I was on another thread and met another guerrilla grower with over twenty years of experience. We were discussing why would you keep on guerrilla growing if you had indoor op and to boot a legal one. I thought +20 years being a guerrilla needs its own thread.
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+20 Guerrilla
- Thread starter hamstring
- Start date
I have over twenty years of guerrilla growing experience. I mean the real deal. Researching google earth and before goggle earth it was plat maps and straight up sneak a peek. -3 deg F heading out with your dog in the car to do some investigation of new sites i.e. trespassing.
Every year you had to come up with a few new plots. You investigated in the winter and checked them out, not to grow, to get the spring/summer view of your new plot. For me it was always less about sun and water and all about security, security was job 1- always. Can I be seen in the spring digging holes or in the fall pulling harvest.
It wasn’t just taking care of two plots, plant two to pull one. It was a four spots you had to take care of. You had used binos and google earth and drove by a few times. Now it's summer and time to do the real investigation/trespass. I include trespass every time because getting your plants found, there was no distinction to me about plants getting found by the law, ripper, farmer, its all the same. As a midwest guerrilla the best spots are farmland bordering forest or even better lowlands. That means you are trespassing every single time and thats breaking the law. Now if you get caught no where near your plants you still could be on the way to jail. Criminal trespass if they want to push it. Either way your fucked.
If you dont get caught you still have to fight, bargain with, mother nature. Not in your back yard but somewhere you can only visit once per week max.( I always tried for two weeks, more if I could.) You know how much damage can happen in a week. When leaf spot arrived in the midwest or at least the first time I saw it. I wasn’t sure I could grow anymore. Its everywhere now, every plot .It’s just part of the gig now.
After getting my med license a year ago I thought about giving it up . I can grow legal in my house. Why go through all of that?
Every year you had to come up with a few new plots. You investigated in the winter and checked them out, not to grow, to get the spring/summer view of your new plot. For me it was always less about sun and water and all about security, security was job 1- always. Can I be seen in the spring digging holes or in the fall pulling harvest.
It wasn’t just taking care of two plots, plant two to pull one. It was a four spots you had to take care of. You had used binos and google earth and drove by a few times. Now it's summer and time to do the real investigation/trespass. I include trespass every time because getting your plants found, there was no distinction to me about plants getting found by the law, ripper, farmer, its all the same. As a midwest guerrilla the best spots are farmland bordering forest or even better lowlands. That means you are trespassing every single time and thats breaking the law. Now if you get caught no where near your plants you still could be on the way to jail. Criminal trespass if they want to push it. Either way your fucked.
If you dont get caught you still have to fight, bargain with, mother nature. Not in your back yard but somewhere you can only visit once per week max.( I always tried for two weeks, more if I could.) You know how much damage can happen in a week. When leaf spot arrived in the midwest or at least the first time I saw it. I wasn’t sure I could grow anymore. Its everywhere now, every plot .It’s just part of the gig now.
After getting my med license a year ago I thought about giving it up . I can grow legal in my house. Why go through all of that?
This story says it for me anyway.
I had picked a spot where a small creek ran through pasture land. Now old school farmers will change pasture every couple of years after the cows have eaten their way straight to the dirt. So if you stay in touch with some of these pastures, the good ones with lots of untouched lowlands, you can catch one where they are resting it for a couple of years.
I would ride my bike down some railroad tracks and then ditch the bike and walk the tracks for a couple of miles. Once I got closer to the pasture there were some houses that were visible from the tracks during the winter/spring before trees filled in and the corn was a few feet tall. The only safe way to not be seen by anyone and I mean anyone ,was for me to use the ditch along side the railroad tracks. Anyone seen a rail road ditch in the midwest. Its all scrub trees, stinging nettles , black berry and rose vines. Rose vines will tear your flesh right off and the nettles will burn like fire in those cuts. There is no way to bully your way through rose vines.
It took a long time but I hacked a trail through all of that to get past these houses. Even when the corn all grew up so I wasn’t visible I still used my hidden tunnel. Thats what it was, a tunnel through hell. It was over 1/4 mile but less than a 1/2 mile long.
Nice easy walk down railroad tracks. Then a tunnel through the brush. Way easier than my usual plot locations. I had a job where I could disappear for a couple of hours so I made this spot a work day visit each time.
