Hydroponic Heroin How to Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil So you think you can’t grow opium poppies because you don;t have a patch of dirt in the middle of nowhere? Poppycock. The Babylonians used this method in their Hanging Gardens, as did the ancient Chinese, Aztecs and Mayans in their celebrated floating gardens. Now, author Robert Bunch reveals their secrets to year- round indoor growing without dirt — for the same price you’d pay for an ounce of marijuana! You’ll also learn: • How to avoid the menacing eyes of infrared detec- tors and nosy neighbors • How to combat an overdose • What size garden is right for you • How to control your opium — without it control- ling you • How to purchase equipment without arousing sus- picion • How to make your own morphine and heroin • And much more! You’ve already taken the first step into the world of hydroponic growing just by picking up this book. Now, with just a little water and a few easily obtained start-up items, you're on your way to becoming an opium fanner in your own home. i V DROPONIC I I EROIN lot to Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil '•i Robert Neil Bunch This book is sold for informational purposes only. Neither the author nor the publisher will be held accountable for the use or misuse of the information contained in this book CONTENTS Hydroponic Heroin: How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil © 1998 by Robert Neil Bunch All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in any form whatsoever without the prior written consent of the publisher. Reviews may quote brief passages without the written consent of the publisher as long as proper credit is given. Published by: FS Book Company P.O. Box 417457 Sacramento, CA 95841 1-916-771-4203 Email: fs@fsbookco.com Web Site: www.fsbookco.com Introduction 1 Chapter One 5 History Of The Poppy, Opium And Heroin Usage Chapter Two 11 Warning To Would-Be Growers Chapter Three 21 The Opium Poppy Chapter Four 29 Overview Of Hydroponics Chapter Five 55 From Seed To Weed Chapter Six 61 Optimal Harvest Parameters Chapter Seven 67 Creation Of Medicinal And Recreational Products From Exuded Latex Chapter Eight 77 Dosages, Addiction, Potential Dangers Chapter Nine 85 Glossary Introduction 1 INTRODUCTION Heroin (her’ o- in) n. 1, recreational narcotic that is syn- thesized from morphine extracted from the opium poppy; highly addictive; common street names include: china white, H, horse, junk, skag, smack and suicide. 2, King of drugs. Casual heroin use is not only on the upswing again, it is now chic and quasi-socially acceptable to sport the lithe body, dark sunken eyes and withdrawn posture of the common street addict. Supermodels strut the catwalk with gaunt frames and heavily shadowed eyes, alternative rock music giants aren’t giants unless they have been in the Betty Ford Clinic at least once, and even high-fashion mo- gul Calvin Klein bombards the general populace with tele- vision advertisements which boast sickly teenagers who look like they have been on a week-long bender. With the influx of the cleanest smack the United States has ever seen flowing into a half-dozen major port cities, anyone who is “cool” is taking a ride on the white horse. The drug war has done little, if any damage to the 600,000-pound worldwide heroin demand. The demand in Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 2 the United States alone ranges from 20,000 to 30,000 pure pounds (average 454,000,000 initial uncut doses at 25 mg!), and shows no sign of decline. The reason why smack has become America’s next drug “epidemic” is clear: potent, unadulterated product is hit- ting the street, and the outdated necessity of intravenous injection has been eliminated. Heroin in the ’70s contained 7-15% pure product, and it took some regular usage to become addicted. Now that supply greatly exceeds de- mand, street-level junk can register up to 97% pure! This level of purity allows more aesthetically correct methods of ingestion such as smoking and snorting. Numerous us- ers have reverted to snorting, for a dose as small as half a gram can be lethal to a non-tolerant individual. With the increased purity comes the increased potential for addiction, and no one is exempt from the psychological dependence heroin creates. Even though estimates state that only 25-40% of users are physically dependent, if you know someone who has ever gotten a good dose, you know it is clear that a profound psychological addiction can occur within seconds after the line is gone or the tourniquet is removed. If the tolerant user attempts to quit, he can be assured of a prolonged (at least four months) withdrawal which will be more mentally debilitating and painful than any form of torture mankind might draw from the darkest recesses of its collective mind. With all of this said, one might wonder why anyone would even attempt to try heroin. The reason is quite simple: in the correct atmosphere, dosage and frequency, a heroin buzz is one of life’s great rewards. The intense surge in creativity, euphoria, and relaxation can make the Introduction 3 occasional weekend user soar to heights never before ex- perienced. Because of the tolerance factor, the infrequent “chipper” will get as high, if not higher, than the most needle-tracked crusty wandering the back alleys of the Big Apple. If the unbeliever should debate the massive creativity factor of heroin, some notable addicts for the rebuttal include: An- thony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Brad Nowell (Sublime), Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, John Belushi and Robert Downey Jr., all creative geniuses in their own right. To digest all of the government and media propaganda, one would think that all users die minutes after their first dose. This is, as usual, fairly far from the truth. Hospital records show that the majority of junkies die from bogus horse, impurities used to cut the smack, infections and malnutrition, rather than hot loads (a street term used to describe sudden, unforeseen increases in purity of the heroin injected by intravenous users). For someone who would like to achieve this state with- out the fear of overdosing, impurities, or coming down, there is another easily attained drug that is much more pleasant (puking can be circumvented) and safer than her- oin — its grandparent, opium. This book is geared toward the opiate-dependent as well as the inexperienced recreational drug user who would like to have his own stash of 100% pure opium latex, morphine hydrochloride, or, in the case of the chemically inclined, smack. The text following the introduction will guide the Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 4 reader through all of the steps necessary to maintain a year-round crop of hydroponic opium poppies, thereby offering the grower the exclusive rights to the free and pure opiate of his choice. Read the text as if your life depended on it (it does), es- pecially the chapter on dosages and ingestion. When your first crop has been harvested and you are experiencing the warm opiate rush, know that you have joined an elite club. Members include: Lord Byron, Coleridge, Charles Dick- ens, Bela Lugosi, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelly, Thomas de Quincey and Mao Zedong. You are in excellent com- pany for creativity, astral-plane exploring, and higher- consciousness brain reformatting via meditation. Keep in mind, however, that you are riding the most majestic and unbreakable horse on the planet. Make sure that your reins are kept tight; otherwise, it will ride you. J**it QROU/f Chapter One History Of The Poppy, Opium And Heroin Usage 5 Chapter One HISTORY OF THE POPPY, OPIUM f\ND HEROIN USfiQE No plant in history has caused as much adversity, joy and grief as the opium poppy (Greek: opos = juice). First cultivated on the shores of the Mediterranean by prehistoric man, texts regarding this plant did not appear until the Greeks praised the poppy 500 years before the birth of Christ. Hippocrates was the first physician to explore its healing abilities, and Homer sang praises of the poppy in his epic, the Odyssey. [The drug will] “lull all pain and anger, and bring forgetfulness of every sorrow.” Obviously, Homer choked down a dose or two! The opium poppy next reached Chinese manuscripts in 700 AD. Chinese and East Indian doctors regarded the plant as a general cure-all. For the following 700 years in the east, man and poppy lived in relative harmony. The plant was picked for its “miraculous” seeds and rarely abused until a slick Chinese man in the 15th century discovered that if the capsule was sliced within a ten-day period following the fall of the petals, a wonderful thing Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 6 happened — opium! This is where the easy balance between man and poppy dissolves. Armed with a powerful drug and having little access to addiction treatment information. Eastern man had unknowingly started the opium ball rolling towards the remaining civilized world. Two hundred years after this momentous occasion, most of the East, including India and Persia, abused the opiate in the form of a recreational drink, or by simply eating it. The stage was now set for Western man to