Perpetual Harvest Outdoors

We have always had an understanding that during the different seasons throughout the year, plants, flowers, fruits and trees all grow to a specific pattern that nature kindly intends.

 We have always had an understanding that during the different seasons throughout the year, plants, flowers, fruits and trees all grow to a specific pattern that nature kindly intends. In the UK, for those who choose to plant outdoors, know that it is imperative to have the seedlings growing in the ground mid Spring. This is in order to get a hopeful harvest for late October and early November. Also with recent popularity and success from auto flowering varieties..many growers have good results considering the sometimes harsh British summer.

During this article, I will explain how you can achieve a perpetual harvest outdoors. Now this article is based on living in a sunny climate for instance the South of Spain. During this article I shall show you how to keep growing heavy weight plants outdoors and most importantly..how to keep those curing jars full to the brim with at least 3 month cured buds!

Seasons And Cycles-

When I first moved to Southern Spain.. I was amazed by the sun here and being so high above sea level also.. I was informed this part in particular recieves more lumens than any other part of the country. It is very important to understand when the seasons start and end before planting. I discovered the old school farmers here actually plant their seeds in Febuary and Harvest in late November, hitting that 5 kilo per plant mark. Visualising this type of plant made me laugh and shake my head at first..but this has been the way for a long time and from what I was hearing..the climate is very similar to California where they are notorious for growing out ganja trees!

Spring starts March 1st and will end on May 31st, Summer starts on June 1st and will end August 31st, Autumn starts on September 1st and will end November 30th and Winter starts December 1st and will end on 28th Febuary ( or 29th if a Leap Lear )

It is always helpful to know which months are wet months, dry months, hot months and cold months. If you are thinking of moving somewhere with good weather..then finding out off the locals is usually straight forward and will help you plan ahead.

Seedlings, Clones, Re-vegging and Auto Flowering strains -

Now the beauty of growing in a hot climate or even anywhere with a generous summer, is aslong as you have additional fluorescent lighting at your disposal, then you can keep the outdoor plants in a vegative state at will. All seedlings can be started off indoors and all clones can be rooted under the fluorescent. With regards to standard photoperiod strains ( non auto flowering ) you have a few different options.

You can plant the seeds in March and allow to grow up all the way up to Autumn. The benefits of this way are natural and straight forward. Harvest can be expected around October / November dependant on the strain. Sativas will take longer but pack on serious weight. The other option is to plant for a 12/12 ' seed to harvest ' grow and expect smaller compact plants that are much easier to blend in with your surroundings. I have had suprising success after planting out in December. The other option is to start seeds off indoors according to your growing phase. This means that you can always start something at anytime and then can be placed outside.

Clones are a bit trickier than working with seedlings because if left outside at the wrong time of year can recieve increasing lighting and flower then revert itself back to a vegetive state. This being said when grown up to a decent height and planted out in Febuary and harvested in April..you can grow some excellent Cannabis. The advantages of growing outdoors at this time of year is the infamous White Fly and other pests are nonexistent as well as the security in the sky! The other option you have with planting clones outside is as long as you can create darkness during the summer months..then you can really grow big sized plants from small clones. Alot of growers here go through the efforts of moving their plants into a black out shed outside or empty room inside their house. After 60 days or so of doing this sometimes back breaking work, the grower is rewarded with high grade buds that have been taking in some serious lighting. Also whilst others have their plants growing into bushes, you can grow out say 50 clones in 8 weeks and be harvested by September. Naturally assuming you also have plants vegging into big green monsters! You can then replace what just harvested with new clones you have had growing indoors and be ready to chop early November.

Re- vegging -

Now re-vegging harvested plants originally from seedling or clone is what allows you as a grower to really max out that plant's life cycle and return to harvest the best buds all over again.. I have harvested plants here in April and left the lower shoots to take the role of growing all over again. This time however, you are starting with something that had already been alive for several months and has an extremely well established root base. The advantages of re-vegging your plants is that for example..from the seeds you planted all that time ago..you know exactly which one is ' the keeper '. Or you may decide to re-veg all of what plants were there to replicate the grow you did. Now if you're not able to harvest as the days become longer, then you can still replicate an environment that creates less than 12 hours darkness in order to prevent flowering. This can be simply done by using a side house light or to place the plants under a fluorescent somewhere. A kitchen light will suffice and the important thing is not letting the plant stay in a flowering or end of cycle state.

Auto Flowering Strains -

Auto flowering strains are perfect for sunny climates and become very handy to add several more harvests into that perpetual yearly harvest. Along with the other plants you have growing, these autos act like clones and within the same time frame will produce additional quality buds to your current mounting collection of hanging buds. There are some very productive and reliable auto flowering strains from companies like Royal Queen Seeds, Dinafem, Positronics, Sweet Seeds and many other high end reputable seed banks. There are some growers who will plant autos 6 times a year with great results as well as having seeds and clones also growing at various times. So if you imagine in April you plant seedlings, clones and auto flowering strains..and leave the seedlings and autos to grow and can cover the clones to create the 12/12 environment, then by start to mid June.. You would harvest the autos and the clones together and leave shoots on the clones to re-veg, whilst the photoperiod strains are by now well trained and ready for summer.

Planting Techniques -

The best part of preparing for a lengthy outdoor project is deciding what medium you want the plants to grow in. On the basis we are planting into the ground, it is common for the growers here to dig a huge hole which is then generally filled with some type of heavy mix commercial nutrient. If you wish to replicate your indoor organic set up this can be done, but consider the quantities you will need for your project. These plants will be in the ground for a long time so when you dig that hole..wrap a big joint, get a cold drink and don't be afraid to get a good 3 foot deep hole. Putting in the hard work now is all character building and certainly will pay off when the sun beats the ground and those roots are big. I personally add my own mix of Canna Co Co and Guanokalong Bat Guano ( 1-10-1), Guanokalong Seaweed ( 0.5 - 0 - 1.5 ) and Guanokalong Palm Tree Ash ( 0-1-30 ) and then feed later their Grow and Bloom liquid based feeds. The bigger the hole then the bigger the plant. Alot of local farmers will add compost, manure and often animal hair as it is rich in nitrogen ( 15 - 0 - 0 ) Below is a list with NPK values of materials that are used for organic outdoor farming.

Alfalfa Pellets (3-1-2) avg release 40g/sq ft

Corn Gluten (6-0-0) avg release 15g/sq ft

Compost (1-1-1) slow release 125g/sq ft

Bird guano (10-3-1 variable) fast release 25g/sq ft

Cow manure (2-0-0 variable) avg release 60g/sq ft

Horse manure (5-2.5-6 variable) avg release 20g/sq ft

Soybean meal (6-1.5-2) avg release 20g/sq ft

Worm castings (1-0-0) slow release 150g/sq ft

Kelp (1-0.2-2) fast release 15g/sq ft Insect manure (4-3-2) fast release 35g/sq ft

Fish emulsion (5-2-2 liquid) fast release 1ml/sq ft

Cottonseedmeal (6-2-2) avg release 20g/sq ft

Bone meal (2-11-0) slow release 25g/sq ft

Blood meal (12-0-0) fast release 10g/sq ft

Planting into pots has it's own advantages. You choose your own medium and for moving plants around makes them mobile. Planting in the ground is a commitment to that space for a long period of time. Pots are better in my opinion for clones and brings me onto my next point.. Outdoor hydro. If your able to keep a pump or two plugged in or have access to an Auto pot wick style system then the results that can be obtained are ridiculous. Leaving a NFT system with the top covered in white for the heat, or connecting a few drippers connected to your own nutrient supply is an easy task. Be sure to keep a close check on salt build ups but the plants will drink alot more than an indoor scenario in my opinion.

The last method of planting is my personal favorite because of the easability. Any 50 litre bag of soil or heavy mix is ideal. Simply create plenty of air holes all over the bag. Turn the bag on its side so its flat and wide and insert perhaps 1,2 or 3 clones dependant on how ambitious your plans are. In the same way tomatoes are grown in soil bags and left to grow. The beauty of a 50 litre bag is they can be placed on slopes and also across the ground and easily covered and as long as enough air holes were made..feeding should be simple. I must say though, when a plant's roots do expand and really fill out the bag..the plants that are produced are shorter and wider and can become very big and very fast. It may seem a bit extreme to use a 50 litre bag for one plant but as a way to leave your plant with minimal monitoring is a benefit. Also, it may be easier also to have say 6 of the 50 litre bags in a green house scenario with 6 plants growing. I have been utilizing this technique for many years and is the most simple way of starting..

Raising those monsters the right way:

For those who pay close attention to seed catalogues when they quote the potential yield of the plant, you will always see the yield for ' outdoor ' usually states 1000g +.

With adequate training and the right plant protection..these results can be easily achieved. Tall lanky plants may look good when you stand next to them but the key is to have bushes that throw out baseball style buds you must stake to keep from falling.

Pinching Out :
Pinching allow you to create 2 shoots instead of one. By pinching the plant out a few times during the growing cycle..you can really create stocky thick branched small trees. Be careful not to pinch out too much as this can lead to over shading problems. Especially if you are growing indica wide leaved varieties.

Super Cropping:
A technique that breaks the stem of the plant to induce hormones and change the entire way the plant grows. A variety of growth regulators will ensure a super tough plant that will grow a strong vigor and display wonderful plant vitality.

Horizontal plants :
When a plant decided to grow long lanky shoots, be ready to tie or pin down the shoot till they become horizontal. Visually it may not look as ' progressive ' as it was when it was growing tall, however the plant will grow many new dominant shoots and totally change the canopy and over all yield. Let it grow back up to the 4 foot mark and get set for a healthy bloom phase. By this point if you can get a net or perhaps squared fence to use as a screen, then your canopy control will become that much easier.

By the time the plant is well trained and due to the strong winds, your plants will be small trunks and now firmly part of the Earth.

Pests and unwanted guests :

The worst part of any growing experience is when we suffer from unwanted pests in the garden. For indoor growers are use to a certain kind of pest and are usually well prepared thanks to many preventatives from grow shops and web shop. Outdoor growers know that you have to be extra vigilant when it comes to plant protection. The main 3 reoccurring problems that growers have especially in Spain are Slugs, White Fly and Caterpillars. The preventatives for these come in many forms.

The slugs can be dealt with by adding anything copper to the base of the plant. Copper wire works wonderfully as the slugs cannot physically cross the copper wire. My understanding is that when they make contact with copper, a positive ion is created and they do not like it. There are also other barriers that can be added like sun dried egg shells. Slugs and snails cannot move across the small tiny sharp pieces of shell. It is the equivalent of a person walking on glass. These 3 methods are a quick fix to any slug or snail problem, without needing to make beer traps.

White Fly are a real pest especially when it's hot. I have seen cannabis plants here covered in them and when you shake the plant, thousands launch off and fly around. It is very difficult to keep on top of a White Fly problem and an infested clone can bring those problems right back to your indoor or outdoor garden. Clove Oil kills White Fly upon contact but please make a mild solution at first. Ed Rosenthal is extremely well versed with pest remedies. I would strongly advise researching Ed Rosenthal's practices when it comes to plant protection.

Caterpillars here grow big and eat their way through your precious sun drenched nugs, that you spent so long growing. Apart from picking them out and killing on site, there is not alot you can do to tackle every single one. There are a certain plants however that the caterpillars and butterflies are more attracted to. If you can research these plants and apply a few in your garden, you can prevent an infestation in your crop. Also nets around plant can help.

One more unwanted pest does exist and that is the karma free plant thief. Gypsies in Spain are notorious for entering land and sniffing around during the early wet mornings. These type of people will pretty much stake out your entire project and then perform the ultimate magic trick. Making your entire TLC filled crop disappear. I heard about one grower who actually had his outdoor crop stolen and when the police saw the gypsies carrying the plants down the road, they were stopped and it was not long before the police were shown where they got the plants..landing this grower in trouble. Police helicopters are not really present apart from Summer till Autumn and even then it is a case of well hidden stealth plants.

Fresher than the harvest -

Yes! The best part of watching any crop come to the end of its life cycle and now you're ready to man handle those hard heavy buds. As you will see in the table below, dependant on which of the genetics you choose, you can harvest the top buds and allow for secondary shoots and undeveloped buds to soak up the sun. You will be pleasantly surprised by what a second harvest can bring by just leaving the plant. It is also a good idea to also decide if you wish to re-veg the plant naturally or artificially. This would be a good idea if the flowers you smoked were high grade and for whatever unforeseen circumstance do not have any clones. You will know that the plant has grown back to a vegative state when it produces a small inward curving leaf. Once you see this leaf, the following sets of leaves will return back to a normal pattern of symmetry.

Plan ahead and think about a drying room. The drying room can be simple and only a drying net or ability to hang buds upside down is necessary. Read up on the best way to dry and cure buds from previous Soft Secrets articles. The most important thing is creating the perfect environment. Remember also by this point that your buds should and will reek. Be very careful not to attract any unwanted attention. Invest in good quality jars for storing your precious flavours in. On the basis you follow the yearly chart, there is no reason you cannot have large amounts of the best outdoor organic buds stored away for months at a time. I would encourage you to make extracts also with the trim and buds ( if you have alot ) and to really work on curing full melt dry sieves and oils. Recently I came across the ' Rosin Tech ' to create a ready to smoke oil. Perhaps outdoor live resin Rosin Tech could be super tasty to say the least!

Yearly Grow Chart -

Conclusion

If you can remember that during April to September, that clones must be covered into darkness to imitate 12/12. Apart from this you can grow auto flowering strains all year and photoperiod apart from January and December. These months may be too cold.

Happy Growing and Peace Out. "