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First Outdoor Grow – 300 Banana XXL & Northern Light Plants, Need Advice

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First Outdoor Grow – 300 Banana XXL & Northern Light Plants, Need Advice

tarapeftcho 9 Replies 260 Views
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tarapeftcho

tarapeftcho

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#1
Hello everyone,

I'm completely new to growing cannabis and could really use some advice from more experienced growers.

Earlier this year, a friend and I started around 300 plants for an outdoor grow. He has a lot more experience than I do, but unfortunately he's no longer available to help, so for the past month I've been taking care of everything on my own and trying to learn as much as possible along the way.

The plants were started from seed on April 2nd. The strains are:

  • Banana XXL
  • Northern Light
  • About 10 Amnesia Blue plants
I know they're more stretched than they should be. At the moment, all I can provide is natural light from a window and a fan running during the day to keep some air movement around them. Proper grow equipment isn't an option for me right now, so I'm doing the best I can with what I have.

We already have the following BioBizz nutrients available:

My main goal right now is to keep the plants healthy and successfully transition them outdoors without losing them.

I'd really appreciate some honest feedback from growers with more experience.

A few questions:

  • Do the plants look healthy for their age considering they were started on April 2nd?
  • Are they too stretched, or can they still recover and become strong outdoor plants?
  • Do you see any signs of deficiencies, overwatering, or other problems from the pictures?
  • What would be your biggest concern if these were your plants?
  • Do they look ready for outdoor conditions soon, or would you wait a little longer?
  • For those who have grown Banana XXL or Northern Light before, what was your experience with these strains outdoors?
  • If you had to select only the strongest plants from the group, what traits would you look for at this stage?
  • On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate their overall condition?
Any feedback, criticism, or advice is welcome. I'm here to learn and improve, so don't hesitate to be honest.

Thanks in advance, and happy growing!
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#2
300 plants for a first outdoor run is jumpin right into the deep creek lol

honest answer theyre alive and green but for starts from april 2 theyre behind. not dead not ruined but stretched pretty good. window light just aint sun. glass light makes em reach and get all lanky like ditchweed under brush. fan helps some but it dont replace real light or outdoor wind

biggest problem i see aint deficiency. its light + little cups + crowding. them cups are too small for plants this old. roots are probably circling and the stems are weak from reaching. if these were mine id be thinkin less about BioBizz bottles and more about getting roots into real soil and getting them hardened to the outside

dont throw em straight into full noon sun all day or you’ll cook half of em. harden em off

day or two of morning sun only
then bright shade
then a little more sun each day
after 5-7 days they should know what the real world is

wind matters too. window plants are soft. outside air will toughen the stems but it can also snap em if they go from living room to mountain wind in one day. plant or up-pot em deeper and bury some of that long stem. stake the worst ones if you have to. cannabis will forgive a stretched stem better than folks think if the roots get room and the sun is right

if nights are warm enough and you got the outdoor spot ready id start moving now. if the holes or beds aint ready then up-pot now into bigger containers. waiting in those cups is just gonna make the weak ones weaker

on food id go easy. dont use bloom or top max now. they aint flowering plants yet unless these are autos. give em mild grow food only after they settle from transplant, or better yet good compost soil, worm castings, leaf mold, a little fish/kelp type tea if you got old farm stuff around. young plants in fresh soil dont need a bunch of bottle perfume. feed the soil and let the plant hunt

also you gotta know if these are autos or photos. big difference. if those Banana XXL are autos and theyre already this old, the clock has been ticking the whole time and the window start hurt you bad. autos dont wait around for you like old photoperiod stock. if theyre photos then no big panic, they can still build frame once the sun hits em

for selecting keep the ones with

thicker stems
shorter internodes
good upright posture
clean green leaves
fast recovery after outdoor sun/wind
roots holding the cup together but not brown rotten
no twisted freak growth unless youre breeding and watching traits

cull the weak skinny runts. with 300 starts you dont save everything. selection is the whole game. old breeders knew that before all these candy strain catalogs showed up. keep the plants that want to live. the mountain teaches that lesson quick

