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  • AADD Moderators: andyturbo

Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) cultivation

Hello there mushi mushi 88;
Although I am not familiar with the strain of poppies called "Purple Haze"the best type of soil to plant any poppies in would be sandy/loomy soil with good drainage.When you first plant them keep the soil moist but not soggy wet because the seeds will die.As they start to grow only water when they absolutly need it,the soil will be very dry on top.This is to avoid root rot.You also want a fertilizer that ranges 20-20-20 that is sufficiant with poppies.You want to provide them with full sun ,at least 12 hr daily from germination and slowly increasing the light until they are ready to bud then the light should be increased significantly but you must be carful with the temperature as you don't want too much heat.Remember poppies are the opposite of MJ in the lighting department,the flower in long light periods.From what I've been told scoring is done AFTER the flower has formed.But then again why would you ever do a thing like that 8) ?The flowers last only a couple of days then you want to check the pods regularly for indicators such as increase size,change in color,and crown position.You also want to check for firmness as well.As for color of the petals that is due to the strain you choose to grow.Although growing them is quite simple there is however a propper method of ensuring they grow propperly.Hope this was helpful,and I'm sure there is alot of info. on here about it,but if you have any other questions and I'll try to help.Take care.Will you be growing indoors or out?Is this your first time growing them?
 
Thank you for that info it was very helpfull... Anyways I will be growing them outside but am thinking of starting the seedlings off in the fridge to germinate... Do you know if they need light to germinate?
 
Hello again,
The fridge is a bad idea.Poppies need full light to germinate.In the beginning up until about a month or so they need a light cycle of at least 12/12.Another thing is that they don't do well with transplanting.Even though it can be done it is not suggested.Your best bet if you were going to start indoors would be to start them in peat pots or rockwool cubes.If started in the cubes they should be soaked in water first ands then the cubes should be shook to let out any extra water, to adjust the ph.in them because they have a tendency to be high.Once they start to grow you can then transplant the peat pot or cube into the ground.Once again poppies are the opposite of MJ they need light to bloom and grow.Take care and if any other questions don't hesitate to ask.
 
atom_boy said:
P. somniferum dont like to be too crowded and they do not respond well to being transplanted. sprinkle your seeds over the soil where you want the plants to grow and water in. sow seeds either spring (now) or early autumn. as plants pop up thin them out to about 1 per 25-30 cm. water as required
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If you're going to be sowing in the late summer/fall, I can't overemphasize the wisdom of this information. The plants grow easily once established, but in order to get the best yield, you must thin the seedlings carefully so that you're allowing ample space for each mature plant to grow. They *hate* being transplanted and most of your transplants will die.
 
hi all, im new here and have a question. SWIM has papaver somniferum v nigrum seeds that he bought from a local head shop. he planted them and they grew to a certain size, but only got to a height of about an inch and a half, at about 2 to 2.5 weeks. They stopped growing, they didnt die but just stopped growing. they were growing pretty fast, but he dont know whats wrong? they looked the same height for like a week and maybe a few days. any suggestions anyone? plants are growing in peat pots to be moved to a bigger container once they get bigger. SWIM is so sad. The Flower soil was not compacted and mist fed water from a spray bottle. At first he thought it was damping off, but the plants didnt die. Thanks for the help in advance.
 
First off we don't use SWIM around here, in reality it offers you no legal protection should law enforcement ever read your posts.

I can't offer you much advice on poppy cultivation. The only advise I can give you is to remember that if you are caught scraping the pods it will not be looked upon as lightly as growing a few cannabis plants. Also I am pretty sure that from 2 plants you won't get much opium at all, I could be wrong though.
 
I planted like 6 months ago some sprouted, will they still flower
 
new thread. planting inside w/results.

