Growing Plants in a window box. Trouble? (Austin, Howe: house, tenant)

[JWUC]

OK,
I have some ghost chilie seeds where I am experimenting getting them to germinate with different types of light and soil.

I have the seeds in a planting tray inside my house in front of a window bordering the street with some 100 watt CFLs above the them. When it's light outside, a person from the street can't really notice anything different. However, when it starts getting dark and the timer on the lights hasn't clicked off it is pretty bright outside the house.

My wife is wants me to remove it because she is worried that someone will call the police and we'll have a team bust down the door because it might be marijuana. "Because people starting seeds indoors are probably growing pot"

I think that's absurd.

Does anyone with insights into this have any opinion?

[OpenD]

Your wife is a wise woman.

[EzPeterson]

Yeah, because all those people that grow weed do so right in plain view of the street...

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

Yeah, because all those people that grow weed do so right in plain view of the street...

Never underestimate the heights of stupidity that pot growers can rise to... nor their neighbors!

A couple of years ago I bought a self contained, fully automatic hydroponic herb garden unit at a cooking store, and was enjoying having fresh basil and other culinary herbs growing in my side window, when the tenant in the house next door asked me one day if I wasn't worried about getting busted, man.

You just never know...

[DittoDitto]

It's a sad world. I took the backstage tour at EPCOT and learned a wee bit about hydroponic gardening. It captured my interest and I wanted to try growing tomatoes and lettuce this way just to see if I could do it and how it worked. I started asking around Austin if there was someone who could help me build the hydroponic garden in the house and I was told to forget the idea unless I wanted to be investigated by the police. So, instead I tried growing the tomatoes in an outdoor garden in plain sight, but the birds ate them.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

I would never underestimate the "stupidity" of, well, sometimes just about everything it seems. I consider myself stupid on some things at times. I certainly wouldn't equate "pot growers" with "stupidity".

I'd agree with your wife based on reality. There are great odds of what she says can happen, will happen.

I can still remember "way back when"... when people used to plant weed in their flower garden in plain sight. At that time it was better than smoking weed sprayed with paraquat. But, that is off topic...sorry.

We are in a society where we are guilty before proving innocence. I'm not sure when that changed, maybe when those three "caught the last train for the coast".

I would put them in a window where no one could see them. But that's me and I've been accused of having a "tin foil hat".

And, besides, maybe there is some obscure statute that can be used against you growing something under a light. The flower box will be the "criminal instrument". What I want to know is how many of you out there watched Deep Throat???? Be honest.

[JWUC]

Sigh.

I guess it is a sad time when people have to hide perfectly legal activities because if the intelligence levels of the rest of society.

I guess I was under the impression that the authorities would have to have more to go on than "he's growing plants" to obtain a warrant.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Originally Posted by JWUC

Sigh.

I guess it is a sad time when people have to hide perfectly legal activities because if the intelligence levels of the rest of society.

I guess I was under the impression that the authorities would have to have more to go on than "he's growing plants" to obtain a warrant.

You're cute...they don't need a "warrant".

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by DittoDitto

It's a sad world. I took the backstage tour at EPCOT and learned a wee bit about hydroponic gardening. It captured my interest and I wanted to try growing tomatoes and lettuce this way just to see if I could do it and how it worked. I started asking around Austin if there was someone who could help me build the hydroponic garden in the house and I was told to forget the idea unless I wanted to be investigated by the police. So, instead I tried growing the tomatoes in an outdoor garden in plain sight, but the birds ate them.

Well here's the actual unit I bought... an Aerogarden... programmed fully automatic functions, with built in pump and lights. All I had to do was select the correct program for the type of seeds... herbs... salad greens... cherry tomatoes... flowers... then add water as needed about once a week, and occasional fertilizer. Worked very well. Needs no window at all. You could run it in a closet if you wanted to. Personally, I just put it where it was not visible from the street.

AeroGarden Indoor Herb Garden

[faithrube]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but if you are only growing legal plants (like chiles, etc..) who cares if the police investigate?