Outdoor Grow Journal (5 gal vs 10 gal containers)

Rustyminds

Member
I've always wanted to post a grow journal so here it is. Feedback and advice is welcomed.


These plants have been growing outdoors for about 6 weeks now. I wanted to do a little experiment and see if growing in a five gallon container vs a 10 gallon container would make any difference on yield so 4 are in modified 5 gallon buckets and 4 are in modified 10 gallon buckets. All have been treated the same. I'm using a mix of jungle growth pro mix, jungle growth moisture control, and a negligible amount of miracle-gro moisture control I had around. The weather around here (southeastern US) tends to stay around 80-100 F during the summer and afternoon rain is pretty common.

Let me know what you think.
 

Rustyminds

Member
I have recently had a few issues with my plants either being blown over or eaten around the base. It look more like it got blown over but let me know what you think. They get misted with sevindust on a regular basis due to the heavy population of pests in my area. I have been "ghetto rigging the ones that fell by using sticks as stabilizers and burying the stalk up to the bottom set of leaves using the dirt to keep everything in place and it seems to have been working well other than the expected slow growth from the stalk breaking and interrupting the phloem and xylem and all that good stuff.


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The damage
 

oENDERo

Member
these plants look almost identical to mine, and they are in Northeastern New England (MA/NH). Looking pretty good so far. What strain are these?
 

Rustyminds

Member
That is what I was thinking. I'm just loving this huge resource I've now got at my disposal. I've got a few grows under my belt but I'm always eager to learn from others. You're right, yours do look very similar. I'll stayed subbed to yours and be sure to compare as we go.
 

Rustyminds

Member
Another good quality bagseed I germed. She's only a few days old now and is showing some extremely quick growth.DSCN0556.jpgDSCN0557.jpg
 

Rustyminds

Member
I'm going to be tying the plants to stakes tomorrow morning to prevent anymore from being knocked over by the wind since they are already about 3 feet tall or so and the stalks seem to be having problems holding up to the strong winds we have been having recently. I've also bought some fish emulsion fertilizer. Does anyone have any thoughts about using it in an outdoor grow with respect to the possibility of attracting racoons and other various animals that might harm the plants?
 

Rustyminds

Member
The children just looked so happy and green today I felt the need to take some pictures. I decided to use tomato cages instead of stakes but everywhere in my area is sold out of them right now so no support yet. It hasn't rained today (first time in a while) so hopefully it won't rain tomorrow and I can fertilize them with the fish emulsion soon. Since no one responded to my question about it attracting animals..:cry: I think I will just put up a fence and stay on the safe side. :peace:

I measured today and apparently my estimations were a little off. The tallest plant is about 28''. I'm very happy with the branching I'm seeing so far. I was a little worried I was going to have some tall bean poles for a while there.

Oh and look at the baby! She is growing so fast!

I also included a picture of one of the tops of the plants. It looks like it may have been topped by something. I can't really tell. Interesting though. Also some of the leaves have a miniature 8th leaf sprouting off the back of the 7th leaf. I will get a picture next time. Just a few anomalies.

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Rustyminds

Member
I forgot to mention one of the plants is showing as a definite female but just that one so far. Oh and they are starting to get a nice stank to them!
 

Rustyminds

Member
So I fertilized with the fish emulsion. Just used about 2 tablespoons for about 2.5 gallons of water. Stuff smells incredibly bad. Yellow jackets swarmed on the plants right after I poured the stuff out. Hopefully all the other creatures won't be so eager to investigate. Regardless, I put a little makeshift fence up for the moment. I'll go back and make it pretty when I get some more time. Sprayed with sevindust again too. Seems to be keeping the bugs off for the most part and hasn't harmed the plants at all.

Also I got a picture of the little anomaly on one of the leaves. It is showing on more than one of the plants though. Maybe just something with the strain. DSCN0570.jpgDSCN0571.jpg
 

Rustyminds

Member
Sorry got a little too busy to update. My plants ended up getting ripped off when they were all around 6 feet tall about a month before harvest. I found that the 10 gallon buckets produced plants that would have yielded significantly more than those in the 5 gallon buckets. I made sure to fertilize and water equally in both the 5 and 10 gallon buckets. These plants were growing in a very hot climate (100 degrees F and up) in the hottest months of the summer so I would think the bigger buckets helped to keep the root system cooler and more hydrated.
 
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