Sierra Cowboy 5 Variety Outdoor Container Grow 2020

[Sierra Cowboy]

Here we go again ! My son and I had such a good time last year we decided to do it again, our first grow is in my signature for those wanting a good laugh. This year we are splitting the sites and doubling the amount of plants, at the same time we will be doing a side-side comparison grow. If that isn't enough we will be using a totally new ( to us ) Nutes package. So the first thing on the agenda is to clue everyone in on exactly what we have going on.
To start I will introduce the line-up
Romulan from Romulan genetics a 50/50 hyb
Tahquitz OG from Elev8 Seeds an Indica dom. hyb
Magic Melon from Humbolt seed company, Sativa dom. hyb.
Vanilla Frosting from Humbolt seed company, Indica dom. hyb.
Black Jack from humbolt seed company. Sativa dom. hyb.
All the plants were purchased as clones from Dark Heart nursery's distributors.

We will be planting in two different sizes and types of containers this year. We have 6 - 25 gal black plastic container and we have added 6 - 65 gallon white cloth containers to the fold. We will be growing three different strains in side-by-side comparisons; Romulans, Magic Melon and Tahquitz, this should be predictable.

We will also be using a different line of nutrients this go around, we don't support Monsanto and will do all we can to avoid putting money in their pocket. We will be using Mega Crop mainly with a few other supplements along the way.

medium will be Liberty Mix soil, I believe it is a regional product specifically mixed for/by the growers in this area (Central Sierras). We had very good results last year so why mess with success.

I would say "as always" if this wasn't just my 2nd grow, we will be using Azos (beneficial bacteria) and Mykos ( root growth stimulater) with each transplanting and weekly with the Azos after that. At the year's end our root balls were wall to wall in the 25 gallon containers so we like the Mykos and Azos products.

Last year when we got our clones we literally came home transplanted them into 25 gallon containers outside and went to bed, we won't be doing that this year. We have our clones in the closet with some very nice LED lights to keep them company for now. After bringing them home we let them adjust for two days then transplanted them into quart sized containers Today was their second adventure outside it was a perfect day for the girls. The light breeze and partial shaded sunlight was just right for plants this young and new to the great outdoors. They also received their first nutrients at a rate of 1/2/tsp. per gallon or around 30% solution. So without further ado here are this years line up, be nice,

Our growing

So that's what I got so far, we will be transplanting them into 1 gallon pots this weekend, the hardening process will be complete by then so outside they go after that.

As you see we have switched it up quite a bit so it should be another comedy of errors all the way through so sit back and let the show begin

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

I am already coming into a situation that I am not familiar with and it is just the first week. I bought clones from Dark Heart Nursery that were in rockwool, as soon as I got them home I put them into small pots (1 quart approx.) where they have been for about one week. For the last two days I have sat them outside for most of the day and returned them to the lights at night, in an effort to harden them. So now I want to transplant them to 1 gallon pots and move them outside but am concerned that that may shock them. Last year we just stuck 1 week old plants into 25 gallon pots and went to bed so all this transplanting up to promote good roots is kinda new. Should I move them out now and wait until they have grown a more substantial root system in this pot before transplanting ? What's the consensus ?

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

After mulling this over all night last night I have decided to let the root ball develop more in the small containers. I know the whole point is to develop the roots so that move makes the most sense to me. I will continue to take them out each morning and put them under the LEDs at night until I see roots on the bottom of the small pots they are in

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

Hey AndIHalped, Great to see your name, I hope you stick around. Well here we go again, it appears that the lights I had set up in my closet were not strong enough so my girls are stretching. I feel like the best thing for me to do at this point is to go ahead with the transplant. I will be planting them a little deeper than normal in an attempt to allow for stem support/growth. I am kinda stuck with that decisions based on the amount of room I have once the plants are re-potted, they will be too big for my closet. On the lucky side it is rather cool here for the next week so it will work to my advantage, last week it was damn near 100 degrees , my girls would not have liked that. So anyway into 1 gallon pots , treated with root growth stimulator and beneficial bacteria filled with Liberty Soil , here we go.

