I live in an apartment in downtown San Francisco, as (good) luck would have it, my apartment is right above one of this city's many pot stores.

I'm a 44-year-old stonerette who can't seem to grow up. I've been smoking bud since 1981 but it wasn't until the past few months that I've thought that much about where my weed was coming from. Now that I've started to research it, I'm just fascinated, and I wonder why it's taken me this long to get this way.

My research so far suggests, unfortunately, that despite the circumstances of my apartment placement, it would still be a bad idea to try and grow here, for a lot of reasons that are more related to lack of resources than to paranoia. I am a patient who merely wants to grow a handful of plants for my own use, but it looks like the electrical requirements would probably be both potentially dangerous in a situation like this, and definitely would be too expensive.

But I'm motivated. This is the first time in a long while I've gotten this excited by and interested in anything at all. I had a long term relationship go south almost 3 years back and these years have been a real icky time for me, until recently. For now, I will continue to gather info and plan some kind of future that will get me out of here and land me somewhere in Humboldt or Mendocino where I am more likely to meet other people with this hobby, and go from there, try to find a house I can live in that is cool, help people trim, etcetera.

Any advice for me will be appreciated!

Time to go burn a bud in a bowl...
-Psychaotic

This may or may not be true, I'm no expert, but I wouldn't go to Humboldt or Mendocino because I try to fly waaay under the radar. A LOT of people have their eyes on those two counties. You have a great online community here and if you found a slightly more remote location with an internet connection, you'd have all the help you need and less of a chance of having to deal with police. Also, a handful of plants shouldn't be too expensive to grow. I started my first grow with a couple hundred dollars and if you buy a used light you could easily get a 1000w hps for $200 or less I'm sure.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

__________________
"Baby, I'm a star. Shit, I'm above a star. And now I done got so high I did forgotten who you are."

@Anonymiss1969 - Thank you for the heads-up. It jibes with what I have heard from some other people about those counties. I do have a friend in Ukiah whose report was more positive.

One big problem that I have is that I do not drive. I just never learned to, because when I was driver-training I realised that my mind spaces too much to do it safely. But this means that living in really out-of-the-way places is just not tenable.

If I could join a collective and rent a house in lower SF might work at the scale I am envisioning. I am seriously only considering 1 or 2 plants but if I do it I want to do it right, and not have to worry about burglars. From what I gather this is more of a problem than cops, in some areas. I do want to use the right filters and fans to minimise reek.

Right now, I'm still just dreaming. But I can see that this is a very helpful community!

if your on a small budgettry a progressive build. build your grow a little at a time. it will take longer to get your ideal grow room. start with cfls to grow with. they cost very little to buy or oporate. then after you get started then you upgrade. go from cfls to hids after you save the moneyto invest in the needed upgrades. the same way some people get there computers. start with the basics then go hi tek. there is plenty of info on this fourm to achive that goal. that is how i am building my grow box.read through the grow faq. it will beable to answer your questions if you just look for the information. gl on your build may you be cursed with many buds.

__________________
give me a + to rep if my infomation helps

Whats up Psychaotic, its great to hear that you are thinking about growin ur own! Its worth the time and investment fo sho'! I second dew-b on going low tek, learning then expand as your knowledge grows. I bet my set up cost no more than $100 bonez and it produces great bud. I'm using Floros supplimented with sunlight from the window, most people would scoff at this but I'm getting colas hittin the scale at 60-70gmz(wet).

This set-up produces enough to supply my own smoking needs plus a little extra for friends. My set up is a bit more labor intensive but if you're at home alot you can shuffle your plants from sunny window to window and produce gread smoke for next to nothing.

Anyhow, I'm sure that you'll find many helpful DIY' that will interest you. Good luck and happy growing!

__________________
Gettin'-HizEye-RizzEye-Til'-I DizzEye

cfl's are great for just a few plants in a closet.
search for roseman's stealth bubbleponics thread......

__________________

Welcome to RollitUp, a great place, the best place, to learn growing!

I'm glad I learned to grow instead of still having to buy it. ! I do not give my money to drug lords, I grow my own!.


I hope you hang around and enjoy the site.



Roseman's DIY Bubbleponics Tutorial - marijuana Growing < a great tutorial to learn if I must say so, myself.

__________________

May Peace and Joy be your companions.
Roseman's DIY Bubbleponics Tutorial - Marijuana Growing
Pics of OLD Grow on this Page