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Ed Andrieski / AP
Instructor Ted Smith, left, shows Ginger and Heath Grider how to cut and plant a section of a tomato plant during class at THC University at the Tivoli in Denver.
It may be called weed, but marijuana is legendarily hard to grow.
Now that the drug has been made legal in Washington and Colorado, growers face a dilemma. State-sanctioned gardening coaches can help folks cultivate tomatoes or zucchini, but both states have instructed them not to show people the best way to grow marijuana. The situation is similar in more than a dozen additional states that allow people to grow the drug with medical permission.
That's leaving some would-be marijuana gardeners looking to the private sector for help raising the temperamental plant.
"We can't go there," said Brian Clark, a spokesman for Washington State University in Pullman, which runs the state's extension services for gardening and agriculture. "It violates federal law, and we are a federally funded organization."
The issue came up because people are starting to ask master gardeners for help in growing cannabis, Clark said. Master gardeners are volunteers who work through state university systems to provide horticultural tips in their communities.
Related: Colorado, Washington approve recreational marijuana use
The situation is the same in Colorado, where Colorado State University in Fort Collins recently added a marijuana policy to its extension office, warning that any employee who provides growing assistance acts outside the scope of his or her job and "assumes personal liability for such action."
The growing predicament is just the latest quandary for these states that last year flouted federal drug law by removing criminal penalties for adults over 21 with small amounts of pot. In Washington, home-growing is banned, but it will be legal to grow pot commercially once state officials establish rules and regulations.
In Colorado, adults are allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants in their own homes, so long as they're in a locked location out of public view.
At least two Colorado entrepreneurs are taking advantage of that aspect of the law; they're offering growing classes that have attracted wannabe professional growers, current users looking to save money by growing their own pot and a few baby boomers who haven't grown pot in decades and don't feel comfortable going to a marijuana dispensary.
"We've been doing this on our own, but I wanted to learn to grow better," said Ginger Grinder, a medical marijuana patient from Portales, N.M., who drove to Denver for a "Marijuana 101" class she saw advertised online.
Grinder, a stay-at-home mom who suffers from lupus and fibromyalgia, joined about 20 other students earlier this month for a daylong crash course in growing the finicky marijuana plant.
Taught in a rented room at a public university, the course had students practicing on tomato plants because pot is prohibited on campus. The group took notes on fertilizer and fancy hydroponic growing systems, and snipped pieces of tomato plants to practice cloning, a common practice for nascent pot growers to start raising weed from a "mother" marijuana plant.
Related: Recreational marijuana users could get pot from vending machines, company says
Ted Smith, a longtime instructor at an indoor gardening shop, led the class, and warned these gardeners that their task won't be easy. Marijuana is fickle, he said. It's prone to mildews and molds, picky about temperature and pH level, intolerant to tap water.
A precise schedule is also a must, Smith warned, with set light and dark cycles and watering at the same time each day. Unlike many house plants, Smith warned, marijuana left alone for a long weekend can curl and die.
"Just like the military ... they need to know when they're getting their water and chow," Smith said of the plants.
The class was the brainchild of Matt Jones, a 24-year-old Web developer who wanted to get into the marijuana business without raising or selling it himself. As a teenager, Jones once tried to grow pot himself in empty Home Depot paint buckets. He used tap water and overwatered, and the marijuana wilted and died.
"It was a disaster," he recalled. Jones organized the class and an online "THC University" for home growers, but his own thumb isn't green. Jones said he'll be buying his marijuana from professional growers.
The course showed would-be grower Cael Nodd, a 34-year-old stagehand in Denver, that marijuana gardening can be an intimidating prospect.
"It seems like there's going to be a sizable investment," he said. "I want something that really tastes good. Doesn't seem like it will be that easy."
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What's there to ask? The American Indians taught us many years ago.
Dig a small hole, drop in a few seeds along with a fish and Whala!
When it's about 5" tall, drive a small needle through the center of the stalk at about an inch up from the soil and it freaks the plant out into thinking it's being attacked, thus, it grows much quicker and thicker to protect itself.
