Grow Your Own: Item List/Seeds

Continuing from yesterday, I want to let folks know exactly what they should be focusing on when purchasing items to start their own marijuana grow op. Let's get started.

Item Categories

It really all depends on HOW you intend to grow your buds. Keep in mind, all you need to do is bascially simulate nature as best as you can.

1. Lighting
   All plants need sun. That's nature! However, the type of lighting needed is a different issue. Don't bother using regular incandescent bulbs. They're inefficient, generate too much heat and not enough light. When choosing lighting, consider heat and spectrum. Your option are Compact Flourescent Lighting (CFL), High Intensity Discharge (HID) which includes Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS), and finally Light-Emitting Diode (LED).
   
   
2. Air Quality Control
   In nature, there's wind. You'll need fans to mimic that as well as odor control and a way to cycle air if heat is an issue. You'll need fans to circulate the air, air filtration to handle that strong odor, and intake/exhaust solution for fresh air. This isn't a real issue with a small grow op. Cycling the air could be as easy as opening the door or lifting the lid. For larger grow ops, you'll need dedicated intake and exhaust.
   
   
3. Buckets or Flower Pots
   Depending on the growing system you choose to use, you'll either need buckets or flower pots or some variation of the two. If you go with a soil or soil-less set up, you'll need regular run of the mill flower pots. However, if you decide to enter the world of hydroponics, you'll need to get the right type of buckets.
   
   
4. Media
   No, I am not talking about Fox News. Media refers to the what the plant will use to anchor itself. It's not so easy to just say soil in the 21st century. There are other options including hydroton, rockwool, peat, perlite, vermiculite, and so on. You'll probably use a combination depending on what grow system you decide to use.
   
   
5. Nutrients
   In nature, plants always have something to eat. It's part of the circle of life, like Lion King. Nutrients for plants come from the decomposition of organic matter. Inside your home, you're the nutrient provider. There are two ways to go about this - chemical or organic. Chemical nutrients are simply salts that the plant can "eat" immediately. Organic nutrients tend to be a bit messier and slower because organic material needs to be broken down.
   
   
6. Misc
   Every grow room has to have its complement of accessories. I am not talking about a fat rope chain hanging on the front door. You may need measuring spoons, spray bottles, tubing, valves, grommets, razors, scissors, and so on. You'll know what you need when you're faced with a problem. Remember, it's your first time so don't be annoyed if you have to go back and forth constantly. Once you get your items, you won't need to get them again.

Example Grow Op Item List

For this, I am going to use one website - Better Grow Hydro - for example purposes. Personally, I think their pricing is a bit high. Besides, it's the internet AND a grow shop. What did I say about diffusion and paper trails? Don't shoot yourself in the foot on that option. Let's continue.

Well we have to start with the size of our grow room. Can't start buying stuff without knowing what we have to work with. Let's say it's 4' x 4' footprint; 6' in height. This is something you can build with wood from Home Depot; just be careful of light leaks. Or, you can buy a ready-made grow room. Check out the GrowLab 120.

1. Lighting
   400 watt HPS and check out other Grow Lights. And don't forget you'll need a timer as well.
   
   
2. Air Quality
   Fans. Air Filter hooks into the Exhaust. Use a passive air intake.
   
   
3. Buckets/Flower pots and Media
   ...will depend on the type of system you want to use. Let's go with hydroponic set up, specifically, Deep Water Culture or DWC. Seeds will go into Rockwool (media) which will be nestled in Hydroton (media) in a Waterfarm (bucket).
   
   
4. Nutrients
   We could go Organic, but let's go chemical with General Hydro 3-part nutrients - Grow, Bloom, Micro - since it's easier for a first timer. As you grow up in the marijuana growing game, you'll want to invest in cloning nutrients and other stuff that will keep your plant healthy.
   
   
5. Misc
   I wish I could list everything off the top of my head that a first time grower would need but there are too many to name. As it pertains to DWC, you'll need air pump and air stone as well as a water pump and tubing for everything. You'll also need testing supplies to test your water's pH (acidity vs alkalinity) and so on.
   

