It's late winter, folks. The moment is almost upon us. Soon, we'll have those babies in the ground, and the serious gardening will begin in earnest. But the serious grower doesn't wait until May to start his season. There's work to be done right now, important work. For those of you who are living in Canada and the northern US, and new to growing in the great outdoors, this is a good time for you to get out there and start scouting out the area you plan to grow in.

Why? A couple of reasons. First of all, the ground is frozen, so you can get in and out of marshy, lowlying areas very easily without having to fight your way through knee deep mud. That means you can scout out a much larger area over the course of an afternoon than you'll be able to do a month from now, when the going will be a lot tougher.

Second, there's almost no vegetation. That works for you in two ways. First of all, again - you can move more easily through what will be thick underbrush in a few weeks. This time of year, you can easily navigate briar patches and dense underbrush. And second, with no leaves on the trees, you can easily see longer distances, and get a better sense of how far away you are from roads, houses, and other areas of human activity. Case in point - I went out and scouted an area just last weekend, a spot I found last summer on the way to one of my patches, and for which I had pretty high hopes this season. And what did I see? Houses just 150 yards away, on the other side of a narrow river, up on a ridge. They'd been completely hidden by trees last summer, but I could see them clearly last week. If I hadn't scouted that little peninsula last Sunday, I would have stuck about 10 or 12 plants there this year, and that's a lot closer to someone's house than I want to be growing a dozen plants.

And third - in addition to better sight lines, sound carries a lot farther this time of year. The cold air conducts sound better, and again, the lack of leaves on the trees lets you hear sounds that will be muffled when the trees are leafed out. So, again, you'll be able to hear roads and other human activities that you wouldn't be able to detect later in the spring. You may not be able to see over that little ridge a couple of hundred yards away, but you can hear a dog barking. Or a door slamming. Or worst of all, kids yelling. You don't want to grow anywhere near kids, because they'll spend all summer long poking around in the woods. They may not recognize dope when they see it, but if they see some strange guy crawling around in the woods with a backpack, you can bet they're going to mention it to mom and dad the minute they get home.

So. Once you're out there, what should you be looking for? Start with the lay of the land. You should be able to get a better sense of the geographical features of your area this time of year, because every rise and fall you see is the actual profile of the ground, not the top edge of a treeline or thicket. If you're growing in wetlands, 2 feet of elevation can make a huge difference, but you can't spot a 2-foot high spot once the grass starts growing. This time of year, you can.

So, look around carefully. Where are the low spots? What sort of vegetation is growing in them? Sure, most of the vegetation will be dead this time of year, but you can still tell what it is, and from that, you can tell a lot about soil conditions and water tables. Is it cat tails? Forget that, then. Cat tails mean that area's underwater all summer long. Briar bushes? Good spot. High enough above the water table that the roots won't drown, and good for keeping people and animals out. Lots of dead trees, no live ones? Stay away; that probably means that area's prone to flooding. Nothing but pine trees? Soil's probably too acidic for good weed. And so on. Take your time, and pay close attention. You're surrounded by clues that will tell you a detailed story of what grows well here and what doesn't. Just keep asking yourself, what will this spot look like when everything's green and filled out?

Now check for sun angles. You should have a compass with you. Stand in the area you're looking at, and check which directions the tall trees are. How tall are they? How close? When those trees leaf out, where will their shadows fall in the morning? In the evening? How about mid-day? Does your area have good exposure to the south all day long? You'll have to use your imagination a bit here, because during the growing season the sun angles are going to be a lot different than they are now, but with a little bit of ingenuity you should be able to get a decent sense of how much light any given area will get. When in doubt, plant a little farther out from the trees. Just a difference of 30 feet can mean the difference between 10 hours of direct sun each day and 6 hours, in the right circumstances. And I don't think I have to tell anyone what a difference that can make in your yield and bud development.

If there's snow on the ground, look for tracks. This is a perfect time to see how many deer or other critters live in your garden-to-be, because by this time of year, the animals are hungry and roaming around everywhere looking for food. Trails stand out like sore thumbs this time of year, both game trails and people trails. Game trails tend to wind in and out through thick areas, and there'll often be many trails intertwined like a spider web. People trails tend to follow relatively straight lines through the easiest terrain.

