If I ran a large illegal grow op, I wouldn't post at all on RIU.
It's MUCH more hazardous in states that do not allow marijuana at all -- like Utah.
It's also wise to never sell ounces, because it's a felony to possess 20+ grams of a schedule 1 controlled substance. (They treat it like meth)
If one of your customers bought an ounce and got caught with it (felony), the police would definitely try to cut a deal for info about the source.
My grows are illegal regardless wether they are small or large. I run rather large guerilla grows but I am particular with my photos during that time. I sure won't be throwing up over 99 plants at one given time, even if I have over 600.
If they are gonna come take me, I will go down with pride. I've been there before, but this is my one true love besides the wife and kids.... Oh, and the dog... I love him sometimes.
This year I am going bigger than ever focusing directly on large plants only. Starting my outdoor crop seeds in less than 2 weeks so I am definitely going to have some trees this year.
I'm looking more on the 2 lb a plant side of things with lower plant numbers this year compared to the previous 3 years where I have grown anywhere from 300 to 600 plus plants, all averaging around 8 oz per plant.
Before I got carried away with numbers I done much better doing larger plants, 3 to 4 plants per plot finishing around 8 to 12 foot tall and structured wide and heavy, bushy trees handing me around a pound and a half each.
I don't water my plants in the bush and still get superb results, as long as the area is chosen correctly and the ground is amended right, its easy to pull over a lb per plant, in Kentucky it is anyway... We have lots of rain here usually that does more than enough for the plants. I still tend to them though, once per week and give feeding every now and then but where I grow, there is no hauling water not even on ATVs because the land is flat out inaccessible by vehicle or atv.
I have a new area this year to grow. One of the most secluded areas I know of around here and there is never any hunters or ginseng diggers in this particular place either. I have scoped it out for the last couple of years and have had numerous trail cams documenting surveillance on it as well. I watch it like a hawk and have finally pulled the trigger. Reason I haven't grabbed it sooner is because I needed to gather all of the possible intel I possibly could on the location cause I'm going to turn the area into my main production grounds so I needed to be absolutely positive that it was nearly completely untouched by man. Don't get me wrong, I know there is the possibility of a passer by but highly unlikely.
The area is an ex farm land that has started growing up and had been logged off around 5 years ago, parts of it anyway and some has been untouched and has this beautiful ancient feel to it... Very nice place to grow and has some of the most fertile soil I have ever seen in my entire life. There are streams, springs and creeks of fresh water from untouched ancient caves all over the place on this spot. I even know and visit one cave there often where there are actually 2 huge large mounds of guano that looks as if it has never been touched. I plan on using that as well... I know the correct way to take the safety precautions for wild guano and have the hazmat suit and respirators, everything I need.
This is going to be an interesting year for sure. And hardly any amendments will be needed to grow here. Other than the basic food and microbe supply, the soil is incredibly fertile.