swoop down and make a large scale commercial venture from the ever- increasing demand. The Portuguese were the first to transport and market Indian opium to the Chinese. It was the Dutch seafarers, however, that hooked the Asians and Southeast Asians by introducing them to smoking the raw latex. Until this point, the bad taste and slow absorption of opium into the stomach prevented profound addiction. Now that the opium could be smoked and the effects could be felt immediately, demand for the pungent black product skyrocketed. By the mid- 17th century, over 50 tons of opium were flowing into Asia by boat. Eventually, the fuzz (the Emperor Yung Chen) became concerned about the addiction, death and “shriveling of the facial features,” and laid down the law on opium — total prohibition on the product, sales, and smoking dens. This lasted about two minutes, as the Asian people had already developed a sophisticated taste for the sweet poppy-resin smoke. The Emperor countered this by placing tariffs on imported opium, hoping this would drive up the price, but to no avail; the Chinese had to get their smoke on at any price. Chapter One History Of The Poppy, Opium And Heroin Usage 7 In 1773, the opium trade was made global by the British East India Company. The British traded the Patna opium from India to the other Asians for their porcelains, silks, and spices. They used these products to make a fortune in Europe and the Americas. The Chinese Emperor once again enforced the banning of opium by forbidding exportation of Chinese silver, and the British responded by waging two all-out wars. These two famous altercations were known as the Opium Wars. By the end of the second war (1860), there were at least 10,000,000 opium addicts in China, consuming 80% of the world’s opium supply. In the Western world, opium had made itself known through numerous “snake oils” and legitimate medical remedies. Since the public self-medicated at that time, the opiate stranglehold took Europe by storm. The “Big M,” or morphine, was first extracted from the opium latex in the early 19th century. After some “clinical” ingestions, the chemist soon named the addictive white powder morphine, after the god of dreams, Morpheus. Morphine has always played a role in armed conflict, due to its immediate analgesic properties. During the Civil War, both the North and South grew opium poppies to treat wounded soldiers, as morphine shortages were common. Seeking a non-addictive alternative to morphine, C.R. Wright first synthesized heroin in 1874. He tested the heroin on stray dogs in his laboratory, and much to his amazement, it worked better than morphine and in much smaller doses. After killing several dogs, and cleaning up copious amounts of dog vomit, Wright stopped his research. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 8 Not daunted by Wright’s outcomes, The Bayer Company (yes, like the children’s aspirin) turned out the new pain killer in bulk, advertising it as a cure for all that ails. It cured many people (of sobriety), and imitators rushed to meet the awesome demand of the “non- addietive’” reliever. The harsh lifestyles among the lower classes who worked in agricultural fields accounted for the majority of users, as their grueling labor led to chronic p ains and rheumatoid arthritis. The medications were cheaper than beer (and more powerful), and one could purchase a dozen or so dark bottles for a dime. This heyday came to a grinding halt in the 1890s, as American and European doctors’ offices became increasingly overrun by suffering addicts and dying children. More children were dying of lethal doses of opiates in their nostrums than all other types of poisonings combined! In response to the increased public awareness, the United States passed an act requiring medicine companies to cite ingredients and their amounts on the labels of their products. This caused the companies to reduce the amounts of opiates in their remedies by up to 75%. In 1914, Congress passed the Harrison Act, which banned the sale of narcotics without a doctor’s prescription. So many doctors were dealing for profit, however, that the government had to stop it completely. So in 1923, after 400 years of hardcore abuse, the US banned all narcotics. This effectively made all pharmacists pushers, started the war on drugs and paved the way for the DEA. The ban also created a market for underworld drug dealers. Chapter One History Of The Poppy, Opium And Heroin Usage 9 smugglers and of course, the Italian Mafia. Such seedy characters took advantage of the high demand to make fortunes by smuggling heroin into the US. After the Second World War, the crime families were so scattered that the imports into the US fell to new lows. Add to this the fact that anti-drug propaganda was rampant, and it is easy to see why America, at that point, had its lowest opiate addiction percentage ever. The numbers had dropped from around a quarter of a million before 1923, to only 20,000 after the war. A few years after the war, a synthetic heroin substitute was created for recovery. In 1964, Doctors Dole and Nyswander discovered the chemical formula that was supposed to cure the addict. It boasted a lower intensity high that had a longer plateau, and was not detrimental to the user’s well-being. This drug, unfortunately, hooked everyone who came across it, and many now had two addictions: heroin AND methadone! Never fear, the pandemic love for opiates is never- ending and there is little chance for a complete cure, save for abstinence. This is backed by the fact that in the ’70s, heroin addiction had surpassed its all-time high and the number of addicts numbered nearly half a million. The number of addicts in the US now is estimated to be between 500-700,000, with 95,000 in methadone treatment. Obviously, this plant and its by-products can make a person feel pretty good. If the profound addiction created by opiates can survive, die and regenerate over a 1,000- year period, it would seem that humans are genetically Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 10 Chapter Two Warning To Would-Be Growers 11 predisposed to be hooked. Can it be that man evolved with the poppy, never to be separated? Chapter Two MWNq TO WOULD-BE q^OWERS The opium poppy is in a legal class by itself when it comes to propagation. In some areas of the United States, it is treated as a normally occurring noxious weed, and no trouble would result if it appeared to be growing wild in a backyard garden. In some areas, however, all steps must be taken to eradicate the poppy, lest the hapless, unknow- ing landowner fall under the heel of local and state gov- ernment. The smart thing to do would be to write your local council or agriculture agency and ask for a list of banned plants and weeds, and take it from there. If you live in a rural area with plenty of farmers and rednecks, you could probably plant the poppies in your front yard amidst similarly sized weeds and no one would never even suspect that they were a psychotropic species. Poppies are legal to grow in most of Europe, including England, but Canada’s government does not tolerate it at all — yet. Species of poppy that are semilegal to grow in the US: Papaver argemone, bracteatum, dubium, hybridium, orien- tale, pilosun, radicatum, rhoeas, spicatum and walpolei. These are known as field poppies and are much smaller and yield considerably less potent gum (if any) than the Examples of hybridization in an open garden. Notice shade and patterning differences. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 12 more famous Indochinese, Persian, Turkish and Yugo- slavs somniferum varieties. The best way to get around this legal snafu is to grow the little devils inside where prying eyes can’t see, but with this tactic comes a much more serious offense and pun- ishment: conspiracy to manufacture morphine, a Schedule II narcotic. If you are foolish enough to get caught with a basement-full, be prepared to do a life sentence without parole, as the fuzz will more than likely slap a narcotics trafficking charge on you. For this reason, it is best to grow a small, year-round crop than take the chance on one huge haul. If the government creates a stink in your nose, and you are pro-anarchy, growing poppies is probably not the best way to give Uncle Sam the bird. Growing marijuana or mushrooms would be a better deal should you get caught. To give you an idea of how serious the punishments are for Papaver somniferum propagation, take a look at some of the punishments when caught in North America. This is what the Canadian Pharmacy Legislation has to say about getting caught with the “dreaded poppy” (this applies only to the somniferum species): R.S., c. N-l, s. 5. 6.