Basement of My Dreams!!!

The Story

So as we are all painfully aware life in the USA these days is hard and getting harder every day. My wife and I used to own a restaurant in Wyoming and then the economy fell apart. Now we are Bankrupt and back in our home state of Michigan looking for work and failing miserably.

On one of our first nights back we got together with some friends and as the Wyoming Dank was being passed around the room everyone was ecstatic as schwagg has been the norm here for some time now. After everyone was thoroughly blazed some one started talking about how Michigan was a legal medicinal marijuana state now and you can start applying for cards on April 4, 2009.

Of course my immediate thought was that they were yanking me around. So I smiled and let the topic pass (silly stoners). The next day my wife and I decided maybe we'd see how true the comment really was, and lo and behold
the people of this state did it! The law is real, has some holes, and doesn't do anything to ensure the quality/cost/attainability of medicinal MJ but it allows those in need to smoke and those they need to assist in any way without fear of prosecution.

So it is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to share this grow with all of you. I was a former OG'er and after it fell I have hid from the fallout but now I'm back in a new home with a purpose.

So with no further ado I present for your input and assistance the first grow of the Michigan Organization for Professional Medicinal Marijuana!:jawdrop:


The Rooms

After years of research and development and many failed experiments along the way we will be starting with a simple 16x10 space split into 2 rooms one 10x10 for flowering and one 6x10 for veg and mothers.

The walls of the rooms are a simple frame of 2x4 anchored to the ceiling built from the top down. We got the thickest black and white poly film we could find to make the walls and a couple of adhesive backed zippers for doors. We used white duct tape to secure all seems and make them as airtight as possible. We cut windows into the Veg room from the outside and from the veg room to the flowering room to allow for a pressurized air intake into the room.

This is looking along the entrance halway to the rooms with doors closed

This one is doors open Lights are on in both pictures

The outside air intake on the left with the open zipper door on the right

The air intake from veg to flowering room


The ventilation is powered by a 660 cfm Eclipse in line duct fan pulling air through a Can 33 carbon air filter. The one fan also powers the air cooling of the 1000w HPS flowering lamp and the 400w MH veg lamp. The cool part is i vent this MJ free warm air into my living room which helps heat my house! Thats right green friendly

So for all you visual thinkers...

filter --->>> Light Reflector 1000w--->>> Fan --->>> Light Reflector 400w --->>> Living room

The filter

Hydro Farm Daystar AC Reflector

The fan


The Veg reflector

Real green energy on its way to heat my house

We are using a home built DWC/KFB hybrid system with recycled kitty litter buckets for the plants and 40 gallon knock-off Rubbermaid tubs for reservoirs that have been spray painted white with Krylon Paint for plastic. The nutrient solution is sprayed directly onto the sides of the net pots from two 1/4" feed lines in each bucket powered by a General Hydroponics Blue Stone 1100 gph mag pump. The buckets drain under gravity return to the reservoir through 1" PVC and each drain is located at the max water level for the buckets.

One half of the flowering room plumbing

The other half of flowering room plumbing as well as the reservoir and GH Blue Stone pump



The same layout in the veg room on a smaller scale

The reservoirs are filled from a 15' garden hose attached to the faucet of the utility sink between my washer and dryer. The hose is also fitted with a locking collar connector I found at Lowes and matching connectors are fitted to each reservoir so I don't have to stand there and waste time filling 40 gallons of water when I could be tending the ladies. The reservoirs are also fitted with 1" PVC drain lines to the floor drain that sits between them. Each drain line has a 1" ball valve installed for easy drains and fills (YAY no more pumping nutes out!).

The hose with the nifty locking attachment

the ball valve on the res drains

the floor drain (YAY FLOOR DRAIN

The res fitting the hose attaches to

Aeration for the buckets is provided in 2 ways in this system. First is the diffused spray of the nutes n the net pots and Hydroton. Second is two 4" air stone mounted on the side of each bucket. All air stones in each room are powered by a Sunleaves 950 GPH air pump (the biggest one they make ). This ensures that the bubbles be churning no matter what.

The air pump and yes it's really on the ceiling!

Flowering room temperature and humidity are kept by an Acurite combo meter with a probe that also reads the temperature in the veg room. We aren't super concerned with humidity in the veg room as it will always have less than the flowering room due to the constant airflow of the fan.

