Guerilla Growing, first time, tips pls

[Slugfly]

Hello everyone. This is my first time growing outdoors (and only my second time growing period). I would like some tips... a walkthrough perhaps. This is what I've come up with for a plan and if anyone can give me advice, correct misconceptions, find something I've missed, please tell me.

1) Tomorrow, we begin to germinate between 4 and 9 seeds in moist paper towels (only 9 seeds available, no purchasable pot or seeds available at our location, so these are non-expendable resources).

2) Tomorrow evening we begin searching for likely locations. We're going to try to find a spot that's well away from human traffic but that means increased odds of animal traffic (including some poisonous animals, so we don't want to get too remote). I'm thinking on the side of a mountain, small problem here though is that we may have to plant among trees, which may mean little direct sunlight. Is planting under a broken canopy a sure-fire disaster? Must I plant in a location where my baby can be the tallest tree?

3) How long do I wait (size or time) between germination and transplant? A couple inches, a foot? If I finish up the germination in a paper cup of soil, can I drop the paper cup itself directly into the ground or should I pull the plant out at the roots and place it into the ground?

4) Will a foot of chicken wire around my plant protect it from rodents? Is this high enough? How big of a radius should I make it? A foot radius? A meter radius? Several meters?

5) What's this business I hear about peeing in bottles, chopping up soap, etc.? Do these really work? I had heard that soap can attract rats and mice so I don't want to do it if this is true.

6) How often should I return to my plant to weed it? Should I water it? The summer here gets very dry around July and August and I'm worried the plant will dehydrate. It's not an option to plant it near a natural water supply. My buddy came up with the idea of filling a 2 litre bottle with water and poking it full of holes on one side, then burying it on its side under the plant. This way the plant's roots can find the water and if it's too much the roots don't grow there, but if the plant is too thirsty then there's a water supply at hand. Is this sensible? Will the stagnant water be poisonous to the plant?

Any other advice beyond the questions I've asked would be fantastic. Millions of thanks :D

[peakguy]

Figure out what your biggest problems are likely to be and work around them. You can use blood meal to keep some critters away, and when you first transplant, spray your plant with neem oil to keep the bugs away.
For example, where I live the biggest threats are deer, mice, bugs and helicopters. So I plant about 100 feet from a creek, build a cage around my plants with chicken wire, put blood meal and DE around the base and then in another ring a foot or so out, and plant behind bushes so the plants can't be seen from the creek or the road. I also use a strain that only grows about 2 feet tall and if ready to go about 55 days into flower. When you plant them is also determined by security factors. And, yes, you will have to water regularly. Good luck.

[Slugfly]

I've got a different thread with more detail here. (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3036)

Thank you for the reply, but my resources are rather limited and I still know next to nothing. As I said, I've only got 9 seeds and I'd hate to see everyone of them fail (I'm hoping at least one of them goes to seed so that I can try this again next year too).

[Kindbud]

Hey man a little advise from me ive been growing outdoors in the woods for
4-5 years now and your plants will grow just make sure they get some light find a place wear they will get light as much as possable but if they get some patchy light to that is good also!!

[Kindbud]

#3 i would wait till their about 6 inch tall before transplanting them jsut cuz they are you only seeds you have and you will want to keep a close eye on them when the are little

#4 if you going to use the chiken wire i woul make it in a 3 foot circle around the plant and make it a foot and a hlaf tall to 2 foot tall and yes it will stop rabbits mice rats etc from eatin you plant and deer to

#5 pee will deter deer mostly cuz we all know they dont like humans and soap also will to but i have used it and never seen one rat but thats just me

#6 I would vistit it once a week if possable to make sure its watered enought and nothin has been eating on it

[TheStickyIcky]

I actually wrote this up the other day when I had some free time.

Outdoor Cultivation (Guerilla Grow) Tips

I have seen a lot of outdoor grows that need some help. Not that I'm an expert, but I am fairly well-versed in the ways of guerilla growing. So, I thought I would make a list of tips and tricks to help out new growers. It's all really common sense.Stealth is everything with outdoor grows. You have other growers and police that will be looking for your crop and you have to conceal it well or someone will snatch it up.


Scouting
I would say almost half of the work I do is before any plants are even in the ground. Scout and scout well. If you live in the country and you can take off walking from your backyard and be in the wilderness that is great. It keeps you from leaving noticeable trails from roads and/or parking a car somewhere. If you can't, when searching for a spot always go for roads less travelled. The more traffic on a road the more problems that could arise (People see you coming out of a woods, walking down a road with gallon jugs, or any other conspicious activity). I ALWAYS have someone drop me off when I am transplanting, fertilizing or any time I am going to my plants. You NEVER want to leave your vehicle parked on the side of the road. Thats very suspicious and if people see it there a couple times they will begin to think something. A lot of people get robbed that way. Now, when you are looking for a spot you want to look for an area that gets PLENTY of light. Thats the other really important key. I like to put plants in places that get all of the morning sun until atleast 2 or 3pm and get indirect light the rest of the day. But, be careful that this place isn't in the wide open. Fields are an ABSOLUTE NO-NO.