(1) Cultivation of opium poppy or marihuana. — No person shall cultivate opium poppy or marihuana ex- cept under the authority of, and in accordance with, a license issued to the person under the regulations. Chapter Two Warning To Would-Be Growers 13 (2) Offense and punishment. — Every person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable of- fense and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceed- ing seven years. (3) Destruction of plant. — The Minister may cause to be destroyed any growing plant of opium poppy or marihuana cultivated otherwise than under authority of and in accordance with a license issued under the regu- lations. Uprooted plants and seven years in a C anadian prison may sound bad, but it’s nothing compared to the punish- ment meted out for growing enough plants to prove a “trafficking” charge. Trafficking legally means to manufac- ture, sell, give, administer, transport, send, deliver or dis- tribute Papaver somniferum or its constituent phenan- threne (active narcotics) alkaloids. R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 197. 4.(1) Trafficking. — No person shall traffic in a narcotic or any substance represented or held out by the person to be a narcotic. (2) Possession for purpose of trafficking. — No per- son shall have in his possession any narcotic for the purpose of trafficking. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 14 (3) Offense and punishment. — Every person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an indict- able offence and liable to be imprisoned for Ufe. Pwhsi&AH&hi fox Q*OU/'if\£ Oftxlutfy, Pejpjfxle* f'K T&e U'hAtc^ SAatex The United States lawmaking bodies have, of course, handed down their version of the opium poppy law (note: poppy seeds, unlike marijuana seeds, are legal). This con- voluted and multi-faceted passage is the Federal Inclusion list for Schedule II drugs as it pertains to the Papaver somniferum: Schedule II. (a) The drugs and other substances listed in this section, by whatever official name, common or usual name, chemical name, or brand name designated, are included in Schedule II. (b) Substances. (Vegetable origin or chemical synthe- sis.) Unless specifically excepted, any of the following substances, except those listed in other schedules, whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by combination of extraction and chemical synthesis: (1) Opium and opiate, and any salt, compound, de- rivative, or preparation of opium or opiate, excluding apormorphine, dextrorphan, nalbuphine, nalmefene. Chapter Two Warning To Would-Be Growers 15 naloxone, and naltrexone, and their respective salts, but including the following: (i) Raw opium; (ii) opium extracts; (iii) opium fluid; (iv) powdered opium; (v) granulated opium; (vi) tincture of opium; (vii) codeine; (viii) ethylmorphine; (ix) etorphine hydrochloride; (x) hydrocodone; (xi) hydromorphone; (xii) metopon; (xiii) morphine; (xiv) oxycodone; (xv) oxymorphone; and (xvi) the- baine. (2) Any salt, isomer, derivative, or preparation thereof that is chemically equivalent or identical with any of the substances referred to in subsection (b) (1) of this section, but not including the isoquinoline alkaloids of opium. (3) Opium poppy and poppy straw. (4-5) Concerning cocaine. (6) Concentrate of poppy straw (The crude extract of poppy straw in either liquid, solid, or powder form which contains the phenanthrene alkaloids of the opium poppy.) As you may already know, the United States has much more stringent drug laws than Canada. If a grower is caught cultivating or extracting the latex from opium poppies, he will more than likely be charged with conspir- acy to traffic morphine. Trafficking a Schedule II narcotic carries a nasty minimum of three years for a first offense. If the grower has a prior drug-related conviction in this arena, 10 years. The third conviction would fall under the Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 16 “habitual offender” statute and the grower would spend a minimum of 15 years to life in prison. If the wily grower were to extract the opium and discard the seed capsules before being caught, the offense would be lessened to possession (if no purifying chemicals or glassware were uncovered). The thing to do to lessen the chances for a harsher penalty would be: harvest and ex- tract latex from the poppies, throw away ALL leaves, pods and stems and then buy your purifying chemicals. The charges, should you be caught with the purified opiates, are based on a marijuana-weight conversion table. O^yiate^aA^yua^a, C&hAWiM&h* According to the USCA, Title 18 Chapter 1 to 2: 1 gram of raw opium = 50 grams of marijuana 1 gram of morphine = 500 grams of marijuana 1 gram of heroin = 1 kilogram of marijuana For a first offense where one gram of opium was seized, the possessor could face anywhere from probation to six months in custody. This is the least offense, and the chance that the home grower would possess this small amount is slim. If you grow a decent garden of poppies, your yield could be 40-100 grams of raw opium. The pun- ishment for being caught with this amount (first offense), ranges from six to 16 months. Supposing that the opium was purified to morphine hy- drochloride, the weight would be lessened due to the re- moval of plant acids. Since morphine is a tenth the weight Chapter Two Warning To Would-Be Growers 17 of the raw opium, the amount of product that was refined would be 4-10 grams. As you can see, the United States has compensated for this power increase by increasing the marijuana conversion by tenfold. The punishment would be the same for 4-10 grams of morphine HC1 as 40-100 grams of raw opium. Possession of heroin is probably the worst drug offense one might imagine. If the chemically inclined grower am- ped the morphine up to diacetyl morphine, the penalties if caught are staggering: 4-10 grams of pure heroin would get the first offender at least ten months. If the drug war- rior is caught with the upper limit, he can expect to ponder life in an institution for around two years. This is far too much time, considering 4-10 grams of heroin could only bring $800-2,000 if sold. Obviously, the best idea is not to get caught! No one thinks they will anyway, so it is suggested that only a modest garden be grown. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. (See chart at the end of the chapter.) Below is a table which will clue the potential grower in as to the severity the US Government puts on the poppy’s constituent opioids. State* ScheAutc Table Schedule I Narcotics: No legal use known, not available even with prescrip- tion. Abuse potential — high. Such drugs are heroin, LSD, mescaline, marijuana, PCP, peyote and Quaa- ludes. These recreational chemicals carry the stiffest Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 18 penalties for possession, except for marijuana, which now has legitimate uses thanks to California’s Article 215. Schedule H Narcotics: Usually available only by non-refillable prescription or time-delay prescriptions. Abuse potential — high. Such drugs are amphetamines, cocaine, morphine and methadone. Close records are kept about dispensers and users, and pharmacies usually keep these goodies locked in a sensitized floor safe to prevent drug fiend holdups. Schedule HI Narcotics: Available by refillable prescription. Abuse potential — moderate. Such drugs are watered-down versions of stronger drugs like Tylenol with codeine, Phenobarbe- tal and Vicodin. Only hard-up narcotic addicts and desperate bum-outs abuse these weak chemicals. Schedule IV Narcotics: Available by refillable prescription. Abuse potential — low. Drugs included are anti-anxiety benzodiazepines like Ativan, Valium and Xanax. Despite the IV classi- fication, these non-recreational chemicals are abused by people who usually have access to these drugs for treatment of mental disease or defect Schedule V Narcotics: Available by refillable prescription or no prescription. Abuse potential — low. Included drugs are non- Chapter Two Warning To Would-Be Growers 19 narcotic over-the-counter pain killers, antipyretics and weak opiates. Anacin, Motrin and St. Joseph’s for Children fall under this category. Federal Marijuana-Opiate Conversion Level Table For Possession Oplun WL Morphine WL Htroin WL Marijuana Wt Often** i g — - 50 g 6 — i g - 500 g e - — i g 1 kg 10 10 g - 500 g 8 — 10 g - 5 kg 12 - — 10 g 10 kg 16 50 g - - 2.5 kg 12 ~ 50 g - 25 kg 18 — 50 g 50 kg 24 Federal Sentencing Table L * v * 1 Oft»r»* # Tl m# Month* 6 1 CHS 2 1-7 8 1 2-8 2 4-10 10 1 6-12 2 8-14 12 1 10-16 2 12-18 14 1 15-21 2 18 - 24 16 1 21-24 2 24-30 18 1 27-33 „ 2 30-37 2 ° 1 33 m „ 2 37-46 22 1 41-51 2 46-57 1 51-63 2 57-71 24 Chapter Three The Opium Poppy 21 Chapter Three THE OPIUM POPPY PtvyiixaX, CAaMscUi+At+ci The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), also known as the White Poppy and Mawseed, is an erect, annual rosette plant that grows nearly worldwide from Southeast Asia to Europe and the Americas. It is a long-day plant; that is, it will flower most efficiently when the photoperiod (total daylight hours) is between 15 and 16 hours. This photo- period, combined with indigenous habitat, puts the poppy in the winter annual class of plants. It thrives in cooler weather, and is often planted in late summer in the north- ern hemisphere. It has the exact opposite flowering schedule as marijuana, which flowers fastest when the photoperiod is less than 13 hours. Unlike marijuana and most other narcotic plants, the opium poppy is responsive to the critical photoperiod as early as two weeks after emergence. It varies in flower- petal color from pale white (most potent) to red and pur- ple (wild strains). Its stature is also wildly variant, ranging from a two- to six-feet main stalk with six to 12 minor off- shoots. Its seed pod, or capsule, which perches atop a ring on the main stalk, varies from hemispherical to ovoid, de- pressed or non-depressed and delineated to smooth. This pod can range in size from egg to orange-sized and its top is crowned with a group of star-shaped stigma rays. The tiny kidney-shaped seeds within the green pod can be col- ored white (most desirable) to dark purple. This variety displays a nearly pumpkin-shaped seed pod. Co 'fr/AZi&K PstflfCWhsCei Life cycle (from germination to senescence) varies with strain and location from six to seven months — a few of the papavers will even grow all year. Since the poppy is a classic weed, it can thrive in a variety of soils; sandy to moist and rich as long as the plant isn’t killed by frost and is kept watered. Intense sunlight is also preferred, as this Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 22 Chapter Three The Opium Poppy Large Turkish variety. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 24 Chapter Three The Opium Poppy 25 factor directly contributes to the plant’s overall size and potency. The poppy’s opium gum yield is related to the plant’s size as well, so strive to find the largest hybrid strain, as it will produce the largest seed pods. Also, the longer a par- ticular plant takes to flower, the larger the seed capsule will eventually be. Such information is useful when estab- lishing a desired inbred line. Contradictory to old popular belief, lower temperature does not have an effect on the flowering time of poppies. It does, however, positively effect the potency of the ex- uded latex. This widely held fact comes from the knowl- edge that most other rosette plants’ flowering cycles are enhanced by periods of cold less than 50° F. During the last stages of flowering, the opium poppy will drop its petals and produce a milky- white latex within the lactiferous vessel system of the egg-like capsule’s outer wall for a period of no longer than ten days. If al- lowed to mature past this time, the seed pod will change to yellow, then brown, and the peak harvest time will have passed. Once the capsule is pierced, or sliced, tightly along its longitude (over a period of four to seven days), the la- tex will ooze out and harden into opium, a psychoactive substance that contains numerous narcotic chemicals. These alkaloids, which are bound to “plant acids,” make up to 20% of the weight of the unripe seed pod. Some of the better known and more powerful two-dozen constitu- ents include: morphine, codeine, codamine, metopon, nar- ceine, narcotine, papaverine, thebaine, rhoeadine, and me- conic and sulfuric acids. The meconic acid is used in toxi- cology and drug screening to determine the presence of opiate alkaloids, specifically morphine. Some other non-narcotic chemicals contained in the la- tex are: albumin, calcium salts, caoutchouc, magnesium, mucilage and sugar. These agents act as binders and make up the gum as the water in the latex evaporates. Latex oozes from this freshly-poked large pod. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 26 Chapter Three The Opium Poppy 27 The seed capsule is not the only source for the latex. When the main stem, branches or leaves have been sev- ered, latex will weep from the slice. This latex is not as potent as pod latex, but there is no use in wasting any! To collect this low-grade opiate, smear a cigarette with the cut end of the branch or leaf. As powerful a plant as the poppy appears to be in nature and content, it is not without its weaknesses. Frost and dry weather are the plant’s worst enemies, yet it does prefer cold nights (50° F) and rather warm (85° F) days. Too much rain or constant dew formation can cause the plant to succumb to a fungal attack (damping off) and ruin the pod color and potency. Because of its odd stature, the poppy is top-heavy and can be stem-bent and broken by a gust of medium-speed wind. This is especially true when flowering, as the seed capsule is large. As you will soon discover, papavers do not take well to being transplanted, so a modified germination technique is called for. If the transplants are conducted in an improper manner, the poppy will repay the grower with stunted growth and less-than-bountiful yields. The strengths of the poppy are uncommon for an alka- loid-producing psychotropic plant. Poppies can be stomped into the ground when they are sprouts and plantlets, and it only makes them grow faster and larger! The wild versions (red to purple and spotted strains) are especially resistant to punishment, but stomping the Impe- rial White, Persian White and Hens and Chickens hybrid varieties probably isn’t a good idea, since fine imported seeds can run as high as $8.00 per gram. Most other pa- paver seeds bought from magazine sources are 500 per gram. Variety Ptittfocu Unlike marijuana, it is very easy to inbreed the papaver somniferum to achieve the desired plant characteristics. An inbred line (IBL) hybrid will not express genetic drift and lose potency or vigor, no matter how many times the poppy is bred to its cousins. This is excellent for all those breeders out there who would try and break the 17% alka- loid level in the most powerful naturally occurring strains. Strain varieties differ greatly when it comes to potency and yield. When tested, poppies from Yugoslavia appear to be the most potent (due to harsh climate conditions), with up to a 17% alkaloid content. Runners-up from Asian and Middle-Eastern sources have only half the amount of alkaloids, so choose imported strains wisely. The poppy has been, cultivated and collected for centu- ries and used as an analgesic (external as well as internal), antidiarrhetic, antispasmodic, astringent (skin bracer), cure for alcoholism, expectorant, hypnotic, orgasm intensifier, sedative and stimulant narcotic. Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 29 Chapter Four OVERVIEW OF HYDROPONICS Hydroponics aren’t new at alL The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were hydroponic. So were the floating gardens of ancient China and the royal gardens of the Aztecs, Egyp- tians and Mayans. These technology deficient cultures managed to grow without soil, and so can the home grower of today! Being fairly cost prohibitive and dangerous to buy through the mail, hydroponic systems and other assorted equipment are not easily acquired by the average grower without arousing suspicion. How can one grow opiates indoors without spending a fortune or risk being caught by the infra red devils in the sky? Easy. By making one’s own system and light barriers! For the price of an ounce of fine marijuana, one can build a home system that will work with minimal upkeep, and will enable the grower to realize a year-round harvest Some things will have to be bought, such as a TDS me- ter and pH test kit. Most grow stores carry these, and if the grower doesn’t act suspicious when buying them, no one will be the wiser. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 30 31 Ni&isiefU* vfv the Hy/^oftoivLe SyitetK Nutrient concentration is the amount of primary chemi- cals (macronutrients) present in the water solution in a hy- droponic system. The basic chemicals needed for any plant are described as the N-P-K percentage. The N-P-K num- bers are often found on the front label of gardening amendments. The N, or nitrogen, is the most important chemical needed for the vegetative stage of plant growth. Nitrogen regulates protein uptake and is heavily involved in chloro- phyll (plant pigment) synthesis. Nitrogen is also responsi- ble for leaf and stem growth. Nitrogen adds to the overall health and vigor of the poppy plant. A shortage of nitro- gen is diagnosed as yellowing leaves and a general slow down or halt in growth. The P, or phosphorus, provides a device by which en- ergy is transferred in the plant. It is also the chemical that is responsible for disease resistance, seed and fruit forma- tion, and strong root growth. Phosphorus uptake peaks during the budding and flowering stages. A shortage of phosphorus causes dark green leaves, stunted growth, and a reddening of stems and leaf junctions. As with other primary nutrient deficiencies, lower leaves are the first to be affected. The K, or potassium (potash), is needed to facilitate the movement of food within the poppy plant. It also helps growth by aiding cell division. Potash regulates the amount of chlorophyll in the foliage and controls the leaves’ breathing apparatus (stomata), in order to use the available light and carbon dioxide more efficiently. Along with the primary nutrients, there are also secon- dary nutrients. They are called secondary nutrients because they are not needed in the amounts that N-P-K are. These secondary nutrients are: Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Sulfur (S). These elements are important in chloro- phyll synthesis and soil detoxification. In addition to primary and secondary nutrients, there are trace elements (micronutrients) to account for. These chemicals are only needed in minute amounts. These trace elements commonly used by plants are: Boron (B), Chlo- rine (Cl), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Mo- lybdenum (Mo) and Zinc (Zn). As with any other chemi- cal, too high of a concentration of trace