U S A - C A N A DA E D I T I O N
I S SU E 23 · 2018
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CONTENTS
EDIBLE FOREST GARDEN
The Healing Powers of Medicinal Gardens
50 Faultline Farm
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS
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64
47
WHO’S GROWING WHAT WHERE
FOLIAR FEEDING
22 I N THIS ISSU E OF GA R D EN CU LTU RE :
36
9 Foreword
58 Water Soluble Organic Nutrients:WCAP
11 Product Spotlights
62 Top 10 Tips For Vegging
16 Peter Tosh’s Visionary “Legalize it” Lyrics
64 Edible Forest Garden
22 Faultline Farm
72 Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink
32 5 Cool Finds
76 Corporatism, Cannabis, Strain-Specific Fertility & the Future of Agriculture
36 Foliar Feeding 40 How Feminized Seeds Started 47 Who’s Growing What Where 50 Best of the Blog: The Healing Powers of Medicinal Gardens 55 Shorties
82 Steering Plants in the Vegetative Stage 86 Growing With Symmetry 88 Plant Morphology and Anatomy 101 94 How Do Microbes Help During Vegetative Growth? 96 Seaweed’s Superfood Status 7
FOREWORD & CREDITS
FOREWORD
H
ere we are again; summer is over and all you outdoor growers are wrapping up your season. This is high season for indoor gardeners and the
shops that service them.The indoor season never really star ts or ends, but many of us par tially or completely shut down in the summer. Heat and bugs can be much more difficult to manage when it’s hot outside.
I so look forward to the cooler months. It’s like spring in my basement; time to star t up a whole new garden. This edition is all about what is going on during a plant’s vegetative cycle, and how you can help it grow to its full potential. One of the keys to indoor growing is to be in control of your plants. All the elements of life are provided by you, and the health of the plant is in your hands. Stoney Tark will lay out the basics in Top 10 Tips in Veg. A question I hear repeatedly is on plant steering: how and when do you manipulate (bend, pinch, chop...) the plant? Dr. Callie Seaman will begin to shed some light on the subject in Plant Steering in the Vegetative Stage. Highlighting one way to steer your plant, Stoney Tark teaches us a training technique in Growing with Symmetry, Mainlining Explained. Touching your plant is impor tant and is something you can have a lot of fun with. Do tests and see what works the best with your cultivar in your environment. Plant manipulation is only a par t of getting the most out of your veg cycle. What and when you feed your plants is equally as impor tant, if not more so. If you are an organic gardener, soil biology is the key to bumper harvests. In How do Microbes Help During Vegetative Growth, the ar ticle simplifies an otherwise very complicated subject. And yes, Mr. Nico Hill is back with another instalment of KNF (Korean Natural Farming), all about making your own instantly available, water soluble, organically derived nutrients.
CREDITS Special thanks to: Albert Mondor, Catherine Sherriffs, Chris Matich, Colin Bell Ph.D., Karuna Chouray Ph.D., and Peter Baas Ph.D., Dr. Callie Seaman, Evan Folds, Nico Hill, Stephen Brookes, Stoney Tark, and Tom Forrest. PRESIDENT Eric Coulombe eric@gardenculturemagazine.com +1-514-233-1539 E XCU T I V E ED I TO R Celia Sayers celia@gardenculturemagazine.com +1-514-754-1539 ED I TO R Catherine Sherriffs cat@gardenculturemagazine.com DESIGN Job Hugenholtz job@gardenculturemagazine.com D I G I TA L & SO CI A L M A R K E T I N G CO O R D I N ATO R Serena Sayers serena@gardenculturemagazine.com +1-514-754-0062 ADVERTISING ads@gardenculturemagazine.com PUBLISHER 325 Media 44 Hyde Rd., Milles Isles Québec, Canada t. +1 (844) GC GROWS info@gardenculturemagazine.com GardenCultureMagazine.com t. 1-514-233-1539
Happy Gardening!
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Eric 3
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Sun System® Pro Sun™ LEC® 315 features an internal built-in circuit breaker.This unit is dimmable and can operate a LEC® lamp anywhere from 50% to 100% (10% increments). Low current, staggered ignition delay feature eliminates circuit inrush overload and protects lamp for increased lumen maintenance. The compact commercial design minimizes natural sunlight blockage in a greenhouse setting. Power cord or plug configuration varies by fixture voltage. Eye bolts included. Lamp purchased separately.
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BY CHRIS MATICH
Peter Tosh’s Visionary “Legalize It” Lyrics 16
PETER TOSH
The song begins simply: following a rising drumbeat, Tosh tells the audience they must legalize cannabis
I
t’s been 40 years since Peter Tosh left Bob Marley and the Wailers to begin his solo career, releasing the song and album of the same name, “Legalize It,” in 1976. Here’s a closer look at his famous pro-pot lyrics, and how Tosh shed light on the medical efficacy of cannabis.
While performing with The Wailers, Tosh showcased his songwriting abilities in hits like “Get Up (Stand Up),” and “No Sympathy.” Tosh penned the title track sometime in 1975. Known for passionate cannabis advocacy, Tosh lauded the plant’s medical capabilities, even though they had not yet been proven by science. Tosh said in a 1978 interview with New Musical Express that, “herb will become like cigarettes.” He believed cannabis legalization and normalization would prove integral to struggles against colonialism and criminalization of cannabis users in his native Jamaica, stating in Stephen Davis’ Reggae Bloodlines that they, “are the victims of Rasclot circumstances. Victimization, colonialism, gonna lead to bloodbath.”
Tosh knew if he were to see cannabis legalized, he must rebrand it as an agent of good
In the four decades since Tosh’s “Legalize it, Don’t criticize it” graced the ears of people in Jamaica and around the world, the combined efforts of activists, advocates, cannabis scientists, patients, and nations have almost realized that vision. Together, they continue a push toward general acceptance.
Although Tosh (1944-1987) never saw cannabis decriminalized in his own homeland, let alone legal in one of three American states, present research backs up his 1976 statements about the plant, so all of these years later, I decided to reexamine his lyrics and claims about cannabis.
Legalize it And don’t criticize it Legalize it, yeah, yeah And I will advertise it
The song begins simply: following a rising drumbeat, Tosh tells the audience they must legalize cannabis. He implores they not criticize or make any mistake about its legitimacy, and that his example will prove cannabis’ potential as a legal substance.
The chorus implies pot is harmless, despite laws and the general sentiment of the time. We know now that cannabis has little harm potential, although, it faces mixed legal status. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency’s 2017 Drugs of Abuse report, “no deaths from overdose of marijuana have been reported.” Previous common sense held cannabis use as harmful, and therefore, socially unacceptable, leading to stereotypes like the bumbling, unsuccessful stoner. Tosh knew if he were to see cannabis legalized, he must rebrand it as an agent of good. To do this, he highlighted its medical uses. Today, American federal law still prohibits cannabis, but sentiment leans more toward acceptance than ever before. According to Pew Research, 61% of Americans favor legalizing cannabis, a 30% jump since 2001. In the three decades since California first legalized medical marijuana, cannabis as medicine went from a joke to something with proven efficacy. Tosh’s chorus acts as a call for cannabis normalization.
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PETER TOSH
Tosh highlighted this hypocritical nature of cannabis prohibition but also planted the seeds for possible unity between the doctors, nurses, and lawyers
Some call it tampje Tampje Some call it the weed The weed Some call it marijuana Marijuana Some of them call it ganja Ganja Doesn’t matter, you got to Legalize it
Singers smoke it And players of instrument too Legalize it, yeah, yeah That’s the best thing you can do Doctors smoke it Nurses smoke it Judges smoke it Even the lawyer do
The type of people Tosh describes end up playing important roles in legitimizing cannabis’ use, particularly doctors, medical professionals, and lawyers. Tosh makes a point here: names like ‘tampje’ and ‘weed’ represent the ubiquity of cannabis across the globe, giving the plant a universal appeal. Modern dispensaries and cannabis growers carry on this tradition through the many names they give their products. Tosh’s words, “Doesn’t matter” before the chorus, amplify his claim that cannabis has incredible benefits to all no matter the name, its origin, or who you are. In the next verse, Tosh mentions people from all walks of life who use cannabis, despite it not being legal when he wrote the song. True to the lyric, Tosh “advertised” cannabis most of his life
It’s notable how Tosh depicts civil servants indulging in the very substance they, at the time, prosecuted and criminalized citizens for. Tosh highlighted this hypocritical nature of cannabis prohibition but also planted the seeds for possible unity between the doctors, nurses, and lawyers. Today, cannabis-friendly lawyers and doctors have come together to normalize medical marijuana. Some help dispensaries comply with medical laws, get licenses, and open operations. Many lawyers fight for amnesty for victims of cannabis incarceration, and medical programs on national and state levels would not exist without doctors willing to prescribe the plant. The third verse contains Tosh’s most remarkable revelations, so I will examine each claim in detail as Tosh sang it.
“It’s good for the flu” Tosh begins this verse by tackling that pesky ailment, the common flu. Flu, or influenza, is an acute, contagious respiratory disease. To the chagrin of sufferers, bacterial antibiotics cannot affect viral influenza. Typically, caregivers administer a steady dose of time and fluids, but is cannabis good for the flu, like Tosh claims?
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PETER TOSH
As it turns out, cannabis not only opens airways but encourages blood flow in general “Even umara composis”
To Tosh’s claim, marijuana in small doses may help those with asthma
This lyric always puzzled me growing up. What is umara composis? After a little research, I found the oft-misspelled lyric was referencing numara thrombosis, or blood clots. Blood clots occur due to blood flow problems, causing a blockage. So, how can cannabis help this? As it turns out, cannabis not only opens airways but encourages blood flow in general. According to new research by the Center of Brain Health, cannabis use improves blood and oxygen flow, halving the risk of blood clot and stroke.
Enter Flavonoids, a class of plant metabolites. According to Andre, Hausman, J.-F., & Guerriero (2016), these “cannaflavins” make up 10% of cannabis’ compounds. Flavonoid compounds have strong antiviral properties. Wu, Wenjiao et al. (2018) found quercetin in cannabis specifically inhibited the influenza A virus.
Head researcher Dr. Francesca Filbey described that the “primary psychoactive ingredient present in cannabis — tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — relaxes arterial walls, resulting in lower blood pressure and increased blood flow to tissues.” The more blood flow tissues receive, the lower the chance for blockage and clots.
While the basis for Tosh’s lyric exists on a molecular level, common adage tells us that any smoke will further irritate the respiratory system, so you may want to use an edible form, concentrate, or vape if choosing to use cannabis while ill.
“Good for asthma” Although smoking cannabis for asthma relief may seem counterintuitive, many doctors hear of patients inhaling the plant and finding immediate relief from asthma attacks. How does this happen? In short, THC and cannabis help to open airways. According to Vachon et al. (1973), unlike cigarettes, marijuana smoke dilated bronchi. The Cleveland Clinic maintains that bronchodilators improve breathing by relaxing muscle bands that tighten around airways, opening them up and letting more air into the lungs. Cannabis smoke is useful particularly because compounds within can act as bronchodilators, like terpenes, molecules known to produce cannabis’ scent. In Ethan Russo’s 2011 review, Taming THC, he found the cannabis terpene pinene acts as a bronchodilator in humans.
“Good for tuberculosis” Just like the flu, tuberculosis, or TB, spreads through the air but is bacterial in nature. This is perhaps Tosh’s easiest claim, as cannabis is a historic treatment for the infection. In a study, Kabelik, Krejci, and Santavy (1960) found cannabis resin inhibited the growth of TB bacteria.
Tosh’s “Legalize It” accurately described marijuana’s medical potential while calling for the normalization of the plant.
In sum, Peter Tosh held his fingers near the pulse of cannabis, even when its medical uses were not proven or seen as legitimate, and he acted as an important icon for the culture. As cannabis nears nationwide legitimacy, I hope we remember that Tosh knew cannabis’ splendor first and that we are only catching up now.
Bio
Chris Matich is a professional writer, journalist, and editor living in Pittsburgh, PA. Chris blogs for Schenley.net. His writing interests include LGBT+ people/issues, sports writing, and blogging. Chris currently writes about web optimization, blogging practices, medical cannabis, and cannabis lifestyle. He writes fiction and creative nonfiction in his spare time.
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Credit: Giavanna Accurso
CATHERINE SHERRIFFS
Faultline Farm Unique Soil Delivers Bountiful Gardens In The Desert Heat
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FAULTLINE FARM
The two-acre farm actually sits on an ancient lakebed on the Oasis of Mara that dates back more than 9,000 years
W
hile most gardens around the world thrive in the beautiful summer months of July and August, yields at Faultline Farm slow dramatically as crops naturally look for ways to conserve energy. They have no choice; nestled on a 70-acre property near the Mojave desert
in California, the gardens consistently battle daytime temperatures of up to 115°F (46°C) in the summer. It’s a world of extremes at the farm; while there is always enough sun for the plants to photosynthesize, it can also lead to their very demise. It’s just one of the many challenges of gardening in North America’s driest desert.
And yet, Faultline Farm makes it work. The organic garden belongs to the 29 Palms Inn, a resor t beside the Joshua Tree National Park. Despite slowing yields in the extreme heat, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, and tomatoes grow all summer long. In the cooler months, the gardens produce a steady stream of salad greens (up to 40 pounds a week!), beets, kohlrabi, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and fennel, among other vegetables. The farm’s orchard provides delicious fruits through the seasons; peaches, plums, and apricots grow every spring, followed by figs and grapes in the summer. Pears and pomegranates finally come in the fall. All of the food grown on the farm is used in the kitchen at the inn’s restaurant. Guests have the oppor tunity to sample food grown organically and in the rarest of conditions; and they have an incredibly unique soil to thank for their meals. The two-acre farm actually sits on an ancient lakebed on the Oasis of Mara that dates back more than 9,000 years. According to research conducted by the inn, shifting plates formed a sag pond, and over a very long period of time, fine, mineral-rich par ticles settled to the bottom. In fact, the garden grows on about three feet of decomposed organic matter, creating a lush, fer tile environment in what is a dry, mostly barren deser t. “What that translates to for us, is a silty yet clay-like soil,” says Giavanna Accurso, hor ticulturist at Faultline Farm. “There are higher [contents] of iron and salt than other soils I have worked with, but it hasn’t prohibited growth or created too many obstacles in growing for us. The fer tility is great because of it!” This isn’t a recent discovery; the rich history behind Faultline Farm is one of the many things that attracted Accurso to the job last year. And quite a change it has been for her; she has spent much of her career working
on intensive cropping systems for chefs and restaurants in Los Angeles and Chicago. Talk about a world of extremes. Historically, the Oasis and the surrounding area was believed to be inhabited by the Serrano Indians, who used the land to grow food for themselves. The first recorded existence of a garden on the Oasis dates back to the Washington Expedition in the 1850’s. Cattle ranchers and miners migrated heavily into the area after that, and the Native Americans still living in the Oasis fled to the Coachella Valley in 1938. Soon after, Claire and Rober t (‘Doc’) Van Lahr took over the proper ty that became the home of the 29 Palms Inn. The couple was the first of five generations so far to run the resor t, and during World War ll, Doc repor tedly grew victory gardens on site to help feed his family and neighbors throughout the dark times and resulting labor shor tage. After that, the gardens ceased to exist until Jane Grunt-Smith took them and the inn over in 1977. They’ve been producing beautiful fruits and vegetables ever since. The Mojave deser t receives less than six inches of rain a year, and yet, Faultline Farm can still rely on nature for its watering needs. The aquifer that originally fed the Oasis still provides water in abundance to the proper ty’s well. The farm uses a drip irrigation system on the beds, and deep drippers are currently being installed in the orchard. In the summer months, when temperatures reach their peak, Accurso supplements with spot watering, and she’s always researching new, innovative ways to quench the garden’s thirst. “I am looking at some new systems in our beds where we bury hay down the center to hold moisture,” she explains. “It is based on that permaculture technique called hugelkultur, but it’s on a smaller and finer scale than that.”
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Credit: Giavanna Accurso
FAULTLINE FARM
Beans, squash, and courgette
No garden is perfect, and that holds especially true for Faultline Farm where growing conditions are extreme. The plants grown on site are generally tough and chosen because they have been adapted to handle environmental stressors. The farm uses seeds from companies like the Native Seed Search, which is based out of Tucson, Arizona, and specializes in drought-tolerant crops. Accurso says she’s had great success with many of their seeds, such as the Magdalena squash. Still, when temperatures hit the triple digits, the leaves on the tomatoes drop and stop conver ting simple sugars to complex, making them sour in taste. The eggplant stops flowering, and the squash develops only male flowers so as not to waste energy bearing fruit. “Hardening off has been one of the things that I have had to learn to adapt to out here,” says Accurso. “It is a more extensive and gradual process than any other climate I have grown in. The seedlings need to go through a couple of different microclimates in the greenhouse before even beginning their final hardening off phase outside.” In the high deser t, temperatures drop dramatically in the winter, dipping below freezing at night with highs in the 60’s during the day. When the cold comes, tender salad greens are protected with row covers, while produce like brassicas are hardier and can handle the chill just fine. In the hot temperatures, though, the plants also become weaker and more prone to pests and disease. Accurso
The Mojave desert receives less than six inches of rain a year, and yet, Faultline Farm can still rely on nature for its watering needs admits she’s experienced more crop loss at the farm than she’s used to because of it. Squash bugs, whitefly, and beetles nibble away at the produce; an incredibly difficult situation to control in organic growing systems where chemicals and synthetic fer tilizers are never used. Instead, the farm allows nature to run its course. “With the challenges, it is also impor tant to remember that this is the fer tile ground needed to find solutions,” explains Accurso. “It’s a time to pay special attention to what nature is trying to tell us. We always attempt to look at whatever resources we have available to us to find solutions.” 25
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Credit: Giavanna Accurso
FAULTLINE FARM
Melons growing ver tically
Accurso keeps the soil cool by mulching with palm fronds, and may even use them in full form next summer to shade the crops from the summer heat. She’s also exploring the idea of taking used shade cloth from a nearby military base to drape over the beds. Bio-diversity is strongly encouraged at the farm; Accurso often lets crops go to flower to make sure the pollinators, such as native bees, keep coming. She’s also noticed that planting marigolds beside her tomato plants help with the whitefly. The kitchen at the 29 Palms Inn gives the farm its food scraps so it can generate compost with the brown materials pruned and weeded around the property. Otherwise, fish emulsion and an all-purpose organic fertilizer from Dr. Earth are used to help the fruits and vegetables flourish. Critters are also controlled in a strictly organic manner, which is quite an impressive feat. “Everything is hungry in the deser t,” Accurso jokes. “We plant crops of squash around the edges of the perimeter and will do minimal spraying of neem oil and insecticidal soap when necessary. The trap crops help with ground squirrels and lizards, while the neem oil helps with whitefly.”
When temperatures hit the triple digits, the tomatoes experience leaf drop [...] The eggplant stops flowering, and the squash develops only male flowers so as not to waste energy bearing fruit
Accurso says her favorite solution to the hungry coyote and bobcat populations is weaving dried palm fronds into the chain link fence surrounding the gardens. The resulting ‘fan’ around the edges of the fence keep the animals from jumping over and into the coveted buffet awaiting them.
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FAULTLINE FARM
Credit: Giavanna Accurso
Faultline Farm experiments with drought-tolerant seeds
Ar tichoke
It has been one year since Accurso joined the team at Faultline Farm. She describes the garden and the 29 Palms Inn itself as a gorgeous proper ty all around, and as a peaceful, healing, and creative space to be in. The farm’s history is just as rich as its soil, and it would appear there’s never a dull moment. With dramatic temperature changes and constant research into new, organic ways to successfully grow nutritious foods, how could there be? Gardening in the deser t is fascinating. 3
Rainbow carrots
Everything is hungry in the desert,” Accurso jokes.
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BY STEPHEN BROOKES - NPK TECHNOLOGY
F
oliar feeding is a method of getting nutrition to the plant through the leaves, unlike conventional fer tigation which is applied
to the roots. The primary method of plant-feeding should always be through the roots, but foliar feeding is a great way to get nutrients to the plant when root uptake may be lacking, or if you simply want to improve and promote plant health.
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FOLIAR FEEDING
In the research done on foliar feeding, an efficiency rate of 90-95% absorption has been found, compared to traditional root-fed fertilization of roughly 10%
Do you foliar feed? Have you ever thought about why you spray the leaves and about how to do it properly? It is common practice for many growers, but few are consistent or appreciative of its potential for promoting faster vegetative growth, or of its ability to provide improved nutritional status, prevent pests, and also help the plant during those early root development stages. Of course, there are still some who don’t believe foliar feeding works to feed a plant, but a study by Tukey and Wittwer (1,2,3) in 1956/57 found the effectiveness of the process through several experiments and the use of radioactive PK. Researchers applied the radioactive phosphorus and potassium and using a Geiger counter, measured the absorption and movement within the plant. Results indicated the nutrients moved at around 30 cm an hour to all parts; enough evidence to put any remaining doubt over foliar feeding to rest.
Top Tip: For the vast majority of plant foliar feeds, you should never spray with the lights on. The water droplets can magnify the high-powered lights and cause scorch marks on the leaf, destroying chlorophyll sites and reducing photosynthetic efficiency. One notable exception is Optic Foliar, which is an all-round foliar nutrient that CAN be sprayed with the lights on and works wonders for plant health.
How do nutrients enter the leaf and plant? On your plant leaf, you will find spaces called transcuticular pores as well as the stomata, in which plant nutrients can enter. The transcuticular pores are on both the tops and bottoms of the leaves; they never close, so foliar feeding is believed to enter the leaf this way. However, stomata situated on the bottom of the leaves are much higher in number, so if the foliar feed is used when they are open, there will likely be increased intake. In the research done on foliar feeding, an efficiency rate of 90-95% absorption has been found, compared to traditional root-fed fertilization of roughly 10% (this was in soil outdoors). So, why don’t we all just start foliar feeding? First of all, plants and their roots know what they need when they need it, and with a little help from beneficial microorganisms, can dictate uptake. Secondly, nutrients can interact negatively with each other and could inhibit or excel in nutrient absorption, which isn’t always a good thing. Therefore, we should focus on root feeding and finesse with foliar feeding.
Top Tip: Get your foliar spray onto the underside of the leaves so they can absorb a higher amount, primarily through the stomata (small openings that allow carbon dioxide to enter and water to leave).
Results indicated the nutrients moved at around 30 cm an hour to all parts; enough evidence to put any remaining doubt over foliar feeding to rest
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few are consistent or appreciative of its potential for promoting faster vegetative growth, or of its ability to provide improved nutritional status
The debate: when should you foliar feed? There’s a lot of debate over what time of day plants should be fed. There are a few options to consider. If you foliar feed with a standard fertilizer, you have to spray just as the lights go off to avoid leaf burn. If you use a feed that can be sprayed with the lights on, then I would suggest foliar feeding about an hour after the lights come on for the best chance of full absorption. However, if you do not currently foliar feed, do it when you can (but remember, not in full light with nonspecialist feeds).
