Is It Possible To Make Living Off Growing?

Okay, so I have this plan, I want to making a living off growing. Around where
i live, an Ounce of good shit goes for 450-500 and a gram goes for 20-25. Cheap apartments around here are around 900-1300. So it is possible to sell at least 2 ounces a week. I was going to sell them for 400 each to make it cheaper and maybe sell a couple grams while im at it for extra cash. I also have a job at a pizza place that gets me around 500 a month. This should cover all my expenses with approximately 3700 a month. Finding customers is no problem with the area i live in. and of course if i grow at least 8 ounces a month. hypothetically speaking, would this be possible? and i was also wondering is anybod allowed to search your apartment without a warrant?

I think it all depends on how much you end up selling, and how good your stuff is. Check out NORML.org and there's information on there about stuff like that. If you have good stuff, and you have many customers, I don't see why not. Also, a good side job (like you said) would help fund everything. Is marijuana medically legal in your state or are you just doing this for business?

We are just going to assume, for the sake of conversation, that we all live in a state where there is a medical cannabis community and laws that protect the sale of cannabis. Let us also assume that all the proper documentation and licensing is present and this operation is approved by the landlord.

Okay, so with that out of the way...

Be aware that it will take considerable time and a more considerable investment. You will need time to procure the property. Purchase the equipment and supplies. Prepare the growing space. Grow the product. Properly dry and cure the product. Then build a reputable customer base.

As a provider you also need to develop your own reputation as having a reliable stock. No sense in having only so much, when you run out then all the customers you had will now be inclined to look elsewhere. So you'll need to gauge your business appropriately with the supply and demand aspect.

You will need to decide on a system and a method, perpetual or single large harvests, hydro or soil? You will be limited when renting with regards to the amount of lighting you can use. A 15amp circuit can't run much more than 1800w (and even there you are pushing it), and when you consider in ventilation and other electrical requirements a single 1000w system or two 600w lighting systems are your best option.

To run a perpetual grow you will need access to clones, either made by yourself in a vegetative/mother room, or acquired from other reliable growers. I think given the situation you provided that running seed to harvest might be your best bet rather than a perpetual grow.

What method you choose will depend on two factors. How much time and attention you can dedicate to the grow and how much money you want to invest. Having two ounces per month is 1.5lbs per year (24 ounces), which is completely possible. I think you could produce an adequate amount with a 600w system and only 3 harvests per year even as a new grower so long as you don't skimp on your environmental controls and you do your homework.

Figure a single 600w system, a hydroponic system (pick your poison), nutrient system, pH control, Air Conditioning/dehumidifying, and all the other odds and ends is all going to add up to around $1000. You could spend more, you could spend less, but there abouts is a pretty good budget. With any luck you'll be able to easily grow as much as 12 ounces without much trouble in just a single grow. This will help pay for the cost of the system and give you a little wiggle room for improvements and changes down the road. It will also give you a nice "buffer" for the next few months in the event that there is a crop failure.

Over producing is like insurance. Grow more than you need and jar it up if you cannot move it. If powdery mildew, or bud rot, spider mites, electrical or mechanical failure, or any other of a number of disasters that could destroy an entire crop do happen you'll be glad to have a buffer.

Then, if your volume is high enough you can reduce your prices, say a more friendly price (I'd never pay more than) of $280 to $300 per ounce and move that weight to your loyal customers. When your stock is lower you explain that was a "one time thing" and the price is more like $400/oz. There's a lot of ways of going about all this. building your customer base, and keeping them happy, will be the hardest part of any business venture.

Thanks a lot and ive looked around and mj seems to cost more where i live than anywhere else 400/oz is a very good deal around here. You cant find that often. And i also wanted to ask if anyone is allowed to search my apartment?

Its not YOUR apartment, so yes the landlord can come in. Say you are on the top floor, the apartment below you is getting water in it and you are at work. Do you think they are going to let the apartment below flood until you get home? or are they going to head in and figure our where the water is coming from?
This was not stressed enough, a good set up for any kind of yield to be able to sell at all is going to cost AT LEAST $2000 not to mention all the issues with trying to do a production grow in an apartment, how are you going to cool enough light to make an income?
If you were to own your own house then it is feasible to make a living off of growing, do it in an apartment you are just looking to go to jail. Spend a days behind bars and decide if it is worth it or if it would be better to just get a real job?

