PeeJay's Prudent Home-Brewed Organic Soil - Outdoor Out of Sight Deck Grow

[PeeJay]

I have most of a gallon of Alaskan Fish Fertilizer that is 5-1-1, and most of a quart of Generals Organics Bio Marine that is 2-3-1 available. If the plants get tired further along I'll use a little of the 2-3-1. Might not even have to.

 

[GardenFaerie]

For support you can get a hoola hoop at the dollar store and some bamboo skinny stakes and make a screen. Tie wrap the bamboo to the hoop to make legs to stick in the pot.

Is it hot there? Hoo, it's hot here today.

 

[PeeJay]

Hula hoop might be fun... It's in the low 90s 30% rH. When I got up this morning it was 65 and 72% rH. Blazing sun all day - clouds moving in from the mountains for an afternoon shower later.

 

[GardenFaerie]

How many inches of rain is normal there? We're supposed to get 31, but it doesn't help when it all comes at once. My water bill last month for all the gardens and whatever lawn is out front in total shade was about 120 dollars. That's crazy. And I only water once a week, but very deeply.

 

[PeeJay]

Average here is ~12". It is foolish to have a lawn here.

 

[Teddy Edwards]

Love the way the plant reflects the environment. You've got your own organic geological strata going on there, PeeJay.

 

[PeeJay]

It's a fun thing, Mr. Teddy. It reminds me of tree rings and they way they reflect climate variations over the years - only speeded up to annual pace.

 

[Teddy Edwards]

It's a fun thing, Mr. Teddy. It reminds me of tree rings and they way they reflect climate variations over the years - only speeded up to annual pace.

Exactly. That's a better analogy. I have the same thing with my plants - the bottom halves indicate scorching activity by a new grower, the tops show support from the 420 community.

 

[GardenFaerie]

It's definitely foolish to have a lawn anywhere! Such an incredibly waste of water and it is the number once cause of groundwater pollution.
Here where we live they are starting to sell Buffalo grass, which is the only native turf grass in America. If one has full sun, that is one of the most beautiful ways to go. In high summer, it can tend to sparse up and show brown, but only dormant and the moment fall rain returns it greens up and holds the soil beautifully and can be grazed on, etc.

I don't have enough sun. My front yard has St. Augustine turf, but it does okay because it is mixed in with three ancient live oak trees and I definitely water my trees very thoroughly. They are priceless down here. Trees, that is.

 

[CCOiler]

The climate change we expect around the 1st of July hereabouts came right on schedule, Marion. It's fun to look at Alpha from the side. You can see the various climates the plant has grown in reflected in the growth. At the bottom is the dense growth that took place over 135 days of neglect in a cabinet under CFLs. The plant was root pruned and topped several times to keep it short and was always very close to the lights.

Above that there is the growth outside in very hot, extremely dry breezy conditions. The leafs are small and leathery. Node spacing was wide.

At the top is the newest growth with much improved humidity and cooler conditions. The leafs are bigger and fleshier. Node spacing is tighter. The picture was taken early this morning a few minutes before direct sun starts hitting the greenhouse. The new growth is wide awake and anxious for the bright light.

Things look great for the future with continued ideal conditions with temperatures cooling down even more in September and a drop in humidity as the summer monsoons abate.

The plant has never had any food that wasn't contained in the soil - only water. The plant is right about three feet tall now and is not supposed to get much taller than that since it is a dwarf strain.

I learned more from this picture than I have in the last month, thank you Sir I've been learning a lot from you and your sub's.

 

[PeeJay]

It's definitely foolish to have a lawn anywhere! Such an incredibly waste of water and it is the number once cause of groundwater pollution.
Here where we live they are starting to sell Buffalo grass, which is the only native turf grass in America. If one has full sun, that is one of the most beautiful ways to go. In high summer, it can tend to sparse up and show brown, but only dormant and the moment fall rain returns it greens up and holds the soil beautifully and can be grazed on, etc.

