MC`s Forest Adventure

markscastle · Jul 22, 2014

I just have an old wood prune box in the ground with it up side down and holes in the sides. Run the septic hose from the RV into it on the top and put a little dirt over it. It worked real good in this granite sandy soil until the top caved in last winter. I dug what I could out and replaced the top with 1 5/8s plywood sheeting. It just needs more room inside. The ground is 90% granite rock so I was lucky to find enough of a soil spot for the hole, don`t think I could dig a leach line or larger hole than I got . Maybe with a backhoe, and maybe not. This has lasted me nearly 5 years so I think I`ll dig it out and replace the top as I don`t see myself being here more that an other year maybe two tops. I`m about ready to survey my property and have a pad put in and will be moving down by the creek the next chance I get after that. I`ll be putting in a well, septic(approved) and pump house with generator/ solar battery bank as well as fencing and gates before the move. I`m thinking the office trailer will be put on a cement pad and covered with an over hang. The over hang will get a covered deck and later turned into a cabana with wood stove, washer and dryer hookups wired for power. Once down to the creek I`ll be away from most of the dust and have all the water I need! Also I`ll be able to build more permanent structures. Chicken coop, rabbit pens, orchard and better greenhouses! Maybe even a large root cellar ! Like to be able to can fruits and veggies for winter. I have an abundance of fire wood so thinking wood heat, water, winter cook stove, water heater greenhouse, etc. Oh and don`t forget a smoke house !

SunGrown · Jul 22, 2014

markscastle said:
I just have an old wood prune box in the ground with it up side down and holes in the sides. Run the septic hose from the RV into it on the top and put a little dirt over it. It worked real good in this granite sandy soil until the top caved in last winter. I dug what I could out and replaced the top with 1 5/8s plywood sheeting. It just needs more room inside. The ground is 90% granite rock so I was lucky to find enough of a soil spot for the hole, don`t think I could dig a leach line or larger hole than I got . Maybe with a backhoe, and maybe not. This has lasted me nearly 5 years so I think I`ll dig it out and replace the top as I don`t see myself being here more that an other year maybe two tops. I`m about ready to survey my property and have a pad put in and will be moving down by the creek the next chance I get after that. I`ll be putting in a well, septic(approved) and pump house with generator/ solar battery bank as well as fencing and gates before the move. I`m thinking the office trailer will be put on a cement pad and covered with an over hang. The over hang will get a covered deck and later turned into a cabana with wood stove, washer and dryer hookups wired for power. Once down to the creek I`ll be away from most of the dust and have all the water I need! Also I`ll be able to build more permanent structures. Chicken coop, rabbit pens, orchard and better greenhouses! Maybe even a large root cellar ! Like to be able to can fruits and veggies for winter. I have an abundance of fire wood so thinking wood heat, water, winter cook stove, water heater greenhouse, etc. Oh and don`t forget a smoke house !

sounds like we think a lot alike bro, all your plans I either am doing or plan to do. Rock on with living the life!
Fuckin fox got my last 2 hens last night, sucks, been slowly getting them. And they are / were housed in fully enclosed chainlink!

You have hens yet?

markscastle · Jul 22, 2014

No thinking better wait until I get moved down to the creek. Really want the eggs, meat and manure though. Around here we have fox abundant but the problem is more the bear. I plan on having a deer fence around the large pad with solar powered electric wire for the bear. Not much can be done about the large birds of prey in the area but I`m trying to think of a solution if they become a problem with smaller livestock and pets. Also want something to keep rattle snakes at bay. Maybe some peacocks or something? Still time to do more planning. I`m only going to be using 2 of the 10 acres at best. May fix an upper section up for a renter or two ? If I found someone(or two) who had the capitol for me to get started I`d do a sweet long term lease arrangement , hint, hint!

SunGrown · Jul 22, 2014

shade netting over the pens will keep birds away, if you run field fence as a roof first then shade cloth the top then its descent for foxes and coons as well. But these damn foxes can fit thru 3 inch holes! No matter what you build they have to always be locked up at night. A shipping container is the only sure thing I can suggest if you are willing to lock your animals inside every evening, it would work.

I have found nothing to keep a determined bear at bay. They aren't typically scared of humans either in my experience. I have fired a rifle off right over top of a bear as he was casually dining on my hen and he sorta just looked at me and kept eating my hens. Would have killed the thing if I had enough freezer space. I doubt a bear can get into a shipping container though.

I have no clue on rattlesnakes, guinea hens probably if you can stand their constant clacking.

markscastle · Jul 23, 2014

Good insight SunGrown!