Northern Light is the one name there i respect from way back. solid old workhorse when you get a good line. Banana XXL and Amnesia Blue sound like modern candy-market names to me, could be fine smoke but dont trust the label to do the work. the plant has to prove herself in your dirt and weather

id rate em maybe 4 or 5 outta 10 right now. green and recoverable but too stretched and too long in cups. not a disaster. your biggest concern is logistics now. 300 plants need water, soil, space, labels, pest plan, wind protection, and legal cover if that matters where you are. thats a small farm not a hobby tray

get em outside slow, get em into more root space, stop chasing bottles, and start selecting hard. real medicine dont come from keeping every weak plant alive. it comes from good seed, strong roots, clean soil, sun, and culling what dont belong.
 
#3
dankstranger said:
300 plants for a first outdoor run is jumpin right into the deep creek lol

honest answer theyre alive and green but for starts from april 2 theyre behind. not dead not ruined but stretched pretty good. window light just aint sun. glass light makes em reach and get all lanky like ditchweed under brush. fan helps some but it dont replace real light or outdoor wind

biggest problem i see aint deficiency. its light + little cups + crowding. them cups are too small for plants this old. roots are probably circling and the stems are weak from reaching. if these were mine id be thinkin less about BioBizz bottles and more about getting roots into real soil and getting them hardened to the outside

dont throw em straight into full noon sun all day or you’ll cook half of em. harden em off

day or two of morning sun only
then bright shade
then a little more sun each day
after 5-7 days they should know what the real world is

wind matters too. window plants are soft. outside air will toughen the stems but it can also snap em if they go from living room to mountain wind in one day. plant or up-pot em deeper and bury some of that long stem. stake the worst ones if you have to. cannabis will forgive a stretched stem better than folks think if the roots get room and the sun is right

if nights are warm enough and you got the outdoor spot ready id start moving now. if the holes or beds aint ready then up-pot now into bigger containers. waiting in those cups is just gonna make the weak ones weaker

on food id go easy. dont use bloom or top max now. they aint flowering plants yet unless these are autos. give em mild grow food only after they settle from transplant, or better yet good compost soil, worm castings, leaf mold, a little fish/kelp type tea if you got old farm stuff around. young plants in fresh soil dont need a bunch of bottle perfume. feed the soil and let the plant hunt

also you gotta know if these are autos or photos. big difference. if those Banana XXL are autos and theyre already this old, the clock has been ticking the whole time and the window start hurt you bad. autos dont wait around for you like old photoperiod stock. if theyre photos then no big panic, they can still build frame once the sun hits em

for selecting keep the ones with

thicker stems
shorter internodes
good upright posture
clean green leaves
fast recovery after outdoor sun/wind
roots holding the cup together but not brown rotten
no twisted freak growth unless youre breeding and watching traits

cull the weak skinny runts. with 300 starts you dont save everything. selection is the whole game. old breeders knew that before all these candy strain catalogs showed up. keep the plants that want to live. the mountain teaches that lesson quick

Northern Light is the one name there i respect from way back. solid old workhorse when you get a good line. Banana XXL and Amnesia Blue sound like modern candy-market names to me, could be fine smoke but dont trust the label to do the work. the plant has to prove herself in your dirt and weather

id rate em maybe 4 or 5 outta 10 right now. green and recoverable but too stretched and too long in cups. not a disaster. your biggest concern is logistics now. 300 plants need water, soil, space, labels, pest plan, wind protection, and legal cover if that matters where you are. thats a small farm not a hobby tray

get em outside slow, get em into more root space, stop chasing bottles, and start selecting hard. real medicine dont come from keeping every weak plant alive. it comes from good seed, strong roots, clean soil, sun, and culling what dont belong.
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed reply. I really appreciate it.


I understand your point that my main issues right now are light, root space, and overall logistics rather than nutrients. That makes a lot of sense.


My plan is to start hardening them off over the next week or two and then move them to the location where they will be grown outdoors for the rest of the season.


