Maine Outdoor 2020 (first timer)

NewEnglandFarmer · Jul 28, 2020

Seawood said:
Haha...yep, flower is a stressful time for most. I pretty much need professional counselling by the end of it. Seems like things can and do go sideways like right now. Lol

Not sure about the silica for pests...may help with PM prevention though. Keep a close eye on your ladies now so if you catch something early, you can deal with it before you get into flower. I check mine very closely every day from now on. Spraying plants in flower just adds to the stress and should be avoided, if possible.

I am told spraying bT essential here to prevent caterpillars from ruining bud. Supposedly safe and can be done right up to harvest time.

I will follow your advice and check carefully each day. Today found a moth on one of the Tomahawk leaves and a white fuzzy substance on the same leaf. Eggs? Anyway removed the leaf.

Probably going to need therapy by October. Made doubly hard because abstaining this summer--just the occasional brew or glass of wine. All for the best though--will enjoy the fruits of my labor this winter all the more. And if I can handle the nightmare 2020 has been so far completely sober, I guess I can handle anything. But I do miss kicking back with some kind bud now and again.

Seawood · Jul 28, 2020

Never used BT before...cats are typically not an issue here. Lots of safe products to use during flower but I’m not a fan of introducing anymore moisture than necessary to my flowers. Bud rot scares me more than any bug on the planet!

Sevenleaves · Jul 29, 2020

NewEnglandFarmer said:
Are you roasting up there like we are here in Maine?

You up the watering? I've been doing once a week and they look happy but wondering if I should give them some extra in weather like this.

No rain to speak of for weeks now.

I have been watering every couple of days during this hot spell and my grow is very similar to yours. Usually hit them about 5 in the morning, they have been very happy. Hard to over water in 90+ heat.

thumper60 · Jul 29, 2020

NewEnglandFarmer said:
Sounds like the weather is keeping ypu busy.

Since mine aren't in pots I can't go by weight, but when I check on the plants each day I try to feel the soil for dampness. That composted manure really seems to retain moisture well plus the mulch helps. And they're shaded after about 3pm so that probably helps during these hot spells. But it's been brutal. I may not wait a full week to water.

I took your advice and thinned out the lower parts quite a bit yesterday. Should help with airflow. Will try and get some pics tomorrow.

Can't wait for flower--but nervous too. Haven't started bT yet but probably should soon. Pests have been very light so far...some say the silica and aloe sprays help a lot. So far only did one neem foliar back in June.

p0opstlnksal0t said:
Stay safe out there in Maine

LIVE1
90

Feds link raid on Maine marijuana businessman to drug trafficking in court documents
by Lori Valigra
Tuesday, July 28th 2020
AA

<p>Maine State Police officers load marijuana plants Tuesday afternoon into a shipping container on a truck behind the Narrow Gauge Distributors building at 374 High St. in Farmington. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal){/p}{/p}

(BDN) -- The U.S. attorney’s office in Maine has filed notices in federal court to seize 12 properties related to the raid on a well-known marijuana distributor in the Farmington area last week, alleging they facilitated drug trafficking.

The complaints, dated July 23, filed in U.S. District Court and obtained from the Franklin County Registry of Deeds, came two days after federal and state law enforcement officials raided Narrow Gauge Distributors, a marijuana company in Farmington owned by Lucas Sirois of Rangeley.

Marijuana plants removed from Maine business amid probe
The civil forfeiture actions list properties possibly owned by Sirois or family members, Spruce Valley LLC and Front Street Investments. Six of the properties are in Farmington, two in Rangeley, two in Industry, one in Avon and one in Carrabassett Valley.
No charges or arrests have been made in the case and exact nature of the raid, which involved the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency, has not been disclosed.
Among the properties named in the complaint are 374 High St. and 407 Wilton Road in Farmington, which officials raided last week. The first property is the site of Narrow Gauge Distributors, which is “the largest cannabis distribution company in Maine,” according to its website. The latter is The Homegrown Connection, a garden store that has long been owned by Sirois.
The complaints allege that the property and or its proceeds can be forfeited because it “facilitated drug trafficking in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.” That act allows any real or personal property involved in a money laundering transaction to be forfeited, the complaint said.

THE owner of the warehouse was busted for growing an selling 2010, glad the state is moving on these greedy fools.

NewEnglandFarmer · Jul 29, 2020

Seawood said:
Never used BT before...cats are typically not an issue here. Lots of safe products to use during flower but I’m not a fan of introducing anymore moisture than necessary to my flowers. Bud rot scares me more than any bug on the planet!

I see your point. Apparently the issue with cats is bud rot from their poop. I could just try to monitor carefully and not spray until the first signs of cats but by then it might be too late. This is where the stress starts for me...

p0opstlnksal0t · Jul 29, 2020

thumper60 said:
THE owner of the warehouse was busted for growing an selling 2010, glad the state is moving on these greedy fools.

