I’m starting this diary at the very early stages so there will probably be long breaks in between posts. I’m a plant biologist in spirit and a software engineer by trade (made a career switch a while back). I’m not using my biology training/experience too much these days. That’s where OG comes in! I’m a licensed medical cultivator in my state.
Goals
- Better weed: I’ve been mostly unimpressed with what the dispensaries here are selling. It’s good but not what I’d expect from million dollar professional operations
- Creative control: I want to try some new strains and possibly get into breeding down the road.
- Save money: Cannabis taxes in MO are low, but weed is still expensive and it adds up
I’m going to try hit these notes:
- Rotating cycle of 2-4 plants in flower, with clones following behind them. I’ll work out timing once things get going
- Remote monitoring/intervention: Data and video
- Hydroponics. I know that’s vague but from what I’ve gathered thus far, it’s the most amenable to automation.
- LED lights
- Keep an eye on power consumption
The Space
I have a shed behind my garage that stores my mower and various garden tools but there’s a lot of unused space there. (sidenote: when I say unused space I’m not talking about empty space because, like every horizontal surface in my house, over time the second law of thermodynamics steps in and fills it with junk! So, I have some cleaning to do first) The state requires my grow to be locked and inaccessible by people other than me and the shed provides this more or less already. The shed is uninsulated and full of air leaks. So, I have some building to do. One benefit with this space is the dedicated 20A circuit running to it which I hope will be enough for an LED grow, but I’m open to running more juice later if needed. The shed sits in a fairly sheltered, shady area. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too hot in the summer. We’ve been seeing regular 100°F+ days in summer lately.
I have doubts about this space but my wife doesn’t enjoy pot smell and there’s not much room in the house anyway. My main concerns are:
- Temperature: Hopefully sealing it up a bit more and adding some R9 will help. I expect to need A/C in the summer. I’m not sure about winter grows yet.
- Pests/Disease: I want to continue parking my mower in here but mowers are dirty. I may need to be more proactive about cleaning it after mows.
- Smell: Not too worried about this, but still a concern to be managed. This isn’t an illicit grow but I still want to be mindful of my wife and neighbors.
Automation
I have a busy life with a full-time job, 4 kids, 4 pets, and a cichlid aquarium. So, building systems that can self-regulate is important. We help my kids learn to help themselves, my dogs have an electronic door to let them outside whenever they need/want to, and my cats’ litter box more or less cleans itself. I’d like for this project to (eventually) manage its day-to-day as well.
This is not to say that I’ll be hands-off from the grow–quite the contrary. I see myself checking in on it frequently. What I want is to be responsible for the important higher order decisions (e.g. “what should I do about these pests,” “maybe I should raise the pH a bit”) and less concerned with the more granular aspects of the grow (“should I turn the heat on for a bit to hit the target temp?” “how much acid should I add to hit this pH”).
A big piece of this is monitoring. If I can keep eyes (electronic or otherwise) on the grow when/wherever then I can make small corrections before larger ones are needed. From what I’ve gathered about hydroponics, stasis is the key. Hydro grows can go south in minutes to hours, not days to weeks. This will also alert me to MFs messing with my grow.
I’m still working on hardware and other specifics but I wanted to brain dump and see what y’all thought.