Mid-Summer Explosion: How the Hugelkultur Bed is Feeding My Cannabis Plants

Summer Heat Comes to Stony Oasis…Watching the Hugelkultur Cannabis Explode

I can easily see my Hugelkultur planting bed is feeding my cannabis plants all they need to thrive!

I have been growing cannabis for long enough to know…just by looking, that the plants I have in the Hugelkultur bed full of super soil are primed to go friggin crazy. I usually feed my cannabis plants when I water…sometimes nearly every time I water. But, these plants I can see are full, full of food…no extra fertilization will be needed. They are hitting all the amendments I added when I created this Hugelkultur bed. You can read about that here in my first installment of this series of posts…How to Grow 10lb Cannabis Plants Off-Grid: The 2026 Super Soil & Dryland Hugelkultur Guide.

I made the hugelkultur bed, planted the plants on about May 15th, and then the weather turned cold, wet, and windy for most of the first 30 days. So the plants just sat there…not real top growth to speak of. But….during this time their roots are where the real growth was happening….they were growing both down, and around…explosive growth I would imagine. I have grown cannabis long enough to know they were simply waiting…waiting for some sun, and days they are not whipped by the winds there…that can be brutal. Here is the second post in this series, that shows them after just a couple of nice days…Dryland Hugelkultur Cannabis Grow Central Washington.

And, here is last weeks post, again the plants are beginning to respond to some nice sunny warm days…Early Summer at Stony Oasis: Hugelkultur Cannabis Grow Update. I was not going to top these plants at all, as I was going for height as much as anything. But I decided to top them just once in their pots as they were trying to get too tall for easy transport. They may not get as tall as they would have, but now have several several growth tops fighting for dominance. I will do another grow sometime when I will top the plants continually…which will result in huge bushed with tons of smaller top buds….Cannabis is an easily manipulated plant that is fun to experiment with.

Simcoe Summer Heat: Triggers Massive Cannabis Growth at Stony Oasis

I am going to share the images of the plants as they have progressed till now…Here they are when first plugged into my super soil filled hugelkultur bed on in the middle of April when first put out…

This was after a week in the ground, squirrels were eating on them, and they were obviously struggling to hold their own in a very cold wet speing up in the Simcoe Mountains of central Washington State.

I did fertilize them just a few times as I watered…simply because as the weather will finally turn…(I hope!) they will have everything they need right at root level to really respond.

And, 30 days later…they are now getting their chance to show me what they got!

And, I know, they will not disappoint!

During this time of inclement spring mountain weather (nearly freezing at night, and 30-40 mile an hour winds common) they have been growing…but the growth is largely no even seen. Their growth during this time is in the ground…their roots are growing…exploring the the hugelkultur beds offerings! And, I think…no, I know they will like what they find.

Here they are after just a few days of good growing weather…What ya think? I am excited at what they will become!

And, now for the 3rd image after just one more week…and now it is getting hot…even up there.

As you can see, they are loving life! Picture their roots being as big underground as the growth you can see above ground….that is kinda the way it works. So you can imagine their roots are defiantly getting into all that good stuff…ie…

• Kelp Meal (micro nutrients)
• Bone Meal (potassium)
• Blood Meal (nitrogen)
• Dolimate Lime (sweeten the mountain soil just a bit)
• Organic Plus Potting Soil (cheap, but good)
• Natural compost I will collect and use in each planting hole
• Ash from burning brush in the ditchBio-Char created when I burned the brush
• Unburned woody debris (slowly releases nutrients, and holds water)

Can I get some of these to hit the 10 ft tall mark? Time will tell, but with a full 2 months to grow vegatatively I am optimistic. They will not become big bushes however as I have them kinda crowded in a bit…but plenty of room for expansive side growth, and I expect them to fill that in nicely.

This is a seed grow up there in the mountains, and I will be offering these seeds at a great discount. You will be able to see the mother plants throughout their lives. I have 15 plants there, and will likely have to cull a few. But should end up with maybe 10 females…we shall see.

Choosing a Male Cannabis Father Plant

I thought about having a contest to let you guys help me choose the perfect father plant to make seeds…but have changed my mind. Why?

Because I get to looking and I actually have 3 plants all showing sex already…males that just cannot wait! And, surprisingly all 3 are a strain I carry that my master grower brother created…called BadAss BB’s. It is a cross of The Black, and The Big…two Indica dom strains. So I think I will stick with all 3 as the father plants.

It is a bit surprising they are showing sex so soon, but I am thinking they they will not only speed up a few of the strains they will be pollinating…but will continue to bloom till fall. I will be looking at them every week, till I move there, then I can monitor them every day. So plenty of time to decide how to move forward.

Here are the 3 males…

You can see 2 of them are very similar, and one is a bit of a different pheno. This strain is an F3 now and becoming more stable over time…but there is not a bad pheno…the crosses will be awesome!

Not sure how I managed to get 3 BadAss’s in the mix, but it is what it is…They will make amazing offspring!

Companion Planting for Cannabis Plants

I don’t always plant companion plants with my cannabis plants, but they are a great idea. I decided to plant Crimson Clover as a companion plant on this grow. I choose this clover for a few reasons…

• Crimson clover is a nitrogen fixer. Meaning as it grows it actually takes nitrogen out of the air and fixes the nitrogen into the ground,,,benefiting any other plants grown with it.
• Companion plants cover the ground, do not get tall enough to be a problem, and keep the ground much cooler in those dog days of summer.
• Helps keep weeds at bay…companion plants help control unwanted weeds in my hugelkultur bed.
• Attract pollinators and beneficial insects to the grow. While cannabis is generally wind pollinated, having pollinators even wanting the pollen can’t be a bad thing.
• I try to fill my plantings with…plants! I like to have something growing everywhere I am watering up there….the more the better!

