Ditch The Dealer – The NiceNEasy Way (To The £20 Ounce)
Index:
Disclaimer.
(Page 2)
Versions And Author Contact.
(Page 2)
Introduction:
Why was this written?
(Page 3)
Sources of information and copyright. (Page 4)
Will I understand this?
(Page 4)
The First Rule!
(Page 5)
Planning:
Doing the math.
(Page 6)
Buying equipment.
(Page 6)
Setup costs.
(Page 7)
Running costs.
(Page 8)
General price guide (Running Costs).
(Page 9)
The Grow:
Light Distance Chart.
(Page 10)
Week 0.
(Page 11)
Week 1.
(Page 16)
Week 2.
(Page 17)
Week 3.
(Page 18)
Week 4.
(Page 21)
Week 5.
(Page 22)
Week 6.
(Page 25)
Week 7.
(Page 27)
Week 8.
(Page 29)
Week 9.
(Page 31)
Week 10.
(Page 32)
Week 11.
(Page 34)
Week 12.
(Page 36)
Week 13 & 14.
(Page 39)
Week 15 And Beyond.
(Page 40)
Plant Deficiencies Chart.
(Page 41)
Solutions To Nutrient Deficiencies.
(Page 43)
Other Things.
(Page 46)
Harvesting, Curing And Storage.
(Page 47)
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D i t c h T h e D e a l e r – T h e N i c e N E a s y W a y T o T h e £ 2 0 O u n c e .
Disclaimer:
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for
me." Hunter S. Thompson
Since 2009 growing Cannabis in the UK has been re‐graded to a Class B offence, and producing the
plant can cost you up to 14 years in prison. I am in no way trying to get anyone to break the law, no
matter how stupid I personally feel it is. I do not grow or condone the growing of anything illegal.
All pictures here are widely available on the internet, and any information herein should not
constitute advice or be considered advice to assist in activities that are deemed illegal. This text is
for private consumption only, and by reading any further you agree that you know the laws in your
country and accept liability of any illegal actions you commit.
For the government information on the reclassification of Cannabis see below:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/drugs‐law/cannabis‐reclassification/
Versions And Author Contact:
Document Version: 1.0 (Post Draft Production).
Author Contact: SkunkForums.org (https://skunkforums.org/skunkforums/member.php?u=1113)
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Introduction:
Why was this written?
I've been growing cannabis since 2005, and a smoker for more than two decades. Over the last few
years I've have seen a sharp increase in the cost of street cannabis, and a decline in its already dodgy
quality. If you're lucky you may still be able to get decent produce, but for the most part people are
buying £20 bags of wet uncured Cannabis that weighs as little as 2 grams when dried out. If you're
not that lucky you may be faced with the infamous Grit Weed, or the UK staple diet and Cannabis
world joke Soapbar.
Both Grit Weed and Soapbar are of the lowest quality, and worst of all they are actually harmful to
consume.
Even though the gutter press would like you to think that (and I hate the term) "Cannabis factories"
are being found by the police every day I find it difficult to purchase any sort of Cannabis, and the
older I get the harder it gets. I also find the fact of giving away my hard earned cash when I can
easily do it myself to be distasteful at least. Even if it wasn’t about the expense, there’s always you
safety to think on. There are plenty of nuts on the streets just waiting to bother people. Then there
is always the looming possibility of the police picking you up, and it’s criminal record time. None of
these things appeal to me.
Due to all the above issues I researched how to grow my own. My first test run was in a PC tower
case. Then I grew in converted wardrobes, and some small outdoor plants. All of these produced
Cannabis of a fair grade, but not enough to be self sufficient. As self sufficiency is the goal I looked
into upgrading my space, and investigated "stealth kits" among other prefabricated rooms. With
these kits your space can be built into a disguised cabinet, chest of drawers, or even just a sealed
blank unit. I didn't have a thousand pounds burning a hole in my pocket however, and have found
the cheaper versions of these items to be of poor build quality, so the stealth option was out. DIY
was also an option, but I have been down this route before with filters, converted wardrobes and
the like. Although they do work, I have found their maintenance can outweigh the reduced starting
cost, and you sometimes end up spending more than if you had bought a manufactured item ‐
especially over time. If you're really good at DIY then it may be an option for you. I am both clueless
and lazy when it comes to things like that, and as the name implies I like a NiceNEasy way to do
things.
In the end I found the best option for cost, space and end product was the Grow Tent. It is a
cheaper, efficient alternative to a hard sided box, and this is where we will be concentrating our
efforts.
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Introduction:
Sources of information and copyright:
The majority, if not all the information supplied in this document can be found on the internet
through Google searches. I have taken the things that work well, and put them together in this
document to try and help others starting off.
