Hi I am planning on growing oudoors in costa del Sol area of spain. It is very dry and hot in the summer.
Chances are I will only be able to visit weekly so am looking for the best spot.
I could plant near rivers , mountain sides and woodland areas. Im not sure which is best.
A river would mean a water supply, the mountain could be cooler but harder to access and mean more soil work and the woodland area may be too prone to pests.
There's never any frost here so in theory I can transplant whenever.

any tips idea would be helpful
thnx

hello
i plant near Lisbon in Portugal and i would recommend you to try at least 2 places. one good thing is to make the plants receive the most sun until midday and then some kind of shadow to protect from the hot afternoon sun. plant them east of a bush/tree standing west.
concentrate on 3 holes at each site and dig them deep! fill them with good soil. maybe a plastic in the bottom helps... i´ll try this...
good luck. protect the stalk of your plants in the summer because if they´re still alive the rabits will love them

thanks for that vidro- some good info there.

try this site for polymer crystals to add as a water reserve in your soil. its specific for agriculture not like some of the crap you get and it works excelllent. http://www.polymerinnovations.com.au/ and look toward the bottom of the page. comes from australia developed for farming in drought ridden areas

thnx iamafunkimunki- that looks very very interesting. Ive never come across this ploymer crystal stuff before and by the looks of it may very well be worth buying.
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i cant comment on the stuff funki recommends but peeps i have spoken to who have used those crystals said it made their buds taste like shit

hey, I'm a medi fella too

I'm a little further north and east from your location,, although there are no frosts here, the temps drop below 10C in December, Jan, Feb quite often,,, I followed the advice of some spanish growers and found that they were wrong,, I lost a shaman plant and 7 skunk passions to the cold here,, it may be warmer where you are but just as a warning.

Also, go to your prospective grow site before planting or taking anything incriminating there, I was scouting for sites recently and have been stopped by the Guardia Civil and have seen them in 2 other very remote locations when I have been hunting for sites. That old bit of advice about taking some bird spotting books and a camera is definately a good tip.
The mountains do get snow, I went into the mountains 3 hours from here recently and found there was piles of snow around, they were about 900 altitude.

most spanish growers swear by the lunar calendars.
regards the water,, you can pretty much watch what the spanish farmers do, they know what they are doing,,
their troughs and mounds work well,, also the water table is not all that deep in many places inland, and the water is very good quality mostly, or on a slope its easy to collect it on a "shelf", but shade is crucial here as you know the temps go well above 30C at times.
Deer and rabbits are rife,, a good piss around your crop will help, not too close ofc. but it marks your territory.

I was looking to do my first med outdoor grow here this year but have been scared off by the Guardia Civil, and am very wary now. I will keep looking,, the grow shops are quite helpful and are a good place to get friendly, and there are loads on the costa del sol,, get a soft secrets paper or go online and you will find a local one im sure,, people seem to love the lowryder here as they can plant it in the middle of a field growing asparagus and no-one is the wiser,,, but ofc on your own land that is

I look forward to hearing more mate,as I'm hungry to get some good tips also

oh yeah,,, the soil here is poo

I woudl look at the polymer crystals mate, I've heard of other people using them and it shoudl would make life easier for you! As far as affectign the smell I've heard this before and heard other people argue against it. I think the line of thought went like this, the polymer crystals are made up of molecules too large to be absorbed by the plants through the roots so there is no way for the plant to absorb anythign that woudl effect the taste. However people will still say it does it and having never used them I can't say for sure. Also my knowledge of chemistry and polymer molecules is very limited so if what i read was wrong someone please correct me! Does seem to make sense though and it might be a risk worth taking.

As you will be growing in such a hot climate i would dig each hole for your plants very deep, the deeper the better, I read about one guy in Oz who dug his hoel nearly 6 feet deep! Abit extreme maybe. I'd go with the location nearest the water supply so you can make sure you give them as much as they want when you visit them rather than how much you can take with you too the site. Also definatly grow in 2 or 3 different spots of reasonable distance apart, trust me I learned the hard way last year

good luck and let us know how things go, what strains were you considering?

peace

mello

plants will only take up things they require and do so by osmosis. its not like whatever you put in the soil the plants sucks up, they are very selective. and from experience i have had no ill effects from the polymers i use neither in taste or consistency. no doubt polymers of lower quality and may cause poor taste etc but even then i'm dubious due to the fact i mention above. i'm not talking about coloured ones or the stuff you stick flowers in. this gear is developed particularly for food crops and as i said these are particularly good

Thanks again all, 4 all the info, a lot of things worth considering. The Guarda civil for example- I'll watch out 4 them elduderino. The temperature here is now improving and even at night is well above 15C.
Soil wise, I have pretty much accepted its going to need some help even in the better areas with good humus 2 clay/sand balance.

Funkimunki- the site with this info is well reputable & as you rightly say if they are use for food crops its highly unlikely anything nasty is going to be leaching in. Its a tempting option but I think I might leave it this year and just make sure I get to them as regularly as I can- with a watering can. I am already over budget and buying this from australia will have to wait.

Bottles of three types of urine will be liberally poured in pentacle cirlces around my crop!!!!!
Back, back cursed rabbits and similar nibblers. I think there could be goats in one spot I like the look of.

It seems wise to plant in more than one location to give as many a chance at survival, as much as to see what places see the plants thriving best.

mellofello- I will be growing some Monster- (a spanish strain by EVA seeds) and K.C's Mango. Also considering some Hashberry.