An AWESOME setup for growing pot -- it's portable,
THE PORT-A-CLOSET

Don't let the price of pot bum you out.... Fight back! For
less than the going price of an ounce of decent connoisseur
herb, you can build your own portable skunk factory follow
ing our Poor Starving Graduate Student's design. It's neat
and discreet and capable of producing six ounces in less
than four months.

Written by Ed Rosenthal
Typed and edited by Head Crusher

I recently met a grower who had a unique and innovative
method of cultivating. He also had a number of problems to
overcome before he could put it to use. Poor Starving
Graduate Student (PSGS), as he wishes to be known, needed a
discreet and unobtrusive system, but he had very little
space in which to work. To make matters more difficult, he
would have to relocate three times during the year to
complete his post-graduate research. Lacking time and money,
PSGS designed his "Port-A-Closet."

MATERIALS
To build it, PSGS had to do some shopping at thrift stores,
and visited three before finding a metal closet the right
size: 38" by 28" by 6'. After sanding away the rust spots,
he spray-painted it a color matching the room in which it
would be placed. He also purchase 25 pounds of aquarium
gravel, 10 1-1/2 gallon plastic plant containers (each
measuring about 8" across at the top) and 25 3" containers.

PSGS also found scrap wood, including 1" x 3"s, 2" x 4"s,
and 4" x 4"s. He followed sales at home improvement and
discount stores, where he bought eight ceramic incandescent
sockets, on 50-watt high pressure sodium lamp (HPS), two
six-plug outlet strips (with circuit breakers), a heavy-duty
6" extension cord, a 24-hour timer, plastic houseware trays
measuring 14" x 9" and a heavy-duty plastic drop cloth. He
had planned to buy some aluminum foil to line the closet;
instead, he found a torn "space blanket" someone had left on
the street.

While gathering the materials to build the system, PSGS
was constantly on the lookout for discarded potted plants.
Most of these were poinsettias tossed after the season.
Different pots contained different mixes, mostly wood bark
and compost, vermiculite, perlite, peat moss and coconut
hull. The various grow media were shaken from the roots of
the discarded plants into a large box. Last to be added to
the mix was a discarded bag of unused foam rubber bits.

CONSTRUCTION

The inner walls of the cabinet were lined with the 6' x 5'
space blanket. (Areas not covered by the blanket were lined
with aluminum foil.) Next, the lights were installed: The
50-watt HPS lamp was hung from the built-in hanger bar using
several pieces of nylon cord. The side-lighting, comprised
of four 8" circular-tube fluorescent fixtures, was then
added. Each light was screwed into ceramic light-bulb
sockets spaced 15" apart and secured on 1" x 3" boards. Two
of the lights were hung from the bar; the other two were
hung along the back wall using eye hooks screwed into the
top of the cabinet. To do this, PSGS drilled two holes
through the top of the unit, screwed hooks through the holes
and held them in place with thin pieces of wood.

Using a hacksaw and a pair of metal shears, a 6" hole was
cut in the top of the closet, and a small fan (held in place
using the technique used to hold the hooks) was installed
for air circulation. Vibration noise from the fan was
eliminated by placing a piece of foam rubber between the
wood and metal. To allow fresh air into the grow space, a
4" hole was cut in the lower back of the closet.

The lights and fan were plugged into two six-outlet exten
sion cords with circuit breakers, also hung from the hanger
bar. These, in turn were plugged into a heavy-duty exten
sion cord run into an outlet near the closet.
The bottom of the closet was lined with two layers of 4 mm
polyethylene, attached to the sides of the closet with duct
tape. This helps prevent spills from leaving the closet.

IMPLEMENTATION

PSGS mixed his pot-luck medium thoroughly, adding 25 pounds
of aquarium gravel. The result was heavy. When he added
water/nutrient solution, the medium felt very porous, moist
... almost wet but nonetheless airy. The medium was poured
in the small containers.

PSGS had been planning to grew for about six months and had
been saving seed. A few were found in some stash sinsemilla,
and some were collected from friends. All were domestic.

The seeds were planted two per container, about 1/4" deep.
The pots were placed in trays under the HPS lamp only. (The
fluorescents were loosened in their sockets and left off.)
The containers were watered with a diluted nutrient solution;
to keep them moist, plastic bags were placed across
their tops. The seeds germinated over a two-week period.

PSGS used two very popular brands of fairly complete fertil
izer purchased at a local garden center. He noticed that
neither of them contained magnesium (Mg), so Epsom salts
were added to the nutrient solution.

About two weeks after germination, when the plants were
about 8" tall, the lights were turned down to 12 hours per
day to force sex. All the plants began to flower 10-15 days
after that. The males were pulled, leaving 16 pots with
females and 21 plants total. Only eight females were need
ed. Five of the plants looked less vigorous than the rest
and were pulled immediately. The eight best were planted in
the large containers and the light was then put on continuous
illumination.

When the plants were between 10" to 15" tall -- about five
weeks after germination -- the bottom layer of fluorescents
was turned on so that the plants received light from the
side as well as from above. At the same time, the tops of
the plants were cut to even out length and to encourage
branching. When the tops were between 18" to 24" tall --
about two and a half months after germination -- the second
group of fluorescents were turned on and the plats were
pruned again. Two weeks later, the light cycle was reduced
to 12 hours per day to induce flowering.

THE WICK SYSTEM

PSGS wanted to try the wick system of irrigation. He began
by cutting a 4" x 4" into wood blocks, which he place under
the containers to raise them above the trays. (The trays
served as reservoirs). He then cut eight pieces of 3/8"
nylon cord -- the water wick -- long enough to run across
the bottom and out both sides of each container to the
tray's base.

To get the wick system going, PSGS simply filled the trays
with water/nutrient solution. However, since he enjoyed
hand-watering so much, he used the wicks only once during a
five-day period when he was away.

FINISHING TOUCHES
When the plants started to flower, they turned quite odor-
iferous. PSGS solved the problem with a negative ion generator,
which he purchased at a thrift shop for $15. He placed
the unit on top of the closet, and it zapped the odors as
they blew out of the fan hole.

PSGS harvested the plants 70-85 days later. His yield was
about six ounces of very high quality bud. Soon after, his
post-graduate research at the location was complete....PSGS
temporarily shut down his " Port-A-Closet," packed it up
along with his other furniture, and set off for a new loca
tion.

EQUIPMENT AND COSTS

Metal closet: $25
Spray paint: $2
Aquarium gravel: $3
1-1/2 gallon containers (10): $2.50
3" and 4" pots (25): $2.50
Incandescent sockets (8): $7.92
50-watt HPS unit: $39.95
Screw-in fluorescents (8): $39.60
Six-way strip w/breaker (2): $15.96
Extension cord: $5.99
24-hour timer: $6.99
Negative-ion Generator: $15.00
Plastic houseware trays: $11.92
Drop cloth: $2.99
Planting medium: Free
Space Blanket: Free
Aluminum foil (75 ft.): $2.21
Fertilizer (1 lb each of two popular brands): $6.34
Epsom salts (2 1/2 lb): $.99
Tax: $15.27

Electricity (852 kWh) @ $.12 kWh: $102.24

TOTAL: $308.36

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