What a Long Strange Trip it's Been!

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I'm not certain that this is even where I should post this but here it goes and I'm sure if I am in the wrong place, (it wouldn't be the first time) , some one will kindly let me know. I wanted to join this site because it seems to be the ellowist friendliest site I have found. Here is a little about myself

I'm an old guy. I started growing for friends back in 1976 when I didn't even smoke. I have a B.S. in Horticulture and have been growing since then.
I am a professional farmer of produce so I guess I kind of come by this naturally. I have been growing produce since I was 10.

Back in 1979-81 I began to try to improve the mexican and columbian genetics that i had been working with. I copped (that's 70's terminology for you youngsters out there) some thai sticks with seeds, I was even able to get some loose thai from a diplomatic source as my reputation grew. Some friends went to Jamaica on spring break and brought me some lambs bread seeds. But none of these did much for the important part of strain improvement that I was looking for. You see back then the seeds had the kick. Mexican varieties yielded earlier and crossed with columbian santa Marta golds and reds made them even better.But they flowered so late in the midwest that they didn't yield the large mature buds that i was shooting for. Finally in the 81 I got some Afghan seeds from Chicago. That was the ticket.I began crossing affies with jamaican /thai/mexican crosses that I had been working with. The funny thing was that the bigger sticky buds that we grew no one was interested in buying at 100 dollars and ounce! We had to lie and say that it was Maui Wowie then they snatched them up like candy and bragged to their friends about the killer weed they had scored! It makes me laugh even today.

After years of low level outdoor guerilla grows just a few heavily pruned plants pinned down in the fence rows for personal use. I have to admit I am proud and even a little envious of some of the newer growers on here! You folks are kickin some serious butt. Back in the day when the fuzz wasn't flying all over the place me Linc , Pete and Julie (that's another throw back reference to you youngsters out there) could put a thousand plants in a cornfield ad get away with it. Now those were some harvest parties.

I have come up with alot of tips and hints and am more than willing to share some of my limited knowledge. Ive done buckets with soil, Hydro woods and field grows. I found that walk in coolers make great grow rooms.

I look forward hearing from some of you folks on this site and wish you all the best.

Your Bud,
Uptheholler

Comments

M
By the way, I've thoroughly enjoyed your blog, Holler. I hope, come cooler weather, you find the time to entertain us further. :thanks:
 
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U
Hey Mightbehigh, Thank you so much for your kind words and welcome to my over grown weedy blog! I have to appologize to my readers...youfolks are the greatest and I sincerely appreciate your visits with me out here at the cabin. we are in the peak of the picking and selling season right now. I finally about have my planting done for the year. I just finished planting my fall beets, spinach, lettuce, beans, squash and of course the always popular cucmbers and picklers. But I have been making notes on some topics I need to get to so come on back and visit. Thanks again Mightbe and don't be a stranger!
 
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S
uptheholler;bt7539 said:
One of the techniques that I am really excited about is the use of low tunnels or cloches over plastic rows.
I make these by first making a raised bed 6-8 inches high and then covering it with 4 foot wide black plastic. I then plant my clones about 18 to 24 inches apart down the row. I then bend spring wire or 1/2 inch pvc pipe over the row leaving about 2 to 2 .5 feet of head space. Next cover the rows with white ventilated plastic which is available from any produce growing seed source or hort supply source.
Shovel soil down on the edges of the plastic and you have buttoned up the girls. As they grow basically I pin them down LST style with the same spring metal pieces or coat hanger pieces that i have cut about 12 inches in length and then bend double. By doing this the plants have a perfect amount of humidity. They get optimal diffused light similar to a greenhouse grow and they really thrive. The buds produced are very tight with greenhouse type trych development. Also it totally protects your plants from critters.
The only thing you need to keep on top of is watering which is easily done by lifting the plastic edges and trimming the giant fan leaves that will be pressing against the plastic and stand out like a sore thumb if you don't either trim them or pin your plants down more so they dont press against the plastic.
What you essentially have is a totally stealthy sea of green outdoor/greenhouse grow for a miniscule amount of money. Total investment for one row 60 feet long is less than 100 bucks and you will not believe the results. Incredible! Let me know if you have any questions but I only have one. Why doesn't every one do this ???
Click to expand...

