Maine Outdoor 2020 (first timer)

I haven't noticed droopiness but growth does seem a bit slow. Don't think it's gotten down into the thirties here in my part of Maine for a few weeks now--but certainly 50s and a few 40s. What's your location? Guessing you might be up in Vermont or New Hampshire.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

I haven't noticed droopiness but growth does seem a bit slow. Don't think it's gotten down into the thirties here in my part of Maine for a few weeks now--but certainly 50s and a few 40s. What's your location? Guessing you might be up in Vermont or New Hampshire.

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Southeast NB, Canada.

Seawood said:

Anyone else‘s plants in the northeast getting affected by the cold nights? All my plants other than one strain are not liking it. They’ll droop for 2-3 days after a night in the high 30s. Virtually no growth in over a week. Another frost warning for tonight in my area then It looks like clear sailing. Guess I’ll be bringing them inside one last time.

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Thats tough mine have been in ground for a week now in sw maine all good here, frost an snow 2 weeks ago crazy! Just north of me had frost last night an warning tonight but thats the white mountians.

Seawood said:

Southeast NB, Canada.

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Fundy creates it's own little weather bubble, hard to push the cold air out of there.
Opposite later in the summer, funnels the heat and humidity from the east coast right up the St John's valley.

I finally got my 3rd one out, a couple autos in 7 gal air pots and a big scroggin plant in a 20gal grow bag wired to a pot riser. Makes it easy to roll instead of carrying.

Week 9, everything's in the ground and the extra plants given away to good homes now. I put that crinkled-leaves Orange Blossom Special in a 7g smartpot for now, partly just as an experiment--never used a smart pot before.

The 5 that went in last weekend didn't show a lot of visible growth this week, but I can see that the shoots on either side of the topped leader are bigger now. I imagine there was a lot going on with the roots getting used to their new home.

I decided now would probably be a really good time to give them a little snack as they launch into full vegetation mode during these 15+ hour days. Sprinkled some more of that Stonington Plant Food around the drip line, added some compost, and watered in with some compost tea. Also added some mulch to help retain moisture.

Looking forward to seeing some serious growth over the next weeks!






Hey, one thing I've been wondering about. How do you get the best flavor out of your cannabis? I just sampled some local outdoor-grown varieties and to be honest the flavor was really kind of harsh with hardly any pleasant subtle flavors (smell and appearance weren't great but not awful). The second sample was from an organic gardener--from my reading I thought one of the benefits of growing organically outside is great flavor. So is it also a matter of harvesting at the right time? Or of curing? Storing? Is it the strain? I'm really curious because I want to make sure I get peak flavor out of my harvest. What are the secrets?

Genetics, keeping them healthy, harvesting at the right time (don’t chop too soon), drying and curing process (don’t rush this either).

There’s lots of theories out there on methods to increase terpene profile/flavour but it’s mostly bunk. The 4 points above are what will ensure you get the best product.

Plants look great!!!

Seawood said:

Genetics, keeping them healthy, harvesting at the right time (don’t chop too soon), drying and curing process (don’t rush this either).

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Thanks, makes sense. I'll do my best. Weather in the fall is a wild card but I'm hoping for some Indian summer weather in October and will take whatever measures I reasonably can to let them fully finish.

Seawood said:

Plants look great!!!

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Thanks for the encouragement. So far so good. The folks who took my extras all said they looked very healthy. So far so good--except for a couple seeds that didn't germinate and that one Orange Blossom Special with the crinkly leaves. Maybe hit it with too much sunlight too early? They were out for several hours on sunny afternoons starting in week 2.

What’s your sun exposure? This is another Big factor in getting the most out of your grow. I went from 6.5 to 11 hours after I moved and the difference in yield and quality was significant.

Good eastern and southern exposure, shaded to west. Not ideal but had to balance other considerations. Right now getting direct sun about 7-3pm, then partial sun/shade the rest of the afternoon and evening. So roughly 8 hours? As sun moves south later in the summer and fall the afternoon shade should get reduced some. On the plus side, site is well protected from wind on all sides but southeast, which around here is not a heavy-weather source typically.

Is this mainly about maximum sun on the buds during flowering?

Both...more sun equals more vegetative growth and bigger buds with improved density. Sounds like you’re getting the “best“ sun of the day so you’ll be fine.

