Grow your own - Part 2

--=> An Informational file from Perlious Nation [1991] <=--

To better familiarize yourself with the growing of marijuana indoors, you
will need a manual. This article does not carry you through the harvesting
stage and, besides, you may have problems peculiar to your own circumstances.
The best manual is Ed Rosenthal's "Marijuana Grower's Handbook, Revised-Indoor/
Greenhouse Edition", $19.95 $4.00 for UPS. if you must have it sent to
your P.O. box, instead of by UPS, send $6.00 for first class mail. Their
address is: Quick Trading Co., P.O. Box 477, San Francisco, CA 94101.
(MS - The company may no longer exist. I have not researched it.)

If you plan to sell marijuana and even harder stuff to Russian occupiers
or Cuban invaders, you'll want the full range of knowledge concerning the dope
field. For all this you'll need to subscribe to High Times, P.O. Box 410, Mt.
Morris, IL 61054. $29.95 for 12 issues. (MS - Once again this company may no
longer be in existence.)

Growing Cabinet

This growing cabinet is unique in the way it is built and lighted. The
construction is simply 2x4 construction with some 1x2's around the top and
1x12's around the bottom. It is enclosed on the sides, back and top with
large sheets of cardboard salvaged from refrigerator cartons at a local
appliance store. The lumber was actually scraps picked up here and there.
The main costs in the system were the lights, timer and heating pad. Buying
these items at a local discount department store cost approximately $47.00.
He utilized an aquarium pump in the nutrient solution which was an additional
$5.00. The only other item purchased was a gallon of white latex exterior
paint. He found it on sale for $7.00 at a local hardware store. This brought
the total outlay of cash to $59.00 for the actual materials and parts that he
purchased. He used scrounged lumber and nails for the basic construction.
You should be able to duplicate the same cabinet for under $75.00, depending
on how much you can scrounge.

To build the cabinet he simply cut the parts and nailed the basic frame
together(as indicated). Then he stapled the cardboard to the outside. He
left the front open and covered it with more cardboard held in place by small
pieces of wood which would turn on a nail. You can use plywood, cardboard, or
whatever is handy. The idea is to totally enclose the cabinet and then paint
all interior surfaces with exterior white latex paint. This gives you
excellent light reflection.

The racks that the plant containers actually sit on are a couple of
pieces of 2x2 with 1x2 slats running across them. He did not paint these
parts.

When setting up the cabinet he laid down the heating pad and covered the
entire base of the cabinet with several layers of newspapers. On top of this
was placed two layers of clear plastic. The plastic was brought up the sides
of the cabinet all around to a height of about eight inches. This made the
container in which the nutrient was held.

The lights are just plain shop lights sold in most shopping centers.
They use four-foot long tubes. He installed three sets of these lights which
increased the amount of lighting about 50% over the normal recommended. This
was a key factor in producing a crop faster. The plants had plenty of
nutrients, proper heating and an excess amount of light which is the governing
factor in their growth.

Other factors that allowed him to have a six and a half month crop in
nine weeks was the special medium he used in the plant containers. He used
three parts commercial potting soil, one part styrofoam pellets and four parts
compost. His compost consisted of rabbit manure but you can use any good
compost to achieve the same results. The other factor is that he used a
wick-type nutrient feeder. This is simply braided nylon rope (he used 1/2
inch diameter) cut into lengths that will circle around and up inside your
container and then extend well down into the solution. The rope acts as a
wick and carries nutrient solution to the plant roots.

For nutrient solutions he used Peters brand soluble plant food. From the
time the seedlings were planted until they were about to bud, he used Peters
20-20-20. Then he switched to Peters 15-30-15 for the flowering cycle.

Instructions for the amounts of chemical to be added to the water for
growing the various types of plant are on the containers.

When making up your nutrient solutions the most important factor is the
ph balance. He found that his city water supply was too alkaline for the
feeding of his plants. The testing for ph was done with a common aquarium
water test kit, bought at any pet shop.

A ph count of 6 to 7 is necessary so that the nutrients are not locked
up and the plants are easily able to move them. An ideal range of 6.2 to 6.8
should be maintained if possible. Since his water was too alkaline he added
small amounts of vinegar until the proper range was attained. If yours is too
acid, add baking soda to bring it down to the proper level. This is one of
the key elements of success. If the plants can't use the nutrients they won't
grow. If the ph is correct and they have plenty of light and carbon dioxide
they will grow like mad. The plant mix containing compost will add more
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in the cabinet. You can also add carbon
dioxide with chunks of dry ice.

He started his seeds in wet paper towels and put them in peat pots with
potting soil as soon as the shells of the seeds began to crack open. These
were then grown under 24 hour lighting until well established; about two
weeks. Next, they were planted in one gallon containers and put in the cabinet
with a growing cycle of 24 hour lighting. Lower the lights to about six
inches above the plants. As the plants grow, raise the lights. The lights
are hung by chain or thin rope.

When the plants are about 3 1/2 feet tall, turn on your timer to allow
12 hours of light and 12 hours darkness. The important factor here is to not
allow any light to interrupt the dark cycle. This is also the time to change
your nutrient solution to a 15-30-15 for the flowering cycle.

If you want to harvest just buds and a little leaf, you can turn back the
light cycle to 24 hours a day for a week. This puts the plants into a forced
growth period. Then go back to 12 hours dark and 12 hours light. Your plants
will begin to flower again without having to spend a lot of time growing new
stalks and leaves. This is called "regeneration" and, using this system, you
can harvest five or six crops of buds a year.