These methods have been repeatedly used with good success, and while you shouldn't have any
great difficulty each grow and environment are different so I offer no guarantee.
I have tried to use my own words and copyright free pictures, but in cases where better details were
found I have used them. In those cases, I have tried to print the source of any material. I'm not
trying to take credit for work anyone else has done. The copyright stays with the original author.
This is far from a definitive guide. Nor is it saying this is the only or the best way to grow Cannabis ‐
but it does work well in this situation. There are a lot of different ways to grow, each with their own
plus and minus points. The intent here is to provide a possible starting solution for you to "Ditch the
Dealer", not to give another overview on Cannabis or to produce a “Bible”. There are many books
on growing Cannabis, written by professionals that give you the whole history, culture, and all the
basics. Just put a search through Google and take your pick.
The majority of books I have read only concentrate on people converting whole rooms, or larger
spaces for growing. If you're only growing for yourself chances are you won't need to know how to
convert a room, at least not in the beginning. What you do need to know is how to adopt a system
that will fit into your lifestyle, be unobtrusive, and provide an end product that will satisfy your
needs. Hopefully this text will at least point you in the right direction.
Will I understand this?
Some growing terminology is used, so I do assume you will have the knowledge to understand the
basics. Other than that, this text is geared towards those who have a little growing experience,
those upgrading from a single plant or using CFL lighting. The techniques used would also be
beneficial to those growing in confined spaces, or on a budget.
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The First Rule!
Of all the things that get a small grower caught, the greatest reason is people dropping themselves
in it. Showing your buddy your plants, and he tells someone not so decent. Maybe he gets busted
himself and spills everything. Maybe you get drunk and show off your jars of weed, talking openly
about growing in front of people. It may seem like common sense, but NEVER talk about your grow
to anyone who you don't completely trust, and I mean NEVER ‐ it'll get you caught guaranteed. I
can’t stress this enough, which is why it gets a page of its own.
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Planning:
Doing The Math:
When starting out there are two different roads you can take. The first is buy budget at the start,
save the extra pennies you get from not buying weed, and then buy decent equipment later when
you’ve a couple of grows under your belt. The second is to buy decent from the start, saving
yourself money in the long term as you do not need to re‐buy as often. When I started I went for
the first option, but in hindsight I wish I went for the second. I'll let you make up your own mind on
what way to go, but buying cheap will mean more replacements down the line.
For the purposes of this text I have taken the middle road prices. I know for a fact that you can get
the same equipment cheaper than quoted here, as I've been quite generous price wise for
convenience sake and rounding up. Your initial outlay for equipment, seeds and electricity for the
entire grow is approximately £500. This may seem quite a lot, but when you take into account that
an ounce of poor street weed is between £120 ‐ £150 and your expected first crop is 4 ounces (all
going well), then you should make your entire outlay back within the first 12 weeks (in savings).
After the first crop, you will have enough seeds and know how, that each ounce thereafter will only
cost you £20 to produce (per crop). That £20 figure could be reduced further easily, but I'm not
going to get into hydroponics and cloning etc in this version.
Buying Equipment:
The first and most important piece of equipment you need is somewhere you grow. I recommend
that you get permission from anyone else in the house before you start off, as eventually they will
find out – they don’t call it Skunk for nothing (I use Skunk here as a generic street name, not a
specific breed of Cannabis). I also recommend a room that you do not use a lot, like a spare
bedroom or utility area. The fan noise is not extremely loud, but it’s loud enough when you’re in the
same room. Personally I couldn't sleep in there, so don't be fooled by adverts for silent fans. You'll
have to pay for real silence.
The area needs to be secure enough so people do not stumble in on your grow. It needs to be dry,
flat, have access to electricity and water, and have some airflow (a partially open door or window
will do for our small area). It also needs to have a stable temperature (reportedly Cannabis has a
best “lights on” growing temperature of around 68 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit).
Buying your equipment is a difficult point when you first set off. Not only is it a lot of money to be
spending on a new hobby, but the current media bashing Cannabis gets on a daily basis only serves
to make people more paranoid when making purchases ‐ and rightly so. When buying I would
recommend you go directly to a hydroponics shop, and leave eBay for selling unwanted birthday
presents. If you can, use cash and pick the goods up yourself. Also be aware when leaving the
shops, as there have now been reports of undercover Police following people home after being seen
buying a lot of equipment. No matter how you purchase though, you should always use a different
address for delivery than you do for growing.
