Search the Community

I have a spare room (on HVAC) to grow in year round, but also have privacy enough to grow outdoors too. I have just started putting together my grow room, but have not really had a plan- only a goal of having a perpetual grow in and outdoors. My room currently only has: AgroMax original stacker tent (basically a 3x3x2.5 cube) 4' 6-lamp HO T5 (that i've had to stuff into the tent as best I could) 2' 2-lamp HO T5 (not using) 1000w digital HPS/MH Lamp (with adjustable power)- I have hanging from ceiling over the tent. It is a cooltube design with supply/exhaust to outside the house using 6" fan/ducting. I'm using an AutoPot 4-pot system with a 50% cocotek/perlite mix and about an inch of clay rock ball in the bottom of each AutoPot and will be feeding GH Flora Series Nutrients I have a couple of aquarium air pumps and thinking about putting air stones into the bottom of my AutoPots to provide air to the roots (AutoPot sells Aqua Domes or Air Domes, but think this will work too?) I also have a TON of Fire Retardant Heavy Duty wrapping used in scaffolding or other similar work that would probably make for an excellent tent material. But it is white and not sure how lightproof it would be... I don't even know all of the components of a room that would be required for me to grow year round other than light and water, let alone how to set a room up to efficiently do it easily and reliably. In fact, I would like nothing more than to meet someone locally who knows what they are doing to give me a hand with this project rather than suffering through the trial and error mistakes I know are coming thanks to my OCD and accompanying anxiety. I learn well by OJT... Because of the OCD and stuff, I also need to consider making this operation as understandable for me as possible. Once setup, I want to be able to pretty much be able to just follow a plan and pattern to keep things going and learn from over time while I gain confidence that I'm not going to kill everything I touch. I live in the DC area, so I need a good resource like this one for every aspect of the project from setup to harvest. It is all new to me other than a few rough practice grows and allowed me to harvest some seed to practice with so I can start growing strains that work best for OCD, PTSD, Anxiety, etc. I would welcome comments and suggestions on achieving my goals.

27 February Update: One month since Germination Temp: 75.4F RH: 55% PH: 6.17 PPM: 509 Lamp: 1000w IPower digital at 75% power and HPS lamp. Medium: Coco/Perlite Gave them all their GH Flora Series feeding today at 1 month since they popped. All systems go. I noticed that some of the lower foliage wasn't getting enough light, so I did the only things I could think to do: Turned up the power to 75% and ditched the tray I had them in so I could give them more space to breath and grow. I have been rotating them around and turning them periodically, so I'll keep doing that too. I continue to look for them to show sex and may have bogey dope on some bandits in the midst, but will give them some time to know for sure. I am anxious to get some ladies into Autopots so I can start cloning soon!. I resolved my low-RH problem by running two room humidifier's non-stop and actually saw 55% today! It's been around 30-35%, so I'm happy with that and think it has something to do with changing the upstairs thermostat and a rise in outside temperature cause it really shot up. I had been measuring PH and PPM in my bucket after mixing in the nutes. This time I read the runoff from one of them to get a PH of 6.17 and PPM of 509- which is a bit low according to the schedule GH put's out, but I am creating a custom schedule so I could probably give it a boost of something next feed?