Tomorrows lesson will be how to grow a human ear in a pee-tree dish...
Then the Chinese will be asking how to apply that to their man-hood. ;-)
I think we can agree that a nice cyber-assault on you would be nice.
The premise of the article dowsn't make sense... MJ is incredibly easy to grow, it's one of the most durable crops on earth.
GM Creekdog
Looks like the Gold Rush has turned into the Green Rush.
Grow your own dope......Plant a politician....
Creek dog. good tips. My buddy twists the stems until the make a little popping sound it causes it to get woody in that spot. He swears it toughens em up.
There are a million little tricks.
I now Ph levels are important but what is this about being intolerant of tap water?
Lame that the state can tell busineses they can grow it and sell it but then says normal people can't grow some in their yard.
My advice is to grow outside. It eliminates the need for so many things.
Humidity control
temperature control
Mold, mildew and White fly control.
Lighting and timers.
Exhaust fans
Carbon dioxcide controllers
Electric bills
air conditioners
Damage to your house.
WATER PUMPS, BUCKETS, GROW TRAYS, CLEANING, space in your house
No matter how much you spend on fancy lights you can't duplicate the sun.
I must agree, weed is easy to grow. All they have to do is get a single book, read it in one night, and go for it. Sexing the plants is the hardest, and they can't really cover that in these classes. Of course, cooking is easy too, and we have cooking classes everywhere. Maybe this is just a new way to meet some new dates.
"Hi, I'm Andy, and would like to grow some hydro with you. Do you like zig-zags or glass?"
No matter how many tricks you use , the most important thing is quality of seeds or clones.
You can pop a hundred seeds and only get 2 or 3 superplants. So it is important to label plants and take many clones also labeling them. After budding out the original ones see what one was hardy and a big producer of quality bud. Save the clone from that one and throw all the other clones away.
You now have a mother plant.
Sexing plants isn't that hard. The trick is to have patience. It is very easy to mistake a female for a male.
I know space is important but don't pull them when you think you see balls.
Instead wait until you see a few hairs then mark those as female and start to seperate them out.
The hairs almost always start to show up before balls do.
Stressing your plant will add 2 weeks to a growing cycle and increase the chance of hermaphrodites.
"I quit smoking cigarettes because they were expensive and bad for me....now i smoke dope."
Uhhh ...Houston...we may have a problem...it would seam there is some fried circuits here.....
Weed is bad for you too. Bad for teeth. Bad for lungs and bad for the amount of oxygen your blood can absorb.
It does reduce body fat though and relieves many symptoms of stress.
It sure doesn't help in finding and keeping a job. Which can increase stress.
The Chinese would be interested in your brand of "plant-u-puncture".
One more hugely important tip. Don't even try to grow unless you are in a stable relationship.
Crazy girlfriends are the leading cause of raids.
Growing weed indoors is easy if you know what your doing.
Growing a "weed" may be easy ... Growing "Quality" marijuana .... isn't !
And its not just the growing .... "curing" is just as important ...
Like a great wine ... it's all about quality .. not quantity .. most connoisseurs don't want to smoke ragweed or rope!
Indoor weed has expensive start up costs.
I would say at least 3 grand.
$300 per light. Nutrients, trays, exhaust fans, Carbon filters for the smell, pesticides, electric bills,
fans. Lava rock or grow blocks, C O2 controllers, Dehumidifiers, Ph testers. LOTS OF TIME.
Curing is important and not as easy as you would think, but if you don't grow good weed in the first place curing won't help.
It does suck to let mildew kill bud after you spent 4 months growing it.
You don't want it to dry so fast that it leaves a harsh taste. Not a good high and will really make you cough.
You want to dry it as slow as possible without letting it mildew.
Rotate often and wrap big buds in paper towels or but the whole stash in paper grocery bags.
The stuffs easy to grow. Just throw seeds in grandmas tomato patch and let her tend them.
G-bud,
Good one. Very good............. ;-)
Growing it outside...it...well....grows like a weed...it loves the sun...just have to protect the young plants from grasshoppers and such...
