Mother Clone Room Design

Oxygen content Nutrients 20% Composition Purity

Growing Medium 20% Air content Moisture content

The most productive setups utilize two rooms. The first room is for vegetative growth, mother plants, and rooting clones. This room should be about one-quarter the size of the flowering room. When the flowering room crop is harvested, plants from the vegetative room are moved into the flowering room.

Super productivity is achieved with a perpetual crop. Several clones are taken every day or every week. Every day a few plants are harvested. For every plant harvested, a new cutting takes its place.

This barrel full of water shows that cannabis will grow only as fast as its most limiting factor. Light is most often the factor that limits growth indoors.

This indoor setup has a big flowering room, a vegetative room, and a clone chamber.

Although less common, there are even grow rooms on wheels! Some innovative growers have remodeled trailer houses and buses into grow rooms. One of my favorite grow rooms was in a tricked-out trailer. Another was in a 60-foot (18 m) sailing yacht!

The grow room's size determines the size and the number of lamps. High intensity discharge (HID) lamps that work well to grow marijuana are available in wattages of 150, 175, 250, 400, 600, 1000, and 1100. Smaller wattages from 150-400, work well in closets or spaces with 9-21 square feet (0.8-2 m2) of floor space. Use 600-watt and larger bulbs for larger

The drawings show several grow room floor plans. As the floor plans demonstrate, there are several basic approaches to grow room design and production. Most growers start out with a crop grown in a single room. After they harvest the crop, they introduce a new batch of clones. The photoperiod is switched back to 18 hours, and the cycle continues.

window, and build a box around the things so a natural scene is visible from the outside. At night, bright light leaking through a crack in an uncovered window is like a beacon to curious neighbors or bandits.

Take a little time to set up your grow room so all the space is used efficiently.

A single 1000-watt metal halide can grow enough mothers, clones, and vegetative plants to support 4000 watts of flowering HID light. This design allows pungent odors to waft upward before being evacuated via roof fans. A third area in the attic is used as a heat buffer in hot climates.

This indoor setup has a big flowering room, a vegetative room, and a clone chamber.

Setting Up the Grow Room Step-by-Step

Set up the grow room before introducing plants. Construction requires space and planning. A grow room under construction offers a terrible environment for plants. Once the grow room is set up and totally operational, it will be ready for plants.

Step One: Choose an out-of-the-way space with little or no traffic. A corner of the basement or a spare bedroom are perfect. A 1000-watt HID, properly set up, will efficiently illuminate up to a 6 _ 6-foot (1.8 x 1.8 m) room. The ceiling should be at least five feet (1.5 m) high. Keep in mind that plants in containers are set up at least one foot (30 cm) off the ground, and the lamp needs about a foot (30 cm) of space to hang from the ceiling. This leaves only three feet (90 cm) of space for plants to grow. If forced to grow in an attic or basement with a low fourfoot (120 cm) ceiling, much can be done to compensate for the loss of height, including cloning, bending, pruning, and using smaller wattage lamps.

Step Two: Enclose the room, if not already enclosed. Remove everything that does not pertain to the garden. Furniture, drapes, and curtains may harbor fungi. An enclosed room allows easy, precise control of every-11 thing and everyone that enters or exits, as well as who and what goes on inside. For most growers, enclosing the grow room is simply a matter of tacking up some plywood or fabricating plastic walls in the basement or attic and painting the room flat white. Make sure no light is visible from outside. If covering a window, do so discreetly-it should not look boarded up. Insulate windows and walls so a telltale heat signature does not escape. Basement windows often are painted to look like the foundation. Place some stuff-books, personal effects, household goods, etc.-in front of the

A single 1000-watt metal halide can grow enough mothers, clones, and vegetative plants to support 4000 watts of flowering HID light. This design allows pungent odors to waft upward before being evacuated via roof fans. A third area in the attic is used as a heat buffer in hot climates.

This closet grow room has everything necessary to grow a crop-lights, fans, and cannabis! A 400-watt HID lights the 3 _ 4- foot (90 _120 cm) flowering room above, and two 55-watt CFLs in one reflector illuminate mothers and clones in this perpetual harvest setup.

This attic grow room has access via a retractable ladder. The grower uses the dead airspace above the room for his ozone generator to exchange air before expelling.

Step Three: Cover walls, ceiling, floor-everything-with a highly reflective material like flat white paint or Mylar. The more reflection, the more light energy available to plants. Good reflective light will allow effective coverage of an HID lamp to increase from 10 to 20 percent, just by putting a few dollars worth of paint on the walls. Reflective white Visqueen® plastic is inexpensive and protects walls and floors.