One day I am heading down my tunnel and cross the fence to get into the wooded pasture land that lead to some lowlands I was growing in. I just crossed fence and was walking fast when I almost ran into a trail cam. I stopped and it was pointing away from me. I slowly looked around and saw some huge trails cut through the overgrown pasture. It wasnt hard to find several other trail cams and a tree stand. This hunter has seen my trail I had been using the whole summer and thought he hit the mother load of a deer trail. Not his fault, he was half right. I had used a old deer trail to help me cut threw the brush. Deer were still using it. Not nearly as much as he thought though.
From then on I went in slow. I could easily see the tree stand from the trail along the railroad tracks. I knew bow season was coming up in 20 days or so. I just made sure he/she wasn’t in the tree stand first. Hey, we're guerrillas, we own the forest in the summer, hunters own it in the fall. That is something you live with. I wish no ill will to hunters.
Harvest day comes and I take a day off of work, hightail it down the tracks through my tunnel. No ones in the tree stand. I picked a day in the middle of the week just for that reason. I book down to my plot bring everything down. I find a place and trim as much as I can before sunset. Why carry weight that isn’t bud. Leaves count as weight if you get caught. I can never finish everything and if its possible I will put up a tarp and hang it. Come down and trim when I have the time. Because of the tree stand I thought better of leaving anything behind.
So I pack it all up in one of these huge hockey style duffel bags. Its only ten plants and maybe 1/4 -1/2 lb each when dried. It still weighed a fucking ton wet.
I coming back through the pasture lugging that duffel bag and I look up and there staring back at me from the tree stand is a dude looking at another dude all in camo, me. I literally did a movie walk backwards. I never took my eye off of the person holding a weapon staring back at me. I slowly walked backwards down the trail not once turning away from him. Once out of site I hightailed into the deep brush down by the creek.
I had forgotten, bow hunters are usally the real deal. These guys love the outdoors they are not just going out on Sunday to sit in the tree stand for a couple of hours. Fuck no, this brother was getting home from work and hitting the stand until sunset every night.
He had crawled up in that stand not once realizing I was 200 yards away trimming weed. I never saw him either.
I never got caught and I picked up the weed from where I hid the next day. Shame on a guerrilla for not thinking like another true ghost of the woods, a bow hunter.
So after reading this my guess would be of course a 55 year old man doesn’t want to do this anymore. Well your half right. As mentioned I have been guerrilla growing for over 20 years and this is one of those things you never forget. Another thing happened during that same grow and it was something I never forgot either.
We have wild turkey in IL, thats where I am from. I have seen thousands of them in my years. One thing I have never seen is when they are peeps. I have seen young turkeys many times but not hatchlings/peeps. I saw a mother and a bunch of peeps that season and it was so cool. I remember that just as clearly as I do the bow hunter.
Thats the reason I stay a guerrilla. It keeps you in the bush with mother nature.
I had picked a spot where a small creek ran through pasture land. Now old school farmers will change pasture every couple of years after the cows have eaten their way straight to the dirt. So if you stay in touch with some of these pastures, the good ones with lots of untouched lowlands, you can catch one where they are resting it for a couple of years.
I would ride my bike down some railroad tracks and then ditch the bike and walk the tracks for a couple of miles. Once I got closer to the pasture there were some houses that were visible from the tracks during the winter/spring before trees filled in and the corn was a few feet tall. The only safe way to not be seen by anyone and I mean anyone ,was for me to use the ditch along side the railroad tracks. Anyone seen a rail road ditch in the midwest. Its all scrub trees, stinging nettles , black berry and rose vines. Rose vines will tear your flesh right off and the nettles will burn like fire in those cuts. There is no way to bully your way through rose vines.
It took a long time but I hacked a trail through all of that to get past these houses. Even when the corn all grew up so I wasn’t visible I still used my hidden tunnel. Thats what it was, a tunnel through hell. It was over 1/4 mile but less than a 1/2 mile long.
Nice easy walk down railroad tracks. Then a tunnel through the brush. Way easier than my usual plot locations. I had a job where I could disappear for a couple of hours so I made this spot a work day visit each time.
