please share your expertise

[Slugfly]

I know nothing of growing. I see terms thrown around and lots of good advice but much of it may as well be greek to me. I'm going to be growing far from my home. Please give me a walkthrough. I already asked these questions on a different forum (of these boards) but perhaps this is a better spot for it.

First, my limitations. Some of these may seem like strange limitations but I just ask that you trust me when I say I'm limited:

1) Buying supplies will be difficult except for the most basic things such as soil. Knowing the chemical composition of soil that I buy will be impossible. Basically, I'm limited to identifying things by sight when buying any supplies.

2) I know nothing of the kinds of bugs, parasites, etc. that will be near my growsite. The only thing I can be certain of is that there will be plenty of spiders, snakes, mice and squirrels, and that large foragers like deer and bears are either very rare or non-existant.

3) I cannot identify any plant types (other than our babies) by sight, and even if I could I likely would not share most of the same wild plant types as most of you.

4) I have no means to know the chemical composition or pollution levels of any water I can access, and in regards to buying acid testers or pollution testers see point 1.

This is guerilla gardening at its... guerilla-est. Now for my questions, I would greatly appreciate also any additional info anyone could give related to each stage.

1) How big should the plants be before I transplant them to the wild?
2) How isolated (in regards to other plants) should they be? Should they be surrounded only by grass, or by low shrubs, etc.?
3) How much space should I give them before I lay down a chicken wire fence (to keep out rodents)
4) How high should my chicken wire fence be? I'm looking for the lowest possible height while remaining functional.
5) What other methods can I use to keep pests away? (keeping my limitations in mind, if I use a spray repellent I might be spraying them with toilet cleaner for all I know)
6) How often should I return to water them?
7) How much water should I give each plant, and where do I put it? (right at the base? around the plant in a foot diameter?)
8) Should I clip the tops off to keep them at a certain height or let them grow as high as they want?
9) How sturdy will my plants be? Once they get going will they be self sufficient or should I continue to care for them right up to harvest time?
10) (this one can probably wait a few months) How do I dry them out at harvest time?


If there already exists a good walkthrough then please point me to it. I've done a bit of searching but most of my finds exceed my limitations and/or use terms I don't understand. Any help would be appreciated.

edit: my other similar post is here (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3034). (and why is the default "mood" setting aggressive?)

[midwestbluntman]

FAQ (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/ogfaq/index.htm)
im in a bit of a rush but here is a great place to start doing some homework.after you read this if your still confused post up where you are stumped and someone will jump in and help.

[Slugfly]

Many thanks bluntman. Taking a look at it now.

I also found xxxx and xxxx which are quite helpful. The seeds are germinating now and tomorrow we head out to scout for a site. :D

This is very exciting, I hope it turns out well. :

[Cranky]

sorry dude,hade to remove ya links as links to other growsites are against post guidelines. (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/announcement.php?f=23)

no worries;)

cranky

[Slugfly]

ah, okee dokee :)

[drumin]

I know nothing of growing. I see terms thrown around and lots of good advice but much of it may as well be greek to me. I'm going to be growing far from my home. Please give me a walkthrough. I already asked these questions on a different forum (of these boards) but perhaps this is a better spot for it.

First, my limitations. Some of these may seem like strange limitations but I just ask that you trust me when I say I'm limited:

1) Buying supplies will be difficult except for the most basic things such as soil. Knowing the chemical composition of soil that I buy will be impossible. Basically, I'm limited to identifying things by sight when buying any supplies.

Buy "Peter's 20-20-20" plant food unless you can afford FoxFarms nutrients.

2) I know nothing of the kinds of bugs, parasites, etc. that will be near my growsite. The only thing I can be certain of is that there will be plenty of spiders, snakes, mice and squirrels, and that large foragers like deer and bears are either very rare or non-existant.

Don't worry too much about bugs ahead of time but keep your eyes on the plants to watch for infestations.

3) I cannot identify any plant types (other than our babies) by sight, and even if I could I likely would not share most of the same wild plant types as most of you.

Don't worry about it... except for poison (oak, sumac) ivy. Itchy!!

4) I have no means to know the chemical composition or pollution levels of any water I can access, and in regards to buying acid testers or pollution testers see point 1.

If you're using a nearby, natural water source, don't worry about it but if you are going to haul in water, might as well buy jugs of distilled water, it's cheap at the grocery store.

This is guerilla gardening at its... guerilla-est. Now for my questions, I would greatly appreciate also any additional info anyone could give related to each stage.

1) How big should the plants be before I transplant them to the wild? If you can get them to a foot tall first you'll have a better chance.
2) How isolated (in regards to other plants) should they be? Should they be surrounded only by grass, or by low shrubs, etc.? Try and pull up any other vegetation that will compete for sunlight and food. Generally speaking you shouldn't have any other vegetation under the branches so the bigger they get the more weeds you'll have to pull from below them.
3) How much space should I give them before I lay down a chicken wire fence (to keep out rodents) If you are guerilla growing I wouldn't use chicken wire because it's shiny and will attract attention to the plants. There are other natural ways of keeping rodents away. Besides rodents won't be a problem if the plants are big enough when you put them in the ground.
4) How high should my chicken wire fence be? I'm looking for the lowest possible height while remaining functional. See above.
5) What other methods can I use to keep pests away? (keeping my limitations in mind, if I use a spray repellent I might be spraying them with toilet cleaner for all I know) search the web for natural solutions, try here too:
http://www.jerrybaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=134
6) How often should I return to water them? Every 3 days minimum.
7) How much water should I give each plant, and where do I put it? (right at the base? around the plant in a foot diameter?) depends on how hot it gets and how wet the soil is. just watch to see how they are doing, it's hard to over water plants outdoors unless the soil holds water badly.
8) Should I clip the tops off to keep them at a certain height or let them grow as high as they want? If you can have them as big as they can get then let them grow!!! try "neck breaking" instead of topping.
http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1391&highlight=neck+break
9) How sturdy will my plants be? Once they get going will they be self sufficient or should I continue to care for them right up to harvest time? Gotta care for them all the way to avoid problems or catch problems early. Besides, isn't that half the fun?! :D
10) (this one can probably wait a few months) How do I dry them out at harvest time? When that time comes, there is lots of info here.


If there already exists a good walkthrough then please point me to it. I've done a bit of searching but most of my finds exceed my limitations and/or use terms I don't understand. Any help would be appreciated.

edit: my other similar post is here (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3034). (and why is the default "mood" setting aggressive?)

Good luck and be aware of your surroundings, watch out for signs of other people nosing around. Always check the area FIRST, for law enforcement before going anywhere near the plants. You can deny ownership if you aren't caught near then plants. keeping aware will keep you safe from cops and rippers. :watch:

[gorilla]

Return to water them every 3 days minimum? Damn Drumin, that sounds exhausting. I would think in the wild the plant could go a bit longer, using it's roots and instincts to find water, as well as the rain.

The upside down bottle in the dirt is a good way to add a little extra water Slugfly. Maybe you can hide a larger barrel somewhere close, in a bush or something, to gather rain water. I've heard of fishing line being use to section off the area around your plant. A deer wouldn't be able to see it, but he would feel it and it might freak him out.

My biggest advice is that any risk to your safety is not worth the weed. ;) Be cool bro, and I hope you end up with football sized buds.

Peace.