Step Four: See "Setting Up the Vent Fan" in Chapter Thirteen. Constant air circulation and a supply of fresh air are essential but often inadequate. There should be at least one fresh-air vent in every grow room. Vents can be an open door, window, or duct vented to the outside. An exhaust fan vented outdoors or pulling new air through an open door usually creates an adequate flow of air. An oscillating fan works well to circulate air. When installing such a fan, make sure it is not set in a fixed position and blowing too hard on tender plants. It could cause windburn and dry out plants, especially seedlings and clones. If the room contains a heat vent, it may be opened to supply extra heat or air circulation.

www.hysupply.nl, which keeps the heat signature from showing."/>

This attic grow room is insulated with Styrofoam and reflection/anti-detection barrier foil available at www.hysupply.nl, which keeps the heat signature from showing.

In this simple Sea of Green layout, there are ten plants in each tray (80 total plants) illuminated by a single 1000-watt HID. Each week one tray of ten plants is harvested, and ten new plants are started.

Step Five: The larger your garden becomes, the more water it will need. A 10 _ 10-foot (3 x 3 m) garden could use more than 50 gallons (190 L) per week. Carrying water is hard, regular work. One gallon (3.8 L) of water weighs eight pounds (3.6 kg); 50 _ 8 = 400 pounds (180 kg) of water a week! It is much easier to run in a hose with an on/off valve or install a hose bib in the room than to schlep water. A three-foot (90 cm) watering wand attached to the hose on/off valve makes watering easier and saves branches from being broken when watering in dense foliage. Hook up the hose to a hot and cold water source so the temperature is easy to regulate.

Step Six: Ideally, the floor should be concrete or a smooth surface that can be swept and washed down. A floor drain is very handy. In grow rooms with carpet or wood floors, a large, white painter's drop cloth or thick, white Visqueen plastic, will protect floors from moisture. Trays placed beneath each container add protection and convenience.

Step Seven: Mount a hook strong enough to support 30 pounds (14 kg) for each lamp. Attach an adjustable chain or cord and pulley between the ceiling hook and the lamp fixture. The adjustable connection makes it easy to keep the lamp at the proper distance from plants and up out of the way during maintenance.

Step Eight: There are some tools an indoor gardener must have and a few extra tools that make indoor horticulture much more precise and cost effective. The extra tools help make the garden so efficient that they pay for themselves in a few weeks. Procure all the tools before bringing plants into the room. If the tools are there when needed, chances are they will be put to use. A hygrometer is a good example. If plants show signs of slow, sickly growth due to high humidity, most growers will not identify the exact cause right away. They will wait and guess, wait and guess, and maybe figure it out before a fungus attacks and the plant dies. When a hygrometer is installed before plants are brought into the grow room, the horticulturist will know from the start when the humidity is too high and causing sickly growth.

These plants are growing in 3-gallon (11 L) pots and spaced on 6-inch (15 cm) centers. The 5-foot (2 m) high walls are covered with white Visqueen plastic.

Keeping heat inside the room is as important as keeping it out! Insulation will keep heat out, and the heat generated inside the room will be easy to control.

A vent fan and an oscillating circulation fan are essential to maintain a healthy environment.

This drawing shows how to install a vent fan. Adding rubber feet or padding around the fan will dampen noise.

Keeping heat inside the room is as important as keeping it out! Insulation will keep heat out, and the heat generated inside the room will be easy to control.

Step Nine: Read and complete: "Setting Up the HID Lamp" at the end of Chapter Two.

Step Ten: Move seedlings and rooted clones into the room. Huddle them closely together under the lamp. Make sure the HID is not so close to small plants that it burns their leaves. Position 400-watt lamps 18 inches (45 cm) above seedlings and clones. Place a 600-watt lamp 24 inches (60 cm) away and a 1000-watt lamp 30 inches (75 cm) away. Check the distance daily. Hang a precut string from the hood to measure distance.

This drawing shows how to install a vent fan. Adding rubber feet or padding around the fan will dampen noise.

This is an excerpt from Marijuana Horticulture: the Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes, 512 pages 1120 full color photos and drawings, ISBN1-878823-23-X The book is available in English and will be available in Spanish, German and Italian in the fall of 2006. For More information see: www.marijuanagrowing.com.

