Outdoors in SE Virginia

R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
FirstCavApache64 said:
We get them in the fall so bad. I get tired of carrying them outside. I have all these strange new white hairs growing on my Blue Dream.
View attachment 4963914


I don't think I'll worry though :). She's got a ton of new growth and I can't wait to see what happens in the next 4 weeks as buds really form up. They're going to get a mild dose of nutes to get started tomorrow morning. Along with some Big Bud for the first time.
Finally had a day of sun today. Still waiting on storms tonight but at least I got through the day. Tomorrow sounds like a cooker. Soaking everybody down till runoff first thing in the morning with my coffee at sunrise in the garden. I'm putting up a bat house this weekend for the bats I have, trying to get more to hang around and help pick off the moths. They are amazing to watch at dusk taking care of my bug problem all natural.
Click to expand...
I‘ve thought about putting up a bat house. Gotta do some research on the best positioning for it, and other things to do to encourage them to take up residence...I’ve seen one or two zooming thru the yard. Gonna be stupid, painful, Africa hot here today too. My brother and I put the top down on my convertible and then sat in a traffic jam for an hour near Portsmouth. It was ugly hot, but neither of us wanted to put the top up...I got scorched. Them we made it the to baseball game, and I got scorched, and toasted too...
 
R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
Giving them a good deep watering. Ph 6.3 water first, let that soak in for a few minutes, then FF wk 12, with Cal mag, ph adjusted to 6.3. here is plant 1. The flash overemphasizes the buds’ brilliance, but gives a good indication of where awesome growth is happening.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
Plant 4. This one didn’t grow too much vertically. The end of the main stalk which is tied down horizontally is growing a really dense set of individual flowers that are all gonna run into each other eventually. Last photo is with a flash, the deepest green I’ve ever seen on a cola cluster.
 

Attachments

R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
We had sun up until around 3, then heavy squall type storm, pelting rain, swirling winds and dark skies. They spent the storm safely under my patio table - keeping them short and in the milk crates affords me that opportunity. The tallest one still has a few inches of clearance under the table so I think I can do this for the foreseeable future. I don’t mind leaving them out in a normal rain here, but I’ll shelter them when strong thunderstorms are in the area...

they look so cool at night with the flash on - really exaggerates the flowers, but that just shows me where they are still filling in...
 

Attachments

FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I'd love to do the flash thing but photo period plants just don't seem to appreciate it the same as autos. I'd love to see the big blue dream lit up at night. Well I just checked the weather report and low clouds all day. No uv light getting through that, crap! Doesn't God know VA legalized weed? We need some sun down here please. Good day to catch up on bug control and clean up I guess and spending some time with the wife. Going to get some cattle fencing from a neighbor early this week and cage the bigger plant with some wheels and a platform so I can move the whole thing once buds have really set. I just can't physically drag it anymore, it's too big and I'm too crippled :)
 
R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
Yeah, photos would freak if hit with a high powered flash.

the milk crate, pot and soil, and plant are getting heavier as the plants grow. That a good sign I guess. I left them out in a storm last night, not extremely heavy rain other than a 20 minute deluge, and they survived well. I have 4 of the same strain growing at my GFs house and let 3 of them go wild, with just a central support running vertically. They got nailed...low is the way to go...
 

Attachments

R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
FinnWinn said:
4 growing at your girlfriends house. Now you're thinking.
Click to expand...
I used up a ton of good BF points on that one, and she doesn't partake. This is an older picture, I’ll get a more current one in a couple days.

I am gonna get some dowels in the corners of the milk crates and stary splaying out the branches to get more airflow and better light. Shoulda been doing that all along, but other stuff got in the way...
 

Attachments

FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
They're really putting on some bulk! Checking the seven day forecast for Virginia and it only has one word-BOHICA. I'm lucky to see seven hours of sun a day including me moving them around. This crap has got to stop.
I'm trying to come up with some kind of a really cheap hoop house idea to put up over the deck so I can have them out all day with the constant threat of storms. Some kind of #3 rebar in pool noodle, redneck engineering masterpiece because I live on Veterans Disability and the budget is about what I have in the junk pile. Bad part is we get 50 mph winds up on the mountain so the engineering part has to be stronger than my hillbilly part. Anyone with experience or ideas I would welcome the advice. Moderate deck destruction is allowed and even encouraged. It's rotten from water damage and I get to tiptoe on the support beams for fear of falling through, which I've managed to do twice so far without anything hurt worse than my pride and shins. Hope someone is getting sun today.
 
R

Retired engineer

Well-Known Member
Off and on sun...prolly gonna carry on that way for the next couple days. I’ve got around a month and a half to finish them out. If needed I can finish them inside two at a time, which might not be a bad idea. I’d gently ramp them up to a 20/4 light schedule, aNd hit them with some 10,000k T5 bulbs I have. I used those on my indoor Gelato, and after I dialed in the frequency/duration, they added lots of trichomes to the buds...

wish I could help ya with the hoop house - my engineering expertise is in dirt, runways/taxiways and roads/bridges...
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Cool, after I got out I was doing engineering management for a testing and consulting firm that did CTA on runways and all the soil compaction and cement testing too. I was in Aviation in the Army so runways felt like home. I also did testing on VDOT roadwork. Never messed with bridges though as I didn't have any structural steel background and height wasn't my thing.
 
B

Bike247

Member
FirstCavApache64 said:
Cool, after I got out I was doing engineering management for a testing and consulting firm that did CTA on runways and all the soil compaction and cement testing too. I was in Aviation in the Army so runways felt like home. I also did testing on VDOT roadwork. Never messed with bridges though as I didn't have any structural steel background and height wasn't my thing.
Click to expand...
3/4” PVC with some clear plastic would do well. Easy to bend and sturdy enough. Use Tees at the bottom to make a base. Would make a decent greenhouse for the winter too.
 
B

Bike247

Member
Sorry for the delay. I was out riding my bike.
Lateral support is a bit overrated in a situation like this. A bottom frame with tees should provide enough force along with a tarp to keep a collapse from happening. If you’re concerned, some 3/8” dowels along the top lashed to the apex would add some stiffness.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top