Outdoor Northern Lights Auto Mini Forest

[Exotic Flower]

A while ago I asked if it was better to do many forest guerillas, or several well tended plants. The answer came to me in my sleep: Do many well tended forest guerillas!

Going out 2 weeks apart.
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Much respect, my friend!!!

Yup, many well tended guerilla forests! (Not forest guerillas!)

I like your style, you got serious courage.

Your digging method is great. That's what slowed me down in the past.
Getting the time to dig out decent holes. But that drill... love it!
And then drop in the hot fert mix, it's def the best way.
Do you dig first then drop the mix? Or drop and mix it as you dig / drill?

Are those seedling pots the biodegradable ones? Great idea.
Just drop them straight in, no need to waste time transplanting.

What auto strains you growing? At 250 beans, get them at a good price?
Or you using your own beans?

Awesome work, thanks for sharing!

 

[Tycho]

Much respect, my friend!!!

Yup, many well tended guerilla forests! (Not forest guerillas!)

I like your style, you got serious courage.

Your digging method is great. That's what slowed me down in the past.
Getting the time to dig out decent holes. But that drill... love it!
And then drop in the hot fert mix, it's def the best way.
Do you dig first then drop the mix? Or drop and mix it as you dig / drill?

Are those seedling pots the biodegradable ones? Great idea.
Just drop them straight in, no need to waste time transplanting.

What auto strains you growing? At 250 beans, get them at a good price?
Or you using your own beans?

Awesome work, thanks for sharing!

You're welcome Maria.
The drill/auger works without any effort from me. If it hits something, I just put it in reverse then drill adjacent to the hole so the odd one is quite big.

I dig the holes then walk around and scoop a cup full in the holes. I also have a lot of lime in the mix. Now I'll let it sit until June 1.

Peat pots tend to be a little acidic, so I soak/rinse them in a big tub until they stop bubbling and are well hydrated. When I put them in the trays, I water from the top to hydrate my seed starter, then I plant my sprouts, and I water from the bottom from then on. Sometimes the trays have 3/4 inch of water in them and I'll let the tray go dry. When the pots start drying on top, I'll spray them to keep them wet, then water from the bottom again. So I alternate the watering, but I'm not strict about it. If the pots dry out, the roots will never break through. If you keep them wet, no problem.

Yup, just drop them in the hole, cover, and you're In and out. Like a rabbit.

 

[KonopCh]

How do you water all those plants?
How big holes for autos?

 

[Exotic Flower]

The drill/auger works without any effort from me. If it hits something, I just put it in reverse then drill adjacent to the hole so the odd one is quite big.

I dig the holes then walk around and scoop a cup full in the holes. I also have a lot of lime in the mix. Now I'll let it sit until June 1.

Peat pots tend to be a little acidic, so I soak/rinse them in a big tub until they stop bubbling and are well hydrated. When I put them in the trays, I water from the top to hydrate my seed starter, then I plant my sprouts, and I water from the bottom from then on. Sometimes the trays have 3/4 inch of water in them and I'll let the tray go dry. When the pots start drying on top, I'll spray them to keep them wet, then water from the bottom again. So I alternate the watering, but I'm not strict about it. If the pots dry out, the roots will never break through. If you keep them wet, no problem.

Yup, just drop them in the hole, cover, and you're In and out. Like a rabbit.

Thanks. I was wondering how wet those pots would need to be to break up.
So you keep them quite wet all the time, from start to planting out.
Then when in the ground, the roots are already breaking through.
Ok, got the idea. I've def thought of this before for future outdoor grows.

 

[Tycho]

How do you water all those plants?
How big holes for autos?

The drill auger is 3 feet long by 3 inches wide. I go about 3 feet deep then rotate to widen it as described in my previous post. So the holes are about 3'x12". If I have time and feel like it, I'll drill 3 holes in a tight triangle and really mess it up so the hole ends up being 3' by 2'.

My spots are in a Tertiary Watershed that feed the St. Lawrence Seaway and Ottawa Rivers. Some spots are in low lying forest clearings which stay damp most of the summer, but can dry out in the first few inches if it doesn't rain for a month. And that's ok. When I select a spot that does dry out more, I use a LITTLE water crystals, but I'm careful with them because 1 or 2 heaping teaspoon in a gallon of water will turn the gallon solid. So using too much will push your plant right out of the hole. It's best to hydrate them before you put it in your holes, but I still put a bit dry in the holes. Having said that, letting your plants dry out and letting them work for water can help build a healthy root system. There's always water down deeper.

