Glasgrow's Outdoor Grow - Early Skunk - Scotland

Glasgrow

Well-Known Member
Here is my attempt at a grow up here in bonnie Scotland near Glasgow.

I have done a few indoor grows before - nft technique which provided me with some fantastic buds and some great smoke. The best strain (personally) was strawberry blue, ordered via the attitude seedbank and the seeds were from world of seeds (i think). This strain made me laugh uncontrollably at absolutely nothing, and so did my mates. Never had anything before or since then that has done that to me.

Anyway, enough rambling. Decided to go ahead with some bagseed to see what results i would get but with having these seeds sitting in a draw for literally years i wasnt expecting too much. After soaking 16 of them in water overnight and using the paper towel method, 10 days later and still no tap roots. Like i said - wasn't expecting too much. Have ordered seeds - 3 early skunk and 1 free seed - sugar candy by delicious seeds. Reading up the early skunk are suited to uk conditions, very moukd resistant and are pretty easy to grow. Have had them soaking in water since last night and will transfer to paper towels later on. With these seeds being proper seeds i expect to see tap roots pretty soon. Once they have cracked open i will transfer into a small seedling propogator tray with general compost and place on the windowsill.

Once these seedlings hit the top of the tray and get to around 4" in height i will then place the tray outside to harden them up a bit. They will also get quite a bit of sunlight as my balcony faces south and will get sunlight from around 12pm till the sun sets.

During this time i have a general idea of where to plant my new babies outside so will go out, prepare the soil and lay a couple of bags of compost. The area is secluded enough and is unlikely to stumbled across by any teenagers or dog walkers. The area will get sun for pretty much most of the day which is what these babies need.

Once the plants are around 6" in height (perhaps a bit more) i will then take them to their new home and be left for nature to take its course (any bagseed that sprouts will also be planted). I hope to take a trip there once a fortnight and am lucky that i can access the site from one side and leave by the other thus not bringing any attention to myself. If there happens to be a drought i will go along with water to feed them and occasionally i will feed them with general purpose plant feeder (stuff used for tomatoes). Once it gets to mid july/early august any rogue males (bagseed) will be removed.

Would like to know what you guys think and will post pics in due course. Would like to hear from any other people that have grown outdoors in scotland and what success they had and what they did along the way with their grows.

Ps - this was initially posted as a blog on my account so there will be a couple of more copy and pastes so that i dont forget anything.
 
I should also add that i hope to move them to their new home in approx 4-5 weeks depending on how quickly they grow. So 2 weeks indoors, 2 weeks out on the balcony (bring them inside at night and placed on windowsill to catch first morning sunlight) and then into the big outdoors. As this is my first outdoor grow i have no idea what to expect and no idea if what i have planned is adequate enough.
 
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Finally some success. Bought seeds have sprouted taproots already. Will transfer into potting medium tonight (2 nights ago but actually only done yesterday morning).

Top 4 seeds in row are the bought seeds, the rest are the bagseed i mentioned.
 
Welcome Glasgrow! :welcome:

What a Braveheart :rofl: you are growing outdoors in Bonny Scotland.

I look forward to following through the season.....have you researched any of the Danish strains - bred for Scandinavian conditions, so finish fairly quickly and are cold and mold resistant?
 
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Finally till more happens is what i use till they get bigger. As you can see the propogator will fit 20 seeds so very small. I assume that once they become rootbound that i will need to transfer to bigger pots? What size would you guys recommend? Mind i have to transport them to their final resting place which will be sorted this week at some point so i cant use massive pots. Will carry them in a large shopping bag with a flat bottom so will not arouse any suspicion. Or do you think that i can leave them in there till they hit.4/5 weeks old and transplant just the once to their final resting place?
 
Bapple, i have not. I researched strains to grow well in the uk. Early skunk will finish early oct, perhaps mid oct and they are also mould and cold resistant. They will also do well if i happen to not get out to water them. Just needing to make sure that i can keep deer and rabbits away from them. May create temporary cloches from 2litre juice bottles and place over the top for a couple of weeks just till they get a bit bigger. Am researching on how to keep them away WITHOUT building a fence. Trying to do that would arouse suspicion and take time and the grow site is around 2miles from my house. Also if the fence gets seen then the safety of the grow will be compromised.
 
:lot-o-toke::lot-o-toke:Be interesting to swap delights once done kushtie.

Bapple - cant find his current journal. Perhaps if you can post a link to his page or even a link to the page showing his contraption showing how he protects his seedlings. Am still finding my way around this site and do find it quite difficult to navigate. The designers must have been stoned when doing it, ha ha, lol. Have read up on how to protect them from deer - pee around the site and place human hair (got a barber shop 2 mins from me so can get plenty of hair) nearby. Also have 2 cats so can place used cat litter in nearby places, just need to make sure i dont stand in any cat poo when visiting the site (should be easily visible if i keep it mixed with the litter). That will solve the deer problem but not sure about bunnies. Will do some more research or if anyone knows how to keep them away then please advise. Once the plants reach a couple of feet in height then bunnies shouldnt pose much of a problem, however, you cant be too careful.
 
Here's hoping we get that far to end up with delights it the end of it.

Will see if I can find brother's contraption too. I'm hoping to put my outdoor pots where deer and rabbits physically cannot get to them. The deer round here see people and dogs regularly so I wouldn't count on scents deterring them.

