Growing opium

Okay, I bought all the right types of Opium seeds but the thing Im having trouble with here is growing them.... they sprout, grow to be about an inch tall and look like blades of grass, then they fall over and die. I dont know what Im doing wrong? Can anyone explain exactly how to get started because I have searched the web and I cant find anything on how to start these?

Do you have enough light, other then that i don't know

i kept mine soaking wet. i know what you mean though. it's like they root on the surface. i had over 200 sprouted and they all dried up in a few hours in the sun. i replanted the few i had left and kept the soil VERY moist. as they grew i gently buried the roots. they are very delicate. out of 300 seeds i have 6 plants that made it. next year i should have better results.

keep them very moist.

like a swamp moist? I mean all i had was like grass blades..... so youre saying i just bury the blades of grass like as if I was burying the stem of a stretching mary jane seedling? I would REALLY appreciate the advice on how to do this, it bothers me not being successfull at growing something...

Ganzy1003 said:

like a swamp moist? I mean all i had was like grass blades..... so youre saying i just bury the blades of grass like as if I was burying the stem of a stretching mary jane seedling? I would REALLY appreciate the advice on how to do this, it bothers me not being successfull at growing something...

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not swamp moist. that's my sunflowers in the background. i watered everyday. making sure the top of the soil stayed moisted but not soaking. as they sprout and grow very carefully cover the roots if they are exposed. do not disturb them at all. just sprinkle a little soil over the exposed root. this may not be needed but after i lost the first 250 i did everything i could to make sure they made it.

it seems necessary for me cause these girls keep dying on me. one other thing, how close did you put the seeds together, did you just sprinkle them everywhere or what? Thanks again

you can sprinkle them but then you gotta pull out the weak from the strong select which plants will live any which will die

im just wondering if you opium poppies are that different from plain old poppy seeds. i have some red poppy seeds. would they work?

You do have to keep the soil very moist. Most of the poppy seeds that you can get, like cannabis, have been bred in very specific conditions. Greenhouse conditions, usually. Therefore, they like a lot of moisture and they aren't nearly as forgiving as pot plants. You have to acclimate them over time. If you're worried about letting them dry out, rig up some sort of humidity canopy or tent. That should keep the soil from drying out. Once they start to develop, you might want to sprinkle a layer of dirt (or better yet, 50/50 vermiculite) around the plant to keep it in tip-top shape.

Out of curiousity, where did you get your poppy seeds? It's a bit hard to find ones that aren't irradiated or sterilized.

And Wigmo... If they're actually viable, then yes, they're probably the right kind. The poppy seeds you eat on buns and whatnot are indeed [often] the same variety you get the dragon from. That's why when you eat them you test positive for opium on standard drug tests... Because they do contain an infentesimle amount of opium (and other alkaloids like morphine). If you're not looking for a smoking product, you can cook up a batch of opium tea from a bunch of seeds. I've actually tried it before, and it works like a dream. Just be very careful when you do it, because it's pretty easy to overdose if you're not sure what you're doing.

~Will
Oh, and I don't think I need to say it, but don't chase the dragon too much.

I ordered mine offline... a few different varieties. Thanks for all the info, it helps.

I thought poppies had to be grown at higher altitudes in lower air pressure ?

shamegame said:

I thought poppies had to be grown at higher altitudes in lower air pressure ?

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mine are growing. i'm in california.

hahahaha fdd the dragon pics are classic....

Wigmo said:

im just wondering if you opium poppies are that different from plain old poppy seeds. i have some red poppy seeds. would they work?

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Wouldn't those be Papaver Rhoeas instead of Somniferum?

I grew some a few years back and had similar problems but once a few really took root they grew fine. The only problem is that to get a good yield, poppies need a long veg period(120-160 days) and its kinda tough in the northern US. I had about 10 flower, but the seed pods were only about the size of a standard marble or smaller. I harvested maybe a gram of opium, it did the trick. Just not enough to make it worth it, maybe if you live in southern US and have some space to grow a few. The great thing is that they look so similar to other varieties of poppies that you can grow them right out in the open without question. On a side note it is entirely legal to grow opium in the US, it becomes illegal when you score the seed pod to extract the opium.

wait... out of ten you got a gram......? and I thought that they got the size of a baby's fist? I've herad if dont right yields can be acceptable? Like a half ounce or so off 15 or so..

Where do you get opium seeds like this?

the opium u r growing needs to be growing at temp. of 65 till it can handle the heat but dont go past 70 degrees

i'm in...........