TruenoAE86coupe said:

Its not YOUR apartment, so yes the landlord can come in. Say you are on the top floor, the apartment below you is getting water in it and you are at work. Do you think they are going to let the apartment below flood until you get home? or are they going to head in and figure our where the water is coming from?
This was not stressed enough, a good set up for any kind of yield to be able to sell at all is going to cost AT LEAST $2000 not to mention all the issues with trying to do a production grow in an apartment, how are you going to cool enough light to make an income?
If you were to own your own house then it is feasible to make a living off of growing, do it in an apartment you are just looking to go to jail. Spend a days behind bars and decide if it is worth it or if it would be better to just get a real job?

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i agree with all but the last sentence of your post...


"get a REAL job?"


he's looking to produce a product for which the market will determine the value of...that sounds like a REAL job to me

Agreed, but put in your time first making a life for yourself, buy a house and get set up to be able to afford an epic fail, not having a $500 a month pizza job. If you don't have the experiences you will get having to struggle to make the rent, or making a grow truly hidden you are going to fail. He doesn't understand what a producing grow truely takes, how much money it takes to get set up to learn how to do it, and then how fast you lose customers when you have it for a while and then don't. If this was someone talking about setting this up in a basement then it would be a different story, but he doesn't have enough life experience to know how fast apartment management will come in if they get wind of anything. Also how is he going to get an apartment with a $500 a month job? I can see it now "I was going to pay the rent with the money i make from growing weed in the apartment im renting from you". Seriously i haven't tried to get an apartment in many many years, but even then it was hell to get approved if you didn't have proof of income etc.
This is a real job for many, and many of us have seriously considered it, but doing it in an apartment is just a way to end up in jail. Again, do this in a place you own, or hell a house you rent, it could be done and is done everyday, but if you do not know the ins and outs of an apartment then you should consider "getting a real job" cause i can't claim growing weed on my taxes, and if Al Capone taught us anything, its don't fuck with the IRS.

take good advice - its free - if you listen or not is up to you - he makes sense - i grow in my own loft that i own - no fucker is going there without mine or my rottweilers say so - you wont be in control of your grow unless a deal is struck with the landlord and that wont be cheap - 500$ to live , pay rent and set up a grow ? a landlord only needs 24hrs notice to enter his rented unit , imagine you have 2 rooms full of weed 5 weeks in flower ?? see my point ??? god there are so many reasons why this is destined to end in tears ......

Actually in an emergency (water on the floor below constitutes an emergency) the landlord can enter immediately to save his property, that is his right and i do not know of anywhere that would not hold up. I had a landlord try it with me once, luckily i was sleeping on the couch, heard the key in the lock and ripped the door out of his hands. Anyhow, an apartment is only good for a very small personal grow, that you can lock up in your own property.

TruenoAE86coupe said:

Agreed, but put in your time first making a life for yourself, buy a house and get set up to be able to afford an epic fail, not having a $500 a month pizza job. If you don't have the experiences you will get having to struggle to make the rent, or making a grow truly hidden you are going to fail. He doesn't understand what a producing grow truely takes, how much money it takes to get set up to learn how to do it, and then how fast you lose customers when you have it for a while and then don't. If this was someone talking about setting this up in a basement then it would be a different story, but he doesn't have enough life experience to know how fast apartment management will come in if they get wind of anything. Also how is he going to get an apartment with a $500 a month job? I can see it now "I was going to pay the rent with the money i make from growing weed in the apartment im renting from you". Seriously i haven't tried to get an apartment in many many years, but even then it was hell to get approved if you didn't have proof of income etc.
This is a real job for many, and many of us have seriously considered it, but doing it in an apartment is just a way to end up in jail. Again, do this in a place you own, or hell a house you rent, it could be done and is done everyday, but if you do not know the ins and outs of an apartment then you should consider "getting a real job" cause i can't claim growing weed on my taxes, and if Al Capone taught us anything, its don't fuck with the IRS.

