I don’t really know what I’m doing.🙃

I don’t really know what I’m doing.🙃

Hi! OK so I swapped some soap that I made for some seeds with a lady in the midwest, she said it’s Grandma’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake. 🤷‍♀️ (I met her on a group about something totally different and she was telling people to just relax, throw some seeds outside and have fun with it. I don’t think I’m having fun yet lol because I want them to thrive. ) The little envelope they came in said regular or normal photo. I’m on the West Coast. 8b. I’m using Fox Farms ocean forest soil, and the one with the frog on it lol, mixed. I’m currently using Fox Farm Grow fertilizer. I’ve stopped using the cal mag. I am in a desert environment so I am watering daily. They are located in the middle of my backyard so they get direct sun for maybe 10 hours a day.

The hippie at my local gardening store said that they are puny lol. Well I’m doing the best I can.😁 I started them at the end of April.

It’s supposed to be 107° here on the Fourth of July. Well, 105° to 115° depending on where I look, for about a week, starting the 2nd. Do I bring them inside for a week? Bring them up on the patio in the shade? Just cover the area where they are with some netting?

It gets crazy windy here sometimes so I already bring them up on the patio when it’s really windy because the leaves start to curl down.

Also looking at the size, how long do I need to wait to be able to tell if they are male or female? Thank you!

in cannabiscultivationby Dandilyun

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You can tell sex once they go into flower stage. For size, I would say average for new outdoor growers, and honestly if you wouldn’t have said your a first time grower, wouldn’t have guessed it. Plants look healthy and happy. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing. Your a natural

OP

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Wow. I think that's the nicest compliment I've ever gotten lol. Thank you! I was thinking size was also due to the fact that it's natural sunlight outdoors, so not as many hours as indoors. Should I be concerned with the upcoming heat?

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For heat waves just make sure to water extra, just like you would for tomatoes outdoors

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For heatwaves, see if you can find powdered kelp to mix with water and spray on the leaves; it really slows the transpiration

OP

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Interesting, thanks!

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https://www.gaiagreen.com/product-page/soluble-sea-weed-extract

OP

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Thanks! Looks like it's available only in Canada, but I will keep looking!

Just_That_Dumb_Dog

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To be completely honest with you, that hippie sounds like he has no clue what he’s talking about, I bet he’s got a story of him growing a beanstalk the size the Empire State.

That’s about the size I would expect for 8 weeks from seed. Cannabis is a craft. It’s something you’ve gotta learn, and really pay attention to in order to master it. You’re doing great so far. At 8 weeks they should’ve showed their sex or are about too. Keep an eye out for pistils or balls. You can usually tell when they show their sex without looking at them because they will have a much stronger smell. Now don’t get confused, that doesn’t tell you their sex, only that they are showing it.

OP

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Thank you! awesome info. I'll be on the lookout.

OP

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Also, um....IDK when they will flower? Can I tell when they are starting to flower? If they are say 9 weeks old....I was thinking sometime in August? I'm supposed to separate male from female, right? Just wanted to do that ASAP, and fingers crossed one is female. Thank you!

excitinghelix29

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Chop your males up for compost. Unless you want seeds, or to mess up your neighbor’s plants. You should be able to tell when you get in bloom. Girls get white hairs. It’s fairly easy to tell when they show. You have a couple weeks to get the boys out, so don’t stress much if you can’t tell, yet.

They look just fine to me.

OP

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Also, I never thought about my neighbor’s plants. Surely I’m the only one lol. 🤣

excitinghelix29

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West coast, yeah, you’re the only one…

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What's that supposed to mean lol?

OP

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Thank you! I’m going to pull the males, dry them as soon as I know, crush the leaves, and infuse some olive oil for soap making. I figure why not? Lol. Fingers crossed at least one is female.

excitinghelix29

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Sounds interesting. Boys don’t get as terpy, but they do have something.

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To be fair you don't need to know what you're doing at all until things go wrong, that's when it gets confusing. Good to read up on other people's problems and the most common problems incase you encounter.

I find personally flower is when you'll see problems so you have until then to research a little and you'll be fine.

OP

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Thank you! I’ll keep researching.