Apparently that was the father of the guy who operated this company. I don't really know of this guy can't say I'm for or against him but it sure looks like the feds went after him to fill their coffers. A lot of talk about seizing his property without any arrests being made so far.

piratebug · Jul 29, 2020

p0opstlnksal0t said:
Apparently that was the father of the guy who operated this company. I don't really know of this guy can't say I'm for or against him but it sure looks like the feds went after him to fill their coffers. A lot of talk about seizing his property without any arrests being made so far.

I know many people in that family, they are all really nice people, and they help lots of people, vets, cancer patients, for free, and they were fully licensed by the state to cultivate the plant count that they were growing, in fact they were only growing about half of what they were licensed by the state to grow. Anyway... this was perpetuated by the feds, not the state of Maine, so it could sadly happen to anyone... Other than that, I will just say this... don't be putting your money in the bank if it comes from any type of cannabis business because once the feds see the kind of money that's going through those kinds of accounts they will come after you! And one other thing... I am really saddened that some people on this forum would say they are glad they got busted when they don't even know those people and what they are truly all about, really, shame one you!!!!

NewEnglandFarmer · Jul 29, 2020

Don't know any of these folks but I'm sorry to hear this happened. My understanding is that legal cannabis business must be conducted in cash only, once money is in the banking system then the Feds. can get involved. It's a damn shame that they spend their time and resources on chasing down this kind of stuff when there's so much more important and destructive criminal activity to worry about. I'm afraid the laws established during the Reagan administration allowing law enforcement to seize and sell property in these drug busts has created a really perverse incentive for them to go after people with valuable property. Congress really needs to change those laws--LE should not be profiting off these operations.

NewEnglandFarmer · Jul 30, 2020

I took some time this week to prune the lower part of each plant--hoping to increase airflow and get these girls focussed on the upper branches for when the buds begin (hopefully the next week or two!).

Should I call it good or do you think they need more? I'm continuing to remove any discolored or damaged leaves I find, typically down below or in the interior. It's not many, but probably 1 or 2 per day now on each plant.

This morning I topdressed with some fish bone meal and watered that in good. Still hotter than hell here in Maine! We had some brief rainshowers today but it didn't amount to much. Pretty much bone dry.

Hope everyone's doing well. Seeing a few pistils grow a big longer but not seeing any signs of actual flowering yet. Do you wake up one morning and see a transformation, or is bit by bit each day? Can't wait!

Seawood · Jul 30, 2020

Plants look great. I’d say you’re good to go. I checked my journal from last year and my plants were showing signs of early flower this day last year. Still nothing here and I’m running a few of the same strains. Odd. You won’t come out one day and boom...flowers! It’s more of a gradual thing but when they start throwing pistils, it happens pretty quickly. Should start showing over the next week.

NewEnglandFarmer · Jul 30, 2020

Seawood said:
Plants look great. I’d say you’re good to go. I checked my journal from last year and my plants were showing signs of early flower this day last year. Still nothing here and I’m running a few of the same strains. Odd. You won’t come out one day and boom...flowers! It’s more of a gradual thing but when they start throwing pistils, it happens pretty quickly. Should start showing over the next week.

Thanks--overall they seem to be happy and healthy. Found a couple more of those little inchworms today, maybe I should start spraying the bT soon. I saw that a leaf on the Chinook Haze was kind of rolled up at the tip, when I unrolled it there was one of those inchworms inside.

I notice sometimes when I show up to check the garden I see birds flying away--good sign to have lots of birds hanging around, I'm sure they go right after the caterpillars. Maybe I should put up a birdhouse.

In that first picture above you can see how a couple of the plants are starting to grow a little into each other--6 foot spacing was not nearly enough--rookie mistake. You think I should do some pruning there to keep space/airflow between them? As you can tell I'm completely paranoid about bud rot since so many people told me these Greenpoint girls finish late and the odds are against me in this climate. But I'm rolling the dice anyway and doing whatever I can to keep the rot at bay.

Seawood · Jul 30, 2020

I wouldn’t worry about them crowding each other. If you’re cutting upper branches, you’re losing yield. Just keep an eye on them during flower and if they get too crowded, tie some of the branches up to pull them away if you want. The rot won’t happen because of some buds rubbing against each other. It’ll happen because of the moisture inside the buds and close to the stalks/branches. It starts within.

Lawrence401 · Aug 1, 2020

NewEnglandFarmer said:
End of Week 14. Some of these grew an entire foot this week. Orange Blossom Special and Copper Chem are now pushing toward 8 feet tall! Is this the beginning of "the stretch"?

Am seeing small white pistils in pairs but I don't think they've started flowering yet. Excited to watch the transition. Maybe start seeing something next week?

Been dry and very hot this week. Did a foliar spray at dawn this morning with aloe vera, silica, epsom salts, and fish hydrolysate. Plus they all got 6 gallons of brook water on their roots. They are getting quite bushy and some of them are starting to grow into each other a bit...I guess 6 feet apart wasn't quite enough.

Hope everyone is doing well. Am thinking it will be a dry, hot August here but we'll see.

