Foothills, outdoor, 2024

[BlueCollarBob]

Just for the heck of it:

These two plants are twin sisters.
They are clones, cut from the same plant and both nursed through a reveg cycle, side by side until about six weeks ago.

In early May, one plant was planted into the outdoors in the foothills, the other into a 15 gallon sack in the Bay Area.

The Bay Area plant is under 250 watts but the daytime temperatures are far warmer in the foothills. Nighttime temperatures aren’t greatly different, but just slightly warmer in the foothills.

The plants don’t even resemble one another anymore.

The Bay Area plant is a cute little plant, probably going to get an ounce.

The foothills plant is beefy, probably outweighs me, is close to shoulder high and seems to grow 1 - 2 inches a day.

Their nutrients aren’t the same, flora nova in the Bay Area while the foothills plant depends more on top dressing with insect frass, bat guano, blood meal and other natural nutrients. It occasionally gets a boost from flora nova, but mostly it’s just the natural stuff with a decent amount of great white. View attachment 62816View attachment 62817View attachment 62818

Sweet comparison. I'd have never guessed they started as identical clones. That foothills plant has a great shape to it and looks like something you'd see in a framed print.

 

[TomH]

Just for the heck of it, I named the two twin plants after the lead characters in the movie Twins.
The monster plant in the foothills is Arnold (Schrwartwhateverthefuckspellingitis), the midget plant in the bay area is Danny (De Vito).

Yea, I know I've misgendered the names/plants, but with what's going on in this weird old world, that's the least of our problems!

 

[TomH]

Sweet comparison. I'd have never guessed they started as identical clones. That foothills plant has a great shape to it and looks like something you'd see in a framed print.

Indeed, it's amazing what a difference there is.
The foothills environment is far from optimum, but for a plant that can stand up to the heat, it certainly shows what these plants can do!

In every case, anything I can grow in the bay area, I can grow better in the foothills. Some things require significantly more water and/or shade, but overall, the higher temps make a huge difference. I've even got some ferns that are out performing similar plants in the bay area. But they are getting a lot of spray (2 or 3 times daily) and shaded from direct sun by a pergola, they get morning and evening sun, but nothing harsh.

I'm not sure why it surprises me so much, maybe too much weed!

 

[TomH]

The four foot marker is right there in the middle, it was visible on Monday, but it’s in deep weeds at this point.

I both love and fear this plant.

I might be able to climb in it soon.

 

[TomH]

Skunk #1 is nearly two feet tall now, i topped it, hopefully to start filling out.

The two sativas in cloth planters are looking good but haven’t added an inch. Just seems to be idling.

The super blue dream surpassed 5 feet (added a foot last week).

All plants are still in veg mode as opposed to the super blue dream in the Bay Area which just closed out week1 in stretch.

All plants still vegging received a top dressing of bat poop, blood meal, mycos and worm castings.

I need to figure out a screen to flatten out super blue.

 

[TomH]

I’m so over this high heat.
We begin today, as the coolest day since June 29.

It’s only about 95 degrees today, 29% RH.

Here are the last couple weeks high temperatures.



Super Blue Dream doesn’t mind this heat.
Everything else is looking a little sad.


Sativa bag seed.


A clone of the above sativa.


Skunk #1

 

[Rootsruler]

I’m so over this high heat.
We begin today, as the coolest day since June 29.

It’s only about 95 degrees today, 29% RH.

Here are the last couple weeks high temperatures.

View attachment 65618

Super Blue Dream doesn’t mind this heat.
Everything else is looking a little sad.
View attachment 65619View attachment 65620

Sativa bag seed.
View attachment 65621View attachment 65622

A clone of the above sativa.
View attachment 65623

Skunk #1
View attachment 65624View attachment 65625

I'll see your 109° and raise you 116°!

 

[TomH]

Well, we’ve been having a cold spell for the last couple days.
Hi temps have been in the upper 90s and low 100s.

Things are looking nice. I had some issues with the sativas, had to flush them, but they look healthy and happy now.

Super blue dream is over 6 feet tall now. This is my view straight ahead looking at the plant. It’s over my head.




All the rest, 2 sativas and one skunk #1 are 3 feet tall.


This is blue from a distance.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Wow! Looking great. Looks like they've weathered the heat well.

 

[TomH]

Wow! Looking great. Looks like they've weathered the heat well.

Thank you sir.

They’ve been drinking like dean martin at an open bar party!
During the really hot spell, 2x a day water, they are in soil not coco.

Now, once a day but there are a couple events about to really increase intake.
1 - it’s going to get hot again, at least for 5 - 7 days.
2 - it should begin stretching sometime in the next 2 weeks, it already shows some white hairs, so I’m thinking it might be about to make that slide now. A good stretch ought to make ‘em really thirsty.

crossing my fingers I don’t mess anything up now.

 

[TomH]

Stumped,
Two of the three smaller plants have monstrous stumps compared to the third smaller plant.
The two have stumps that compare closely with the big plant, which is easily twice as tall and four times the mass of any of the smaller plants.