Growing Blackberries at Stony Oasis Farms

I am all about creating a foodforest up at Stony Oasis Farms, and that will include all plants that will grow well there and produce something edible for both me and wildlife.

And that will include blackberries. I got some starts from a thorn-less variety several years ago, and have planted them up there on top of my little hill…that I pump water on top of. The berries are right where that water comes out and they are just now finally getting established.

This year I just went around and planted a bunch of the longer canes in the ground close to their end. This will propagate the plants without any more effort on my part. Once rooted all I need to do is clip them from the mother plant, and they will be independent.

I want a huge bramble patch, and this is how you can easily create it.

I will be introducing the thorned variety as well and they are even more robust, and are literally hard to get rid of once established…considered a problem plant in many areas of WA state.

Beneficial Insects (and Animals) for Cannabis Plants

Stony Oasis Farms is simply FULL of insects! They are everywhere, many are pollinators, and many are beneficial. And many are predatory. I want to see many benifical ones on my cannabis plant, and I am not disappointed up there. Even frogs (they eat insects ya know) are coming around more often…they love the water I irrigate with…as well as the pond I keep full for them.

Having a thriving ecosystem is all about nurturing the insects and animals you share your ecosystem with. I am doing everything I am doing up on my property, as much for the animals I share my neck of the woods with, as much as humans.

I want everything thriving and loving life! Do you love what I am doing there? I would love to hear from you…leave me a comment…

6/23/26…Updated Image of the Hugelkultur Cannabis Grow

I topped these plants just once while they were in their tall pots. I did this because they were just getting too tall to transport easily. I will not top them again, as I have them crowded in (no big deal when making seed) and I want them to get TALL! The result of a single topping is the plants will have several shoots all competing for that top dominate bud position. So many of them will have 4-8 main tops when they are finished….although, given this much time more then likley a single top will be the main top bud.

I am happy with how they are loving all the nutrients in the super soil, I have not done alot of this before, but I think I will start experimenting more with it. In the past I have simply fertilized when I water…but no extra for these girls and boys, I can see it would be over kill…they are being given all they need from that super soil.

Dealing With Cannabis Runts

See the small plant in front of Emma? When growing cannabis plants one will not grow many gardens before experiencing the cannabis runt. No matter how green your thumb is you will have a a few seeds that do not pop, and you will have a cannabis runt…sooner or later.

A runt can be genetics, or a host of other reasons…blaming ever irregularity of cannabis plants on genetics is simply not always true. A cannabis plant cannot get the nutrients, or moisture it needs to reach it’s full potential, and can result in a runt.

This particular plant is obviously Indica dom (need to look and see what strain it is) and sometimes Indicas simply do not get big. Some Indicas originated in climates just like here in the foothills of the Simcoe Mountains in central WA state…dry and hot…with a short growing season.

I could cull her…and yes she has shown me already she feels like a she. But I will not, I will let her make seed…if I feel her genetics simply do not meet my criteria I will not sell her seeds. I have a felling her buds are going to be so awesome they will make up for her small size. We will see….

Choosing a Male Cannabis Plant to Make Seeds

This is a seed run…and I plan to offer these seeds at a steep discount.

So when one is going to make seed, how do you choose a male, or multiple males to produce the highest quality seeds one can?

There are lots of things one can look at…the history you have with the strain, potency, structure of growth, size (good males should pretty much tower over the ladies) smell…yes a potent male will have a smell, vitality, ect.

For this grow I was thinking about having you guys help me choose…but upon inspection I realized I actually have 3 BadAss BB’s plants…and they are all male! The chance of that is minuscule….so, I am keeping them all, and they will all be the father plants. BadAss BB’s is an awesome strain my brother…a mater grower developed. It is a cross between to very Indican dom strains…The Black, and The Big. This strain is an F3 now, and every plant I have seen I have liked.

Here are images of all 3 males…

This is my fav…he is obviously showing his Indica genes, and is the tallest plant out there…a good trait for a male.

Here is number 2….he too is showing some Indica dom characteristics. and is the epitome of health, lots of vigorous flower tops…a great dad!

And this one…a bit more Sativa leaning, but a strong vigorous plant that will produce awesome offspring. All these males are already showing they are male…which means they are early flowering, and will speed up some of the landrace strains they will mate with.

I expect I will get a few more males….I am hoping they are not my biggest best looking plants like last year. I imagine I will end up with maybe 10 plants that are female to produce my seed. We will see.

I have been accused of being a ‘pollen chucker’ someone who does not make seeds in a controlled environment indoors. And, I suppose this is true. There are no other cannabis plants within miles of these…this country is simply too dry. One would have to water their plants more then once a week for months to grow a crop here…no one does that. No…these plants will be exactly what they should be…all F1’s of the strains I have.

I love making seed under the sun, in nature the way it is suppose to work…and this grow is the epitome of that…nature at work.

They have a few months left to grow…how tall do you think the tallest one will get? Tell me in a comment….as a matter of fact, I am going to create a contest and let you guys tell me within an inch how tall the tallest one will get. The prize for the contest will be a free (no other purchase needed) 20 pack of every strain I produce here, and that I market.

All rules on my main contest page apply….

I asked Gemini and his guess was 10’7″….

So give me your best guess in a comment….just one guess for every person. Whatta ya think?