Aussie Guerrilla Grow For 2021/22 Season

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

We would string up some weed cloth, more surface area = more water with some sort of gutter underneath like halved pvc. Then run a drip line downhill gravity fed straight to the plants. Let the soil store it.

Sounds like you've done all you can to set yourself up for success. Keep em watered and they should thrive. Looks like good country!

Cheers fella. Will keep u posted.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

Here's what the Blumats look like once installed, the ceramic cones have those green caps with a line up to the water reserve. Anyway, best of luck, I think you'll have a great grow!

IMG_2872.jpeg

• Emeraldo
• Oct 1, 2021

Sensi's Durban fem, Oct 1

Awesome idea. I’ll look into it for sure.

 

[Emeraldo]

Awesome idea. I’ll look into it for sure.

With the temperatures you're dealing with, and the amount of water your plants will need, I think Blumat is probably insufficient. Not enough transfer. But if you're interested in a ceramic wall transfer of water ("the plant takes what it needs") look up ollas. An olla can be quite big. It could act as a buffer so you're not throwing water away into sand.

 

[Merrily Up the Stream]

I’m also going to cover the pots with about a foot of Pea Straw when the plants gets a bit taller. It’s a mild & wet spring here atm and for a few weeks I’m not too concerned about evaporation.
Hey Avery...in my hot Aussie garden I have found pine bark chips to insulate better than pea straw. Also found that scratchy birds and small animals leave it alone and it doesn't blow away or disintegrate too fast. but main benefit is superior insulation to pea straw (IMHO...LOL). There again I haven't tried pea straw @ 1 foot deep. Best of luck. BOM are forcasting some very hot days in January groan! I have a small outside grow in coco atm. Bit higher altitude than yourself and nowhere near the coast.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

I’m also going to cover the pots with about a foot of Pea Straw when the plants gets a bit taller. It’s a mild & wet spring here atm and for a few weeks I’m not too concerned about evaporation.
Hey Avery...in my hot Aussie garden I have found pine bark chips to insulate better than pea straw. Also found that scratchy birds and small animals leave it alone and it doesn't blow away or disintegrate too fast. but main benefit is superior insulation to pea straw (IMHO...LOL). There again I haven't tried pea straw @ 1 foot deep. Best of luck. BOM are forcasting some very hot days in January groan! I have a small outside grow in coco atm. Bit higher altitude than yourself and nowhere near the coast.

Hey Merrily.

Good to hear from you. I’d give anything to have my own place (not a rental) and grow an imported bunch of $50 seeds and water the shit out of them throughout summer.

I’m convinced my biggest limiting factor (amongst many others I’m learning about) is the amount of H2O I can give them on those hot long summer days & I’m betting will be a big influence on the quality/quantity of the final autumn harvest.

Also I’ve spent a heap of time & dollars investing in soil prep and reading up on “living soil”. I’m even composting all my lawn clippings & have a Bunnings worm farm cranking to get worm tea & castings regularly.

I’ve upgraded my 12v Ozito water pump to a little 25cc Honda 4 stroke water pump that will transfer 200 litres via 18mm hose 50m in about 8 minutes downhill.

The less time on on the road parked next to my site waiting the better and I’m over lugging 20 litre containers through the bush. Basically I can pull up, run a 50m hose, connect and pump ASAP and park down the road and come back for that awesome moment when you haven’t seen the girls in 4 weeks and whether you’ve been ripped, killed by hail, stomped on by Roos - or see they’re thriving & they’ve grown like champions.

Have a good weekend.

AB.

 

[Bill284]

Hey Merrily.

Good to hear from you. I’d give anything to have my own place (not a rental) and grow an imported bunch of $50 seeds and water the shit out of them throughout summer.

I’m convinced my biggest limiting factor (amongst many others I’m learning about) is the amount of H2O I can give them on those hot long summer days & I’m betting will be a big influence on the quality/quantity of the final autumn harvest.

Also I’ve spent a heap of time & dollars investing in soil prep and reading up on “living soil”. I’m even composting all my lawn clippings & have a Bunnings worm farm cranking to get worm tea & castings regularly.

I’ve upgraded my 12v Ozito water pump to a little 25cc Honda 4 stroke water pump that will transfer 200 litres via 18mm hose 50m in about 8 minutes downhill.

The less time on on the road parked next to my site waiting the better and I’m over lugging 20 litre containers through the bush. Basically I can pull up, run a 50m hose, connect and pump ASAP and park down the road and come back for that awesome moment when you haven’t seen the girls in 4 weeks and whether you’ve been ripped, killed by hail, stomped on by Roos - or see they’re thriving & they’ve grown like champions.