• basic insect repellent? If • we boil up some garlic and then press it well and then let the liquid

• c°o1 down and sieve * it, we can fill a plant sprayer with it. It is a

• 100% organic substance • that works really well against all kinds of gnawing beasties.

In this simple Sea of Green layout, there are ten plants in each tray (80 total plants) illuminated by a single 1000-watt HID. Each week one tray of ten plants is harvested, and ten new plants are started.

Outdoor Strains

Gregorio (Goyo), cannabis photographer and writer demonstrates a field of flowering females in Switzerland.

Gregorio (Goyo), cannabis photographer and writer demonstrates a field of flowering females in Switzerland.

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Introduction

Outdoor growing is more popular than indoor growing in countries with lax cannabis laws. The reason is simple-sunshine is free; lights and electricity cost money. More people grow outdoors than indoors for this simple reason.

Cannabis is a strong plant that can be grown successfully almost anywhere. As long as you pay attention to security, virtually any growing area can be altered enough, often with little effort, to grow a healthy crop.

Do your research before planting. Read garden columns and talk to local growers about the best time to plant and grow tomatoes or similar vegetables, then plan accordingly. Also inquire about common pests and insects. Collect publications on local growing conditions. These are often available at nurseries or through your local department or ministry of agriculture.

You can grow anywhere. For example, one of the first guerilla crops I planted was on a freeway on-ramp in a city in the Northwest U.S. in the 1970s. I planted seedlings in a clay soil in a blackberry infested environment in late June. I gave the plants a single application of time release fertilizer. By late September there were short little female plants with dense little buds to smoke. The harvest weighed in at just under a pound of fragrant but leafy little buds. Everybody called it "homegrown."

My first big guerilla crop was planted and harvested in the California foothills. I hiked up one of the many canyons carrying a 3.5 hp engine that weighed 30 pounds, (14 kg) plus the pump (another 30 pounds) and the plumbing connections that made it attach to a 2-inch (5 cm) inlet and a 1.5-inch (3.5 cm) outlet. Schlepping four, 30-gallon (115 L) plastic garbage cans to act as reservoirs, 10-foot (3 m) lengths of PVC pipe, and 200 feet (60 m) of hose was a challenge!

The grower is peeking through this plant in his guerilla patch.

Peek-a-boo! This beautiful 'Jamaican Pearl' was planted in an obscure corner of the back yard.

I made these trips carrying conspicuous supplies at four in the morning. The hard part was carrying it all back down when I closed down the grow show!

After many trips up the canyon, I harvested six pounds of Colombian and Mexican bud. The quality was fair, but I harvested early and had the only fresh buds in town in mid-September. In "the good old days," rural real estate for sale in northern California often advertised the number of marijuana growing holes that had already been amended.

Now Park Rangers carry guns and have the authority to arrest "suspected" growers. Latin mafias have also moved into the National Forests installing illegal immigrants with guns to grow and defend large patches of guerilla grass. The War on Drugs has turned much of America into an unsafe place to live and grow.

Australia, Canada, much of Europe, and many other parts of the world are significantly different; growers can plant in their backyards, greenhouses, or in remote locations with little fear of arrest.

Strains

Selecting the right strains for your climate is just as important as finding the perfect location. This is a quick rundown on some popular outdoor strains. The strains are grouped in five different categories distinguished by their finishing times.

It is a good idea to grow several different strains with different finishing times to spread out the work and drying over the course of time. If you grow a spring crop, you can harvest much of the season.

'Hash Plant', available from many seed companies, is ready to harvest in late August when grown outdoors.

Cannabis strains mature at different times. Choose strains that grow well in your climate and that ripen before days grow cold and wet.

Peek-a-boo! This beautiful 'Jamaican Pearl' was planted in an obscure corner of the back yard.

Cannabis strains mature at different times. Choose strains that grow well in your climate and that ripen before days grow cold and wet.

1. 'Hash Plant', 'Afghani', 'Hindu Kush', etc., are great varieties that finish mid- to late-August. The yield and potency are quite high, but the fragrance is high, too! These strains are for experienced growers. They need lots of intense sunlight and must be watered from below, not from above with rain. These varieties start to bud when the days are long and the sunlight is intense. The buds fatten up quickly on plants with a short, squat growth habit. Rain followed by hot sunny days can foster mold, which could decimate the crop in a short time. Leaf has seen dried, cured buds the size of softballs that were packed with mold. They were thrown away. To avoid mold problems, he suggests harvesting when about 10 percent of the pistils have died back. Even heavy dew can cause a moldy disaster! Leaf loves 'Hash Plant'.