elements in a so- lution can be detrimental to a poppy’s health. If a grower decides to add micronutrients, it is suggested that he only doses once per harvest. The pH level of the nutrient solution is as important to the plant’s well-being as nutrient concentration. Poppy plants aren’t as sensitive to pH as some plants, but there remains an ideal range of 6.5-6.8. Within this range, the poppy can most effectively assimilate the nutrients and water of the solution. An acidic (or low pH) binds the nutrients in the solution to acid salts and prevents root absorption. An alkaline (or high pH) harms plants by building up toxic salts and roots from absorbing water. Always test pH after mixing nutri- ents with water. pH kits are readily available in pool stores, hydroponic grow stores and better gardening out- lets. pH can be brought into line by using commercially Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 32 Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 33 available pH up and pH down. Home remedies include the addition of distilled white vinegar or a crushed aspirin so- lution to lower pH; baking soda or dilute lye solution to raise the pH. pH should never be altered drastically when the plants are young, as they are sensitive and will suffer shock. In discussing hydroponic grow systems for the poppy, we will start with the smallest and simplest and work our way to the enormous and complicated space-age systems. Before construction, there are a few constants for the hy- droponic poppy garden that beginners must familiarize themselves with. Pojpjpy fv CofvitajM All successful hydroponic poppy gardens systems, no matter how complex, must fall within these parameters. It only takes a mild variation of one of these to throw the whole garden off-kilter, so maintain close tolerances on your parameters. pH of nutrient solution 6. 5-6. 8 Temperature of nutrient solution 65-75° F (If the temperature goes above 75° F, the roots will cook. If the temperature goes below 65° F, the roots will have some trouble absorbing nutrients due to root shock.) IDS of nutrient solution 300-900grams/litre (TDS, or total dissolved solids, is a measure of salt strength within the solution. It is similar to the salinity measure in ocean water.) Atmospheric temperature 75° F day, 50° F night (Nighttime temperatures of 50° F have been shown to in- crease the potency of the final opium resin. Since the poppy is indigenous to very cold, arid regions, one would only be doing nature a favor by mimicking the flower’s natural temperature range.) Relative Humidity 25% min, 65% max (Humidity below 25% may dehydrate the plant, sustained levels above 65% will clog the breathing apparatus of the cold-weather, arid plants, causing them to gasp for fresh air.) Fertilizer mix N-P-K vegetative stage max 20-20-20 flowering stage max 10-35-10 (No more than one scoop per two gallons) With these standards in mind, we can now take a look at some common, and not-so-common, hydroponic systems. Choose accordingly, because once you commit, it is your duty as a grower to be Mother Nature. The more compli- cated the system of your choice, the more of a mother it is to maintain! Even though you might be tempted to rush out and buy a shitload of high-tech equipment, resist this urge until you get the hang of growing with your own self-built unit. This Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 34 Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 35 way, if your thumb is not as green as you would like, the equipment won’t be a loss if you have a garage sale. 4 P+Oi Cofvi c\f There are three types of hydroponic culture that one could use for poppy gardening: Sand Culture, Aggregate Culture, and Inorganic Experimental Culture. Review each carefully and choose the one that is most suited to your lifestyle and level of gardening experience. Sand Culture Sand culture is a method by which cleaned sand is used for the growing medium. It is easy once you get the gist of it, but can get out of hand quickly once the grower turns a watchful eye away from the system. Sand is about the cheapest thing in the world (except for advice), and makes for a unique style of gardening. Fluids drain quickly through it and are captured in a reservoir below the plants. It is nearly impossible to overwater or overfertilize using sand as a growth medium. On the other hand, a sand sys- tem can also be a poppy grower’s worst nightmare, for the sand is not as forgiving as soil when not watered regularly. Let two things stick in your mind when dealing with sand culture systems: a grower can kill the poppies by using a strong fertilizer solution, and the grower can kill the pop- pies by forgetting to water frequently enough. It is best to employ a recirculating system and monitor the TDS and pH daily. Aggregate Culture Before we can go into the different types of aggregate growing systems, we must first explore the different types of aggregate growing mediums and the pros and cons of each. As with other systems, pick the one which is best for your growing needs. As you will see, some of the aggre- gate mediums are strange at best, but when it comes time to harvest, you won’t give one thought to what the plants are growing in! Broken Bricks Broken bits of brick, if scrubbed thoroughly and broken into small enough pieces, can make a cheap aggregate medium. If they are not cleaned thoroughly, chemicals that are used to help the bricks come out of their molds cleanly can leach into the nutrient solution and kill your poppies. The bricks must be broken into bits no larger than two fingers’ width. Any larger and the surface area used to catch and hold nutrients, oxygen and water would be greatly diminished. Also, when the shards are too large, they can cut into the stems and roots when the container is moved. Bricks are only good for one grow cycle, as they tend to break down in water. Keep pH checked daily when using bricks, because minerals are leached from the bricks that can alter water hardness (high TDS and pH). Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 36 Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 37 Cat Utter (Oil Dry) Most people think that cat litter is only good for one thing. At a recent horticulture exposition, I saw a man growing strawberries from a garbage bag filled with cat litter. Talk about cheap! The super-absorbent nature of oil dry allows the gardener to water less frequently, but this does not mean it is suitable for beginners. If you overwater or overfertilize with cat litter as your substrate, it can’t be leached out. What goes into the medium stays in the me- dium! Try using a 50/50 sand/cat litter mixture. This will be a much more forgiving planting mix for the novice gar- dener. Central Heat/Air Filters You heard it here first! With a hydroponic grow system, all the plants need is somewhere for their roots to take hold. By smash-stacking ten or twelve filters from a cen- tral air unit (clean ones!) and employing a constant top- drip irrigation system, you can have a no-fail hydroponic system. If the webbing isn’t tight enough to place pre- germinated seedlings comfortably, place a layer of fiber- glass or cotton three layers down and plant the seedling on top of that. Expanded Clay Balls Rapidly becoming popular among marijuana growers, expanded clay balls are the next best thing to sliced bread! Clay balls can be used in any hydroponic system because of their simple makeup. They are molded and then fired in a furnace at extremely high temperatures (2,000° F!) to make them porous. The intense heat causes thousands of microscopic pores to form on the exterior of the balls. These tiny holes trap the nutrient mixture and oxygen in the perfect combination. Water rushing over the clay pel- lets is made more turbulent by the pores and is aerated, like a rushing stream. Since the raw material that makes up these pellets is baked clay, water solutions that pass over will retain their pH balance. Brand names of clay pellets to look for: Geo-lite, Gro-rocks, Grorox and Hydroton. Gravel (Pea) Gravel is the perfect medium for the hydroponic novice. It is easy to find, cheap if you have to buy it, inert, fast draining and easy to keep clean. Pea gravel drains so fast that it has to be combined with sand to slow the nutrient mixture. The gravel-sand mixture works synergistieally in that the sand keeps the water from rushing through unused and the gravel prevents the sand from becoming sodden and stagnant. The gravel-sand ratio should be around 5:3, depending on how fine the sand is. If using this recipe, be sure to mix very evenly, as a lopsided concentration gradi- ent could spell disaster for your plants. Even with the cor- rect mixture, this medium will have to be watered several times per day. This means that an automated collection and watering system must be employed, unless the grower has lots of spare time. Perlite Perlite is a very useful growing medium, being extraor- dinarily light when dry and having a high water retention rate (up to 30%). It is made by superheating volcanic rock past its melting point. This causes the rock to expand and Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 38 39 shatter, leaving thousands of flakes of porous materiaL Perlite has the