Top Tip: If you want to foliar feed with nutrients intended for the roots, dilute the solution to a quarter strength to prevent burn and salt build-up on the leaf. Lastly, using an atomizer to spray the foliar feed will increase the availability to the plants thanks to its small droplets. A regular spray bottle can leave large droplets on the leaf, which are not easily absorbed. 3
Advanced foliar feeding If you have been foliar feeding for a while, it is time to step it up and get better results. The first method is to use a surfactant in your solution to increase contact time with the leaf and improve uptake of the nutrient. If you have tried this, then moving onto a product such as Transport by Optic Foliar will get you even better foliar results. It works differently to surfactants, and rather than dispersing the water evenly across the leaf actually pushes the nutrients into the leaf.
Sources 1.
Tukey, H.B. and Wittwer, S.H., 1956. “The entry of nutrients into plants through stem, leaf and fruit, as indicated by radioactive isotopes.” Progress in Nuclear Energy Biological Sciences Series Six, pp. 106-114. McGraw-Hill, NY, and Permagon Press, London.
2.
Tukey, H.B., Wittwer, S.H., Teubner, F.G., and Long, W.G., 1956. “Utilization of radioactive isotopes in resolving the effectiveness of foliar absorption of plant nutrients.” International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Vol. 12: 138- 148. United
Deficiencies are best cured with a foliar feed for many reasons. For one, it is absorbed into the plant much quicker and can start to rectify the issue right away. Secondly, the deficiency you have is likely from a root zone issue such as pH, and merely adding more of the deficient nutrient can cause lockouts and more problems. Finally, there are many nutrients that can take your foliar regime to the next level. Calcium (low mobility) is great during flowering when it is useful for fruiting plants; iron (poor uptake by the roots) is essential for chlorophyll production, and consider applying boron immediately before flowering to increase flower-to-fruit ratio. Fulvic acid should be included in a foliar regime as well because it has been shown to help increase plant nutrient uptake significantly.
Nations, NY. 3.
Wittwer, S.H., Teubner, F.G. and McCall, W.W. 1957. “Comparative absorption and utilization by beans and tomatoes of phosphorus applied to the soil and foliage.” Proceedings, American Society for Horticultural Science, Vol. 69: 302-308
BIO
Stephen Brookes is a science fanatic, hydroponics obsessed bookworm. His experience comes from running two grow shops, an additives company, and NPK Media. Along with obtaining a bachelor degree of Science in Outdoor Education and Geography and an MSc in Nutrition and Scientific Investigation, he is now working on a PhD, researching the effects of different ratios in cannabinoids on the human body. Motto: The more you learn, the less you know!
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BY STONEY TARK PHOTOS COURTESY OF @DUTCH PASSION SEED COMPANY
HOW FEMINIZED SEEDS STARTED
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DUTCH PASSION SEED COMPANY
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DUTCH PASSION SEED COMPANY FEMINIZED SEEDS ARE THE NORMAL WAY TO GROW YOUR OWN AT HOME - MOST PEOPLE PREFER TO HAVE THE FEWEST QUANTITY OF SEEDS FOR SECURITY REASONS
A
msterdam has always been considered the gatekeeper of genetics in Europe. It has a history steeped in cup competition, coffee shop culture, large-scale growing, and breeding. Garden Culture Magazine caught up with the Dutch Passion Seed Company, the original pioneers in the feminized seed movement.
When did the Dutch Passion Seed Company start? Our founder, Henk van Dalen, first started breeding cannabis genetics in the 1970’s. As a University graduate [in biology], Henk had a good scientific foundation and technical understanding of plant science. In those days, cannabis arrived in Amsterdam from all over the world: Asia, South America, North America, Africa, etc. Many of the cannabis shipments contained seeds. Using these seeds, breeding began, although Dutch Passion wasn’t formally established until 1987.
Through 1980-1998, how advanced were regular seeds and what was the level of breeding as compared to the demand for genetics? Regular seeds had a good reputation for quality, though, that reputation increased steadily as genetics were refined and improved through selective breeding and the introduction of new genetics. Cannabis breeding wasn’t as sophisticated as it is these days.
Femenized seeds allow large scale growers to reach full potential in a greenhouse environment
Knowledge levels have improved tremendously over the last few decades, and these days, we have access to elite cannabis genetics from all over the world. This includes the USA breeding market, which has produced some exceptional genetics, especially over the last few years since legalization.
Where did the concept for all female seeds originate from? Dutch Passion already knew that some fruit and veg seeds were feminized, so in principle, we knew that cannabis seeds could also be feminized. Three books were to play an important part in Henk’s work: Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal’s Marijuana Grower’s Guide (1978), Robert Connell Clarke’s Marijuana Botany (1981), and Jorge Cervantes’ Indoor Marijuana Horticulture (1983). The comments in [Frank and] Rosenthal’s book about female seed possibilities was especially interesting to Henk, who has always looked to make marijuana growing easier and more
THREE BOOKS WERE TO PL AY AN IMPORTANT PART IN HENK’S WORK 41
DUTCH PASSION SEED COMPANY
THESE DAYS OVER 97% OF OUR SEED SALES ARE FEMINIZED
The Dutch climate was the main reason to produce an all female line convenient to the home grower. Henk used his biology degree and understanding of plant hormones to apply some scientific methods to his work. When female plants were left a month or two after their usual harvest date, pollen sacs began to appear. This pollen only gives rise to female seeds and was christened “female pollen”. That was how feminized seeds were first created.
What are the advantages of feminized seeds when growing on a large scale outdoors? Large-scale outdoor growers get much better quality crops with feminized seeds. There is less worry about walking the fields pulling up the male plants, and more time available to ensure that the plants’ nutritional needs are met and that pests are dealt with. These days, large-scale outdoor farms from Morocco to California grow with feminized seeds. Dutch Passion still sells non-feminized seeds; we have a collection of 15 legacy varieties still available in regular seeds.
Are feminized seeds not just another way to say they have been genetically modified? No, it’s not. Genetically modified organisms have been altered and made into something they weren’t before. For example, genes from organism A are introduced in organism B. Feminized seeds are made by using pollen from a female plant so [that] no genes from “outside” are introduced, and therefore, it’s not considered a GMO.
Can you explain how the chromosomes of the plant become all female? Cannabis plants have male plants and female plants (some other plant species have both sexes present on the same plant). The male plants carry X and Y genes, and female plants only XX genes. If you “force” female plants to create pollen (survival technique) and pollinate other females with this pollen, the result will be that the offspring (seeds) will only carry the XX genes, and therefore, will give rise to only female plants.
What were the first ever trials of feminized seeds and how were they conducted? Initial trials were small-scale. Not that much ‘female pollen’ could be collected from the late-appearing male flowers on a mature female. But the seeds produced from it were feminized. We decided to call it “feminized seed”, rather than female seed. That’s because 95% (or more) of the seeds grow into female plants, but a 100% guarantee can’t be given.
Guaranteed female plants make small grows more practical, as seen with this Auto Mazar
Initially, there was some surprise that feminized seeds really could be made. But each scale-up showed the same result. The work was all done in Europe in those days, and not everyone believed that feminized seeds were really possible. But eventually, the process was scaled-up sufficiently to allow the first commercial sales of feminized seeds in 1998. Most people were surprised; home growers were delighted.
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How do feminized seeds impact breeding and should they be avoided in that sense? Most home growers simply don’t have the time to get involved in breeding, so for them, feminized seeds are a convenient way to grow at home. But many small-scale breeders take their breeding very seriously, and for these people, the traditional way to hunt for special parent genetics is often to grow regular seed.
How are the plants treated to produce all female pollen? Each seed company has their own in-house approach to breeding and feminized seeds with their own techniques. Usually, the seed companies tend not to go into too much detail about the exact principles, location, and facilities used. That’s partly for security and partly because it takes many years of know-how and experience to really produce the best seeds. The plants that are selected to get female pollen from are treated with silver nitrate (colloidal silver) and stress factors (e.g. high temperatures). This forces the survival technique of the plant to express itself, and the plant will turn hermaphrodite (and create pollen sacks).
How many female varieties do you offer, and do you still have many regular seeds? These days, over 97% of our seed sales are feminized. Most of the seed companies will have similar numbers; people overwhelmingly prefer feminized seeds.
Do you recommend any points of reference where readers can learn more about making their own feminized seeds? There are plenty of people offering kits online for making feminized seeds; a quick google search will show kits offering colloidal silver or other systems. At Dutch Passion, our 3-packs and 5-packs of seeds are the most popular seed quantities to order, [telling] us people don’t want hundreds of the same seed variety. When you make your own seeds, you could end up with several hundred of the same type. That’s an issue for many home growers who like to rotate their genetics to provide variety in their harvests and check out new genetics. Creating seeds is something you get better at the longer you have been doing it; we would say a few years of experience allows you to get the best results. Home growers rarely have the time to devote several years to become a genetics/ seed expert. They prefer to leave that to someone else and just focus on growing their own buds. 3
Dutch Passion has around 40 feminized varieties. [Along with] feminized photoperiod varieties, there are feminized autoflower seeds too. Autoflower seeds are now almost as popular as traditional photoperiod varieties.
What was the reaction of people and do you still get negative feedback about feminized seeds? We don’t get any negativity towards feminized seeds nowadays, though initially, there was some skepticism. Feminized seeds are the normal way to grow your own at home - most people prefer to have the fewest quantity of seeds for security reasons, and feminized seeds are ideal in that respect. They allow grow room size and energy usage to be minimized. If any customers have specific concerns or objections to feminized seeds, then we are more than happy to offer regular seeds.
Night Queen grown from feminized seed under LED 45
GROWING PROJECTS
s ’ o Whowing Gr
t a h W Where 1.