Have a good weekend.

AB.

Hello Avery hope things are going well in Australia.
Do you have access to IIRCC compost, it retains upto 25% more water.
Also a compost tea might be beneficial for your ladies.
Can't wait to see them Baskin in the bright sun down there.
We are expecting snow any week now here in Canada, Yeiks hehe.
Good luck.
Stay safe Amigo.
Bill

 

[Merrily Up the Stream]

Hey Avery, Very impressive mate. May the Ganja gods smile on you. I only have a rowdy Dalmation pup to thwart. It is oft said that you get what you most focus on, keep seeing those beautiful strong healthy gurls in your mind , if not in person. cheer Merrily

Not sure if I attached my dog fence picture correctly.

 

[Trala]

Hi folks,

Greeting from Australia. I’ve been an outdoor grower for a few years and live in a semi-arid environment on the Sydney/Adelaide/Perth latitude here in Australia – and in 2021 I’ve decided to start a chat on guerrilla growing out bush here in Oz where we regularly deal with consecutive 40-degree Celsius days [104-degree Fahrenheit for our U.S.A. friends].

Through trial and error over the years I’ve come up with a plan this year that I think will payoff dividends at harvest time – and I’d really appreciate any suggestions/feedback from your own experiences.

This year I’m planting the following strains sourced from sites overseas:

Power Plant

Skunk No.1

Amnesia Lemon (Fem)

Mango

AK47 (Fem)

White Widow Autoflower (Fem)

I started making my version of Subcool’s SuperSoil Mix about 8 weeks ago and have had it ‘cooking’ in 200 litre black plastic food-grade drums (that I’m now going to take out bush and use as a water tank to feed the girls) during this time.

I also made an early vegetative-stage mix that isn’t too hot which I put on top of the SuperSoil mix in each of my 90 litre fabric pots so the roots can reach down into the supercharged mix a few weeks after transplant.

The SuperSoil mix I have put together this year has the following ingredients:

- 10kg worm castings

- Water crystals

- EZI WET

- 2.5kg Guano Phosphorus Root Health Booster [Richgro]

- 2kg Fish Meal

- Mycorrhiza

- 2kg Dynamic Lifter

- 2kg Alfalfa Pellets

- 2kg blood & bone

- 10kg Silica (as dichotomous clay)

- ¾ cup Epson salts

- ½ cup sweet lime (dolomite)

- ½ cup rock dust (trace elements)

After cooking the above for about 8 weeks I then got out a tarp and mixed in perlite, vermiculite and the darkest most beautiful compost I’ve been making since the end of last season here. So basically, for each pot I put in about 33% SuperSoil + 33% Compost + 33% Vermiculite/Perlite.

I then drive about 40 minutes from the city to my secluded bush spot where I walk about 50 metres away perpendicular from the road on the side of a north facing slope [here in the southern hemisphere].

I’ll keep posting throughout the 2021/22 growing season here in Oz to keep you posted. Here’s a few pics of getting the plants ready ahead of the start of the season here and my preparations out the bush.

[P.S. to reduce evaporation in the fabric pots I have tied & wrapped old woolen carpet around each pot - blends in pretty good I reckon and the carpet will fend off some of the direct summer rays during heatwaves]

Cheers,

AB

Gidday maaaaaaaaaaaate

I’m an Aussie grower too! QUEENSLANDER!

That looks like some traditional Aussie bushland you got there. I think your two biggest enemies will be insects and spotters on trail bikes looking to tax your bud the day before you plan to harvest. My ex lost a crop or two through those little ratbags lollll.

That carpet tho. Looks like it was cut straight out of nanas house lollllling

Good luck and I can’t wait to see how your green adventure unfolds.

 

[Trala]

Do you know what an Australian kiss is?
No:
It's like a French kiss but down under

What’s an Aussie man’s idea of foreplay?
Poke in the ribs followed by “you awake? I’ll be quick”

 

[Trala]

Hey Avery, Very impressive mate. May the Ganja gods smile on you. I only have a rowdy Dalmation pup to thwart. It is oft said that you get what you most focus on, keep seeing those beautiful strong healthy gurls in your mind , if not in person. cheer Merrily

Not sure if I attached my dog fence picture correctly.

If the internet was handing out awards for the best user name today, you’d win.

I literally big smiled just reading it.

 

[Merrily Up the Stream]

Awwh! Thanks mate.
Merrily

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

Gidday maaaaaaaaaaaate

I’m an Aussie grower too! QUEENSLANDER!

