any outdoor growers here? what happened to my poor plant?

[panader0]

27. I'm an outdoor grower. I had the best crop ever this past year.

I use my old hen house, surrounded on all sides and top with chicken wire. Varmints can be a real problem so
I am very protective. For soil I use native soil (which has a bit of old chicken shit) and add Happy Frog.
It's a great fertilizer/growing soil. I get it at Ace, but it's about 25 bucks. Well worth it. Through the years of
growing, I stick to the idea that pot is a weed. It's quite hardy. I turn over my growing area every year, add Happy Frog,
level it off for watering purposes, then make mounds about 4" high and plant my sprouted seeds in the mounds.
After my seeds are sprouted (usually in damp paper towels) I put them in those little degradable cups. When they
are about 6" tall I plant. I also cover my babies in quarter inch wire mesh in cages about a foot tall. Those rats and
mice can get through chicken wire, but not the mesh. I reuse the cages each year.
I really believe in planting in the ground. Some of the stalks I pulled up after harvest had roots two or three
feet in each direction. Stop by some time Kali.