good spot for a pot plot...not!

gogrow

gogrow

confused
i've spent my morning hiking around in a piece of woods about 20 acres....without finding a single suitable grow spot.... all of the area is mostly pine trees with a few oak and magnolia mixed in; grass only grows in a few spots, everywhere else, the forest floor is a foot thick with old pine needles and other leaf litter, so even if i can find a sunny spot, im sure the soil will be way too acidic.... got alot more hiking to do yet still, that was only the first of many possible areas. anyone have any tips of things to look for (certain vegetation) that may indicate tolerable conditions for growing our precious herb?? im on the gulf coast if that helps....
 
gogrow

gogrow

confused
korvette1977 said:
yea stay home and scout your area with google earth
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have tried that route, but it hasnt updated my area in awhile now, and any clear/sunny spots i can see are much too large of open areas to be planting a crop in......green hat w/an orange bill ya know? i figured i'd just scout it out on foot, cause it has to be near enough to hike to for water/nutes..... i am near a river and creeks, but those areas of the woods are used heavily for 4wheelin and hunting.... nobody (legally) is hunting or riding in the areas i have in mind; so should be good on that aspect; im just having hell finding that "sweet spot". yet again, any kind of vegetation i should be looking for in the area??
 
gogrow

gogrow

confused
gangjababy said:
You can always bring soil in to spots covered in pine needles, just line the hole with plastic baggs.
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i have considered this, but when it rains, (which hasnt happened much this summer) wouldnt the bag hold water, possibly causing root rot?
 
South Texas

South Texas

Well-Known Member
I started doing the plot-spot search in Oct. Planning is 1/2 the fun. East to west, no trees in sight. I grew up in the east TX Piny woods thicket, I know your acidity problem. Find a east-west clear spot, use (I think) lime on the area to drop the acidity, & plant your ass off. High ground will vent your plant. Good luck.
 
gogrow

gogrow

confused
South Texas said:
I started doing the plot-spot search in Oct. Planning is 1/2 the fun. East to west, no trees in sight. I grew up in the east TX Piny woods thicket, I know your acidity problem. Find a east-west clear spot, use (I think) lime on the area to drop the acidity, & plant your ass off. High ground will vent your plant. Good luck.
Click to expand...

are you saying that i can use the existing soil if i add the dolomitic lime; or would i still need to bring in my own soil?? and what do you mean by "high ground will vent the plant"???
 
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shenagen

Well-Known Member
I think he means that if you plant on a hill the wind naturally gushes up the hill and it will help keep fresh air around the plants. I 've got mine half way up a hill and it works well...always seems to be a breeze.
 
A

anomaloustango

Active Member
Any soil can be treated to be suitable. The big conditions are sun and avalibility of water. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE HAULING WATER.

If you are lucky you live close to a river you can use a canoe on--one with lots of overgrown islands. Watch out for the poision ivy in such places. You can get it even from the dried stems of dead plants if you rip them up without gloves on.

Otherwise I suggest you find a stream and get youself some sort of small GPS system. I bought a super sensitive antenna and plug it into my Pocket PC which makes a superior GPS system because you can use a program for driving or one for hiking. I use a program called Memory Map. This way you can just wander along and through a stream and plant a seedling here and there where microconditions are right. Plant them just away from the stream and away from any trails and don't creat a trail to them yourself-- use rocks and fallen logs and such to walk on. Watering two or three times a week should suffice if you set them up correctly. Record a waypoint on your GPS program every time you plant a seedling. This way it will automatically lead you back to them by satellite next time. This way you will not need to plant a field or patch and it won't be visible from the air. If someone finds, or animals eat a few of your plants it won't matter too much as some of them should make it, if you are the least bit competent.

This system is so much more stealth than planting a patch that it's worth the couple hundred bucks to set yourself up with a viable Pocket Pc GPS system. You will also be able to use it as a computer for less intensive activities such as surfing and word processing, listening to mP3, cell phone--etc.

Over a few grows the plants themselves will tell you the best spots to put them. Just be sure to put out a lot of seedlings to start off, and be prepared for some of them to be lost to critters and whatnot, and some of them to flourish. Its amazing how different plants will taste form one area to another, even if they are from the same mamma and all other conditions seem pretty equal. Plus--around harvest time you will not feel as if anyone can rip you of by finding your patch. Someone may get lucky with a plant or too, but if you are stealthy and careful, no one will find them all.