That looks like some traditional Aussie bushland you got there. I think your two biggest enemies will be insects and spotters on trail bikes looking to tax your bud the day before you plan to harvest. My ex lost a crop or two through those little ratbags lollll.

That carpet tho. Looks like it was cut straight out of nanas house lollllling

Good luck and I can’t wait to see how your green adventure unfolds.

Hey Trala. LOL. You know that carpet came from Gumtree and I chatted to the owners. They had just started renovating their parents home and their parents had bought the woollen carpet brand new when they built it - 60 years ago. Can you imagine the stories that carpet could tell!

I deliberately have found places where there are gates - but unlocked onto fire trails. See the odd motorbike but pretty rare. You know, I’ve grown in this same place since 2015 and never had an issue with insects. I have set up a $150 trail camera near the site so I can check who’s been in the vicinity, how many cars or people come past. It relieves me immensely when I check the footage as soon as I arrive and I’ve caught only Roos or the odd wombat setting it off.

I’ve found that given there is so much dry open bushland around and you’re working with pots and irrigation from your own water source people aren’t as likely to look to rip. All I need is a north facing spot clear of overhanging gum trees and I’m a happy camper and if someone stumbles on my crop it’d be very very unlucky.



AB.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

What’s an Aussie man’s idea of foreplay?
Poke in the ribs followed by “you awake? I’ll be quick”

You’ve dated some of my mates obviously!

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

Hello Avery hope things are going well in Australia.
Do you have access to IIRCC compost, it retains upto 25% more water.
Also a compost tea might be beneficial for your ladies.
Can't wait to see them Baskin in the bright sun down there.
We are expecting snow any week now here in Canada, Yeiks hehe.
Good luck.
Stay safe Amigo.
Bill

Gday my Canadian cousin. Isn’t is crazy when it’s the start of autumn/winter where you are and everyone else on the other side of the world is feeding their sprouting ladies. I get jealous af when I can only wait the winter out and do basic soil prep and watch you Canadians and Yanks grow in your backyards with impunity & abandon.

Jealous would be an understatement. I can’t begin what it must be like to grow without a care in the world from the Fuzz and crop rippers are your worst nightmare. I know some states/provinces differ but most on here seem to be pretty chilled about thir growing situation.

Love Canada. Spent a few weeks in Ottawa for work in 2013.

AB.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

Hey Avery, Very impressive mate. May the Ganja gods smile on you. I only have a rowdy Dalmation pup to thwart. It is oft said that you get what you most focus on, keep seeing those beautiful strong healthy gurls in your mind , if not in person. cheer Merrily

Not sure if I attached my dog fence picture correctly.

And to you too Merrily. I’m hoping my best laid plans come off this year. I’ve actually built in an insurance policy. I’ve mirrored my 3 x pots setup in two separate locations about 4kms from each other on different roads. If I happen to lose one completely I have plan b there so I don’t go into complete meltdown.

If I don’t get get ripped I’ll have a 50% bonus - and nowadays I always expect something to go wrong. It’s Murphy’s Law!!

 

[Merrily Up the Stream]

And here is me feeling snug and save with my back yard grow of 5 gallon grow bags, then a bloody Eastern Brown snake appears (2nd most venomous). So I've just had to call the snake catcher AND dash around bringing plants inside whilst dodging and keeping an eye out for the snake. He was bloody quick and one gurl was still hidden in plain sight amongst my veggies. Risk is exciting once you are safe. More worried about discovery than the snake. LOL.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

And here is me feeling snug and save with my back yard grow of 5 gallon grow bags, then a bloody Eastern Brown snake appears (2nd most venomous). So I've just had to call the snake catcher AND dash around bringing plants inside whilst dodging and keeping an eye out for the snake. He was bloody quick and one gurl was still hidden in plain sight amongst my veggies. Risk is exciting once you are safe. More worried about discovery than the snake. LOL.

That’s hilarious Merrily! I genuinely laughed out loud.

Snakes are a curly problem. The thing is where I live redbacks are literally everywhere if you give them a chance and I’m regularly inspecting the kids outdoor bikes and playing cars they sit in. I never kill them because we’re so inundated with them it’s pointless and they’re just living their own lives.

Similar with snakes when I lived in the NSW far south coast growing up. There were red-belly black snakes everywhere if you strayed into the bush a few feet from any road. They’d visit our grassy & cool backyard now and again on hot summer days too.