You can also get a sense of how many predators are in an area. Fox tracks, coyote tracks, and even wolf tracks if you live far enough north are all good news for the grower. Last weekend, I was thrilled to find a new spot that's located halfway between an eagle's nest and a barred owl's nest that were just 300 yards apart. I'll grow about 15 or 20 there this year, because there won't be a rabbit in sight all summer long.

And of course, you want to be watching for people tracks as well. You may find your area is not as remote as you thought. You may find offroad vehicle trails going right through the patch you were planning to plant. Or, worse yet, bootprints. If the area is truly remote, but you find someone else's tracks out there, ask yourself - who is this, and what the hell is he doing out here this time of year? Do the tracks follow the same pattern as yours, poking around and checking out open areas in the middle of tree stands? Does he spend a lot of time wandering in and out of briar patches? Standing in one place and looking around in circles? Might be another grower, doing exactly what you're doing.

Other signs of human activity to avoid? Semi-permanent duck blinds, maybe. When does duck season begin in your area? Before you plan to harvest? Better check with your area's fish and game website. You don't want to be sneaking around harvesting your crop a couple of hundred yards from hunters the first weekend of duck season, because i guarantee they'll see you. And if they don't, the game wardens who are out in force that weekend will. Any tree stands in the woods? Again, this is the best time of year to spot them. When does bow season begin in your area? The middle of September? Then steer clear of tree stands. For that matter, I generally stay away from them no matter when the hunting season begins. Deer hunters like to do exactly what you're doing - get out in their area a couple of months before the season starts and scout out the land. That's not so true of duck blinds, but it's definitely the case with deer hunters. Give 'em a wide berth all year round.

How about ice fishermen? See any of them close to where you're planning on growing? They'll be fishing those same spots from boats when the ice goes out. Did you find a nice spot next to some water, but you don't see any sign of ice fishing? Look up. At the trees next to the water. Any bobbers or lures hanging in the branches? Stay away. It may look remote to you, and you may have had to hike a half hour to get in here, but somebody comes in here by boat and fishes here. Spends hours at a time sitting on their ass, checking out the scenery and marveling at the beauty of nature, just 50 feet from your 8-foot tall White Widows. Maybe not such a good spot, after all.

And, last of all, always be looking for signs of other growers. No matter where you live, there's always someone else - sometimes a lot of someone elses - looking for exactly the same thing you're looking for. I'll tell y'all a story to illustrate my point. A few years ago, I found myself what i thought was an absolutely perfect spot. I spent hours scanning physical and topographical maps of the region where I live. I won't tell you what features I was looking for, because I know Leo reads this every day and i don't want to give too much away. Let's just say that this spot I found seemed to fit every single criteria I was looking for, and when I went out and scouted it the last week of April, it was even better than I'd expected. It had everything. 40 miles from the nearest large city, 10 miles from the nearest village, 2 miles from the nearest road... perfect water conditions, soil conditions, the whole works. And so remote, it literally felt like I was on another planet. There was no chance - I mean no conceivable possibility - that anyone else was ever going to come here. I was so convinced of that, I broke with my usual pattern and decided to plant about 3/4 of my entire crop in this one spot. The ground was already wet and sloppy, and the slogging was hard, so I didn't scout it as thoroughly as i would have if I'd scouted in winter.

The next weekend, I hauled 57 6-inch seedlings out through the woods and swamps to my new patch. I started on one end, and spent the entire afternoon fighting my way through thick brush as I planted. I had 48 of them in the ground when I pushed through a little patch of brush, and there - right at my feet - was a perfectly manicured, freshly planted... 2-foot tall marijuana plant.

I was friggin' stunned. I mean, I was so astonished it probably took me 5 full seconds to comprehend what i was looking at. When the shock wore off, I looked carefully around, and sure enough - 10 feet away was another one. And a few yards from that, another. And the next thing I noticed? The brush and small trees in the immediate area had been chopped back with a machete, and the cuts on some of the trees were old. Other cuts were fairly fresh, and some of them had been done within the last year or two. It was clear as day that someone had been growing here for years.

Had I done my proper scouting during the winter, and examined the new patch thoroughly, I would have spotted that easily, and would have known immediately that the only person who'd come all the way out here to trim those trees several years in a row would have been another marijuana grower. And I wouldn't have wasted almost 50 seedlings, because that crop was a total loss. In that thick brush, I had no chance of finding 48 6-inch tall seedlings and digging them out again. Lesson learned, but what a cost.