Growing it inside is a different story...not too easy and expensive to bring the sun indoors.
It's called 'weed' because it grows like one. Sheesh. Another non-article. I may have to switch from this news feed if this trend continues.
Blutowski... dude, you should write a little booklet on this art... you obviously know it... :)
Green thumbs up!
Can you make alcohol extract from the bud that will preserve it's potency? Then you could drink or inhale that extract to get happily stoned. Any thoughts on that?
blutowski you make some good points you make some bad points. One bad point is on curing just hang it upside down. Let it dry for a couple 3 or 4 days than trim. After the trim put in mason jars and seal. One would be crazy to wrap big buds in paper towels or putting your bud in paper bags. My point has been time tested and it works. If one wants to grow get the Ed Rosenthal book on growing. It would be the best advice you can get.
chlorine and fluorine in ordinary municipal tap water are a problem. Virtually all of the hemp products are VERY easy to grow in ordinary dirt, outside. many years ago, a few of the "heads" where I lived threw their seeds out on the lawn. and presto -. MJ "weeds" (it isn't called weed for NOTHING - the stuff is hardy)
Smitty, I suck at curing. 2 things
Each persons space is different so each grow and harvest needs to be adapted. I can grow outside put can't dry them inside without the house reeking. The paper bag works well. they still dry out but not very fast. No mildew.
Second. A lot of buds aren't big enough to hang and just go into a tray or something. "B BUD"
Thanks. What do you know about plants being intolerant of tap water?
outside I just use a hose and it seems to work. Inside I fill water jugs and let the chlorine evaporate out, then add nutrients and then ph balancers.
blutowski When taking down the plant leave everything on the branches and hang upside down by the branches to dry than when dry trim the buds off the branches. Than trim your bud.
As for tap water fill your water supply, let it sit for a couple 3 or 4 days. Add your liquid fertilizer to the water than your good to go.
Hope that helps!
Good news for the hippies!!!The only regret of the hippies is they wished the marijuana were legal at that time!!! Groovy!!
Stop with the Infantile names Nobody uses that term anymore except people who believe in Reefer Madness or just an Ignorant Smart A$$
I've used Smitty's cure method and it works fine except hanging the whole plant takes a lot of space. As a more practical solution I use a home made humidor from a closet w/water buckets on the floor w/paper towels hung above and slightly dipped into the water. I cut the bud branches from the main stalk and cure them separately but then trim off the excess stalk and leaf after they are cured.
If you want gold weed you need to do this in your normal growing light and if you want green bud then do this in the dark.
Creek Dog, the chinese aren't going to ask, they will hack.
How dare someone in this day and age figure it out or read about it on their own.
It's called "weed" because it is a WEED. what help do you need to grow weeds. you don't even have to dig a hole, throw the darn seeds into the area and come back in a few months.
WHAT FLAVORS ARE YOU GUYS SMOKING TODAY???
I've got some Maui Wowie here in Nevada.
Girl Scout Cookies in San Francisco,also some Blue Durban...
Does Blues Durban make out rock out like James Durban?
Burning one while cranking RUSH 2112! Ah those were the days!
Howdy Roc.
Howdy Ho
Missed the Train to Bangkok
all you really need, are the right lights, the right room, and some water and fertilizer. There are lots of litle tricks but they can all be learned using a little tool called google. pH has a big effect on determining sex but if you buy feminized seeds you don't have to worry to begin with. CO2 is a plus but if you spend enough time in your grow room then you don't really need it... singing to indoor plants actually makes a difference, you release a lot of CO2 when you sing. I like to make sue to have a fan on the plants at all times to stress the stalks a little. it takes practice, no one is going to start out and grow super-dope, you have to refine the process over time, trial and error find out what works best for you and the strains you are growing.
You guys do realize that most the non-THC carrying varieties of marijuana grow pretty easy, like a "weed", but the THC carrying strains are pretty picky, and not having the right conditions can lead to some skunk weed - hence the training courses.
That is more or less what they're referencing here.
