Hasn't this blog been quiet? A number of things really - work has been sufficiently time-sapping that I've been leaving in the dark and getting home in the dark, even as the evenings are getting lighter. I put Jurassic Park to bed in October half-term, with reports that we were heading for some cold weather - it never materialised, but I couldn't be bothered to unfleece everything. So for nearly four months the garden has been wrapped up and cosy.
But it appears not everyone at Jurassic Towers was holding off the gardening. Do you remember the horrible builders over summer 2011 who smashed my Euphorbia and who may even have smashed Bastard I? Turns out they were putting in a rather elaborate raised bed upstairs. They were also putting in insulation, reflective panels, extractor fans and a hydroponics system. Oh yes, dear readers, they made a cannabis farm.
Eventually the police had enough evidence to obtain a warrant, and boy was it quite a haul! We were shown photos of the "crops", and it looked like one of those sweeping shots over the rainforest that you see on nature documentaries. This was all several weeks ago, and since then we've had significantly nicer builders in renovating the flats. They had a skip, and we were able to see some of the "kit" being used.
Firstly, there are an awful lot of pots aren't there? We were surprised by this - the pots all had compost in them, and good quality stuff too. I was under the impression that hydroponics involved very little compost - perhaps they just had a capillary mat or something. Nevertheless there would have been an awful lot of irrigation needed. You'll also notice the large drums - we think these were part of the extractor system. Apparently increasingly cannabis farmers are using fans to pump that distinctive aroma out through chimneys and so on. There was also a lot of foil-covered board, to reflect the heat back in to the plants, and the obligatory high-wattage lights.
When I teach my BTEC Plant Science unit, I find a lot of the most well-researched articles online on plant nutrition and especially micronutrient balances are from the cannabis growers. They've really studied very hard, and I have to hand it to them for maximising growth in usually distinctly non-ideal conditions for growing plants. I'm just puzzled about one thing - we think they've run their lights 24 hours a day. Now, as far as I recall, plants require a period of dark to be able to process all the products from the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis. If they don't remove the products, then basically photosynthesis slows. Surely it would be in the interest of cannabis farmers to maximise photosynthesis.
So I'm wondering, do cannabis growers have periods of light and dark, or do they grow their crop at less than maximum efficiency? Or has the need for light and dark been shown to be rubbish?
But it appears not everyone at Jurassic Towers was holding off the gardening. Do you remember the horrible builders over summer 2011 who smashed my Euphorbia and who may even have smashed Bastard I? Turns out they were putting in a rather elaborate raised bed upstairs. They were also putting in insulation, reflective panels, extractor fans and a hydroponics system. Oh yes, dear readers, they made a cannabis farm.
Eventually the police had enough evidence to obtain a warrant, and boy was it quite a haul! We were shown photos of the "crops", and it looked like one of those sweeping shots over the rainforest that you see on nature documentaries. This was all several weeks ago, and since then we've had significantly nicer builders in renovating the flats. They had a skip, and we were able to see some of the "kit" being used.
Firstly, there are an awful lot of pots aren't there? We were surprised by this - the pots all had compost in them, and good quality stuff too. I was under the impression that hydroponics involved very little compost - perhaps they just had a capillary mat or something. Nevertheless there would have been an awful lot of irrigation needed. You'll also notice the large drums - we think these were part of the extractor system. Apparently increasingly cannabis farmers are using fans to pump that distinctive aroma out through chimneys and so on. There was also a lot of foil-covered board, to reflect the heat back in to the plants, and the obligatory high-wattage lights.
When I teach my BTEC Plant Science unit, I find a lot of the most well-researched articles online on plant nutrition and especially micronutrient balances are from the cannabis growers. They've really studied very hard, and I have to hand it to them for maximising growth in usually distinctly non-ideal conditions for growing plants. I'm just puzzled about one thing - we think they've run their lights 24 hours a day. Now, as far as I recall, plants require a period of dark to be able to process all the products from the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis. If they don't remove the products, then basically photosynthesis slows. Surely it would be in the interest of cannabis farmers to maximise photosynthesis.
So I'm wondering, do cannabis growers have periods of light and dark, or do they grow their crop at less than maximum efficiency? Or has the need for light and dark been shown to be rubbish?
In the TV show Weeds (U.S., Showtime), the pot growers insist on a very precise light/dark cycle for the plants they're growing, to the point that whole crops are considered ruined if something interrupts the cycle. Whether the show is a reliable source of information on this point or not, I'm not sure, but I haven't caught them saying anything I knew to be blatantly untrue about plant growing, so maybe.
ReplyDeleteGood grief! You've been gone for months and then come back with huge drama worthy of it's own slot on prime-time TV! No chance of getting those plant pots & compost for your own garden? Great to see you back.
ReplyDeleteTee hee - I am so resisting the urge to work a pun around what was being grown and your blog title ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat drama though - did you have any inkling of what was actually going on? It reminds me of a flat I had to visit several times on my Census round last year - blacked out insulated windows, some kind of extractor fan hanging out the window, fiercely barking guard dog in the hallway whenever I rang the bell and got no reply...
Oh we knew exactly what was going on for a good 18 months! Problem was actually having enough evidence beyond circumstantial stuff for police to get warrant. The crop definitely counted as "a bigger pot" though!
ReplyDeleteI did manage to get myself the galvanised bin which will make a handsome cycad container (or possibly an Agave at some point. Maybe I can nick some of the compost tomorrow when the builders aren't around and shove it in my compost bin...
I have never seen "Weeds". Maybe I should have watched it as homework!
I can't answer your question on the last paragraph as I'm wondering myself, don't these plants need a period of darkness too? Perhaps not then as most cannabis farms keep the lights on 24/7.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to hear this in the flesh the last time we saw you guys (and very entertaining!). Finally, at least they're gone now! And hopefully you guys get nice neighbours very soon, who only grow cooking herbs on their window sills :)
Constant light should be fine if you're smart about it. Were I to attempt to grow tropical plants in a blacked-out room in a northern climate on any kind of industrial scale then I'd use filtered bulbs on automatic timers: red, orange, blue and UV during the day, green and IR at night. The green keeps the heat on without providing any usable light to drive the LDR. The switch between red and IR maintains the cycle of PR/PFR. Lastly the red, orange and blue drive the LDR with maximum light efficiency as the waste light is minimised.
ReplyDeleteRemind me what the hell I'm doing working as a stage tech for peanuts?
You must have had a fantastic biology teacher this year MB! ;)
DeleteIf you branch out from the brewing business, I am more than happy to test your samples for strength whatever it is you're making...!
Fair to say my biology lecturer knew her shit. I doubt that I'll be setting up a cannabis farm any time soon, though there'll probably be more scrumpy by December.
DeleteWell, potatoes gonna potate. I've potated enough so I'm probably gonna sleep now.