Termometer/Hygrometer in the flowering room under the light

The probe in the veg room

We will be using General Hydroponics 3 part flora series nutrients and GH's PH down to start with. Once flowering is induced and there is some room in the budget we will be adding GH Floralicious as a micro nutrient boost. Plants will be sprayed routinely with a dilute solution of Neem Oil as needed to keep them safe and healthy from visitors. PPM/PH/Nute temps will be tracked with a Hannah combo meter daily.


Well that's about all there is to the system. If you have any questions feel free to shoot and I'll do my best to fill you in

Nice layout. Looks great man, well done.

looks good

hell ya medical pot in another state

yeah man, that looks fricken' bad ass.

The Ladies

The Ladies

The Ladies

Well Several years ago before heading out west I ordered several varieties of seed from our good friends in Amsterdam (I LUV YOU GUYS!). I got Sweet Purple, White Satin, White Widow, Tribal Vision and some Skunk#1 x Neville's Haze. All of these strains are proven Cannabis cup winners and are top shelf smoke. After careful consideration we opted to start this grow with White Satin from Mandala Seeds, and Sweet Purple from Paradise seeds.


White Satin

Type: indica-sativa
Contains land race genetics from: Punjab, North India
Cultivation: indoor/outdoor
Flowering time: 65 days/September-October
Yield: 400-500 gr/m2 (dry weight)
High: a potent, up-high that leaves you clear-headed yet wonderfully stoned; recommended as “leasure and pleasure” cannabis; physically stimulating.
Medical use: White Satin shows potential against depression and has a variety of other medical uses.


This robust variety is a good choice for the novice gardener and experienced grower alike. She combines power, quality, and flexibility within a relatively short flowering time. White Satin is made for easy growing... plant and harvest with a minimum of effort. The main flowering power is located on the central stem, but also the side shoots deliver quality ”nuggets”. White Satin has proven to be very versatile for Sea of Green or SCROG (Screen of Green) methods. Even under low light conditions, such as under fluorescent tubes, the performance is satisfying (although for optimal results we do recommend 400W/m2). Her medium height, good yield, and well-balanced, intensive high have made her a popular variety ideal for indoor. Outdoor most plants will finish end of September in southern latitudes. In extreme northern climates expect to wait 1-2 weeks longer. White Satin can develop an extremely large and dense main cola, so it’s a good idea to keep humidity between 35-50%, and night time temperature not below 20°C, as a prevention to mold. Check the head buds at least once before harvest if they are very fat, or if you have constant high humidity in your grow space. The plants with the highest resin output will cover many leaves with trichomes and provide an extra treat for hash enthusiasts.

Sweet Purple
[Paradise Seeds]

Indica / Sativa
Origins - Purple strain x Dutch strain x mystery strain
Flowering - N/A
Harvest - Mid September


Sweet Purple is a hybrid of 3 varieties: a purple variety, and early-finishing and large-yielding Dutch variety and a third, mystery strain of a strong potency. As the name implies, this strain kept the coloration of the purple parent, while gaining sweetness from the Dutch part of the family. This mostly indica mix was bred by Paradise Seeds in 1999 for outdoor gardens in temperate climates.

Any time a Dutch breeder claims a variety can grow outdoors in Holland, you can bet that she'll stand up to cold, wet climates. Sweet Purple has the additional benefit of resisting mold. These hardy plants grow to a full height of about 8 feet and can yield 500 grams per fully matured plant. Sweet Purple shows some variation, and potency can vary from average to "wow" from one plant to another. The coloration also ranges - some plants turn completely purple, while others take on this royal hue on the buds alone.

Sweet Purple has a strong herbal bouquet, and a sweet taste with an iron-like tone to it. The high is a pleasant bodily sensation, but also retains a lucid edge that may increase your sense of concentration.

These were chosen for their super contrasting qualities and the possibilities of cross breeding down the road.

We germinated 10 of the White Satin by gently rubbing the seeds on an emery board and soaking them in water until they sank. Then we placed them between damp paper towel in a zip lock bag and left them on top of the fridge to be checked for tap roots every eight hours.

We attempted the same process with 10 of the Sweet Purple seeds but the first seed crumbled to dust with the slightest pressure of my finger
So instead of the usual process I took the other 9 and tossed them in water until they sank, crossed my fingers, and popped em into paper towel and a plastic bag to join the others on top of the fridge.

7 hours later it was morning and like a kid on Christmas i peeked into the bag of White Satin and no surprise no tap roots yet. After that I checked the Sweet Purple :jawdrop: all nine of little purple girls had popped taproots! I got some 1" rock wool prepped and the next morning after the White Satins had all germinated the babies were chillin in my latest concept built NFT cloner.