But it's not that hard, a little odd that people really need a "university" course to teach them. I'm assuming these are people who've never planted anything else in their life.
Travis,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Skunk weed is a good thing.
Crap, dyslexia. You know what I mean.
Rag weed or dirt weed.
can i just call it mex?
it does take a little experience to grow good buds... but you can get mountains of info from the internet. people want a course because they are to lazy to do the research themselves. I learned how to grow bud through word of mouth, the internet and trial and error.
and there are some really good books out there as well.
LOL - someone is making money on the challenge of growing weed. It's called "weed" for a reason: "a plant that grows easily and is usually found in places where you do not want it"
Yes, to get that super tasting, high grade stuff, you need to invest and cultivate - so have gone many beneficial plants. Good ole' dirt weed for me.
Indoor weed is extremely hard to grow. Molds and white flies are 2 of the biggest threats.
Outside the biggest problem you have is secrecy.
If you see any webs around your buds, it is game over. SPIDER MITES. Once you see them it is too late.
Then you are in panic mode trying to fight them but risistance is futile.
I agree with others here, it's not that hard. Start with good seeds, a place with good sunlight, especially morning sun (a small greenhouse is best), and sandy, sterile soil (bake it in an oven to get rid of insect larvae and weeds). Hit the plants with PNP at the right time in the right amount and watch like a hawk for male plants (the Mexican farmers used to rip out male plants and stomp them to show the other plants that they better not turn male). The hardest part is constantly picking off leaves and pruning to stress the plants and to make the plant grow more branches. Once the season turns and you get less than 12 hours of daylight the plants mature rapidly and you get the buds, some as long as your forearm. If you pay attention, work hard at the right times, and keep it regular you can pay for 4 years of college. The leaf picking and other stuff is also therapeutic and helps with studying and good grades if you don't smoke the stuff. A friend told me all of this. :-)
Trim off just a few of the bottom branches. I never take off leaves.
Leaves are the solar panels that fuel the whole plant.
The buds don't need light, the leaves need light.
If the plant is done with leaves they will pop off with barely a touch.
Blutowski, give it up. Your constant posting of "facts" and "tips" only confirms to anyone who has a passing acquantance with pot knows, reveals you as someone who only has "knowledge" provided by the "war on drugs" side. Nothing you have posted is real. Pot is easy to grow, it's healthy for you.
Go use your drugs (alcohol and tobacco) and quit supporting an article that most of us know is full of crap.
Spray neem extract to kill the mites - or tobacco extract for that matter. 100% natural and effective. The spider mites don't really make webs - you need a magnifying lens to see them - little red devils they are...
@4corners: "(the Mexican farmers used to rip out male plants and stomp them to show the other plants that they better not turn male)...
Dude... that is priceless... plants certainly know what is going on... :)
Tomulcuk,,,,,,,,,,,, Blow me.
4 corners said he cuts off his leaves.
I was trying to help him out. A lot of rookies actually try that.
Blutowski - spider mites are a tough crowd but you can beat it with Neem Oil. The key is to catch it early. Powdery Mildew is a pain you never want. THEN you are done until everything is throughly cleaned up before proceeding with your next try.
tomulcak,
Have you ever actually grown weed? Blutowski's tips are pretty much on target for what I went through in my first few years of growing.
Blutowski,
Kelthane works great on spider mites and decomposes into CO2 and H2O in 24 hrs but use a mask and something like rain gear to cover your whole body when you apply it (and shower every hour plus afterwards during application or your skin will hate you). For smaller crops you can wipe down the tops/bottoms of all the leaves w/soap and water or just add a half dozen lady bugs per plant much easier. But prevention is best, a good rule is to shower before entering the grow room and have dedicated clothes that never leave the grow room except to be laundered, fumigate the grow room between crops and keep your eyes open.
Hee Haw
I won't hydro anymore, but, I was told to put Neem oil in the water and let it absorb through the roots. Sounds great but it through off the Ph and clogged up the pumps.
Lady bugs can never keep up. They don't even work on my wife's roses.
