Handicapped Growing Discussion Forum

[Jon]

Hello fellow growers! I hope this is the appropriate spot for this post, if not I hope the moderators will be kind enough to help me relocate it (@Renee Roberts?).

I am Jon and I am a wheelchair grower. I am paralyzed from the waist down, and although my injury is incomplete and I can feel my legs externally and kick my feet a little, I have and will never have my butt and thigh muscles back. So I am 100% confined to the chair. Have been my whole growing “career” (lol), of about 2.5 years. I fell off a ladder 24 feet onto my back on a wooden deck. No other injuries and from the waist up I am fully quite functional. Surprisingly my privates work and I do not have to catheter, but I did have to at first (6 years ago), so I know what that is like as well. The first month after my accident I had to be be slinged via machine to the chair and back, and spent months at Bryn Mawr Rehab outside Philadelphia to fight my way back. I know very well the pain and difficulty of accepting and dealing with a life changing injury. T10 to L3. You need that.

I share this personal information up front so that any handicapped and specifically wheelchair bound grower or wannabe grower who reads this can understand the extent of my handicapped reality.

My goal is to assist other wheelchair bound folks who may need some help with their growing. I have developed many wheelchair specific methodologies in everything from the pure growing end to the infrastructure and setup side of it to the psychology of the entire experience. I am a well educated person who at one time also held high level white collar jobs but have always been a criminal at heart. Lol. I grow for me but I also grow for my soul. It’s therapeutic. And I want to share what I’ve learned.

I feel I am well qualified to offer someone some help in this arena and sincerely hope that there is someone who reads this who will take me up on it.

If you like you’re welcome to check out my journal, it’s current and will show you that I at least know how to grow a little bit.

This is my first attempt at reaching out directly to other handicapped folks who may need help with growing. I’m bound to stumble a little here and there. But I sincerely believe I can help someone in my shoes. I like to think I’m reasonably approachable, haha, so please, if you like, respond here or send me a message if you prefer to talk privately. I’m available most of the time.

Thanks so much!

Jon

 

[Tokin Roll]

You are a rare breed @Jon , I don't know of many growers in your situation; but I would diffidently read and follow along.

Have a great week'
Tok..

 

[Jon]

You are a rare breed @Jon , I don't know of many growers in your situation; but I would diffidently read and follow along.

Have a great week'
Tok..

Damn @Tokin Roll, you get around pretty good for a guy with legs! Thank you kind sir.

 

[Tokin Roll]

You came along way @Jon from the days you were peppering me about scrogging.
I must say I like your work.

 

[KeithLemon]

You the man Jon never say die. I too am handy capped but not to your level. I can still walk a little but not too far. You are someone to look up to, thanks for sharing.

 

[Jon]

You the man Jon never say die. I too am handy capped but not to your level. I can still walk a little but not too far. You are someone to look up to, thanks for sharing.

Thanks @KeithLemon - I always say at the end of the day, aren’t we all handicapped a little bit one way or the other?

 

[mysunnyboy]

I love you.
I’m in a chair thanks to winning the arthritis lottery. RA, OA, PsA, PA, etc.
I have one arm that was crushed 2 years ago and it’s slowly getting better.
I can use a cane for a step or two until the arm gives out and back to the chair.
Anyway, hat’s off to you dude. The only thing I can do is make the dispensary delivery call.

 

[JoetheChro]

do you mind sharing any of the innovations you’ve made? And if you haven’t copyrighted it already please do so and get it out there

You’re onto something that’s really beneficial to people. With cancer and the like physical ability drops quite quickly, understandably not the same as living with a disability for years but if you can make growing easier for people suffering then kudos to you mate

 

[Emilya Green]

This is a great thread @Jon, and thank you for sharing your details. I am certain that you will be able to inspire others to grow their own gardens simply by showing your determination and ability to not only accomplish your goal of growing your own medicine, but to excel at it! Part of accepting my own disability was to vow that I would NEVER let the lack of hearing stop me from being able to do the things that I wanted to accomplish, and it was heroes like you who helped inspire me to keep trying when things got hard.

Keep up the good work my friend; this topic is truly inspiring.

 

[mysunnyboy]

My wife tried to take over but she couldn’t get it, killed everything. Poor wife gave up and uses the dispensary.

We spend way too much money.

 

[Jon]

I love you.
I’m in a chair thanks to winning the arthritis lottery. RA, OA, PsA, PA, etc.
I have one arm that was crushed 2 years ago and it’s slowly getting better.
I can use a cane for a step or two until the arm gives out and back to the chair.
Anyway, hat’s off to you dude. The only thing I can do is make the dispensary delivery call.

Hey @mysunnyboy , thanks so much for the kind words, but I’m still not going to the prom with you. And not because of your messed up arm either, you’re just not my type. Don’t be mad.

But I will give you a glimpse of who I am as a teacher, a guide, and hopefully a human being.