Aloha my friend. Sunnyside here. That is a great post you wrote. Oh how I wished you Youtubed it or will. The procedure is something I am most interested in. Doing it for me would be my challenge. Lol. Now if I could see you or a picture of that growing bed with how you did the wire and LSTing than maybe I could try that too. Any chance of you PMing with pictures? Would love to see some to follow along. But your explanation is very helpful. Awesome, thank you and thank you for the kind words about my offer. It still stands anytime and will stand always. Aloha.
 
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devils letuce
wow this blog is great . i loved the stories from all of you .. a nice change from faq and journals..
 
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U
Hey Everybody! Late fall is upon us and things are starting to finally slow down up here on the ridge. I've spent over 6 weeks digging sang.Pulling up tomato stakes and plastic has kept me pretty busy. My wife also got me to start building the big worm fence that she has wanted all these years and we had a bunch of painting to get done. Now I'm down to laying in more wood and I can spend more time by the stove with you all! Thanks again for all of you heart warming support. We are going to be covering our seasons and discussing any problems that you might have had fighting bugs,diseases, weather, critters or people. So be thinking up what you experienced this year and we'll all see what we can come up with!
It's mighty good to be back up here at the cabin with everyone! Thanks again!
 
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Wahtoogee
Seeing as how I'm 57. (58 soon) I wanted to re-open your blog and all these great posts. Lots a good stories here...
 
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uptheholler2
Springtime in Appalachia! Man I am such a hillbilly! You know how I know? Because all of my bride's and my favorite restaurants have gravel parking lots! The more potholes the better the restaurant! I just came in from mushroom hunting and we are still a little early here. Just a few whites and small blacks. Now lets settle back and find out where you all are at this Spring. I am working on another Auto grow experiment. I am expanding on my coconut milk experiment from last year and thanks to one of our sponsors True North Seed Bank I will soon be receiving my seeds for this years work.

Tomaotes, cukes , zukes and peppers are already to go out here in about 2-3 weeks. And I am cleaning up and preparing my barn for another year.

If you all noticed I am now uptheholler2 so I would appreciate it if you all would re-friend me again!
 
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uptheholler2
Boy it's a beautiful day here at the cabin! Still too wet to finish plowing but that doesn't stop my Bride from wanting me to get thing s done here on the farm. I know it's tempting to go out and plant those girls right now. I look for signs from our local wildlife to plant but they can get fooled by Mother Nature too. Check the USDA website for the frost free date in your area. Mine is around May 5th on the high ground and May 10-15th in the bottoms. I generally look for Swallowtail butterflies and Commas or Monarchs. I also check for Bluegills on the beds in the pond. If all of that is going on, I'm putting them out.

Well....my girls telling me I need to head out and get something done and the dogs are all excited, jumping around and barking......so I'd better get to it!

As my Dad always used to say, " Let's go do something even if it's wrong!"
 
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uptheholler2
Well we are going to see what some of these auto flowers can do out of doors. I'm so stinking busy at the farm that I decided that this first round of auto flowers are going to have to fend for themselves.
They have been in my barn room and have been doing well but as anyone can tell you indoor grows have to be closely monitored. Between lights and timers, humidity control, branch training, pest monitoring, etc. it takes me about an hour or more a day depending upon what I need to do. So I transplanted all of the first round of plants into both bushel and half bushel baskets and moved them out on the ridges. I amended my usual soil mix with additional compost to better hold water. I just took a cruise and took a look at how they did after their first day in the great outdoors. It was pushing 90 yesterday with a fairly strong breeze. This usually doesn't bode well for recently transplanted crops. But....they not only made it they thrived! New growth is exploding and leaves have increased in size after only 24 hours. One thing that I can tell you for certain about some of the new auto flowers. They have some of the most dramatic root growth of any plant that I have ever grown. These plants were in about 1 gallon containers. I had just transplanted them into these pots from standard 72 cell flats about 12 days ago. Some varieties had almost filled those 1 gallon pots full of roots. It looks like Auto Seeds Auto pounder , auto pounder with cheese and Candy Kush have had the most root mass growth. Very impressive. I will keep you all updated.
Thanks for stopping by to see us!
 
