The size of OD plants is a problem for me, a consistent one. Seed starts pretty much ALWAYS hit 10', and I'm barely over 5'. The slope can help, but it can also hinder (just try using a ladder on a slope).
Yes, I fear law enforcement, but have had to address it head on and got to know them personally. Each and every one of those bald SOBs. But the bigger problem is rippers because I am forced to deal with them myself. I'm a middle-aged woman who minds her own business and has never really physically fought with someone, what the hell am I gonna do against some fucking tweaker? All I can do is protect myself. And for that I use cyclone fencing and surveillance, it's the best I can do.
In fact, as we prepare more of the property and make ready more beds for both cannabis and veggies, I'm preparing to spend well over $1K just to
fence the area. I could save a few hundred by going with pigwire, and that will do just fine against the deer and maybe the fat cat, but not so much with rippers. So, I bite the bullet because that grand
barely pays for two months of growing indoors only. The fencing is permanent, though, ya dig?
Also, maybe my own situation is a bit different in that we have about 1.3 acres that are mostly surrounded by Indian manzanita, on a slope and I live in Gold Country. What's that got to do with a fucking thing? People up here still have a strong 49r mindset. That means don't wander on their land or try to jump their claim (aye, there's still gold in these here hills!) or you just might get shot. In fact, it's not at all uncommon to hear gunshots here. It's usually people just plinkin', but they may also be shooting at a raccoon, bear or mountain lion. For some reason they're sweet on deer and squirrels here, I don't get it.
How do you get around frost? I have to wait until June to plant tomatoes outside or they will get frost. I know growers who grow outside in the Denver area but it seems like you have to start inside or you will run out of time. Again, frost, for me usually by mid Sept. Why not just stay inside where you can control the elements. Is this a personal preference or is the taste/aroma better.
I don't. Frost and cold just won't kill Mary. I've tried to kill many plants by just setting them outside in January and it never worked until the following June. I recently learned that, while our last frost date is considered May 5, that most locals don't put anything out until June 1. Also learned another interesting thing about the old-timers, they say that we're going to have a long, hard winter because the does are all having twins. Apparently does (deer) don't have twins very often and when a lot of them do traditionally winter stays a long time. Then I also learned about the "dogwood snow" from my new trimmer lady. There will only be one more snow after the dogwood blooms. Never knew that when I bought my dogwood.
As for the other, I personally am working towards naturalized peppers, tomatoes and other veggies. I want only those that perform well and survive our winters, which are CERTAIN to become much more extreme in the following years. In fact, I expect all weather to become much more extreme, and I want only those plants that will perform.
You must not pay very much for your electricity. Last month was the first time EVER (as in since we moved to this home in '05) that an electric bill was under $200. That required the house to be emptied of all others except myself and my husband, being too cold in other rooms (bought a zero-clearance woodburning fireplace to replace the stupid propane insert, but that requires at least three cords to last the winter and we're
still needing to burn/keep the house warm), and turning EVERYTHING off, keeping anything that draws constantly on power strips, switching lighting to CFLs and shutting down my entire indoor growing area.
See, I'm a little whack. I think American culture and society are going to collapse, so I want to be sure I can feed myself and my family using what I have available.
Good post. I appreciate your input. First, I have never grown hydro but I would think the humidity would be higher. Just makes since to me. So having hydrogen molecules circulating inside a grow room won't make the humidity higher? Next, outdoor growing interests me I just don't feel I have enough privacy. And last I would think outdoors plants would be more affected by weather, bugs, mold, mildew....blah blah blah. I have only grown one way and am just trying to see the light. One more thing, I have a mother that has Power Mildew and if I can keep the humidity below 40% I see no sign of the stuff.
You would think that, except that, for whatever reason, I have found that outdoor plants handle all of that much MUCH more easily. They're healthier, in my opinion, because they are getting exposure to what they've evolved to "like," i.e. The Big Metal Halide in the Sky, earth, wind and fire.. wait, not fire.
I've seen PM show with an RH of 30%. Relative humidity has little to do with anything more than whether or not the PM will show fruiting bodies (the white you see on the leaves). Couple that with the myriad species of PM, and it's far from unequivocal. I equivocate all the time because of it.
The bugs, outside, are also exposed to natural assassins. I have naturally available to me a huge suite of both pests
and predators. I want them around, because I need them like I need to eat.
Oh yeah, you asked if taste and aroma are better with the OD stuff, and with specific regard to what *I* grow, unequivocally the answer is yes. It's much tastier, in my opinion, and I believe that's because I can fully utilize the soil food web.