odd characteristic of being able to absorb water, but not nutrients. This is good for your plants in that the nutrients are not bound, as in soil Although per- lite can be used by itself, its cost can be prohibitive, so mix with sand 50/50%. There are two different types of perlite on the market; the medium grade (3 mm in diameter), and the fine grade. The medium grade should be used, as the fine is better suited for cloning. Use caution when opening a bag of perlite. Fine dust particles caused from vibrations during shipping can enter your lungs and eyes and cause irritation. While not toxic, itchy lungs suck! To deal with the cloud of irritating dust, open a small hole in the top of the bag and pour in some water. This keeps the dust from flying into the atmosphere. Rockwool Rockwool is a relatively new growing medium (est. ‘82). It is made by pouring a mixture of liquid basalt, limestone and silica onto a spinning cylinder. These molten elements strike the wheel and are flung far from the heat, where they are collected as fibrous strands. This is the same procedure by which fiberglass insulation is formed. The strands are then sprayed with an adhesive and molded into blocks, cubes or slabs, and then oven-cured. This cheap, light material has a very high water retention rate (up to 80%), making it very easy for the amateur gar- dener to drown the roots. Rockwool is best suited for slow, top-drip intermittent-flow irrigation due to its water absorption abilities. The best thing about rockwool is that it allows plants to be transplanted and re-transplanted from one growing vessel to another. A grower can germinate seeds in one-inch plugs, transfer all the good starts into two-inch cubes for further growth, and finally place them into four-inch blocks on a four-foot slab. When employing a top-feed system, a slick of blue-green algae will form on the blocks and eventually on the slab. There is no cause for alarm, this is simply nature’s way of saying, “Everything is working fine!” The algae is beneficial to your poppies; it provides dissolved oxygen to their roots and removes car- bon dioxide from the nutrient mixture. Your plants will thank you for it! Rockwool must be handled very carefully when dry be- cause of its glassy, fibrous nature. If you do get a rock- wool splinter, alleviate it by running water over the irri- tated area. This will cause the splinter to soften and come out. A problem most new rockwool users encounter is that when it first gets wet, it froths yellow! To avoid introduc- ing this harmless foam into your hydroponic system, pre- wash all rockwool with tap water prior to use. Another minor problem with rockwool; its pH can be as high as 9! Be sure to add pH down to your nutrient mixture until the pH numbers fall into line in the runoff water. Some excel- lent brand names of rockwool: Cultilene, Grodan and Hortiwool. Seas he Us (Crushed) Crushed seashells are an uncommon, but worthwhile, medium to use in a hydroponic system. When crushed fine enough (similar to saltwater aquarium substrate), and mixed with perlite, seashells can add minerals like calcium Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 40 and magnesium to the nutrient mixture. Not only are these minerals important for the plants’ metabolism, they are also excellent pH buffers. Crushed coral and dolomite can also be used as buffers in hydroponic systems. This type of aggregate can be found at any saltwater aquarium shop. If you already have a system in use, and you would like to add these amendments to the mix, just throw a couple of handfuls into the reservoir. Vermiculite Vermiculite, like its cousin perlite, is a high- temperature treated mineral Mica is pressure cooked until it expands to 2,000 times its original volume, while retaining its initial weight. Its water retention properties are nearly double that of perlite! It tends to break down after a season of growing. For these reasons, vermiculite is more of a soil enhancer than a sole aggregate. As with perlite, be careful not to breathe in the dust from a bag of vermiculite. Volcanic Rock ( Lava Rock) Nature’s best for an ebb-and-flow system! These brick- red porous rocks can be found at many garden stores, nurseries and retail stores. They are inert, non-toxic, can- not become waterlogged or rot, hold the perfect amount of air and nutrients in their pores, and best of all — they can be used indefinitely! The only drawback for volcanic rocks is that if you choose to create a large garden, it will weigh a ton! However, for a smaller system, it can’t be beat. Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 41 Your Choice! This chart allows the gardener to determine which ag- gregate is the best overall for his living conditions (e.g., no large lava rock gardens on the second floor!), monetary situation and gardening experience. Medium Cost Wt Dry/ Wet Life span H20/02 Ret T.E. Bricks low high/unch Smooths fair/good Ca, Si Cat Utter low low/high 6 months high/fair Ca, Si Air Filters low low/low indefinite low/high inert Corel low high/unch indefinite poor/good Ca, Mg Clay Balls med med/unch indefinite high/high inert Gravel lew high/unch indefinite low/med Ca, Si Perlite tow low/med 1 year med/med inert Rockwool low low/med 2 years high/tow inert Vermiculite low low/high 6 months high/low inert Volcanic Rock low htgtVunch indefinite med/med Inert Bed Aggregate For SydetK? This chart demonstrates which aggregate is best suited for a particular hydroponic system. No additives such as sand are included, so each medium must stand on its own properties. The types of systems to grow opium poppies are as fol- lows: top-drip, which sees the plants receiving constant drops of nutrient solution from above the root line; ebb and flow, which sees the plants’ roots flooded and drained with nutrient solution at intervals; and wick, in which the plants are in a container filled with a medium that will act Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 42 as a capillary agent, drawing nutrient solution from a lower reservoir through cloth wicks. For the amateur grower, a wick system is the absolute best, requiring little attention and still producing excellent results. Medium Top-drip Ebb and Row Wick Bricks fair good poor Cat Litter poor poor good Air Filter good poor poor Coral good fair poor Clay Bails good good poor Gravel fair fair poor Perlite poor poor good Rockwool good poor fair Vermiculite poor poor fair Lava Rock good good poor QaJAwu, Polyurethane Slab Method The polyurethane (or PU) slab method is the newest craze to come out of the Netherlands. The slabs, which can be found at any carpeting or warehouse-type garden- ing store, are used in top-drip systems in the place of rockwool. The advantages are quite clear: foam slabs are pH neutral, rockwool can raise your pH; foam slabs are not irritating to the skin and lungs, rockwool poses the same health threat as asbestos; foam slabs are reusable in- definitely (they offer a ten-year guarantee on horticultural slabs), rockwool breaks down after a season; and, possibly the best reason to use foam slabs over rockwool, is its water retention property. Polyurethane slabs hold only Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 43 30% water and 70% air! Compare this to rockwool’s 80% water and 20% air, and one can clearly see that it would be nearly impossible to overwater plants using foam slabs as a medium. The only adjustment that would have to be made using foam slabs is the feeding schedule. Due to the high flow-through nature of the slabs, feedings would have to be much more frequent, even constant. Light Systems After weeding through the numerous hydroponic sys- tems and picking the one which is right for your situation, you have one more important choice to make to complete the unit; a light source. The most important (and expen- sive) decision you have as a guerrilla gardener must be made. Although we have cheapskated our way through the hydroponic systems labyrinth, we cannot scrimp one bit on light choice. The two types of lights that are acceptable for growing poppies are fluorescent tubes (which are the best choice) and high-intensity discharge lamps. Fluorescents Fluorescent fights are a great alternative for someone who wants to grow, but can’t afford the heat output of the high-intensity discharge lamps due to confined grow space. Fluorescent or tube fights are filled with inert gases, mercury vapor and phosphor. When the current is passed through the tube via ballast, the chemicals are excited and emit a glow. Most of the heat that is emitted by a fluores- cent system is by the ballast. If you choose tubes and heat is a problem, ask the fight store attendant about a remote ballast. They cost more, but the crop will be worth it! Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 44 45 Fluorescent tubes fall under three power categories: standard, HO (high output), and VHO (very high output). The standard tubes usually consume 10 watts per foot of length. The HO tubes consume five or six times the watt- age, and the VHOs can consume as much energy as a high-intensity discharge lamp. The ballasts are the same for the standard and HO, but differ for the increased volt- age needs of the VHOs. The best full-spectrum tubes to use are the HO T-lO’s. They are made by Vita-Lite and produce a whopping 2,750 lumens per four-foot tube (non-twisted). A lumen is a standard unit for measuring light flow. One lumen is equal to the amount of light that one candle would pro- duce on one square foot of surface one foot away. The T- 10’s are guaranteed to match 91% of the sun’s color spectrum and last 2,400 hours (five years). Always use electronic ballasts when they can be found. They are quite costly, but are well worth it in the long run. Electronic ballasts are silent, extend tube life up to 30%, reduce lumen depreciation by 10%, make HO tubes bum 40% brighter, and use only 62% of the power a normal ballast would. Metal Halides Metal halides were discovered for horticultural purposes by, of all people, tree-trimmers in the suburbs of large cit- ies! When these cities replaced standard incandescent street lamps with HID metal halides, the tree trimmers no- ticed that they were doing twice as much work. Turns out that these new metal halide lamps were keeping the trees bathed in light all night and they were getting a double- daylight photoperiod! The 1,000-watt metal halide stands far above the rest of the pack, producing 110,000 lumens! For a few dollars more, you can buy super halides that produce 117,000- 125,000. The best single bulb on the market is the Agro- sun HO halide. These color-corrected halides not only have the blue spectrum that the other halides are known for, they also have reds that maximize fruiting (especially in marijuana). These enhanced spectrum bulbs make all other single bulb systems obsolete. They cost a little more, but you get what you pay for. The HID metal halide lamp produces light by passing voltage through halide gases within a quartz arc tube. They must be used in the position stamped on the base of the bulb (HOR horizontal, VER vertical, UNIV universal), so it is suggested that a lamp be bought with a universal stamping. This removes the hassles associated with having to position a bulb a specific way. If you live in an area that has frequent power outages, this may not be the best bulb for you, because there is a five minute restrike time after a MH is shut off due to in- ternal gas cooling. Each consecutive outage will, like bumps to a hot bulb, shorten the life of the bulb. If, for some strange reason you need to remove the bulb, wait until it has cooled off completely. The heat causes the base to expand and it could break off in your hand. Super hot glass fragments in your hand could cramp your style! Also, if the bulb ever breaks (if a droplet of Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 46 water were to hit it), turn it off without looking at it. Even though it might still be operating, UV radiation will be leaking out of it. High-Pressure Sodium Lamps High-pressure sodium lamps have been a favorite of guerrilla marijuana growers for years. You have probably seen them on top of light poles illuminating dark parking lots in industrial areas. This heavy-duty usage attests to their remarkable light output; one 100- watt bulb can pro- duce 140,000 lumens! This is equivalent to 3,500 standard fluorescent tubes! There are two sizes of high-pressure sodium lights as far as the closet gardener is concerned: the 400-watt and the king 1,000- watt. If you decide to buy one of these electric stars, splurge and buy the 1,000- watt. It illuminates better, reduces harvest time and increases the vigor in all photo- synthetic creatures! The HPS lamps work by sending a current through va- porized mercury and sodium in an arc tube. The sodium glows a rich yellow that is high in the red-orange-yellow spectrum, mimicking the fall sun. The HPS can be positioned in any direction, unlike some of the metal halides. The ballast for a 1,000- watt unit weighs 60 pounds, so be sure to get one that has a remote ballast unless you want your ceiling to cave in at some in- opportune moment. High-pressure sodium bulbs have the longest duration of any high-intensity light. Used for 24 hours per day, the HPS will bum for 24,000 hours. Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 47 Yowl QJbo^yCe, Light Type Watts Lumens Life-hours Price Incandescent Gro 300 1800 6,500 $5-10 Fluorescent 40 1500 12,000 $8 HO Tube 40 2100 24,000 $15 VHO Tube 110 2750 24,000 $40 HID Halide 400 34,000 20,000 $60 1000 117,000 12,000 $80 HPS 400 50,000 20,000 $60 1000 140,000 24,000 $80 Below is a chart that will show the complete costs of buying a lighting system for a medium-sized (10'x8') opium poppy garden. The prices include all of the neces- sary hardware such as hangers, lens, reflectors and an electronic timer. Try and buy the most expensive system you can afford, as it will usually last longer (and can be used to grow marijuana and other illegal species!) and give better results than a cheaper one. Also, the more expensive lights come with warranties, which can be useful should your high-dollar, fake sun break down. System Watts Warr. Bulbs Price Incandescent 1200 Fluorescent 160 HO Fluorescent 160 VHO Fluorescent 560 HID Metal Halide 250 400 1000 HPS 400 1000 Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 48 UbUaV'iotet DiUcU&h, As you may already know, the Man has computerized systems that enable him to catch the unwary guerrilla grower. After you read this and put these methods of “hide and seek” into action, you will no longer be unwary! Thermal and UV detection stems from the advent of HID lights commonly found in indoor gardens. The ther- mal, or heat-seeking, radar uses super-cooled gases to detect abnormal heat emanating from a source. The UV scanner employs a filter, such as a butterfly has, to detect abnormally high amounts of the normally unseen ultravio- let radiation. Fluorescent lights are exempt from these types of scans. Keep this in mind when planning your sys- tem. How can we keep the fuzz at bay with his super- sophisticated, high-dollar light finders? Easy: with a little common sense. These forms of radiation are just like any other in that they can be contained. Preventing the pigs from peeping is the least expensive and the most stress- reducing thing you can do before setting up. To be 100% sure that the cops can’t detect your lighting system from the great outdoors, follow these no-brainer steps. Place a couple of black sheets over each window that the grow room might be located in. This step is for your nosy neighbors. Next, place a blanket or quilt over the plastic sheets. Make sure that this completely covers the whole window. It should be at least four inches larger than Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 49 the window all around. If you can get a black or white blanket, all the better! The quilt is to absorb (or reflect, in the case of the white one) any stray radiation that makes it past our heat barriers. If you don’t live in a big city with millions of dollars to spend on black helicopters and all that garbage, you can probably stop here and be safe. If the city you five in has heavy air traffic, read on! Take several slabs of styrofoam and make a solid wall of them the size of your window by taping them together with duct tape. Tape the plate of styrofoam to the wall around the window. DO NOT nail the plate to the wall, as this would give radiation a way to escape. The styrofoam could shift as the nails tear into it creating an unseen breach. The styrofoam serves as a heat insulator against infrared detection, and serves as a physical barrier against all UV waves. 1 Finally, take a couple of sheets of aluminum foil or my- lar and cover the window completely, shiny side toward you. This will be the primary reflector and barrier for all wavelengths. When done, shine your brightest and hottest lamps di- rectly on the window from the inside. Go outside at dark and see if you can see anything coming through the win- dow, and put your hand on the glass to test for heat. More than likely, the job is done. Your total cost may be as little as $5.00 for this barrier that the police have paid $1.5 million to break. The funny thing is, they can’t! Score: Clever gardener -2, Silly cops-0. Sorry, Mr. Policeman, no doughnut! If, after you have set up and your opium poppy garden Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 50 checklist to cross-reference the problem with cure. Most physical signs of distress can be cured by simple means (change nutrient solution concentration, alter room tem- perature, pH, TDS, etc.). This list is very basic, and the avid grower may want to buy a more complete how-to hydroponic system diagnosis manual. bU&iX&hX btfpicitidlOwiLoaJ. CheekLid Symptoms Nutrient Overload Deficiency Growth slows, lower leaves yellow Leaves discolor brown or purple, Nitrogen X curt backward Phosphorus X Leaf tips display a ‘bum’ Nitrogen X Lower leaves turn brown, dry out Leaf veins remains green, remaining Potassium X leaf pales Iron X Black spots after iron remedy X Leaves display yellow spots Newest growing tips die, brown spots Copper X appear on poppy capsule Calcium X Capsule ripening delayed Yellowing leaves, capsule fails to Nitrogen X bloom Manganese X Plants turn brown and die All nutrients X c\f There are a few high-tech gardening implements which can be bought at your local hydroponic grow store that will ensure