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

What am I in for ? I have been looking around the site and am getting a little concerned. Last year I planted in 25 gallon black plastic containers, we got about 2 1/2 lbs. off of 6 plants. This year I bought 65 gallon fabric pots ( thinking my plastic pots were 50 gallons). am I going to have HUGE plants in these new pots. It's looking like I have quite the issue here, I live in a sub-division and 10 ft. tall plants would definitely catch some eyes. As I am writing this I am giggling to myself about what my wife's reaction will be when they really get going. Oh well I guess I will just have to deal with it
But seriously what size can I expect if I do it right ?

 

[InTheShed]

Should I move them out now and wait until they have grown a more substantial root system in this pot before transplanting ? What's the consensus ?

The consensus in my head is that you should let the root ball get just short of root bound before transplanting, and you should work your way up slowly from 1gallon to 25 (or 65) gallon pots. Transplanting is less stressful for them than overwatering, which is ridiculously easy to do in big pots. 1 gallon, 7 gallon, 15 gallon, 25 gallon, etc. I'm not sure you will have time to fill a 65 gallon pot starting from this point though.

I will be planting them a little deeper than normal

Excellent idea. Any time I get a stretcher I try to bury as much as I can (making sure there is still room at the bottom for growth) when I transplant.

But seriously what size can I expect if I do it right ?

Veritable trees if they have time at this point, depending on the strain. @BeezLuiz grows in 25 gallon containers and trims standing on a ladder!

 

[BeezLuiz]

Hi Sierra! I'm glad Shed pointed me here ( @InTheShed ).

65 gallon pots could certainly support trees, but many other factors will determine height. If you want to keep them shorter, you can always top them several times and train them as well - that's what I'm aiming for this year. My tallest plant (25 gal pot) was 7ft high my first season) Also, I would recommend checking out this JOURNAL from @LED209 . He is growing in 65 gallon and 100 gallon pots this year. He should have some valuable info for you.

The consensus in my head is that you should let the root ball get just short of root bound before transplanting, and you should work your way up slowly from 1gallon to 25 (or 65) gallon pots.

This is where shed and I diverge a bit in growing strategy. I go directly from solo cup to 20+ gallon fiber pot. I let them go fairly long in the solo cup - about a month or so. My reasoning is that you only need to transplant once, and with fiber pots, the soil dries out a bit faster than plastics pots. Also, you can control the amount of water/fed they get without flooding the entire area of the pot. I don't water until I feel the soil has dried sufficiently at least a couple inches deep. Your climate is considerably different than Shed's environment (he lives near the coast where it's much cooler and more humid). You live in a hot and dry summer and about 2500 ft elevation if I remember correctly, which also accelerates evaporation. (I grew up near you so I am familiar with your summer weather.) I think you run more of a risk of dehydrating your plants than over watering them. If I remember correctly you lost a plant or two last year because of this. Anyway, just my opinion - you decide what might work best for you. You can try it both ways and see what works better for you.

 

[BeezLuiz]

Oh, I forgot to include this recent post by @MrSauga regarding watering and root growth, which I also try to do with my plants:

Instead of watering at the stem on the Green Gelato try watering a ring around her about two inches away from the stem. Make that ring about 2" wide working towards the pot edges. This will stimulate the roots to go searching for the water and will help with growth as those roots strengthen. Right now it's like a day at the beach for her. She's getting some sun and the nice server is bringing the food right to her. We have to get her off her ass and make that drink more pleasurable when she gets it.

 

[InTheShed]

Don't listen to BL because we actually don't disagree at all . I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm only saying it's really easy to mess up by overwatering! If you're careful it's entirely doable to go from solo cup to 25 gallon as Beez has proven on many occay.

 

[BeezLuiz]

That reminds me... I need to go out and water my plants.

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

Thanks for your input you two, it means more coming from you two because I know you know your stuff. I had to do the transplanting and yes it is not the ideal situation but as brought up earlier we did the same thing last year (out of stupidity) and we came out OK so I felt like this was the correct move at this point. Next year I will do better research on lights so we won't have this problem again. When I came back to the site this season I noticed that Emilya had updated her how to water a potted plant to include a small plant in a large container I will be using her method , wish me luck. What can I say we learn, we go forward, or as I like to say "Growing forward"

 

[BeezLuiz]

For the last two days I have sat them outside for most of the day and returned them to the lights at night, in an effort to harden them.