Picking a spot
Good places are in cut timber and blackberry thickets. I like for the undergrowth to be as tall or taller than my plants at all times, especially harvest. In cut timber the plants will get plenty of light because of the spaces that are created by thinning out the trees. I like to find a big tree thats in an area that gets plenty of light and go to the fork of it and put plants right in the fork so that there are logs and brush on either side of the plants. Also if possible walk down as many logs as you can getting to plants, it eliminates or breaks up potential paths. Briar and blackberry thickets are very stealthy as well because a lot of times they will approach 10 feet in height and provide surrounding cover as well. Find away to go into the middle of the patch (going under limbs and stuff where it doesn't look as if a human has being going in there) and clear out a spot by cutting down the briars. Don't cut too much, just enough to clear enough area for the number of plants you plan on putting in there. There are plenty of other good places as well. Just make sure the surrounding vegetation and undergrowth is thick. If someone is going to find my plants I want to make them work for it. They wont be able to spot them unless they walk right up on them. I don't want someone to be able to spot my plants unless they actually get 10 feet or less from them. Thats why the surrounding growth is so important.

Caring for your Plants
Now that you have your plants in the ground (and I did say ground). Because you really want to stray away from buckets or other containers. They don't like natural. They standout even if you paint them. They also raise the height of your plants which makes them more visible and is also something you want to stay away from. Also, buckets and containers dry out quicker than the ground will. Which means you will have to make more trips to your plants. The next thing you want to worry about is paths. I try to go to my plants a different way every time I go to my plants. A path is your worst enemy. If you leave one, especially if its from the road chances are someone may end up walking down it eventually. So, try to go a different way everytime or atleast don't go the same way you did last time. You want to minimize the amount of trips to your plants as possible. And if they are in the ground you can do this. If you do leave a bit of a path you can use grass seed to cover it or plant some type of ivy to break the path up. Most types of ivy are nearly impossible to kill and you can just throw them along the ground and they will take root on their own. You can get away with going to your plants every two weeks (sometimes more if the rain is cooperative). Mother nature will take care of itself if you do things right. Also, most people should pretty much stray away from fences. They will give your plot away just as fast as anything. A fence is unnatural and will give you un-needed attention. Also, you have to carry that in there before and after growing season and its pretty hard to explain why you are carrying fence in and out of the woods. And if you leave it in there after season then you are risking someone finding it and the majority of people will know EXACTLY what it was for. I have found several as a hunter myself. Don't underestimate where hunters go or what they see.

Other things to think about
You never want to put too many plants in one spot. That only increases your exposure. A group of 20 is a lot easier to spot than a plot of 3. Never put all of your plants in one spot. Anything could happen to them and you don't want your entire crop to go down in one fell swoop (Animals, Growers, Police). Something else to make them harder to find are employing growing techniques such as LST, supercropping, and topping. Topping and Supercropping will keep the plants shorter and harder to spot. While LST can be very effective because you can grow a HUGE healthy plant and make it almost impossible to spot. If you keep tieing it over and running it along the ground you can grow it out with almost no risk of someone finding it. People aren't looking along the ground for plants, they are looking eye level. Another thing, if you plan to grow in that spot or area again don't cut the plants off and leave the stalk. Pull the plants and root up so someone doesn't see the stalks left over. Never leave any kind of trash near your plants or in the woods, this can also give them away. Water jugs, soil bags, fertilizers or anything else are all bad ideas. I try not to carry anything in or out with me unless it is neccessary. I always like to have some kind of back story as well as to why I'm in there. Have something in your mind already, don't try to improvise. This is just incase you run into someone in the woods while you are walking in and out (possibly the landowner). I use several including "I lost my hunting dog."; "Picking blackberries.", etc. If you ever think you hear someone coming or you get a bad feeling then leave the plants. You DON'T want to be caught tending to them. Always follow your instincts.

These are pretty much the basics to Guerilla growing. I'm sure not everyone will agree with what I have to say and I'm sure there are things that I have left out, but this is a pretty good overview. Be safe, Be stealthy, and GOOD GROWING.

[englishdoe]

1. i would pick a spot where there are no trails already made, go some place where no one has already been, make your own trail(s), dont ever use the same trail when going to or leaving your plants. find pine trees, and plant under them, make sure light can get to your plants

2. start your plants indoors, i put mine outside when their atleast a foot tall.

3. use a back pack, when going to your plants put what ever things you need in that bag( ie. water), if someone sees you it will look like your just hiking.

[Naturalhi]

I haven't grown outdoors, but I remember Rangerdanger posting every year that June 30 (here in the northern hemi) is the cut off date for getting a full grow for the year?>?