Ideally we need a wolf....bet that would keep the 2 legged pests at bay as well as the 4 legged ones! :)
 
and i thought i was mad doing outdoor in N Ireland lol , good luck neighbour :thumb: i am growing a strawberry blue also , well along with a few other strains , DFA , sweet sugar rose , blue blood,my out door is Afghani and skunk haze , and ive some thc bombs on there way , :)


best of luck mate
 
2 single wardobes on their backs , made up some super soil let it cook for a month , planted out they did well , then we had some shit freak weather , sun burn one week frost bit the next , knocked them right back and almost killed a couple , they are back doing a little growing , have some green mustard and clover growing along side as green manure :)


ohhh that little cover was only 20 quid on ebay , worth having mate

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Unfortunately i cant afford even a cheap cover for the babies. Have to make do with what i have and what i can get for free. As no-one else is involved with the grow (best way) then it all done by myself. Also have a f/t job, and a young family so time is limited. My other half knows about it (she had to otherwise how would i explain going out the house for a couple of hours at a time and also how could i start indoors). Only forking out for propogator, compost, seeds and some tomato fertilizer so am hoping that everything else is kind to me. Not sure if there are rabbits nearby my intended site but covering them with cloches should let them get big enough so if there are any they will be big enough to not get disturbed. Am almost certain there are deer so hoping that human piss, human hair and some used cat litter will deter them from getting close enough to munch on them. Even if there are no deer it better to be safe than sorry.

My babies have fair sprouted over the past couple of days. They now around an inch till and doing well on the kitchen windowsill, need to keep turning them round as they keep bending over towards the sunlight. They are not in direct sunlight, will wait until they sprout their 3rd or 4th nodes before doing that during the day and bringing them in at night. As you will see from my pics posted later today you will see how much room they have. Am thinking that they will probably need transplanted into bigger pots before i take them outside. Let me know if you guys agree (obviously after i post pics this evening).
 
I agree the nutty professor. Cant grow indoors so am doing outdoor - nothing beats weed being grown under natural sunlight. Also with being grown outdoors the roots will grow to great lengths in search of food and water so no chance of becoming rootbound. These latest pics will show what i am doing just now and needing to know if a transplant will be necessary before being planted outside. Am thinking it will be but if so how big do i need to go to? Cant go to massive pots as i need to transport them down the road to their new permanent home. Perhaps a transplant isn't necessary but if not they will need cover with a cloche till they get big enough to fend for themselves. Photos to follow.
 
Even at this early stage i have to keep turning the propogator round 2-4 times per day as the plants bend towards the light! May have to give them some support so i dont need to keep turning them, or at least not having to turn them so often.

Re 10 gallon pots - they are massive and although cheap enough i do struggle with finances (partner had to give up work due to ill health). They would be ideal but i would need 4 of them at least (depends if more sprout or not) and then would either need to dig up a lot of soil and fill plus take bags of compost to the site to fill the pots. Carrying pots this size and several bags of soil is likely to draw unwanted attention to myself, a pot is also likely to be spotted sitting above ground than someone just looking at "greenery".
Another problem with pots is watering. Pots will require regular watering and this is time i dont have nor do i intend carrying gallons of water even with a river nearby. Making trips to a river will also draw unwanted attention to myself. Obviously if there is time that we have a dry spell then i will need to take water there and give them water but the less trips i need to make then it better. Roots in the ground will find water and nutrients much further down than what i could dig thus reducing the time and effort to transport water.
Am intending to find "the plot" this week and start work on it by digging up the soil and aerating it. Next week i will take some bags of compost to mix in with the soil. This will give it 2-3 weeks to settle before i take my babies out there. I think i will check the plants once they get to around 3"-4" in height and see if they are becoming rootbound in their present pots. If they are then will transplant into 5"-6" pots, this will allow them to grow more. This size will allow me to put them in a flat bottomed bag ready for transportation. Will probably walk to the site even though i can get fairly nearby with a bike. Transporting plants in a bag(s) draped over the handlebars on a bike is asking for trouble - especially with stupid drivers and other pedestrians so walking will ensure they stay upright and safe. These size of pots will fit in the bags quite well. Any bigger and it will be a squeeze.
I have forgotten when i need to start feeding the plants nutes. Used to grow by hydro and have only done soil with lowryders some years ago. Is it low strength after a couple of weeks and then working the way up to full strength?
If i had another pair of hands to help with this would make it so much easier but i dont have many friends nearby and it is also very hard to trust anyone. Less people that know the better. Other than the people on this site my mate at work knows (had the seeds delivered to him so my mrs didnt find out (he not know where the site is tho)), my best mate knows (he stays a 2 hour drive away from me but will get shown when he visits and i do trust him as known him for around 20 years) and the mrs knows.
 
sounds tough mate, i know what its like im off work my self due to back and leg problems and my other half looks after our 1 and half year old well we both do but she will do most , wish you lived near me id be helping you out :)
thats a better idea get the ground ready for them , yes work up on the nutes . i dont think you will have to worry too much about watering , not where we live lol ..
 
i dont think you will have to worry too much about watering , not where we live lol ..

Think I'll be counting on that too! I'm hoping to try a bunch of things....will buy bags of soil but not sure whether to go with stuff with nutes in it or not so I'll probably get a couple of bags of both. Some will be in pots, some in the ground and some possibly just a in a pile of fresh dirt on the ground. It's just an experiment for me this year :)

Only trouble is the hour trek over rough ground each way....doggie will be getting well walked lol
 
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