One day I am heading down my tunnel and cross the fence to get into the wooded pasture land that lead to some lowlands I was growing in. I just crossed fence and was walking fast when I almost ran into a trail cam. I stopped and it was pointing away from me. I slowly looked around and saw some huge trails cut through the overgrown pasture. It wasnt hard to find several other trail cams and a tree stand. This hunter has seen my trail I had been using the whole summer and thought he hit the mother load of a deer trail. Not his fault, he was half right. I had used a old deer trail to help me cut threw the brush. Deer were still using it. Not nearly as much as he thought though.
From then on I went in slow. I could easily see the tree stand from the trail along the railroad tracks. I knew bow season was coming up in 20 days or so. I just made sure he/she wasn’t in the tree stand first. Hey, we're guerrillas, we own the forest in the summer, hunters own it in the fall. That is something you live with. I wish no ill will to hunters.
Harvest day comes and I take a day off of work, hightail it down the tracks through my tunnel. No ones in the tree stand. I picked a day in the middle of the week just for that reason. I book down to my plot bring everything down. I find a place and trim as much as I can before sunset. Why carry weight that isn’t bud. Leaves count as weight if you get caught. I can never finish everything and if its possible I will put up a tarp and hang it. Come down and trim when I have the time. Because of the tree stand I thought better of leaving anything behind.
So I pack it all up in one of these huge hockey style duffel bags. Its only ten plants and maybe 1/4 -1/2 lb each when dried. It still weighed a fucking ton wet.
I coming back through the pasture lugging that duffel bag and I look up and there staring back at me from the tree stand is a dude looking at another dude all in camo, me. I literally did a movie walk backwards. I never took my eye off of the person holding a weapon staring back at me. I slowly walked backwards down the trail not once turning away from him. Once out of site I hightailed into the deep brush down by the creek.
I had forgotten, bow hunters are usally the real deal. These guys love the outdoors they are not just going out on Sunday to sit in the tree stand for a couple of hours. Fuck no, this brother was getting home from work and hitting the stand until sunset every night.
He had crawled up in that stand not once realizing I was 200 yards away trimming weed. I never saw him either.
I never got caught and I picked up the weed from where I hid the next day. Shame on a guerrilla for not thinking like another true ghost of the woods, a bow hunter.
So after reading this my guess would be of course a 55 year old man doesn’t want to do this anymore. Well your half right. As mentioned I have been guerrilla growing for over 20 years and this is one of those things you never forget. Another thing happened during that same grow and it was something I never forgot either.
We have wild turkey in IL, thats where I am from. I have seen thousands of them in my years. One thing I have never seen is when they are peeps. I have seen young turkeys many times but not hatchlings/peeps. I saw a mother and a bunch of peeps that season and it was so cool. I remember that just as clearly as I do the bow hunter.
Thats the reason I stay a guerrilla. It keeps you in the bush with mother nature.
JustSumTomatoes
Indicas make dreams happen
Awesome story brother, it reminds me a lot of my own guerrilla adventures. I've always been an outdoorsman at heart as well, and many of those skills transfered directly over when I began growing in the great outdoors. I must say there are many similarities between deer hunting and guerrilla growing so it's no wonder why the two frequently cross paths. One thing I've come to notice in all of my plots that have been successful is that they are always in close proximity to deer bedding. If the deer feel safe there then so do the plants. Just have to keep the deer out lol.
Even though I dream of growing indoors at some point, the plausible deniability and huge annual harvests always keep me committed to outside. I often wonder if I would get bored quickly in a legal environment growing inside, but honestly the extra time I'd have and relief of stress from the risk would totally be worth it. At the end of the day I need meds and that's what it comes down to. The stories that have come from the adventures have definitely been worth it though.
Even though I dream of growing indoors at some point, the plausible deniability and huge annual harvests always keep me committed to outside. I often wonder if I would get bored quickly in a legal environment growing inside, but honestly the extra time I'd have and relief of stress from the risk would totally be worth it. At the end of the day I need meds and that's what it comes down to. The stories that have come from the adventures have definitely been worth it though.
I’ve been doing guerilla off and on for just over 20yrs. If I had a legal indoor setup it’d be used as a platform to enhance my guerilla efforts. I LOVE big plants and long spears...there’s something awe-inspiring about a 12ft + sativa that gets me going.
Peace
F2F
F2F welcome aboard to the +20 club.
