growing autoflowering in 55 gallon barrels, I know it's dumb but I cant find a grower

Hey all,

I have had absolutely no luck in finding a grower; I'm not acomputer person, live in Albany, OR (very anti-weed conservative around here so it seems hard for people to grow) and have no clue where all these groups arewhere I could find a grower. It sucks not being able to provide my wife withwhat she needs (I'm the current listed grower and caregiver, she’s thepatient.) Haven't been able to find anything in over a month, and I'm incollege so we don't want to risk screwing ourselves by buying illegally. Sountil I can figure out how the hell to find a grower, I'm thinking about growinga few auto flowering plants.

My plan is what I think simple enough. In our garage we havetwo weeks of emergency supplies for our family. We have six 55 gallon foodgrade barrels that hold water and are underneath a black tarp (It sounds like alot of water but with the our family, my sister in law’s family and myparents-in-law its 11 people, 5 dogs, 4 cats and a couple snakes.) I amthinking about buying two more barrels, cutting a square in the side andgetting a couple cheapo 1 bulb fluorescent bulbs and hanging them from the topon small chains. I'd put them behind the water barrels so they would blend inand leave enough room to be able to water and check on the plants. Anysuggestions on this idea. I know it’s nowhere near ideal but I’m just trying to make sure she has some meds until I can find a grower.
I know enough about growing to use worm casting soil andworm castings, things like that. I’m looking more for suggestions on how tomake it blend in and provide enough air for the plants, things along theselines.

I think its totally doable but you need good air flow and take care of the smell problem. If you don't care about the smell you can just leave it semi-open or if so you need a little fan to outtake the air outside with ducting. You could chain duct the 2 barrels together and have small holes for intake. CFL lighting is perfect for this at 6000k+ for veg and 2700k for flower.

like zakota said it will work at first i thought you were going to plant them in a 55 gallon barrel with soil i was thinking the autoflowers dont need that much soil and its a big waste but now i get what your saying good luck with that but if your a legal provider what is the deal with the whole secretive part. I feel you for trying to take care of your wife so you could go for it but if i was you i would get those started inside and when its nice enough to take them outside do that. Or just keep them in your bucket with the lights on 18-24 hrs i have heard that 18-6 is whats suggested but i have had friends start them out under 18-6 and when they start to flower they left the lights on 24 hrs no dark

i think ive seen a thread on autos and pot sizes. ill see if i can dig it up.

here it is http://www.autoflowering-cannabis.com/autoflowering-cannabis-and-pot-sizes.html

give it a go hope it works good 4 you

Will an auto's root ball ever even be able to utilize that much space? Why not just 5-gallon buckets? So much easier to pick up and move and/or work with...- Nevermind! I see what u r doing... U want something like a micro-garden, ALL inside of these huge drums... Ah, now that makes WAAAY more sense... Wow...lol...

I'm not talking about planting them in the barrels, I'm going to put the 5 gallon buckets in the barrels to hide them

I think I kinda surmised that after I studied your query a little more, thinking, "What in the hell is this guy thinking?" Hope the enclosure works out for ya, for her sake... Seriously, I live in a real "anti-pot" kinda area too, down South, and I grow for my grandfather with glaucoma, and other friends of mine with cancer and other shitty maladies... So, my heart def goes out to ya man...

Ho and paint inside the barrel with white paint and primer.

the wont get much sun if its in the barrel, unless the barrels cut real low..

Wow sounds like it could be awesome...and you would only have to water like once...lol

Add a couple fans, and make sure you can adjust the height of the light and things should go smooth. I suggest subcools super soil , and a 2-3 gal pot will be fine for an autoflower.

glockdoc said:

here it is http://www.autoflowering-cannabis.com/autoflowering-cannabis-and-pot-sizes.html

Click to expand...

Tnx for mentioning my website!

one us gallon per month she is with you is good,

3 month grow = 3 us gallon

once you start and study some

you will be amazed how easy and addictive it really is

to my blog on auto hints https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/10-top-tips-for-a-better-autoflowering-yield.30162

and the cfl arrays: https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/a-collection-of-diy-ghetto-blasters.30154/

good luck

fukjimjones said:

Hey all,

I have had absolutely no luck in finding a grower; I'm not acomputer person, live in Albany, OR (very anti-weed conservative around here so it seems hard for people to grow) and have no clue where all these groups arewhere I could find a grower. It sucks not being able to provide my wife withwhat she needs (I'm the current listed grower and caregiver, she’s thepatient.) Haven't been able to find anything in over a month, and I'm incollege so we don't want to risk screwing ourselves by buying illegally. Sountil I can figure out how the hell to find a grower, I'm thinking about growinga few auto flowering plants.

My plan is what I think simple enough. In our garage we havetwo weeks of emergency supplies for our family. We have six 55 gallon foodgrade barrels that hold water and are underneath a black tarp (It sounds like alot of water but with the our family, my sister in law’s family and myparents-in-law its 11 people, 5 dogs, 4 cats and a couple snakes.) I amthinking about buying two more barrels, cutting a square in the side andgetting a couple cheapo 1 bulb fluorescent bulbs and hanging them from the topon small chains. I'd put them behind the water barrels so they would blend inand leave enough room to be able to water and check on the plants. Anysuggestions on this idea. I know it’s nowhere near ideal but I’m just trying to make sure she has some meds until I can find a grower.
I know enough about growing to use worm casting soil andworm castings, things like that. I’m looking more for suggestions on how tomake it blend in and provide enough air for the plants, things along theselines.

Click to expand...

I understand the the Albany thing, and the the family thing, but cutting a hole in a 55 gal drum and hiding it in the garage? This is Oregon. You say you are a college student, well, the previous posters just handed you a syllabus. But in the meantime, while you are digging out the Saws-all blades, you should check one of the ump-teen local places that can hook you up with a vetted grower. Oregon Green Free comes to mind. I'm not a member but they are great bunch of folks.

There is another great reason to grow inside in drums. With the plants somewhat separated, you can prevent pest infections from spreading and handle them easily. It's great if you need to flower and grow in the same room. You can use CFL's or small UFO LEDs (preferred) which contain and use more light (less waste and cost) . I have some Feit CFLs that are 85 watts, which give you 300 watt equivalents. Cost me about $17 each at Menards. I used them for fill lights in my last flower. But man - they get hot. So I just ordered some UFOs. BTW - There is nothing to compare with potency, smell and taste with LED lights. I've tried every kind of light now with a few years of grows. Costs to get into it but once there you are set for awhile.

Other benefits: You can train (non auto plants) so that they bush up and don't grow up over the lip, yet provide more nug exposure. Stealth if you need it - a lot of people put their lights in the lid for a total controlled grow environment. I know this is an older thread but I just started moving over from SOG to barrels because I needed to consolidate into one room and needed to handle the flowering while growing thing (12/12 light vs 18/6 light in the same room). Barrels here in Detroit are less than $15 each, on Craigs List, they are used thin metal barrels (light weight) from Italy that are used to transport tomato sauce so no wicked chemicals in the paint on the barrels. I'm using 3 or 5 gallon pots inside the barrels with white liners - for instant clean between grows. Perfecto! Anyway I hope this worked out for the original poster.