First things first... my thoughts on starting to grow.

Okay, everyone grab a No-Doz and hunker down for a long essay.

I had an odd experience last night that sort of put some things into perspective for me, growing-wise.

An acquaintance of mine has recently decided to start growing when he suddenly had a windfall of 4 rooted clones from a friend of his.
He's been telling me he wants me to come down and troubleshoot his garden for a while now... this is where things get weird.
So yesterday after work I drive down there, it's like an hour from where I live, expecting to have something to actually SEE...
He has spent thousands of dollars and built an AMAZING grow setup in his house. I mean, really really amazing. I mean, I'm so jealous I'm turning greener than my plants. 3 rooms, one of those rooms so well hidden that I could smell it but I couldn't for the life of me find the door. Just fantastic.
But when I get in there, what's there, just the 4 rooted clones and 20 sad seedlings from some seeds I gave him a couple weeks ago, so stretched that I don't think they are even salvageable. And the poor clones are wilted from overwatering.

And about $4000 worth of unassembled hydro equipment, plus all the accompanying lights, enough to grow literally hundreds of plants.

But he doesn't know why his sprouts are stretching, or why the clones are winting.

So I get this flash of something my ex told me.

Now, my ex owns a tiny landscaping business and has been at it for 20 years now. Just him and his couple ExMarks and his trusty old bucket-loader.
Every year there's another couple companies that start up, and another couple that fail after only a year in business. His words of wisdom are this:

Start small.
The quickest way to make your business ventures fail is to over-invest in them before you have your plans worked out properly.
He always shook his head at the young guys who'd buy $20,000 worth of mowers and trailers and trimmers and every toy imaginable, but the first time something broke, they had to go running to the crabby old guy at the dealership, who'd be like, "you know you have to change the oil in your lawnmower, not just the oil in your truck? Duh."

So the crux of my official Advice to New Growers thread is this:
Start small.
Grow a garden of vegetables too.
Learn about what plants like, not just cannabis.
Enjoy the process of learning.
Don't expect to have a certain yield in a certain number of days.
You can't force your plants to pay your bills! But they might if you are nice to them.
Practice your techniques, keep current on your reading, and remember it's a living thing and variable.

If you want to eventually grow for profit, treat it as a real business.
Again, start small.
When you see your first profit, reinvest it into your 'business'.
That will guarantee you not necessarily success, because there is no guarantee of that, but you will never lose money throwing up your hands in disgust and saying to hell with it, and selling your gear for half what it's worth to someone else.

Great post StinkyAttic. Everyone take this into account. But most people don't start off like your friend. I wish you coulda snap some photos while you were down there. Sounds pretty incredible though, all they've got left to do is LEARN TO GROW!

And start and stay small because you probably don't want to go to prison. That dude is just asking for the DEA or whoever to knock his doors down, buying all that hydro stuff.

Bump for the new members to have a read!

Nicey put. Do remember, growing can be some what addictive also, especially when you know theres always someone waiting to buy a load of it.

That was two years ago you wrote this. How did things work out for your friend? Did he get a good grow going? ...or did Stinky get a bunch of gear for 1/2 price?

PC :smokin:

Im gonna bet on the latter, lol.

stop scaring that kitty, please <G>

Shov

Damnit! I wish I could have repped you for that post Stinky, but I must spread some more love around first.

Super good post! ...I want to know how that guy is doing now too.

I actually saved the following post for my buddy who, just like your friend, got an itch and couldn't resist. I feel it fits perfect with this thread:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thebullfrog

I was in at my local shop and had a decent chat to get tips from experienced growers. I too have had a million very detailed questions clearly marking me as a newbie hahaha. But i askd him about the HPS/MH flipping and he said that the difference isnt that noticable to a new grower. He recommended using cheap HPS bulbs to help keep costs down, while learning, tuning, and optimizing yields through ways that WILL have a noticable difference, like temps, food, water, and a the signals of the plant itself.

I kno how easily it is to get overwhelmd with all the tech, and the details, and etc. But it really made me chill out about growing and worrying about all the many ways things can go wrong. I think as new growers, we want all the best equip. cuz we think that it'll help compensate for our lack of firsthand knowledge, but really you should keep it as cheap and as simple as possible cuz u're gonna b making the most mistakes in the beginning.

Buying a ferrari doesnt make u a good driver, so buy that junker and beat the crap out of it while you learn, then when you've gone as far as you can go with what you have, then upgrade to reap the true benefits!

jus my two cents =) cheers!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by phytokind

And start and stay small because you probably don't want to go to prison. That dude is just asking for the DEA or whoever to knock his doors down, buying all that hydro stuff.

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No joke! The only hydro store in my city is owned by the police...I wonder why?

damn, thats a productive measure against growers!

guess thats gonna mean paying in cash and several visits... :p

He's doing OKAY but I no longer talk to him on my regular phone because he refuses to get a proper job to cover his apparent living expenses and I just don't have high hopes for his continued success. I wish him the best but he'd be SO much safer rigging up a landscape trailer to the back of his truck and having some way to show how he's paying for his house and all the expensive custom metal fabrication on his off-road vehicle...
So another word of advice, if it happens that you do some day find yourself in the position where you're actually profiting off this hobby, don't let your lifestyle run away with ya. That 6 year old pickup truck on the used car lot will get you around town just as well as the tinted Benz next to it...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

He's doing OKAY but I no longer talk to him on my regular phone because he refuses to get a proper job to cover his apparent living expenses and I just don't have high hopes for his continued success. I wish him the best but he'd be SO much safer rigging up a landscape trailer to the back of his truck and having some way to show how he's paying for his house and all the expensive custom metal fabrication on his off-road vehicle...
So another word of advice, if it happens that you do some day find yourself in the position where you're actually profiting off this hobby, don't let your lifestyle run away with ya. That 6 year old pickup truck on the used car lot will get you around town just as well as the tinted Benz next to it...

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Here in California we are seeing a proliferation of seniors and aging boomers who are supplementing their income with small, legal grows. If a husband and wife both get an Rx, they can legally grow 12 plants. 12 plants can nicely supplement a social security check and make retirement a lot more enjoyable.

PC :smokin: