Ahh I always feel beter after spending an afternoon workin on my sites!

First off I went to site 1, no workmen around today so I found my bag of topsoil and added it to my patch,
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Decided against taking a soil sample from here as I added manure on Nov1st. Gonna wait until January to get a more acurate reading.

Looking at my site I thought it looked a bit obviously cultivated if anyone was to happen to stumble on it. So I collected a couple of bags of leafs and spread them over as a mulch. I then noticed some young trees I'd removed on my first visit, so I stuck them in as well. One site!

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10 points if you can spot the chicken wire!

On to site 3.

Before

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After cutting all the brambles I pilled them up and also collected up all the fallen leaves and moss. This to be put back over patch once dug over.

After

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10 more points if you can spot the chicken wire!

Sites 1 + 2 are verry clayish but this site has much nicer soil as its a more developed woodland than the others. As I've not added any manure or anything to this site I took a soil sample to find its ph. Used my stonner skills to make a handy wrap!

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any one for soap bar?

I then covered up my patch with brambles and leaves. The downside of this woodland site is the light coming in. So I felled a tree facing south and layed this over my patch (and chicken wire)

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100 points if you can spot the chicken wire now (cuz I can't)

Very nice, indeed, Wakenbaker!

I'm not going to plough my fields till spring! !

Good luck with yours, though!

vangraffe

My soil sample is drying out before I ph test it.

Quote from instructions

"If your tap water is very acid (ph4) or very alkalne (ph 8) it is preferable to use rainwater or distilled water."

I havn't a clue what my tap water's ph is so think I should use rainwater. (But how do I know the rainwater isn't acid?) Dont really want to shell out the dosh for distilled water! What do ya rekon tap or rain??

W&B

rain water fella

Yeah I've yet to find the ultimate spot, somewhere there must be a HUGE bramble patch, on a south facing slope, with a nerby waterfall, and a nasty disease which makes all slugs and rabits want to f off!




Yeah I saw how good your rox did mate, im a fan of the purple strains aswell. Rox a bit expensive for this year but will certainly consider it for 2010 (planning ahead)




Good luck with your first grow! Im going for 5 feminized nemesis by seedsman at £20 if I can get em from a brick N mortar shop.



thanks dude, your fields should be fine if done in spring, Im just happiest when tending my garden(s). Once the plants are in im gonna leave them well alone, cuz I rekon I'll be a bit paranoid visiting them.



Yeah rekon so! Cheers just wanted a second opinion!

Hey great diary so far. i got a couple of questions though... when will you start your grow?

also as your living with your parents are you going to germinate the seeds then wack them straight in to ground or put them under lights to get them established first?

cheers

It all depends on where I'm living in April. I have a 125wCFL which I would like to use to get them established but that would not be possibe if im still with the rents. Certainly in future years I will start them off indoors.

So my plan is to germ them either in a draw or in my car using a jamjar and paper towel. I will then set up a mini greenhouse at one of my growsites and plant them the same day they crack open. Once they outgrow the greenhouse they will be planted out at my sites. If im doing it this way I will stager the germination to see how succesful probably Mid May - Mid June.

I really hope to be in my own place by harvest time, but im sure I could get a mate to dry N cure my bud if im not! I may however put up a tent at my grow site and hang my bud up there to dry, then put it in plastic containers and bury it and let it cure, so as not to involve anyone else. So far I am the ONLY person who knows im going to be growing (with the exception of uk420 members).


My soil sample is nice and dry, but I need some rainwater to test it. Can't believe im actually waiting for it to rain!!!

keep at it !

an inspiration to us all

i should certainly be preparing sites,as many as possible.

would like to start em outdoors about end of april.


all the best with it, i hope all the hard work will be rewarded come autumn




toki

fookin effort mate.... ive just done a huge dig too cleared four patches one 14ft by 8 ft an three one meter wide holes... all in one patch in the woods.. so kno wot ur goin thru luggin stuff about an bein stealthy livin with the old rents too... 2009 will be my first proper grow too an 2010 should kick ass too... lets hope for some sun this time eh! had some auto ak47s grow this year an they were well good but coulda done with a proper bit of sun...

good luck with ur grow mate looks good so far....

well dodgy with the other plant at the start... proper temptin to rob it but i spose it wasnt very advanced in growth... u gone back for a peek yet see what its like or just stayin well clear?

Well I wanted rain and I got snow

Ph test result for site 3

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I reckon thats pH 6

So based on the adjustment chart for loam soil I need to add 200g/m2 to get it up to pH6.5.

Why bother? As the hydro dudes recommend 6 or lower, seems ok to me. When i do my cloning, it's always at 5.5ph. Saves digging that shit in again. I hate digging in.