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Are you planning to run these outdoors and let them flower naturally? If so, you're going to be growing some monsters 🤣

Those plants probably have another 3 weeks of veg before they start to flower. Once that triggers, they'll start stretching and you can usually expect them to double in height (tripling isn't uncommon, depending on genetics).

If I were you, I'd cut a couple of the lowest branches off of each plant, put the cuttings immediately into their own, individually-labelled, cups of water. Bring the cups inside and put them in a room on a 12/12 light cycle, changing the water every 2-3 days. By the end of the week, you'll know from the cuttings, which plants are male and female 👍

You can also do a light dep on them, if you want to start them flowering now, but do some reading first. I tried it with a couple of my plants and I'm just not disciplined or organized enough to take that all the way to the finish line 😬

OP

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Well, originally, no, I was going to bring them inside at some point, I just wasn't sure when. I can grow outside in my county, but city ordinances vary.

REALLY? So...okay now I have more questions. If I cut the lowest branches off, drag the light system I bought a year ago inside from the garage and set it up, and put them under lights for 12 hours....how would I be able to tell if they are male or female within a week? That's crazy.

They will continue to get taller when they flower?! I didn't know this lol. What happens if I stunt upward growth at the top? Will they flower OUT more than up?

I just went out and put shade cloth over them. Maybe that's bad, I'm not sure. Hmmmm.

I don't understand how I could tell on the branches I bring inside, but not on the plants themselves. Thank you! This is a pretty patient group lol. They are under a metal framed arch that runs between to planters, it's about 6 ft tall. If I can keep them under the arch and not any taller, that would be good lol. I still have a lot to learn about indoor lights and outdoor sun.

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Wow, this post got way longer than I expected 😵

Shade cloth should be fine 👍 it needs to be very dark to trick them into believing it's night time.

They are under a metal framed arch that runs between to planters, it's about 6 ft tall.

You're gonna wanna top these for sure 😆 Watch a video or two, it's super simple, just count down 3-5 nodes from the top of your main stem(aka the apical meristem) and make a 45 degree snip, with sanitized scissors. Cut directly under whichever node you picked and drop it straight into a cup of water (plants can get embolisms), then remove all of the fan leaves, except the top 3 (this is the same method you'd use to take cuttings for making clones 👌)

Please don't be like me, tho. Double check that everything is properly labeled 😵‍💫

If you put those cuttings under your lights on 18/6, they'll put all of their energy into making roots and you get clones. If you put them under 12/12, they assume they won't have time to root and flower, so they just use everything they have to push out flowers, as fast as possible. Plants are wild 😅

Here's another fun tidbit, the main purpose of topping and fimming is to break the apical dominance of a plants main stem:

The apical meristem produces a hormone called auxin that suppresses the growth of lateral branches, redirecting the plant's energy and resources towards vertical growth. This dominance ensures that the plant allocates its resources efficiently and maximizes its exposure to sunlight.

So you achieve more growth outwards because the plant stops producing that hormone, but the much cooler part, is that it seems like after topping, the plant assumes that the reason it's main cola broke off is because it got too tall and heavy. The 4 growth tips directly underneath whichever node you cut, will start racing upwards. You end up with 4 main buds and a bushier, better-yielding plant, that is also more wind-resistant, which might come in handy in the desert 🤓🤙

The plants need at least 1 week to recover from topping before they flip to flower, but I'd try to give them 2 weeks for some extra breathing room ✌️

OP

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Thank you! I have some homework for sure!

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i grow in BLACK plastic pots & the soil gets extremely Hot & have just "shade / covered" the exterior with white bubble wrap. Also just hose the pots every few hours if you can to cool the soil may help. They do look happy & healthy . Will start to grow little buds & look for while hairs = female . Lots & lots of on line reference easyweed, rollitup & my fav -https://growingformarket.com/articles/an-introduction-to-korean-natural-farming

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Looking stellar, the wind issue you are experiencing will help build a strong plant. You could start giving them some support like a tomato cage. I use them indoors. Out doors I make my own support system.

You will need to add some type of fertilizer regiment. Your fox farm and happy frog mix will eventually be out of nutrients it was loaded with.