I hear you on your physical situation, and sorry for that. Let’s be real - who WANTS to be chair bound? But that’s the hand we’re dealt. So the way I figure it, I can either tell myself what I can’t do, and limit myself to things like “all I can do is X,” or I can figure out what I CAN do. Now it sounds as if you have more motion/physical capabilities than I do by some margin, and you are very likely WAY more capable than you believe.

What if I told you that you can do a lot more than you currently believe you can?

I’m not saying you necessarily WANT to grow on your own. A lot of people are perfectly happy with the dispensary situation, and more power to them. But let’s say for the sake of argument that you DO want to. Let’s say you even wanted to just try it once, despite any past issues you may have had, or wives with no green thumbs, or whatever.

I could show/relate/teach (pick your word of choice, haha) you to grow one plant at a time, expend almost zero effort, have fun with it, never sweat a lick, yield several ounces of high quality weed from it, and do it all without the need for a tent, or a filter, or a ton of things you may think are vital. Even with one arm working. All you need is a light, a fan, and some space. If you can lift a watering can and a pair of scissors you can do this. If you wanted to.

You see where I’m coming from?

I want to encourage those who think they can’t….as much as I want to help people learn to grow. I’d like to think I’m encouraging, supportive, reasonably well informed (lol)…and that I’m going to challenge people a little. I believe my head game and ability to translate it to others is as strong as my growing game, and it’s kind of elemental to where I’m coming from overall. Does that make sense?

So thank you again. And when you want to grow some weed, lemme know!

 

[Jon]

This is a great thread @Jon, and thank you for sharing your details. I am certain that you will be able to inspire others to grow their own gardens simply by showing your determination and ability to not only accomplish your goal of growing your own medicine, but to excel at it! Part of accepting my own disability was to vow that I would NEVER let the lack of hearing stop me from being able to do the things that I wanted to accomplish, and it was heroes like you who helped inspire me to keep trying when things got hard.

Keep up the good work my friend; this topic is truly inspiring.

Thank you so much. Here, since you have gimpy ears, I’ll yell it - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!



You, my dear, get a red heart.

 

[Jon]

do you mind sharing any of the innovations you’ve made? And if you haven’t copyrighted it already please do so and get it out there

You’re onto something that’s really beneficial to people. With cancer and the like physical ability drops quite quickly, understandably not the same as living with a disability for years but if you can make growing easier for people suffering then kudos to you mate

Thanks so much @JoetheChro (great name). It’s true, there’s lots of ways to end up in a chair besides saving the world from nuclear disaster like I was. Just kidding I fell off a ladder. But yeah, one can be quite physically compromised for so many reasons, and last I checked none of us are getting younger. The magic plant makes it all tolerable for me and so many of us it seems a logical thing to try and do. Thanks again.

I don’t have anything in the league of copyrighted, lol. But I can make a scrog on one plant with wheels to rotate it and no screen, with a perfect and high yielding canopy that fits in a small space, for example. I can advise on infrastructure setup. I can relate effort saving idea after idea for how to get things done with one arm, or sitting in a chair, or whatever. I can advise on a ton of easy to use and move equipment. I can teach growing in soil or coco or maybe even a bit of hempy type stuff. I know several techniques for maximum yield/minimum training and effort. Etc. Does that help?

 

[JoetheChro]

Thanks so much @JoetheChro (great name). It’s true, there’s lots of ways to end up in a chair besides saving the world from nuclear disaster like I was. Just kidding I fell off a ladder. But yeah, one can be quite physically compromised for so many reasons, and last I checked none of us are getting younger. The magic plant makes it all tolerable for me and so many of us it seems a logical thing to try and do. Thanks again.

I don’t have anything in the league of copyrighted, lol. But I can make a scrog on one plant with wheels to rotate it and no screen, with a perfect and high yielding canopy that fits in a small space, for example. I can advise on infrastructure setup. I can relate effort saving idea after idea for how to get things done with one arm, or sitting in a chair, or whatever. I can advise on a ton of easy to use and move equipment. I can teach growing in soil or coco or maybe even a bit of hempy type stuff. I know several techniques for maximum yield/minimum training and effort. Etc. Does that help?

Lol I love the scrog wheels idea

Hats off to you mate, will defo sub into any journals you’ve got going on

 

[Bill284]

You are a rare breed @Jon , I don't know of many growers in your situation; but I would diffidently read and follow along.

Have a great week'
Tok..

Sorry I missed that Jon.
I admire your courage my friend.
Your an exemplary member of our community.
Hope everything is going well today Amigo.




Stay safe
Bill284

 

[Jon]

Lol I love the scrog wheels idea

Hats off to you mate, will defo sub into any journals you’ve got going on

Here’s a good example of it. Look past the pieces of wood, they were just support for the buds. This plant is 2 1/2 feet tall. It yielded over 6 ounces. I spent maybe an hour total training it. It’s on wheels so it rotates, allowing me access to the entire plant. I had three of these in a 5x5. Piece of cake. Everything trained and supported and done from below rather than above. Etc.

See what I mean?

