How viable is growing poppies?

[morphineoxysbenzos]

Can you ever get a useful amount off it or is it usually just a fun week/month type thing after harvest? I have an alright sized yard with some privacy and honestly I don't think anyones going to care or notice poppies and I have tons of bushes and flowers growing around my yard anyways so it all looks the same. I don't even think anyone would be able to identify its a poppy or anything beyond just patches of flowers.

Can I just dump out washed poppy seeds in my yard and they'll randomly pop? I live in a colder climate and there's a lot of shade in my yard so I don't know how good they'll be. Does the subspecies matter you use? I found a place selling a lot of varities of seeds and they even have the "ikkanshu" poppy seeds but they're really expensive. Would they grow good if they were planted in some taller stuff or do they really need to just be left alone in the sun? If I can grow a few patches around my house and yard will I be able to get anything worthwhile if I just keep using the seeds to add more over time?

 

[Hippy Flower Fairy]

I bought poppy pods a while ago and saved all the seeds and just threw them along the overcliff where I live, we'll see if they grow as they don't need sewn or anything just thrown on to the ground, I threw them into long grass, bushes etc as in the UK you're meant to sew them between September and November I think, I'm not expecting to get anything from them, or even see them grow but would be cool to see poppies starts growing around where I live in spring time next year lol

 

[Snafu in the Void]

I'm also curious how easy/practical it is.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Growing poppies is easy. But finding a decent strain is very difficult.

If you're growing your own then I suggest poppy pod tea. Forget collecting the latex because you need acres of primo Poppies to get anything worthwhile.

 

[bingey]

It's easy but their roots are very delicate so you can't sprout them and then put them in the soil later.

 

[Kaden_Nite]

If you have free space, space where it doesn't matter if some poppies grow, by all means, throw some seeds out and a bit of soil on top.

The amount of poppies you will get in backyard space makes for a fun.. hobby. You'll get some pods after several months and be rewarded with a few cups of tea here and there.

In contrast to cannabis though, which can yield several weeks, months, maybe a year of smoke from a single plant.. I don't think backyard poppies are worth it if it takes any time, space, or real effort.

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

You don't need acres and acres if you just want enough for a special treat now and then. I only have some 200 + and get about enough from them for a good few smokes and a small bottle of tincture.
(I have to mention I grow two very large varieties with multiple flowerheads so the yield is comparatively generous for the number of plants.)
For me it's worth it because a) I enjoy the stuff immensely and it's not like you can buy it anywhere and b) I've always been fascinated with the whole process. It's a faff refining such small quantities to make it smokeable though. XD

If you do want to give it a go, they need sun and well-drained soil. (Mine grow in a patch surrounded by drystone walls which helps to keep them at a temperature they like.) The ground needs to be free of weeds and raked over until the soil is fine and crumbly. Sprinkle the seed thinly and cover lightly with soil.
Keep the ground moist until germination (which can take from a week to a month depending on weather conditions).
If several come up too close together you need to thin them out. Don't have other plants crowding them and make sure to keep weeding ; they really need their space to do well. Keep them well-watered in hot weather but don't over-saturate, otherwise they'll just grow tall and leafy but won't form flowers.
Snip off any seed heads you've harvested or bled, this will encourage more flowers.
.... I live in N Wales and the climate is FAR from ideal, yet I still manage to grow them and bring them far enough to collect latex most years. Make sure to choose a vigorous variety.

 

[ghostandthedarknes]

it's something you could do for a hobby but you won't maintain a habit growing poppies.

 

[izo]

growing them is easy. they are undemanding and all you need is a decent strain as someone already posted. i made some poppy tea from seeds i bought at a supermarket, the tea started to go moldy and i threw it out on the compost. the next summer the whole garden was full of poppies as my parents put the new ground from the compost out on it. so i gut lucky. they let the poppies stand for some years but now they pull out most of the plants. but i dont live with them anymore anyways. for a decent amount of highs you need a big amount of poppies though. they build taproots so you cannot grow them in a flat bowl or something. thats about it.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

It's easy but their roots are very delicate so you can't sprout them and then put them in the soil later.

Agreed, replanting is not an option.

But afaik they grow like weed, they don't care about the soil or nutrient's. The grow everywhere you plant them. Very drought and poor soil resistent to. The resulting pod's are very potent so titrate upward's.