As far as temps and desert environment your doing good with watering them. And keeping their thirst quenched. You may want to up pot now before they flower because you may end up having to water multiple times a day and on hot desert days I think would boil the roots. With a bigger pot you would be able to water before the full sun and at dusk and be ok. * I have never grown in desert these are problems I’ve dealt with due to heat in my area. But I also battle humidity. Those pots could be buried to help with heat at root zone if that becomes an issue.

OP

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Thank you! I am using Fox Farm Grow 2-1-6 right now, and was using the Cal-Mag. They have them lined up in the garden center so I know there's one for glowering I can use next. I could always use both now if it's appropriate.

Lol I got these pots thinking this would be all I need. I like the idea of burying them! I was also thinking that I would bring them in to flower, due to my specific city/location. Since then, I have found out that's not a good plan for the health of the plants. I liked the idea of them potentially being mobile. When they start getting more odiferous, I might have to brig them in. Or ask my neighbor to spend more time smoking out back to mask it lol. I don't really know what to expect yet. I can smell them now! It's not real strong but I ad no idea they would smell before they flowered.

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Oh it gets bad mid sept but late oct, at night especially, smells to high heaven

OP

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😳 I should probably set up for them to come in, then lol.

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That's what she said

OP

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Or he said lol.

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Could have fooled me. Looks good

OP

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Thank you!

Electronic-Spot-2858

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Your plants look really healthy, I think you are doing fine especially considering the extreme environment.

As for the 100+° temperatures, I would say the shade might be warranted for part of the day. That is pretty intense. On that note, there are breeders that breed seeds for resistance to precisely your environment. Might be worth looking into.

OP

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Thanks! And yes, something I should have considered when getting these from the Midwest lol.

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Your doing it right

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Well let it do you then

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They can handle heat, tie then up with stakes to handle high winds & just make sure they are never dried out ... fertilize weekly at full strength because fox farm soils are weak crap.

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Maybe not but… Your doin

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Highly recommend putting a few t-posts around your ladies and layering some trellis over them. If you’re leaving them outdoors for a full season they’ll probably start flowering in August and be ready in October. Those ladies are going to get huge if you manage to support them over the next few months.

OP

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Okay so I just saw a picture on here of white trellis lattice over the top of the plants...I don't understand why. How do they grow? I totally get the idea of support. Oooh do you mean for shade? The pic I saw looked like the lattice was right up on the plants lol. Plant jail. These are actually under a metal frame arch between two planters, so I can totally put up some shade cloth, if that's why. I was actually thinking of putting up tule, just to filter the sun a little.

Thank you I will definitely work on support for them!

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Looks good. I would back off from watering daily.

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With temps of 105-115….!? Water moooore

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They can drink a lot outdoors when it‘s warm and windy. Sometimes I have to water every 18-20 hours (about 8 liters in 25l soil). And that‘s almost too late because they start hanging their leaves already.

OP

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Yesss I am a little worried about overwatering, but I checked the soil every day and it’s drier than I want it to be!

OP

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Thanks! Yeah, humidity is often in the teens, and when I stick a finger in the soil, it’s dry at least 3” down. I’m only watering using a watering can when I fertilize, which has only been once a week. I actually think I might step that up a bit too. But I probably use about 2 -2 1/2 L of water a day between the three plants. (The rest of the time I just water with a hose and don’t measure.) They are also in felt bags which might breathe more. I do worry about overwatering, but I also have heard that the illegal grows out in the desert use a couple of gallons of water per day per plant! It’s always windy this time of year but that should stop. But we’ve had up to 50 mile an hour gusts several times in the past month. We’ve also been having a lot of fires. It’s dry out there! In fact looking outside, it’s windy now and gust expected up to 25 miles an hour this afternoon. It’s just sucks the moisture out of everything. Hence the fact that it’s the desert lol.😁

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You can wrap the middle of your pots with a couple layers of saran wrap, if you'd like them to retain more moisture. They'll start to get much thirstier once they begin to flower.

OP

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Thank you! It's crazy how much water they will use. Probably not the best desert crop lol.

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You know the saying, opinions are like……. well you know where this is going & yes, I have one too. With that said, I bid ya’ll tadooo