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J
I am just trying to learn about growing because I have hope that it will be legal in the near future.....but, most of all, I love uptheholler's way of writing. I love to grow things too and the country way of life. I joined the rat race and tried to fit into society and finally broke out six years ago....I wish, I would have gone my own way instead of the path that I took. I do not think I will ever recover from the damage I allowed in my life. I love the posts about growing things...everything.
 
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uptheholler2
Hey Journee! We are so happy that you found your way out here to the cabin. I have had some folks pm me and ask if the cabin is a real place. Yep! it sure is. We are way up on a ridge at the end of a dead end road. We have had 2 farms now in the last 30 years. Each time we move farther out. We have gotten a couple of other neighbors in the last few years and now I can see 2 or 3 other lights at night way off. Sooo we are thinking of selling and moving farther out! We used to just have one other old guy at the end of the road. We all have to find out where we feel that we can thrive in life. Some of us just know because we were born there others like yourself have to walk a little farther to find that place.

I am so sorry that your brush with the tangled ways of city life was tough on you...but guess what? tha's what ultimately led you here! I know this much. If you want to plow a straight row you've got to aim at something in the distance. That's true in life as well. If you have got some thing to aim at, a goal, then things will work out. And you know what? Even if that first furrow you plow is a little off. It's a little crooked. You can still gradually straighten it out over time. Just lay that wheel in the furrow and pick out another spot to aim at.
I love the serenity that finding joy in the little things that I see, hear and smell out here in the country.
And I guess you do too! I wish you all the best in the future and I am honored that you came on out and had a visit with us. Feel free to friend me and if I can ever help you with any growing issues with any plant that I have experience with just let me know and I will do my best.
 
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S
HIGH Back in the late 60's i took a bag of seed's,bout 2lbs worth and made like jonnie appleseed,just spread them everywhere.was very early spring. came back some time later had plants everywhere. and i do mean EVERYWHERE. I just let them grow , soon had plants as tall as a house .didn't have the heart to mow or cut them just let them growwwww . it felt so good. kinda figured the neighbors would,ve cut them ha. some had bud's a ft. long . u could reach arm's length and bend the plants over and get a bud .that was good times.
 
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J
uptheholler, I love your wisdom. I understand the need to have a creative endeavor to give meaning and purpose to life. I also love solitude in nature, although I am not away out like you, I now have a small hay farm a bit off the beaten path. I have close neighbors, but the trees obscure their lights at night.
I am learning about growing. My solitary ways have prevented me from finding sources for the herb, so I have not used it for years. I have a few plants started from seeds and as an experiment, last night, I cut the top off a couple that have two levels of leaves growing off the stem to try to get them to branch out more. I noticed this evening they are already forming branches off the stem where the lower leaves are attached.
Thank you for your gentle kind way of being. I have lost faith in humans and have been a recluse for over six years now. It has indeed been a long strange journey. Do you mean friending you on fb or is there a feature on this site?
 
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J
Seems my young Dane either likes the taste of my plants or is just curious, but her big nose wiped out my fragile plants. She did this with some geranium seedlings, so I should have protected these plants better knowing she is inclined to do this. I will try again next spring.
We have had so much rain it will be weeks before I will be able to bale some hay. But, the field is looking good in spite of the fact that much of the field has standing water from the last deluge. Some of my favorite plant cuttings from last year are healthy enough now to transplant out of the buckets. For some reason I have not had success with azalea cuttings. I think with all the moisture the fungal family is a problem. My Chantilly Lantana looks about dead even though I sprayed it with fungicide. Seems there is always something that needs to be done. More tree trimming today and if it does not rain, herbicide spraying.
 
