First time grower. Long time stalker... Advise?

[Lateshift32]

I am not a weed smoker. I do have Multiple Sclerosis and am not in a legal Marijuana area. Over the last year my MS pain has been getting very bad. They keep prescribing shit... Literally stuff that does nothing. Now I am taking matters into my own hands.

I bought 2 grows lights last year to start the garden veggies with before spring. I also have several T8 light fixtures. My problem is that I just can't afford to buy a grow tent right now, but would rather just start a grow room. The first was a supernova 273w, the second a Haight Solid State 800Rv2. I have an ordinay floor fan, but nothing else.

Any recommendations for cheap logical additions/setups would be appreciated.

As far a soil grow I have read about using just Miracle indoor potting mix,or the equivalent. I also read that Ocean Forest is really good. Is it really worth the extra cash to get Coco Loco/ Ocean Forest soil over a box store mix?

Will what I have work? Is the added cost of a grow tent worth the money for a grower growing 1-2 plants at a time for themselves worth it?

Finally not being an experienced grower/smoker what strands should I look at growing? I see that Sativa strains grow taller etc, so I would most likely want to go for a hybrid. One plant for cooking/eating and one for smoking.

Also, since I know no sellers... Best place to get seeds?

Is there anything else I should consider? Aside from the legality?

Thanks from the noobiest noob on the block.

 

[sunni]

never ever tell anyone you grow when you decide to. buying seeds online or at a local head shop works best.
good luck on your pain , and read read read, youll find everything you need to know on here

 

[kushdc]

For starters start real cheap and just learn from the plant. Use what you have already in your house cfls or flo tubes and just soil and a seed. Your going to make mistakes but not as many if you do your homework. Read my man. I started 5 years ago and am still reading and learning and the more I read the better the bud get after every grow.

 

[Cascadian]

Sorry to hear your MS is getting worse. The extra cost of quality soil is worth it. Add perlite to whatever soil you get and also make sure you add some dolomite lime (powdered not pelletized), this is at a minimum there are other amendments that will help. Your lights seem fine to start with. A tent makes it easier to control the environment but isn't necessary. I would recommend using filtered water as well.

Do a lot of reading...

I would highly recommend doing some research on Cannabidiol (CBD). It has been proven to help MS in clinical studies. CBD does not have a psychoactive effect. You might want to grow some high CBD and some other more medicinal strains.
Here are a couple links to CBD and MS. (I hope it is acceptable to post these external links)

http://thejointblog.com/cannabidiol-can-provide-protection-from-multiple-sclerosis-according-to-new-study/
http://www.marijuana.com/news/2013/10/new-study-cbd-cannabinoids-helpful-in-the-battle-against-multiple-sclerosis/

 

[Lateshift32]

Here are the types of leds I have on handView attachment 2952629

 

[LuffyakaDJames]

I agree with the above posts 100%. For a starter grow room if you're trying to save money and don't want to buy the tent you can buy reflective mylar or flat white paint. Also depending on what type of illnesses and/or pains your trying to cope with depends on the type of plants you want. In general Sativa plants are a more energetic uplifting high while indicas are more of a mellow, sleepy, pain relieving high. Not Saying sativa can't relieve pain either though. Hybrids as you probably know can be a mix of both a sativa and indica, sometimes dominant in one of the two.

 

[Lateshift32]

Thanks for the information guys. I have read alot of this, but appreciate the real life info. I really have a tough time self motivating. I take so much caffeine in a day that my wife is worried about heart attacks. I'm only 37. So a hybrid is the way I think and I need to have the ability to clone. That way I don't need to buy a ton of seeds. Should I get feminized seeds?

 

[sunni]

yes buy fems

also look at your dietary life, its not 1 thing that causes a healthy life. you need multiple things to make yourself whole and back to a somewhat healthy shape.

food can kill you or heal you.

what you put into your body fuels you, i would suggest looking at light yoga, and eating right along with marijuana

 

[TonightYou]

All good advice in this thread!
Here's the thing, you don't need a tent if you can ensure a complete darkness of 12 hours if its a room or closet. A tent is really useful for initiating and ensuring hermi free plants. So figure out if you can ensure total darkness.

You have great equipment to get started. The floros are great for seedlings and veg. I use a T5 for my seedling and veging plants. I played around with some cheap chinese leds and was pretty impressed. I'm unfamiliar with those brands but they sound like solid lights. Looks like they could do well for flowering.

When it comes to strains, as a person with degenerative disc disease, Indicas work best for pain. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good sativa but nothing quiets the nerve pain and muscle spasms. Plus I can't spend 12+ weeks on something that may not be useful.

 

[blowincherrypie]

I actually currently have a couple friends with MS that I currently donate my extra stash to. With that said, having somebody (family, very close friend) to do the heavy lifting (figuratively and literally) in your situation can be crucial. I have found tents help by having supports to hang lights and carbon filter/fan etc., which helps contain the smell (critical for stealth growing in non-legal areas.)

Perhaps you have a friend like me who would be more than happy to buy your tent/nutes/carbon filter-fan, and walk you through the first couple rounds for a small portion of harvest to recoup investment.

Favorite strain for me and them has been HSO Chemdawg fwiw.