It’s also trippy that the big stumps look like they have bark.

 

[TomH]

Sweltering temperatures this past week have really put these ladies through the wringer.

Nothing is showing signs of flipping yet, but it should be observed by the end of the coming week, possibly mid week if history repeats itself.

This weekend started off at 59 degrees, haven’t seen less than 70 overnight in about 10 days. Daytime highs have been pushing nearly 110 all week, so a letup is appreciated.
Super blue dream and skunk #1 received kool bloom liquid after a thorough watering.
The two sativas will get kool bloom liquid mid week.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Those consistently high temps are just hard for me to imagine. Makes your outdoor grows so much more impressive to me. Looks great to my beginner eyes.

 

[TomH]

Those consistently high temps are just hard for me to imagine. Makes your outdoor grows so much more impressive to me. Looks great to my beginner eyes.

Last year I watered my outdoor plant as I would if the thing was growing in a more comfortable environment, it looked pretty good but it was just a bunch of crispy buds when I harvested.

I’ve completely changed my watering routine here. Every day they get a good drink, sometimes twice a day. Once they begin the stretch, I’m probably going to have difficulty keeping up with their hydration requirements for a couple weeks.

If I can keep it properly hydrated while it’s building buds, hopefully I’ll have a decent harvest.

Grasshoppers are the wildcard. They have been swarming just a couple miles to the west of us. They will probably be locust by late summer, they have been traveling in a due north direction for about 6 weeks. Yards in their way have been cleared down to the ground. My lady and I have been spraying spinosad, BT, garlic oil, canna-control and a few similar things hoping we can make the yard undesirable to the hoppers!

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Last year I watered my outdoor plant as I would if the thing was growing in a more comfortable environment, it looked pretty good but it was just a bunch of crispy buds when I harvested.

I’ve completely changed my watering routine here. Every day they get a good drink, sometimes twice a day. Once they begin the stretch, I’m probably going to have difficulty keeping up with their hydration requirements for a couple weeks.

If I can keep it properly hydrated while it’s building buds, hopefully I’ll have a decent harvest.

Grasshoppers are the wildcard. They have been swarming just a couple miles to the west of us. They will probably be locust by late summer, they have been traveling in a due north direction for about 6 weeks. Yards in their way have been cleared down to the ground. My lady and I have been spraying spinosad, BT, garlic oil, canna-control and a few similar things hoping we can make the yard undesirable to the hoppers!

Might not be worth it, if the grasshopper/locusts are hit or miss, but I wonder if fashioning some kind of frame and covering the plants with garden netting would help?

 

[TomH]

This girl dwarfs me now.

 

[TomH]

All the plants are showing a large number of single pairs of white hairs popping up.
The date is just about right, signs of some stretching and limb thickening also taking place.
Looks like I’m now in the flowering cycle.

2 - bagseed sativas
1 - skunk #1
1 - Super Blue Dream (larger than the above 3 plants combined).

 

[TomH]

I have found three of these in the garden, waiting to eat the brains of anything within arms reach.

My lady has found a few other ones in other areas of the garden, crossing my fingers that there are more that I don’t see, because I know there are hungry critters out there.

All four plants simply take on a different look as the cue from Mother Nature tells them to start their reproductive journey.
The color looks awesome and bright in the growing points, they seem to get more dense over night.

 

[TomH]

Back in the foothills after a week away, stretch week no less.

A couple plants have a couple yellowing leaves on them, but mostly they all have really bulked up. Wednesday was the end of week 1 in flower.

This morning they received Flora-Nova grow+Ca-Mag/Iron+fulvic acid+Flower fuel (1-34-32).

All plants look really healthy, with bud sites beginning to stack up on very long branches.
Pictures later today.

 

[TomH]

Photo update from august 10, two plants have grown 6 inches in the last week, the third about 4 inches.
The tree, I can’t really even tell when it grows, it’s just huge.

 

[TomH]

By the calculations, should be week 2 end. They all look less than that to my eye.
I might need to adjust my calculations by a week.

They all look good and ready to flower.

The sativas are thick, the skunk was slow putting out stigmas, but now it’s popping out little white tufts.
Super Blue Dream is a tree. Over six feet, and has 20 colas that are at least 18 inches long, dozens more lower branches with buds showing up thickly.

 

[TomH]

One of the plants, Skunk #1, is showing purple petioles, has been for many weeks
It’s in the sun, so I’m not thinking a mag shortage is the case.
Are some plants just purple in stems and petioles sometimes?

 

[TomH]

A few more pictures from a different perspective.

Plants are loving the current weather.
Nights are mostly in the sixties, dropping into the high fifties just before sunrise, 30% RH.
Days are right around 90 to 100, 15% RH.
The big plant gets direct sunlight from 7 am to 7:00, with bright skies for another hour or two.

 

[TomH]

We click past week 3 tomorrow.

Plants are big and beautiful but a couple look like they are eating some yellow bottom leaves.