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Hay folks just a word on my plants . i flushed them and left the door open to drop temp. Seems to be helping ,leaves are perking up. buds still lookin good. cyall later peace
 
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uptheholler2
Hey SAFO1 ! I always think that the "Christmas Morning Surprise " patches are the best! I have had a lot of fun just putting out plants and letting them go. If they are there...they are there!

Hey Journee! I always laugh when folks don't think farming is much work. I've actually had people at farm markets say," I wish I could farm and do what I want to." I just cock my head like a dog that heard something that he doesn't understand and just stare at them. Good luck with that!
 
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J
I understand about the labor of farming for sure. People with small farms have to love doing it because the it is hard work and it does not always pay very well. The reward has to be in the work itself not the monetary gain. The risks involved can be frustrating also. To have a whole hay crop ruined because a storm can came in after cutting and ruin the hay on the ground, or Nature can send a drought to prevent a farmer from making a crop. It carries challenges that the city worker would not ever understand. But, we do not punch a time clock, we can decide how we are going to get a job done and when to do it, the independence is definitely a great thing to have. My fields still have a lot of standing water, but I am amazed how the good grass has filled in areas I thought I was going to have to sprig this summer. That 8 tons of fertilizer, all that lime with the aerating is paying off. The fields are looking great. Now, it just needs to dry up so I can get my first cutting baled. If you listen closely, the plants will tell you what they need.
 
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J
I am old now, so when I over do the work, I suffer. That is why I have become interested in growing my own herbs....to see if they will help with the aches and pains. I have made steady progress over the last three years to improve and extend my hay field, so in the years ahead I hope I will not have to work quite so hard, but as I get older, I know it is going to be more and more of a challenge to do the things that need to be done. I am a recluse and I do not trust people, so hiring someone when I get decrepit will not be an option for me. I need to find some way of keeping my old body going in order to do the things I want to do without having to hurt so much. It is not right that the law should tell me I can not grow what I need.
 
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J
I have a confession....when I worked as a physician, I frequently denied prescribing narcotics to patients.....I was a gate keeper in a way, but did I have the right to decide whether a person should have access to narcotics or not? One case in the ER, I saw a girl who complained of anxiety. Records revealed she had been to the ER less than a week earlier and one of my associates had prescribed 90, 2mg Xanax.....obviously she had not gone through those 90 in less than a week.....so was she selling and trying to make a business of selling narcotics? Another case was a man who I had seen before and everytime it was obvious that he was very high. He came in high again, asking for more narcotics and I declined to prescribe them, a couple days later he was found dead from an overdose. Ultimately, I have to say that everyone has to be responsible for themselves and the choices they make. As a gatekeeper, deciding who and who should not have narcotics, I was assuming that my discernment should override free will. Does the law have the right to decide what is best for a citizen? If that is the case we are in big trouble, because those in power do not have very good intentions or judgment. In my old age, I have to consider that it is best to allow free will, the restriction of it is more harmful than the playing out of it in the end. Looking back, though, I have to say in both of those cases I probably would have done the same as I did. I should not prescribe a narcotic that will be used by someone to make profit or to commit suicide......where is the balance?
 
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J
In both of these cases, I would have been a party to the sell of street Xanax and the overdose. As a gatekeeper, I was responsible for the distribution of narcotics and I had to make a choice of contributing to this activity or passing it by. But still that does not mean the law should have the right to prevent people from exerting their free will independently. If I grow my own herbs and use them.....no one else will be contributing to my activity.....it would be my responsibility only. Free will.
Glad we had this conversation. :)
 
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uptheholler
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