I will continue to take them out each morning and put them under the LEDs at night until I see roots on the bottom of the small pots they are in

I'm curious about your light schedule. How many hours total light are your plants currently getting? You need to be careful not to give them so much light that once you put them outside full time they trigger flowering mode. Right now we're getting about 14.5 hrs of daylight per day. You should slowly match sunrise/sunset schedule for your indoor lights by the time you put them outside full time.

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

oh crap! I was on 24/7 ,just for about a week until I got my stuff together to move it outside but they started stretching before I could make it happen. The nursery had them on 24/7 so I thought that it would be best to just keep them on that schedule until I got ready. Live and learn from the back of the curve that's my M.O. it seems. So much to learn, so old ! That's it nothing more profound.

 

[LED209]

Hey there cowboy I’m in for this one. Thanks for the mention @BeezLuiz. I see we are running a couple of the same strains cowboy, so it should be fun to follow along and compare. I am also running some 65 and 100 gallon pots. I, like Beez try not to transplant as much as possible. I like to put my clones or seeds in 1 gallon pots and then transplant once into final pots when they are ready (usually around month). The only issues I run into with overwatering is like I’m dealing with right now actually lol. This past two weeks I’ve had 2-4 day stretches of 100+ degrees twice in a row and In between I’ve had 1-2 day periods of thunderstorms with flood warning type rains. The joys of growing with Mother Nature , it’s ever changing

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

Welcome aboard LED209 it seems we have more in common than just the strains, I am in the 209 area and know just what days you were referring to. That storm dropped the largest hail on my area that I have ever seen in this state, my wife's plants (Flowers etc) took a beating some got destroyed, I was very happy my little girls were not out there. At this point all I can hope is that God takes pity on fools and my girls don't start popping bud sites.

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

Another day in the life of a new grower my head is spinning with thousands of bits of information, that to this point just have not came together to form a picture. I came into this year with a little bit of confidence after successfully pulling off my first ever grow last year, short lived.
Planting / Growing / Harvesting seems pretty straight forward, as a matter of fact one of our politicians recently stated " dig a hole, throw some seeds in, cover it with dirt and water it, how smart do you have to be" well let me tell you ! I have been nose to the grindstone for two years now on this site and others learning all that I can and I still don't know a 10th of what I need to pull off what I see on these pages.
The only hope I have of succeeding is with the help from members of community to pull my butt off the coals ( repeatedly no doubt ) and drag me once again across the finish line.

I love doing this and have read threads and seen pictures that convince me, I am not alone, I am not the only one who sits and watches his plants, I am not the only one who takes pride in not only their plants but their entire grow and I am surely not the only one who struggles with these incredible plants. With the help and knowledge of this community at my side I do have confidence that I will get across the line, I did last year. That is the strength that this group provides new growers. Just knowing that whatever the circumstance, the situation some one here has been there and has knowledge that they are willing to share. I just want to say Thank You for all you all do for me and all the other growers out there. Knowing you are there is everything

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

As luck would have it, I planted my girls in their final pots yesterday and now we are in for record heat 105+ just great. I am thinking of building a shade for the girls with a piece of shade cloth that I have in an attempt at sparing the girls 15 hours of searing sunlight, what do you all think about that ,good plan or no?

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

I got a bit of a break it was only 102 today so not what we expected. The girls are showing a little heat stress but nothing to be overly concerned with IMO. I have a canopy over my patio made with a 2"x2" slats with 2" gaps between each so I drug them all under there during the heat of the day to lessen the impact. I figure I cut the direct light by 50% doing that and they still got plenty. It is supposed to be even warmer tomorrow, I will just leave them therefor a few days.

 

[InTheShed]

Can't swear to this but I recall a video from Jorge Cervantes where he said root temps were more important than leaf temps outside. Might apply more to mature plants though...

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

The only pots I have in use right now are the 25 gal. black plastic, setting on the cool slab in the partial shade should keep the temp. down to an acceptable level...I hope. If they make it through the next few days we have a cooling trend coming that will give them some more time to adjust. To make matters worse I had to leave town so my babies are in my son's hands, not that he is not capable, he is , he just isn't me.