Growing Guerrilla Cannabis Plants in a Dry Environment

Water Hacks for Growing Cannabis in a Dry Climate-Conserving Water

Hi Jerry the Ghost here. I have grown cannabis in about every kind of environment…except perhaps very hot jungle environments. Most of my grows over the years have been in areas that receive only enough rain fall to be called semi-arid. The good thing about that type of climate is it usually means lots of sunlight. And contrary to what one can read online cannabis given enough water loves every minute of sunshine it can get. Full sun all day every day is ideal.

That being said…that plant you have out in full sun all the time in a very dry environment needs WATER, and enough water that it is always satisfied. This can be problematic at times if one is growing guerrilla cannabis plants. You might visit them only once a week (not enough waterings for some situations) or less. How does one combat this situation….I have abandoned plants more times then I wanted to because I simply could not give them all the water they needed…here are some water hacks for those situations.

Disclaimer: Always check local laws before growing cannabis, as legality varies by location. This content is for educational purposes only for those in legal jurisdictions. We do not condone illegal activities anywhere, at anytime.

Leave Extra Water for Your cannabis Plants

One can just leave extra water at the grow site, as you can see in the image above. Each of those jugs have a small pin hole in the bottom, this allows to water to slowly drip out and into the ground for several days. I have also done this with a 5 gal bucket which works even better. I have gone so far as burying the bucket so it cannot be seen, and just have a pipe coming up with a cap to fill it.

The epitome of this I suppose would be to bury several buckets this way, then one could fill them all, and I suspect once the plants roots are right there to take advantage of the water…literally not a single drop would be wasted.

Where to Grow Guerrilla Cannabis Dry Climates

The first step in making sure your guerrilla cannabis plants have enough water for excellent growth in a dry climate is when you are siting the grow. This is the one most important element when growing in a dry area. In those kind of situations you really need the grow to be close to a water source. Ideally right next to the water…for a few reasons…

First you will need to haul that water to your plants every time you visit, and secondly, and even more important you want ground water available to your plants. Ideally this ground water is just a foot or so in the ground. How would you know this? You just dig your planting hole and look…is it very moist…is the hole filling with water…or nearly so? If so you should be golden. If you plant where this ground water is available to your plants you can actually see when their roots hit it.

Thing is, a cannabis plant can get thirsty without much problem or damage, but once the leaves begin to wilt, as in the image above of my D’Qar grow at Stony Oasis Farms…you are beginning to damage the plant…or at least slow your plants down, and reduce your harvest.

To grow cannabis and have it reach it’s full potential it needs to thrive every single day, and to do that it need adequate water every single day. If the plants are in your home garden giving them a drink every single day during the dog days of summer is not a problem…and they will love it. Whether you do it by hand or through automation. In a guerrilla grow situation this becomes more problematic…you can likely not visit ever day, and you would not want to for stealth reasons…and automatic watering is harder to achieve.

Generally you site your plants in bottom ground…low in the environment. This is where the natural water is likley to be. Never up on a dry hillside in full sun…unless you can water them enough. Truthfully siting your plants well is the most important factor in dry-land cannabis growing.

Hand Digging a Water Well for Your Cannabis Plants

Sometimes being right next to water can be a problem for stealth reasons…perhaps there are a ton of fishermen or hunters that visit the area. It those situations it may be best to be back in the reeds away from the actual water source. If that is the case I have always just spent a little time and dug a small well by hand. You just need to hit water no father then you can reach.

Mulching Cannabis Plants to Retain Water

If growing cannabis in a dry climate mulching become very important.

Not only does it keep the soil the plant is growing in cooler, but it helps retain every drop of that precious water you have brought to your plants.

Make sure all your plants have a good 3-4 inch thick layer of mulch covering their entire root zone. How big is their root zone you ask? Generally as big as the plant you can see above ground…will have roots under the ground.

You can use any vegetation that is growing around in the area. I love to use living compost to mulch with as it is already full of critters, and is already broken up into finer particles….so makes good contact with the ground.

One could even use gravel, or flat rocks…whatever will keep the sun from beating down near your plants, and retain some of that water.

Hugelkultur Bed for Growing Cannabis in Dry Areas

The hugelkultur grow I am doing this year actually with really help those plants beat the heat, and the dry hillside they are growing on. Now you may not be able to dig a 4 foot deep trench for a guerrilla grow, but it is very easy to make a miniature hugelkultur planting bed for your guerrilla grown cannabis.

You simply dig the planting hole 2 or 3 feet deep and fill the bottom with that wonderful compost one can find about anywhere, and throw in some wood debris. Boom you have a miniature hugelkultur bed…your plants will love it!

Do you grow guerrilla? Do you grow in a very dry environment? Please take a moment and share some techniques that have worked for you…or just say ‘HI’ I love your comments!