The pricing on everything may seem somewhat daunting especially since you don't even know if you'll do a good job the first time. But, that's all part of the learning experience. I did pretty well my first time growing because I kept it all simple and easy. I still have some of the same stuff I used before so the cost over time gets much lower. Eventually, I came to a point where I didn't have to even look at the garden shop again.

In fact, I haven't been to any garden shop in two years. Besides all the time and effort pays for itself after you've reaped what you've sewn when you take the first puff of your own homegrown marijuana.

You can always start smaller, too.

Other Places You Can Find These Items

Remember, you don't have to, and shouldn't, get all your items from one spot or even a garden shop. Here are some other places where you can find these items:

• Home Depot - light timers, wiring, fans; wood; garden dept - miraclegro, potting soil
• Petland - air stones, air tubing, air pumps
  
• Radioshack - digital temperature/hygrometer, microscope
  
• Amazon.com - measuring spoons, scissors, digital food scale, book
  
• e-conolight.com - all your lighting needs but requires some electrical work
• ebay.com - homemade carbon scrubbers
• bascousa.com - buckets but you will need to rig them like the WaterFarm [PDF Instructions]

Don't be afraid to look for those out of the way mom and pop shops as well. A lot of those places don't even register with police as places you would be buying marijuana growing supplies. In fact, I found a small paint store in NYC that sold lawn watering kits and other garden supplies. I purchased some Superthrive and 1/4" tubing there. Totally off the grid and out of the way of any cops.

Do you see why I haven't even stepped foot inside of a garden shop in 2 years?

A Note on Acquiring Seeds

Seeds are not the hardest thing to get especially if you're in the United States.

1. Low-Quality Dealers
   They're all over selling seeded marijuana. The reason it's low quality is because the energy the plant takes to make THC is diverted into making seeds as is their natural process. But, those seeds are plentiful.
   
   Unfortunately, the best place to get these seeds comes from an ounce of marijuana from Mexico. But, that's not your fault. Blame every president and prohibitionist since 1936. Grown under controlled conditions, you can have pretty potent, cerebral high causing marijuana. It won't be the MOST potent but for damn near free seeds, it's not a bad option at all. You can probably pull 20-30 seeds per ounce. Expect 50% to fail thanks to Mexican growing methods. Hey, I never said it was perfect.
   
   
2. Seeds Online
   There are dozens of sites online, usually overseas, that will gladly sell you marijuana seeds. Remember the first rule about buying equipment, pay cash. Your best bet is to use money orders, not credit cards or checks. Unfortunately, the pricing can get very high for the more popular strains like super silver haze and sour diesel. However, the other strains that aren't as popular or high-priced are just as good. Don't get caught up in the "branding" game. If you're a first timer you might just end up losing hundreds getting the "best". Concentrate on the name after you've grown your first successful plant.
   
   Unfortunately, not all seed dealers are reputable because you are committing a crime by ordering seeds. So, what agency gets your complaints if your money is stolen? Exactly, no one! And, the seed dealers know this. But, don't let that discourage you. Surprisingly, there are more good dealers than bad. So, do your research at the marijuana forums and don't spend too much your first time.
   
   
3. Growers
   If you're lucky enough to know a grower, you can definitely bum some seeds off of them. However, if you already know a grower, you probably don't need to read this at all. HA! You'll get a very viable seed stock and know exactly what kind of marijuana you should be getting. You don't have to worry about shady dealers or potentially being arrested for ordering seeds through the mail.
   
   
4. Luck
   It's totally possible to find a seed (one, MAYBE two) in a bag of high quality marijuana. Not every grow op is going to be perfect. Things happen and you may benefit from it. However, the viability of that seed may be very low so don't expect too much from it. Good luck, though.

Always expect 50% of your seeds to be males. Males do not contain much THC, if any at all. When growing marijuana they will have to culled or destroyed when identified unless you're harvesting pollen but if you're doing that, you don't need to read this. But, you don't want the pollen "impregnating" your females.