What kind of training for outdoors?

[Rentaldog]

Hello,

First off, thanks for the help you guys n gals have given (directly, and through your forum posts)! Its looking like I will be able to start my first legal crop indoors this December, and move them outside once the weather permits That being said, I had a question or two.

I plan on starting as many as I can and then moving them outdoors once the last freeze passes. In the meantime, would you suggest topping and doing some LST? This will be my first outdoor grow, but I want to go for some monsters. I plan on running hog wire around the plants like I've seen to help them spread and branch out. With a little under a full years growth im hoping for some trees lol.

So far the idea is to dig up some holes where they will be planted, recondition the soil with the supersoil mix, then refill the holes. I've also considered fabric pots, just not sure what the advantages are to that compared to going right in the ground. Also, this will be in Colorado, so height for the greenhouse is a concern if I go the fabric pot route.

In addition to the supersoil I may supplement with some Maxsea feed. This is an area im a complete noob in, I have only run FF trio pack indoors for nutes. I dont want to put out the cash for a dosimeter right at the start, and I've heard that the supersoil should support the plant for a good while. Think the Maxsea will keep the girls up once the soil is tapped out?

I guess my main concern is the formation of the plants. I mainline indoors as best I can, and I think it would work well outside. My thinking is the wider the plant, the more sun gets to the inside, the more buds I get at harvest. Thing is, lots of the trees Ive seen are up there at 10 and 12 feet tall xD couldnt tell what they did with all that plant in the way haha.

Anyhow, thanks again and keep up the good work! GL this grow season!

 

[MjMama]

You plan sounds really good to me. There is only one thing I feel I should point out. If you start your plants indoors in December, they will be mature plants by the time you move them outdoors, and they will flower early if you plant too soon. You need to wait until at least mid may to June before you can safely plant girls that large.

In ground is best unless
you are in a flood prone area, then I would use pots. I had a friend in CO lose her entire grow to flooding two years ago.

Super soil is great. You can always just feed with teas and top dressings of organic goodies later instead of the maxsea but that's up to you. I like to make my own ferts. It's fun and cheaper.

 

[MjMama]

Sorry I missed you main question! Yes big and wide is way better than tell. Tall plants are a bitch to support and you don't want to pull out the ladder every time you spray and check your buds etc. I top a few times early on, then train them through metal cages made from
fencing I get at Home Depot. They sell rolls and flat sheets of it. Once the plants are as tall as the cages (4-5 feet) I put a screen over the top of the cages to make a big outdoor scrog. The wider the plant the more tops and the more usable buds you will yield. Nobody likes trimming lbs of popcorn.

 

[Rentaldog]

Thanks very much for your posts MjMama I appreciate the information! I plan on going for a strain hunt pretty soon, at least find a good strong mother to clone out. I was planning on going a blue dream, or a cross with that, since I have heard a lot of growers are fond of it. Any input on that strain? So far my favorites been Dutch Passions Blueberry, but having no experience outdoors im trying to go for a safe bet lol.

We should have some T5 lighting up in the greenhouse once its all ready to go, so ill be using that to make sure the girls get plenty of light. Is it best to let them get some dark in your experience, or would the veg state benefit from being lit by the T5s and the sun the entire time?

 

[MjMama]

Thanks very much for your posts MjMama I appreciate the information! I plan on going for a strain hunt pretty soon, at least find a good strong mother to clone out. I was planning on going a blue dream, or a cross with that, since I have heard a lot of growers are fond of it. Any input on that strain? So far my favorites been Dutch Passions Blueberry, but having no experience outdoors im trying to go for a safe bet lol.

We should have some T5 lighting up in the greenhouse once its all ready to go, so ill be using that to make sure the girls get plenty of light. Is it best to let them get some dark in your experience, or would the veg state benefit from being lit by the T5s and the sun the entire time?

It's definitely best to let them get
some dark. I remember some research stating plants poors get worn out on 24 our lighting and lose the ability to breath and photosynthesise as well. They stated that 24/0 actually hurt yield slightly in longer grows and came out about equal in short micro grows.

I got complaints from neighbors when I ran supplemental lighting. But other growers I know run them just in the evening and early in the morning to extend daylight to 16 hours a day.

 

[Rentaldog]

The way its looking, we should have a good few acres. Hoping nobody is within eyesight, dont want to risk that sort of thing. I guess ill experiment with my current grow and see how the girls do with a bit of darkness during veg - always read about it, just never played with it.

Thanks again for the replies gl to you!

 

[bigskymtnguy]

I'm using 100 gallon fabric pots outdoors. Growing Blue Dream. I really like the fabric pot compared to in-the -ground. I've done both and find better results with the pots. I keep a couple of large barrels with water and airstones and make tea using Kelp4less.com compost tea starter and some other organic nutes -- it is like supercharging the supersoil/coco/perlite mix. I simply drop in a sump pump and water/fertilize with a hose. As for training, I use those ties from the vegetable section of the grocery store and bend back all of the tips. With Blue Dream, it's really important to lollypop the underside of the plant. I do this once before putting on the wire cage and before flowering. Force flower early, covering with tarps starting July 1. Right now, the BD,s are the size of 55 gallon barrels and really thick. Getting near beer can sized base stem.

 

[calicocalyx]

It's definitely best to let them get
some dark. I remember some research stating plants poors get worn out on 24 our lighting and lose the ability to breath and photosynthesise as well. They stated that 24/0 actually hurt yield slightly in longer grows and came out about equal in short micro grows.

I got complaints from neighbors when I ran supplemental lighting. But other growers I know run them just in the evening and early in the morning to extend daylight to 16 hours a day.

I used to run 24 hr light for my indoor and noticed that they stretch more in flower and stay compact in veg. Seedlings definitely seem more sensitive to dark cycle and I actually made some 7 week strains flower with only 3 hours of darkness by accident. I now veg 20 hours of light and the plants don't randomly freak out with accidental darkness. I need my outdoor to finish by the end of september so that is my concern with early finishers and from seed. My T5 turns off at 11pm, 10:30 made some of those early strains try to flower.

 

[DoctorJackalope]

I have not grown Blue Dream, but I have smoked it and it was great. My favorite so far have been Shiskaberry (DJ's Too Short Blueberry X Afghani), L.A. Confidential, and ChemBerry.Blue Dream was similar to Shiksaberry, but more mental and less physical. Very good.

 

[Rentaldog]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

From the sound of it im really going to have to watch my light cycles. So far the plan is to give 15 or 16 hours of light via T5s in the greenhouse if the day doesnt provide enough on its own, but I may up that to 19 or 20 hours of light per day. I would hate for several months of veg to start flowering early because of a rookie mistake like that >.<

Ill probably grow six blue dreams as big as I can (starting in december indoors, finishing the following fall), and have six other varieties to test out and play with. It will be good to test with different strains, plus its always fun to see how new plants come up compared to others ive grown!

One things for sure though, this fall we have a *lot* of work to take care of lol. Going to be a challenge getting the garden up and running, but im sure it will be a blast to see it finished!