MC`s Forest Adventure

[markscastle]

I`ll have to keep a close eye on the temps but it looks like I`ll need to run the heaters tonight, then I should be good through the 11th. After that I may have to run them nights when it get cold , until harvest is done. Regardless the generator needs to run for lights to see while trimming , and to run the fans and dehydrator while stocks hang to dry. I`ll pack in as much in a time as possible but it takes a week or so for each batch to dry until it`s all done. Once I get it all harvested and dried I can turn my attention to trimming off the fine trim, having trimmed the fans before drying. I`ll be storing the dried stocks in sealed tubs and burping them daily and as needed while I trim so they will be cured when trimmed. I won`t have many breaks until the crop is dried and between that and trimming. It`s going to be just me most of the time on this harvest because my kids are all working. I didn`t get any rippers to put to work again this year ! I didn`t have as big of colas like I`d like to have, but also no bud rot this year, so that will make up for a lower harvest somewhat. If I`d had heaters and fuel just a few days earlier I could have kept the buds in flower longer . If I had been set up ahead I could and will have winter grows ! It will work!!!

 

[markscastle]

I think once I invest in the right equipment I can do smaller grows in Spring-Summer and do the larger ones in the late Fall-winter. I like the idea of having my free time in the summer months and many of the problems go away in the Fall-Winter grow. Water is less of concern as is rippers, worms, mites, and less watching over your shoulders for code enforcement/LEO. I`ll have a better set up to counter mold issues also. I do think extra light should be added for faster growth, so I`ll need to invest in better equipment for power and lighting. I`ll need to keep the set up as cost effective as possible to keep control of running costs , but I should have indoor quality and some savings over indoor , be it modest.
.

 

[markscastle]

 

[markscastle]

Monterey BT didn`t work on the cats!

 

[markscastle]

Getting it harvested and starting to dry some of it. It`s slow going compared to the past harvest's as I`m working on it alone. Not as hard cutting fans off the stocks and hanging them to dry as it will be to do the fine trimming later. I`ll sure be glade to have it all in and dry.

 

[markscastle]

 

[markscastle]

Looking like I`m in for some more storms , heavy rain, maybe some snow. Storms through the week with an other storm that may hit Sunday. Looks like we will be getting a lot of water this winter and maybe a snow pack. Not likely to break the drought but it will put a good dent in it this year. I might just put in a grow next Spring. Thinking of running 30 plants instead of 60 though. One per 4` x 8` x 28" inch bed. If I pick the right genetics , have the water, and start them early in pots I should do ok. I also would have better air flow with less plants packed in the greenhouses. Having so much root space they may just fill in between though. I don`t want to over do this Spring`s grow because I want some time to work on my property. If I can get it surveyed early I want a pad put in and the roadway/drive in good shape. I will need to clear some trees and build up fire wood for a wood fired furnace to heat the greenhouses next winter. It coasts about 15 grand to put in a well and a septic isn`t cheep ether but those things will be on the top of my list when the pad is in.

 

[markscastle]

Dam I checked with my meter and the garden needs watered again. I should go to town in the next few days for propane and gas, diesel is fine for now. Won`t get down below 40 until around Sunday and I`m stocked up with red diesel anyway. Going through the fuel and not getting near as much done as I`d like. I just want my dry room packed and running. That will give me about a week before it`s dry and a little break to get other stuff done. I`m thinking of checking out getting a trimmer to help me soon. Maybe a live in for a while. soon as I get this crop done I`ll need to work on my grow room, mom`s and get the garden ready for Spring planting ahead of time. Then work on the greenhouses to convert to a winter grow. I got more projects than I can keep up with ! I could use the help but I have trust issues. My kids are not available. Maybe my nephew could help but I`m running kind of broke already. The fuel transfer tank I bought has problems , the nozzle leeks like a sieve. Paid $650 for it and like nearly always people take advantage of me ! I can fix it with a little money , but for the price I shouldn`t have to! If I ever get ahead a little I`m going to start buying things new only! Way to many dishonest people around these days. I wouldn`t even think of pawning off my problems on someone else!!! To me that is theft, and I`m not a thief! This guy was a fellow vet also ! Old saying you can trust your back to your fellow at arms, but don`t trust your wallet , your wife or your car!

 

[MrRare]

Nice grow Mark.
Wishing you the best and I hope things will get better for you.
That looks like it will be a bountiful harvest.

