Hello Rob,
I know that this site's area of interest is Cannabis in all its aspects. But I would like to request that you consider adding a small "General Gardening" forum to the site. MUCH knowledge and methods would translate easily back and forth. While many are happy with a garden of cannabis alone, lots of people would like to have (or already DO have) "mixed" gardens. And also, please consider that while lots of people would consider experimenting with or trying something new on an alternate type of plant with an eye towards eventually transferring the knowledge to their beloved cannabis, many would be hesitant to try something that could harm their yields - especially those who have (limited) legal grows and who cannot easily and safely make up for any potential reduced yield caused by such experimentation by way of adding more plants to their grows.
A garden containing a number of species is a healthy one both for the plants and the gardener (Fresh veggies, fruits, and herbs of our own choosing and grown with care by our own hands in the way that we wish to grow them - Mmm mmm, good!) and could help lift the spirits, the physical health, and the appetite of all of us both the more-or-less healthy and (much more importantly) those who are suffering from one illness or another.
And as for those who must do their growing clandestinely due to the draconian laws and political climate in which they live, think about it. Not many grow significant other crops indoors (especially with hydroponics). To my thinking and in addition to the things that I mentioned above, it would provide the possibility of additional "cover," or a shield as it were. Imagine if one has fallen under suspicion for whatever reason. Wouldn't they be far less likely to have become so if their cannabis garden is well-hidden but their "other" garden is not only in plain sight but actively pointed out to their friends, family, and neighbors? (As an aside, who knows but what they might find that more than one of those people happen to take them aside and quietly mention that they also have an indoor garden, but they're growing cannabis? That would be somewhat ironic. But also very helpful!) A neighbor is far less likely to yap to a nosy LEO about the HPS and nutrients that you carry into your home if you've had them over to show off your fine garden and if they're hoping for some great home-grown vegetables (especially if it happens to be the middle of winter and there's six inches of snow outside). Why, that same neighbor might actually wave down the UPS person that brings your new light and offer to sign for it & keep it safe until you get home from work instead of calling their "friendly" policeman to inform them that they "think their neighbor is growing something."
And another thing (lol), to and for those who are paranoid about visiting hydroponics / indoor gardening shops: NEWSFLASH: If the person behind the counter happens to ask you what you're growing at home and you say, "Uhh... What am I growing? Err... I'm not... Well, I AM growing. I mean... Uhh... <LOOKS AT SHOES, CEILING, SALESPERSON, AGAIN AT SHOES> Well, you see... TOMATOES! Yeah, that's it, I'm growing tomatoes. What kind? Uhh... Red ones? Yeah, definitely red ones. The kind you... eat?" If you find yourself responding to an innocent question in a manner such as that, please excuse yourself for a minute and got out to your car so you can rub the "Cannabis Grower" sign off of your forehead because it's already served its purpose and the salesclerk has definitely seen it, lol. OtOH, if you really ARE growing (in addition to cannabis, of course) tomatoes, or peppers, various salad greens, a nice little hydroponic rose bush, peas, beans, whatever - or have at least spent a little time reading about it here in the General Gardening forum - then your "cover's" security factor just increased exponentially because you can actually talk about it instead of being unable to make eye-contact without sweating through your shirt.
NOTE: Many owners and employees in hydroponics stores will NOT ask you what you are growing unless you volunteer the information, please don't misunderstand me. After all, everything is nice and safe as long as they follow the "don't ask, don't tell" policy - and they ARE in the business to make a living and could obviously use your business (and many of them know or at least suspect that a fair portion if not a majority of their business comes from people like, well, us). But occasionally someone might ask out of a genuine desire to be helpful - or because they're the exception to the rule and they're opposed to the cannabis grower. Or... <SHRUGS> I know a guy who's so paranoid he can't walk into a Wal*Mart without getting the shakes, lol. He's constantly worried that something will happen to put his freedom and his family life at risk. Our local store is not so much local as "major road-trip" and I talked him into going with me one day for the company (and the bud he would of course bring, lol). So Mr. Freaked-Out is getting antsy sitting in the car out front and comes tearing through the door (I immediately think, "Oh no! This is going to be bad, bad, BAD...") when he passes the display grow up front, rubbernecks it, stops, walks over to it, starts literally fondling the plants, walks back and to my surprise asks, "Are those peppers affected by the heat of your 1000-watt HPS?" So they start jabbering about various food crops that do well indoors (the guy was raised on a farm), I wander off to finish my shopping, and eventually I'm the one getting antsy (because my bladder is full
). They must have chatted for 30-40 minutes and he left with almost as much stuff as I did - including a bunch of samples that I wasn't offered. Go figure. Anyway, I'm just saying...
Well, as usual I presented my case and then rambled down to Georgia and back. So I'll wrap this up (I'm now officially late for work anyway). I do hope that you at consider my request. This is my favorite (and pretty much only at this point in time) internet forum and I'd be very happy to see it become even greater than it already is.
Thank you,
~TS~ (Got so fired up I almost made the EXTREME slip-up and signed my real name...)
