Want to see me grow nice plants with zero cost? Well, then, COME ON IN!

Hi everyone.

I would like to preface this by saying I wasn't sure where this thread should be started. If the mods see fit to move it they will. Don't complain at me for it, please.

My brother and I have been growing pot together for a long time. We both do fairly well, if I do say so myself, but the difference between him and I is that he is the type of grower who thinks you have to spend a lot of money on every little aspect of a grow for it to be successful, and I am the type of grower who says that is just not true. These plants are being grown to prove that I am right.
And while I undertake a several month endeavor just to prove this one little point, I thought I would at least try to reach more than one person, so, alas! Here I am!

In this grow I have (and will) mostly use(d) materials that are either easily made or found around most any household. The only exception is the pulverized lime. $4 at Lowes for a 20 Lb bag.

Grow medium - ashes and cinders (charcoal) from burnt yard trash (sticks, leaves, grass clippings, ect. ect.) mixed with a little left over $2 / bag potting soil (cheap crap. super acidic right out of the bag. around a PH of 4)
Water - City tap water (chlorinated - not pH adjusted)
Nutrients - Miracle Grow all purpose plant food + a little pulverized lime (for fast and long term pH adjustment and stability)
Seeds - Bag seeds from some dirt weed
Lighting - 2 x 26w CFL Warm White, with a reflector made out of a white bowl from the kitchen (it was cracked down the side anyway )
Starting containers - 12 oz party cups

Yes I realize this is a bit extreme, but I figure I should make my argument as compelling as possible.

-The seeds were started exactly 2 weeks ago today, on the 7th of August.
-They were soaked in a cup of water over night, and then placed in a folded wet paper towel inside of a zip-lock bag.
-The seeds popped tails that evening and
- They were planted in the horrible grow medium that night with a good soaking of plain tap water with 2tbsp of pulverized lime in 1 gal of water, and placed on the floor in a closet with the light about 3-4 inches above
-So far the 2 plants have been given 1/2 strength fertilizer (worked up from 1/4 strength which started when the second set of true leaves came in all the way(day 3 or 4)) There is a little nute burn, but the slightest I have ever seen. Almost not even visible I flushed the media, and there has been no more burning at all. I didn't give too much nutes, I gave nutes too often. I will now fertilize every third watering rather than every second watering.


I think that is about it...So, without further adieu, here are the photos!

lovin it my man...i to have a buddy that has spent closer to 6 grand on his entire grow system ( hydro ) and believed the same...i went cheaper...and smaller, soil grow...and my soil weed is just as potent...with a better taste...lol ill post some pics later of my grow as well...ill be here fo the ride.

What other lighting do you plan on using for flower? 2x26w cfl's just arent gonna cut it with those 4plants.




J

i can only assume hes gunna add more of the same watt lighting...that is of course if hes gunna keep it poor man...ish? lol

Respect my man, Nice set-up.

i like your idea and i think your right (more right than your partner) in saying it can be done cheap. HOWEVER...genetics are too important to start with swag bagseed. if you fail, that will be why. i tried to prove a similar point recently by growing a shwag bagseed along side some elite strains, thinking there wouldnt be MUCH difference and it was an utter joke when the bagseed yielded like 10 grams of the NASTIEST weed ever. my final product was no different from the bud the seed came from. it was truely SHWAG.

A bit misleading on the title. This is a typical cfl grow. Props for keeping it on the cheap, but not free. Nutes, power consumption, more light as the plants grow blah blah, you know the drill. A bit more towards the "free" aspect that alot of people overlook, sunlight! Free power for as long as you want / need it as long as it falls within your lighting schedule (16-14hrs or even 12-12). Again, not knocking your grow. I love to see grows done on the cheap, and people that use ingenuity rather than being a lemming and following the pack. I'm subbed and will continue to watch.

Yes, I will be adding some more CFLs as needed. I will probably end up with around 8 total. I'm not really sure about that tho, because I have not decided how to grow them out. I topped the one at the third node, so I will probably LST both of them, as that is the best way to get the most out of CFL lighting. Oh, and the two plants sitting on the floor aren't staying there. Those are strawberries! lol

You would be better with 8x26w for a maximum of 2 plants and you would be better of switching to 12/12 now and LST them during the stretch.


Just my opinion ofcourse!