After 1 1/2 weeks the girls had done well and we had 9 Sweet Purple and 7 White Satin (3 never made it to the surface ) plants. Of those plants we selected the best 6 of each strain to go into the rooms we had just finish building. We decided that since the White Satin is a smaller strain we would hold them in the veg room and would keep them veged until the Sweet Purple was nearing harvest. We also still expect to find a 50/50 male/female split as these are all from seed so if we are really lucky 3 white and 3 purple will be coming down on the first Harvest. The Purple went right into the flower room but will still veg for a couple months to bush em out.

Instead of the usual markings of WS p1 and so on to label them we thought it would provide the baby girls some encouragement to name them. So it is my pleasure to present them to you! These pics were all taken on day 19.

The Purple Team



The White Team

Fun with new Hydro systems

Fun with new Hydro systems

Well if you took a close look at the plants above you will signs of abuse. We had to go see family over the weekend and the systems had a large PH swing which of course = nutrient lock out. In addition the nutrient mix was just too hot for their size so I flushed with 100 gallons of fresh water and remixed the nutrients to a PPM of 900 and a PH of 5.2.

Day 20

This morning Life in the gardens was looking perkier. PPM was around 900 but the PH had risen to 6.1 on the Sweet Purples and 6.2 on the White Satins. We know that the readings we take at the reservoir are accurate 1 hour after mixing throughout the entire system so I think it has to be the Hydroton buffering the PH up.

The Hydroton was all placed in the net pots and thoroughly washed 10 times in each basket but after some research on IC I found that if you don't pre treat the clay with a good long PH adjusted soak it will probably take a week or two to stop counter balancing the PH . Ah well could be worse we'll just have to stay on it every day till it levels out.

Our water is also quite hard at around 200ppm on its own and PH 7.3. I look forward to having the funds to put in and Reverse Osmosis filter but we are a ways from that so I'll be switching to GH Micro Hard Water once I get through the last of the regular which should help buffer the water down considerably. If you guys have any other suggestions I'm all ears but I think the situation is manageable for now.

Kal-El, OneMan, Stoney419, Roughnice 420:

Thanks for stopping by guys hope you're ready for a good show! Should be lots of good root and plant porn just around the corner. Everyone feel free to place bets on which girl will be the baddest bitch of em all!!!

Looking good in the Basement of your dreams !!

If I could throw a couple suggestions.
1) You might keep an eye on the PPMs being at 900 on such small / young plants. They might burn on ya if your not careful. If they were mine I'd be around 500 for now.
2) You can bump your PH up to 5.8 minimum and 6.0 as an average. I always run mine at 6.0 and at times let it swing up to 6.2 before bringing it back down. Never below 5.8 though. .........5.3 is very low and later on your gonna get deficiencies. Especially in the Magnesium department. Mag is unavailable in the range your set at now.

That's just my 2 cents.

Happy to here Michigan came on board the MMJ train.

Love the grow room you got there naruto. Btw the ladies are Looking good. Ill stay active here and see the outcome of it I just love watching them grow

Pirate: thanks for dropping in YARRRR!!

As for the PPM I'm still dialing in the nutes to the correct level but that 900 = 200ppm or residual hard water and 700 ppm of nutes and ph down so getting closer.

On the topic of PH the only reason I am adjusting so low at this point is that the growing media ( I think) is buffering 5.2 to 6.2 in 24 hours so although it may be a bit rough right now soon they'll be enjoying that lovely 5.8 you know they love. If you got any thoughts on what is buffering the nute PH so hard let me know so we can take a peek at it. Wishing you Lots oh booty and plenty of wench time till we see ya again

IKILL3RI: Thanks for stopping in man they are fun to watch aren't they. It just boggles my mind the things we can do with a little hard work and ingenuity. your welcome at the show anytime just remember to bring Munchies for the whole class!

You're right...that is a basement of MY dreams

with the exception of hydroponics

best of luck... one of those plants you posted has like the fattest indica leaves I've ever seen.. they're like round!

btw nice avy

Pirate thanks for the compliment man ! I am trying to get it dialed and that's why YOU GUYS ALL ROCK!!! If it weren't for the hundreds of forums I've lurked in over the the last 7 years and all of the amazing growers out there sharing ideas and practical experience there is no way I'd be able to do what I am doing so props to you guys for keeping it real!

