water

[whitestalkslongwalks]

considering an outdoor geurilla grow; i'm in boulder, CO. finding a suitable location is going to be difficult, but i'm willing to try. i'm not going to put a lot of time into it, and i won't be visiting often. there is lots of open space around here, but lots of hikers too. still i have some ideas off the beaten path, probably up on the hillsides.


anyway, my main question is WATER. we don't get much rain. can i plant on a hillside and the plants will grow without me watering them? in the summer we get thunderstorms, but regular rainfall is not very common. it's better than southern california, but it's still pretty dry.


second question is when to plant seeds. we've had some strange below-freezing temps lately so perhaps i should hold off?


basically, i've got some seeds, and i figure i'll give it a shot. i do a lot of hiking so scouting a spot will be fun. i don't really expect it to work out, and i'm not going to do much preparation or maintenance, so i need a place where it will just grow. sunlight isn't a problem, there's plenty of that, but any real estate on a creek is going to be more visible, so i may not be able to plant there.

so: with our limited rainfall: can i actually grow on a hillside? the only thing that grows naturally on the hills are conifers, and a few aspens, and some bushes of course

whitestalkslongwalks Reviewed by whitestalkslongwalks on 04-12-2007. water considering an outdoor geurilla grow; i'm in boulder, CO. finding a suitable location is going to be difficult, but i'm willing to try. i'm not going to put a lot of time into it, and i won't be visiting often. there is lots of open space around here, but lots of hikers too. still i have some ideas off the beaten path, probably up on the hillsides. anyway, my main question is WATER. we don't get much rain. can i plant on a hillside and the plants will grow without me watering them? in the Rating: 5

[unclebob]

Sorry but I don't think you will have much success in a dry climate without some means of irrigation or regularly carrying in water. If no weeds, high grass or dense brush grows there, there is a good reason for that. Its because you live in what is basicly a semi-desert. Also you wrote "i'm not going to do much preparation or maintenance" Without very thorough preparing of the spot, you are certainly not going to get much result. Preping a spot takes time and effort and most of all hard work (digging). That is the number one most important factor in success. At a min, you should add in lots of organic compost and water crystals to make the most of the minute amount of rain that you get in Co. Too bad you can't just toss some seeds on the ground in a barren, no growth, dry as a bone rock hard area on the side of a steep slope and get some good bud from it. If it was that easy, people would not be getting $300 / Z for good smoke. Don't mean to rain on your plans but just being realistic.

good luck

[GoAwayDeer]

Too bad you can't just toss some seeds on the ground in a barren, no growth, dry as a bone rock hard area on the side of a steep slope and get some good bud from it. If it was that easy, people would not be getting $300 / Z for good smoke. Don't mean to rain on your plans but just being realistic.

good luck

Haha so true.

[whitestalkslongwalks]

twas what i figured; good to know

[keeko]

Watersorb - Home Page

ive been looking into these for my hot texas weather. they say about an once of water polymers can hold about a cub of water. im sure this would cut down on your watering.

[unclebob]

Been using water crystals for years for outdoor growing. They work great. You will get more growth. They not only increase available water with the rains but they also tend to keep the soil looser and more airated by expanding and contracting. You can use up to about 1.3 times the recomeded rate with no trouble. Turn them into about 5-6 inches. Don't overdo it though, as there is a definite best / max rate. Over that and you will end up with a big jelly like mess after a rain.

good luck

BTW - any cheap brand will do its all the same stuff. Can get it at any garden center.

[keeko]

thanks a bunch uncle bob......i was actually at a garden store yesterday and all they had was a very small cannister of something that he said would work. I told him no thanks and i think im just going to order a coulple pounds over the web site. Does it get pretty hot where you live in the summer?

[unclebob]

yeah,
It gets real hot. I'm in the SE (AL) so its blazing hot in mid summer. Upper
90s every single day. Good thing around here though is we get lots of rain. An ave of over 4 inches per month. Even with all the rain it can get bone dry in the summer cause the hot sun just bakes out the moisture in a few days. One week without rain and the ground hardens up like brick. Its a great place to grow if you prep the spots good with organic amendments, water crystals, slow ferts, etc.

[madeline]

A waterbed mattress makes a nice water tank without too much difficulty to hide. Plant the mattress uphill from the grow and use a gravity-feed system to keep them watered a little bit all the time, as in a drip irrigation system. The only hard part is filling it up but once done it'll supply a few plants for a couple months using Rainbird lines and drip emitters.

[unclebob]

Hey Madeline,
Not to be a jerk, but seriously, how in the world would somebody fill up a water matress with hundreds of gallons of water in the middle of no place without access to a hose or faucet? I love this post, but does it really make any sense? Does it really help somebody who is trying to figure out how to grow plants out in the middle of bumfuck on someone elses land? No offense intended, but I have seen this same post over and over about the watebed uphill. I think somebody posted it somewhere sometime and then people just keep reading it, hearing of it and recycling it. I mean really, have you ever done this? How did you go about filling it?