Bud protection.

[missrachael]

Hey all, really enjoy this site and learning from everyone on here. Exciting time of year hey??!!!

 

Exciting but not always without pain. Thanks to days of rain at the end of March/early April in 2014 I forced to harvest early (was beautiful smoke by December though, marvellous what a long, slow cure can do) and lost almost half of my crop to bud rot. Oh well, as a friend said 'that's farming for you'.

 

Messed around with a few ideas but have gone with 6 x 3m square cantilever waterproof umbrellas. Popped them up today and was really happy. They even coped with quite a gusty wind (weighted down with bags of concrete and tethered with hayband). Fingers crossed.

 

How does everyone else cope with heavy rain & dense buds?

 

Hope everyone is having a lovely season, stay well & happy.

P.S These are the first pics I've ever uploaded.

 

 

[MrCompletion]

That's a great crop you have there. Especially like the inconspicuous camouflaged umbrellas.

 

Mine are in pots so I move them under the eves of the house. Only a meter away from their all day sunny spot. Works well but still get that morning night dew. Fingers crossed for all us outdoor kids.

[itchybromusic]

Crop looks great & that inconspicuous orange !

Next year maybe have a look at trench mesh , used for making concrete footings rio basically http://www.haddens.com.au/mesh.php 

you can get wider & longer trench mesh as well & will prob need some star pickets to secure the mesh 

use these to make a hoop house with this stuff http://theshadecentre.com.au/product/solarpro-2-7m-cut/ ( 15% shade )( seen at some bunnings stores )

used cable ties to secure to the mesh, i also added 30% shade cloth to make it even harder to see though 

won't be less visible than what you got but won't be orange 

[max_headroom]

As I only had the one I would get out there and give her a good shake if she got to much rain but that didn't ever seem to be an issue this season...holy hell and I thought I had some trimming to do! I think I can see some RSI in you future.... Looking great

[missrachael]

Thanks guys. Hahahaha yep not exactly camo but luckily I live in the middle of nowhere and my gals are surrounded by other lush vegetation too.

 

Hey itchybromusic your set up sounds interesting. Do your plants mind 15% less light? Any airflow problems? I would love to construct some sort of retractable awning one day and the hot house material you mentioned may work beautifully. I could leave the gals covered if there was any rain forecast during the last month or so of flowering, especially if I was away for a few days.

Edited March 24, 2015 by missrachael

[itchybromusic]

Have used that material this season for the first time , last year was just 30% shade cloth 

didn't see any diff in yield last year & it's looking like it will be just the same this year 

 

so i don't think that amount of shade makes any diff , as far as air flow go's , the hoop house is open at both

ends & the sides only go down about half way so plenty of air movement, the prob is if you let the girls get out of control 

like i have this year , allot of the buds are face planting the plastic at the top at the moment , out grown the house & that's not good

 

if you live in a high temp high humidity area this might not be the best option for you ,

S E Vic should be cool though i think but you would know you live there

 

Cheers

Itchy 

[missrachael]

Thanks Itchy. Hahaha not a bad problem to have but not if they're being squashed poor luvs. So they've hit the roof? Oops. How high is it? Do they cause any condensation? Have a stern word with them.

 

Well stylish as they are, my orange brollies didn't cope with the gale force winds we had Thurs/Frid but the gals have coped remarkably well with the 20mm we got which is sweet. Only a few isolated bits of mould. Amazing what 24hrs of wind followed by a couple of days of breezy sunshine can do.  Have re-weighted the orange saucers down and fingers crossed they'll cope with the rain over Easter.

 

So it's back to the drawing board for me and your idea is looking good. You should consider hiring your hoop house skills out, I could be your first customer . Do you grow them start to finish undercover? I was kinda hoping to build the frame, plant the ladies and then only cover them during the last couple of months or so. What do you think? My only real concern is keeping those buds dry, I have no need to conceal them but keeping the smell from wafting would be a bonus.

 

Really appreciate your help and ideas, cheers.

[itchybromusic]

Hi rach

I didn't fare that well in the winds the other Thursday myself 

lost a corner of the plastic , had to race home from work B4

nextdoor got home & seen it , lost 2 branches , snapped in the wind as well

Ahhhhh the trials & tribulations of growing outdoors

 

Considering what happened in the wind to both of us , we both

need a re-think , I'm thinking i need to steal an idea from your 

umbrella , the top of them open to let out the wind & not let rain in

so i'm thinking of adding that to my setup

running 2 trench mesh on the roof the length of the house , 1 left of center & 1 right

using blocks of wood to sit them up higher & mount the plastic in three

sections , a left , a right & one up higher in the middle over hanging the other 2

hope that makes sense , but like water, wind can F__k you over no matter how prepared 

 

Rach growers are covering early to protect from the cold

due to planting early ,August or even July

then uncovering at the end to allow for more air flow & the fact

the plants have most likely out grown the house

 

But that dose leave them open to bud probs depending on the

weather , you just have to except some loss outdoors

 

However you can try to minimize future prob by setting up a pest

management system from day dot, one of those systems would be compost teas

& the use of EM-1 as foliar sprays , put as much beneficials on the plant ( min 80% coverage )

as poss & if anything try's to setup house they are consumed very quickly

 

Using dried shrimp meal or some sort of crustacean meal in your soil mix

( Search Chitin found in crustaceans , pronounced Kite-tin )

( & if anyone knows a source for the above , would love to have access )

 

Using Neem meal in your soil mix , adding potassium silicate to foliar sprays

& the use of essential oils can all help to minimize attacks & allow the plant 

to control it's own defence 

 

Sorry rach just some of my organic ramblings that i'm just starting learn 

& get a handle on 

 

Good luck with the end of the season hope all is fruitful 

 

Haven't done a dump of pic's off my phone for a bit , but here is 

a shot from feb 20th , look a lll diff now of cause

 

 

Edited March 31, 2015 by itchybromusic

[cunningstunt]

Hi Itchy

Hope this may help

 

Chitosan for Australian Growers

 

http://chifert.weebly.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

 

or ebay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Chitosan-Powder-500g-/361054118482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item541080a252

Edited April 2, 2015 by cunningstunt

[itchybromusic]

Hey cunning

Thanks for that mate 

I'll check 'em out