Easy everyone hope you’re all getting pumped for the season. I sowed 3 seeds on Sunday first of the season I couldn’t wait any longer! Now I’ll be sowing once a week until June!
I’ve made some changes to my strategy that I think you’ll be interested to read...
Firstly, I was planning on using fabric pots but on reflection that’s not a great idea as it’s less covert and will require more frequent watering. My site has a great open south-facing aspect but it’s quite heavy clay which is dominated by couch-grass, a pernicious weed that will stifle my plants. I noticed that because I’m on quite a steep slope, when it rains there is quite a lot of surface runoff. This has produced little channels and gullies in the land and there are pumpkin sized lobes of sediment that have accumulated across the site. They almost look like someone has emptied a barrow load of soil on the ground! I used a trowel to dig into one of these lobes and it was very friable soft sediment which looks quite rich. Some of them might have been colonised by ants so they’re very airy which should be great for cannabis. To prepare each lobe for planting, I first ripped out a palm-sized patch of grass growing on top of the lobe, then added some homemade compost to that bear patch. I then added a generous sprinkle of Dr Forest’s nutrient mix (Black Soldier Fly Frass, Rock Dust, Seaweed, Krill Meal, Oyster Shell Flour, Spirulina, Humic and Fulvic Acid) and watered with some homemade LAB and seaweed extract. That should wake up the biology in the soil! I added about 10 compost worms to each of the lobes to start bringing the compost down into the lobe. As the grass on the sides of the lobe was quite long and would likely get much longer in the spring and out-compete my plants, I trimmed it short with my hands and added all the grass and moss to the top of the lobe which will act as a mulch, slowly decomposing and protecting the worms from birds scratching in the compost underneath. The plan is to start my seeds in 5cm tall newspaper pots and grow them on to three nodes before planting them out at the site. I’m trying to get seeds with an open pollination this year so I’ll probably grow 2 or 3 plants per lobe. I’ll continue to feed the soil throughout the season with wild crafted fertiliser made from nettles, comfrey and worm casting extract. The biggest threat is deer, I need to be patient because if I plant out before other plants are shooting, they’ll likely eat my treasured herb. All things considered, I’m feeling confident about my strategy but I’d welcome any criticism or potential holes you can spot in my plan!
I’ve made some changes to my strategy that I think you’ll be interested to read...
Firstly, I was planning on using fabric pots but on reflection that’s not a great idea as it’s less covert and will require more frequent watering. My site has a great open south-facing aspect but it’s quite heavy clay which is dominated by couch-grass, a pernicious weed that will stifle my plants. I noticed that because I’m on quite a steep slope, when it rains there is quite a lot of surface runoff. This has produced little channels and gullies in the land and there are pumpkin sized lobes of sediment that have accumulated across the site. They almost look like someone has emptied a barrow load of soil on the ground! I used a trowel to dig into one of these lobes and it was very friable soft sediment which looks quite rich. Some of them might have been colonised by ants so they’re very airy which should be great for cannabis. To prepare each lobe for planting, I first ripped out a palm-sized patch of grass growing on top of the lobe, then added some homemade compost to that bear patch. I then added a generous sprinkle of Dr Forest’s nutrient mix (Black Soldier Fly Frass, Rock Dust, Seaweed, Krill Meal, Oyster Shell Flour, Spirulina, Humic and Fulvic Acid) and watered with some homemade LAB and seaweed extract. That should wake up the biology in the soil! I added about 10 compost worms to each of the lobes to start bringing the compost down into the lobe. As the grass on the sides of the lobe was quite long and would likely get much longer in the spring and out-compete my plants, I trimmed it short with my hands and added all the grass and moss to the top of the lobe which will act as a mulch, slowly decomposing and protecting the worms from birds scratching in the compost underneath. The plan is to start my seeds in 5cm tall newspaper pots and grow them on to three nodes before planting them out at the site. I’m trying to get seeds with an open pollination this year so I’ll probably grow 2 or 3 plants per lobe. I’ll continue to feed the soil throughout the season with wild crafted fertiliser made from nettles, comfrey and worm casting extract. The biggest threat is deer, I need to be patient because if I plant out before other plants are shooting, they’ll likely eat my treasured herb. All things considered, I’m feeling confident about my strategy but I’d welcome any criticism or potential holes you can spot in my plan!
