Do people REALLY think growing marijuana is easy?

[Mr. Greengenes]

I think we all know that the most common pitfall for beginners is 'loving 'em to death'. The turning point in a growers career is when they learn to react to plants rather than expecting the cause and effect to be the other way around. The bust way to avoid loving them to death is not to embrace too many 'recipes' and/or technology and focus on building real horticultural skills.

If we just go out and buy some big piece of tech that we don't completely understand, we may get some success with it initially, but unless we understand it's workings completely, we'll have a hard time growing beyond it when the time comes. Only by seeing and understanding the need for each and every piece of equipment (or ingredient) we use BEFORE it's needed, can we truly work our craft with skill.

 

[ResinKing]

Yeah Ive seen folk on here talking about playing music to there plants hehe when I read something like that it cracks me up everytime...The sad part is I read it quite often..

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

growing weed can be easy growing good weed consistently with no problems is another thing... i know people that grow good weed but still is not the same as mine... good luck on the newbs im in a newly medical state and ive been growing for years. i have many friends that do not know that i grow that are showing me there grows and shit... i see there harvest and want to laugh but they think its wonderful.... to each his own....

 

[aboleth]

Yea, it depends on what you are after. I just want to smoke some good dope, and I love weed, and i've smoked weed for many years. It would almost be a shame not to cultivate some, seeing as how I love it so damn much.

I've grown outdoors with pretty good success, I think after a year of indoor I'll be up to par with about anyone. I'll verify this with pics at a later date

And my opinion is that growing the plant is super easy, but growing an awesome plant takes some serious time, knowledge, money, and TLC. I'm doing my first indoor plants, and I've already made mistakes, but my rooms are almost constructed, and I've done hundreds of hours of research, so I'm hoping my efforts are rewarded with a good grow

 

[SoCaliSmoker]

good luck on the newbs im in a newly medical state and ive been growing for years. i have many friends that do not know that i grow that are showing me there grows and shit... i see there harvest and want to laugh but they think its wonderful.... to each his own....

They always do!


LMAO

 

[FreezerBoy]

I think we all know that the most common pitfall for beginners is 'loving 'em to death'.

Usually, the best thing for the plants is to keep our hands to ourselves. Wanna play with something? That's why god invented pockets.

 

[fizzy187]

lol learned somewhat abit from this thread.

I see it as a learning curve...i never got the chance to have a formal education, learn like the rest of us..especially when edu is paid for by my govt...

Now,i enjoy learning because the diversity of what we do ranges from a variety of industries that you have to delve a little into...such as electrics, irrigation and understanding all the other elements required to maintain the environment you desire.

For each,grower is different, thats why God blessed us with such a diverse plant...all we have to do is know thy plant...and we can put her into various scenarios and acheive a successful harvest.

Its all about the planning your right, even how you veg, topping or not, nute profiles, temperatures to alter the speed of growth/stretch.


See a car doesnt come with an instruction manual, have you noticed?
It is only until your taught or self taught how to operate the car, that you will know how to operate it.
It is only through experience operating with the car, that you develop a knack and a habbitual way of driving for your very own needs..

Suppose you wanted to save fuel, then in a gr youd want a scrog to maximise efficiency over outlay and equipment. You'd want a dialled in enviro that is 'tuned' with the earths current enviro..
Its like knowing to stay in higher gears, driving at 30mph in 5th gear. You only know, if you know...
Whats the use of having a 400hp car if you wont use it,efficiently?


Same goes for genetics, filling up the space you have..is an art form in itself i think...the know how...so diverse that it varies amongst strain.

If we had a book saying the capabilities of our plants, to the core of there genepool. We would probably discover things we would put into practice today...things that will only be discovered through experience otherwise...

That leaves the question,we only know what we know..so is there a hell of a lot more we dont know about plants? Suppose every srain is really a 3 step plant veg, flower, protect. Assuming the 3rd step deploys super trich production in the event of dangerous exposures...3rd step being triggered solely by a means of its life, maybe is we ran some stupid light cycle..we could unlock new possibilities...

I am so lean't right now, mind my rambling!

 

[folkmaster]

Cannabis is by far easiest plant I have ever grown...the biggest problem is hiding it and keeping animals away......seems like the less I feed them the better they turn out...as long as you got good loose soil for root growth....I have seen people have trouble growing it inside, that does have a learning curve...outside, easy as pie....but hell, you guys already know this....