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totally agree

also, something to consider (and just to play devil's advocate here)....


housing a mother plant (stealthy) in an apartment (so you can clip for clones and then plant outside, guerilla grow)


....is muuch different than growing seed to harvest indoors. but that's obvious. I have no experience indoors and as has been stated, it sounds like a bad idea if you don't own the joint

I agree with mostly everything that has been said, but in a way you guys are acting like all landlords are assholes. I don't think that all landlords are going to be f'ing with you constantly, although some may, what i would personally do is move into the house for a while and see what it is like, before i decide if i want to grow. The best way in my opinion would be a small grow which if you are creative can be concealed so it is not so obvious. something like this https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/51417-diy-4oz-minimum-yield-grow.html is a grow done in a rubbermaid tub. Or maybe you can buy a big dresser do it inside that with a lock. I would grow with cfl's because of the simplicity of them and the ease of using them in small areas while still getting a decent yield. That guy grow's 4 oz's in his tub, so it goes to show you, you don't need all the expensive equipment everyone else is talking about to still grow some bud. They key to doing it in a place that is likely to be entered is to be secretive about it...no big grow tents, no huge hydro setups with hps and what not, because it takes up too much room and requires too much equipment. Anyhow, i've never personally owned an apartment so i can't make too many judgements , but i wonder...do most landlords REALLY come and try to snoop around often? i think not...

You missed the point here rc7, he wasn't growing for 4 ozs every 2 + months, he was looking to grow enough to sell 2 ozs every week!!!! If he was doing this for personal i would be on your side, but he wants to "Make a living" off of growing, in an apartment. There is NO WAY to get 2 ozs a week sellable and make it in your own locked area, unless you own the place.

oh i see i must have misread it. Yeah Trueno is correct all the way, there is really no way to grow that much bud in an apartment....because if ANYTHING ever happened what would you do? There's no way to hide all that equipment, especially if you weren't home. I would say only do small hidden grows in an apartment.

two zips a week is a lot to start if you don't have any personal grows under your belt. if you really have to hypothesize on if it is possible, you may not be ready to undertake this endeavor. of course this is a medical grow, but just think if it wasn't. black markets that have high prices usually do for a reason, if it was like sticking tomatoes on a windowsill everyone would, and no one would even buy them. but thems expensive tomaters with a lot of implications. i'd say move to the country or grow enough personal to figure out the ebb and flow of it all.

I misread too... Based my entire analysis on 2 ounces per month.

8 ounces a month is 6 pounds a year. On three harvests that'd be 2 pounds per harvest, and without CO2 that'd take at least 1200w and some decent genetics.

Steezoma said:

400/oz is a very good deal around here.

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thats really sad. the BEST shit around here goes for $250-$300/ounce. sounds like awesome business (from a dealer perspective) where you live.

Just have extra money put away for emergencies,
You always gotta worry about stick up kids and cops.

Imo selling green isn't worth it.Sell bundles of heron lol.be careful

There are people who have grown successfully and commercially in rented apartments before for extended periods of time. This is possible but I agree that it is not the norm or most safe, just possible. I also think that he totally underestimates how long and the amount of dedication it takes to produce enough to live off, in fact it is fair to say that growing commercially is a full time job!!

RC7 said:

I agree with mostly everything that has been said, but in a way you guys are acting like all landlords are assholes. I don't think that all landlords are going to be f'ing with you constantly, although some may, what i would personally do is move into the house for a while and see what it is like, before i decide if i want to grow. The best way in my opinion would be a small grow which if you are creative can be concealed so it is not so obvious. something like this https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/51417-diy-4oz-minimum-yield-grow.html is a grow done in a rubbermaid tub. Or maybe you can buy a big dresser do it inside that with a lock. I would grow with cfl's because of the simplicity of them and the ease of using them in small areas while still getting a decent yield. That guy grow's 4 oz's in his tub, so it goes to show you, you don't need all the expensive equipment everyone else is talking about to still grow some bud. They key to doing it in a place that is likely to be entered is to be secretive about it...no big grow tents, no huge hydro setups with hps and what not, because it takes up too much room and requires too much equipment. Anyhow, i've never personally owned an apartment so i can't make too many judgements , but i wonder...do most landlords REALLY come and try to snoop around often? i think not...

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In my experience as long as you pay the rent then they don't bother you at all, I haven't seen my LL in 3 years!!!!