Meesta's Grow

[SoOrbudgal]

Meesta your are killin it and your gardening skills are great. My WW photo in the garden outdoors has been spead with bamboo poles. She is not as full as yours but she is nearing 5ft. not including 10gal container. I'm so happy seeing all these out door grows doing well, you got the "green thumb" for sure.

[MeestaFeesha]

Finally!! [July 6] Gonna be a fun day. 7:45ish and I've got a busy schedule. Supposed to go on a date to a Jazz festival, but something wonderful has happened. My over abundance of soil at the hardware store has shown up! Gonna go pick it up at 8 and get some transplants going. I'll try to take pictures but I'm a one man operation, and theory is easier than practice.

On another note, took some pictures as I watered the younger ladies this morning...they will be much happier in their new pots. I'm not sure it's visible in the pictures but they're pretty stressed in their tiny pots.

Will get some updates going through out the day, I'm excited and will be wanting to share. Been waiting to up-pot for a little while now.

[MeestaFeesha]

[July 4] Ohhh me ohhh my. I adjusted the twist wire for LST on the three WW, taking the canopy down a little so that I could train the main. In the process, I saw a lot of open areas towards the center of the plants. This is where I apply super cropping to a point where stems bend.

For super cropping, I do not use my fingernail, or immediately squeeze til I hear 'snap'. I gently squeeze (pinch) where I would like the branch to bend, and then also go above and below, not creating too much pressure. Once it's softened up a bit, reapply pressure where you would like your bend, and gently work the branch back and forth (a rocking motion) until it bends slightly. Gravity and wind will do the rest of the work for you. Keep in mind, you may still end up with tears in your stem wall. Apply tape as a band-aid, we all make mistakes, best to give your precious a better chance at healing.

Also measured these for the first time, smallest is ~40" round before most recent LST, largest is about ~46" round. Getting wider still.

I added some pictures as well, that show the LST of the larger WW and how I've worked branches around it's growth. Been trying to do the same on all, the opportunity for a photo does not always present itself.

[MeestaFeesha]

We're getting there! [July 3] Took a picture of the nutrient line-up, as well as some photos of the FIMing that occurred. I do not FIM the entire plant, I use it as a means to spread growth (as well as slow it) on healthy areas that have the space. This gives time for lower branches to catch up too. It's hard to tell, but in some spots it is a proper FIM, others it's more Topped. I had gone around with my fingertips, in some cases taking more care, but also keeping in mind the volume (density?) of the plant structure. There's a praying mantis on duty as well in the photos...I keep throwing that Dahlia in there, flowers are fun y'all!

Gonna get a quick post from the 4th to present, things are about to get moving here! As always, thank you for stopping by and taking a gander!
-Meesta

[alltatup]

I wish I had some of those mantises!!! They are so awesome.

[MeestaFeesha]

Ah, well everyone can teach me proper ventilation with a scrubber when the time comes 😁

[MeestaFeesha]

From the time of [June 22] until [July 1] I did not do much aside from watering w/ nutes every other time (Don't believe I'd mentioned that before). Letting the plants take their course. I did move the three younger plants outside. (Larry OG, Strawberry Diesel, Sugar Black Rose). On the 2nd, the mantis who had been hatching, were starting to show themselves more. I had also released ladybugs yet again, as they do tend to leave in order to find a more suitable location. Fun times in the garden corner.

[alltatup]

Outdoor growers you mean? On this forum? Yes, but I think more indoor than outdoor growers here.

[MeestaFeesha]

😎 Good humor, and you're not wrong! I think, I honestly don't know, it's dependent on where you're at on the globe as well. When I had looked up the longest day for where I am, it had given my ~14.5hrs on June 16 and then decreasing from there. 🤓🤦♂️😂 , not as vigilant in learning about these things as I had been...gotta have a refresher. Are there many other outdoor people?

[alltatup]

Summer Solstice was Friday, June 21st. The day must be at least a minute shorter by now; I'm surprised you didn't notice. ;-}

[MeestaFeesha]

Yes, repotting everything next weekend. Well, the hardware store told me they'd have my order the 12th! Only place nearby that carries Happy Frog, just happens to be the warehouse ran outta stock, so I ordered from them direct a few weeks ago. Going into 25gal fabric pots from the 7's(3), the little tykes will upgrade to their 7's(3)...and maybe to 25's if they show enough growth before August and I lose my mind

[MeestaFeesha]

Recent photos of LST on one of the WW..I can't help myself but share the current stuff here and there, it's what's on my mind! 😋

[MeestaFeesha]

[June 21] The day of the Summer Solstice if I'm not mistaken. Longest day of the year, and a happy one for the plants. Found evidence that the small plants existed in a few photos! At this point they were(and are) still in 1 gal fabric pots, but they had the grow box to themselves and were enjoying it!

Whenever I've got plants on the patio, it means LST time. I use garden twist ties, and having a fabric pot it's easy to create anchor points. Just poke a little hole! I try to not tie down aggressively, you don't want to tear into your baby by having too much tension. Instead, over time, I will shorten the twist tie distance and in doing so lower my canopy. Doing this slowly has only slightly affected my plants. The only area that has perhaps received more stress has been the main cola, as I have it growing in a circle. I only adjust or train the main after there has been sufficient growth, and it has caught back up to the canopy.

[June 22] Another beautiful day, happens to be my birthday as well, 🍻! Nice Saturday, I cruised down to the hardware store and picked me up some ladybugs. The reason for having them, as well as praying mantis, is that they will eat the small critters such as aphids and mites.

I've also planted(bought/potted?) pest/critter deterrents. Marigolds, lemon balm (I believe it is), citronella geraniums, they all help with the critters. I have quite a bit of mint to keep rodents away. Then there's basil which is said to increase resin production in nearby plants. I may have a catnip plant, which I feel is turning my huntress into a stoner! (But it's nice, cuddles all the time).

Well, feel like I went on a rant there! 😅. Looking forward to being caught up! Hope y'all are enjoying stopping by, thank you for taking the time 😎.
-Meesta

[alltatup]

Amen to that. I believe that plants totally pick up on our feelings and intentions towards them. There is a lot of intelligence all around me: praying mantises are so smart, as are spiders--not to mention cats and dogs. We cannot compare other living things' modes of being/thinking to human ones: it's so self-centered.

Do you mean the plant is too small for the 7 gal pot? Can you re-pot? Give those roots some wiggle room? ;-}

[MeestaFeesha]

alltatup I agree full heartedly! Right now, I'm just promoting more sites, they've become a little unhappy in their 7gal, so I'm trying to space training out..but I would be unhappy too if I was ~4' round in a ~1' pot!

All living things feel and react, pets people, plants, yea? They just have different ways of showing it.