Cancer patient in Southern California (Ventura County)

Hi Folks!


I just signed up for this site on behalf of myself and my mom, a terminally ill cancer patient. I’m a writer and her caregiver and I just lost my job, so we can’t afford to buy medicine anymore and we’re looking for help to start growing on our own.

Given that we are now experiencing more financial hardship than usual, I’m posting here to see if anyone knows of a company that gives discounts or donations on equipment and supplies (lights, seeds, hydro/aero systems, etc.).

I'm willing to put in a lot of physical labor, we just don't have much capital to finance the equipment and supplies.


We have bajillions of pages of paperwork to support the fact that my mother is a legitimate cancer patient, she actually has severe spinal damage and is on dialysis as well, so if you need any ‘proof’, we can supply it.

We’re also looking for advice on where to find a concise guide to growing with hydroponics or aeroponics.

We have some experience growing in soil, but we’re looking to start a small grow space with hydro or aeroponics.


[FONT=&quot]I posted a long version of my story in the main discussion forum, “Holiday Plea - Cancer patient needs help growing!” but I’m posting a shorter version of the same request here because we seriously need help. [/FONT]

I would start growing with DWC, it's the simplest system and gives great yields. If you can buy the exact same nutes as me, and the same box of pH up, and use reverse osmosis or distilled water, I can give you quantities that could be measured with just a syringe, or set of measuring spoons, and a scale, to save you the cost of an expensive pH/tds meter.

http://www.amazon.com/Botanicare-CNS17-Grow-3-2-4-Gallon/dp/B004JKFK48
http://www.amazon.com/Botanicare-CNS17-Ripe-2-5-Gallons/dp/B003MG1YEU
http://www.amazon.com/Botanicare-NSCMQT-Cal-Plus-Quart/dp/B004JKBMRW
http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-pH-Up-Powder/dp/B001JINXDI

That's all you need to get. You don't need bottles that big but I couldn't find smaller ones on google shopping. Your local hydro store probably has more reasonable sizes - just get a quart of each if you're just going to grow one plant and money's really tight. Otherwise get the biggest size you can afford, it gets way cheaper with more.

The concept is really simple. Hydroponic stores have buckets pre-made for DWC. Don't get any of the funky kits. Get a black 5 gallon plastic bucket with a net pot lid, one of these guys (get a 6" one if you're going to skimp on the meters):

http://www.nehydro.com/net-pot-8-bucket-basket/

You will need rockwool cubes to grow the plants in... it's a material spun from molten rock I think, either way think of it as effectively being "rock foam." It retains moisture but also holds a lot of air, so the roots don't drown.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002IU8UW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001IMIWF4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=18Q4PAJCSNXGJ7RZ25XY (rockwool)

Then you want hydroton to fill the net pot with:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056WF1CY/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0001YC4MC&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1FMDKJE1HK9YZ6XXMJW7

If you want to cut out the pH meter get a reverse osmosis filter like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-WHER25-Reverse-Osmosis-Filtration/dp/B004S7TAK2

It's generally good to have one with hydroponics anyway. It removes any dissolved salts in the water, stuff like calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, etc. Regular filters only remove organic molecules and some heavy metal salts like lead.

You will need an air pump:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AKRUSW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002JPPFJ0&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0RGQX2AEJCAB6JKBK9C3

And some air stones:

http://www.amazon.com/Eco-Plus-Large-Round-Stone/dp/B002JLA83C

Now you have all the necessary materials to set up the hydroponics. The concept is amazingly simple. All you do is soak the rockwool cube, shake the water back out a little later (do not squeeze!) like flicking a paint brush... until it's still wet, but not soggy. You plant your seed or cutting in that, put it in a beer cup and put that in a 1 gallon ziplock to let it root. Check daily until the roots poke out the bottom of the cube.

Once they're rooted you soak the hydroton in some water for a bit, wash off the dirt, etc. Drill a hole in the lid for the air tube for the air stone. They're usually 1/8" wide. Now you fill the bucket with RO (reverse osmosis) water until it reaches the bottom of the net pot. You drop in the air stone, add the fertilizer, pH up, etc. and thread the air line through the hole in the lid and hook it up to the air stone. Drop the lid in place, put the rockwool cube + plant in the center, and fill up around it with hydroton as high as it can go without choking the plant and walah... you're good to go. Just hook the line up to the pump, hang a light, and it'll start growing. The bucket of nute solution has to be replaced about once every 2-3 weeks in the beginning, and once every week or more in flower. If there's any strange growth appearing, it's a good idea to change the bucket - the pH might be off, etc.

It really is very simple. The plant hangs over a pool of water with dissolved nutrients, and the roots grow into this water to absorb them. The air stone makes tons of tiny bubbles so the roots don't suffocate. They can survive a few hours if the pump goes out, but I wouldn't count on it.

Oh, I forgot to mention:

HASH OIL CURES CANCER!!!

Yes I am 100% serious, you need about 60g of oil, with the objective being to get her tolerance up as fast as possible and so she can eat through that oil as quickly as possible. Look up phoenix tears, simpson oil, etc. for more information. Very important you start this tomorrow. "Terminal" cancers have been turned into cancers in remission. But the odds are better the sooner you start!!!

write some nutrient companies/equipment companies and i'm sure they'd be willing to help you !