Although I have never really grown a true sativa I have grown some trees before.
I agree its cool to see them and the giant buds. Walking into a plot with 10 trees growing is awe inspiring for sure.
I have never had much luck with huge plants. They blow over to easy and many limbs get broken. I like the 5-6ft 1/2 lb plant.
JST, you nailed it. Its more than just growing weed but the growing is the catalyst that keeps pulling you out there no matter what the weather or risks. I'm sure its the same for deer hunters. I have never had any problems with deer. I try to never grow directly on a deer path. I would agree deer pick their bedding places carefully so they may be a good tell as a guerrilla.
I hope you get to grow indoors too brother. I feel like its closer than you think.
It's too difficult to find a place to park and go water the plants in the daytime. At night is much more difficult. Also the use of cameras on so many buildings hampers the search. I have been looking for years for a place I can park and get back to a plot undetected. So difficult in the day of security cameras. Plus the amount of people everywhere it's crazy
I'm just 60 and about to reprise an outdoor guerilla site I used successfully 3 years ago. I've mainly grown indoor but outdoor is so much more fun and challenging. My site is in logging regrowth, no hunters but termites always take a big chunk of the potential yield . Just hoping my dodgy knee can still take it.
JustSumTomatoes
Indicas make dreams happen
Look for chunks of land hiding in plain sight. A mountain bike is also a useful tool and is quiet. Water is your best friend, not only as a giver of life but as a physical barrier. Use google earth to find potential sites then scout on foot. Keep your face and head covered, the virus right now gives you a good alibi. Stay safe.
Geez hamstring, now you've got me second-guessing myself! I'll be 62 this month and I've been guerrilla growing without a year off since 1997 - however 2021 is the year I thought I might take a break. Reading yours and JustSumTomatoes' tales has me all nostalgic and wondering if I'll miss the adventures and the wildlife.
But it's been legal for me since October 17, 2018 (I'll never forget that day!). In 2019 I kept my swamp site and I'm glad I did because my four beautiful backyard plants were ripped off on a rainy night in late September. I had kept the swamp going because of exactly that fear. 2020 was even crazier for backyard rip-offs but last year I invested in fencing, lighting, cameras and alarms and harvested about 4 lbs off 4 plants. And I got another couple from the swamp. Best year ever. Which means I don't have to have to wade through cold swamp water in the spring to plant my garden this year... if I don't want to.
I guess that's the question. I don't need to but do I want to?
I'm not on here much but I think you know from my posts how much I love guerrilla growing, especially swamp growing. And I might be getting old but I sure don't feel old so the work is not a problem. What has me sold on skipping the swamp really is how much better my backyard plants did than the swamp ever did. Guerrilla, it's always something. In the backyard, other than the threat of a rip-off, it was smooth sailing and I got to commune with a Cafe Racer, a Blue Hawaiian, a Baby's Breath and a White Widow every single day!
I took an occasional job with a local medical marijuana facility. I go in for a half day once or twice a week (not now, I'm locking down for a bit more) to help with harvest and trimming. So I've been able to get up close and personal with indoor opps for the first time and I can see the appeal. The plants are gorgeous but outdoor still has my heart. And I believe there's a cannabinoid - maybe THCv - that is activated by high levels of UV light that are hard to reproduce indoors. So until I can move to the tropics, what could be better than my own backyard?
Thanks for the thread hamstring. Tell some more stories. If it's not boring anyone, I'll tell a few myself!
But it's been legal for me since October 17, 2018 (I'll never forget that day!). In 2019 I kept my swamp site and I'm glad I did because my four beautiful backyard plants were ripped off on a rainy night in late September. I had kept the swamp going because of exactly that fear. 2020 was even crazier for backyard rip-offs but last year I invested in fencing, lighting, cameras and alarms and harvested about 4 lbs off 4 plants. And I got another couple from the swamp. Best year ever. Which means I don't have to have to wade through cold swamp water in the spring to plant my garden this year... if I don't want to.
I guess that's the question. I don't need to but do I want to?
I'm not on here much but I think you know from my posts how much I love guerrilla growing, especially swamp growing. And I might be getting old but I sure don't feel old so the work is not a problem. What has me sold on skipping the swamp really is how much better my backyard plants did than the swamp ever did. Guerrilla, it's always something. In the backyard, other than the threat of a rip-off, it was smooth sailing and I got to commune with a Cafe Racer, a Blue Hawaiian, a Baby's Breath and a White Widow every single day!
