Outdoor Strategies

[SkatterBrayne]

I am currently looking for some property to build a cabin on. I will be moving out of my current residence this month, and staying with a friend for the better part of the next year, so indoor is out of the question.

I would like to have one or two plots on the property this summer, to hopefully provide me with a full years supply of meds to sustain me, a few close friends, and my grandmother who's undergoing chemotherapy. I need enough to last me untill I have electricity up and running in my new home. I refuse to smoke anything grown by anyone's hands but my own, now. I have spoiled myself rotteen

So here's the question. How many acres would it take to give you experienced outdoor gardeners peace of mind? I know many people grow outdoors at their homes, under the noses of their neighbors, but I don't have the cajones to try. I also fear that I would fail miserably with a guerilla grow attempt. Growing on other people's (or state) property makes me uncomfortable, as I have a strict rule of thumb. "One crime at a time"

I was thinking a bare minimum of 5 acres, but a target around 20 acres or so to easily hide 2 decent sized plots. Land is cheap right now, and if I'm ever going to buy now is the time. Sellers are eager, especially in this economy. I definitely want to be isolated enough that I won't arise suspicion hauling water from the lake/stream when I go to water them, as I can't be certain whether or not the land will even have a well yet.

 

[hedgeraider]

So this year I am planning on diggin into the clay again hopefully I can get something figured out with amending the clay cause buying potting mix for each hole sucks.

Anyone else here in the clay? If so how did you find out any fixes for it.....short of years of addin compost to make the soil right. I need something I can get in and out.

I am in clay, you can assess how heavy it is according to the number of other weeds in it. If the other weeds have fairly lush green leaves, it's probably fairly usable.

I dug a trench in the clay once to have a good look at it, it only becomes pure clay about 1-2 feet deep, and prior to that it is dark clay which is a different texture because it's been under a forest, the humic acid makes it less pastey and alkaline.

my view is this- if the ground has got loads of plants growing in, it's full of gaps(old root holes) that the weed roots can find and grow along.

I put only one litre of compost in 3 holes in 45 latitude, and the 3 plants had stalks thicker than my finger and were more than a metre tall, they really got their roots into the clay.

if there are no marshy plants in your clay, and it's 1 or 2 feet above the marshy plants, dig a hole, put some watering, and if the water drains within 20 min ,u have very good soil and you can just put 5 L of really good compost in there.

Trouble with clay is the quantity of humidity in September and during prolonged rains, I am on the clay hilltop and all the blackberries were going white and mouldy at the end of August, which means they were incredibly humid, some of my buds were going mouldy in early August, and the automatics that have less strong roots struggle if they don't have 1l of compost.

What the roots do when they are in an inverted pot of forest clay, as they climb around the edges and find all the gaps in the clay grow into them, it increases the number of possible gaps for the plants into the clay exponentially.

 

[mooons]

I am currently looking for some property to build a cabin on. I will be moving out of my current residence this month, and staying with a friend for the better part of the next year, so indoor is out of the question.

I would like to have one or two plots on the property this summer, to hopefully provide me with a full years supply of meds to sustain me, a few close friends, and my grandmother who's undergoing chemotherapy. I need enough to last me untill I have electricity up and running in my new home. I refuse to smoke anything grown by anyone's hands but my own, now. I have spoiled myself rotteen

So here's the question. How many acres would it take to give you experienced outdoor gardeners peace of mind? I know many people grow outdoors at their homes, under the noses of their neighbors, but I don't have the cajones to try. I also fear that I would fail miserably with a guerilla grow attempt. Growing on other people's (or state) property makes me uncomfortable, as I have a strict rule of thumb. "One crime at a time"

I was thinking a bare minimum of 5 acres, but a target around 20 acres or so to easily hide 2 decent sized plots. Land is cheap right now, and if I'm ever going to buy now is the time. Sellers are eager, especially in this economy. I definitely want to be isolated enough that I won't arise suspicion hauling water from the lake/stream when I go to water them, as I can't be certain whether or not the land will even have a well yet.

