Marijuana Daily Gardening. Henry Woodward

      I am writing this book as a gardener of moderate experience, specifically for would-be growers with little or no experience. You might be asking why on Earth you should be trusting anyone who is less than a pro. Well, as much as I appreciate the advice of professional growers and have learned from some of their books, I think there are several reasons that a more grassroots book will help new growers. The first is that professional growers are engaged in a number of sophisticated processes (for instance, creating new strains through breeding) and techniques (such as using sophisticated control boards to manage advanced lighting, hydroponic systems and release carbon dioxide) that need not concern those just starting out, at least until their skills and knowledge are well established.

      The second is that pro grows are very different animals: big, expensive, and potentially very risky (especially if pursued in jurisdictions where it is criminalized by high-minded but wrong-headed moralism). Your home garden likely cannot and surely need not be any of these things. Though a daily grow can be challenging at times, it is more simple than you might think while reading this introduction and weighing how to approach your own garden. The perspective of someone not too far removed from their own first-timer questions (and who from time-to-time still make mistakes, as you no doubt will) is invaluable for someone, like yourself, who will face just similar situations.

      Finally, unlike many professionals, I don’t have a huge ego regarding my reputation as a grower. Many writers and even amateur bloggers can be reluctant to share their mistakes. Not so here. This grow will illustrate not only the successes but also the failures and even the completely embarrassing screw-ups that we all make. This grow journal will show the good, the bad and, yes, even the ugly (and there have been some real ugly mistakes, let me tell you). With any luck, it will help you to maximize your chances of achieving the first and avoiding the other two.

      We’ll be kicking it old school in this grow: (high quality) soil, water, lights, and a nutritious diet for your little ladies. The rest are just details. You’ll get them here.

About Me

      I began growing nearly five years ago. At the time, I was not even a regular cannabis smoker beyond the occasional toke at a party, let alone a daily vaporizer as I am today. I had never seen a cannabis plant first hand, let alone grown one myself. My personal knowledge of marijuana was limited to what I had picked up in popular culture and, as such, was fairly limited and marked by the stereotype of the slacker-stoner, head shops, and hydroponic supply ads. That is to say, I was a complete and total beginner.

      Though I have pretty standard outdoor gardens on my home property, I didn’t by any stretch consider myself a green thumb – in fact, houseplants have not enjoyed a track record of success in my home. Since I have a day job as a university professor, I enjoy learning and teaching, and quickly found a passion for cannabis cultivation. Needless to say though, I didn’t fit the normal profile of a typical grower/user. That was the first part of my own education: in my view today, these stereotypes have been perpetuated by powerful voices in government, law enforcement, and the alcohol lobby to keep the general public ignorant of how benign, enjoyable, and healing marijuana can be. Today, I count myself as someone who strongly believes that the distinction between “medical” and “recreational” pot is an artificial distinction. Marijuana is a plant. It comes from nature. Used responsibly, it is safe, effective, and easy to enjoy.

      So what motivated me to start growing? Equal parts chance and a health emergency experienced by a close family member. Several years ago, my partner was diagnosed with epilepsy. Marijuana was prescribed to mitigate the effect of seizures she experienced multiple times daily. She continues to use it daily in conjunction with pharmaceuticals to keep seizures at bay, which they thankfully have been for some time. Indeed, the anti-convulsive effects of cannabis are well if incompletely documented, and my partner has been advised by medical doctors to continue her daily prescribed use of marijuana to maintain her health. But confronted with a need to secure a regular supply of high quality cannabis, we needed to find a source.

      At first, my partner sought out what is for many people the only source of marijuana: illegal drug dealers. Though the cost was high, supply was at least regular. But though I know many people maintain contacts to secure pot with people who are dependable and trustworthy, we worried that the handful of sources that we had were potentially dangerous, and not a little unsavory. As a woman walking into places without escort, often in the company of numerous unknown men, she (and I) began to worry about her safety. Here is a genuine danger associated with marijuana use, but to be clear, it is one created by the current legal regime in most places, not the plant itself. There had to be a better way. We began investigating.

      From here, we quickly dismissed government-produced cannabis. I’m a believer in the idea that government can be a force for good in our society. But they sure do produce crappy pot. The sealed bags sent from the government were both expensive and of poor quality: it was clear that entire plants were ground up together, not just the bud that is high in THC or CBD, but also much lower impact stems and leaves. Strains were not advertised, it was just generic “pot,” and overly dry and poorly cured at that. This, coupled with the resistance and often outright refusal (until very recently) of either government or health care professionals to fund and conduct controlled experiments on the efficacy of marijuana consumption for different physical and psychological ailments, meant that we were powerless to identify strains that might best address the symptoms of the medical license holder. The pot bought from the government was a poor deal in terms of quality. It made illegally-sourced pot a superior option. Coupled with punitive laws for possession of marijuana, we had hit strike two in our search for a good source.

      We then located several good sources of quality weed via compassion clubs that only accepted clients with valid government permits to possess cannabis for medical use. This made buying pot more (but not totally) safe and secure, and the price was similar: some strains were cheaper than what was available illegally; other more sought-after strains were more expensive. It also meant that we could purchase edibles in some cases, with a reasonable if not total safety guarantee. Still, these sources currently exist in a legal gray area. We worried about the continued potential for having to deal with law enforcement. The monthly purchase of pot continued to be a hassle, potentially at risk in terms of purchase and transport (who likes walking around with hundreds of dollars worth of cannabis or money to buy cannabis on their person between a store and home if they can avoid it?) and still very expensive.

      It was at this point that we made the decision to start a home grow. By necessity, as a result of the severity of my partner’s medical condition at the time, responsibility for this start up fell to me.

      I began documenting the work for this book in my garden’s first year, in large part because I knew so little and was committed to improving my grow techniques and the quantity and quality of the product in successive harvests. I took extensive notes, and experimented with what worked and what didn’t. I asked questions at my local hydroponics and head shops when people agreed to share their experiences. Failing this, I researched online and via existing grow books when I had questions I couldn’t answer. Slowly, my garden took shape and improved.