Why laugh at noobs, that's really lame...after all they're noobs...I take their grows seriously and do everything I can to help...if I ever get arrogant about something as easy as growing weed...somebody please shoot me...

 

[Owl Mirror]

Something I've never understood is how easily people dismiss or ignore the natural conditions necessary to grow this plant, indoors or out.

I guess with all these hybrids, one wouldn't even know where to begin seeking valid info.

As you may know, I'm currently growing three strains of landrace marijuana.
Each of these strains is genetically bent towards local conditions.
The soil they naturally grow in, the available nutrients of the soil, the temperatures and seasonal light changes all have a direct effect on how well the plant will grow to maturity.
Even small environmental changes such as a cold spell near the end of harvest time can have a dramatic effect on the final product.

The marijuana growers today have abandoned all this information and seem to think every plant can be forced to drink massive amounts of nutrients, be bombarded by lighting sources that far exceed that of the naturally occurring sunshine found in the particular locals where these strains originated.

Take Afghanica/Indica which is found in the extremely harsh environment of Afghanistan.
It grows quite well, with an extremely potent final product even though it grows in nutrient-poor soils, extreme weather conditions and a shortened growing season.
People think they can stick this plant inside a closet, pump it full of these store bought nutrients, under high powered lights, never taking in to consideration the seasonal fluctuations of water and or temperatures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight

The World Meteorological Organization uses the term "sunshine duration" to mean the cumulative time during a period, that an area receives direct irradiance from the Sun of at least 120 watts per square meter
Direct sunlight has a luminous efficacy of about 93 lumens per watt of radiant flux, which includes infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. Bright sunlight provides illuminance of approximately 100,000 lux or lumens per square meter at the Earth's surface.

Sunlight is a key factor in photosynthesis, a process crucially important for life on Earth.

The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation striking the Earth's atmosphere is 100 to 106 nanometers (nm). This can be divided into five regions in increasing order of wavelengths:[9]

Ultraviolet C or (UVC) range, which spans a range of 100 to 280 nm. The term ultraviolet refers to the fact that the radiation is at higher frequency than violet light (and, hence also invisible to the human eye). Owing to absorption by the atmosphere very little reaches the Earth's surface (Lithosphere). This spectrum of radiation has germicidal properties, and is used in germicidal lamps.
Ultraviolet B or (UVB) range spans 280 to 315 nm. It is also greatly absorbed by the atmosphere, and along with UVC is responsible for the photochemical reaction leading to the production of the Ozone layer.
Ultraviolet A or (UVA) spans 315 to 400 nm. It has been traditionally held as less damaging to the DNA, and hence used in tanning and PUVA therapy for psoriasis.
Visible range or light spans 400 to 700 nm. As the name suggests, it is this range that is visible to the naked eye.
Infrared range that spans 700 nm to 106 nm [1 (mm)]. It is responsible for an important part of the electromagnetic radiation that reaches the Earth. It is also divided into three types on the basis of wavelength:
Infrared-A: 700 nm to 1,400 nm
Infrared-B: 1,400 nm to 3,000 nm
Infrared-C: 3,000 nm to 1 mm.

Is it possible to replicate these conditions, ... in a box ?

 

[Owl Mirror]

haha its amazing what a copy of robert c clarkes book and reading up on how to mix ferts for tomatoes can do for a 14 year olds wallet! now we have the internet and a "1 gram per watt internet god syndrome" haha nah its good and raises the bar, if you grow a plant and it yields buds you have succeeded, always room for improvement, which is 98% of the time genetic anyway.

now we have the internet and a "1 gram per watt internet god syndrome"

My comment on Sunshine above is directly associated with this "1 gram per watt internet god syndrome" you mention IMO

The thing that I believe separates the marijuana growing community is the fact that some folks grow theirs under a dim CFL bulb, others spend vast sums of money filling entire buildings with growing equipment, while others grow outdoors, in the dirt under the sun.

I long for the day when this plant can be freely grown in every backyard that desires to grow it.
I would love to stroll down my block and be able to admire my neighbors flowering tops.
I believe if it were that freely available, the crimes associated with this 'commodity' would disappear.

Re: Community Gardens in Tulsa - zoning change!

