Theo

So you're deciding rather or not to become a grower or even if you can grow. The good news to this is yes you can become a grower. I am sure by now you have read many post on the subject On other Post on the forum. We are very fortunate to have many excellent growers on this site who are willing to help teach you. I'll give you this quick tip on learning much faster if you are brand-new to growing and you do decide to take a mentor do yourself a favor. Follow and do what your mentor tells you and do not bring other growers opinions into the conversation he/she is the teacher Keeping this in mind will take you far. So you've decided I have the room I have the money to get everything I need but have you decided rather or not you have what it takes to become an excellent grower so I have come up with the three D's of gardening to help you determine rather or not you should grow the first D of growing is Desire this one you have covered or you would not be reading this post so that's an excellent start the second D of growing is Dedication Ask yourself, Do I have the time on my hands to devote to gardening it is a lot work but done right pays off big and saves you money in the long run lots of money saved if you're a devoted smoker LOL. The last D of gardening is Determination Without it you will not go far. So ask yourself this What kind of determination do I have within me to learn how to grow. There will be times you have to garden when you're frustrated, not feeling well, and when you don't want to. You have to have the determination it takes to get past these things doing so will only lead to your success as a gardener. So there you have it the three D's of gardening. Desire-Dedication-Determination. If you are already a grower your input is most welcome. If you are just figuring out rather or not to grow I would love to hear if you found this helpful. My goal here is not to hinder you but quite rather to help you Succeed with the 3D's and if you have any questions feel free to ask myself or someone else will be happy to assist you good luck and happy gardening.

I talk a lot about the importance of good soil and a nutrient line as well, I have moved to the coast and I do not have parts of my nutrient recipe so I have been trying to substitute. Does anyone know where I can get bio-biz Bloom, and for that matter grow as well. We can't get it on the coast so I would appreciate any information anybody has the rest I can come up with but I do need to ask a friend to confirm that my nutrient line has been preserved.

Many years ago I started growing in a grow tent that measured 4 foot 6" x 4' 6" x 7', this of course gives you a limited amount of space to grow in so I started looking closely in their space not being used by growing my plants oversized I can bend out to the walls and up Them with no problem and then coming back in across the ceiling thereby using more space getting plants larger and maximizing yield. I wish I could give you a picture of this however one is not available right now. I will post the results. Oh and if anyone thinks they know something about what it is I'm doing and have some tips would love to hear them. It is also important that I put the plants in a row down the center so I can bend out to the sides as opposed to using the triangular pot method. I gained space and I'm going to utilize it.

Today is a grand day as I will have my three big ticket items paid off, that would be the canoe a 5 hp outboard and also a 4 hp as a backup motor. Whenever I'm planning a trip that requires outfitting I make it a rule of thumb to get the big ticket items out of the way first that way as you go it gets easier and easier. Now that that's out of the way I can concentrate on the less expensive things that are needed to go on a trip. Things like dry bags water containers and all the items the law requires which I am looking into. If I am able to keep going at this pace I will be in the water by late spring and have all summer to play with my canoe and hang glider good times are on the way., If anybody is interested in going on a canoe trip in the Columbia River going island hopping please by all means let me know and I will set it up.

Great starts good potential hope to see more thank you for sharing

I know what you mean I had to shut down for two years/grew again and had to quit again for about another two years. I'm accustomed to getting colas the size of 2 L bottles well maybe not quite so damn close I can claim it LOL.

It looks cool anyway do you have a larger picture so I can obtain the big picture in my mind.