 

[Keif' Richards]

I always dreamed that as an old man, I'd have a wife and kids who love me, a nice cottage, crops and poppy fields sufficient to keep me high by my own initiative. I'm not totally sure how to approach this. Many people would be surprised to hear that. for instance, Cannabis grows wild all over the states (and the world for that mattter) to the extent that wild Cannabis plants and their removal were stipulated into the budget when route 66 was built through Illinois.

My point is, it's not just the plant, it's the process. Both Cannabis and Papaver Somnifereum et al are fairly hardy, easy to grow crops although both are succeptible to low temperatures. The worst part is actually collecting the milk. You have to go through and slice, wait, scoop and even once you have a giant bag of latex it still must be refined to even be considered IDK "drug grade" Opium (removing moisture etc.). I think people have voted with their feet in a way by saying, "yea, I'm willing to pay other people to do it for me".

With anything, perhaps you could do it better than the established people, but at the end of the day, the notion of learning about, growing, harvesting, re-planting... all of that shit, combined with the fact that once you start scoring seed pods there is no longer any denial regarding why you have a field of poppies. It's pretty much evidence. I think this is just a classic case of nature's invisivle hand. It's possible, but it would be a btich.

 

[yubacity]

Its easy to grow spread the seeds if dry months water otherwise leave them to it

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

it's not just the plant, it's the process. it still must be refined to even be considered "drug grade"

Yep. The harvest and preparation are very labour - intensive, refining is a skill that has to be learnt etc. It's what most people would consider unnecessary lengths of time and effort to go to in order to obtain not very much opium. Like I said though I personally find it worthwhile because it gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
Settling down to smoke your first pipe of the year of your own home - produced is rewarding in the same sense that other 'fruit of your labour' from things you've grown and tended all season is rewarding; if you like that type of thing, and I do.
I also simply love them for their beauty.

once you start scoring seed pods there is no longer any denial regarding why you have a field of poppies.

There is that. In my case I don't need to worry because I live in splendid rural isolation and I highly doubt the occasional lost hiker walking past is gonna report me to the authorities.

 

[Las Veghost grower]

I am gonna plant some seed later this year, I got hens & chicks and gigantium poppy seeds to plant, I only have a little 10x8 raised bed so I’m just gonna mix the seeds with sand and spread them all over the place, not gonna bother thinning or anything hopefully I’ll be able to get a couple hundred heads

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

I am gonna plant some seed later this year, I got hens & chicks and gigantium poppy seeds to plant, I only have a little 10x8 raised bed so I’m just gonna mix the seeds with sand and spread them all over the place, not gonna bother thinning or anything hopefully I’ll be able to get a couple hundred heads

I would recommend thinning tbh. Each plant needs space to reach its full potential. If you don't thin, you'll get a shitload of tiny pods.

 

[Las Veghost grower]

I would recommend thinning tbh. Each plant needs space to reach its full potential. If you don't thin, you'll get a shitload of tiny pods.

How much space should I leave between plants ? I know I have a small area so I’m just trying to get as much as possible

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

How much space should I leave between plants ? I know I have a small area so I’m just trying to get as much as possible

Ok I have space and to spare so I actually keep mine around 25 cms apart but that's being super - generous and also to make weeding easier. If your plot is small they'll still do good if each one is a decent handspan away from the others.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

How much space should I leave between plants ? I know I have a small area so I’m just trying to get as much as possible

I'd say a good 6 inches around each plant. It's worth it in the end, especially if you have multiple headed varieties. With proper thinning I've had a bed of 5 foot tall monsters with well over 200 pods from a plot around the same size as yours. Leave them overcrowded and you get 12 inch high weaklings with pods the size of marbles.

 

[Las Veghost grower]

Ok sounds good, obviously I’m gonna be doing a good amount of experimenting since it my first run, I’ll prolly cut the garden into sections and leave one area untouched, then thin an area a inch between then 3 inches ect. So hopefully by next year I’ll have an idea of what I can get away with for maximum yields

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

Ok sounds good, obviously I’m gonna be doing a good amount of experimenting since it my first run, I’ll prolly cut the garden into sections and leave one area untouched, then thin an area a inch between then 3 inches ect. So hopefully by next year I’ll have an idea of what I can get away with for maximum yields

Try 'Persian Whites' if you can get hold of them. The other variety I have isn't legally available XD