If you want to efficiently grow a high-quality crop for personal consumption, consider the small grow- box. 5’x5’x5’ is a good size; this would accommodate a 400w 3K halide with 4’ paraboloid reflector from overhead, and four, two tube fluorescent fixtures placed horizontally to provide side lighting. The 3K bulb is a color-corrected halide with more in the photosynthetically efficient red spectrum. This bulb should be replaced every 6 months or so, because the red diminishes, and green increases, with age. The 3K does provide enough blue to prevent excessive stem elongation.

The eight fluorescent tubes would be placed horizontally, and radiate approximately horizontally. This provides valuable side lighting to increase light absorption area, more uniformity of light, and fuller development of lower branches and buds. If the plants were short (as in the Sea of Green method), the light would be even more intense.

The 3K halide can be used at all stages. During the grow stage, blue spectrum fluorescents can be used to encourage root development and discourage stem elongation. The blue spectrum bulbs should have a color temperature of 7500 Kelvin.

During the bloom stage, red spectrum fluorescents can be substituted. The red bulbs should have a color temperature of approximately 3000 Kelvin. During the last couple weeks of bloom, FS-40 UV-B fluorescents can be used to simulate high noon. With the UV-B bulbs, be sure to use the cellulose acetate filter. UV-B increases potency by stressing the plant. See “Stress Factors and Plant Potency”. Fluorescents have a limited effective range, but eight of them in such a small area should have a significant effect.

Watering can be accomplished using a bottom trough. Simply make a rim inside the box with a 2“ x 4” board, and line with 12 mil plastic. Soil pots can be placed in the growing area, and water supplied from the bottom. See my previous ST article on watering of plants in soil. A rockwool slab is another good medium. If you use a watering wand, be sure to get the plastic handle kind, they are safer around electricity.

CO₂ can be supplied by venting air to and from the outside; however, this can let off tell-tale smell. There are chemical, electrostatic, and mechanical methods for dealing with smell which I will talk about in a later article. The best method is to contain the smell within the grow box. This would also minimize CO₂ loss and maximize C0₂ concentration.

Simply install a small air conditioner at the top of the grow box. Make sure your air conditioner is designed to mount from overhead. This will control temperature (excessive temperatures cause stem elongation and lower potency); and humidity (excessive humidity can cause fungus and lowered potency).

Temperature should be no higher than 85-90°F; humidity should be 40-60% (depending on genetic variety). If necessary, you can calibrate the air conditioner and dehumidifier by a thermostat and humidistat. The water condensing on the air conditioning cold coils can be drained by a tube to the outside. C0₂ can be added through a hose from an external 20 pound compressed C0₂ tank. A simple cycle timer is all that is needed with a sealed environment.

This cube contains about 125 cubic feet of air. 125 times .0025 (approximate optimum percentage to add) yields .31 cu ft optimum injection. Try setting the flow rate at 19cfh, C0₂ on-time at one minute, C0₂ cycle time every two hours. Or try setting the flow rate at 13 cfh, C0₂ on-time at 1.5 minutes, C0₂ cycle time-every two hours.

The main problem with significantly shorter cycle times is that right after the lights come on is the most important time for C0₂, and the continuous-release systems take too long to reach the optimum level. This is especially true with vent systems, which may never reach the optimum level with a short cycle or continuous release.

This period is the most important because the plants have used up most of their energy the previous light-off period, and need a hearty breakfast. C02 should be added only during the light-on period. The air in the box should be flushed out near the end of the light-on period, after the last CO2 injection. This can be accomplished most easily by opening the door and moving it back and forth, shutting it before the grow lights turn off. The plants use oxygen at night, not C02.

Small axial fans can be strategically placed to provide internal air circulation. C02 tends to sink.

Holes should be drilled, and screws should be used instead of nails. This is sturdy, and can be disassembled for moving. The boards should not be warped. The seams should be sealed with black sealant. The door is especially vulnerable to light infiltration (a small amount of which can interfere with the light-off period). Weatherstripping can be used. My advice is to find a good hardware store and pay cash.

When you are not growing, this can double as a wine-cooler!

SURVIVALISM

Since no real object is Governmental by nature, its uses being determined by social convention, therefore the State is just a state of mind. It is a form of consciousness in which citizens play the role of obedient serfs, and bureaucrats assume the role of civil masters. The Constitution, although flawed, was designed to limit the power of government. However, this document is nothing more than a piece of hemp paper, unless the people are aware of their rights and aggressively affirm them. All too often, the police trample on human rights, and get away with it. I’d like to show you how to help out Kharma by redirecting the power of government against itself, using the same principles as Tai Chi. I call it the “reverse sting”.

I’d like to show you how to help out Kharma by redirecting the power of the government against itself, using the principles of Tai Chi. I call it the “reverse sting’’

As pointed out by Seattle civil liberties attorney Jeff Steinborn, in the July-August ’85 issue of Drug Law Report:

“Without an informant, evidence of probable cause is circumstantial, therefore, conclusory and suppressible. ”

Police are supposed to have probable cause in order to get a search warrant. To continue:

“The nature of indoor growing operations often leads to long search warrant affidavits, padded with boilerplate language in which the policeman affiant tells the magistrate of his years of training and experience as a narcotics officer; followed by a collection of equivocal factual allegations, and the officer’s conclusion that everything he has observed and reported is ’consistent’ with an indoor marijuana growing operation. ”

Beware because your phone maybe illegally tapped, so be sure to talk over the phone about delivering pounds of skunk. Better yet, get one of the commonly available commercial scramblers; the government has the ability to unscramble such messages, and it will certainly arouse their suspicion. Growing in an uninsulated attic is especially effective at arousing suspicion, because the heat would show up on infa-red cameras. You can even have a good friend call on an anonymous tip line to accuse you of illegal growing (such calls are usually tape-recorded).

Have lots of beer parties with loud rock music. Invite lots of people, and hint mysteriously about the growing operation but never say you’re doing anything illegal nor show them the operation. Leave evidence of a growing operation (such as soil, pots) in plain view. You should be aware that police have the technology to retrieve substances flushed down the toilet. It is also noteworthy that residues in a bong or ashtray are incriminating.

When police serve the warrant, they usually knock, wait about 3 seconds, then break the door down. Be sure yours is securely bolted, and don’t open the door for them. This way you have proof of damages from forced entry. There have been cases of rip-off artists posing as police, with fake warrants; all the merchandise and produce are confiscated and it never comes to court. So if people claiming to be police are seeking entry into your house, immediately dial police emergency number 911 to verify that they are indeed the real police. Hopefully the rip-offs will not have the initiative to intercept your outgoing calls and pose as the police operator as well. (To cover that possibility, you may wish to have a hand held cellular battery-powered radiophone.) Once they are inside, demand to see driver’s license IDs and badges. If they let you take notes, write the information down. Get a copy of the warrant.

You can sue individual police, and the city, if your privacy has been invaded by false accusations. Be sure to have photos. A video and sound tape recording may also be useful. You can not only sue for real and punitive damages, you may also get an injunction against further harassment. The end result could be a lot of money for you, and what would in effect be a license to grow indoors. In fact, many municipalities are now unable to obtain insurance because of similar lawsuits.

If you want more information on similar tactics for other types of victimless crimes, and common law in general, send ten bucks for four issues of Jurisdiction Journal and Sovereign Review, P.O. Box 299, Provo, UT 84603.

Wolf Segal - Farmer in the Sky

35 Years of Innovation in Large Scale Cannabis Cultivation & Inventor of the Sea of Green method.