 

[Ganja D]

Growing is not easy for me, and never has been. When I started growing I had no internet access, just some old books from ed rosenthal and mel frank and an organic outdoor guide by mountain girl. I was just a kid and lived in a city where the largest wooded areas were filled with annoying suburban hikers and dog walkers. On top of that one of my parents was at the time a very un aware substance abuse counselor.(cool now though) Like GN I also learned growing skills from my grandfather who won awards for his irises orchids and pumpkins. I even used compost from his 50+ year old compost pile for an outdoor crop the year he passed away. Fastest, healthiest growing plants I've ever seen and I was 15 or 16. Everything about growing herb was hard then. I had no help and only self education, passion and experience through trial and error.
Now as a career/life grower with over 10 years on and off experience it's still hard in many ways. My relationship with the plant has evolved to the point of understanding but I still can make an occasional mistake. Mentally the toll of living in fear is a burden most could/would not be able/willing to handle. Everything I've done in my life has been to get to where I am now, a med patient/caregiver. Nothing about it was ever easy except for loving marijuana. If growing is easy I must be a horrible grower. Sorry to ramble for so long wish I could keep going.
Peace everyone.

 

[SoCaliSmoker]

Mentally the toll of living in fear is a burden most could/would not be able/willing to handle. Everything I've done in my life has been to get to where I am now, a med patient/caregiver. Nothing about it was ever easy except for loving marijuana. If growing is easy I must be a horrible grower. Sorry to ramble for so long wish I could keep going.
Peace everyone.

No, no, I enjoyed the post!

The fear factor is always something difficult to make it through, even if you have "a Medical Card" or doctors scripts. Even with the best preparation, it is a full time job and requires a hands-on when the lights turn on.

Plants grow taller (adjusting your lights), plants drink more as they get bigger (filling your rez constantly), a light might burn out (switch it right away), you could have had a power outage and your pump timers and light timers reset (check them everyday), you might get an algae or mold problem, or an insect problem, and the list goes on and on.

You can have it all dialed down, but there is so much more to this than people understand. I actually just had a buddy (who was so disallusioned) that he told me he can't wait til he gets started. He's looking for an apartment for him to live in, and he told me he just wants to do something small. LIKE 6 LIGHTS!

Without a firm understanding of the grow, and especially lights and how much juice you can use, or the cost of the equipment, it's so difficult to just jump in and get started. It's all about the business plan and strategizing. I grew when there was no internet also, so I created this post because I LEARNED firsthand that its not easy. I was speaking from experience.

Thanks for the posts guys and I'm glad this thread has caught steam.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

my dad grew back in the day but quit because of "fear"

he tried to set up a shrimp growing operation, that didnt work out so well haha..

 

[Dr. Purpur]

Growing good weed is like flying a plane. You pay attention to everything! Apply all youve learned. Dont cut corners. Do your very best!

 

[B. Friendly]

old schoolers or the baby boomers think it is easy. Alot of my dads friends say "if i was only growing dope I'd be rich" these guys suck at everything else but believe they would be great growers. Shit hot house head growers get paid big $$$$$ to work a large green house operation.

I spent 2 years in horticulture college and after that continued to make mistake after mistake.

 

[MeanBean]

When I was young, I used to think you needed to mix a black and a white seed together to make a plant.

 

[_Dude]

Growing is easy. Hiding the grow is the hard part.

FB gets it right as usual. Security is far more demanding than the rest.

But I wouldn't call any of it "hard." When I think of "hard" I think of something that takes a lot of sweat or a lot of brains. All growing takes is a bit of both. It takes more dedication than brains or sweat.

 

[Dr. Purpur]

Its easy as long as its easy. Sometimes it grows itself. And sometimes it doesnt. There always seems to be some difficulties. Like attack Caterpillars, or mites from Hell. Rain and wind storm. Neighbors seeing or smelling them. And if you dont know what your doing with Ferts, forget it.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

growing is easy in the aspect you dont need to be up early every morning and out doing strenous manual labor.

it just takes alot of patience, attention to detail, and determination. growing always has a curve ball to throw, from hermies to powder mildew to landlords. the key is to catch your problems quick and adapt to them asap.

 

[steppinRazor]

and steer the fuck clear of getting busted..
ive been kicking myself in the ass lately about that.
im now working a civilian job, i hate it so far to say the least. courts on the 1st of feb you guys. i'm gonna have to take a plea.
pleading guilty was never in the plans from the get go but the state i reside in has some twisted laws, my lawyers head is spinning. FUCK FUCK FUCCCKKK!!