 

[JoetheChro]

Here’s a good example of it. Look past the pieces of wood, they were just support for the buds. This plant is 2 1/2 feet tall. It yielded over 6 ounces. I spent maybe an hour total training it. It’s on wheels so it rotates, allowing me access to the entire plant. I had three of these in a 5x5. Piece of cake. Everything trained and supported and done from below rather than above. Etc.

See what I mean?

As above so below

Love it mate

 

[iamhim]

Hello fellow growers! I hope this is the appropriate spot for this post, if not I hope the moderators will be kind enough to help me relocate it (@Renee Roberts?).

I am Jon and I am a wheelchair grower. I am paralyzed from the waist down, and although my injury is incomplete and I can feel my legs externally and kick my feet a little, I have and will never have my butt and thigh muscles back. So I am 100% confined to the chair. Have been my whole growing “career” (lol), of about 2.5 years. I fell off a ladder 24 feet onto my back on a wooden deck. No other injuries and from the waist up I am fully quite functional. Surprisingly my privates work and I do not have to catheter, but I did have to at first (6 years ago), so I know what that is like as well. The first month after my accident I had to be be slinged via machine to the chair and back, and spent months at Bryn Mawr Rehab outside Philadelphia to fight my way back. I know very well the pain and difficulty of accepting and dealing with a life changing injury. T10 to L3. You need that.

I share this personal information up front so that any handicapped and specifically wheelchair bound grower or wannabe grower who reads this can understand the extent of my handicapped reality.

My goal is to assist other wheelchair bound folks who may need some help with their growing. I have developed many wheelchair specific methodologies in everything from the pure growing end to the infrastructure and setup side of it to the psychology of the entire experience. I am a well educated person who at one time also held high level white collar jobs but have always been a criminal at heart. Lol. I grow for me but I also grow for my soul. It’s therapeutic. And I want to share what I’ve learned.

I feel I am well qualified to offer someone some help in this arena and sincerely hope that there is someone who reads this who will take me up on it.

If you like you’re welcome to check out my journal, it’s current and will show you that I at least know how to grow a little bit.

This is my first attempt at reaching out directly to other handicapped folks who may need help with growing. I’m bound to stumble a little here and there. But I sincerely believe I can help someone in my shoes. I like to think I’m reasonably approachable, haha, so please, if you like, respond here or send me a message if you prefer to talk privately. I’m available most of the time.

Thanks so much!

Jon

Jon!! Oh goodness this is a wonderful thread and I love your commitment to helping other disabled growers!

I am in a motorized chair, I have very little mobility due to crippling and severe RA and associated neuropathy.. I’ve been in a chair since a pinched nerve in my spine due to muscular atrophy cause me to go into rhabdomialaysis, completely destroying every muscle below the waist..,
My upper body mobility is also severely restricted but I am hopeful a new treatment may help me out just a little.
My grow right now is pretty much taken care of by my caretaker. I basically only pick the strain I want to grow, and the fertilizer and I assist with mixing and doing the PH’ing and monitoring EC.. prior to the installation of trellis my caretaker would remove plants to allow me to defoliate as I liked.

My goal is to eventually be able to grow my medicine without the need for my caretaker to do it all… I can’t even unzip the tent by myself right now but as I said I am hopeful.

 

[bluter]

this thread.

@iamhim make sure you start up a grow thread and get involved.

 

[Jon]

Jon!! Oh goodness this is a wonderful thread and I love your commitment to helping other disabled growers!

I am in a motorized chair, I have very little mobility due to crippling and severe RA and associated neuropathy.. I’ve been in a chair since a pinched nerve in my spine due to muscular atrophy cause me to go into rhabdomialaysis, completely destroying every muscle below the waist..,
My upper body mobility is also severely restricted but I am hopeful a new treatment may help me out just a little.
My grow right now is pretty much taken care of by my caretaker. I basically only pick the strain I want to grow, and the fertilizer and I assist with mixing and doing the PH’ing and monitoring EC.. prior to the installation of trellis my caretaker would remove plants to allow me to defoliate as I liked.

My goal is to eventually be able to grow my medicine without the need for my caretaker to do it all… I can’t even unzip the tent by myself right now but as I said I am hopeful.

Well hello @iamhim - nice of you to stop by and thank you for the kind words. I’m also in a motorized chair, but it sounds like your upper body is pretty compromised right now. So already you’re displaying one of the most important wheelchair growing concepts: when one way doesn’t work, find a way around it! Sometimes that means the aid of a helper (when I’m in a good mood I call them angels). So good for you, you’re already ahead of the game!

Sorry to hear about the upper body situation. I hope for you it improves with time and work. In the meantime, while you are not directly doing your growing, you are the director it sounds like. So you’re intimately involved.

Are you happy with what you have going on? If you like I’d be more than happy to take a look at your grow and your infrastructure and such, and see if there’s any way to improve it? I’d also be more than happy to work with you or your helper on training methodology if you like.

Just offering. I’m at your disposal and happy to further engage if you wish, just send me a message. If not and if you’re cool with what you have going on, more power to you. We are capable of great things my friend. I spit on my handicap and treat it like the bitch that it is.