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Planning:
Setup Costs:
Tent £90 (DR60 Secret Jardin 60x60x140cm). After extensive viewing, reviewing, and then starting
all over again, I settled on the Secret Jardin DR60. There are a lot of different tents out there, some
good, some not so good. The main reasons I chose this over the others was its slightly cheaper than
the others but good build quality, this model has passive vents which allow air into the tent. It is
slightly larger than the BudBox which is pretty much its closest rival. There is also a cheaper version
of the DR range, the DRS or "Street". Personally I didn't rate these, and thought spending the extra
few quid worth it.
Lights £80 (250w HPS Hobby Kit). For the size growing space we have, the 250w HPS light is the best
suited, and the largest recommended. We will be using this light for the entire grow.
Fan & Extractor £110 (125mm Ruck with Carbon Filter). Any time you read about another house of
plants being raided, it’s usually because they can be smelt streets away. A fan and filter not only
keeps your grow room temperatures down, and provides your plants with new air (by forcing new
air in through the passive vents), but will also remove the smell of your plants. Buying a cheap fan
and filter will maybe do you for one or two grows before it packs in, maybe. but of all your
equipment I think this is the one you need to buy well at the start. For this I recommend the Ruck
125 fan and matching Rhino (previously Phat) Filter. These are usually sold as a complete kit, and
can be quite a bit cheaper than buying separately. Again, I cannot stress enough the impact a good
carbon filter and fan will bring to your grow. Most types of decent Cannabis will really stink. Even 1
plant in bloom will be smelt everywhere in your home without decent extraction. As a side note,
ensure you buy no bigger than 125mm as this is the largest size of ducting the DR60 can take.
Pots £5 (8lt black standard pots). These can be bought anywhere. Personally I bought a half dozen
from the local supermarket at a £1.
Soil £10 (John Innes No2). You can get 3 x 20lt bags of this from your local garden centre for £10.
Get all no2 soil, not 1 or 3. Don't skimp on the soil either, no Tesco dirt or B&Q dry fibre. Having a
decent soil will really pay you back in the long run.
Seeds £30 (Automatic White Russian / AK47). Most people who have more than a passing interest in
Cannabis have heard of the Indica and Sativa types. Over the last few years a third genus in the
Cannabis family has been brought into play ‐ the Ruderalis. This strain has been ignored till late, due
to its low potency, but it has the trait of flowering automatically and not being dependent on light
cycles for flowering (regular Cannabis needs a 12/12 light cycle to flower). Now it has been crossed
with stronger regular strains such as the AK47 or New York Diesel, it is becoming a real option for
the small grower.
Nutrients £20 (Ionics Grow / Bloom, Cannazym, Final Phase). These can be bought from pretty much
any hydro shop as they are the bog standard nutrient. With the Ionics ensure you buy the correct
water type.
Fan £5 (6" Clip Fan). B&Q, camping and caravanning shops, Amazon. Loads of places sell these.
= £350 (Setup Cost).
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Planning:
Running Costs:
Prices taken from: http://www.ukpower.co.uk/price+updates.asp
Taking the average unit price at 20pence.
Lights (12weeks x 7 days = (84 Days) @ 20hrs/day) = 1680 Hours
1680 x 5pence p/h = £84.00 (Per grow).
Fan & Extractor (12weeks x 7 days = (84 Days) @ 24hrs/day) = 2016 Hours
2016 x 1pence p/h = £20.16 (Per grow).
Fan (12weeks x 7 days = (84 Days) @ 24hrs/day) = 2016 Hours
2016 x 0.5pence p/h = £10.08 (Per grow).
= £114.24 (£120) (Running Cost).
General Items:
Scope £5, Syringes £5, Cooker hood filter £9, Duct tape £2, Cord £2, Root riots £4, Perlite £3 = £30.
= £350 + £120 + £30 = £500 (Total Cost 1st Crop) = Dealer Free in 12 weeks.
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Planning:
General price guide (Running Costs):
This guide takes the price per unit at 10pence. For the purposes of this text we have taken the unit
price at the more realistic 20pence for 2009. (Source: SkunkForums.org)
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The Grow:
If you've followed this so far, then I'm going to assume that you can follow the instructions with the
equipment and get it safely working. By this stage you'll probably be dying to get started, so we will.
The following part of the text is split into 12 growing weeks. There is also a pre‐growing week we
will call 0 for continuity, and then a 2 week crop drying period called 13 and 14.
Light distance chart: (Source: SkunkForums.org)
For the purposes of this text we will only be concerned with the 250w line. As you can see the
optimal distance between the plant tops and the bulb is 5‐16 inches. I usually keep mine between 8
and 12 inches, apart from when the plants are seedlings when I keep them at approximately 20
inches.
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