'White Russian' and others from the "White" family are ready to harvest from mid- to late-October.

2. 'Early Pearl', 'Early Queen', 'Early Riser', etc., 'Manitoba Poison', and similar strains finish from late-August to early-September at latitude 49° north. They are potent and yield a little better than the plants listed above. They grow from six to nine feet (1.8-2.7 m) tall and are quite bushy. Most of these strains are mold resistant and easy to grow-excellent choices for novices or growers with little time to look after their plants.

'Northern Lights #5 x Haze' is one of the most potent and tasty strains. This cross is ready to harvest from late-October through early-November.

5. 'Skunk #1', 'Northern Lights #5', 'Big Bud', and pure or nearly pure sativas finish from late-October to early-November. Sometimes sativas do not finish if the weather cools too much and snow comes. One year, on November 15th, the first snowfall had to be shaken off at harvest! About 50 percent of the pistils had died back. 'Skunk #1' is extremely smelly; the wind can literally carry the skunk scent for a mile. All of the plants in this group have a large to huge yield capable of producing several pounds each. 'Big Bud' yields an enormous amount; the bottom branches must be tied or staked to avoid breaking from bud weight. Potency is superb in all plants in this category except for 'Big Bud.'

All plants grow tall. 'Big Bud' and 'Skunk #1' grow 10-14 feet (3-4 m) tall. 'Northern Lights' are often taller! A few sativas can grow to 20 feet (6 m)!

Fungus can become a problem with these late-flowering plants. They withstand rain and light frost well; many can take a few light snowfalls. After all, they grow like weeds!

'Northern Lights #5 x Haze' is one of the most potent and tasty strains. This cross is ready to harvest from late-October through early-November.

This is an excerpt from Marijuana Horticulture: the Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes, 512 pages 1120 full color photos and drawings, ISBN1-878823-23-X The book is available in English and will be available in Spanish, German and Italian in the fall of 2006. For More

Gray Mold (Botrytis), a.k.a. Bud Mold

Identify:

Gray mold is the most common fungus that attacks indoor plants, and flourishes in moist temperate climates common to many grow rooms. Botrytis damage is compounded by humid (above 50 percent) climates. It starts within the bud and is difficult to see at the onset

- grayish-whitish to bluish-green in color - Botrytis appears hair-like and similar to laundry lint in moist climates. As the disease progresses, the foliage turns somewhat slimy. Damage can also appear as dark, brownish spots on buds in less humid environments. Dry to the touch, Botrytis affected area often crumbles if rubbed. Gray mold attacks countless other crops, and airborne spores are present virtually everywhere. While most commonly found attacking dense and swelling flower buds, it also attacks stems, leaves, seeds and causes damping-off and decomposes dry, stored bud. It is also transmitted via seeds.

Damage:

Watch for single leaves on the buds that mysteriously dry out. They could be the telltale signs of a Botrytis attack inside the bud. Constant observation, especially during the last two weeks before harvest, is necessary to keep this disease out of the garden. Flower buds are quickly reduced to slime in cool, humid conditions or un-smokable powder in warm, dry rooms. Botrytis can destroy an entire crop in 7-10 days if left unchecked. Stem damage

- Botrytis starts on stems and not buds

- is less common indoors. First, stems turn yellow and cankerous growths develop. The damage causes growth above the wound to wilt and can cause stems to fold over. Transported by air, contaminated hands, and tools, gray mold spreads very quickly indoors,

This bud is covered with Botrytis. It was removed from the garden and destroyed.

Evaporated sulfur in a grow room or greenhouse stops Botrytis from contaminating plants.

infecting an entire grow room in less than a week when conditions are right.

Control:

Minimize Botrytis attack incidence with low humidity (50 percent or less), ample air circulation, and ventilation. Grow varieties that do not produce heavy, tightly packed buds that provide a perfect place for this fungus to flourish. Cool (below 21 degrees C.), moist climates with humidity above 50 percent are perfect for rampant gray mold growth. Remove dead leaf stems, petioles, from stalks when removing damaged leaves to avoid Botrytis outbreaks, which often harbors on dead-rotting foliage. Increase ventilation and keep humidity below 60 percent, and keep the grow room clean! Use fresh, sterile growing medium for each crop.