Opps. THREW off.
Hydro is a problem. One unhappy camper can wipe out the entire population.
What kind of smoke are you smoking today?
Good for these gardeners... the key is: practice, practice, practice...
Pot should be legalized everywhere and taxed, just like tobacco.
Which do you believe would be easier to plant and grow at your house?... a weed or tobacco.....?
So just exactly how are all you "tax it" people going to accomplish that tax?
Half hour later and still no coherent answer...nor will there be.
Tax at the point of the sale, just like tobacco. Weed grown for your own use should not be taxed, just like tobacco.
as to the delay... dude... I'm at work...
As to the level of growing difficulty: tobacco is much easier to grow outside than quality pot. Indoors - I have no experience with either plant.
GM Scooter
Maybe after they do a "doobie" or two, they are so taxed out and relaxed that they forgot to tax it man.
The Best of Cheech and Chong's First Album titled "Cheech and Chong" cut titled "Dave"
Knock Knock: Who's there?
It's Dave man
No man Dave's not here!
Max
whos going to buy what they can grow, and how are you going to find that "point of sale"? Tabbaco, growing indoors would not be cost effective.
So work.
Who's going to buy what they can grow? Really? Do you buy any vegetables ever? Why? You can grow them yourself. Do you buy meat? You can raise any animal you want to. Do you buy clothing? Why would you do that when you can just go to a fabric store and get reams of cloth dirt cheap? Or, just grow your own fiber to make your own cloth. I think that the majority of smokers are willing to pay for something that they know takes time, space, and effort to produce. How many tobacco smokers grow their own? By your logic, the cigarette companies would be out of business. Let's see, how are they doing? Oh, yeah - They're a multi-billion dollar industry.
Scooter... who would want to grow tobacco indoors when it grows almost like a weed outside, tons of it? Maybe when pot is fully legal people will grow outside tons of it too, and then it will be dirt cheap, taking a huge bite out of organized crime profits. That should be the goal - making pot really cheap.
Yeah, like we do in CO. Grow, sell, tax, fund schools, reduce property taxes.
And the reason you buy it from a professional grower (vs home growing your own) is that the pro can spend the $3K/plant on tech to make really good weed and has (or develops over time) an expertise in the genetics and managing problems.
Also, if you grow your own you still have to buy weed between harvests. Unless you overgrow and then throw out the stale weed at the next harvest which works but is generally more work and money than just buying from a pro.
scooter looks like JustinB just shot down your logic.
Scooter,
Read Colorado's State Constitution Amendment 64 just passed last November.
http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/s/regulate-marijuana-alcohol-act-2012
Section 5d establishes a framework for growing/taxing cannabis and CO state legislature is currently drafting the specific methods of implementing this tax. Here's the link to how we currently grow/tax medical marijuana:
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Rev-MMJ/CBON/1251592985101
Recreational Marijuana will be a hybrid of this and the liquor licensing laws. Is this what you were asking about?
Hee Haw
All I see is how seedy it makes the whole thing look with his tatoos sticking out[no pun I]
no, its easy. you are not talking to the right folks. Check in with the true herb folks and find out yourself! peace out!
LOL, yet the Mexicans and some crafty rednecks can grow it pretty easy in the state parks and the hills of KY and well, all over the place. Start with some decent seeds. They'll need some dirt, fertilizer and some water and decent temperatures.. Rockets, I tell you it's like designing rockets!
Yeah, and the product they end up with is @!$%#. In order to get anything of quality, you need to be painstakingly meticulous.
Pffft, I've smoked some righteous Ky weed dude. Grown in the hills of KY. Yes, it might not be as good as some greenhouse chronic mega THC weed but it was pretty damn good...
Mexican weed is no longer garbage because they can read now. It ain't rocket science.
Don't support the Mexican Drug cartels. Don't buy Mexican weed. Grow your own.