I took an occasional job with a local medical marijuana facility. I go in for a half day once or twice a week (not now, I'm locking down for a bit more) to help with harvest and trimming. So I've been able to get up close and personal with indoor opps for the first time and I can see the appeal. The plants are gorgeous but outdoor still has my heart. And I believe there's a cannabinoid - maybe THCv - that is activated by high levels of UV light that are hard to reproduce indoors. So until I can move to the tropics, what could be better than my own backyard?
Thanks for the thread hamstring. Tell some more stories. If it's not boring anyone, I'll tell a few myself!
JustSumTomatoes
Indicas make dreams happen
Two heads, nice to see you back! Your swamp journals are epic! That Baby's breath variety with the pink stigmas was pretty amazing to see, you still have that one? I had started a swamp grow last season and got ripped myself. Shit totally sucks, but hey it's all part of the game. Being able to grow in my own yard would be a blessing. I'd love to hear some of your tales... We could all kick our boots off around the campfire and shoot stories back and fourth.
Hey JustSumTomatoes, I do have Baby's Breath again. In fact I'm firing up a few fat bowls of it right now! I devoted one hole in my backyard to it, planted some 6-7 year old seed I still had and allowed a solid male to pollinate two pink females. It still smokes very nicely even with the odd seed buried deep in the bud. I harvested a bit early for some redemption. This what the Baby's Breath looked like on harvest day - September 25 - exactly one year to the day after I got ripped off.
I'm checking it out in this pic from September 18. The Baby's Breath were over 6 feet tall but looked small compared to the other three plants. What a great year. I didn't love caging the garden but it worked and the plants seemed very happy regardless. It actually helped a lot when it got windy!
I'm checking it out in this pic from September 18. The Baby's Breath were over 6 feet tall but looked small compared to the other three plants. What a great year. I didn't love caging the garden but it worked and the plants seemed very happy regardless. It actually helped a lot when it got windy!
rod58
Active member
great stories boys ,..i've been growing outdoors now for 44 years and still love it .. on and off i've tried indoor but it's just not for me . paranoia , maybe a bit . or maybe it's the sheer bulk that i can do outside compared to inside , haha on a good year !
i don't think i've ever missed a year , sure i've had some very poor ones and then there's the absolute ripper years where being a single operator i can't tell or show a soul .
those very early mornings , a slight dew and the grass is wet , i'm wet but i'm very cautious on my approach to my patch and i don't care about the time , only care about my freedom !
i have always grown multiple patches , spreading the risk i guess and being in the driest continent on earth it certainly pays me to . and it makes me a better gardener for sure .
i'm nearly 63 and i do now question why i'm still doing this .
will i give it up ? no , somehow i doubt it . i don't play tennis , nor cricket or football , or any other sport for that matter .
the things i've seen in the gloom of the dawn and some of the things i've done i could never replicate in "real" life .
this pic was of a strain i only knew as "Rock" and it was one of nine patches . haha twas a good year !
i don't think i've ever missed a year , sure i've had some very poor ones and then there's the absolute ripper years where being a single operator i can't tell or show a soul .
those very early mornings , a slight dew and the grass is wet , i'm wet but i'm very cautious on my approach to my patch and i don't care about the time , only care about my freedom !
i have always grown multiple patches , spreading the risk i guess and being in the driest continent on earth it certainly pays me to . and it makes me a better gardener for sure .
i'm nearly 63 and i do now question why i'm still doing this .
will i give it up ? no , somehow i doubt it . i don't play tennis , nor cricket or football , or any other sport for that matter .
the things i've seen in the gloom of the dawn and some of the things i've done i could never replicate in "real" life .
this pic was of a strain i only knew as "Rock" and it was one of nine patches . haha twas a good year !
JustSumTomatoes
Indicas make dreams happen
@twoheads What a beautiful variety! I bet it's really mold resistant too. That's great that you are preserving it. I've never grown something that's produced pink pistols!
@rod58 44 years at the game that's epic! What were the varieties even like back then? I bet you've seen a lot of progress in the quality of genetics over the years.
