My First Grow... Outdoor on tight budget
- Thread starter Copycat
- Start date
jebus2029
Well-Known Member
Looking good CC. I noticed with one of your outside plants you filled the container with soil only about halfway. It would be better to fill it up all the way or cut the pot shorter. Especially when they are smaller. It blocks air flow from going under the plant and light from hitting the lower buds. Also, can you remove the cover from your light? It looks like the glass is decorated and maybe lined with wire? This could be lowering the useful lumens which could explain the stretching. Was that an outdoor light from Lowe's or something? Are all your outside plants starting to re-veg now? You mentioned bat guano too. I mix in some with the compost when I make tea along with sucunat. Guano is great stuff. It has all the nutrients that your gals will need.
The problem with tin foil is that it crinkles easily and then those creases make reflective hot spots. Then you get a concentrated beam of light pointing in one spot. If it has enough light reflected back to one small point it can burn the plant. I've seen plenty of people use tin foil though with no problems. Another option is to get an emergency blanket from Wal-Mart. It's only a couple bucks and closer to mylar than tin foil in reflectiveness.
In ElTio's last pic doesn't it look like an alien craft is about to abduct a cow?
The problem with tin foil is that it crinkles easily and then those creases make reflective hot spots. Then you get a concentrated beam of light pointing in one spot. If it has enough light reflected back to one small point it can burn the plant. I've seen plenty of people use tin foil though with no problems. Another option is to get an emergency blanket from Wal-Mart. It's only a couple bucks and closer to mylar than tin foil in reflectiveness.
In ElTio's last pic doesn't it look like an alien craft is about to abduct a cow?
Copycat
Well-Known Member
Yea I ran out of soil for those out side thats how two of them ended up in only a half filled pot. I usually try to fill up the pot to about 1-3" from the top depending on what size pot im using.
I can remove the cover from my light but then I would have to mount it to something and couldnt just rest it on top of the trash can like I do. The cover is a clear hard plastic with various prism triangle cuts in it to disperse the light more indirectly. If I take it off then the plants are more likely to burn. The foil tore so its being removed as it falls apart.
I saw a car window shield reflector at the dollar store that has reflective material on both sides and a layer of foam in between. Im going to get it probably.
Yea el tio has smart cows that eat pot to get high so aliens abduct them too.
jebus2029
Well-Known Member
I'd really recommend getting the emergency blanket at Wal-Mart. It's in the camping section and only like $3. Trust me it will be worth it. I think you'll get hot spots with the windshield reflector. They tend to be dimpled and I don't think it would work as well. Although it would probably be easier to work with. If you do get the blanket you can use spray adhesive to attach it to a piece of cardboard and that would make an awesome reflector. Tape is a pain in the butt to use.
Copycat
Well-Known Member
K ill add emergency blanket to the list of supplies to get when i get some money.
How durable are they? I dont want something thats going to fall apart in less than a few months.
Copycat
Well-Known Member
This morning I go outside to check on the plants and I see a few spider mites on the leaves, so i smashed them. Then I see more crawling up the outside of the pot so I smashed those with my finger too. It's a never ending battle now... I have to check the outside plants 4 to 5 times a day for spider mites and kill the ones I do find. 
Copycat
Well-Known Member
after reading veggiegardeners grow journal I've come to the conclusion that my plants have begun to re-veg outside. In a week I plan to cut the main kola off the budding plant and leave all the fan leaves I can and the lower branches that have not shown budding sites yet. Then maybe a transplant is in order a week or two later. The indoor tiny ladies are doing different things... the smallest one continues to bud, while the bigger one is starting to grow new green leaves up top. I've seen some nutrient burn on the bigger of the tiny ladies so i cut back the amount of nutrients I give them.
jebus2029
Well-Known Member
Go straight to Lowe's and pick up some organic insecticide. You'll never win if you are just killing the mites as you find them. One day you'll go outside and it will be one big web.
As for cutting off the bud from the re-vegging plants, did someone recommend this? I've always heard you leave them and the plant will cannibalize the bud for the nutrients in it. I've never done it myself though so maybe someone has figured out a new trick I never read about.
As for cutting off the bud from the re-vegging plants, did someone recommend this? I've always heard you leave them and the plant will cannibalize the bud for the nutrients in it. I've never done it myself though so maybe someone has figured out a new trick I never read about.
Copycat
Well-Known Member
I went to wal mart and got some ortho garden pest control. Says it kills mites and their eggs along with white flies, thrips... and more. I dont want to spray the plants because im afraid of what the spray might do to them, so im going to spray the outside and inside of the pot and the top of the soil. I will repeat this probably every 3 days because I read that spider mites reproduce in 72 hours.
I tried what you suggested last season, by leaving the buds on and hoping the plant cannibalizes the bud for the nutrients, but it doesnt work... The plant just died...
So this time around im doing something different... something veggiegardener does... Im going to cut just the top kola off and leave as many fan leaves as I can. Then maybe trim a few pop corn buds a week later leaving as many fan leaves as I can.
Why im doing this? The plants are starting to re-veg and I want some bud to smoke. Ive read so many grow journals and talked to my friends that grow mass for collectives. They say this is the best way to get bud and give your plant a chance to re-veg.
What you suggest seems just like a waste of bud. I have pictures from last season showing what leaving the bud on and hoping for re-veg does... in short... dead plant.
Copycat
Well-Known Member
you can see the bigger tiny lady has some nutrient burn on one of the lower leaves. But the top is looking a much darker green. This is telling me that they like the nutrients and that I just over did it and need to use a little less. For the last 2 days I gave them tap water with no nutrients.