 

[markscastle]

It could have been a better harvest. Buds were in full buggie when it got to cold. I didn`t have the heat set up yet and they started to mature at that point. Would have been larger if I could have got the heat going sooner. But I did find out I can grow in winter. I need something cheaper than diesel heaters, Looking into wood fired forced air , or maybe wood fired water heaters with heat transfer units. leaning towards the warm air ones. If I used water and didn`t drain the system they could freeze and break when it`s cold. Being off grid I will also need a battery bank and inverters to run fans when the generator is off. Then I will need a new shed or cover to put everything near the greenhouses , including wood to stay dry. Little bit of work still and some cash but I think it will be worth doing. For this summer I`d like to screen the ends and the sides and add some swamp coolers on the back ends for extra ventilation. I`ll need the battery bank and inverters for that also. will be looking for three with 1/4 horse power motors and single pad side discharge coolers. thinking heap filters instead of cooler pads and no water running through the pad. That way it should be just clean air running when it starts to cool off in Fall and I close up the sides. Until early Fall I would just run the fans I have now.

 

[markscastle]

I got half the dry room full of buds farm trimmed and hanging to dry today. Took just the mature tops from the first greenhouse and got nearly 3/4`1s of them in. I`ll do maybe one more batch tonight if I can see to cut them. Trying to fill the dry room before the next storm hits tomorrow night. Think I`ll do more of a selective cutting in the second greenhouse next and then glean off the first greenhouse so I can shut it down for the winter. This may not be a bumper crop but it will still be a fair harvest. Quality is good anyway. I think the drought had an effect on the crop. I understand many people had less than last year but the quality is up so that helps. I think I`ll just try for 30 plants this Sprng and start some seeds for moms , then take clones from my own genetics. I plan on doing a winter grow next fall so I don`t want so much to get out of the way for the next run. If I get set up right I should be cutting a lot of wood for the winter crop also. I`m thinking I should have bigger plants and more water per plant even with the drought. Likely I will get a little bigger yield per plant with more space between them and twice the soil area per plant. Sometimes less is more.

 

[markscastle]

I been cutting tops all day for the last two days and have two more plants to cut, farm trim and hang in the first greenhouse. Left a lo tof large buds to harden up. Been raining all day long light and medium a, off and on. Humidity is way high. I need a good break in the weather before it will lower some. Fans have been working overtime in the garden but haven`t needed the heat in the greenhouses for the last few days. Going to start the dehumidifier in the dry room soon as I get it packed with buds. That should be tomorrow. My scissor hands are worn out for tonight.

 

[markscastle]

Up early after a late night run for fuel. Prices were down , now I see they went down farther by this morning. Hope that trend continues awhile longer , until the garden is harvested and I get enough to stock up fuel for the summer would be nice! I could use a brake for once!!! How about all of you? Seems all I`ve had is break downs, set backs and bills (mostly taxes of one sort or an other). I`ve also seen more full moons this year than I can remember, an other rare full moon for X-mas, must be mother nature mooning us with her big ass down here !

Well chores and then more cutting and harvest. Thinking I may need to put up some dry lines in the travel trailer to get more in drying. I don`t have the power to use an other dehydrator but I could put a fan and small electric heater in it. One thing is for sure with all the humidity from the storms this late in the year I won`t be able to use one of the greenhouses to dry in. Wouldn`t work out to well.

 

[Bulldog11]

I am still driving cali to finish off my season. Getting real old, real fast. Just mixed up my first 1000 gallon container, and planted my cover crops. So no, the work never ends. At least this time of year, on a rainy day I dont HAVE to go out to the garden, but I do anyways.

So far I have turned and ammended about 80 yards. Ordering another 20-40 when ever the soil yard person gets back to me. Winter is always harder to deliver soil, my truck doesn't go on the property. So that means 20 yards in the wheel barrow about a 1/4 mile to the garden........

A farmers work is never done. As you know Mark. I would have it no other way.

 

[markscastle]

I hope to have reached the half way point in fetching the tops off the plants today. We`ll see. I also need to run to town while things are open. Need to fetch some propane to be all stocked up o petro products, pay a few bills and head home to work some more. If it wasn`t Friday I wouldn`t even go to town today. Just want it all done so I can sit down and trim until my hands freeze up, then maybe watch a movie or something. Cold wet weather is making my bones ach and slowing me down! Like I need an excuse at my age!!!

 

[markscastle]

Had to stop last night, dry room full up. I may add a few lines to dry on in the trim room today and keep cutting. Had to turn the heaters on in the greenhouses last night. More rain on the way. Won`t make much difference with the plants under cover in the greenhouses except I might get wet between the greenhouses and the office trailer. High wind is an other matter, always some mess to pick up that gets blown around. I didn`t get to town the other day , decided to keep working through the weekend. Have to go early next week on a week day. I left a lot of good buds to harden up so if I can keep the greenhouses warm enough ,long enough I should have a nice second harvest like I get in Fall, If not I`ll have got the cream of the crop in and safe anyway.