There is not a thing wrong with an Adult(s) growing 6 plants in their Home not hurting a Soul just growing for their own personal use and enjoyment. The drinkers get to brew their own beer. I know it's legal yeah legal for them to go out and KILL people on the Highways. (Double Standard)
What's really bad about that is localities that refuse to sell alcohol in stores on certain days, which encourages people to get out and drink at bars instead of just buying some to take home. I remember I lived on a county line once where the Publix wouldn't sell you beer on Sunday, but all you had to do was go across the street and buy it at Albertsons. Just goes to illustrate how ridiculous some laws in this country are, and marijuana laws are at the top of the ridiculous heap.
Seems to me that a whole lot of money and tax dollars could be made off this one crop, irregardless of whether you call it a weed or a plant. Why is it still illegal?
By what legitimate authority does government exist? By what authority are these thefts perpetrated? Each person owns themselves individually, and ultimately has the only legitimate authority over their life.
Lois, I'm wondering if you think the politicians and bureaucrats should also tax and regulate your vegetable garden, your kitchen and what you choose to cook, anything else about your personal life.
Oh wait! They already do! Everything is taxed and regulated. And we are just so "FREEEEE" the more they tax and regulate, aren't we. And our economy is making us all rich and happy... or, hey, wait another minute...
If YOU want to support the government with YOUR own life and property, be my guest. By what legitimate authority do you suppose you can choose for me?
Mama,
You answered your own question, they alrealy tax the seeds I use to plant my garden with. Just thinking that if they had a good tax income off it, they would be more likely to legalize it. With losing all the income from prosecution of an illegal plant, they will have to make up the income somewhere, taxation seems to be the logical place to make that up.
Prohibition and ignorance go hand in hand. Lose/lose. It's just a weed plant from nature. Kinda like a hop and barley.
Wish I could help, but I live in Florida.
It's still illegal mainly because of the OLD WHITE MANS CLUB.
Stop with the hate. This is about weed.
The WA and CO cannabis laws are great threats to the plutocracy/oligarchy. The Bill of Rights has already been effectively nullified by the DC syndicate; so a couple of state laws will be no problem.
Its funny how politicians will call an outrage over guns, but lets keep something that doesn't kill any kids illegal!
I'd love to see a study on alcohol related shootings as opposed to marijuana related shootings. Hell, by the time a stoner gets a gun cocked you could be in the next county! And even then he might forget to pull the trigger.
"Great Points" Chris & Bro There is NO Comparison between Alcohol and Cannabis The Lawmakers know this Drunk's are Nauseating and a PIA not to mention KILLERS on the Road But when Half if not all of the Prosecutors, Judges, Lawyer's hell the whole court system are all Alcoholic's so they won't change the Laws.
And driving "stoned" will be detected how?
Driving stoned will be detected the same way as driving drunk. Field sobriety tests.
Strange Moniker somehow Iowa doesn't strike me as a Big Biker State are your grips made out of corn cobs. Don't worry about how it's going to be detected doesn't matter look how many Drunks Kill people everyday so it's not even a comparison.
Hummmmmmmm .. "Driving Stoned?" ..LOL ... While everyone reacts differently to every drug .. There is no comparison to those driving with a "Buzzzzzzzzzz" than those driving after three or four drinks .. The vast majority of those that have a "buzzz" will be virtually undetectable from other drivers .. unlike the drinkers and other "drugies" on the highway ...
Reality is often hard to accept ... marijuana is the least harmful recreational drug used in the world today ... and should have never been restricted ... it is a constitutionally protected right (tenth Amendment) .... Citizens have always ... (since crawling out of the caves) had the right to self medicate ... and did so at the inception of our constitution ... and if anyone can show where the constitution gives the Federal Government the right to restrain that right .... I'' kiss your ass in the middle of Constitution Ave, in front of the Capitol .... and give you a month to draw a crowd!
The police powers of the State are for three purposes only .. Health, Safety, and General Welfare ...there is no significant evidence that the restriction of the use of marijuana accomplishes any of these ... and severs any purpose significant enough to require any governmental action that would restrict those "Inherited rights" ...
A fair and Just Supreme Court (one not loaded with radical conservatives) would recognize this ...