At a very respectful distance I’d get a plastic back yard rake and a straw broom together like a pair of BBQ tongs, collect them up and walk them into the bush line away from any houses. I genuinely believe if you mean them no harm they pick up on it.


AB.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

Hey folks.

Went out the other day to fill the 200 litre water tank at one of the sites and put some mulch cover over the tops of the 3 pots.

I found some awesome 700mm x 700mm x 70mm recycled black plastic square trays online that I've now put underneath each of the irrigated 90 litre fabric pots. I also put about 200mm of pea straw mulch over the top of the soil (in addition to my awesome carpet wraps).

I figure any overwatering or overrun that might occur when summer comes and my planned watering schedules jump about 50% should be captured and let to wick back up by the bottom of the fabric pots for the rest of the day (timing an early morning watering schedule).

Here in summer the water would be lucky to sit there for more than half a day at most before either evaporating or being sucked back up by osmosis. Root wetness is never a problem, nor bud rot that I hear so much about from folks over the other side of the globe. One of the few benefits of very hot, dry days I guess...

I'm really happy with my irrigation system at each site and how much water the pots can receive depending on the time of year. At the moment I only need go out once a month. But that'll last about until December kicks in and our average daily temps go from current low to mid-20s up to regular mid to high-30s and even a week straight of 40-45 degree Celsius days (113 Fahrenheit) . Very hot and very unforgiving on underwatered cannabis plants sitting in the sun.

That's why in addition to upping the watering capacity I'm giving the woolen carpet wrapping a shot. When that sun hits the black fabric pots sitting in the open it cooks the poor things and I reckon root zones would hit a fair few degree above ambient given just that black attracts the heat.

I see the woolen wraps as something like an umbrella on a really hot day. It won't keep you cool as ice - but it'll take the edge of that stinging heat in the middle of an ongoing heatwave.

Where I live, you kind of want to give going to your grow sites a wide berth on the very high fire ban days - as everyone's looking out for those dickhead arsonists that go out lighting fires for kicks and if you find yourself out there you are at much higher suspicion compared to a little planning for it and going out a week or two in advance and filling up the tanks and sitting at home in your air conditioning knowing they're drinking and sunning themselves and the same time to their hearts content.

A few progress pics for those taking a look through this.

This is T+ 74 days since I put the seeds in water to pop.

Cheers,

AB.

 

[Avery Bullock Jnr]

This is about as big a threat I come across on my visits....

And Koalas.

Everywhere, seriously. I'll be doing my own thing out in the boondocks and I hear this loud coughing/growling sound that scares the shit out of me - and then it keeps doing it and I realise that I've got a male Koala above me nearby calling out to his girlfriend or something. I'll take a pic next time it happens and I see one sitting up there.

 

[Merrily Up the Stream]

This is about as big a threat I come across on my visits....

And Koalas.

Everywhere, seriously. I'll be doing my own thing out in the boondocks and I hear this loud coughing/growling sound that scares the shit out of me - and then it keeps doing it and I realise that I've got a male Koala above me nearby calling out to his girlfriend or something. I'll take a pic next time it happens and I see one sitting up there.

I'm impressed AB. Loving the ingenuity. Necessity the mother of invention an all. The water tank and the bags look well camouflaged. I agree that snakes will leave you alone given the chance, but red backs, now that is past my tolerance level. I moved interstate at one point due to the spider presence SE Melb. My family down Melb have a new saying, Don't do anything to get yourself into hospital! And don't just expect an ambulance to turn up (same in SA)! Too many covid breakout in hospitals and the situation is about to worsen with city people now coming into regional. So nope, for $100 I'll be calling the snake catcher.
I'm treating for rust atm. I have 4 Moroccan Kush and one Gorilla Skittle in flower. Bringing them in at night since switch as days are getting longer. What happened is I had five plants inside, the kush x 4 are regular seed. When repotted to 5 gallon I had to put the two kush I thought most likely to be male outside and flipped them. Within two weeks I was amazed at the difference between inside and outside grow, so put them all outside and packed up the lights. All Moroccan kush became female. Yaay.
Currently germinating PPP, Jack Herer and Train Wreck. One of each all fem. Can fit in one more outside grow this summer. Treating the rust with Lime Sulphur. Next week I'll change to a garlic spray. I read that you need to keep changing the treatments. Happy and appreciative, to take advice on this treatment if anyone has any.
The Gorilla Skittle is an auto and at 11 weeks seems stuck in preflower. Gave it the 18/6 light treatment then about week 8 of vege couldn't see the point and now treat it as a photo with the others.
cheers Merrily still going up stream.