@rod58 44 years at the game that's epic! What were the varieties even like back then? I bet you've seen a lot of progress in the quality of genetics over the years.
rod58
Active member
mate , your right there ! massive changes indeed .
even trying to get any seed when i started was a mission .
there were no "named" varieties back then and mofs were the order of the day . skunk #1 and #2 were around if you knew where to look .
now of course we're all spoilt with choices but really .. weeds weed ..
grow it right and mostly its all the same .
I cant believe I missed this. Its so good to hear from you two heads. That baby's breath looks sweeeet!!
Indoor has been a huge learning curve for me. Makes you feel like a rank amateur.
Sorry to hear about the plants getting ripped. Its almost safer in the bush.
I am totally envious of your little side job at medical marijuana facility. I could use some OJT myself.Id love to hear a story or two. I know you have some good ones. You taught me everything I know about swamp growing. You get better sun in the swamp than any other plot location. Lets hear one brother.
My growing skills all come from standing on the shoulders of giants.
I just want to pay homage to Wally Duck. I know Wally is still around under a different handle. His thread about striking seedlings in the patch was a game changer for me. Without this thread there would be no swamp grow or any grow for old hamstring. Wally taught me that I didn’t have to ever worry about plants in my house. Everything can be done at the patch. I wouldn’t be here without this craft.
I just want to pay homage to Wally Duck. I know Wally is still around under a different handle. His thread about striking seedlings in the patch was a game changer for me. Without this thread there would be no swamp grow or any grow for old hamstring. Wally taught me that I didn’t have to ever worry about plants in my house. Everything can be done at the patch. I wouldn’t be here without this craft.
Prelude To a Swamp Grow
I couldn’t do a swamp grow without paying my respects to Two Heads.
I first saw Two Heads on threads on OG. We never had a chance to talk until we both came over to IC mag. After OG went down.
Everything I know about swamp growing came from his great threads. Those visually stunning baby breath grows. I have never smoked babies breath but if it smokes as good as it looks, Oy vey!!
Years after reading Two Heads threads I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I started all my seedlings in the swamp before transplanting them so I understood the enviroment pretty well.
Da Swamp
My chosen area was a forest preserve . It was relatively new, used to be private land. Even though it was a forest preserve it was "no trespassing", not open to the public. That shits like a guerrilla magnet to me. Less people equals less rippers.
Its a beautiful peace of land encompassing more than 5 miles along a small river. No wonder the local government purchased it. Lowlands forest with swamps and marshland. Limestone cliffs, just amazing. The forest contains many small swamps that hold open water all year around. Bird sanctuary city.
The best growing locations in this preserve are the marshes. They are covered in low growing shrubs but no trees. They are almost impassable in the spring but in the summer you could die out there stumbling around is these things. They are up to ten foot in diameter, 7 ft tall bushes with two inch thick branches. When the grasses and other swamp vegetation is 6 feet high you are tripping over branches every second. I have literally almost gotten heat stroke wandering around lost in these things. One of the pros of growing in the swamp, endless sun.
For that reason and others a swamp grow, for me, starts in May before all the vegetative grow starts. Double edge sword easier to traverse but less security.
1st Trip
In early May one morning before daylight I bring twenty 5 gal camo
buckets , pair of chest waders, slow release ferts, and some camo tarps. Its about a 45 minute round trip to my swamp location and back through the forest. The waders, buckets and ferts get covered in a tarp just outside of the marsh I intend to use.
The plan was to grow twenty plants all in 5 gallon buckets . My enviroment contained a couple inches of standing water in the spring down to just moist earth in the summer. Buckets are favored over smart bags because they would get too wet.
Its funny in 10 acres of marsh and there are really only one or two real good grow locations. It never ceases to amaze me, guerrilla growers are like wolverines, we need 200 square miles to sustain our livelihood. Like I have said many times before its all a bargain with mother nature. You don’t always get what you want.
Second trip prep starts with taping black garbage bags over the promix bags. In my best Jerry Senifeild impression, Why! are promix bags not camouflage!
During the first trip I took the time to move downed logs and brush so I would have relatively safe unloading area.
2nd trip
I take the day off of work and head down to the drop off site before daylight. This is in the middle of May so around 4:30 am. The drop off site is an underpass of a small river. People fish in the area so there is a path where people drive down by the river to fish. Its in a rural area but this road is heavily used to and from the small town.