a vigorous indoor crop and substantially in- crease opium latex yield. Some of these items are quite costly, but if the grower is serious about having his own Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 51 home-grown stones, he will recognize immediately that the benefits of a superior garden far outweigh the initial costs. Keep in mind these products are ONLY for the most seri- ous and experienced guerrilla gardener. When inquiring about these products, don’t act strange or make any references as to what they are for. If you are asked what type of garden you have, tell them a flower garden. DON’T pay for the items with a check or credit card, as these types of stores have been busted by the DEA and their sales records used to gain access to illegal gardens. Climate Controllers As a cold-weather plant, the poppy could benefit greatly from a climate controller. These electronic units contain a pre-set thermostat that activates an air conditioner or ex- haust blower when atmospheric conditions start creeping into the hot zone. There is also another type that regulates humidity as well Ideal mountain-like growing conditions can be duplicated with this type of system. Price: $120- 180. CO 2 Systems Carbon dioxide emitters or generators are a heaven-sent for the guerrilla grower. C0 2 gas increases plant size and speeds growth up to 100%. A carbon dioxide emitter works by using a tank of compressed gas (easy to find), and a generator produces gas by burning liquid propane fuel The emitter is the only system which is plausible for a poppy garden, as the generator tends to create excess heat. Price: $160 without tank rental. Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 52 Light Balancers Light balancers are a must for a large indoor garden. The light is affixed to a moving chain on a rail and the movement imitates the east-west sun cycle. Light balanc- ers also keep equal amounts of light on each part of the garden, something not possible with a single-fixed light system A larger indoor garden can be realized without the excess costs of electricity bills and of providing an extra high-intensity light. Price: $110-300. Liquid Nutrients Liquid nutrients are a boon for all hydroponic enthusi- asts. Most of them are all-natural, adding an organic taste to your opium instead of a chemical taste due to the pres- ence of inorganic fertilizers in the common hydroponic nutrient solution. Some of these fertilizers even contain helpful bacteria cultures and naturally occurring hormones to boost the plant’s growth and overall yield. Price: $25- 50 per gallon. Protein Skimmers and Ultraviolet Sterilizers For the hardcore hydroponic grower with thousands of dollars of psychotropic plants on the line, these two de- vices are necessary when the guerrilla grower makes a living by selling his green wares. Protein skimmers work by removing all organic waste from the reservoir by foam fractionalization. The end re- sult is a super-clean nutrient solution that will last longer between changes, thereby promoting vigorous poppies. Ultraviolet sterilizers are placed in-line in a recirculating system and work by radiating the passing water with UV Chapter Four Overview Of Hydroponics 53 rays. This kills all of the bacteria (in solution) and viruses to which nutrient rich water eventually gives rise. The poppies will be less susceptible to air and waterborne dis- ease, and this will buy the professional grower some peace of mind. Price: $50-150. Chapter Five From Seed To Weed 55 Chapter Five FROM SEED TO WEED The first thing the guerrilla poppy grower needs to ac- quire is a good supply of poppy seeds. Surprisingly, you can get some high-germination rate seeds at your local grocery store in the spice aisle. Depending on freshness and the source from which they were exported, grocery- store seeds can be a cost-effective alternative to over- priced mail order seeds. If you have the money and would like some really pow- erful hybrid seeds that would produce huge latex-steaming monster poppies, there is an excellent source for mail- order somniferum seeds in Canada. For $27.00 they will send you five grams (5000 seeds) of fresh poppy seeds taken from giant plants in Afyon, Turkey! They also guar- antee a nearly 100% germination success rate! Contact them at izmir@saltspring.com, or write them at: Izmir Oil & Spice Company P.O. Box 316 Ganges Stn. Saltspring Island, B.C. V8K 2V9 Canada Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 56 For a better deal, but of unknown origin and germina- tion rate, there are a few seed dealers to be found in the classifieds in High Times. They sell the Papaver somnif- erum seeds for about $15.00 per ounce. Seed Tech Hawaiian Seeds 1935 S. Plum Rd. P.O. Box 4908 Palatine, IL 60067 Macon, G A 3 1 208 Obviously, the best deal is at the grocery store. A 35 gram bottle of McCormick Brand Poppy Seed contains roughly 35,000 seeds and goes for $4.00! Most of the growers that I know use these exclusively and claim a 75- 90% success rate. During my research, I germinated a to- tal of 500 grocery store seeds and found that, surprisingly, 80-90% of them were viable and germinated vigorously! Germinating poppy seeds is a very simple task that leaves the grower with limitless options. Since the poppy is not too keen on being transplanted, the grower must attempt to germinate the seeds directly in the hydroponic system (quite difficult unless using a wick system), or germinate in a transferable medium such as peat pots, polyurethane slabs or rockwool. After choosing your hydroponic and lighting system, and making sure that the hydroponic system doesn’t leak after a couple days of usage, stick hundreds of the tiny seeds an eighth- to a quarter-inch deep into the chosen Chapter Five From Seed To Weed 57 medium, water heavily, and place in a sunny window. Germination for the poppy is almost immediate (three to four days), with the seedlings becoming leggy two days after emergence. Make sure the medium stays moist, not soggy, and don’t fertilize at this point. The poppy’s root system consists only of a tap and a couple of micro-hairs, so any nitrogen would bum and kill your plants. When the seedlings show a second set of leaves (at five to ten cm), the baby poppies are ready to transplant into the hydroponic system. Use a weak nutrient solution (25% of recommended amount) combined with a splash of B-12 and Rootone at first, and keep fluorescents 16-24 inches directly over the system. High-intensity discharge lamps require more distance (30-36 inches), as super-hot bulb temperatures can cook the tender seedlings. A good gauge for distance is the hand test. Place your bare hand over the seedlings and move the light system up and down until the heat from the lamp no longer bums your hand after 30 seconds. Set the light timer on a schedule of 12 hours on/12 hours off. During the off-cycle, no stray light can enter the grow area, so make sure that when the lights go off, the plants are bathed in complete darkness for 12 hours. True to their classification, the poppies will grow like weeds under the correct light and nutrient conditions. Af- ter the plants break past the ten cm barrier, change the di- lute nutrient solution and replace with a half-strength dos- age (no more than 250-350 TDS above your water solids). This incremental increase will ease the poppies into major growth mode without shocking the hell out of them with a full nutrient load all at once. The gradual increase also al- Hydroponic Heroin How To Grow Opium Poppies Without Soil 58 lows beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria to form and mass in the media of the hydroponic system. As the plants grow, raise the lights accordingly. If fluo- rescents are being employed, they may be allowed to come within six to ten inches of the fast-growing poppies. No provisions for metal halides can be made at this point, due to the fact that opium poppies suffer in hot conditions. If you have a metal halide in your grow room, it will more than likely raise room temperature 15-20 degrees. Remedy this situation quickly by keeping a wall-unit air conditioner aimed at the plants. Remember that the maximum daylight temperature for the poppies is 75° F. 7&vfvfvvf\£ The painful task of thinning the weak from the strong is at hand. By the time the largest plants are 20 cm, a notice- able vigor gradient will have appeared as plants with weaker genetics lean over and tend to be stunted. Take a pair of sharp scissors and weed out the smaller plants, leaving only groups (4-6) of large ones spaced six to nine inches apart. To cope with the pain of losing so many plants, make tea as described in Chapter 7, if you have enough thin- nings. Change half-strength nutrient solution and replace it with full-strength. By now, the poppies will be used to the fertilizer and will experience another spurt of growth. From this point on, the nutrient solution will need to be checked daily for pH and total dissolved solids and Chapter Five From Seed To Weed 59 changed every ten days to two weeks. Also, watch for signs of nutrient overload or deficiency, as this can happen at any time after the nutrient solution is at full strength. Light system timer should now be bumped up to 13 hours on/1 1 hours off. SyitetK R