Cheers from the house of mist and fog,
 
gogrow

gogrow

confused
shenagen said:
I think he means that if you plant on a hill the wind naturally gushes up the hill and it will help keep fresh air around the plants. I 've got mine half way up a hill and it works well...always seems to be a breeze.
Click to expand...

thanks for the clarification....but here where i am we dont really have hills, we have "slightly above sea level"; but i will keep it in mind....


anomaloustango said:
Any soil can be treated to be suitable. The big conditions are sun and avalibility of water. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE HAULING WATER.

If you are lucky you live close to a river you can use a canoe on--one with lots of overgrown islands. Watch out for the poision ivy in such places. You can get it even from the dried stems of dead plants if you rip them up without gloves on.

Otherwise I suggest you find a stream and get youself some sort of small GPS system. I bought a super sensitive antenna and plug it into my Pocket PC which makes a superior GPS system because you can use a program for driving or one for hiking. I use a program called Memory Map. This way you can just wander along and through a stream and plant a seedling here and there where microconditions are right. Plant them just away from the stream and away from any trails and don't creat a trail to them yourself-- use rocks and fallen logs and such to walk on. Watering two or three times a week should suffice if you set them up correctly. Record a waypoint on your GPS program every time you plant a seedling. This way it will automatically lead you back to them by satellite next time. This way you will not need to plant a field or patch and it won't be visible from the air. If someone finds, or animals eat a few of your plants it won't matter too much as some of them should make it, if you are the least bit competent.

This system is so much more stealth than planting a patch that it's worth the couple hundred bucks to set yourself up with a viable Pocket Pc GPS system. You will also be able to use it as a computer for less intensive activities such as surfing and word processing, listening to mP3, cell phone--etc.

Over a few grows the plants themselves will tell you the best spots to put them. Just be sure to put out a lot of seedlings to start off, and be prepared for some of them to be lost to critters and whatnot, and some of them to flourish. Its amazing how different plants will taste form one area to another, even if they are from the same mamma and all other conditions seem pretty equal. Plus--around harvest time you will not feel as if anyone can rip you of by finding your patch. Someone may get lucky with a plant or too, but if you are stealthy and careful, no one will find them all.

Cheers from the house of mist and fog,
Click to expand...

i live very near to a river, but dont have a perouge (canoe)....as such, i have limited (hiking) access to areas around the river....all of which is hunting land; my side is my inlaws personal hunting/campground; the other bank of the river belongs to a local hunting club.... so i am not even considering using the river as a water source.... i dont mind hiking with a packful of water every few days; hell, everday if need arises... looks like the few places that arent hunted in or used extensively for 4wheelin are fairly close to my own property and far from any water source:evil:; so toting water will be a neccesary evil...
 
S

shenagen

Well-Known Member
You could get a big water drum from a co-op and have drip lines running. This is something I've been thinking about doing lately...I just don't know how well it would work...and what flow rate dripers to use, so that the water doesn't get drained in a day or 2. Mine are in containers though...so they have to be watered more often. Its just getting to be a pain in the ass having to water them every morning before work.
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
gogrow said:
i've spent my morning hiking around in a piece of woods about 20 acres....without finding a single suitable grow spot.... all of the area is mostly pine trees with a few oak and magnolia mixed in; grass only grows in a few spots, everywhere else, the forest floor is a foot thick with old pine needles and other leaf litter, so even if i can find a sunny spot, im sure the soil will be way too acidic.... got alot more hiking to do yet still, that was only the first of many possible areas. anyone have any tips of things to look for (certain vegetation) that may indicate tolerable conditions for growing our precious herb?? im on the gulf coast if that helps....
Click to expand...
Without reading further, how about areas with berry brambles? We have a lot of those out here, don't know if you have anything like that out there.
 
gogrow

gogrow

confused
Seamaiden said:
Without reading further, how about areas with berry brambles? We have a lot of those out here, don't know if you have anything like that out there.
Click to expand...

yes we have plenty of blackberries around here; that has been mentioned as an indicator already.... for now they are tucked away in a corner of the yard, patiently waiting on me to find their new home as soon as this rain passes i'll be back to looking for the perfect spot:blsmoke:
 
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