Good luck and if you only have limited space I would advise fem seeds.

 

[blowincherrypie]

yes buy fems

also look at your dietary life, its not 1 thing that causes a healthy life. you need multiple things to make yourself whole and back to a somewhat healthy shape.

food can kill you or heal you.

what you put into your body fuels you, i would suggest looking at light yoga, and eating right along with marijuana

Not to be a dick, and that is good advice, but diet has very little to do with MS and yoga is often impossible when you're having difficulty with mobility.

 

[sunni]

Not to be a dick, and that is good advice, but diet has very little to do with MS and yoga is often impossible when you're having difficulty with mobility.

yoga does not have to be strenuous simply moving your arm in a good direction or simple movement in the proper area can build and help and alivate pain.

and yes diet is everything, you eat shit you feel like shit, thats a proven fact. when youre already sick and you eat like shit you feel more like shit you fuel your body to work on your shitty diet, instead of working with you to help your pain, body ect.

 

[blowincherrypie]

Yes Sunni, diet and exercise are good.. I even said it was good advice, but dude didn't say he was eating 10 big macs or anything like that. Excuse me if I'm a little sensitive, but there's no diet that is going to cure an auto-immune disease..

edit: There is nothing simple about "moving your arm" if your nerves aren't shooting right.

 

[sunni]

"There are strong reasons to think that diet could affect MS symptoms and even help treat it," says neurologist Ellen Mowry, MD, of Johns Hopkins University.

http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org/Recovery-Program/Diet/
http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/treating-multiple-sclerosis-with-diet-fact-or
I've been very gratified by the results of this dietary treatment, not only because the progress of most of my MS patients' disease has been halted, but also because their overall health has unquestionably improved. And everyone knows that MS sufferers need every bit of help they can get.



heres some links if you care to read

 

[er0senin]

I have a family member with MS who dont like to smoke, but she stills eat cannabutter and other types of edible cannabis and it helps her a lot.

if you wanna grow i highly suggest you get a system that is easy to maintain. dont get me wrong i myself am a soilgrower, but if you live where its not legal it can be a trouble with having to carry around all that soil and them heavy pots... maybe a DWC bucket or some other type of easy handled hydro/aerophonics would be better suited for you?

I am HiD man so ill always say HPS for light preferrable with cooled hoods! altho it dont mean other light are not good. however i have 95% of my own experience with HiD (HPS / MH ) so thats what i will recommend since it always made me happy.
I heard a lot of good about LED lights, but i myself dont have experience with them..

Airflow is very important! Dont even think about HPS unless you have some serious ventilation! As a minimum you need a good exhauste and second most important something to rotate the air inside the tent (i.e a table fan). intake can be passive and works fine.

Since you have MS building a Tent might not be your way to go. but if you want, you can build one fairly cheap and with not too much labour.
However to buy a tent is always nice. I loved to grow in tent back in the day when i was active and had time for it

And i agree with previous statement of healty food and exercise. This is the key component to making your illness as little a burden for you to live your life as possible.

I wish you good luck in your quest. Good day to you

 

[BarnBuster]

OP, sorry to hear about your MS. Keep your grow as simple as possible to begin with. Maybe read thru a few books on growing as well. Don't worry about a tent, the room will work fine. Below are some threads with info/and from others with MS.

https://www.rollitup.org/concentrates-extracts/648473-topical-ointment-friend-multiple-sclerosis.html

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/635090-strains-use-multiple-sclerosis-ms.html

https://www.rollitup.org/oregon-patients/504683-m-s-neuropain-sufferer-needs.html

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/279069-please-help-first-grow-ms.html

https://www.rollitup.org/medicating/325652-best-strains-m-s.html

 

[er0senin]

Maybe read thru a few books on growing as well. <- this is tru wise words. theres nothing like a good cannabook to read while you grow. iwish i had one on my first runs

 

[blowincherrypie]

I seem to have came across wrong so let me apologize to Sunni, the OP and the forum. My sensitivity is based on family and friends with MS who have to endure people with little knowledge on the subject, trivializing the debilitating nature of the disease and acting as if it were a cold, or even worse, all in their head. I am not saying Sunni is one of those people, and I apologize if I came off that way.

 

[Jbone77]

Given the circumstances I wouldnt use soil, getting set up will be difficult and should a problem arise it will be difficult to fix, DWC requires daily maintenance. Perlite hempys are light and easy to move and the lucas formula is simple, cheap, reliable and produces great. A shop vac is great for dealing with runoff so you would have nothing to lift. Its what I use most of the time because of the ease

 

[Ace Yonder]

I don't know what kind of seeds/cuttings you have access to, but I would strongly recommend trying to get a high CBD strain. Canna-Tsu, as well as it's parents Sour Tsunami and Cannatonic, are great choices, as are Harlequin and Chocolope (There are lots of others, like AC/DC, but those are the only ones I have tried personally). I don't know from first hand experience how effective for MS they are, but I can say for sure that they helped with phantom limb pain when absolutely nothing else would, so as far as painkillers go they have my vote for sure. I have also heard that some high CBD strains can be more forgiving to grow due to their genetics sometimes (but not always) having a bit of ruderalis in them, particularly the ones bred to have low THC in addition to high CBD.