BackYard Cannabis Farming 2020 - Episode 5: 2nd Layer of Trellising, Final Round of Pest Control, Caterpillar Exit Success, & Transition to Flower

NOW THAT'S A CANNA-STASH!

After a 2 month hiatus from episode 4, I am now in awe at the rapid growth rate that July and the beginning of August has brought to this garden. The exact date for the start of flower (or bloom) transition varies in the Pacific northwest depending on which part of Cascadia you reside. Generally speaking however, flowering transition starts anywhere from August 1st - August 10th. Typically flowing will start around August 6th or 7th, and will see actual signs of buds starting around August 10th - 14th. In my particular part of Oregon however, these plants started transitioning to flower around August 2nd for the Purple Hindu Kush, and around August 6th for the rest of the phenos I have.

The amount of topping I was able to accomplish this season resulting from all the excess sun manifested more tops on my plants than I can count... it is actually pretty nuts - and should make for a great yield if mother nature blesses us with desirable weather a little longer and providence triumphs. Even though a few of these plants experienced a bit of excess stretching (which is usually a normal growth spurt when transitioning to flower), most of them stretched in a favorable manor and did not separate the bud nodes too far apart.

Look at this growth transition!!!

The result of the plethora of tops I created was much more bushy plants than usual. This required that I install a second layer of trellising outside of the first steel cage layer I already installed. For this I used four garden stakes (4 foot) per plant, with one stake mounted at each corner of each plant box. I then used the same trellising plastic that I used for my animal fencing to create vertical box trellising to support the outer branches that have bushed out to the side. This will prevent me from staking and tying MANY branches which would have been a lot more work. I secured the trellising plastic to the wood stakes with a staple gun.

The only other thing significant to mention is that I just completed my final organic pest control sequence for the season. I sprayed Azamax before and after my trip to Arizona (about 10 days apart), the ladder was done in the middle of the 2nd week of flower. NEVER spray Azamax or neem oil after week 2 of flower - unless you want peanut butter flavored buds that are not healthy to smoke. Once buds start truly developing on canna plants, they will begin permanently absorbing the sprays.

All evidence of caterpillar damage (pictured below) has been eliminated with BT

This is a caterpillar nest I found in one of the canna plants - textbook example

Examples of Caterpillar Damage

Organic BT hormone for caterpillars however can be sprayed up to 2 weeks before harvest, although if you are still spraying it at that point you have big problems (as I did at the end of last season). I also sprayed BT before and after my trip to AZ - a day or two apart from each Azamax spray (BT does not affect Azamax as long as it has already dried properly).

8/13

Everything is going fantastic at the moment, and all signs of mite, aphid, and caterpillar damage has disappeared. Moving into this last part of the season is where trouble can come, so I hope high and plan for lows, praying I do not have to set up rain cover for the end of September as The Farmer's Almanac predicts.

But here in the PNW, the start of rainy season varies from year to year - usually starting anywhere from early September to early November. A mid-October start to the rainy season like we experienced two years ago would be optimal for this season, and would not require greenhouse construction. This would save me significant planning, hard work, money, space, and an eye sore in the backyard, while maximizing the airflow potential in the garden to minimize risk of mold and botrytis from moisture and cold nights in general.