Cultural and physical:

As soon as Botrytis symptoms appear, use alcohol-sterilized pruners to remove Botrytis infected buds at least one inch below the infected area. Some growers amputate 2-4 inches below damage to ensure removal. Do not let the bud or anything that touchs it contaminate other buds and foliage. Remove from the garden and destroy. Wash your hands and tools after removing. Increase temperature to 26 C. degrees and lower humidity to below 50 percent. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus levels make foliage tender, so Botrytis can get a foothold. Make sure pH is around 6 to facilitate calcium uptake. Low light levels also encourage weak growth and gray mold attack. Avoid heavy crowding of plants and keep the light levels bright. Botrytis needs UV light to complete its life cycle; without UV light it cannot live. Some varieties seldom fall victim to gray mold. Many crosses are more resistant to gray mold than pure indica varieties. Harvest when resin glands are still translucent. Once glands turn amber, threat of gray mold increases substantially.

Biological:

Spray plants with Gliocladium roseum and Trichoderma species. Prevent damping-off with a soil application of Gliocladium and Trichoderma species. Hemp Diseases and Pests suggests to experiment with the yeasts Pichia guilliermondii and Candida oleophila or the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae.

Sprays:

Bordeaux mixture keeps early stages of Botrytis in check as long as it is present on the foliage. Preventative spraying is advised if in a high-risk area, but spraying buds near harvesttime is not advised. Seeds are protected from Botrytis with a coating of Captan. Check with your local nursery for product recommendations.

Damping-off

Identify:

This fungal condition, sometimes called Pythium wilt, is often found in soil and growing mediums. It prevents newly sprouted seeds from emerging, attacks seedlings causing them to rot at the soil line, yellows foliage and rots older plants at soil line, and occasionally attacks rooting cuttings at the soil line. It is caused by different fungal species, including Botrytis, Pythium, and Fusarium. Once initiated, damping-off is fatal. At the onset of damping-off, the stem looses girth at the soil line, weakens, then grows dark, and finally fluid circulation is cut, killing the seedling or cutting.

Control:

Damping-off is caused by a combination of the following:

1) Fungi is already present in an unsterile rooting medium

2) Overwatering and maintaining a soggy growing medium

3) Excessive humidity.

Damping-off attacked this stem at the soil line, rotting the buried end of the stem.

A small, white spot and the beginning of rot at the soil line are the first visual signs of damping-off.

Lack of oxygen caused by overwatering impairs root development along the stem and helps cause damping-off.

The disease can be avoided by controlling soil moisture. Overwatering is the biggest cause of damping-off and the key to prevention. Careful daily scrutiny of soil will ensure the proper amount of moisture is available to seeds or cuttings. Start seeds and root cuttings in a fast draining, sterile, coarse sand, rockwool, OasisTM or Jiffy™ cubes, which are difficult to overwater. Do not place a humidity tent over sprouted seedlings - a tent can lead to excessive humidity and damping-off. Cuttings are less susceptible to damping-off and love a humidity tent to promote rooting. Keep germination temperatures between 21-29 C. degrees. Damping-off is inhibited by bright light; grow seedlings under the HID rather than fluorescent bulbs. Keep fertilization to a minimum during the first couple of weeks of growth. Germinate seeds between clean, fresh paper towels and move seeds to soil once sprouted. Do not plant seeds too deep, cover with soil the depth of the seed. Use fresh, sterile growing medium and clean pots to guard against harmful fungus in the soil.

Biological:

Apply Polygangron® (Pythium oligandrum) granules to soil and seed. Bak Pak®, Intercept® are applied to the soil and Deny® or Dagger® - forms of the bacterium Burkholderia cepacia - are put on the seeds. Epic®, Kodiac®, Quantum 4000®, Rhizo-Plus®, System 3®, and Seranade® also suppress many causes of damping-off. Chemical: Dust the seeds with Captan®. Avoid benomyl fungicide soil drench because it kills beneficial organisms.

Downy Mildew

Identify:

Sometimes called false mildew, downy mildew affects vegetative and flowering plants. Young, succulent foliage is a favorite starting place. Powdery mildew develops in temperatures below 25 degrees C.

It appears as whitish-yellow spots on top of leaves creating pale patches. Grayish mycelium spawn is on leaf undersides, opposite the pale patches. Downy mildew can spread very quickly, causing a lack of vigor and slow growth; leaves yellow, die back, and drop. The disease is in the plant system and grows outward. It is often fatal, spreads quickly, and can wipeout a crop. Avoid promoting this disease by not crowding plants. Keep temperatures above 26 degrees C and the humidity below 50 percent.