Save your energy.

From what I've read marijuana grown in soil is best at soil ph 6.5-7. Marijuana grown hydroponically the nutrient solution should be between 5.5-6.

Saying that youve grown some awesome plants and I havn't. Its not really a chore for me digging in lime I enjoy gardening but I do want to do the best for my plants.

w+ B

Here ya go...

Thanks alot Zebulon thats very usefull. So 6.5 is the optimum soil ph where NPK and trace elements are all available. Did you manage to pull a harvest in off your power plant?

wake N bake

No, sadly it was stolen, along whit 4 other plants....
At least i managed to harvest one plant...it sux, but there is always next year...

btw...it's nice to see you are already preparing for next year....

Oh yeah wakenbake where you going to dry your crop if you still living with your parents?

Oh dear that realy sucks, were they all in the same place or at seperate sites? The trouble is the best sites are where rippers or unethical geurrillas are going to look. I think the solution is as many different sites as physically possible.



post #61

all the best wakenbake awsome read hope things go your way plenty of buds all the way

Went out to recky a couple of sites today. First I found this wood with rhododendrum growing in it:

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I thought it might be quite good to put a plant in the middle of a rhody bush. But then I thought doesn't rhododendrum emit cyanide into the soil? Would this stop a plant growing and would it be dangerous to smoke herb grown in the same soil? Tried to look it up on tinterweb but couldnt find much! Anyone here know?

Also in this wood I found these:

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Evidence of some human activity, any one got any ideas what?

I then went on to look at another wood. This was obviously the local fly tipping area it was disgusting. Too much litter for me to risk a plant,

and I did get kinda spooked by this

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looks like a somthing out o a horror film

Those look like the feeders farmers put out. I think they put them there to attract wildlife for hunts etc. There is a few near me full of barley.

Stay clear of growing near them as it shows there are most problary hunts that go on round there. The farmer will most likely come back to top them up as well.

From the wiki:
Rhododendron Toxicology

"Some species are poisonous to grazing animals. These Rhododendrons have a toxin called grayanotoxin in their pollen and nectar. People have been known to become ill from eating honey made by bees feeding on rhododendron and azalea flowers. Xenophon described the odd behavior of Greek soldiers after having consumed honey in a village surrounded by rhododendrons. Later, it was recognized that honey resulting from these plants have a slightly hallucinogenic and laxative effect.[citation needed] The suspect rhododendrons are Rhododendron ponticum and Rhododendron luteum (formerly Azalea pontica), both found in northern Asia Minor. Eleven similar cases have been documented in Istanbul, Turkey during the 1980s [5]. Rhododendron is extremely toxic to horses, with some animals dying within a few hours of ingesting the plant, although most horses tend to avoid it if they have access to good forage"

Doesn't sound like a great idea too me.

Thanks Mystery. Yeah I read that on wiki too. Think I'll write todays sites off as faliures. Looking for at least two more sites. Still interested what others think of rhodys bacause they offer good camo if there okay.

my guess is that these locations aren't off the beaten track enough...i'm talking minimum 2 fences, some hidden bridge covered in thorns, at least 30m thick of more thorny shit, wade upsteam in a river 100m, cross a swamp, tunnel under nettles, always in a very large southern clearing, at the edge of woods, never in a million year inside some woods. it's all about the sun they will get.

if any location is at all easy to get to, you're building on already shakey foundations. that s my advice, if its a cunt to get to, people will bypass, and leave us in peace.

[although nowhere on earth is 100% safe outdoors!!]



and yeah that gloomy shot got me spooked a little too, ominous indeed.

Yeah you may be right there stickybud, having trouble finding the ultimate site, Maybe I should go well off the beaten track for sites 4 and 5. Right time to scan google earth again.

Found an awesome spot to grow on at work, but I made a rule NO GROWING AT WORK and I'll stick to it. It was a big bramble patch in the midddle of a swampy area. Anyway i was in the vacinity of site 2 so after work I squeezed in a quick visit to dig the soil over again and make it a bit more

Gonna try and find a really good spot on sunday somewhere off the beaten track.

back to scouering GE.

W&B

Nice one wakenbaker

Ill be starting my 2009 thread off soon, good to see another well planned grow on the way. Best of luck for 2009, all fingers crossed for the weather

Easy w&b, thought i'd drop in to see how your prep's progressing... looks like 09 should be a good year eh!?

Have you decided what strains to grow yet?