I pull in and pull under the bridge . I am out of site and its still dark out. I turn out all of my dome lights or lights that come on automatically when the vehicle door opens. I get out and take my bike light with me. I turn it on and slowly start unloading the promix bales. I have to turn off the light, stop and freeze every time I hear a car coming over the bridge. I’m not just unloading the promix under the bridge, thats security suicide , I have to carry them to a location in the woods near by. This way I can haul them to my secondary staging area. There will three staging areas in all.
Nothing at all related to cannabis is left in the vehicle, nothing!. Uber anxiety with cars driving by and you are carrying promix bales through an area that demands knee high water proof boots.
Back and forth 8 times to get all the promix bales out before daylight or the police show up ,which ever comes first. It doesn’t take sherlock homes to figure it out, “Elementary Watson this man is growing fire in the swamp”.
I get done unloading the bales and I drive 4 miles away park the vehicle and pull my bike out. I ride my bike 4 miles, my fingers are frozen even in gloves, by the time I get there. 40 degrees F at 5:30 , hide the bike under a camo tarp and dead grass and sticks near by.
Its a 45min round trip to the staging area 3. One problem, the drop off site is very visible from the road. May 15th the first leaves are bursting out. Camo clothing works better but you can still see a couple 100 yards into any forest.
I have one of those aluminum frame backpacks with a fold down shelf . I load up each promix bale one at a time and bring it to staging area #2. Staging area #2 is far enough into the bush that the cars driving by can’t see your movement. This will be the staging area before the long trip to staging area #3 outside the marsh. This also has to be done by 7:30ish, before the 8:00 traffic rush to work.
Its 7:30 and I already spent 3 hrs of terror getting everything unload to secure location. . Finally at 8:00 I get to burn some of this anxious energy . You are carrying 8 bales of promix one at a time on a 45 minute round trip to the the final staging area #3.
Dude 8 hrs into this and paranoia starts setting in pretty hard. At some time during this time period I was sure someone was watching me. I had seen a glint of light, a reflection off of something shinny. I had convinced myself that this had to be man made. It had to be a glint of light off a forest preserve officer’s spy glasses.
Crazy but true. I left two bales of promix at staging area #2 and came back next week to finish the job.
Finial trip
Once everything is at staging area #3 you have to put on the hip waders and trudge through knee high swamp water to reach the grow location. That takes another 3 hrs and my legs are rubbed raw from the wadders rubbing against my skin. You break each bale apart and wet them throughly. Keeping the hip wadders on the whole time. Once all twenty buckets are filled with you promix you have to dump each one out on a tarp and add a 1/2 cup of slow release ferts. Mix well again and put it back in each bucket. All twenty buckets. --------------------D-U-D-E!!
Thats my prelude to a swamp grow. Its funny because thats why guerrilla growing is so addictive. Its more about the trip than the destination. That and the weed you get to smoke hehehe.
I couldn’t do a swamp grow without paying my respects to Two Heads.
I first saw Two Heads on threads on OG. We never had a chance to talk until we both came over to IC mag. After OG went down.
Everything I know about swamp growing came from his great threads. Those visually stunning baby breath grows. I have never smoked babies breath but if it smokes as good as it looks, Oy vey!!
Years after reading Two Heads threads I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I started all my seedlings in the swamp before transplanting them so I understood the enviroment pretty well.
Da Swamp
My chosen area was a forest preserve . It was relatively new, used to be private land. Even though it was a forest preserve it was "no trespassing", not open to the public. That shits like a guerrilla magnet to me. Less people equals less rippers.
Its a beautiful peace of land encompassing more than 5 miles along a small river. No wonder the local government purchased it. Lowlands forest with swamps and marshland. Limestone cliffs, just amazing. The forest contains many small swamps that hold open water all year around. Bird sanctuary city.
The best growing locations in this preserve are the marshes. They are covered in low growing shrubs but no trees. They are almost impassable in the spring but in the summer you could die out there stumbling around is these things. They are up to ten foot in diameter, 7 ft tall bushes with two inch thick branches. When the grasses and other swamp vegetation is 6 feet high you are tripping over branches every second. I have literally almost gotten heat stroke wandering around lost in these things. One of the pros of growing in the swamp, endless sun.