 

[markscastle]

Been working on power problems all day. It got very cold after a down pour of hail that is still on the ground, about an inch deep. Now it has cleared and temps are dropping lower. I had to turn everything off I can and use the generator for the heaters and fans in the garden and the fan and dehumidifier in the dry room. The generator is really getting a work out with all the draw of power but hasn`t flipped a breaker yet. All my rechargeables are charged up and the RV is on shore batteries tonight. I`ll have to be up and down checking on everything and keeping the heaters and generator fueled and running. It`s touch and go. I need to get the buds dry soon as I can so I can do an other run from the garden, but I also need to keep the plants in the garden warm so they don`t freeze. I`ll have to be prepared better if I want to be able to do a winter grow next year. Hope to be running diesel power and solar and have wood fired heaters by then. still having back up systems at hand could also save a crop also.

 

[markscastle]

Very frustrated! It is freezing outside. My rated 9 hour diesel/kerosene heaters are only lasting about 5 hours per tank of fuel and my dehumidifier is not working . I `m trying an electric heater instead. I won`t lose what`s in the dry room but it is taking way to long to dry and I will run out of fuel/money before I can bring in my crop. Don`t know what else I can do. I could battle with it longer if I had the money, but then it would eat up much of what I make out of the crop. I just was not well prepared for running the season this far out into winter weather. If I buy a dehumidifier new it will eat money I need for fuel to finish this crop out. I can`t find a used one that is close enough that the fuel cost to fetch it won`t run over the cost of a new one. No body caries any new ones and it would have to be ordered( again that runs up fuel costs while waiting for a new one to arrive). Wood heat would have been the way to go but I couldn`t borrow enough to do that. Would have cost more , but no extra fuel costs would have been needed. I have a whole forest of wood around me and can`t make use of it at all! I`d need a wood fired furnace because the sparks that come out of a chimney would put holes in the plastic on the greenhouses. Costs over $600 for plastic plus shipping and all the work evolved. A furnace could be put far enough back to keep that from happening. I`m looking to only be able to bring in and dry about 1/5th of my crop or so. the rest ? After expenses and paying off moneys I owe I won`t make squat for all the work this year. If I didn`t owe on this crop I`d let it freeze tonight! I could sell something but I just don`t have the time to do that and keep the fire going. If I were to borrow more from some where I still have a fight on my hands until this crop is in and dried and then have a bunch of trimming to do all by myself ( mostly to cut costs). I look at the quality of the buds out in the garden and it makes me sick to think of it going to waste. Dam if the electric heater will just dry the air enough on medium heat ( can`t run it any higher while the heaters are on in the greenhouses) to get the buds I have in done fast enough I will at least be able to fill the dry room up one more time before I run out of funds. I`m only going to be able to get the tops in at best. I need to catch some sleep, getting exhausted. Everything has just been fuelled up anyway.

 

[markscastle]

lowest humidity was 67 % warmest temp was 57 degrees. about the same with the electric heater as the defunked dehumidifier. I had a thought as I drifted off to sleep for about an hour last night. If I run an extension direct off the generator I can plug into a 20 amp plug instead of the 15 amp plug from the RV outside outlet. I also have my old 4 way portable that I haven`t used because it leaks water sometimes and uses more power. I might be able to put a drain line on it and run it through the floor of the office trailer. It might work with the extra 5 amps off direct off the generator. I`ll check that out today after it warms up some. also I can turn up the heater to high as soon as I can shut off the heaters? should still be cool enough not to cook the hanging buds. I won`t be able to do any of that at night when the heaters are needed in the greenhouses but even during the day it`s got to speed the drying up a little.

 

[markscastle]

Can`t seem to get the 4 way to work. Not sure why. it works on fan and heat. the AC and dehumidifier don`t seem to be working although I had the ac work for a little bit and the dehumidifier shows no problems on the indicator. may be the pan or drainage hose to the pan? When I turned it o the first time it spit out acorns from the exhaust port, not a good sign! It didn`t flip the breaker being connected direct to a 20 amp plug on the generator though. that means it`s not a power issue. I may try to find an other 4 way as I don`t see any dehumidifiers for sale used anywhere. I guess I could use the ac in the indoor grow room this summer? I`d need a bigger generator to run everything needed for a grow room. Maybe the lister could handle it? It`s 1000 watt more than the gas Honda so if I were to use mostly fluorescent's it might work? Maybe one 400 watt HID light with them for some kind of punch ? This is just a bad time of year money wise to do anything.