Hey guys, you may have read my intro in the main page's "intro" forum but for those of you who didn't: I'm a new grower from the Willammette valley of Oregon and I'm starting my first crop, I'm here to find help with issues that I am currently facing and issues that have not arisen yet. So, here's my basic situation: I live on about 700 acres of land that has been mainly used to grow grain and grass seed, the soil isn't great in most areas except on a largely unused area of wetlands that has never been farmed before, only grazed, but not for the past 5 years or so. Much of this area floods yearly, providing low lying areas with good, fertile soil and water that is readily available. There are a few choice areas I've found, well off the beaten path, directly next to water, and surrounded by trees and brush, with holes in the oak canopy just big enough to allot 5-7 hours of direct sunlight per day. Being that it is a farm, there are horses, chickens, and cattle around to provide natural fertilizer which I would like to take full advantage of, rather than use synthetic commercial fertilizers (which are also readily available to me). I also am lucky enough to have basically any equipment I could possibly need and the ability to purchase anything I might need from local garden supply stored without raising suspicion. I realize that with the setup I have it may be more advantageous to simply put a section of a shed to better use or build a greenhouse but I have figured that with such an ideal outdoor location and the fact that I can do this for nearly no cost at all I may as well do it outdoors, which is where I prefer to be anyway. My Plan: I plan to cultivate just 8-10 plants to begin with in the best place I can find, planting the seeds straight into the ground (I want to dig out 3'wide x 3' deep planting holes and fill them with a soil mix rather than use pots) and using the little tricks I've read about for keeping wildlife away. All the spots I've found are within just feet of water so it's possible that I could dig the holes in the right position so that the plants tap straight into the water table rather than have to water them myself. Possible Challenges: >Lots of air traffic nearby. This may not be a problem provided I don't get too greedy and make huge plots of weed, and I take care to keep them camouflaged but it's something that bothers me a little. >Weather. Oregon isn't as sunny as California and we get lots of rain up until the spring months. >Confusion about breeds. I'm not sure what exactly I should be looking to grow in a temperate enviornment. So, anything you folks can teach me would be greatly appreciated!
Well, it's kind of late in the season to be starting now. I'm not saying it's too late because the learning experience will do you good. It's just that the plants wont have enough growing time to "bulk up" and produce a huge crop. A "shorter" season is much easier on the nerves anyway! Start off with good bagseed for your first crop, that will give you plenty of time to settle on a name strain later. You could also trim those trees back to allow more direct sun light hours.
Awesome, some feedback! I agree as far as it being too late in the season but I was assured that the seeds I got (durban poison) are very quick flowering, especially outside. Also, my friend the weather man says it looks like another long dry summer so I figure I have 'til november before the first freeze. This means Im ok as long as I plant NOW. The spot I settled on is great, you approach from the north and all you see is blackberries until you walk behind one of the lower ones and there's a bit of a path that's hidden and then the low flat spot where the plants are dips down in a little hole next to the water so its nearly low enough to stand there and not be seen even without the blackberries. There's an opening in the trees here, too. The lowest spot in the trees is directly south and I can pretty easily remove even more if I need to.