Just checking in at the end of week 9. Saw 6-11" change in height this week, some of them are closing in on 3 feet high, seems like they're nicely settled in to their new homes in the ground now and moving into full-on vegetative growth mode.

It's hotter then hell here in Maine the past couple days, no rain for 9 days now (2nd dry stretch this month). Last night it only cooled down to 70--definitely back in the 90s later today. Brook near my garden looks to be going dry soon, will have to haul water from the house if that happens...bummer.

These girls have been in the ground for 2 weeks now (except the one I transplanted last weekend), I figured on watering them deeply once per week if it doesn't rain at least an inch that week. Figure that still holds in this heat? They just got a good watering followed by compost tea drench a couple days ago, they look just fine for now. Guess I'll just keep an eye on the soil moisture by feel. That mulch should definitely help a lot.

Can I wait until flowering to add support or do they need it sooner than that?

Is a little minor paling of color on lower leaves normal at this stage or is it a sign she wants more nitrogen or other nutrient?

Just curious--how long could a plant go in a 7g smart pot in weather like this if it's in the sun 7 hours a day? You think a good soaking every other day would be sufficient?

How's everyone else doing? Let's see pics.

Below is the Copper Chem, leading the pack at 32":

I do, here are my MOB plants. I stake them and use twine or yarn to give the limbs something to rest on. As they get bigger I'll put more stakes in and tie the branches down some for air flow and support. Not saying this is the right way or the wrong way but it works for me.

I should have mentioned that I do early. These were done last weekend.

Any harm in waiting or am I risking breakage if I don't start providing support now?

This morning spotted what looks like the beginnings of a pest problem. This must've just happened overnight because I didn't see it yesterday. Mites?

What's the remedy? Neem? I have some on order but it's not here yet. Do I need to jump on this right away with something? I also have Bt on the way, I think it should be here in tomorrow's mail.

Please advise, would like to nip this in the bud, so to speak. Do I need to run out and pick something up ASAP?

Other than the leaf damage the plants seem healthy.

Do a rotation of Spinosad, Pyrethrum , Azadactarin. Get a 2 gallon pressure sprayer, you got a lot of leaves to cover.
Oils like neem and rosemary can be added, and plan on a couple doses of BT, cabbage moths are starting to lay eggs.

Thanks for the tips but going strictly organic here.

I saw what looked like a squash bug possibly. Just saw one. Could that be it?

The Bt came in yesterday's mail it turns out, so I could potentially do a spray this evening.

Would a pressurized garden spray work? An ordinary hand-spray bottle?

Those were organics.
Evergreen Pyrethrum is OMRI listed for use in organic production.
MONTEREY Garden Spray (Spinosad) OMRI listed for organic production.
AzaGuard and Azera Gardening are indoor/outdoor, OMRI Listed Azadactarin products.

Other Azadactarin products may not be OMRI listed due to additives, same with some Pyrethrum mixes.
Venerate XC, Grandevo is supposed to be good, haven't tried it.


omri-listed-organic-insecticides

Pyrethrum... Pyrethrin... Permethrin.... Pyrethroids..
some are natural and some are synthetic

I would definitely get on giving the plants support early on, and having a way to pull branches out for air flow is great!





That is 10 days of growth and you can see how fast a plant can fill out a support system.

DCcan said:

Those were organics.
Evergreen Pyrethrum is OMRI listed for use in organic production.
MONTEREY Garden Spray (Spinosad) OMRI listed for organic production.
AzaGuard and Azera Gardening are indoor/outdoor, OMRI Listed Azadactarin products.

Other Azadactarin products may not be OMRI listed due to additives, same with some Pyrethrum mixes.
Venerate XC, Grandevo is supposed to be good, haven't tried it.


omri-listed-organic-insecticides

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Sorry, I'm a little new to all this. I ordered a quart of that Monterey Spinosad for starters, will look into others (looks like you can spend a LOT of money on this stuff!).

Late yesterday I did another careful inspection and found this under one of the Copper Chem leaves:



I removed it--it may have been from a spider, because I saw a small spider drop down when I removed them. Maybe I should've left them? Thinking they may not harm anything and could possibly eat harmful insects? I need to get up to speed on all this stuff. Don't want to indiscriminately kill every living thing on these plants.

After reading the Bt instructions I decided to maybe hold off on that until I actually see evidence of one of the target pests. I'll do daily inspections. Seems like it's mostly for caterpillar/larvae.

Looking for any/all advice from experienced growers here!