Welcome to Growing on the Cheap! I’m happy to be able to write a weekly column about how to grow really good, organic Marijuana. It’s been a myth for many years that you need $4,000 – $5,000 to start a home grow. That myth also requires you to spend up to $500 or more per month for electricity.

My partner and I have proven that you can grow really good weed for $75 – $100 a month, after you make your initial purchases of $200-$500. That monthly cost includes soil, water, nutrients, electricity and CO2. We have been doing that level of low-cost growing every month for almost 8 years now. My partner won the Blue Ribbon for Best Marijuana Plant at the 2014 Denver County Fair using our cheap growing methods. It was the first time ever that a county or state fair in the U.S. had a marijuana growing competition.

In this blog, I will cover every aspect of growing. I’ll cover the ever-changing Colorado laws on home grows, so you can stay legal. I’ll also write about germinating seeds, taking clones, vegetative and flowering stages, harvesting and curing. In addition, I will write about grow room setup, safety and hygiene, dealing with pests and pathogens and how to get bigger yields from your plants. My techniques offered are aimed at organic growing.

I’ll also tell you how to reuse and repurpose ordinary household items for your grow and how to buy the gardening items you need at a fraction of their normal cost. For example, did you know you can buy four different kinds of pruning shears at Dollar Tree for only $1 each? They work great for harvesting, trimming and training your plants. At other stores you’ll pay $7- $20 for a pair of shears. A woman I know who has worked in several commercial grows swears by the $1 shears.

Next Saturday at 4:20 pm Mountain Time, check out my next installment of “Growing on the Cheap” covering “A Grow Room Setup Checklist.” It will feature lots of valuable tips for setting up a safe, clean grow room that supports your grow very well.

Disclaimer: The advice in this article is intended for use by readers who reside and grow marijuana in states where growing has been legalized. It is not intended to help people break the law in states where it is not legal.

Victoria Young has co-authored six books on growing marijuana and has several more in progress. She is co-owner of Doctor Grow, LLC a business that teaches growing through books and classes. Their mission is teaching people to grow weed safer, cheaper and better than some of the methods that have been taught for years. Her Bachelor's Degree is from Metropolitan State College in Denver and her Master's Degree is from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ, where she also edited the school paper. Victoria has spent more than 30 years as a writer and designer. Victoria grew up in Littleton, CO and lived in Boulder for over 15 years. She also lived on Kauai, HI, and in Ventura, CA for many years. Now, she resides in nearby Firestone, CO.