I don’t think I’ll respond to this with nitrogen though, stretching should be complete. The two with yellow leaves are also the biggest plants so I probably should have given them more in flower weeks 1 and 2.

I’ll be heading back to the foothills tomorrow morning, I’ll update with some close up photos, my lady sent me these, telling me the trees are looking great

 

[TomH]

Since I’m at this point in the schedule, everyone will get a substantial haircut tomorrow to rid them of any hidden budsites and unproductive greenery.

Tomorrow is going to be work, Super Blue Dream is at least a foot taller than me and on a hill. This could be interesting. I need to be able to do a Matrix thing to get those inner budsites cleared out.

 

[TomH]

Here’s a cool angle on the super blue dream tree.
It highlights a bunch of colas reaching for the sky. They are between 18 and 24 inches long each.

The two very narrow branches just right of center is actually a pomegranate tree (bush) behind blue!

 

[TomH]

Cool and humid this morning, a few sprinkles in the area and heavy rains about a hour north of us.
I might have to shake my plants a few times during the day.

Warming up beginning tomorrow should be better for flower phase.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Everything looks great. Man, they they look like axe handles at the bases. It's interesting to follow your outdoor grow because mine are at similar stages. Pretty interesting considering we're growing in completely different environments.

 

[TomH]

Everything looks great. Man, they they look like axe handles at the bases. It's interesting to follow your outdoor grow because mine are at similar stages. Pretty interesting considering we're growing in completely different environments.

Thank you, it does point out how versatile and amazing these plants are.

I’ve grown a lot of different plants, I can’t think of too many that can compete with cannabis for it’s ability to just keep taking more and more, regardless whether it’s more sun, more heat, even more water and ferts.

Honest to bob, if I watered and fertilized any other plants in my garden the way I do these cannabis plants, they would curl up and blow away!

 

[BlueCollarBob]

Honest to bob, if I watered and fertilized any other plants in my garden the way I do these cannabis plants, they would curl up and blow away!

It's obvious that you have a green thumb. Looks like happy plants of many different varieties are found all around your property. My stuff is down right shaggy compared to yours. Hopefully, I'll get to defoliate the cannabis plants tomorrow. Some have a lot underneath and in the middle that needs to go, I think.

 

[TomH]

It's obvious that you have a green thumb. Looks like happy plants of many different varieties are found all around your property. My stuff is down right shaggy compared to yours. Hopefully, I'll get to defoliate the cannabis plants tomorrow. Some have a lot underneath and in the middle that needs to go, I think.

Thank you sir! I appreciate such high praise.

This weekend is my defol weekend too.

I’m not sure how much to take off. I doubt that the severe defoliation of an indoor grow is needed, probably just remove the hidden buds and yellow leaves, but keep a lot of mass as long as it doesn’t invite PM.

 

[TomH]

One sativa clone got a total schwazz, all the other plants were just lightly defoliated, only taking the most shaded of leaves and buds sites.

 

[TomH]

I’m starting to get a “oaxican spear” vibe from a couple of these.

The skunk#1 and blue dream both have 18” to 24” long colas, they are thickly budded and beginning to chunk up.

I see early signs that trichomes are forming so an aroma report should be just around the corner.

 

[TomH]

Week 4, day 3 today.
Skunk and both sativas have nice trichomes, not heavy but increasing daily.

The tree has very sparse trichome coverage. It’s mother didn’t get coverage until about week 8, then looked like sugar almost overnight.

 

[TomH]

High temps today forecasted to be about 90 cool degrees with RH in the teens.
Beginning tomorrow, highs going into the 100s for the rest of the week, RH should drop to low teens if not single digits.

 

[TomH]

Silhouette bud shots give me a chubby!

 

[TomH]

I was just up hill stabilizing some of the amazingly long colas (we have hot, dry winds forecast this afternoon and probably all week).

Even though there are very few trichomes, it has a very powerful blueberry muffin aroma.

The bagseed sativas both have a strong lemon aroma.

Skunk is funky sweet. A sniff elicits a mmmmm ugh whoa reaction. First they are sweet, then they are a little stinky.

They love the heat and aridity, but I can’t even skip on watering a day, even on the cool days (relatively speaking, still in the 90s). I tried yesterday and skunk was all pouty by 8pm. since it was dark, I let it go until it’s normal watering this morning. It was very droopy but as soon as the water began working down the cloth planter, the leaves perked up.

 

[TomH]

Last update for about a week.
Middle of the fifth week, they are on their own for the next week.

The buds are bulking up nicely.

Early to mid October for the harvest, early November for trim jail.

I’m just hoping that the weather and bugs don’t mess things up.

 

[TomH]

There has been a significant increase in mass in the recent week.

They are getting large and impressive looking, continuing to shed used up leaves.

We are at day 39. Everything has a good smell. Trichomes look great on three, super blue dream will likely get all her trichomes in the last week, just like her mom.

 

[BlueCollarBob]

It all looks great to me. I really like the photos with the sky in the background. Very nice!