Swishaman thanks for popping in! I too love the simplicity of non-Hydro cultivation but I found that with that simplicity a price must be paid. Where I'm at the price is pests/rot/mold and for me it's just better to fuss over nute strength/aeration/PH than to try and undo things that naturally happen in soil.
Layla the Indica dominant plant you mentioned is just gorgeous. Both strains are a Indica/Sativa hybrid but all the Sweet Purple plants with the exception of Big Rhonda are really showing that Indica dominance I love so much.

Day 21

Well today marks one week since the lovely ladies were put into the rooms!
After a week of wild PH swings today they are still at 5.2 which means that the Hydroton shouldn't buffer the PH like it was from this point forward. So I am adding a little bit of PH up today to bring them into the 5.5 neighborhood and then will let the plants do the rest from there as they take nutes.

Something I saw kind of took me by surprise today. I normally expect to see plants grow single leaves above the cotyledon leaves and then a set with three points and then a set with five points but all of the Sweet Purples seem to be going from three points to seven points! If anyone has any info on growing either of these strains it would be much appreciated as not many out there have posted about them or their behavior. The other new find today is the growth of axial branches starting all over.

Normally I expect axial branch growth to come from where fan leaves protrude from the plant and that's it but at least one of the Purple girls (Mary Jane) is popping them out of her main stem wherever she feels like it. She may also be the most floral scented of all the plants at this point which to me is also a good sign ( I like stinky Bitches). Ill try and get a couple good shots of the strange growth patterns and would love some input on why this may be occurring and whether or not it should be encouraged.

So anyway that's it for now see ya in a bit with pics!

Plant Porn!!!

Plant Porn!!!

So here are the pictures that I promised. The first is of Mary Jane and her strange Axial branch placement.


This one is of Layla just because she has the fattest football leaves in town!


And last but definitely not least Big Rhonda showing off her funky 7 point set way early in life.


So there it is a promise kept!

Oh lastly if my reservoir temps are staying at 65-69 F should I cover that Hydroton to prevent algae or am I good?

I don't cover mine and things are looking real nice & fat keep it up
I got some family up there I am really happy to hear another state got some sence I'll be watching this one

narutonut said:

Day 20
Our water is also quite hard at around 200ppm on its own and PH 7.3. I look forward to having the funds to put in and Reverse Osmosis filter but we are a ways from that so I'll be switching to GH Micro Hard Water once I get through the last of the regular which should help buffer the water down considerably. If you guys have any other suggestions I'm all ears but I think the situation is manageable for now.

Click to expand...

if you want cheap RO water then use a mr. clean auto dry as those things are RO filters. also which clinic did you go to to get your license?

Stoney419 always good to here from you man I been checking out your show and would love to pick your brain when when I'm ready to go a lot bigger. Maybe I'll just start a thread in the construction forums for a 10k sq' dream grow project that has to be powered by green alternative energy and 100% environmentally friendly. See what the best IC has to offer and then maybe just build it? Sounds like fun to me!

Sashiva thanks for stopping in I think ill search for Mr Clean when I'm done posting this thanks for the heads up! As far as the med license goes Michigan is working a little bit differently than the other states run their set up Med MJ. Here is a link to another one of my threads that has the law on it.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=111400

As it states in this act the patient must designate a care giver who will then receive their care giver card from the state upon approval of the patient's medical card. The state permits 5 patients per care giver. The reason my wife and I are starting M.O.P.M.M. is that this law does nothing to protect patients and caregivers from crap MJ at awful prices and most people don't have the skill set necessary to produce a medical grade product.

Our non profit organization is like a consortium of patients and care givers from all over the state. We assist patients with finding doctors who are willing to prescribe medical MJ for the right reasons. We also handle the processing of applications for patients and work as a vehicle to match patients with care givers in order to get them the best medicine possible. We also provide an opportunity for caregivers to sponsor patients without ever needing to handle plants or products. Caregivers and patients enter into contract with M.O.P.M.M. allowing us to be the sole care provider for our patients to ensure they get treated with respect and get the product that is right for their ailments.

Our organization not only provides medical MJ but also will provide jobs to a town that desperately needs them. Furthermore the goal of the monies collected is to meet our operational requirements and necessary expansion goals and all of the rest of it will be put towards funding a research institute here in our area to better refine strains and processed products tailored to treat the specific ailments of our patients.

So if I haven't answered your question to your satisfaction or if you are interested in being a patient or care giver please feel free to contact me directly at my email posted at the start of this thread. I'm going to stop beating my drum now and go back to tending my ladies. Peace love and good smoke for everyone.

Ladies looking Great there Naruto. Keep us updated.