I know that this site's area of interest is Cannabis in all its aspects. But I would like to request that you consider adding a small "General Gardening" forum to the site. MUCH knowledge and methods would translate easily back and forth. While many are happy with a garden of cannabis alone, lots of people would like to have (or already DO have) "mixed" gardens. And also, please consider that while lots of people would consider experimenting with or trying something new on an alternate type of plant with an eye towards eventually transferring the knowledge to their beloved cannabis, many would be hesitant to try something that could harm their yields - especially those who have (limited) legal grows and who cannot easily and safely make up for any potential reduced yield caused by such experimentation by way of adding more plants to their grows.
A garden containing a number of species is a healthy one both for the plants and the gardener (Fresh veggies, fruits, and herbs of our own choosing and grown with care by our own hands in the way that we wish to grow them - Mmm mmm, good!) and could help lift the spirits, the physical health, and the appetite of all of us both the more-or-less healthy and (much more importantly) those who are suffering from one illness or another.
And as for those who must do their growing clandestinely due to the draconian laws and political climate in which they live, think about it. Not many grow significant other crops indoors (especially with hydroponics). To my thinking and in addition to the things that I mentioned above, it would provide the possibility of additional "cover," or a shield as it were. Imagine if one has fallen under suspicion for whatever reason. Wouldn't they be far less likely to have become so if their cannabis garden is well-hidden but their "other" garden is not only in plain sight but actively pointed out to their friends, family, and neighbors? (As an aside, who knows but what they might find that more than one of those people happen to take them aside and quietly mention that they also have an indoor garden, but they're growing cannabis? That would be somewhat ironic. But also very helpful!) A neighbor is far less likely to yap to a nosy LEO about the HPS and nutrients that you carry into your home if you've had them over to show off your fine garden and if they're hoping for some great home-grown vegetables (especially if it happens to be the middle of winter and there's six inches of snow outside). Why, that same neighbor might actually wave down the UPS person that brings your new light and offer to sign for it & keep it safe until you get home from work instead of calling their "friendly" policeman to inform them that they "think their neighbor is growing something."
And another thing (lol), to and for those who are paranoid about visiting hydroponics / indoor gardening shops: NEWSFLASH: If the person behind the counter happens to ask you what you're growing at home and you say, "Uhh... What am I growing? Err... I'm not... Well, I AM growing. I mean... Uhh... <LOOKS AT SHOES, CEILING, SALESPERSON, AGAIN AT SHOES> Well, you see... TOMATOES! Yeah, that's it, I'm growing tomatoes. What kind? Uhh... Red ones? Yeah, definitely red ones. The kind you... eat?" If you find yourself responding to an innocent question in a manner such as that, please excuse yourself for a minute and got out to your car so you can rub the "Cannabis Grower" sign off of your forehead because it's already served its purpose and the salesclerk has definitely seen it, lol. OtOH, if you really ARE growing (in addition to cannabis, of course) tomatoes, or peppers, various salad greens, a nice little hydroponic rose bush, peas, beans, whatever - or have at least spent a little time reading about it here in the General Gardening forum - then your "cover's" security factor just increased exponentially because you can actually talk about it instead of being unable to make eye-contact without sweating through your shirt.
NOTE: Many owners and employees in hydroponics stores will NOT ask you what you are growing unless you volunteer the information, please don't misunderstand me. After all, everything is nice and safe as long as they follow the "don't ask, don't tell" policy - and they ARE in the business to make a living and could obviously use your business (and many of them know or at least suspect that a fair portion if not a majority of their business comes from people like, well, us). But occasionally someone might ask out of a genuine desire to be helpful - or because they're the exception to the rule and they're opposed to the cannabis grower. Or... <SHRUGS> I know a guy who's so paranoid he can't walk into a Wal*Mart without getting the shakes, lol. He's constantly worried that something will happen to put his freedom and his family life at risk. Our local store is not so much local as "major road-trip" and I talked him into going with me one day for the company (and the bud he would of course bring, lol). So Mr. Freaked-Out is getting antsy sitting in the car out front and comes tearing through the door (I immediately think, "Oh no! This is going to be bad, bad, BAD...") when he passes the display grow up front, rubbernecks it, stops, walks over to it, starts literally fondling the plants, walks back and to my surprise asks, "Are those peppers affected by the heat of your 1000-watt HPS?" So they start jabbering about various food crops that do well indoors (the guy was raised on a farm), I wander off to finish my shopping, and eventually I'm the one getting antsy (because my bladder is full
). They must have chatted for 30-40 minutes and he left with almost as much stuff as I did - including a bunch of samples that I wasn't offered. Go figure. Anyway, I'm just saying...Well, as usual I presented my case and then rambled down to Georgia and back. So I'll wrap this up (I'm now officially late for work anyway). I do hope that you at consider my request. This is my favorite (and pretty much only at this point in time) internet forum and I'd be very happy to see it become even greater than it already is.
Thank you,
~TS~ (Got so fired up I almost made the EXTREME slip-up and signed my real name...)