I have a few high spots that will wilt the plants if it doesn't rain for 3-4 weeks. But those spots have a water source. I use a submersible pump (sump pump or pond pump). The pump can get clogged with crap so I take a couple of the cheapest furnace filters apart and wrap it around the pump and intake with it. I've seen floating pond pumps that would be awesome, but I'm too cheap to buy one. I use a pool hose because it doesn't take up room for the bigger grows, but keep it rolled up and hidden in a camo bag because they're bright blue. For power I have a couple of power packs I picked up at garage sales. The cables unplug from the bigger ones. They're heavy as shit and I carry that bastard in. I dropped a solar panel (garage sale) during the winter to keep it charged. I also have a smaller 12v version that works well with a 12v pump and recharges well with a solar panel. But my favorite is my Drill! I have an aquarium and use a pump that attaches to my drill to clean out the sediment. A half inch clear hose works well to fill water jugs. The downside is that it can burn out your drill if you use it continually, so a brushless drill is better.

But I rarely water. Not once last year, but twice 2 years ago. The only time I've ever watered manually was for a dozen lone plants.

Your Federal and Provincial/State governments have resources you can use. In canada I scour Natural Resources and the Ontario Government for information.
For example, I use the Ministry Of Natural Resources And Forestry Water Flow Assessment Tool to find suitable wetlands.
http://www.gisapplication.lrc.gov.on.ca/OFAT/Index.html?site=OFAT&viewer=OFAT&locale=en-US

 

[Tycho]

Thanks. I was wondering how wet those pots would need to be to break up.
So you keep them quite wet all the time, from start to planting out.
Then when in the ground, the roots are already breaking through.
Ok, got the idea. I've def thought of this before for future outdoor grows.

You got it.
Spring time is the best time to dig. The downside is that it's raining now. Yesterday I got soaked and was frozen to the bone. lol. A lot of the holes were muddy and half filled with water yesterday. But that's expected in May. The high spots are way better. Wet but no water.

If you plant and it's dry, then you'll have to water and use a bit of water crystals when you do, but by June 1st? It should be pretty good still. Move the earth from the hole, drop your plant, cover, next.

 

[Exotic Flower]

You got it.
Spring time is the best time to dig. The downside is that it's raining now. Yesterday I got soaked and was frozen to the bone. lol. A lot of the holes were muddy and half filled with water yesterday. But that's expected in May. The high spots are way better. Wet but no water.

If you plant and it's dry, then you'll have to water and use a bit of water crystals when you do, but by June 1st? It should be pretty good still. Move the earth from the hole, drop your plant, cover, next.

You gotta journal this all for us, hombre.

 

[thetreeman]

You're welcome Maria.
The drill/auger works without any effort from me. If it hits something, I just put it in reverse then drill adjacent to the hole so the odd one is quite big.

I dig the holes then walk around and scoop a cup full in the holes. I also have a lot of lime in the mix. Now I'll let it sit until June 1.

Peat pots tend to be a little acidic, so I soak/rinse them in a big tub until they stop bubbling and are well hydrated. When I put them in the trays, I water from the top to hydrate my seed starter, then I plant my sprouts, and I water from the bottom from then on. Sometimes the trays have 3/4 inch of water in them and I'll let the tray go dry. When the pots start drying on top, I'll spray them to keep them wet, then water from the bottom again. So I alternate the watering, but I'm not strict about it. If the pots dry out, the roots will never break through. If you keep them wet, no problem.

Yup, just drop them in the hole, cover, and you're In and out. Like a rabbit.

How much time / hole and how many holes / battery? What drill do you use and what auger bit? Sounds like a pretty slick deal... Cordless electric ice auger might work well also, but be hard to pack in/out I suppose.

 

[Tycho]

I will. I'm only giving back, for having been given so much.

I expect there to be errors, and hope people will point them out when they see them, or when they disagree. We're all on the same team here, and it's all about growing an amazing plant.

 

[Tycho]

How much time / hole and how many holes / battery? What drill do you use and what auger bit? Sounds like a pretty slick deal... Cordless electric ice auger might work well also, but be hard to pack in/out I suppose.

Everything with the drill. I have two drills. An 18v Dewalt, and an 20v Dewalt. I use the 20v because it has more power and I have more batteries for it, but I've used the 18v without issues (yesterday). I can dig a 100 holes with the 18v and two batteries. But that's pretty easy digging with a 3 inch auger. The 20v is newer, and so are the batteries. I can go all day with two 6aH batteries and the 4 inch auger. (I'm using this one for the rest of the holes). On the ice, I can easily dig 100 holes in two feet of ice with power to spare. Note that I remove the ice blades for digging in soil. I paid $20 for this one on Kijiji. I got the Auger Drill Adapter on Amazon for $2.50.

I also have an electric trimmer that never seems to die. Fast, powerful and most importantly, quiet when I'm in slash and burn mode. I hate carrying things but have no choice if I want to keep the grass/weeds at bay. I only use it in July and August-September (harvest time).

Edit 1: I spray painted my 18v drill Flat Black because Dewalt tools are Bright Yellow!
Edit 2: I was sitting in my garage having a Pepsi after getting my greenhouse up (it's my car shelter that was destroyed in a blizzard this winter.) and was looking at my auger. I pulled out my measuring tape and found it to be only 4". Still digs a great hole though. I've corrected it above.