Accidental grower who tries to grow for free!

[almostfreegrower]

Hello all, I am an accidental grower that has been trying to grow for as little money as I can. It first started in 2011 when my Dad got a medical card here in Colorado for his illness. We went to a dispensary to by some medical cannabis and were given a free clone. I planted that free clone outside in a 10 gallon flower pot that was filled with old potting soil. I had some left over organic "Mater Magic" pelletized tomato fertilizer that I added to the soil and occasionally added in some left over Neptune's Harvest fish fertilizer we had laying around and wound up growing a killer plant without really knowing what I was doing. I just grew it like a tomato plant and looked up on youtube how and when to harvest it and dry and jar it and wound up with about a pound of killer weed. I don't even know what strain it was but I think it was some kind of Kush. The funny thing is, I was never a big pot user so I gave it all away to friends and family. My Dad passed away and I didn't try growing again for several years.

Then in 2018 I went to a sportsman show in Denver and next door was a cannabis trade show. As I was leaving the sportsman show at the end of the day and they were no longer guarding the door to the cannabis show so I decided to pop in and quickly check it out. There was a booth that was cutting up a couple of large cannabis plants and handing out cuts to people. I was given several cuts and stuck them in a bottle of water. Booths were also giving out a ton of free nutrient samples and I was handed several bags full. I was going to give the cuttings to my friend who was an avid pot user and grower but he was out of town. I decided to root and start the cuttings and given them to him when he got back. When he did get back, he couldn't take them because he was already getting his legal limit of clones from someone else. So I decided to grow them myself. So I went to Home Depot to buy growing supplies and such. They had bags of Dr. Earth Pot Of Gold soil on clearance for $2 a bag and Black Magic 5 gal. Smart Pot fabric pots on clearance for a dollar a bag and I bought all 5 they had left. So for a total of around $12, I had enough pots and soil for 6 plants, the legal limit. The 5 Smart Pots and new Dr. Earth soil in my 10 gallon patio pot. Using my free nutrient samples I grew the cuttings, (3 Blue Dream and 3 Gorilla Glue #4) outside in my backyard and wound up with about 3 pounds of good weed with no issues! The next year in 2019 I went to the next Indo Expo in Denver on the last day at the end of the day when they were no longer guarding the door and the same booth was giving out more cuttings. This time I got Super Lemon Haze, more Blue Dream and something called Purple Now and Later. Grew those outside summer of 19 and had another great Harvest. Went to the next Indo Expo at the start of 2020. I Got more Super Lemon Haze cuts, Silver Mountain and Harlequin cuts. I also got several free seeds, both photo and auto. I grew those cuts summer of 2020 outside at no out of pocket expense. Since there was no Indo Expo due to covid I grew the free seeds last summer outside. Tis year I was running out of the free nutrient samples but a garden center near me went out of business and after their clearance sales, they just put whatever they couldn't sell on the curb for people to take. I found 3 bags of Paonia Living Supersoil and I am growing more seeds in that this year as well as my original Dr. Earth soil. My goal has been to continue to grow for little to no money and so far, I'm still going!

 

[Roy Growin]

@almostfreegrower
Could you summarize that for me? my eyesight is not good lol

 

[sinsemilla savant]

welcome !! it's always fun to have people who don't take growing too seriously and just try to have fun with it, and it's definitely good to see you've had great success with spending so little to grow, shows you really don't need to spend much to grow

 

[Rolling Green]

Welcome to 420 Magazine almostfreegrower.


Very interesting introduction and have a similar grow philosophy as you to keep it simple and inexpensive. I grow outside and the largest expense is the seed purchase. A few months ago purchased a small bag of tomato fertilizer at Wally World and is the first time I have used it and not sure if it has really made any difference in their growth as I put a lot of effort into improving the soil through mulch and compost. Good quality seed, fertile healthy soil and the sun produces the best weed I have ever had at a low expense.

 

[WenworG]

Welcome to 420, sorry about your dad. It is very hard to grow weed with no money, save here and save there, overspend on the credit card. I'm disabled Vet with no job. I know how hard it is, hang in their brother, stay positive things will work out. Have faith in yourself!

 

[HappyHazmat88]

@almostfreegrower
Could you summarize that for me? my eyesight is not good lol

Basically he started growing in 2011 with a free clone from medical dispensary....plant was bomb .com.... Then father passed (may he rest peacefully)....a few years pass...and he went to a convention which had another convention next door(cannabis show).... Got some free stuff there...and then returned again next couple of years.....got more free stuff....and is now continueing to grow decent cannabis while keeping cost super low.... @almostfreegrower how did I do lol?

Anyways welcome aboard almost free, if ya need specific info there are tons of helpful links here....or if ya really want to just @ someone and they'll be there to lend a hand. But have fun, learn some stuff, and most importantly check out some beautiful gardens here

Take care growmie.

Edit: sorry to summarize your post... I too have a hard time reading solid post even with my younger eyes lol

 

[Tokin Roll]

Welcome to 420 Magazine @almostfreegrower

It sounds like your plan is working out for you, good on you.
There is plenty of help here is you happen to need it.

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If you want to see want other growers are doing, here's that link. This is where you place your journal.

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Stay safe, and grow well my friend,

Tok..

 

[garybo]

My goal has been to continue to grow for little to no money and so far, I'm still going!

Good to have you aboard @almostfreegrower , when you can afford it, forward some pics of your ladies.

