These plants were given to me by a friend here in Oregon. He had started them indoors and they were about 3' tall and very small in diameter when I planted them. It's been four months now since I put them in the garden. This isn't my first rodeo but I've never had plants this prolific and I suspect it's in part due to the weather we have had this year. This is great fun albeit a lot of work! I swear some of these buds have to be 18" tall! I have been ammending this soil with lots compost annually for around 15 years. Compost, bone meal and egg shells are the only nutrients I use.