For that reason and others a swamp grow, for me, starts in May before all the vegetative grow starts. Double edge sword easier to traverse but less security.
1st Trip
In early May one morning before daylight I bring twenty 5 gal camo
buckets , pair of chest waders, slow release ferts, and some camo tarps. Its about a 45 minute round trip to my swamp location and back through the forest. The waders, buckets and ferts get covered in a tarp just outside of the marsh I intend to use.
The plan was to grow twenty plants all in 5 gallon buckets . My enviroment contained a couple inches of standing water in the spring down to just moist earth in the summer. Buckets are favored over smart bags because they would get too wet.
Its funny in 10 acres of marsh and there are really only one or two real good grow locations. It never ceases to amaze me, guerrilla growers are like wolverines, we need 200 square miles to sustain our livelihood. Like I have said many times before its all a bargain with mother nature. You don’t always get what you want.
Second trip prep starts with taping black garbage bags over the promix bags. In my best Jerry Senifeild impression, Why! are promix bags not camouflage!
During the first trip I took the time to move downed logs and brush so I would have relatively safe unloading area.
2nd trip
I take the day off of work and head down to the drop off site before daylight. This is in the middle of May so around 4:30 am. The drop off site is an underpass of a small river. People fish in the area so there is a path where people drive down by the river to fish. Its in a rural area but this road is heavily used to and from the small town.
I pull in and pull under the bridge . I am out of site and its still dark out. I turn out all of my dome lights or lights that come on automatically when the vehicle door opens. I get out and take my bike light with me. I turn it on and slowly start unloading the promix bales. I have to turn off the light, stop and freeze every time I hear a car coming over the bridge. I’m not just unloading the promix under the bridge, thats security suicide , I have to carry them to a location in the woods near by. This way I can haul them to my secondary staging area. There will three staging areas in all.
Nothing at all related to cannabis is left in the vehicle, nothing!. Uber anxiety with cars driving by and you are carrying promix bales through an area that demands knee high water proof boots.
Back and forth 8 times to get all the promix bales out before daylight or the police show up ,which ever comes first. It doesn’t take sherlock homes to figure it out, “Elementary Watson this man is growing fire in the swamp”.
I get done unloading the bales and I drive 4 miles away park the vehicle and pull my bike out. I ride my bike 4 miles, my fingers are frozen even in gloves, by the time I get there. 40 degrees F at 5:30 , hide the bike under a camo tarp and dead grass and sticks near by.
Its a 45min round trip to the staging area 3. One problem, the drop off site is very visible from the road. May 15th the first leaves are bursting out. Camo clothing works better but you can still see a couple 100 yards into any forest.
I have one of those aluminum frame backpacks with a fold down shelf . I load up each promix bale one at a time and bring it to staging area #2. Staging area #2 is far enough into the bush that the cars driving by can’t see your movement. This will be the staging area before the long trip to staging area #3 outside the marsh. This also has to be done by 7:30ish, before the 8:00 traffic rush to work.
Its 7:30 and I already spent 3 hrs of terror getting everything unload to secure location. . Finally at 8:00 I get to burn some of this anxious energy . You are carrying 8 bales of promix one at a time on a 45 minute round trip to the the final staging area #3.
Dude 8 hrs into this and paranoia starts setting in pretty hard. At some time during this time period I was sure someone was watching me. I had seen a glint of light, a reflection off of something shinny. I had convinced myself that this had to be man made. It had to be a glint of light off a forest preserve officer’s spy glasses.
Crazy but true. I left two bales of promix at staging area #2 and came back next week to finish the job.
Finial trip
Once everything is at staging area #3 you have to put on the hip waders and trudge through knee high swamp water to reach the grow location. That takes another 3 hrs and my legs are rubbed raw from the wadders rubbing against my skin. You break each bale apart and wet them throughly. Keeping the hip wadders on the whole time. Once all twenty buckets are filled with you promix you have to dump each one out on a tarp and add a 1/2 cup of slow release ferts. Mix well again and put it back in each bucket. All twenty buckets. --------------------D-U-D-E!!
Thats my prelude to a swamp grow. Its funny because thats why guerrilla growing is so addictive. Its more about the trip than the destination. That and the weed you get to smoke hehehe.