Control:

Cleanliness! Use sterile growing medium. Remove and destroy affected plants not just foliage.

Biological:

Apply Serenade®. Bordeaux mixture is also somewhat effective.

Powdery Mildew

Identify:

First indication of infection is small spots, on the top of leaves. At this point the disease has been inside the plant a week or more. Spots progress to a fine, pale gray-white powdery coating on growing shoots, leaves, and stems. Powdery mildew is not always limited to the upper surface of foliage. Growth slows, leaves yellow, and plants die as the disease advances. Occasionally fatal indoors, this disease is at its worst when roots dry out and foliage is moist. Plants are infected for weeks before they show the first symptoms.

Control:

Cleanliness! Prevent this mildew by avoiding cool, damp, humid, dim grow rooms and fluctuating temperatures and humidity. Low light levels and stale air mitigate this disease. Increase air circulation-ventilation and make sure light intensity is high. Space containers far enough apart so air freely flows in between plants. Allow foliage to dry before turning off lights. Remove and destroy foliage more than 50 percent infected. Avoid excess nitrogen. Copper and sulfur-lime sprays are a good prophylactic.

Biological Control:

Apply Serenade® (Bacillus subtilis) or spray with a saturation mix of baking soda and water.

Sprays:

Bordeaux mixture may keep this mold in check. A saturation of baking soda spray dries to a fine powder on the leaf; the baking soda changes the surface pH of the leaf to 7, and powdery mildew cannot grow.

For growing outdoors, the Durban variety is perhaps one of the most successful you can choose. This variety, originally from South Africa, also does very well in the European climate. Although this lady does need a little longer to complete her bloom, so you will need a bit of luck with the autumn weather, she is a great-looking weed with a terrific high!

What many growers do not know is that the Santa Maria strain was originally a proper outdoor variety, and that is why it often looks like she has the luxuriance and power to grow like a weed. There are even growers who swear that Santa Maria is one of the fastest growing marihuana varieties ever developed!

This is an excerpt from Marijuana Horticulture: the Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes, 512 pages 1120 full color photos and drawings, ISBN1-878823-23-X The book is available in English and will be available in Spanish, German and Italian in the fall of 2006. For More information see: www.marijuanagrowing.com.

Seeds

An introduction to Cannabis strains

Full page of seedlings llWIifc- jc 4

Full page of seedlings llWIifc- jc 4

Technically and legally, all cannabis, whether rope or dope, is classified as Cannabis sativa. Regardless of origin, all cannabis is considered Cannabis sativa (C. sativa) under international law. However, according to Hemp Diseases and Pests, Dr. J. M. McPartland, R. C. Clarke, and D. P. Watson, CAB International, Cannabis sativa can be further classified as: Cannabis sativa (= C. sativa var. sativa), Cannabis indica (= C. sativa var. indica), Cannabis ruderalis (= C. sativa var. spondanea), Cannabis afghanica (= C. sativa var. afghanica). Each has distinct growth patterns, look, smell, taste, etc.

Cannabis Sativa

Cannabis sativa (= C. sativa var. sativa), originated predominately in Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Each area of origin has specific characteristics, but all have the following general traits: tall, leggy stature with spacious internodal length, a large sprawling root system, large narrow-bladed leaves, and somewhat sparse flowers when grown indoors under lights. Sativas bloom several weeks to months later than indica strains. While good producers outdoors, often growing to 15 feet (4.5 meters) or more, indoors pure sativa strains often grow too tall too fast—some up to ten feet in three months—to be practical for grow room cultivation. An HID bulb is unable to efficiently illuminate tall plants, and the yield-per-watt-of-light or yield-per-square-foot-of-space is very low. Mexican, Columbian, Thai, and Jamaican strains can be very potent, with a high THC to CBD ratio that produces a soaring, energetic, "speedy" high. But potency can also be minimal, with low levels of THC. Most exported Columbian, Mexican, Thai, and Jamaican marijuana is poorly treated throughout life and abused when dried and packed. This abuse causes more rapid degradation of THC. Consequently, seeds from fair smoke are often more potent than the parent.

Central African sativas, including the THC-potent 'Congolese', grow similarly to Columbian strains, with a tall leggy stature, often growing more than 15 feet (4.5 meters) tall with loosely packed buds.