Hellow to all out there in Blue light country, this is my first post so please bear w/ me. For some reason the aspect of growing some papver somniferum appealed to me. First off I read most posts on the subject and did not seem all that difficult. I did purchase some seeds and I've got to tell you they did not look like much and hopes of a viable cop seemed distant. Well I was wrong and the seeds were quite viable producing what appears to be thousands of shoots. Now I planted firstly in large roaster type pans ,watered and waited. Idid not time of germination but it has happened. What I'm affraid of is the congestion of plants and there proximity to each other. This was an experiment and a test to see if inet seeds worked. Well they do and now what's next. I've already ordered more varieties and need a different planting plan. Keep in mind that this will be an intire indoor grow. So how deep are the next pots, can I start of w/ fareley deep plastic containers and I'm looking foward for advice and feeback to get the most of the crop. Being used to the usual susbects it's time for something that's natural and theraputic at the same time.Sorry for the lenghth of post but again I'm a rookie year and I'm willing to learn. THANKS,Infraredal.....
 
The Persian White Opium poppys have the best yield of opium alkaloids by % of weight ,although other varietys have higher weight yields somewhat , the yields of actual opium alkaloids is much lower in these,so it;s either get a type with a higher weight yield and less alkaloid yiield by weight, or get a type with a lower weight yield of the poppy resin aka raw opium with higher alkaloid contents. I think that getting a higher alkaloid yield is better than getting a bigger yield of weight with much lower opium alkaliods yields. In other words I think I would rather have a lesser amount of much stonger opium than a larger amount of much weaker opium.
 
Growing poppies is great fun :)

Did my first one this year, started a veggie garden because I enjoyed it so much...very rewarding.


Benefits are it takes some risk away from buying off the street, also a finite supply so addiction is less likely...so long as you don't start using other stuff as well. Negatives are the risk of getting busted...although rare, one guy got 2 years for growing poppies (although I believe it was a suspended sentence)

Probably better to do it away from your property as others have suggested.


I did a grow diary that I won't bother posting, but here are some tips someone might find helpful -

Difficulties -

1. Fungus. Unidentified but suspected some type of mildew/blight.
Plants lost - 2

This was my first problem and was almost convinced I would lose the crop. Seemed to come in waves, and mysteriously after rain would slow down and start to disappear. I learnt that the fungal spores sit on the plant and can be easily washed off with water. Keep in mind this won't always work, some fungus/mold thrives with ANY moisture.

Remedy -
1. Hose down plants to get spores off.
2. Mixed a sodium bicarb anti-fungal solution of -
1 tbsp. baking soda
2 ½ tbsp. vegetable oil
1 gallon of water.
½ tsp. of Castile (olive oil) soap

In a small bucket I mixed this very well then added a TINY bit of dish washing liquid and mixed that in. In the recipe for this solution it called for ½ tsp. of Castile (olive oil) soap but I didn't have any and used the dish washing liquid instead.

I then filled a spray bottle with this solution.

On the plants that were heavily effected by fungus I cut off leaves that looked the worst carefully with scissors and disposed of these bits in the bin. (be careful as other diseases can spread from plant to plant by doing this)

Then proceeded to spray leaves, stems, buds and soil around the base of plants with the solution. Not sure how much exactly I used per plant but made sure the worst ones were covered with solution. The ingredients in this solution would separate so I made sure to shake spray bottle well while doing this.

Repeated this process of spraying every four days and within a week or two the fungus was no longer a problem.

2. Pests

- Earwigs, slugs, snails and various Caterpillars.
- Plants lost - 0

Symptoms - Slimey trials, small and large holes eaten in lower leaves.

For the earwigs, slugs and snails -

Collected 8 small plastic containers (the kind you get with takeaway food)

Dig holes and put containers into them so their rims were level with the ground, do this around and amongst plants. At first I filled with beer half way and this caught many slugs and snails. Had to empty these out every 2 days because they'd start to stink. These would catch earwigs also, but many seemed able to climb out.

Tried the same thing again but instead of beer used small amount of water and then poured some vegetable oil in. The oil floated on top above the water. The earwigs were attracted to this and when they fell in they'd be unable to get through the top oil layer and would become stuck. No smell and caught hundreds of earwigs. The scary thing - after a week 90% of earwigs would still be alive despite not having access to air....make sure you empty this into the bin.