Son`s back and I talked to the guy who I`m getting my office trailer from. He had said it would be delivered last Sunday now he says he said this week sometime. I think he spent the money and didn`t buy the siding he was to put on it. Thinking I may have someone else move it and do the siding myself. Looking like I`ll have to go to small claims and ask for materials and moving costs? Plan on taking a trip to LA, most likely tonight. Going to have to make it a fast one , got so much to get done! Plants are growing fast so screens need to be raised before I put them on the larger ones. Can`t be helped they are to brittle to stretch the screens over them at the height I had planed. The larger ones should about fill out the screens they are so bushy ! I`m thinking I`ll need to order the plastic soon also. If I don`t have it up earlier this year the plants will outgrow the cover and I`ll never get it on. That also means I need to order vents and fans so I can close the ends off and make true greenhouses. What should I do if once that's done and they outgrow the greenhouses? Problem I can live with I guess. Thinking of putting the remaining Blue Dream x X in 200 gal smart pots. That will bring me up to my county land use count for ten acres That allows me 99 with 66 in flower. I need the office trailer here so I can get it set up for making clones from the under growth that will need trimmed off from under the screens and any tops I may need to take off while putting on the screens. I hate not being able to get stuff done because of my slow ass disabilities but I hate depending on others to do what they say they will do more! At least I have an excuse !

SunGrown · Jul 23, 2014

markscastle said:
Good insight SunGrown!

Son`s back and I talked to the guy who I`m getting my office trailer from. He had said it would be delivered last Sunday now he says he said this week sometime. I think he spent the money and didn`t buy the siding he was to put on it. Thinking I may have someone else move it and do the siding myself. Looking like I`ll have to go to small claims and ask for materials and moving costs? Plan on taking a trip to LA, most likely tonight. Going to have to make it a fast one , got so much to get done! Plants are growing fast so screens need to be raised before I put them on the larger ones. Can`t be helped they are to brittle to stretch the screens over them at the height I had planed. The larger ones should about fill out the screens they are so bushy ! I`m thinking I`ll need to order the plastic soon also. If I don`t have it up earlier this year the plants will outgrow the cover and I`ll never get it on. That also means I need to order vents and fans so I can close the ends off and make true greenhouses. What should I do if once that's done and they outgrow the greenhouses? Problem I can live with I guess. Thinking of putting the remaining Blue Dream x X in 200 gal smart pots. That will bring me up to my county land use count for ten acres That allows me 99 with 66 in flower. I need the office trailer here so I can get it set up for making clones from the under growth that will need trimmed off from under the screens and any tops I may need to take off while putting on the screens. I hate not being able to get stuff done because of my slow ass disabilities but I hate depending on others to do what they say they will do more! At least I have an excuse !

The 99 on ten acres means unsexed plants, trust me on this one, but most guys I know don't worry about plant counts, it only matters if you get a compliance check anyway.

But with sexed plants(male or female) or clones it means 66. And the deputies have been trained as to what to look for. If you don't think you will get a compliance check then don't worry about it and stop counting, you will sleep easier!

Too bad on the guy that you paid to move your trailer, I learned years ago not to pay a dime until the job is done around here, too many unscrupulous folks that will try to take advantage.

I would go over there with a flat bed tow truck and yank it outta his place myself, and grab whatever materials you paid for as well while there.

Good luck on that one, and be safe driving to the city!

caregiverken · Jul 23, 2014

markscastle said:
View attachment 424760 View attachment 424761 View attachment 424762 View attachment 424764 View attachment 424765

Man, Those beds are awesome!! :woot: the hoops too..Great garden!

markscastle · Jul 23, 2014

There is a lot more to go on them. I plan on improving on the beds from last year. I`m trying to do full greenhouses instead of tunnels. I plan on putting up wood supports with ends and vents as well as fans. Maybe more as things go on.

markscastle · Jul 26, 2014

Back from LA. Long ass drive! Back at it in the morning.

markscastle · Jul 26, 2014

Problem ! The larger of the plants are nearly 5 foot tall and bushed well for their size. They already have a few broken branches and the stems are less flexible. Should have had the screens on weeks ago. I can put the screens up and try going 24 inches or use 4 foot wire fence around them for support but I expect them to reach 8 + foot tall no mater what I do. They are going to over grow the hoop cover no mater what I do ! I will be breaking branches watering them towards the end and it puts the rush on to get the covers on before they out grow the cover all together. They are just going to be large this year. The smaller plants are on the mark to catch up with the larger plants if they keep growing as fast as they have been as well. Putting the screens over them will help but I`m fearful I`ll still have a hard time containing them in the greenhouses as well. I just wasn`t prepared for a bumper crop of mostly OGK and cookies. Normally Indica plants are smaller and have stout buds. Both the og and cookies seem to be growing very large. At this point I can`t rise the covers any larger so I`ll do what I can to accommodate them for their rapid growth and size the best I can. While it`s good to be looking forward to a bumper crop of high grade bud it presents problems. I need much bigger green houses!

markscastle · Jul 27, 2014

Today I put up the middle supports, 30 of them. I`m looking at needing to put up all the supports for the loops before I can put up the screens. The beds are tilting, if I stretch the screen and then put the supports up it will cause the tension to change on the screens. The flex from moving the supports will move the beds themselves. It`s going to take longer but it needs to be done that way. I needed to complete the supports anyway.