I know i asked about strains earlier (and i hope you don't mind me asking on your thread) but does anyone know of any reason why Himalaya Gold and Lemon Skunk would be a bad choice of strains for an outdoor UK grow?
Was also planning on growing one each of the following for variation unless advised otherwise:
Trainwreck
Red Diesel
Arjan's Haze #1

Again, sorry to interupt on your thread w&b - i'll be following your diary like stink on a skunk
all the best man

Hey pimp thanks for the comment. What strains have taken your fancy for 2009?




post #59

lemon skunk okay
hg okay
tw okay
red diesel okay but pricey
Arjans haze long flowering period

Site 4 has been found and will be preped on sunday. Its my hardest to get to site so far. It involves driving (or walking ) down long private road, crossing a stream on a fallen tree, scambling up a bank and wadding through water. No pics im afraid didnt have my camera on me.

This year, i will be mostly growing, durban.

Love the sound of your spots mate.

I used to have 3 spots far apart. Last year i did three spots close together. This year im thinking about doin som reforestation and joining the three into one gigantic patch.

Its funny that i have had far moresucess growing in places that are right under millions of peoples noses each week, rather than growing in the middle of nowhere.

Went on a mission today. Using google earth I found a large area of farmland "cut off" from the public by a railway and a river. The land had a few woody areas on it so I went to take a look. I had to cross a stream, Click to view attachment

And then squeeze under the railway bridge

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But then to my dissapointment the woods were filled with more of these

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Lesson learnt today, farmers woods are not worth using no matter how cut off from the public!



Went out shopping today and bought myself Howard Marks autobiography "Mr Nice" should be a good read!

Is that what I think it is?

A toxic waste bin?

vangraffe

ps good luck with better finds W&B, I too, have been scouting for Spring 09.

tis a feed bin vagraffe... he already found a bunch of them at the other place he checked out to grow at.. bloody farmers an their huntin.

you will like mr nice wakenbaker, very amazin hearin what he managed to smuggle an his jail time etc

could you not jus grow some stealthy mini autoflowerers at that last site? then wud be way less visible an will allow u to try use the site...

Yeah best idea to stay away from farm land becuase most farmers hunt on there land. And they will probs shoot you if they found you growing ganja.

Got up too late to do any geurrillering today



No I looked inside and it twas full of feed



Yeah man spent the rest of today reading mr nice and doing some non ganja gardening for my rents. Not risking growing there at all dont like men with guns.

feed bins are for pheasants.
with pheasants come farmers,hunters,poachers etc,etc.

yea fair point actually...

have a good grow wherever do choose n e way

deciduous wooded areas are great. If you can find somewhere managed, trhere will be areas of young trees, where felling once took place.
these are often smack bang in the middle of a large area.....and no commando-style orienteering, either ;-)

Not much luck today on finding a suitable site 5. But I did go to the garden centre and buy some lime at £3.99 for 4kg

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and some copper tape at £3.95 for 4m

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I also noticed they sold this stuff but didnt get any:

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Its a spray you apply to your plants which confuses animals sent!! Anyone tried it??

Wake N Bake

Total cost of grow £13.84

On my drives around and about
I've seen a few spots I'm thinking of using for GG/09

I've already rejected some spots for being just too difficult/
plain silly - like some brilliant growing spots where there's
very few people on foot but cameras and cars nearby and
offices overlook quite easily.

So I'm off out tomorrow to look at some pleaces near a
couple of rivers near me. I'll stick some fishing gear on!

I noticed the council use a bit of green plastic stapled to
a stick of wood to protect their new tree saplings - I'm
thinking of copying that so if it is stumbled upon the grow
within might be overlooked as 'official' - if you get my meaning!

I'm not going to go nuts on spends on this one - just a
good bit of digging - filled with compost and ring-fenced off.
The only thing I'll go nuts on are the number of sites - I'm
thinking about 20 with 5 plants in each.

What do you think W&B?

btw Keep your GG diary going - it's really good!

vangraffe

Happy New year everyone!

ph results for site 2

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Allthough theres alot of sediment in the bottom this time, the water is a very dark green. I rekon thats at least 8.5. Not too woried just wont bother putting any lime down at this site.

Wake

This site turned out not to be as good as I first thought. Although I had to mission it in from one side on the far side there was a public footpath and not even a fence Public footpaths dont allways show up well on google earth! It really is worth checking a site out fully from all sides first!

Which is what I did today. I found a fairly large area of scrub land which looks suitable. It has some disadvantages but I think its just a matter of picking the best area to camouflarge my plants.

couple of pics of my favourite areas

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Everythings dead at this time of year and its hard to imagine what it'll be like come summer! I think reckying new and possible sites is an all year round job but at least its healthy and kinnda fun!

Its also good to see the days getting longer at last!

Peace y'all

W+B

looks like it's gonna be prickly work getting rid of all those brambles mate best of luck to you