J

Grumpy' said:

A bit misleading on the title. This is a typical cfl grow. Props for keeping it on the cheap, but not free. Nutes, power consumption, more light as the plants grow blah blah, you know the drill. A bit more towards the "free" aspect that alot of people overlook, sunlight! Free power for as long as you want / need it as long as it falls within your lighting schedule (16-14hrs or even 12-12). Again, not knocking your grow. I love to see grows done on the cheap, and people that use ingenuity rather than being a lemming and following the pack. I'm subbed and will continue to watch.

Click to expand...

Just because you wouldn't be able to pull this off for free, doesn't mean that I can't.
With the exception of the electricity, yes, everything was free. I even said before, these are all things you can probably find around most households. So, no, it wasn't free when it was new, but now it is left over, and i already got my money's worth out of it, so yea...basically it is free. And the power for 8 or 10 CFLs to run 24 hours a day is pennies...not even noticeable on a bill. Notice in the title that I made no claim to watching you grow for free. I'm just letting you watch me do it for free.

The point is that I can use items from around the house to grow weed that will rival grows that people spend hundreds on, and so can anyone else.

As for the seeds....yea, im not new to this. I know genetics matter, but I got news for you. I'm smoking on some weed right now that I grew from some trash seeds and there is nothing bad about it at all. Even the yield was fair. Its all in what you know, and how much of it you are willing to do.

Onlyoneman said:

these are all things you can probably find around most households. So, no, it wasn't free when it was new, but now it is left over, and i already got my money's worth out of it, so yea...basically it is free.

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its a budget grow.

jondamon said:

You would be better with 8x26w for a maximum of 2 plants and you would be better of switching to 12/12 now and LST them during the stretch.


Just my opinion ofcourse!



J

Click to expand...

I will be switching to 12-12 as soon as I re-pot them. That is still about a week or so off now. I want the root ball to get a bit harder first, and I will start the LST as soon as there is something to train.

Thanks for all the input and kind words guys! Keep it coming, I love getting love! =D

Want to see my last outdoor bag seed grow from about 2 years ago?
The proof is in the pudding.

The small one is a clone off of the big one. This is when they had just started budding. I thought
I had some later pictures of this grow but I guess I was wrong.

Yea, a budget of zero dollars

oh no wait you're right. I'm sorry. All the CDs that the plants are sitting on to get them closer to the light cost like $15 each. And the shoes that came in the box were like 40, so yea. This grow cost me like over $100 already....

bagseed is one thing but in your original post you stated you are using bagseeds from "some dirt weed".

also ...

I'm smoking on some weed right now that I grew from some trash seeds and there is nothing bad about it at all. Even the yield was fair. Its all in what you know, and how much of it you are willing to do.

Click to expand...

when i did my side by side, the qwerkle and blue widow and white widow were truely AMAZING. they were treated exactly the same as the brown brick dirt weed seed i used that turned into brown dirt weed.

it is from dirt weed. but i can make it shine
gotta know how to read your plants so you know what they need, not what you want to give them.
the fact that you treated two different strains of weed exactly the same is where you messed up.
im not saying i will turn dirt in to top notch shit. Im just saying you can make it decent if you try,

ok, im subbed.

however, its kinda like crossing a landrace sativa with a sativa dominant and PROMISING heavy indica nugs.

where exactly did the seeds come from? do you have a pic of the bud it came out of?

no. the weed wasnt worth taking pictured of. it seriously was $20 for a quarter if that tells you anything. I mean, it gets you a buzz, but it doesnt taste good, and smells like cat piss. I wont even smoke it. My girl buys it because she smokes too damn much and i wont let her decimate my stash. The lady who sells it to my girl puts it in a ceramic container with grape flavored blunt guts to get rid of the ammonia smell. It doesnt work, it just smells like cat piss with grape lollipops when she gets done.

Honestly, the genetics is probably not what makes this particualr weed bad, its the way it is handled that fucks it up. But you can look at those pictures i posted and see that it isnt a stable strain. one of those plants looks pure indica/afghanni while the other looks sativa dominant. so the genetics cant be that great. probably some skunk hybrid someone fucked with or let get pollinated with rogue pollen from somewhere. And the smell is just from the people harvesting it and throwing it in to bails while its still wet.

My girl says I'm being mean to you. I'm sorry if you feel that way too. I don't mean to be an asshole. I guess I just have an abrasive personality.

Personally, I couldn't agree more about bagseed. It's grown (most dirt weed), with bad care. Cared for properly fed at right stages, makes a huge difference. I have grown dirt weed seeds that have rivaled my mid to high grade purchased bags.