2-3 weeks almost all traces of earwigs and slugs/snails were gone.
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You can get them to grow along the ground like this by training them with some string -

Bit more inconspicuous...especially for winter poppies as they get HUGE
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Some pictures -
IMG_1956.JPG


IMG_0027.JPG


Next year I won't be lancing them for opium and will grow them amongst other flowers to keep it a bit less suspicious.
 
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Nice work on the grow Christ!It must of been fantastic to be able to catch a nod on opiates you grew and prepared yourself, it is something I certainly hope to do before I die.
 
infraredal: It's an exciting discovery to make, as I'm sure you have found. Here is some answers and advice from a number of years experience exploring this subject.

What I'm affraid of is the congestion of plants and there proximity to each other.
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This is an extremely important issue and an astute observation on your behalf. Overcrowding is one of the common reasons people fail to reach maximum sizes and plant health. Adult plants can be very large (chest hight easily) and require large amounts of sun, water and nutrients. Overcrowded conditions tend to result in small tangled plants with a single small pod each. Try to give each plant around the volume of say 2 cubic meters to allow maximum growth.

Keep in mind that this will be an intire indoor grow.
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Rarely does growing these plants in doors result in a desirable outcome. These plants are sun and water loving and while not impossible; attempts at indoor growing either fail or have sub par and low yield outcomes.

So how deep are the next pots, can I start of w/ fareley deep plastic containers?
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If possible I would recommend planting directly into the soil outside, the P. Som. tends to have a large tap which usually goes a good foot or two down. Any restriction of the tap roots tend to limit rapid growth in the stage just prior to pod generation and flowering.


I'm looking foward for advice and feeback to get the most of the crop.
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Be careful and aware that these plants are in fact illegal and caution should be used if considering growing these (quite beautiful) flowers. Also have a healthy respect for any derivatives of the plant, while people generally think poppy pods or opium are low risk and unlikely to cause overdose. Be aware that addiction and overdose on these types of opiate do occur. Always drink any tea made slowly and if possible in the company of another who is aware of what your partaking in.

Also, when initially laying seed I would recommend laying the seed in the place you intend the plant to grow for the rest of its life. They don't take kindly to transplantation or any form of root damage or disturbance.

Like growing anything you intent to be proud of the outcome of fertiliser and ground preparation is key. Always work the soil over prior to planting, soil enrichment using food scraps and composting can have a huge impact on the outcome of your project.

Best time of year for planting is in early or mid autumn or early winter. Frosts and snow can be troublesome but can be overcome if planting is done at the correct time. The plants will sprout and begin development during winter but with modest foliage, during this period the plant develops an important root system which holds it in good stead come spring and summer. When spring comes along the plants will rapidly expand above ground and usually flower and pod around september october.

While other times of year will result in reasonable growth the above timing always seemed to be the best for the Australian climate when attempting to grow these flowers. (Oh and some varieties do actually have amazing flowers which for me overcame my pharmacological interests in the plant to become my primary reason for cultivation)
 
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Some great advice there mongman.

This is an extremely important issue and an astute observation on your behalf. Overcrowding is one of the common reasons people fail to reach maximum sizes and plant health. Adult plants can be very large (chest hight easily) and require large amounts of sun, water and nutrients. Overcrowded conditions tend to result in small tangled plants with a single small pod each. Try to give each plant around the volume of say 2 cubic meters to allow maximum growth.
Click to expand...

I learnt this the hard way...did very little thinning. One little area was ridiculous with plants growing like snakes along the ground to get some sun. Will def. take this advice next time. Less plants more spread out looks a bit less suss!

Ended up with 100+ pods which was more than enough, ended up giving most away.

Cheers Mr Blonde and drugmentor.

Drugmentor - I'm sure you'll get the chance...you're right though it's a great feeling (although it'll probably get old)
 
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