Amen Moonbeam
I think that agent orange will help with this crop.
ya let monsanto genetically alter and pantent pot.theyre so wonderful for corn and soy.they can make a nice nasty plant and kill independant growers nationwide.then bird species will strangely disappear and people will develope strange new neuro problems that will never be linked back to them.
Marijuana (cannabis) is not difficult to grow. There are many excellent reference books on cannabis cultivation. Cannabis has been grown for thousands of years. Much relevant information is on the Internet. Growing cannabis is, however, work - remember what pot growing guru Ed Rosenthal warns: "Although using marijuana may not be addictive, growing it is." I personally recommend his book - Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Grower's Handbook, ISBN: 978-0-932551-46-7
I disagree with the notion that MJ is difficult to grow. I grew my first crop when I was 18 years old. It is a weed and grows anywhere. It is very easy to grow dope but a little difficult to grow really great weed consistently. Practice makes perfect and with the internet out there I can't see why anyone would waste good money taking a course at the local community college - it really isn't necessary. It is like people in one sense - it is all about the genes. Get a good durable strain and that is half the battle out of the way. Once you have the right strain, buy yourself a couple of timers and you are off to the races. The two biggest mistakes that I've seen people make are over watering and over feeding. Remember these two proverbs and you will never go wrong. Never water a wet plant. And you are better off to underfeed than to overfeed!
Not bad advice.
You have to keep the temp. down. Grow lights make an incredible amount of heat.
My suggestion is to start your babies under florescents in the fall and when winter hits use the heat from the grow lights to heat your house. Run them from 7 p m to 6 a m.
One summer (outdoor crop) and one winter (Indoor crop)
Blutowski - you call them your babies, too? LOL. Sound advice about times of year to grow. Everyone figures these things out eventually but good advice for beginners is always welcome. And as Forrest Gump says, "That is all I have to say about that...."
Thanks Suds. But I gotta tell ya,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I'm a RAIDERS FAN.
There are rehab centers for Raiders fans to help you overcome the disease. So you will be ok. ;) Your green thumb will save you. At least we live in states moving in the right direction against prohibition.
I'm in Nevada. We can grow with a Government issued license .
Without a card you go to prison.
So much for equal Rights and all men being equal.
Decriminalize Federally now.
Left and right both want it.
Hang in there Nevada. Washington and Colorado are just the beginning. Be grateful you have the license system in place. That is at least something, right? Your time will come once the Feds figure out how much money they can make like they do from liquor stores. And meanwhile have you seen any spending cuts for the DEA? Now, there's one to look at, huh, Congress?
I disagree that mj is "easy" to grow. Of course, anyone can make a plant grow, but there is a lot of technique involved in getting it right. There are a lot of sources out there, but a lot of them offer vastly conflicting information (I've seen some books recommending growing at 7 ph, which will raise once your nutes are fed into your soil which typically contains lime to raise the ph. Starting at 7 will already lock out some nutrient uptake). My best advice would be to learn from someone who has a long history of growing. Where I live, everyone seems to have their own system or different tips they can give, but I have found the best way to filter out the best knowledge...only take advice from those who produce the finest buds.
"Weed" is very easy to grow if it's done naturally, outdoors in the dirt. Really, all you need is good soil (gardening soil), water, and sun. Yes, some climates are better than others, but it's really not that picky. And the quality can be damn good! Often growers try to pass off easily grown "outdoor" as expensive "indoor." Now, if you start playing with indoor growing systems and/or soil mediums, then it gets tricky, because you have to emulate and regulate a natural (or better than natural) growing environment (which has a lot of variables that nature regulates pretty well on its own), which means changing the composition of the water and air, and intensity and length of light. Using hydroponics makes it especially difficult since any little change, such as a nutrient you use just a tiny bit too much of that changes the pH of the water, is immediately sent to the plant's roots (which is a good thing if you get the amounts just perfect). Or if some bacteria forms on one plant's roots, all the plants will quickly have it. Using these more advanced growing systems can produce more potent, tasty, yummy buds, but removing the natural buffer and cleanser that is dirt and using hydroponic systems, nutrient/pH/etc. levels can be controlled and will have almost immediate impact on your plants. But it it's done incorrectly it can kill your plants in no time.