Salt Lake City, UT
Empowering People
Credit: The Green Urban Lunchbox
With programs aimed at strengthening the community, The Green Urban Lunch Box is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to fight hunger. Hundreds of volunteers help to build, cultivate, and maintain organic gardens in backyards belonging to disadvantaged senior citizens. The initiative comes at no cost whatsoever to the homeowners; a garden apprentice is assigned to them, who is ultimately responsible for the garden throughout the entire growing season. Produce that isn’t eaten by the senior or the garden apprentice is donated to local seniors’ centers. It’s all about food security, community, and promoting the idea of eating locally. Last year alone, the initiative helped grow more than 10,000 lbs of food in close to 30 gardens. Engaging in local food production… Learn more: thegreenurbanlunchbox.com
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Kingsville, ON, Canada
Nutrition and a love for good food are at the heart of Grape Lakes Farm & Vineyard. The medium of choice is good oldfashioned dirt, and all of the seeds planted are non-GMO. Owner Sondra Giles recently left the corporate world to run the farm, and this year planted 6,000 asparagus plants by hand. Heirloom peppers, zucchinis, cabbages, leeks, garlic, broccoli, and celery also grow in the fields. No chemicals are used on their fruits and vegetables, and not one of them looks exactly the same as the other. What matters is they’re downright good for you. Sondra and her husband purchased the farm four years ago, and since then have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into growing as organically as possible. Grape Lakes is constantly evolving and will be going completely off-grid this year. It’s also introduced “El Fresco” dinner parties, where people can walk the fields and see where the food is grown before sampling it under the stars. Sondra’s advice? Get to know your farmer; get to know their dirt. Learn more: grapelakesfarm.com
Credit: Garden Culture Magazine
Imperfectly Perfect
47
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Lovely Lavender
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What to do when the ever-increasing deer population depletes all of your raspberry bushes? Plant lavender, of course! Mad Lavender Farm began in 2012 when Adrienne Crombie and Don Dalen discovered that beyond being deer-resistant, lavender also has so many wonderful properties. They’ve since planted several different varieties on 10 acres of land in the beautiful Delaware River valley, such as French Fields and Buena Vista for their culinary flavor, and Hidcote and Gross Bleu for their amazing scent and medicinal properties. Luckily, they still have some raspberry bushes, and some exotic chickens too! Everything on their farm is grown organically with no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. All of their lavender products for sale are made by hand on site, and the public is always welcome to roam the fields and enjoy the beauty and many benefits of the plant. In addition, Mad Lavender Farm also makes things fun with goat yoga, where participants giggle through a series of poses with curious and friendly baby Dwarf Nigerian goats. Promoting sustainable, healthy, and enjoyable living… Learn more: madlavenderfarm.com
Credit: Growing Ideas Sustainable Gardening
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Mount Airy, MD
Unique Soil
There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a houseplant underperform. Most times, we have the potting soil to blame. Master gardener and teacher Mildred Rodman wanted plants to thrive while also being mindful of the environment, so she created Growing Ideas Sustainable Gardening. All of her potting mixes are completely sustainable; gone are all animal by-products, peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite, replaced with upcycled organic waste such as coconut coir and rice hulls. The high-quality soil also includes plant meals, worm castings, microbial powder, and a special homemade mineral mix that contains kelp and soybean meal. Rodman says plants do so well in her mixtures because root development and water retention are greatly improved. As an added bonus, all of her products are sold in recycled paper bags that are 100% compostable. Gardening with the health of the plants and the environment in mind… Learn more: etsy.com/shop/GrowingIdeasGardens 3
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BY CATHERINE SHERRIFFS,
GardenCultureMagazine.com
best of
the blog
From minor irritations to more serious health problems, chances are you can find something to cure what ails you in a medicinal garden. You can also find this blog and more fresh gardening and growing content on our blog at GCMag.co
THE HEALING POWERS OF
Medicinal Gardens The benefits of each plant are plentiful; used in dif ferent ways, they can treat multiple health problems
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MEDICINAL GARDENS
H
erbalism is often considered to be an alternative form of medicine, but there’s nothing alternative about it. Plants have been used to treat a variety of illnesses for thousands of years. Long before Aspirin and Advil, our ancestors achieved pain relief with willow or meadowsweet tea. What many of
us view as humble weeds actually can provide powerful and effective medicine. Just ask massage therapist and herbalist, Caroline Rivard. Caroline opens the door to her home north of Montreal, such as plantain, fennel, rosemary, and holy basil, Caroline Canada, and greets me with a beautiful smile. It’s the first has more than 35 different medicinal plants growing on two time we’ve met, but I already feel like I’ve known her separate properties. With them, she makes healing ‘potions’ forever. Her passion for medicinal plants is in the form of salves, drops, infused oils, infectious; before long I’m walking through teas, and even soaps. Before long I’m her impressive backyard garden, learning walking through about the magic behind each of the plants So Many Benefits her impressive growing there. She greets all plant life with an open mind back yard garden, and an open heart. Even stinging nettle, a “Plants are amazing,” Caroline says. “They weed many gardeners despise. But Caroline learning about have so much to give.” describes nettle as her friend and a serious the magic behind nutrient-booster. In a world where we’re each of the plants not getting enough goodness from our How Her Gardens Grow growing there Once a self-described workaholic, Caroline foods, drinking nettle tea once a day for only discovered the world of herbalism six weeks can deliver some major perks. when she left her bustling massage therapy Caroline says she noticed a difference in practice in the city and moved north. With deer and wild the appearance of her hair, nails, and skin. turkeys more numerous than clients, she took up running and had a moment of clarity one day when she saw a group The benefits of each plant are plentiful; used in different of weeds and wildflowers growing together in the ditch. ways, they can treat multiple health problems: Knowing that some of them held medicinal properties, she decided to learn about the plants and work with them to help people. “I do a lot of research, and then I go shopping in the bush,” she laughs. Today, her sprawling gardens are nothing short of aweinspiring. Ranging from beautiful blooms like nasturtiums, calendula, centaurea, and bee balm, to the more subdued
Caroline Rivard in her medicinal garden 51
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MEDICINAL GARDENS GardenCultureMagazine.com
best of ‘There is medicine all around us’
Holy Basil
the blog
This is an incredible stress and anxiety reliever. It’s also high in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, while also being good for digestion and aching joints. Caroline made me some Holy Basil Tea, and it was both tasty and totally relaxing. It may have even added a few years to my life!
Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower) This flower has more to offer than just beautiful, bright blue blooms. It’s known for its anti-inflammatory properties and is commonly used as a soothing eyewash to reduce puffiness, dark circles, and even treat infections such as conjunctivitis.
Calendula These tiny yellow and orange flowers are Caroline’s ‘go-to’ ingredient for many of her potions, and not just because they’re pretty. Calendula has the ability to heal skin tissue and is also antifungal and antibacterial. If you drink it in a strong tea, it can help with peptic ulcers and inflammation from bowel disease.
Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) This is a no-brainer for herbalists looking to treat the burning and blistering rash caused by poison ivy. Its antifungal properties also work wonders on athlete’s foot.
Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) I tasted some of this straight from Caroline’s garden, and it’s dang delicious. The bright red blooms are spicy and can be used as an antiseptic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic and a stimulant. It is often used in medicinal infusions to treat colds, migraines, sore throats and fevers, as well as gastric problems like nausea. We’re only scratching the surface of what medicinal gardens have to offer. Caroline uses rosemary for hair care and massage therapy creams, arnica to make bruises fade faster, and plantain to treat painful insect stings and bites. Her homemade face cream contains honey, roses, and peonies; it smells and feels like a day at the spa, only better. Her “Bobo Cream” is made with nine plants total and treats everything ranging from rashes, cold sores, and psoriasis, to eczema, scars and minor burns.
She greets all plant life with an open mind and an open hear t. Even stinging net tle, a weed many gardeners despise
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MEDICINAL GARDENS GardenCultureMagazine.com
best of
the blog
Herbalists must also work with the seasons. When the weather cooperates, gardens show their appreciation
To the naysayers, Caroline says she truly believes that our bodies prefer to heal naturally rather than be bombarded with doses of antibiotics. There is medicine all around us.
It Ain’t Easy Of course, there are challenges to growing a medicinal garden. Research is of the utmost importance; knowing what qualities various plants have and how to combine them for the desired result takes so much time and effort. It’s both a science and a balancing act. Herbalists must also work with the seasons. When the weather cooperates, gardens show their appreciation. When growing conditions turn sour, it will be another year in some climates before you can try again. Patience is a virtue, and Caroline says learning to “go with the flow” is absolutely necessary for her line of work. “Allow yourself to fail,” Caroline says. “Don’t be so hard on yourself for things that don’t work out.” Herbalist or not, that’s pretty sound advice. Caroline firmly believes that the more love and thought you give to your gardens, the more they will do for you. She talks to her plants and listens to what they have to say. At the end of the day, she leaves feeling inspired and ready for the next potion. All-natural and handcrafted with love. 3
“I do a lot of research, and then I go shopping in the bush” Sources: bit.ly/healthline24-naturalherbs ediblewildfood.com/stinging-nettle.aspx
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Perfect
Pumpkins
P
umpkins are synonymous with spooky fun around Halloween, but they’re good for much more than festive fall decor. Did you know that these bright,
orange gourds make a great addition to your meals? They’re actually one of the best sources around of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that reduces the risk of developing cancer, asthma, and heart disease. It may even delay aging! Boost your immunity and daily fiber intake by adding pumpkin to your diet, and although delicious, we’re not talking in the form of pumpkin pies. Bake it, roast it, or puree it! Just one cup of cooked or boiled pumpkin contains 200% of the recommended daily vitamin A intake. Pumpkin can replace butter and oil in any baking recipe, including muffins, cakes, and loaves of bread. Add it to smoothies, soups, chilis, or even make your own pasta (like gnocchi) or sauces with it. Don’t forget to scoop out your pumpkin seeds for a delicious and nutritious snack! Sources: medicalnewstoday.com/articles/279610.php 3
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Water Soluble Organic Nutrients
PPoopp aa
P A P C A W C W yyoouurr iinn ggrrassss ‘bones are exactly where these two elements will be coming from, although ideally not human bones’
58
WATER SOLUBLE ORGANIC NUTRIENTS
I
f there is any one place where the complaints of organic gardeners differ to that of my wife, it is in relation to the speed of which particular practices occur. Much like my gardening friends, I am inclined to justify the opinion that a quicker release is a much more preferable option to a longer one.The problem is, typical organic nutrients are bound up in carbon complexes
and take much longer to release their special life-giving properties.This is exactly the situation my other half would be much more appreciative of, but unlike a rich source of organic nutrients, my beans are usually blown way before the pods are even picked.
photo: Permaculture Research Institute
For organic farmers, there is actually Anyway, once you have a suitably large a suitable solution to this, unlike the volume of vinegar, you can then proceed make your own myriad of spurious websites that offer a to sourcing your bones. (That is if you instantly available, questionable solution relating to the folly want calcium and phosphorus. If you just of my manhood. A soluble and instantly want calcium, then you can use things like water soluble, available set of nutrients can be provided eggshells or oyster shells, or something organically derived to your plants if you so choose, you else in that vein.) Once you have your nutrients” just need to prime them in the correct vinegar and your bones gathered, you manner a little bit first. This is basically will need a suitably large container for it what we are looking at here; a way to all and something to cover it with. make your own instantly available, water soluble, organically derived nutrients, courtesy, once again, of my bro-chacho from You will need: Korea: Master Cho. • Bones - enough to fill about a tenth or so of your container. • Vinegar - enough to fill the rest of the container after the Sounds good right? bones. “Instantly available organic nutrients?” I hear you cry. “Surely you • Breathable cloth - to cover the container afterward. must jest, there is no such practice of which I am familiar with”. • Elastic bands - to secure the cloth. This is no jest my friend, just a way to provide a quick fix of • A BBQ, or grill - to burn the bones. nutrient loveliness directly to your plants – as soon as they may • A strainer/gauze - to filter zee final solution. need it. There are many ways to skin a cat, and this is one of the finest techniques in flaying felines (being one of the few ways Step 1: Burn the bones (or eggshells etc) you can achieve water soluble, organically available nutrients, Yes, you read that right, burn the bones. Some might say that the immediately available for plant use). effects of the bones can be enhanced by creating the just right conditions during the flambé. Apparently, combusting under a Which elements are we talking about here? Well, mostly full blood-moon, atop a stone plinth in the middle of a pentagram phosphorus and calcium. The building blocks of plant cell walls, and in the presence of virgins monotonously reciting the Lord’s these are two of the most crucial nutrients that a plant would prayer backward will dramatically increase the efficacy. I’m still need during pretty much any stage of its growth cycle. “Calcium learning how to recite the Lord’s prayer in reverse to test this, and phosphorus?” you exclaim. “But that’s basically what our but I’m sure it will at least double your yield. human bones are made of”. Well, bones are exactly where these two elements will be coming from, although ideally not human In all seriousness, they do need charring to the correct degree. bones. Break them down into smaller chunks and chuck them onto a BBQ until they have turned a nice black, coal-esque colour. Let’s start at the very beginning Ensure they are not undercooked – a brown hue of the bone Apparently, it is a very good place to start. Unfortunately, this will remain if so. At the same time, don’t over-do it, it will turn to is actually a slightly misleading sub-heading, because this is not an ash grey/white on the surface of the chunks and you’ll have to really the beginning. In order to start right at the very beginning, start over. With eggshells, crush them and cook them in a pan you will need to make some vinegar. If you can’t be arsed to wait until browned (not blackened). three months for your vinegar to properly turn, then you can simply purchase some. Organic distilled is usually best; something locally-sourced, ideally, to be more in keeping with the whole ‘save the planet’ theme. If you can be arsed to make your own vinegar – simply double (or so) the volume of the waste from when you make some FPJ with water, and let it sit in a cool, dark place for a minimum of three months (less with an added mother).
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photo: Permaculture Research Institute
WATER SOLUBLE ORGANIC NUTRIENTS
Step 2: Fill your container This is a pretty self-explanatory step of the process. You need to fill your container with the bones you just burnt (or the shells you just toasted) to approximately one-tenth of the total volume. Then, you simply grab your vinegar and fill the other nine-tenths accordingly. Watch it as it starts bubbling in a totally cool and awesome way.
Step 3: Leave it alone
photo: Permaculture Research Institute
Cover with a breathable lid and leave for at least five days, more like ten sometimes. Leaving this longer than necessary will not degrade the final product. Once the bubbling stops, it is pretty much done.
Break them down into smaller chunks and chuck them onto a BBQ
Step 4: Strain it out Grab yourself a fine mesh and pour the solution through, removing any of the bits and pieces.
Step 5: Put into storage You can keep this solution in an air-tight container, unlike most other KNF inputs, so it makes for a much easier liquid to store.
Step 6: Use it Normally, administer it at a rate of 1:1000. That’s 1ml per liter for those who can’t be bothered to figure it out. Maybe more if you see your plants lapping it up. It can be used as a root drench or as a foliar spray. Adding a teaspoon per liter of Epsom salts to the solution will add a touch of magnesium as well. Essentially, you’d be making your own organic calmag, which, as we all know, is the answer to every plant problem ever.
Et, voila mon petite fleur That’s it! You are now the proud owner of some awesome, organically derived nutrients, ready to rock and roll. Also, you just burnt some bones and basically performed alchemy; pretty cool if you think about it. Anyway, make sure you have your camera ready when you pour the vinegar in (especially with the eggshells) because it makes for a super cool video to impress all your chumleys on the social media thing with. 3 61
BY STONEY TARK
TOP1O
Compoost: broken down plant material is excellent food for microbes and fungi,
H
ow you treat your plants during the vegetative stage will directly impact how they turn out down the road. Follow these tips to get your best yields yet!
1. Prepare A Compost Pile In Advance
3. Perlite For Air Pockets
If you practice permaculture, then having a ready-to-use compost pile on hand is normal. Broken down plant material is excellent food for microbes and fungi, so think about preparing your compost months in advance to supercharge any blend of medium. Compost is also a high source of magnesium, which is ideal to treat any deficiencies.
When it comes to creating air pockets in your growing medium, using perlite is something I cannot recommend enough. Sometimes, the continued action of wet and dry can cause grow mediums to become compact, which is never a good thing. Using a mix of 25-50% perlite will not only improve the wicking action of the root zone, but it will also ensure that when the pots are totally wet and at their heaviest, there are plenty of air pockets to allow oxygen and nutrients to move freely.
2. Fabric Pots Work Best Untrained growers beware: you do not want a root bound plant. Using a breathable, felt fabric serves as an excellent root pruning device. Alternately, you can make your own pots with either slits in them or small holes. Fabric pots are a better choice than plastic and can be re-used, washed, and formed to any size you may require. An additional bonus? During the winter, felt pots insulate the roots with their warm jackets.
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4. Watering Times and Encouraging Roots Roots grow in various directions in search of moisture. With seedlings, a good practice is to encourage the roots to push out, meaning you will have to master the fine balance of keeping your medium right between the wet and dry zones. If you use felt pots, the roots will actually grow out horizontally. Never overwater your seedlings, as very wet roots lack the motivation to branch out.
image: ruthstrees.com
Mycelium: this furry, white, candy-like fungus will improve the uptake and delivery of micro and macronutrients to the plant
image: Mycelial Revolution — Mycopolitan
TIPS FOR VEGGING
Fabric pots are a better choice than plastic and can be re-used, washed, and formed to any size you may require
5. Foliar Feeding
8. Training Your Plants Up
Even though the roots of your plants are hard at work, foliar feeding is an excellent way to provide nutrients to your plants and their leaves. Only use organic sprays, even homemade ones will do. I recommend using a very mild mix of humic acid, seaweed extract, or molasses. When spraying the plants, ensure you are working with a fine mist and that any nutrient solution is fully dissolved before application. Once you are happy with the ratio of the solution, spray the tops and undersides of the plants from a distance. Wipe any loose droplets away from the leaves by hand, especially if you are applying during the hottest parts of the day.
There is a misconception that training your plants takes an excessive amount of time to do correctly. A lot of growers who work on a strict schedule find that training plants is not practical for their situation. This can be true when it comes to financial pressures and logistics. However, incorporating low-stress techniques (L.S.T) and high-stress techniques (H.S.T) will not only improve vigor, plant health, structure, and auxin production, but it will also significantly improve yield.
6. Supporting Your Plants As much as I incorporate plant training, one thing I like to do is provide support for them. This involves using thin bamboo canes that have been washed and cleared of any possible insects living inside. You can tie the lowest and highest points of each branch to the bamboo cane. Over time, even with heavy wind and rain, the bamboo canes will promote thick branching that can be further trained.
7. Beneficial Bacteria and Fungi Once you take a closer look at what is happening within the soil, you will discover there is a very advanced network of mycelium. This furry, white, candy-like fungus will improve the uptake and delivery of micro and macronutrients to the plants. You can source your own beneficial microorganisms by performing IMO stage 1. A technique associated with K.N.F, (Korean Natural Farming) mycelium will form a symbiotic relationship with the roots as well as the living soil web.
9. Using Seaweed Based Products Seaweed is brilliant! It contains natural growth hormones ranging from auxins, indoles, and cytokinins. Jam-packed with micronutrients, seaweed extracts make an excellent soil drench or foliar feed. Grow healthy, white, strong roots by using a seaweed-based product from early on. The result will be a lush, green seedling that has a thicker, waxy appearance compared to a non-seaweed treated plant.
10. Humidity and Temperature It does not matter if you have all the gadgets in the world in your grow room or outdoor garden. If the temperature and humidity are not representative of what your plant requires, then everything else must adapt to that change. In order to keep the plants performing at peak, optimal conditions, indoor gardeners should aim for daytime temperatures of 24°C / 75°F, with a relative humidity ranging around 65-75%. Cannabis plants enjoy warm, humid weather in the vegetative stage, so a quick solution to imitating that environment indoors is to invest in a humidifier. Once in the grow room, the humidifier will release a fine mist, Marcel Vogel making the environment a happy one for your plants. 3 63
BY ALBERT MONDOR, HORTICULTURIST AND BIOLOGIST
Edible
Forest
Garden
T
he idea of feeding on the products of a forest is obviously old as the world. However, the edible forest garden concept is currently gaining popularity, par ticularly among younger
generations who see it as a great way to grow edible plants with minimal effor t while having little impact on the environment.
64
EDIBLE FOREST GARDEN
An edible forest garden is, in fact, a reproduction of a natural forest ecosystem. It is composed of different layers of vegetation such as fruit and nut trees, fruit shrubs, mushrooms, and edible herbaceous plants including perennial vegetables, aromatic and medicinal plants.
An edible forest garden brings all the benefits of a typical forest. In addition to providing food, it limits soil erosion and cleans the air by absorbing carbon dioxide while also producing oxygen!
Besides the fact that one can create an edible forest from bare soil, it is also possible to promote the growth of certain productive species in an existing forest through various managements. After only four to five years, a new established edible forest garden can provide diversified food and utility production. There are so many products that can be obtained from an edible forest: mushrooms, spices, fruits, nuts, oil, medicines, honey, syrup and other products made from sap, game, building materials, textile fibers, firewood etc. Once mature, an edible forest garden can become a relatively stable ecosystem that requires little care.
In an edible forest, there are various non-timber forest products, often identified as NTFPs, which can be defined as any biological resource except timber. Fruits, fungi, and medicinal plants are NTFPs. Game is also considered to be a non-timber forest product.
If you want to create an edible forest garden on your land, or simply cultivate as many edible plants as possible in minimal space, it is essential to first plant nut trees or fruit trees, under which you will grow various other edible plants.
After only four to five years, a new established edible forest garden can provide diversified food and utility production
The tree canopy provides a beneficial shade that allows life flourishing on and in the soil.
65
EDIBLE FOREST GARDEN
Hardy, low-maintenance tree varieties include apple trees, mulberries, cherry trees, pear trees, sea buckthorn, and serviceberries.
Sea buckthorn is a small tree particularly interesting for the creation of an edible forest garden. In addition to producing edible fruits with multiple uses, it captures atmospheric nitrogen and makes it available for the surrounding plants thanks to the bacteria associated with its roots.
Sea Buckthorn
Nut trees also play an important role in an edible forest garden ecosystem
Nut trees also play an important role in an edible forest garden ecosystem. You can plant some nut trees such as black walnut, whose nut has a deliciously fruity taste, or Japanese walnut, with its nice heart-shaped fruits. However, you must be careful when choosing these species because some of them, such as black walnut, for example, produce a substance called juglone that prevents many herbaceous plants from growing at their feet.
67
EDIBLE FOREST GARDEN
Some species of native fruit shrubs can be grown under trees
Elderberries
On the other hand, some species of native fruit shrubs can be grown under trees. Chokeberries, elderberries, hazel, purple-flowered raspberry and a few varieties of viburnum are among the best choicales because they tolerate shade well. Finally, here is a list of edible perennials or edible ground covers that can be grown under trees: alpine strawberry, Canada wild ginger, hosta (yes! the flowers and leaves of hostas are edible!), monarda, ostrich fern, parsley, peppermint, skirret, spinach, watercress, and wood violet. 3
Chokeberries
Alpine strawberry
69
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Water
Everywhere, But Not A Drop To Drink‌
Most of the time, your plant will have stored enough water to get through all the light hours, although sometimes it doesn’t always run that smoothly
72
WATER EVERYWHERE
Y
ou can take a camel to water, but you can’t make it drink. So the saying goes anyway. Personally, I’m thinking if you have crossed a desert with a camel and it isn’t drinking its weight in water at the first oasis you find, you probably got conned by the merchant who sold you said beast in the first place – more fool you. Also, stop using camels; there’s
plenty of all-terrain vehicles to choose from nowadays. Anyway, I’m pretty sure the meaning to this saying is basically ‘make sure you have your fill when you stop for a rest, as you will need those reserves for later when you have more hard work to do.’
credit: leavingcer tbiology.net
your room are just as impor tant as the Unless I somehow got my wires crossed, The night time daytime, and will have just as dramatic an this classic phrase (or, at the very least, my conditions in your impact on your harvest! interpretation of it) is exactly what your room are just plants will be doing come night-time in as impor tant as Water is still ‘taken up’ by your plant durpreparation for the demand of the daily the day time, and ing the night hours, and without the usual grind (transpiration). Many parameters in demand from the oppressively greedy stothe environment above ground will affect will have just as transpiration, just as the conditions below dramatic an impact mata during the day, it wisely chooses to store this water ready for tomorrow’s onground dictate how much can be supplied on your har vest! slaught. Vacuoles (water storage compar tat any one time. How these two things ments in cells) throughout the entire plant balance themselves (or sometimes don’t), are filled as rapidly as possible before the next day begins though, is one of the key things to understanding a plant, and transpiration rears its ugly head again. For most of the par ticularly in relation to its water use. day, (par ticularly for indoor grow rooms) the light levels and environmental conditions are such that without this store of Go with the flow water, a plant would be unable to transpire effectively, and In a nutshell, it all boils down to the total water ‘usage’ of therefore, photosynthesize and grow. a plant over a 24-hour period. Again, don’t be thinking that your dark hours aren’t impor tant here; they most cer tainly are. They Water uptake & transpiration are responsible (nay, crucial) for a lot of the story, and somewhat ironically, they are oft the most neglected hours of the day by many a grower. “Screw a heater at night, they’ll be fine on the cold concrete floor,” the lazy half of your brain might argue, but do not fall foul to such slothful sins! The nighttime conditions in
73
In a nutshell, it all boils down to the total water ‘usage’ of a plant over a 24-hour period. Again, don’t be thinking that your dark hours aren’t impor tant here; they most cer tainly are.
74
WATER EVERYWHERE
Please, not numbers… The following table has some numbers in it. Don’t be scared. Also, they are not necessarily exact numbers, but more to convey what is going on; close enough for these purposes. These numbers are representative of a plant that is growing in one square meter, in roughly 26 gallons of soil.
So, you can see the table is split horizontally into a 24hour day spread over the night and daytime hours. You have how much the plant transpires in the first row; how much the plant takes up each hour in the second; the third is the difference between those two, and the last row is the accumulated stored water. Firstly, during the night, you can see it doesn’t drink that much less per hour than it does in the day. Slightly less, down to a lower root zone temperature, but surprisingly, nowhere near as much as transpiration reduces. Transpiration pretty much halts, essentially reducing to a slight surface evaporation as the stomata have now all shut tight. You can see the stored water nicely accumulating every hour during the nighttime as you go along the line. Which is good, as when the daytime hours begin, you can see that much more water is transpired than can be supplied by the roots. For tunately, the stored water comes into play and makes up the shor tfall. Most of the time, your plant will have stored enough water to get through all the light hours, although sometimes it doesn’t always run that smoothly.
Many parameters in the environment above ground will af fect transpiration
The nasty-looking red hour at the bottom right of the table (or end of your light hour) is the scenario whereby the plant has been at the limit of its transpiration capacity all day long, working its little green hear t away for you. Alas, now it has run out of stored water at the end of the day. You may well suggest “water it then!” but you would be too hasty my friend. As the char t shows, only an extra 0.08L of water would be available from watering in the last hour, and the difference is almost double that. The only way out of your plants’ wilting, despite an abundance of water in the pot, is to adjust your environment the next day. Do what you can to reduce the amount your plant transpires, firstly, by cooling temps/dimming lights, then by tinkering around accordingly – to be honest, something that would warrant another entire ar ticle. Anyway, hopefully, this little barrage of letters and numbers has conveyed the idea of what is happening (on a fundamental level, at least) and opened your eyes somewhat to the intimate relationship between water and plant. 3
Nico Hill - Hydro Nerd at InfiniteMonkey.com Nico has been a keen gardener for many moons. Bitten by the hydroponic bug back in 1998, and hasn’t looked back since! After many years as a hobby, Nico’s career in Hydroponics had its start working for Aquaculture in Sheffield, the UK’s largest and most forward-thinking grow shops of the time. He was then hired by Hydromag, responsible for the hydroponic content. From there, he has worked with CANNA, as editor of CANNAtalk, author of the research articles, and delivering seminars throughout the UK to grow shops on the finer details of cultivating in a hydroponic environment. Nico is now writing for companies in the hydroponic industry.
Bio
credit: BiologyWise
75
BY EVAN FOLDS
Corporatism, Cannabis, Strain-Specific Fertility & the Future of Agriculture
76
CORPORATISM & AGRICULTURE
What if the primary goal of growing food crops was to nourish people?
T
hat may seem like a strange question, but this is the sad reality of modern agriculture – food is no longer our medicine. Our agricultural system has failed us, and the incentive to grow superior food rests on those willing to take the risk of no reward. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the growing renaissance of the
cannabis plant could help right the wrongs?
Increasingly, agriculture is growing empty food. There is now plenty of published data illustrating the significant loss in nutrient density of staple crops over time. The gradual loss of nutrition in food has resulted in weaker humans that are more susceptible to disease, shown by a growing increase in almost every autoimmune and degenerative condition.
The gradual loss of nutrition in food has resulted in weaker humans that are more susceptible to disease
The dynamics of generating a profit-growing food have forced agriculture into a zero-sum game that ignores quality and maximizes efficiency through consolidation, commoditization, and mono-cropping. Of course, the purpose of a business is to generate a profit, and this simple fact results in all sorts of compromises in logic born out of the responsibility to “answer to shareholders.” There are many examples of this, such as companies discharging pollution into rivers because the fines are less than dealing with the waste responsibly, or Facebook adopting a business model built on advertising and not human connection. In agriculture, this phenomenon manifests in farmers growing crops such as corn or soy at enormous scales that are secured by subsidies, rather than the far riskier effort of growing nutritious food crops.
public for using their buying power to purchase and encourage processed food. Indeed, some estimates say a full 70% of the American diet is made up of foodstuff that is at least partly artificial and designed to sit on a shelf and not spoil. But these are mere symptoms of the larger problem at play in the United States – corporatism.
Corporatism is the organization of society around special interests, rather than the public interest, where corporations hold more influence within our government than citizens. The result of this corporate infiltration is an overarching incentive to value profit over people that effectively removes from the system the motivation and priority to nourish. The same is true with healthcare, better termed “sick care,” where the impetus is to manage symptoms not designed to heal the human. So what are the solutions? One tool at our disposal is the rebirth and growing acceptance of cannabis as a cash crop in the United States. Instead of the “gateway drug,” we should be calling it the “gateway crop.”
The federal government spends more than $20 billion a year on subsidies for farm businesses. Less than half of the 2.1 million farms in the US receive subsidies, with the large majority going to the largest producers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice. There is a strong argument to do away with farm subsidies altogether, but what would it look like if we incentivized farmers to grow food that actually nourishes people?
Cannabis has almost endless functionality as a medicine, food, or clothing. It can be used as a building material, to replace the use of trees for paper, or even in car manufacturing; the list goes on. The prohibition on cannabis over the last century has created a remarkable market opportunity that supports agricultural margins unattainable from other crops. While the gold rush may not last forever, the renaissance of cannabis is presenting a once in a lifetime agricultural opportunity. As the black market matures and the hedge funds get hip, the possibility of making millions growing a plant in this burgeoning market is very real.
It is hard to blame a farmer for growing subsidized crops, so who is responsible for the crisis we are experiencing in agriculture? The answer is complicated and convoluted. For sure, the fault lies in the inability of the government to recognize and prioritize the importance of clean, nutrient-dense food, and with the
But what makes cannabis so interesting to the future of agriculture is more than its usefulness and potential market value as a crop; it is also in the fact that the focus of its agronomy is on the quality of the plant. When growing cannabis, the effort of a seasoned professional grower is not
77
GROW ROOM HYGIENE CORPORATISM & AGRICULTURE
Less than half of the 2.1 million farms in the US receive subsidies, with the large majority going to the largest producers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice
only to produce the highest yield but to maximize the concentration of active ingredients such as CBD or THC in the final product. Because growers actually alter their agriculture to achieve the highest density of active ingredients and then move to verify them in a lab, it provides a model that can be followed with traditional food crops.
This becomes even more interesting when you consider that the varieties of cannabis are, for the most part, clearly identified as individual strains, not unlike a Cherokee Purple versus a Mortgage Lifter tomato. The variation in cannabis genetics is so pronounced and defined that any commercial grower worth their salt has noticed that different strains have different cultural or fertility desires. Maybe the strains like to be fed every other watering versus once a week, or they like calcium to be used with the base fertilizer relative to strains that do not prefer the supplementation, or maybe soil testing shows that varieties pull different nutrient profiles from the one-size-fits-all soil being used. The potentials for variability are endless, but well worth consideration given the potential for increasing market value. I have helped many growers focused on strain-specific fertility in my consulting work. Through living soil methods, activated water tech, base saturation soil testing, and careful documentation of inputs, it is possible to develop and alter the feeding schedule for cannabis strains to positively influence the concentration of active ingredients, improve the value of the crop, and reduce the costs. The
same can be done for any crop; we simply need a way to identify it in the market so the growing methods can be championed. As it becomes more accepted and refined, the future of agriculture will increasingly adopt this type of precision agriculture.
In many ways, the growing acceptance and legalization of cannabis represent a victory over corporatism. No doubt, the countless industries threatened by a legalized cannabis plant have worked to keep it down over the years. But the tides are turning for cannabis and for food. One of the ways that corporatism rears its ugly head is in advertising. Agriculture is BIG business; it may be the largest industry on Earth. When it comes to food, billions of dollars are spent pulling the wool over our eyes, rather than on labels and advertisements to inform consumers. For instance, Big Food lobbies the government to allow the use of the word “natural” on genetically engineered food; and the corporatism rampant in our politics responds by allowing industrial farmers and food processors to double down manufacturing food that is what Vandana Shiva calls “fake cheap.” The reason this coercion is possible is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to measure and evaluate the source and quality of food visually at the point of sale. People complain that “organic” is more expensive, mostly because they have no way of determining its relative nutritional value. The sad truth is that organic certification is not a mandate on healthy food, especially when you consider small local farmers who cannot afford certification. Imagine how the food market
79
CORPORATISM & AGRICULTURE
the renaissance of cannabis is presenting a once in a lifetime agricultural opportunity
would change if we could easily evaluate food for its nutritional value and contamination profile when we are making the purchase. Very soon, this will be possible.
The Bionutrient Food Association has launched the opensource “Real Food Campaign� and is hard at work on developing and releasing what they call the Bionutrient Meter, a $200 handheld device that is capable of detecting the quality of food on-site in real-time. This new technology has the capacity to fundamentally change the dynamics of agriculture for the better by empowering eaters with information, incentivizing farmers to grow the highest quality food, and making the nutritional value of agriculture the central focus. The spectrometer technology that is the backbone of the meter is already established, the trick is in developing a baseline for evaluating the relative nutritional value of food. In other words, what nutrient levels should different kinds of food contain? The Bionutrient Food Association is actively collecting and analyzing soil and plant tissue data from farmers all over the United States in an effort to reveal the spectrum of variation in the food supply and use it to calibrate the database. The work also involves identifying best management practices that produce the highest-quality crops, with the result being a module that allows farmers to use regenerative
methods and follow standard operating procedures to grow the highest quality crops relative to what and where they are growing. These methods may take more effort, and in some cases even up-front expense, but when the market has the ability to evaluate and purchase the resulting quality, then everybody wins. The effort to regenerate our food system must come from an empowered populace driving commerce to the point of our ideals with the intent on removing the corporate players and putting the power in the hands of the people using our imagination, influence, and ingenuity. Even if the ballot box lets us down, we get to vote every time we visit a farmers market, supermarket, or restaurant. Never forget that our buying power plants the seeds for the future of agriculture. 3
Evan Folds is a regenerative agricultural consultant with a background across every facet of the farming and gardening spectrum. He has founded and operated many businesses over the years - including a retail hydroponics store he operated for over 14 years, a wholesale company that formulated beyond organic products and vortex-style compost tea brewers, an organic lawn care company, and a commercial organic wheatgrass growing operation.
Bio
He now works as a consultant in his new project Be Agriculture where he helps new and seasoned growers take their agronomy to the next level.What we think, we grow! Contact Evan at www.BeAgriculture.com or on Facebook and Instagram: @beagriculture
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DR CALLIE SEAMAN
Enc our aging a p l a n t t o gi v e higher y iel d s during v ege tat i v e gro w t h is a b a l a ncing ac t
S teering Pl ant s in t he V ege tat i v e S tage
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STEERING PLANTS
T here a r e re a s ons f or k eep ing a p l a n t in t he v ege tat i v e s tage, s uch a s wa n t ing a mo t her p l a n t t o ta k e cu t t ing s f rom
D
id you know you can steer your plants through their various growth stages? Encouraging a plant to give higher yields during vegetative growth is a balancing act; the conditions have to be just right. But what happens when the perfect balance between the vegetative and generative stages isn’t achieved? And how can you regrow a plant? Yes, you read
that right; regrow and achieve a second crop from that beautiful lady you have lovingly nurtured for 12 weeks.
During a plant’s life cycle, it is said that there are two phases of growth. Vegetative growth is when the leaves and stems grow rapidly. The generative growth stage is when flowers and fruits begin to form. During these two distinct phases of growth, many different biochemical processes take place, which you, yourself, can manipulate to either keep the plant within vegetative growth or push it into the generative phase to produce bumper yields. This is known as steering and can be achieved through changes in nutrition and certain environmental factors, such as light, water, and temperature.
This is known as steering and can be achieved through changes in nutrition and certain environmental factors, such as light, water, and temperature
Let’s first take a look at why plants have two phases of growth before we force them to do something they don’t necessarily want to do! Understanding why quite often helps us to understand how. After germination, plants put all the energy they accumulate from light sources, be it from the sun or artificial, and channel it into producing stems and leaves. The leaves act as solar panels for the plants, harvesting the light through a process known as photosynthesis (but you already knew this!). The leaves are also the sugar factories of the plant, taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and making beautiful carbohydrates that will be used to construct the flowers and fruit in their later life. It is, therefore, important to have an adequate photosynthetic area for
the yields you wish to produce, along with strong, healthy stems that can support the fruit and transport water, nutrients and other molecules around the plant. Having said that, too much vegetative growth can waste energy and increase the risk of disease by hindering air movement. It is, therefore, recommended that leaves not exposed to light are removed. Pinching the third or fourth internodes during early growth also encourages the lateral growth of the plant, helping it produce more of those all-important leaves. A nice, even canopy is key to getting the best out of your plants; it can be achieved by training the plant with netting and string.
Hormones such as auxins encourage this type of growth, helping the roots and stem to form and elongate while also leading to increased cell division. However, like humans, plants are a complex mixture of different chemicals that all interact with one another, so to say auxins are only responsible for vegetative growth would be incorrect. Cytokinins (another plant hormone) also play a part in this type of growth, interacting with auxins to encourage the development of roots and shoots. Both of these hormones also work together in the generative growth stage. There are a number of different parameters that can be used to encourage the shift from one type of growth to another. Table 1 (next page) is adapted from Howard Resh’s (Ph.D.) book Hydroponic Food Production, and summarizes how to encourage more vegetative growth.
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STEERING PLANTS
Parameter Vegetative growth Light cycle (Photoperiodism)
This is the plant’s response to the length of time the plant is exposed to light and is species dependent. It affects dormancy and flowering. Some plants are referred to as long day (18 hours), some are short day (12 hours or less) and others are day neutral (auto flowers). For short day plants, increase light exposure to at least 18 hours to ensure good vegetative growth.
Light wavelength (Photomorphogenesis)
Increase blue light (400-520 nm). Using metal halides or LEDs of this frequency with lower intensities will help keep the plant in a vegetative state.
Irrigation cycle
Keep these frequent and short. Also, start earlier and finish later in the day. Keeping the root zone moist encourages elongation, as water is freely available.
EC of irrigation
Keep this low, anywhere between 0.8-1.4 depending on the varieties you are growing. But generally, keep this on the lower side to discourage flowering, as the nutrition is not available to produce the sugars needed.
Leachate (runoff )
Make sure there is plenty, more than when you are flowering. Also, the EC lowers, indicating that the plant is increasing uptake as it is a little bit hungry.
Nutrition
Increase your nitrogen content and decrease the potassium in your nutrient solution. Nitrogen is a fundamental part of amino acids, the building blocks of the plant.
Temperature difference between night and day.
Keep this smaller, allowing your room temperature to change by only about 5°C during vegetative growth. This will also help prevent the stretching of your plants.
Relative humidity
Keep this higher, at about 70-80%, allowing temperatures to run higher.
Carbon dioxide
Keep CO2 at the lower end (approx. 350-600 ppm). The less carbon available to the plant, the less sugar will be produced.
Pruning
Increase pruning and remove flowers during the early stages to inhibit development. Remember, if 70% of the leaf is covered by others, remove it. Be ruthless, particularly around the bottom of the plant. Remove anything damaged; YELLOW LEAVES ARE A DISEASE PARADISE!
How do you know if you have left your Reverting back to the vegetative state is easily done, plant too long in the vegetative phase? however, remember that patience is a virtue! SimReverting back to the Well, there are a number of different charply follow all of the tips in Table 1. that encourage vegetative state is acteristics to look for. A sure sign is when vegetative growth. After about two weeks of notheasily done, however, you end up having a colossal monster ing happening, you will start to see some changes. on your hands with too many leaves and Deformed signal leaves start appearing, albeit very remember that stems. Once a plant’s leaves start to touch curled. After a couple of more weeks, normal vegpatience is a virtue! the neighboring plant, it is time to put it etative growth will likely resume. into flower. Other signs include long leaves that are light green and soft, along with a mass of long, stretchedThe fact your plant already has an established root network means it will out, thin stems. The fibrous material is great if you are making rope be primed to go into flower and absorb all the nutrients and water you or cloth, however, if it is fruit and flowers that are of interest, the throw at it. At this point, you can either keep it as a mother plant or take minimal amount of stems, the better! more cuttings to save the lineage and then put it into flower. Sometimes, the yield from the second crop can be bigger than the original, however, it There are reasons for keeping a plant in the vegetative stage, such does take time! It would also be advisable to use a root cleaning product as wanting a mother plant to take cuttings from. Due to the higher with enzymes to help break down any dead root material and free up the levels of auxins, such as Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cuttings can be insoluble nutrients in the media. taken from the middle growth section of these plants. Root formation will occur within days if placed in some media and a propagator. Happy steering! Quite often, the mother plant will be starved before taking cuttings in order to stress the plant and increase the auxin levels. No ‘plant cruelty’ hate mail, please! BIO Dr. Callie Seaman is a plant obsessed Formulation Chemist at So, what happens when you have grown the boss of all plants but your cuttings have all died? Do you cry? Call your Dad? Read the dodgy forum that once told you to harvest your own poo and feed it to your plants? Definitely not. What you do is regrow!
AquaLabs – the company behind SHOGUN Fertilizers and the Silver Bullet plant health range. She has been in the hydro industry for 15 years in research development and manufacturing and had previously worked on the VitaLink range. She has a PhD in fertilizer chemistry and a BSc (HONS) in Biomedical sciences and loves nothing more than applying this knowledge to pushing the boundaries of nutrient performance.
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BY STONEY TARK
MAINLINING EXPL AINED
GROWING WITH
SYMMETRY
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GROWING WITH SYMMETRY
Base the number of tops you want on your available growing space
W
hether you grow your plants indoors or out, there are many ways to help your plants adapt to different environments. Mainlining, or manifolding, is a way of training your fruit-bearing plants to grow symmetrically within plant pathways. The benefits of mainlining are that the plants will produce an
even canopy of dense fruits while never growing beyond a certain height. This method of plant training usually results in top-heavy production.
If you have never heard of mainlining or manifolding before, yet are familiar with topping, pruning, and tying down, then this topic will likely make sense to you. In a nutshell, the science behind pruning is that any remaining growth becomes the pathway to receiving nutrients, hormones, and auxins.
A plant left to grow with a primary top shoot and small side branches, in comparison to a mainlined plant, will be totally different. Untrained plants will produce the growth hormone auxin that is responsible for apical dominance. By utilizing the topping technique, the auxin hormone is cut short, resulting in an evenly distributed energy channel. To perform mainlining in your garden, you will need a pair of sterile scissors, plant ties, and a support for the canopy such as a tomato cage, canopy ring, or bamboo canes placed on the outer parts of your planting area. The plant you are working with needs to be quite mature, already on the fifth or sixth internode. So, when the plant has six sets of leaves, then you are ready to perform the first stage of mainlining. Using your sterile scissors, count the third node up from the bottom and cut away from this point. You’re probably reading this and thinking, “hang on a moment...cut half of the plant off?“ Yes. The reason you do this is to make the two tips growing on either side of the freshly cut stem the top priority from now on.
From this stage, you are now going to create a “T” shape by tying down the two remaining shoots and ensuring they face downwards. This is how you create a symmetrical channel for your plant to grow back in.
Base the number of tops you want on your available growing space. To produce eight colas, you will need to top your plants two more times after the first topping. Topping your plants a third time will result in 16 main tops, and a fourth time will result in 32 tops. You can see why it’s so important to not get so carried away. So remember, consider the size of your growing space, your skill level, and the integrity of your equipment. image: grasscity forums
By using a combination of plant training techniques, the end result is a network of pathways that are almost identical in structure, size, length, performance, and integrity. This clever framework will naturally ensure that the upper canopy grows together in a uniform fashion. Once flowered, the plant will grow to a total canopy height of 18-24 inches.
The benefits of mainlining are that the plants will produce an even canopy of dense fruits while never growing beyond a certain height
The plants will respond almost instantly, and the remaining growth on the plant below the two top shoots will need to be pruned and completely cleared. The end result will be a bare main stem that has nothing growing from it apart from the top node, and the two shoots, minus fan leaves.
When your plants are finally close to flowering, you can support them by inserting a tomato cage, canopy ring, or bamboo canes, and firmly attaching your wooden branches to them. Doing this will help support the weight of the fruit, while also improving structure. Mainlining is an excellent way to make the most of your plants and the vegging window, while also growing controllable canopies that always produce top quantity and quality. 3
BIO Stoney Tark is a freelance writer with over 15 years experience in the canna industry. Specializing in plant science, tutorials, how-toguides, top tips, microbiology, breeding and all fundamentals cannabisbased. Living in Amsterdam and the resident writer for Soft Secrets, as well as Hightimes and Garden Culture Magazine. 87
BY TOM FORREST, STEALTH GARDEN SUPPLIES
Stealth Science
W
elcome to Stealth Science! This five-part series delves into plant science to help you understand why a garden flourishes or flops. Over the next five issues, we will discuss the important topics relating to plant biology and physiology, structure and function, covering roots to shoots and everything in between!
For this illustration of plant biology, we will predominantly be discussing angiosperms (flowering plants), as these have evolved into the most common crops we consume today.
The Five Classes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Plant Morphology and Anatomy Water Interactions Plant Food and Ionic Relations Photosynthesis and Phloem Plant Hormones: The control of growth and development
Let’s dive into this fascinating topic! Angiosperms have been around for 1,400,000 years – their evolution is better suited for survival than any other organism on the planet. So, what can we learn from their structure and function? Our first topic will be Plant Morphology and Anatomy, as we take a look at the clever design of the organ system within vascular plants and how this relates to the garden and our own human bodies. Like humans, there are key organ functions required for a plant to fully develop and mature. Florae needs these different organs for food production, anchorage, structural support, and reproduction. All of these organs are comprised of four different types of plant tissue (dermal, ground, vascular or meristematic) that are made up of different types of cells. Let’s start from the outside and work our way in. If you think about the skin on your body, the epidermis is the protective layer around the edge. The same applies to plants, as their epidermis is a waxy, waterproof layer of cells to help protect them from the environment. This dermal tissue forms the external defense for leaves, stems, roots, and fruits!
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As we look further inside, we have the ground tissue that acts as storage, support, filler-cells and also houses the components for photosynthesis. Ground tissue can be divided into three categories based on the nature of their cell walls; (parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma). Parenchyma are larger cells and have thin walls. They’re usually alive and may be used as unspecialized (filler) cells, metabolic centers or storage. They make up the bulk of your stems. Collenchyma have thicker walls and are grouped in strands; they’re like the ‘ribs’ of the plant body. If you think about eating celery at home, the stringy bit is collenchyma. Sclerenchyma is derived from Greek, meaning ‘hard cells’, and it’s usually dead at maturity. Sclerenchyma is used entirely for support alongside the phloem fibres. Collenchyma Looking further into the plant structure, we have the vascular tissue. This is made from bundles of plant superhighways, the xylem and phloem. Imagine this as the transportation network of a plant. Similar to our vascular system in humans, this tissue helps to move water, nutrients and organic compounds to where they are required. As a silly, simple way of remembering the basic role of each type of vascular tissue, say out loud ‘phloem flows food’. image: Quora
Understanding the science behind the art of horticulture ensures we can cultivate beautiful, healthier, and more sustainable crops.
Photomicrograph of a Helianthus stem Key: A-Epidermis B-Vascular bundle C-Pith D-Cortex
Courtesy: By Jon Houseman - Jon Houseman and Matthew Ford, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/ index.php?curid=35811228 Scale=1.4mm.
STEALTH SCIENCE
Plant Morphology and Anatomy 101
The xylem is responsible for the initiation of the ‘transpiration stream’ (we will cover that more in Topic 2: Water Interactions), and it moves water and nutrients in a unidirectional flow (up!). Conversely, the phloem transports organic compounds (such as sugars) in both directions, wherever the plant requires them, generally towards the areas of meristematic plant tissue!
The final type of plant tissue is where plant magic happens! This meristematic plant tissue is the dividing area where new growth occurs at the apical tips of roots and shoots: the tops! The primary meristems are the shoot and root apex (the top and bottom of the plant), whereas secondary meristems allow for secondary growth or girth. These are vascular and cork cambiums and this explains how plants grow thick, woody trunks with many rings. 89
STEALTH SCIENCE
Plant Morphology and Anatomy 101
Courtesy: By Jon Houseman - Jon Houseman and Matthew Ford, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35811226
So, now that we kind of understand what plants are made of, how do they grow? The growth simply involves the division, expansion, and differentiation of the cells we just discussed. The cells stretch, expand, and change form into the required type of cell (to make varying organs), depending on the plants’ current physiological needs or environmental influences. This cell division in the stems and roots occurs in the tips of apical meristem, while behind this zone of division, the newly formed cells grow larger (expansion and elongation) as they differentiate into various tissue types (dermal, ground and vascular). These become the different organs such as leaves or flowers. Primary growth describes this development of roots and shoots, but what about the secondary progress as seedlings develop into thick, woody trees?
This primary and secondary growth is always occurring simultaneously, but at different locations within the plant. However, the primary growth is restricted to the youngest areas of the plant (tips of the roots and shoots), whereas the secondary growth becomes layered, producing wood.
Photomicrograph of a dicot leaf. A-Lower epidermis, B-Lower palisade mesophyll, C-Upper epidermis, D-Upper palisade mesophyll, E- Spongy mesophyll, F-Leaf vein. Scale=0.2mm.
As the stem develops and provides a structurally supportive highway of food and water for the plant, more leaf tissue is required to create additional energy. When a leaf develops, a primordium is first noticeable at the surface of the apical meristem. A primordium is defined as an organ or tissue in its earliest recognizable stage of development. As the cells increase in number and quantity, the leaf expands in size. Marginal meristem growth occurs on the side of the leaf (but from the base of the leaf in monocots), and progression is suppressed in the region that becomes the petiole.
Woody Dicot Stem: One Year Sambucus cross-section, 40x magnification During the first year of growth, the epidermis is stretched laterally by the expansion of secondary xylem, phloem and cambium.
Courtesy: Berkshire Community College Bioscience Image Library
This lateral development occurs from activity in two secondary meristems. The Vascular Cambium adds layers of vascular tissue, and the Cock Cambium replaces the epidermis with secondary dermal tissue (bark, cork etc). By repeated divisions of cambial initials, more xylem and phloem are added as the vascular cambium moves further from the center of the stem.
There are different types of leaf forms (dorsiventral, isobilateral or centric), but most common are bifacial leaves (dorsiventral). These have a structural difference in the upper and lower epidermis relative to the number of stomata and trichomes present. This accounts for the top receiving the most direct sunlight and exposure to the elements, while the underside of the leaf can provide more structure and exchange gases efficiently into the air. The mesophyll (the layer beneath the epidermis) within a leaf is generally differentiated into palisade or spongy. Interestingly, isobilateral leaves (such as eucalyptus) have symmetrical epidermis and mesophyll tissue, but also have oil glands housed within the center mesophyll layer, which is what gives us the delicious scents from eucalyptus oil! 91
STEALTH SCIENCE
Plant Morphology and Anatomy 101
The most common plants are mesomorphic, which covers a fairly broad range of different environmental conditions
The internal anatomy of a leaf is usually related to the environmental habitat of the plant and the requirements for endurance. Land plants can be categorized into four morphological groups based on the water availability and the dryness of the air in their surroundings. Hydromorphic plants live in a watery environment and usually have stomata on the upper surface of the leaf (such as water lilies). Conversely, xeromorphic plants live in dry conditions and have evolved thick cuticles with sunken stomata to survive. Epiphytic plants are commonly known as ‘air-plants’ and survive in tropical climates with high humidity and rainfall, living attached to other plants or objects and absorbing nutriment from the atmosphere.
The most common plants are mesomorphic, which covers a fairly broad range of different environmental conditions. Their leaf veins (vascular bundles) permeate the ground tissue of the dermal system, giving us a beautiful range of leaf patterns. The anatomy of mesomorphic leaves is designed to function optimally for water uptake and gas exchange in photosynthesis, but we will talk more about that in Topic 4: Photosynthesis and Phloem. Hopefully, this quick article has given you an insight into the structure of plants and their different organ features. The most important feature to understand for all of our flowering or fruiting plants is their accessibility and usage of water. In the next issue, we will look further into this crucial relationship: the transpiration stream and how plants can perform miracles with H2O! 3
BIO Founder of Indicated Technology Pty Ltd, Tom is a certified horticulturalist and paid consultant working in the Australian medical cannabis industry. After finishing studies in production horticulture (hydroponics) and plant biology; Tom has spent the past 6 years working in the protected cropping space. Tom is passionate about sustainable yet economic cultivation methodologies and also teaches cannabis cultivation as part of university and private education programs. Tom is also the Communications Manager for Stealth Garden wholesale supplies. 93
BY PETER BAAS, PHD, COLIN BELL, PHD, KARUNA CHOURAY, PH.D.
How Do
Microbes Help During
Vegetative Growth?
S
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oil microbes are AMAZING in many ways… and if you ask cultivators why soil microbes are AMAZING, they’ll say it’s because microbes HELP PLANTS GROW!
MICROBES IN VEGETATIVE GROWTH
plants rely on the symbiotic relationships with soil microbes to boost early plant development
Over the past decade, scientists have significantly advanced beneficial microbial technologies for use in agriculture. These innovative biological solutions have proven to successfully help cultivators increase cannabis health, quality, and yield. In this article, we will specifically discuss how soil microbes interact to enhance plant vegetative growth. In nature, early stage vegetative growth is critical for plant survival. This is mostly because the quicker growing plants are able to out-compete neighboring plants for light (i.e. energy used to grow). In agriculture, vegetative growth is most important because a well-developed and healthy plant structure is able to support maximum flower development and yield potential.
Rhizobium root nodules
2.
Growth cycles can be broadly categorized into three stages: • • •
Early Rooting Vegetative Flowering
In early vegetative growth stages, plants are mainly focused on allocating nitrogen resources toward roots and stems as quickly as possible. Nitrogen is very important for earlystage plant vegetative growth because there are many cellular components that require large quantities of nitrogen. Importantly, soil microbes can be synergistically recruited by newly-formed roots, where they mobilize essential nutrients for plant uptake. Soil microbes interacting in the rhizosphere can influence vegetative cannabis growth in three primary ways: 1. Many bacterial groups help break down compounds into plant available nitrogen (ammonium) through a process called N mineralization. Other bacterial groups facilitate a process called nitrification, which converts ammonium into nitrate. This can be useful in
3.
image: http://bioscriptionblog.com
Applying the natural power of soil microbes in cannabis cultivation can maximize early stage vegetative grow th
agriculture to minimize a toxic buildup of ammonium in the soil and substrate. Other bacterial groups (including Rhizobia, Azospirillum, and Azotobacter) can extract nitrogen out of thin air (i.e. nitrogen fixation) and deliver to plant roots. However, N fixation is a very energy-intensive biological process and can only occur in the absence of oxygen. Thus, N fixation is not prevalent in aerated environments (most growing environments) or in the presence of other more readily available nitrogen sources. Beneficial soil microbes can produce enzymes which naturally reduce toxic shock to plants in stressful conditions. Other microbial groups can enhance early root and shoot development by producing plant-growth signaling molecules. Although plants naturally produce these important signaling molecules themselves, they often cannot allocate enough energy to produce ample quantities of these molecules during vegetative growth stages. Therefore, plants rely on the symbiotic relationships with soil microbes to boost early plant development. Lastly, some soil bacteria produce organic compounds (VOC’s) which act as deterrents against pathogen attack and provide immunity to the young plants.
Applying the natural power of soil microbes in cannabis cultivation can maximize early stage vegetative growth. Cannabis plants (along with most other plants) need microbes to help naturally maximize nutrient bioavailability which significantly regulates plant quality and yield metrics. Specialized soil microbes can enhance plant N uptake – allowing plants to quickly establish robust root and shoot systems. Likewise, different soil microbial assemblages can be progressively used to optimize plant success across all the different plant growth stages. Next generation microbial technologies represent effective and sustainable solutions that cultivators can use to achieve desired crop quality and yield. 3
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Seaweed’s
Superfood Status
I
t’s being touted as a ‘superfood’, and there’s no wonder; seaweed is not only good for our bodies, it’s good for the
#FERTILZERFORTHEFUTURE
#FERTILZERFORTHEFUTURE
environment too! It can be used in just about anything,
from salads and soups to sushi and smoothies. Incorporating seaweed into your diet provides a plethora of health benefits, including a reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes, better thyroid function, and higher levels of good bacteria to nourish your gut. Antioxidant-rich and high in vitamins and minerals, ‘sea vegetables’ are said to also lead to weight loss. A report by Allied Market Research finds the global seaweed market could be worth $9 billion by 2024! It’s already wildly popular in Asia-Pacific countries, but Westerners have been slower to add it to their grocery carts. That will likely have to change; with the UN pegging the world population at 10 billion by 2050, the demand for food and pressure on the land will be overwhelming. Seaweed is incredibly fast-growing, with some varieties gaining 24 in. (61 cm) per day - much faster than traditional crops grown on land. Scientists and environmentalists say it doesn’t need fertilizer or freshwater to grow, and that it also drinks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while also counterbalancing ocean acidification. Seaweed: a ‘superfood’, indeed. Sources: Huffington Post: bit.ly/huffingtonpost-seaweed Healthline.com: bit.ly/healthline-seaweedbenefits The Diving Almanac: bit.ly/2NcZJu7 3
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