Since I'm still learning, I'd be interested to know what signs you personally look for when judging whether a young plant is likely to do well outdoors later on. Are there any specific characteristics that immediately stand out to you, either positive or negative?


Also, based on the photos, what would be the single biggest improvement you would focus on first if you were in my position?


Thanks again for the honest feedback. I appreciate you taking the time to help a beginner.
 
#6
Leste said:
View attachment 2679901View attachment 2679902Don’t crowd them
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice and for sharing the photos.


I can definitely see what you mean about spacing. With this many plants, organization is probably going to be one of the biggest challenges. The outdoor spot has enough room, so my plan is to spread them out properly and avoid overcrowding.


One thing I'm still unsure about is plant structure. Since these are feminized seeds and most of them are now around the same age, would you personally do any topping or training at this stage, or would you just let them grow naturally outdoors?


I'm curious what approach you would take with plants like these and whether you think the stretching changes that decision.


Thanks again for taking the time to help. I appreciate the advice.
 
#7
So can I ask you some questions and please don't take offence? Are you in a legal state? Are you going to hire someone to help you? Where are you gonna go for water? You ever grow crops before or do any type of farming? If you find yourself overwhelmed i'd sell off a couple hundred of these to folks.
Those plants need to get in the ground within a week not wait much longer they'll start to suffer.

You have to know that these need at least 8-10hrs of direct sunlight and the daylight from sunrise to sunset needs to be 14hrs. I just can't imagine one person handling this size of grow. And to start so much at one time would need a commercial licence. Every visit a weed farm that grows 500-1000 plants? I have and they have at least 4 people at the farm during summer and 12 people during harvest in Oct. What was your goal or plan growing these seeds?
 
#8
Galgrows said:
So can I ask you some questions and please don't take offence? Are you in a legal state? Are you going to hire someone to help you? Where are you gonna go for water? You ever grow crops before or do any type of farming? If you find yourself overwhelmed i'd sell off a couple hundred of these to folks.
Those plants need to get in the ground within a week not wait much longer they'll start to suffer.

You have to know that these need at least 8-10hrs of direct sunlight and the daylight from sunrise to sunset needs to be 14hrs. I just can't imagine one person handling this size of grow. And to start so much at one time would need a commercial licence. Every visit a weed farm that grows 500-1000 plants? I have and they have at least 4 people at the farm during summer and 12 people during harvest in Oct. What was your goal or plan growing these seeds?
Click to expand...
No offense taken at all, those are fair questions.

The original plan wasn't mine alone. A friend with much more experience started this project with me, but he's no longer around to help, so I've been trying to keep everything alive and learn as I go.

The outdoor location already has a water source available, and I won't be handling everything completely alone if things get busy later in the season.

I've grown vegetables and garden crops before, but this is my first time dealing with something on this scale.

I understand why people keep bringing up the number of plants. To be honest, that's probably the part that worries me the most as well.

Several people have mentioned spacing and overcrowding. In your experience, what would be the biggest mistake to avoid when laying out a larger outdoor grow?

And one thing I'm still curious about: looking at the photos, would you personally do any topping or training at this stage, or would you simply focus on getting them established outdoors first?

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
 
#9
I top at the 4th node on my outdoor plants. I like them 6ft or under. It's your choice if you want to deal with plants over 7ft tall or even 12ft tall. Lots of work. And yes space them at least 10ft apart if you can.
We'd all like to see you do well and keep us posted on the progress.
 
#10
Galgrows said:
I top at the 4th node on my outdoor plants. I like them 6ft or under. It's your choice if you want to deal with plants over 7ft tall or even 12ft tall. Lots of work. And yes space them at least 10ft apart if you can.
We'd all like to see you do well and keep us posted on the progress.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed answer.
That's exactly the kind of practical information I was looking for.
Keeping them shorter and easier to manage makes a lot of sense, especially with this many plants.
The 10ft spacing recommendation is very helpful as well.
I'll start hardening them off and get them into their final outdoor location as soon as possible.
Thanks again for sharing your experience. I'll keep the thread updated with photos and progress.
 
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