South Africa has major seaports. Sailors brought Cannabis sativa from many different places and planted it in South Africa. Consequently, potency of South African weed can be very high or very low, and can grow short, tall, leggy, bushy, etc. The famous 'Durban Poison' yields potent, pale-green, early buds and is the best-known South African strain.

Asian sativas, including Thai, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Nepalese, have diverse growth characteristics and vary significantly in potency. While Thai and other sativas from the area are often super THC-potent, they are some of the most difficult to grow indoors and the slowest to mature. Thai strains produce very light, wispy buds after flowering for about four months on plants with large, sprawling branches. Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian sativas are more prone to grow into hermaphroditic adults.

Nepalese sativas can grow oversized leaves on tall leggy plants that produce sparse, late-blooming buds, but other strains from this region develop into short, compact plants that bloom earlier. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) production and potency is often quite high but can also be second-rate.

The seeds came from Chanvre & Co ->»This leaf from an industrial hemp plant came from the French entity Chanvre & Co. Industrial "no high" cannabis will pollinate drug cannabis.

Hemp strains are all considered to be Cannabis sativa. Hemp, affectionately referred to as "rope," is Cannabis sativa grown for fiber content. Hemp is often seeded and contains very, very low levels of THC.

Cannabis indica

Cannabis indica (= C. sativa var. indica) originated in Pakistan and India. Indica is prized by indoor growers and breeders for its squat, bushy growth; condensed root system; stout stems; broad leaves; and dense, THC-laden, fat heavy flowers. Foliage is very dark green, and in some strains, leaves around buds turn reddish to purple. Short, whitish pistils turn reddish to purplish in hue. A few indicas from this part of the world have narrower leaves, long white pistils, and pale green foliage. Indica strains generally contain a higher ratio of CBD to THC, which causes an effect often described as a heavy, incapacitating "sit-on-your-head" stone. Potency of the "high" ranges from fair to stupefying. Some indicas have a distinctive odor similar to that of a skunk or cat urine, while others smell sweet and exotic. Heavily resin-laden plants tend to be the most fungus and pest-resistant. Few indicas with heavy, dense, compact buds are resistant to gray (bud) mold.

Cannabis Ruderalis

'Lowryder' is one of the few C. ruderalis crosses that is auto-flowering and THC-potent.

Cannabis indica leaf has broader blades than C. sativa leaves, but not as broad as C. afghanica.

1987 Revised Catalogue

One of the first Seed Bank catalogs from 1987 shows a C. ruderalis plant alongside the highway in Hungary. Many breeders mistakenly hailed this plant as the "Holy Grail" of cannabis.

Cannabis ruderalis (= C. sativa var. spondanea) was first brought to Amsterdam from Central Europe in the earlyl980s by the Seed Bank to enhance their breeding program. Very similar, if not the same "ruderalis" plants grow from Minnesota north through Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada.

C. ruderalis is a short, weedy, scrubby plant containing very, very little THC, but it starts the flowering cycle after a few weeks growth. Photoperiod does not induce flowering in C. ruderalis. Sometimes confused with more potent indicas, pure C. ruderalis is true ditch weed. It yields a headache rather than a high! Today a few breeders have incorporated the early flowering C. ruderalis genes with other early blooming C. sativa, C. indica, and C. afghanica.

Cannabis Afghanica

Cannabis afghanica (= C. sativa var. afghanica) originated near present day Afghanistan. It is quite short, seldom reaching six feet, with distinctive, broad, dark-green leaflets and leaves. Dense branching and short internodes most often with long leaf stems (petioles) dominate the profile of C. afghanica. The most common examples of pure C. afghanica include the many different Hash Plants and Afghani strains. C. afghanica is cultivated exclusively for drugs with much of the resin being made into hashish. It is known for the high cannabinoid content. Many growers and breeders do not distinguish C. afghanica from C. indica, lumping them both into the C. indica category.

'Hash Plant', of which there are many, is one of the classic C. afghanica strains.

C. afghanica has very wide and distinctive leaflets and leaves.

Seeds

Explosive growth of seed breeders and legal seed sales in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Switzerland, Spain, etc., has given way to more strains of cannabis than ever before. Most popular strains of cannabis are a combination of two or more of

'Kali Mist' seeds are spotted and mottled.

the following: C. sativa, C. indica, C. ruderalis, and C. afghanica. But there are also many seeds with the genes from just one of the above. These strains of cannabis are bred to grow best indoors. Others grow best in greenhouses and still others outdoors in specific climates.