Even if you want to use hydroponics, even if you're growing indoors, start out with plain old dirt and work your way up to hydroponics as you learn more about this kickass plant.
Outdoors rocks.
IT'S ALL IN THE SEEDS.
You never know if your kids are being violated/pollinated against their will outside. Ive seen some incredible outdoor plants before. But location location location is big with sunlight and heat. And nosey neighbors.
This is another sick and disgusting story about how americans will LEGISLATE controlling information. Jeeze, I can go buy a book about it all day long, but if I ask the wrong person, we might both get arrested ?
The thought police are coming folks. You will not be able to discuss anything freely anymore without violating patents and laws. Ridiculous ! And we call this a free society? The Palestinians seem to have more freedom since thy can at least discuss any subject they want before israel kills them.
Just more of an extension of a brutal police state(s). We are drowning in zionism and if you try to whistle blow, you would be arrested too. Just look at the new laws regarding whistle blowing. Amazingly evil government and sheep like people.
They attached this approach to marijuana in this case attempting to normalize that behavior. Next it will be using the word "windows" in your normal conversation. How about you owe bill gates a nickel everytime you say the word windows ? See where we are going ?
RICO ACT can send you to prison just for giving advice on how to grow.
The JUNKIES are all over craigslist selling their dope/
Why are you looking for dope on craigslist?
Junkies?
Dope? Did you guys just watch an old episode of Dragnet or something?
As a kid growing up in the midwest just about every river and creek had a lot of fertile soil on the banks, and many of them had huge hemp plants growing all over the place. I remember as a kid of 10 or 12 standing in many "hemp" plants that were 8 or 10 feet tall. There were "hemp" farms in the area during WWII to supply rope materials of the war effort, and it seems to have gotten out of control. I also recollect seeing MJ plants growing in the median of I 69 and I 70 not so many years ago....now some say these plants are low on THC, maybe they are, but they grew wild like weeds......no fertilizer, no distilled water, no grow lights.
My father told me from a very early age what it was, and that people smoked it, and that I should stay away from it as it could and most likely would land me in a lot of trouble. He was right about a lot of things...
Heck, MJ growns wild all around my house in Panama. It is illegal here but there is so much wild MJ, no one can regulate it.
Panama Red
Showing your age Bluto :)
Today I am smoking Maui Wowie that a friend of mine gave me.
Lincoln smoked a bowl of an evening--true, legalize it already. Alcohol far worse drug, kills tens of thousands, no one has ever od'ed on Pot whereas alcohol can kill in a heartbeat--ask any cop, they'll tell you, would rather deal with a stoner than a drunk. Believe the inevitable, Pot will be legal in the not to distant future, when the Reefer Madness crowd becomes sane or dies off. Pass the brownies!
Have you ever noticed?
That the same ones opposed to legalized pot are usually a bunch of drunks themselves?
I never noticed that. As a matter of fact I see very few people at all from either side opposed to it.
It is time to just decriminalize it nationally.
I have NEVER had any lucky growing it. I never really did it the right way though either....."It's legal now but we won't show you how to grow it".... So STUPID! I am going to try it again just cuz I can.
It's not legal in Florida.
neither is keeping and releasing a PYTHON... but they DO IT
Never tried to grow it, but c'mon, if everybody from undocumented Mexicans to Canadian hosers, to Kentucky hillbillies can grow it by the acre, how can it be that hard? "Legendarily hard to grow"? Sounds like BS to me.
It's also easy to make Meth and refine Heroin for cartels too. That doesn't mean any fool can do it at home.
lots of fools do the meth cooking - it's the sudafed that's the difficult stuff to get - the rest is garden variety chemicals. (highly explosive, but aside from the fire/ explosion risk, pretty simple.) Converting opium to morphine and then to di-acetyl morphine is a bit more sophisticated but not much - as long as you don't expect lab quality purity