I don't have enough sun. My front yard has St. Augustine turf, but it does okay because it is mixed in with three ancient live oak trees and I definitely water my trees very thoroughly. They are priceless down here. Trees, that is.

Folks around here have been using Buffalo Grass for a couple of decades. Some do well with it, and others do not. Once you get above ~ 5500 feet it struggles no matter how much sun it gets. Others have success with Blue Grama which is a bunch grass. It takes a long time to establish, but once it does it makes a decent lawn that will take traffic. I don't begrudge anyone a nice lawn if it grows well in their climate. A nice lawn cushioned many tumbles from the jungle gym in my youth. Canna has a nice lawn. Hopefully she doesn't go nuts with granulated fertilizers that leech into her lovely pond...

One thing people do around here to give that lush greenness a lawn offers is plant meadows of native bunch grasses interspersed with flowers like poppies, flax, lilies, Mexican hat, etc. If you are careful they turn out great with a responsible irrigation system, a little contouring, a couple of big character boulders, and framed by hardscape. Lots of people fail trying, though. You have to plant carefully with many established plants and improved soil or you just end up with a weed bed.

I learned more from this picture than I have in the last month, thank you Sir I've been learning a lot from you and your sub's.

Thanks for the nice complement, 60!

 

[Graytail]

Grass lawns tend to do really well on the northen Plains.

I haven't given mine anything but grass and leaf clippings for 20 years. It's ALL lumpy with earthworm mounds Really healthy.

But lawn grass is a crazy idiotic mutant thing to grow. It needs SO much nitrogen that anything else thrives like crazy, so out come the herbicides - ridiculous.

 

[GardenFaerie]

Yes, we've been using Buffalo for over 20 years, but seed only. They now sell pallets of sod which is really giving great success to people who didn't spend the time doing soil prep for the seed. This makes it so much easier for builders to install it right from the start. Some builders are ONLY using Buffalo and native shrubs and trees. My county has restrictions and all installed landscapes on commercial property must have 75% native plants, but are no longer permitted to plant invasive or not-recommended species. We had to fight for that for so long.

 

[PeeJay]

There is a good source of Buffalo Grass plugs hereabouts. No source of true sod - that I'm aware of. I've been dry climate gardening for a loooonnng time. I love it.

 

[GardenFaerie]

Yes, it is very different in the dry. I don't consider us dry even though it is half the rain I had in New York. It's still considered part of the humid south because of how far central I am in the state. Right on the imaginary dry line...where all the air twisting happens in the skies during a storm. Yay.

 

[PeeJay]

It would be fun seeing you grow something with some solid Sativa landrace genetic background, GF. Something not-quite equatorial.. Jamaican? You're sort of on the sativa/indica latitude dividing line. When you find the right strains you will have a crazy outdoor herb garden!

 

[GardenFaerie]

The only thing with sativa is the anxiety effect. I can't stand that feeling. I wind up spending my whole time telling myself to breath, breath, breath...and not enjoying my relaxing buzz. Is there a sativa which has very mellow stone and body relaxing props? If so, I'm game.

That grow out there is getting very firm and stiff. The buds are definitely building. My three plants in the closet are all doing nicely. I'll flux two and the clone I will just low stress train.

I hate Monday. I want my Mark home and he isn't. Half hour is all I have to wait...

 

[B A R]

 

[PeeJay]

Weekly Update:

The plants are growing aggressively and are doing well after a week of being in the greenhouse full time.

A couple of shots of alpha. New growth is predominantly three fingered leaves - sort of odd but nothing to be concerned about.

Beta is also doing great.

I decided to stop neglecting the neglected clone and moved her into 3 gallons of flower soil a couple of days ago. Seems to like the transplant.

There's been a big up-tick in preflowering activity this week. Won't be long before there are flower pictures.

I hadn't see Ms. Mantis in a while. Yesterday I spotted her on the chile. She wasn't very cooperative when it came to posing.

The plants are all still going on the soil with no added food.

 

[B A R]

The plants are all still going on the soil with no added food

This is exactly why PJ's my new soil coach as you will all see in due time.