View attachment 4635368

You can look up old farmers almanac on your area. Your area is suposed to be hotter than normal. They give the next two month forcast .

Capn-Crunch · Aug 1, 2020

Not sure of the area you're in but here in the northern part of Maine it's really tough to achieve AAA buds flowering outdoor.
Late fall is cool and damp so bud rot becomes an issue, or the frost hits and knocks everything back.
I would love to grow in the ground, but had to resort to fabric pots that I can move inside to flower.
I'm growing GP strain Raindance this year.
Your plants look great, hope you have a big harvest.

NewEnglandFarmer · Aug 1, 2020

Capn-Crunch said:
Not sure of the area you're in but here in the northern part of Maine it's really tough to achieve AAA buds flowering outdoor.
Late fall is cool and damp so bud rot becomes an issue, or the frost hits and knocks everything back.
I would love to grow in the ground, but had to resort to fabric pots that I can move inside to flower.
I'm growing GP strain Raindance this year.
Your plants look great, hope you have a big harvest.

I'm down in Knox County. Last spring when I was looking for seeds I contacted Greenpoint, described my location, and asked for suggestions. After I got the seeds I heard from several folks that these would finish way too late for Maine. But that's what I've got so I'm giving it shot. If I'm lucky we'll have a warm and dry fall--certainly the trend has been later and later frosts, with warm sunny days well into November. But rain is another matter--that's just going to be a roll of the dice. I'm less worried about frost than Nor'easters like we had last October. We'll see--going to do everything I can to see it through. I do have one plant in a 7g fabric pot that I could move inside if necessary.

Which county are you in?

ganga gurl420 · Aug 1, 2020

NewEnglandFarmer said:
I'm down in Knox County. Last spring when I was looking for seeds I contacted Greenpoint, described my location, and asked for suggestions. After I got the seeds I heard from several folks that these would finish way too late for Maine. But that's what I've got so I'm giving it shot. If I'm lucky we'll have a warm and dry fall--certainly the trend has been later and later frosts, with warm sunny days well into November. But rain is another matter--that's just going to be a roll of the dice. I'm less worried about frost than Nor'easters like we had last October. We'll see--going to do everything I can to see it through. I do have one plant in a 7g fabric pot that I could move inside if necessary.

Which county are you in?

Don't worry about frosts.... I've had mine in 25 degree weather and they bounce right back when the sun comes up. Now I love them to go through several frosts before harvest.

NewEnglandFarmer · Aug 1, 2020

ganga gurl420 said:
Don't worry about frosts.... I've had mine in 25 degree weather and they bounce right back when the sun comes up. Now I love them to go through several frosts before harvest.

That's what I've heard. Probably a heavy mulch would help insulate the roots. You think a few frost cycles helps the final results?

So how do you handle October rains? How do you keep bud rot at bay?

NewEnglandFarmer · Aug 2, 2020

Starting week 16 today. Gave 13 gallons of brook water to each (this may be the last week I can use brook water as it's almost dried up), been very hot and dry this week. Another week of big vertical growth, 10-13 inches. Chinook Haze and Orange Blossom Special closing in on 7 feet tall.

Will add a final layer of trellis netting today, need to extend my poles though. Thinking of doing a little more thinning, too. Still no sign of flowering--hopefully that will begin later this week or early next week.

Will start weekly sprays of bT probably this week--so far only seeing the odd caterpillar now and then which I pick off manually, maybe one a day, but definitely don't want to see any once flowering begins. Overall plants look happy. Man are they getting bushy! The amount of leaf surface is amazing.

Sounds like the hurricane may give us a dose of much-needed rain mid-week. Hopefully the wind won't be too extreme. Then I'm guessing we'll go back into the hot/dry pattern we've been in most of the summer. Expect we will see more hurricanes as we head into fall, but up here in Maine that usually just means a bunch of rain--but anything's possible.

Hope everyone is safe and your plants are thriving.

Capn-Crunch · Aug 4, 2020

NewEnglandFarmer said:
I'm down in Knox County. Last spring when I was looking for seeds I contacted Greenpoint, described my location, and asked for suggestions. After I got the seeds I heard from several folks that these would finish way too late for Maine. But that's what I've got so I'm giving it shot. If I'm lucky we'll have a warm and dry fall--certainly the trend has been later and later frosts, with warm sunny days well into November. But rain is another matter--that's just going to be a roll of the dice. I'm less worried about frost than Nor'easters like we had last October. We'll see--going to do everything I can to see it through. I do have one plant in a 7g fabric pot that I could move inside if necessary.

Which county are you in?

Aroostook

Ladyalthea · Aug 4, 2020

Hey all, up in Farmington here. First plants ever although I have had vegetable gardens.
I've been doing the trial and error with some White widow clones. I wish I had found this thread earlier!
The one that'sdoing really good suddenly developed this black center, ill post a picture. I was told just to spray it down with peroxide I'm wondering if I should pluck them off?

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