Hello Open Growers! Thank you for allowing me to join the community on behalf of WWE. I am already a member of Open Grow as Zrex- the profile I opened my initial account with when I first began looking into using Cannabis. Since that time, my journey has made it abundantly clear that there is a real need for veterans to find support, not only in helping them to understand Cannabis, but literally everything about it- including the culture, how to select strains, how to use different products, where to find it, how to grow it, who to trust, what are the laws... the list goes on and on. As I was having to figure it out and looking for help wherever I could find it, I kept thinking about all of the days that I was sitting at the VA or veterans services office, all of those veterans filling in the room beyond capacity- with veterans standing in the hallway, wondering how many were going through the same thing? How many of them were also thinking about or were already using Cannabis in an effort to improve their lives? What difficulties were they encountering? I feel fortunate because looking at me you'd likely never know that I was disabled. I can walk, talk and get around easily. Still, my experience has been tough and the situation with our laws has become ridiculous... Let me inform you just how ridiculous I mean. So, I first began by using CBD oil that I purchased from a Vape shop in Fredericksburg, Virginia, two or three years ago (ca. 2017). I purchased a 30 ml bottle of Cross Roads 100% CBD oil for about $150.00 which I understand would be a monthly expense at the recommended dosage of 1 ml per day. At about this same time, the Veterans Administration began treating me and I received a diagnosis of OCD and PTSD and began taking their prescribed drugs which threw my life upside down while we found the right med's and dosages for me. On one of my doctor visits I took my CBD oil with me hoping to talk to him about it, because if I was going to start using it regularly, there was no way I could afford $150.00 per month for it and I don't know how other people manage to be honest... Either they are patients or have some means of getting it on insurance or a lot cheaper than I can... All I know, it's out of my reach. So I wanted to talk to him about it. That's when I learned that simply taking the bottle into the VA facility was a Federal Crime. No shit. You can buy this stuff anywhere these days, but sure enough, it is still viewed as a schedule I drug. Not only was it against Federal Law, but I was also breaking VIRGINIA law as well- and I bought the shit literally across the street from the VA in Fredericksburg! I'd like to use it for my disabilities and I also have a Great Pyrenees that is in surgery (as I write) having his leg amputated to remove bone cancer. I'm pretty sure he would benefit from CBD and Cannabis too. But where I live, CBD while ruin your life just like using full blown Cannabis. So, I said fuck it. I'll do both and become an advocate in the process. I am in the process of submitting paperwork for immediate retirement from my government position so I can focus solely on my health and well-being. I've served my country well longer than I needed to by serving my 20 in the military. It's time that I give something back with this effort. While speaking with our veterinarian about our dog's bone cancer, I asked about CBD oil therapy for him. When she heard "CBD" her eyes sparkled and she straightened up and immediately said, "I have heard nothing but wonderful reports about it from both patients and others, but we don't know where to get it!" We live in a time when laws are rapidly changing though and it just so happens that just last year Virginia law changed to allow 5 Cannabis Pharmaceutical Production Regions in the state with expected products to hit the shelves next year I hear. So it sounds like Virginia may be trying to keep its Cannabis in state like others have- meaning someone is going to have to cultivate, process, and produce it all somewhere. I own a horse farm, so it was only natural for me, facing retirement, to start thinking about growing another kind of grass here. I am seeking those opportunities now to be ready when Virginia decides to fix the situation above and bring sensible and responsible change in our laws. In the meantime, I am at risk. I understand and accept that I am. But I also have faith, not so much in society itself, but in what I believe to be its inherent goodness to do the right thing where it finds wrong and punishing me for using CBD (or Cannabis as the case may be) for simply being caught up in it would be wrong... My choice is to continue to live in misery and without relief or move elsewhere. My family has lived in this area since ca. 1654 when they grew Tobacco. I ain't going nowhere... My story isn't unique. It's just one of thousands. You can see by these pictures that my life has been successful and good at times, despite my disabilities that I am sure now led to my dropping out of high school in my junior year to join the military without a diploma. Most of those I knew in the military had a similar story and background. I was born while my family was living in a Quonset Hut in California where my father was stationed in 1962. Lived in poverty my entire life but never knew it because of a hard working mother that raised three kids while working full-time. Dad was never around and if he was, he was drunk and abusive. Again, not an unusual story as those I know in life have similar ones to tell. But some veterans do have unique experiences in addition to the typical life stories that nobody else can or will understand. They are WARRIORS- not because they served. They are WARRIORS because they survived and succeeded despite it. They are deserving of our respect; our trust; and our help. When I go to the VA or veterans service offices- I am committed to reaching out to those around me to let them know that I am here for them- whatever their need may be. I've been there too. I have your back. You can depend on me and I know I can depend on you. Together we can move mountains and change the world. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Can Do! Weed for Warriors just seemed to be a good opportunity for me since I am fighting the battle by myself anyway. Could use some more Warriors!