So. There it is. Just a few tips for the younger guys, from someone who's been doing this since Phil Collins was still just some dorky-looking drummer in Peter Gabriel's band. Hope it helps some of you. Anyone else have any tips to share about scouting?

This should be stickied.

I have a nice piece of land scouted out in my backyard.

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Buds,Buds, and more Buds: Purps + White Russian

awesome post. tons of info repp+++++++

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WORD TO YOUR MOTHER-everything i say here is not to be taken seriously, I only come on here to look cool. and man do i look cool.

this helps soo much.

how can you tell if the site will get good sun?

and how do you know if the soil is good?

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Important: Everything i do or say on this site is complete fiction and is made up by me and only me. I have never tried pot and never will and i would especially never even consider growing it.

actually for the marshy areas should wait for it to evaporate to dig an all that it wont be so wet in summer i live in florida and down here has alrdy been time ive got a couple baches in some nice spots CANT WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR

where i live theres alota clay in the soil its got alota red in it.. i heard some where that its better for growin weed with? think its tru?

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Money over bitche$ thats moto i follow, take dat to the grave, ill swallow 8 hollow

I can't believe I left that tip out of my original post. It was too long, and i didn't proofread it well enough.

It's actually fairly easy this time of year. Right now, the sun angle is about the same as it will be at the end of September. What that means is that if it's getting good sun now, it will still be getting the same amount of sun at the end of September/beginning of October, and much better sun than this every day in between. The sun will rise higher in the sky for the next 3 and a half months, reaching its highest point on June 21st. Then it will start slipping back down again. So the amount of sun falling on your patch will increase for 3 and a half months, then for the next 3 and a half months decline to exactly where it is now - right around the time most strains finish. If you've got good sun now, you'll have good sun until the day you chop. If you're not getting good sun now, you'll be running out of direct sunlight at some point during the flowering stage.

Now, as for exactly when? That depends on your site - the latitude at which you're growing, and the distance between that particular patch and whatever trees happen to be blocking it. So there's no quick and easy answer. If you're not used to doing this, there'll be a lot of guesswork involved, but your compass can really help you here. Make sure you know where south is, and with your eye, study the heights of the nearest trees. If the trees are 50 feet high, I try to be planted at least 100 feet away from them. I always look for nothing higher than about a 30 degree angle between where I'm standing and the tops of the nearest trees, especially if the trees are to the south, east, or west. Trees that are to the north, you can be a lot closer to.

But these are just general rules of thumb, because it ultimately depends on how far north of the equator you are. That's what determones your sun angle. Every spot is different.


You can't know for sure when the ground is frozen; you can only deduce it from the way the land lays and the type of plants that grow there. You want rich, well-drained soil, like you'll find in river bottoms, flood plains, and on the edge of wetlands. To figure this out from observing the area, you really need to have a feel for plants and what grows where. That's why i say, look for briars, thickets, and small, healthy-looking trees like sumac. If young hardwood trees are growing there, and they look healthy - and if there aren't a lot of dead trees there - it's probably good soil.

If you're planting close to wetlands, you probably don't have to worry about the plants getting enough water. The water table is high enough that they'll usually do fine. The main danger is planting in areas where the drainage is poor, or that may be prone to flooding. That's why I say stay away from cat tails and the like. If you go out to an area next to a wetland, study the way the land rises up away from the marsh. As the slope rises, you'll see a demarcation point - a point where the vegetation changes from cat tails and other marshy plants to trees and other small, woody plants. That's where you want to be.

Depends on how much clay you have. Some parts of the country, that's all there is, so you're just stuck with it. But generally, clayey soils don't drain well. If they've got a lot of clay, they don't take in water very well either, so if the surface dries out between rainfalls, the rain can just run right off the surface without soaking in. If clay is all you have to work with, I'd suggest taking a shovel and mixing in some sand and/or some perlite in each planting spot.

could you posibly dig a hole and put a bunch of store bought soil in it? and if you wanted slightly small plants couldn't you put them in a container to keep the roots small, me and my friend were thinking of doing an outdoor grow and we live in coastal- Maine so its highly forested mostly pine trees like that, have any tips?