King Amdo
Registered on
May-26-2004
More User Info
|
Message #18448 posted by King Amdo (Info) May 14, 2006 17:00:07 ET
Seeing as I just wrote this I thought I'd put this up for people to see....
Assuming that the risk of frost is over and the plants are big enough and hardened off you can plant out now. I find they grow to quickly and lanky if there is too much heat (greenhouse). Once they are 6" high then they'll take off. Most varieties respond well to compostation and fertilizer...(but not the difficult/specialist types)...and by putting time and effort into quality rather than quanity you will be greatly rewarded! This might mean loctating quality soil from a streambed and carrying to the planting site (good method)...so your nice and light planting site might benefit from being near a boggy stream bed type thing...with lots of rich silt/run off from woodlands etc...perhaps pine woods might not be so ideal...more acidic etc. This has the advantage of 'watering in' the plants. This is very important...if the soil is dry and theres no rain or the weather turns dry soon after planting you'll get severe growth retardation unless you have this reserve of moisture. They are vunerable at this stage. Then on site mix this soil with fertilizer...perhaps wood ash or some nice stuff like this maybe....
http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=60_165_167&products_id=2090
You want at least a cubic foot hole. It would be quite nice to prepare a planting around the previous fall...obatining a largish area of 100% wool carpet, putting down some fertilizer, broadcast style, and then simply cut holes through the now rotting carpet next late spring and planting directly into the rich woodland soil! You'll have stable, undisturbed and firm soil this way...and plants that are more likely to stay upright. (they get heavy!) This could be used 2 years or more maybe depending on surrounding vegetation...it tends to grow so quick. Again much easier in the garden...but perhaps less cosmic than being in the woods!
Protect from rabbits with chicken wire. I build a cylinder about 1.5-2 feet high around each plantmade from scrap apple orchard tree protectors nearby...you'll find the rabbits will stand on their hind legs and stretch up to get at this plant. Bury the base firmly in the soil...find some sicks locally to weave through the wire and prod into the soil... so supporting the cylinder well against animal predation. I don't plant where there are deer. Slugs can be a problem but not if you plant early and big enough. Yes the house garden is best...the plants can be tended to properly...but this can be stressful.
I can't decide if I'm going to prune the plants this year...I discoved this season not to 'top' (prune) auto-flowering varities...it delays them!
Pruning has the advantage of the stems then weaving themselves through the wire and so the whole arrangment being stronger and self supposting...rather than messing around with string/poles etc later on. Otherwise I tie the stalk of the plant to the top of the wire cylinder with string.
Unless you have all female plants or have planted out after flowering starts in the case of autoflowers you'll need to check for the start of flowering whenever that is..it can vary a lot...unless you know the cultivar. When they start flowering they'll put on a huge growth of bud..if you've only purchased small expensive bits from dealers before its truely awesome to see!
Just listening to this....
http://www.housenationradio.com/
Post-Gitmo musak or something!
PEACEOMLOVESHARETELEPATHY!
|
