seedling stage just starting the veg stage? Would there be less chance of them going into flower at that stage than putting them out at a later stage in veg possibly making it easier to get use to being outside earlier? I usually start my garden early as we don’t usually have anymore freeze by March. I usually start my veggie seeds inside and transplant them out in the dirt in early March with my fingers crossed that we won’t get any more freeze. I could leave them in their pots outside and bring them in by a window if we happen to get a cold night. How warm does the outside temp need to be before putting them out? Thanks again

 

[user 60570]

You are welcome

you can put them outside anytime it’s above freezing

the secret is to keep them in veg and synchronization with outdoor light so they don’t flower to early and then it’s a mess to get them to revert back to veg

the simplest way is just to wait until May 15-30 to put them out

 

[ROSTERMAN]

If your outside soil is questionable I do this
I dig a hole aprrox the size of 10 gals (2- 5 gal buckets or more)
Then fill that hole back up with a good store bought product of your choice
ie Fox farm ocean or alike
You can add Pro mix at bottom as @bigsur51 stated above and mix in some perlite to the Fox farm for drainage,
Plant the plant as you would in a pot,

 

[SubmarineGirl]

If your outside soil is questionable I do this
I dig a hole aprrox the size of 10 gals (2- 5 gal buckets or more)
Then fill that hole back up with a good store bought product of your choice
ie Fox farm ocean or alike
You can add Pro mix at bottom as @bigsur51 stated above and mix in some perlite to the Fox farm for drainage,
Plant the plant as you would in a pot,

I had great luck with the ocean in the tent. This sounds good thanks. I’ll b digging a big hole and filling it up with good dirt then