A seed contains all the genetic characteristics of a plant. Seeds are the result of sexual propagation and contain genes from each parent, male and female. Some plants, known as hermaphrodites, bear both male and female flowers on the same plant. The genes within a seed dictate a plant's size; disease and pest resistance; root, stem, leaf, and flower production; cannabinoid levels; and many other traits. The genetic makeup of a seed is the single most important factor dictating how well a plant will grow under artificial light or natural sunlight and the levels of cannabinoids it will produce.

Strong, healthy parents and proper care yield strong seeds that germinate well. Strong seeds produce healthy plants and heavy harvests. Seeds stored too long will germinate slowly and have a high rate of failure. Vigorous seeds initiate growth within seven days or sooner. Seeds that take longer than a month to germinate could always be slow and produce less. However, some seeds take longer to germinate even under the best conditions.

The cask, or outer protective shell, on some seeds never properly seals, which allows moisture and air to penetrate. It also causes hormone concentrations to dissipate and make seeds less viable. Permeable seeds signal diseases and pests to move in. Such seeds are immature, white, fragile, and crush easily with slight pressure between finger and thumb. These are weak seeds and do not have enough strength to grow well.

Typically, a grower who acquires a bag of ten quality seeds from a reputable seed company germinates them all at once. Once germinated, the seeds are carefully planted and grown to adulthood. By and large, of the ten seeds, some will be male, some will be weak and grow poorly, and two or three seeds will grow into strong, super females. Of these "super" females, one will be more robust and potent than her siblings. This super female is selected be the mother of countless super clones.

A simple picture of a seed reveals an embryo containing the genes and a supply of food wrapped in a protective outer coating. Mature seeds that are hard, beige to dark brown, and spotted or mottled have the highest germination rate. Soft, pale, or green seeds are usually immature and should be avoided. Immature seeds germinate poorly and often produce sickly plants. Fresh, dry, mature seeds less than a year old sprout quickly and grow robust plants.

The cut-away drawing in the center shows how the seed will develop into different plant parts.

Seeds in this seeded female swell and break open the seed bract.

This is an excerpt from Marijuana Horticulture:

the Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes, S12 pages 1120 full color photos and drawings, ISBN1-B7BB23-23-X. The book is available in English and will be available in Spanish, German and Italian in the fall of 200G. For More information see: www.marijuanagrowing.com.

Reflective Hoods

Some reflective hoods reflect light more evenly than others. A reflector that distributes light evenly— with no hot spots—can be placed closer to plants without burning them. These hoods are most efficient, because the lamp is closer and the light more intense. The farther the lamp is from the garden, the less light plants receive. For example, a 1000-watt reflector with a "hot spot" must be placed 36 inches above the garden. A 600-watt lamp with a reflector that distributes light evenly can be placed only 18 inches above the garden. When placed closer, the 600-watt lamp shines as much light on the garden as the 1000-watt bulb! The proper reflective hood over the lamp and reflective walls can double the growing area. Growers who use the most efficient reflective hoods harvest up to twice as much as those who don't.

Seedlings, cuttings, and plants in the vegetative growth stage need less light than flowering plants, because their growth requirements are different. For the first few weeks of life, seedlings and clones can easily survive beneath fluorescent lights. Vegetative growth requires a little more light, easily supplied by a metal halide or compact fluorescent lamp at the rate of:

Horizontal Reflective Hoods

Horizontal reflectors are most efficient for HID systems, and are the best value for growers. A horizontal lamp yields up to 40 percent more light than a lamp burning in a vertical position. Light is emitted from the arc tube. When horizontal, half of this light is directed downward to the plants, so only half of the light needs to be reflected. Horizontal reflectors are inherently more efficient than vertical lamps/reflectors, because half of the light is direct and only half of the light must be reflected. Horizontal reflective hoods are available in many shapes and sizes. The closer the reflective hood is to the arc tube, the less distance light must travel before being reflected. Less distance traveled means more light reflected. Horizontal reflective hoods tend to have a hot spot directly under the bulb. To dissipate this hot spot of light and lower the heat it creates, some manufacturers install a light deflector below the bulb. The deflector diffuses the light and heat directly under the bulb. When there is no hot spot, reflective hoods with deflectors can be placed closer to plants. . Horizontally mounted HP sodium lamps use a small reflective hood for greenhouse culture. The hood is mounted a few inches over the horizontal HP sodium bulb. All

Chart: Maximum Light requirements for plants

Continue reading here: Experimenting with cold temperatures

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