 

[Bill284]

Hello all, I am an accidental grower that has been trying to grow for as little money as I can. It first started in 2011 when my Dad got a medical card here in Colorado for his illness. We went to a dispensary to by some medical cannabis and were given a free clone. I planted that free clone outside in a 10 gallon flower pot that was filled with old potting soil. I had some left over organic "Mater Magic" pelletized tomato fertilizer that I added to the soil and occasionally added in some left over Neptune's Harvest fish fertilizer we had laying around and wound up growing a killer plant without really knowing what I was doing. I just grew it like a tomato plant and looked up on youtube how and when to harvest it and dry and jar it and wound up with about a pound of killer weed. I don't even know what strain it was but I think it was some kind of Kush. The funny thing is, I was never a big pot user so I gave it all away to friends and family. My Dad passed away and I didn't try growing again for several years.

Then in 2018 I went to a sportsman show in Denver and next door was a cannabis trade show. As I was leaving the sportsman show at the end of the day and they were no longer guarding the door to the cannabis show so I decided to pop in and quickly check it out. There was a booth that was cutting up a couple of large cannabis plants and handing out cuts to people. I was given several cuts and stuck them in a bottle of water. Booths were also giving out a ton of free nutrient samples and I was handed several bags full. I was going to give the cuttings to my friend who was an avid pot user and grower but he was out of town. I decided to root and start the cuttings and given them to him when he got back. When he did get back, he couldn't take them because he was already getting his legal limit of clones from someone else. So I decided to grow them myself. So I went to Home Depot to buy growing supplies and such. They had bags of Dr. Earth Pot Of Gold soil on clearance for $2 a bag and Black Magic 5 gal. Smart Pot fabric pots on clearance for a dollar a bag and I bought all 5 they had left. So for a total of around $12, I had enough pots and soil for 6 plants, the legal limit. The 5 Smart Pots and new Dr. Earth soil in my 10 gallon patio pot. Using my free nutrient samples I grew the cuttings, (3 Blue Dream and 3 Gorilla Glue #4) outside in my backyard and wound up with about 3 pounds of good weed with no issues! The next year in 2019 I went to the next Indo Expo in Denver on the last day at the end of the day when they were no longer guarding the door and the same booth was giving out more cuttings. This time I got Super Lemon Haze, more Blue Dream and something called Purple Now and Later. Grew those outside summer of 19 and had another great Harvest. Went to the next Indo Expo at the start of 2020. I Got more Super Lemon Haze cuts, Silver Mountain and Harlequin cuts. I also got several free seeds, both photo and auto. I grew those cuts summer of 2020 outside at no out of pocket expense. Since there was no Indo Expo due to covid I grew the free seeds last summer outside. Tis year I was running out of the free nutrient samples but a garden center near me went out of business and after their clearance sales, they just put whatever they couldn't sell on the curb for people to take. I found 3 bags of Paonia Living Supersoil and I am growing more seeds in that this year as well as my original Dr. Earth soil. My goal has been to continue to grow for little to no money and so far, I'm still going!

Welcome to 420magazine my friend.



Stay safe
Bill284

 

[LKABudMan]

Welcome to the forum @almostfreegrower

 

[StoneOtter]

Almost Free
Sounds good to me!
Welcome !

 

[TwelveCoffee]

Welcome to the site and I wish you good luck with your girls

 

[almostfreegrower]

Thanks all for the welcome. Growing outside (if you are lucky enough to be legally able to) and have the space, is a big step towards saving money since the sun is free. If someone told me I would be growing cannabis even 5 years ago but 12 years ago, I would have said they were crazy. But if you can grow outside you can grow some nice weed for relatively cheap, especially if you have friends that grow and can get some cuts from them. I am no expert and far from really knowing what I'm doing so I will be asking questions in the FAQ section when I need to which may be often. It's kind of like, the more I grow, the more I realise I don't know.

The one thing that can be a con to growing outside is the weather and sudden weather changes. Just the other day. we had a microburst wind storm that came out of nowhere but only lasted about 5 minutes. I luckily had my plants under the porch after just watering them. Had they been out in the yard, they probably would have all been severely damaged. My neighbor lost 2 huge tree branches! I have had quite a few episodes of damage from hail, heavy rain and wind that wasn't forecasted and I wasn't home when it happened. Luckily I haven't lost a whole plant yet but I've lost several really nice branches and cola's that I've come home to find broken. And there is always the threat of theft.

 

[garybo]

Thanks all for the welcome. Growing outside (if you are lucky enough to be legally able to) and have the space, is a big step towards saving money since the sun is free. If someone told me I would be growing cannabis even 5 years ago but 12 years ago, I would have said they were crazy. But if you can grow outside you can grow some nice weed for relatively cheap, especially if you have friends that grow and can get some cuts from them. I am no expert and far from really knowing what I'm doing so I will be asking questions in the FAQ section when I need to which may be often. It's kind of like, the more I grow, the more I realise I don't know.

The one thing that can be a con to growing outside is the weather and sudden weather changes. Just the other day. we had a microburst wind storm that came out of nowhere but only lasted about 5 minutes. I luckily had my plants under the porch after just watering them. Had they been out in the yard, they probably would have all been severely damaged. My neighbor lost 2 huge tree branches! I have had quite a few episodes of damage from hail, heavy rain and wind that wasn't forecasted and I wasn't home when it happened. Luckily I haven't lost a whole plant yet but I've lost several really nice branches and cola's that I've come home to find broken. And there is always the threat of theft.

@almostfreegrower , good point and reason for going outside. I too switch a few years back, I'm now growing outside.

I use to grow in 10 gal pots which can be a little on the heavy side to move, like many growers, my back isn't as strong as it was when I wore a younger man's clothes, anyway I now grow in 5 gal pots, which can be on the heavy side right after a feeding, but still half the weight of 10 gal pots.

My plants have never tasted rain water or experienced strong winds. I'm lucky enough to have a building to move them into every night and keep a shop fan on them all evening.

Here's to you having the best of luck with your grow.

Stay in touch with your progress.