You bring up a very good point Eddie and yes theft can sometimes be a problem. This is a good place for some creative thinking let me come up with some ideas that may help. I say may help because of a thief really wants it he'll get it no matter what you do. ( sad fact) so let me see here the first thing of course would be to lock it up. That's if you can on your particular canoe. Mine has an eyebolt on the bow is not actually called an eyebolt I just forgot what it was called LOL. If you cannot lock your canoe up then you can try to find a person and ask them if they wouldn't mind watching your canoe while you pick up your supplies at the post office or grocery store. I personally will be looking for a stoner and will pay him in weed a bona fide stoner will stay for hours for 1/4 ounce or so LOL. A lot of this depends on location as well for example if there is a beach with woods you can take your canoe and hide it in the trees and underbrush should be safe. And there is of course the possibility you will have a partner along in that case one watches the canoe while the other fetches the supplies. If there's quite a bit alternate. Then there are places you can more where there are lots of other boaters around so a thief wouldn't feel comfortable just up and taking it. Boaters are generally really good at looking out for one another. Always be willing to assist someone in trouble as you may need assistance yourself one day you never know. If you are really worried about it and there's no place available to lock up whatsoever have good insurance on your canoe just in case a thief does get it. Yes your trip may be ruined But the insurance company will pay for a new canoe. It is always a good idea to have insurance. I'm going to be looking into a policy that will cover all my gear aboard as well. Be sure and take pictures of all your canoeing supplies so they can be presented to the insurance company if need be. The bottom line of course is you pays your money and you takes your chances LOL funny but no joke!

I would like to welcome you all to the world of canoeing , for those of you with canoeing experience your input is most welcome. As our questions from the newbies. Now admittedly I take the minimalist approach to outfitting. I make it a rule to only take things that I actually need and will actually be using in the course of the trip otherwise it does not go. The canoe I am outfitting for is a square Stern canoe which enables me to put an outboard motor on it The first thing you need to do is take down the big ticket item that is your canoe. You need to select a canoe of the appropriate size to meet your needs. You also need to choose whether you want to paddle or if like me use an outboard. Do your research and take a look around to see what's available for you. Bear in mind when selecting a canoe there is a maximum weight capacity not to exceed for safety please select an appropriate size canoe for you. This is one safety rule you do not want to break never overload your canoe. It can be a very dangerous thing. When they are speaking about the capacity of the canoe they are speaking of every single item going aboard. A good tip is to weigh yourself and everything going into the canoe when preparing for long trips you don't want to just guess the weight. Now that you have selected your canoe with or without a motor you're ready to move on to the next thing and that is your safety equipment. In regards to the safety equipment I even practice the minimalist approach here I only take what is absolutely required by law & one or two other things. I believe in Oregon you must have a life vest a spare paddle, a bale device, A flotation throw device with rope. This is so you can get a flotation device to a man overboard. You must also have a whistle or blow horn. I generally add my anchor to the safety list I generally get an 8 pound mushroom shaped anchor with a plastic coat to protect the canoe. Oops I forgot if you have a motor you are required to have a fire extinguisher I need say no more on that subject. But As you can see writing this out helps me to identify what I do and don't have to take. make a checklist this may sound silly but will prevent you from not having what it is that you need And no I did not forget Also on your safety list a critical thing to have is a good first aid kit please do not skimp on this and select a decent one that will be of actual good use if called upon. Be sure and do inventory on it and make sure the pain relievers in it are going to be adequate for you if not replace it with what is suitable for you. Now let's talk food, Water and snacks. This is quite obviously the fun part of outfitting after all who doesn't like to think about or talk about food. Let's let us look at water first when going on a trip you will need to locate places along the trip that have sources of water it is the single most heavy thing you will carry aboard. You can save some money by using plastic pop bottles . It doesn't cost anything and allows you to know easily how much water you have left. You may find yourself in places where there is no water available along the shore line. So stores and gas stations to name two are places that may not be there so carry with you on every trip a survival water filtration system these are lightweight and are critical to have in regards to your safety. Being dehydrated on the river and in the sun without adequate water can in fact kill you so please be certain of how and where you can get water. Now that we have discussed water let's discuss our food. How much food you are going to carry will be determined by how many days you plan on going. I am currently planning a three month trip with food and supply stops along the way. If there are no stops along the way you have no choice but to rely on what you brought. Look into dehydrated food the water content has been taken out and so it is much lighter but you need to add water to rehydrate them so you can eat it. I recommend when it comes to freeze-dried food to go to your local camping store and purchase just a few of them and try the meals. The reason for this is that I found that dehydrated foods irritate my mouth it may just be me but you may want to find out before going. Another choice for food is the MRE ( meals ready to eat)The military uses them and they are self h eating meals with no fire necessary. I avoid canned goods as they are considerably heavy and takes up your weight capacity quickly . You can select from grocery stores things that are dehydrated like powdered milk macaroni and cheese. Summer sausage cheese crackers. You can also get your chips and snacks as they keep long-term or at least long enough to suit your purposes. If you have noticed I have not made mention of a cooler. Coolers take up a lot of space and weight so I avoid them on long trips short trips when you don't need as much that's okay. As you can see you have to pick and choose what's going or not. Please do not expect this list to be complete It is a works in progress And needs work. Now the fun stuff deciding where you want to go as you know I did a topic on this. Now is where you select the river of your choice and you obtain river navigation charts and maps so you can navigate through a good river guide will also list places for fuel food and water. You want to look at the towns you will be passing through because if you can't carry enough aboard you will either need to purchase food along the way or have it all boxed up and ready to go and have it shipped to you at post offices Locations along the way it's a great little trick. If you are going to use canned goods on your journey I recommend canned meats Like Can Chicken Canned ham & spam that kind of thing. Now that I have given you a general idea on food we can move on Tools toys Toys and odds and ends: if you have an outboard motor you're going to need a small emergency tool kit generally a toolkit will come with outboard motor. You also need an emergency patch kit for both your canoe and tent. A sleeping bag and Mat to sleep on are highly recommended Along with the pillow like the ones used for hiking they are compact and lightweight quite adequate for your purposes.. Take clothing with you that is adequate for the weather conditions this is a good place to take the minimal Approach when selecting things such as jeans and shirts how many do you really need and are there laundry mats along the way. That kind of thing use your imagination and it will take you far. I generally like to take a hatchet and a machete these are two tools I don't like to go without as there are so many things you can do with them. A knife and pocketknife is also recommended. Just for fun If you are a birdwatcher take some Binoculars I like the compact 10 x 25 I find it more than adequate on the river. No I did not forget the fishermen Same thing goes Take only the tackle and weights and what you absolutely need. I have put quite a lot of information in this post so please bear in mind after having read this it is actually my rough draft for my trip so if you see anything missing that is absolutely needed please feel free to comment. And no I did not forget waterproof matches and lighters LOL. g. I look forward to your replies and thank you for your time.

Currently I am playing Christmas music to my plants 24-7 if the weight exceeds my normal range then I will know rather or not it worked. Even though I stuck the music in 30 days I should be to get better results just the same actually I don't know yet if anybody knows please tell me thank you

I just got done looking at the river pictures and I can't seem to find any rapids anywhere so I think I'm going to be okay on that. I'd like to be around the Columbia area and go down from there. Once I get some river maps it will take a lot of mystery out of it for me but I still have to get outfitted before that. Then comes the map and river planning itself

What I'm going to try to do is find a section of the river that does not have rapids . If I'm unable to avoid them altogether I will either shoot them or carry the canoes around. Originally I had planned on Paddling The 1000 mile journey. Now that my body won't allow me to paddle for long distances I am going to get a 5 hp outboard motor. The trip will be faster of course so I may add 500 or so more undecided at this point. I have great news in regards to the outboard motor I only need 320 more dollars and I have my motor. The main motor will be the workhorse I will have a second outboard as a backup it will also be smaller 2 to 3 hp. With a cost of $200-$300. It looks as though things are coming together. Whith this pandemic going on I may have to select another river which would be sad because I've always wanted to do a trip on the Amazon. All I can do is get prepared for a trip and go on the one that allows me to do so. I will keep you informed as to my progress until later .