Really depends on the surroundings, if its 5 acres of brush like autumn olive, id have no problem putting 4 girls in there, woods I would only put 2 one in a tree one in the tree line, it really depends. You should look for property with a swamp, killer grows and hunting

 

[mooons]

I also think I may have a go with more or less set it and forget it style swamp tubes. But Im goin to cut out the bottom of 3 or 4 milk crates and attach them to each other make a square "swamp tube" then wrap with burlap. 2 girls per tube if I go 3 crates tall and 3 girls if I go 4 crates tall. And then my other land spots

 

[mooons]

I got 4 free tires for a swamptube....
In honor of Nelson.

 

[outdoorgrower]

when should I start prepairting my soil. as im growing straing in the ground?

 

[mooons]

What amendments are in this soil? And it never hurts to be prepared..

 

[thetreeman]

I have an idea for deer/rabbit deterrant Im going to try this year. Take a gallon milk jug, washed out of course, dump in 1qt of 91% alcohol, from walmart or wherever and fill the rest with piss. That will give you about 20% alcohol urine solution. 20% should be enough to prevent bacterial growth so it shouldnt get nasty too fast, if at all. Fill 20oz pop bottles with solution and add a nylon rope 'wick', preferably just large enough to fit, but snugly. Place 'piss-bombs' in strategic locations around your outdoor grow to keep deer and stuff away. I havent tested this yet, but it should work well.... Also garlic and onions are a natural repellant for some animals, and grow well as companion plants for weed. Just plant a few around the outside of your holes near the plants. Piss bombs could also be made with animal urine. Im sure skunk scent would keep even people away, if placed along paths leading to your site.

- - - Updated - - -

Are you growing in the wild, or in your yard? I suggest prepping at least 2 weeks before planting. Also if you take along a different type of plant, like those 6 packs of tomatoes you can get cheap in the spring. Plant those in your holes immediately, by the time you come back with your babies, they should be growing strong. Pull them and plant your babies, if for some reason they arent growing well, you might want to reconsider planting your real plants in that location. Another bonus to having some other type of plant with you when you are prepping your site is, if you were to get caught by someone, although they will shake their heads when you explain, you can claim you are trying to stealth grow some tomatoes because you dont have a yard or garden where you live.... BTW if you get caught, just leave the tomatoes, dont go back to that spot with anything else for a couple years.

 

[oldster]

Wall-o-Water

Has anyone used wall-o-water for getting plants out early? I have used them for tomatoes with good success but never mj. It would be great to get going a few weeks earlier. May give it a try with a couple of auto's.

 

[brambleninja]

Regarding the use of chicken wire cages to protect young plants from animals... I've found that bamboo is without a doubt the best "stake" to use, both for making a "corner" to support the wire in case something heavy is lowered onto the cage, and for staking down the edges of the chicken wire to prevent animals from digging in.

This second point - preventing animals from digging under your cages to get at your plants - is IMO probably the most important thing to keep in mind when setting up cages. In the past I've used smaller, more brittle sticks to stake down the edges, and what I assume is a fox or a coon goes right through them. Now, I give myself maybe 3 inches of chicken wire which lies along the ground, at a 90-degree angle to the vertical wall of wire, and I use 6"-7" angled bamboo stakes with an angled notch cut into them at the top, which fits over a strand of chicken wire, keeping it secure. I angle the stakes inward, toward the cage center, so that even if the wire is pulled over the notch, it's impossible for the animal to get past the stakes and into the cage, because the wire is taut against the stakes, held there by the stakes on the other side of the cage.

That's kind of a hard description to visualize, so just make sure you use some kind of straight, difficult-to-break stakes to secure the edges of your cages. Even and especially if you're just using the stakes to make a physical barrier that animals can't dig past. Young saplings make good stakes, if they're thick enough, and they're soft, so they're easy to sharpen.

Zip-ties are also really useful for quick, easy cage-making. You can use them to secure the cage to its stakes, and to close gaps that deer can reach through.