I also got the watering done and caught up filling the water tanks. I also had to clean out the 275 cage tank used for the RV /Drinking water.

markscastle · Jul 27, 2014

I`m going to town in the morning, need meds refilled, fasting blood sugar test , more boards and some supplies. I have a light set uo to start staining what boards I already have tonight. Have to work fast on the supports so I can put up the screens for the Sea of Green. It`s getting late as it is.

markscastle · Jul 29, 2014

Went down but will have to go back for the blood test. Son arrived late and had the Dr. order for the lab test in the Blazer with him. I didn`t stay up and stain but my son got all the boards stained today and I bought a ladder for the work. The plants are all getting so big, so fast I`m not sure If I`ll be able to get any of them under screens or not. Jus t to much to get done and fast growing plants. They weren`t so late this year also.

markscastle · Jul 30, 2014

Working on the supports. It`s slow because each support must be custom sized as the beds are not lined up except by eye and are slightly warped from settling on a slight slop. I need to hurry as the plants are growing so fast now they will be outgrowing the loops soon. I`m still not sure what I`ll do about the screens. The plants will need supports of some kind and they have for the most part overgrown the idea of putting in screens this year. This kind of training needs done much earlier in the growth stage. Good thing is that if the hoops and plastic can stay up year round I can get screens in much faster next year. For this year I`m thinking of using some 4` wire fencing and making circles that will end up inside the plants as they grow and add support as well as polls and tape for the large colas and they form. It was tight getting between the rows to water last year without breaking branches but this year will be a bigger challenge. I expect to average 2.5 lbs per plant and could exceed that. I had thought I might need to run lights to keep them in veg a few extra weeks but now I`m thinking I wish I could black them out a few weeks early and through them into flower sooner, because of the over size growth. I`ve seen no sign of any bugs except mantis and lady bugs and no sign of mold mildew viruses ,etc. very healthy plants except a couple runts as usual. I`m itching to get this stage done and get my office trailer here and set up for clones and moms. I want at least one greenhouse set up with heaters, CO2, and lights for a try at a Winter crop. May also try some poppies and winter veggies in the other two greenhouses. I need some quality plastic for year round use that can hold up to the snow. Thinking the beds need insulation around them and if I had the money heating wire for Winter. Costs of this project just keeps on climbing! I`m looking at having to use generators for any power needs through the Winter so It isn`t going to get cheaper. I may have to pull out the larger generator and get it set as dedicated for the green houses for Winter. that would give me 8000 running and 10000 surge watts for lights, fans, vents etc., enough for one greenhouse. Heat would be propane so I don`t need to run power all night. I`d vent the exhaust into the other two greenhouses before venting them outside to help with the cold. Not sure if that would create to much moister for them or not but I can always use sulfur burners to combat any mold .

markscastle · Jul 30, 2014

Got one greenhouse support done today. It`s taking so much time to do ! I also went down to the creek and got a load of water. The creek is real low. I`m going to have to buy water soon I guess. I also need more storage in order to get delivery. This sucks! It costs about $800 a month for delivery and then the price of more tanks. This water shortage is going to make prices go up or people will go bust paying for water. I can`t get water from my friends well as it runs dry if you draw to much at a time. It`s not just the lakes and streams anymore ,the water table is getting low also! I know three growers who have already through in the towel! I`m also worried about fire, it`s so dry and dusty this year in the woods. On a good note I have a new contact in Texas who wants my stuff, will pay top dollar and picks it up here local. If I can get my greenhouses ready for year round growing I should be able to meet the extra demand?

4214evr · Jul 31, 2014

whoa
sorry mark u meant to say he usta live in Texas now hes prop 215 compliant
jus lookin out for yous buddy i always miss write shit
positive vibes

SunGrown · Jul 31, 2014

yeah, not sure why that seemed like a good way to say that. I am sure it was a mistake.

markscastle · Jul 31, 2014

He lives in Cali and has property in Texas as well. Cali license and recommendation. Who`s to say where it`s going but not my biz once I get my donation it`s not in my control.

4214evr · Jul 31, 2014

LOL exactly what i thought
love you man
your an inspiration
im always checkin your thread for updates
keep doing what it is you do
Wishing you were also doing a seed run your at the top of my list for gens
patiently twiddles his thumbs

markscastle · Jul 31, 2014

I had 4 males out of the 5 surviving seedlings 2 Chemdog 91, one Chemdog 91 x Tok and one cherry Kush. I`m planning on taking some clones and making some crosses. Nothing big.

MC`s Forest Adventure

MC`s Forest Adventure

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

SunGrown

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

SunGrown

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

SunGrown

caregiverken

Fear Not!

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

4214evr

SunGrown

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

4214evr

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

MC`s Forest Adventure

MC`s Forest Adventure

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

SunGrown

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

SunGrown

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

SunGrown

caregiverken

Fear Not!

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

4214evr

SunGrown

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

4214evr

markscastle

Well-Known Farmer

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency