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nearly € 700,000. The young lady spent four hours behind bars and was reported for cannabis possession. At least, this is the official version of the story.
POLISH CANNABIS
BORN TO THE CULTURE There are many reasons people use drugs some folk do it because they’re bored, some are self-prescribing against various ailments or insecurities and some are simply trapped in old habits. There are, though, a growing number of souls for whom the drug culture is all they know; we’re talking about the people who’ve been born in to it. SSUK is proud to present this reflective and philosophical interview with ‘Bob’, a 37 year old English guy who was born in to the drug culture… ››
40 activists were arrested during a promarijuana demonstration held on 28th May in the centre of Warsaw, 28 of them for cannabis possession and 12 for launching eggs and bottles at the police. Obviously, the police force hadn’t been informed that just a few days previously, President Komorowski signed an amendment according to which the possession of “small quantities” of marijuana is no longer grounds for an automatic arrest. The nearly 6,000 demonstrators’ demands were more specific: making the possession of 30 g and 3 plants of marijuana for personal use legal and liberating all prisoners sentenced for cannabis possession.
SOUTHERN GROWING, PART 2 This month we continue with “Southern Growing”. The last time Smokedout documented the growth of the 150W HPS light with an electronic Ballast that are supposed to be the equivalent of around a 300w HPS. Although the plants grew fairly well under these lights for around the first 4 weeks of flowering, they still lacked a certain amount of intensity which was clearly visible come harvest time! ››
DEO, NO! ners decorated with pro-marijuana symbols been unrolled than military police began aiming smoke candles, tear gas and rubber bullets at the fewer than 1,000 marchers. Several uninvolved bystanders who were also injured during the police’s brutal intervention.
People who regularly carry large quantities of weed in their cars know that an odour they hardly notice anymore is, for others, an undeniable stench. Therefore, deodorizers and air-fresheners are a constant accessory for people who transport weed,
PROSTIGROW
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Issue 5 - 2011
BULLETS HALT MARCH FOR MARIJUANA Publicly expressing your support of the legalization of marijuana appears to be verboten in Brazil. When activists asked for a regular authorisation for the socalled Marcha da Maconha (march for marijuana), the mayor of Rio de Janeiro refused immediately. This denial gave the organization the idea of getting around the problem by changing the demonstration’s theme to “freedom of expression”. However, on 21st May it was clear that freedom of expression is given very little space in Brazil. No sooner had the ban-
Jenny Thompson is the typical example of a person who becomes a celebrity not because of what they do, but who they do it with. The English call-girl/prostitute recently met with that fool of a footballer, Wayne Rooney, for the reasonable sum of € 1,300. The reason the British public was so disgusted by the well-paid “star fucker” is that Rooney’s wife was pregnant at the time. Apparently, though, the scandal also cost Ms. Thompson some of her clients; at the beginning of June, she was arrested in front of a cannabis plantation at her parents’ home, worth
but sometimes they can exaggerate, like American John Mignana, who was carrying some cocaine and an enormous amount of cash as well as 20 kg of marijuana. The police officer who pulled him over for driving 8 km/h over the speed limit expected just to give him a speeding ticket. Instead, the strength of the scent given off by the dozens of deodorizers that Mignana had hung all over his car nearly made the police officer faint. Mignana will certainly be sentenced to a few years in prison.
450 EURO PER GRAM The saying is that one man’s medicine is another man’s poison. 53-year-old Teresa Sheridan from Oregon, on vacation in Bermuda (part of the British Commonwealth), knows how true that is. Continues on page 3
3 Continued from front page
Genetic background: BlueBlack x Maple Leaf Indica x White Rhino Type: Indica / Sativa: 90% - 10% THC: 15 -20% CBD: 1,6% CBN: 0,6% Indoor yield: 400 – 500 gr/sq m Outdoor yield: 350 - 600 gr/plant Indoor flowering: 8-9 weeks Outdoor harvest: end of September, beginning of October This variety’s flavour is as sweet as caramel candies and very intense, due to the molotov cocktail of Indicas it contains, with hints of earthiness that come from the cross with the Blue variety. The plant’s structure is typical of most Indicas: ideal for indoor growing, large buds in the centre and several side branches. Varieties of this kind are usually favourites amongst cannabis consumers for medicinal uses, as chemiotypes with high THC levels and sufficient CBD to induce feelings of relaxation and anti-depression. Photo: Sweet Seeds
Cream Caramel
The sniffer dog at customs on the island found a rolled-up sock containing a) two small bags of coffee and b) one small bag of weed (3 grams) hidden in her groin area. According to the judge, the place Ms. Sheridan hid the weed and her attempt to mislead the dog with coffee prove premeditation in breaking the law. The penalty: a € 1,350 fine to pay on the spot. Ms. Sheridan’s defense was that she uses marijuana as an antidepressant, but the judge did not reverse his ruling.
590 of them due to drug-related crimes. When the South African members of the United Nations asked certain critical questions, the Iranian government stated their willingness to allow dealers to freely export their disgusting merchandise towards Europe if it would improve the country’s reputation. They had better introduce new forms of popular entertainment (public executions are a much appreciated show in Iran).
HIGHANAIR The Belgian branch of the Ryanair airline has become obsessed by cannabis. “A paramedic comes from Ireland every week to administer drug tests to all flight attendants,” complains an anonymous employee to the Walloon newspaper
A NOOSE AROUND THE NECK... An executioner’s job in Iran represents a good career with excellent future prospects. 126 people have already been executed for drug-related crimes, and 300 more await the same fate. According to a British report on human rights, 388 criminals were hung in 2009, and there were 650 executions in 2010, L’Avenir. These tests used to be carried out twice a year, while now they are administered every week. According to a Ryanair spokesperson, the reason is “passenger safety” and, in any case, the possibility has always been mentioned in contracts. Even Belgian Secretary of Transportation, Etienne Schouppe, finds the harshening of these inspections “excessive”.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Cream Caramel Readers Letters Products Interview Jorge Cervantes Mila’s Journey Terminator weed Wicked Windowsills Passive hydro Swazi Skunk Laos Jorge Cervantes Column dr. Dee Born into the culture Gut smugglers Ask Ed Southern growing, part 2 Shop reviews Sex Pot
3 6 11 15 19 21 22 25 28 30 34 36 39 43 45 53 57 62
PAGE 3 GIRL DEAR SOFT SECRETS PRODUCT FLASH INTERVIEW FILM REVIEW DR. JOHN DEE INDOOR GROWING HAND OVER HYDRO WATERING GROW REPORT TRAVEL GROW WITH JORGE OPINION HUMAN INTEREST REPORT ED ROSENTHAL GROW REPORT REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW
5 Readers Stuff Just thought your readers may like to see this photo, it demonstrates what a tenacious little plant cannabis can be. It was spotted at the bottom of a 15 floor tower block just 5 feet from where i park my motorcycle, the seed was obviously dropped from a window, but from which floor is unknown! as i ride my mc on a daily basis i am rather supprised that i did not spot it before, it appears to be several weeks old and rather healthy for a plant growing from a crack in the paving, it had a southerly aspect, soaking up the sun from approx 11:00 am to about 15:00 pm. unfortunatly the local plod are frequent visitors to the estate so i thought it best to remove the little lady from the pavement and consign it to the bin to save any unnecessarry busts from going down! hope this makes your pages ANDY A sad end to a poor orphaned street urchin. Sleep well little one, maybe someday people won’t persecute you for being what you are.
Attention Readers! Fancy a FREE packet of FEMINISED seeds from DINAFEM? Then send us a picture of your grow room or best cannabis plant, including a visible copy of Soft Secrets, and we’ll send you 3 seeds. Should your photo happen to feature your beautiful wife or girlfriend wearing a sexy microbikini or super hot lingerie, you will receive 6 seeds. Photo of the Month will even receive 9 prime quality feminised seeds. With compliments of Soft Secrets and DINAFEM! E-mail your entries to SSUK@softsecrets.nl or send them to our PoBox. NOTE: All entries are handled with the utmost discretion. We don’t publish out of focus pics, and we don’t like photos of plants in veg stage. It’s fat buds & sweet babes we want to see!
PoBox 17250, 1001 JG, Amsterdam, Holland E-mail: SSUK@softsecrets.nl This is our very first ever attempt at growing any type of weed plant. Had a four pot set up, in 7 half litre tubs with 650 watt light in a cupboard measuing 22inch long by 18 deep. We grew 2 freeze cheese 89’ and 2 cheesy dicks! With alot of help from your paper, friends and research, after hanging them we got a whooping 24 and half oz dry! Mad thing is we even had to chuck over 2 oz due to bud rot!, so we could of ended up with a better yield still, but for a first attempt of growing we still ended up with 24oz and a half oz. So here is a pic of my very proud missis tending to our crop! You should be proud of both the plants and the Mrs. Fantastic first grow, you obviously did your homework before you got started. Sounds like you have a taste for cheese. Next time consider trying a citrus or fruity flavored cultivar as well, so add variety to your stash. Controlled humidity and good air circulation is key to preventing bud rot, consider adding a fan to your space.
Dear SS I have Been Reading your paper pritty much since it began in the UK, I am now living in Barcelona so I trend to download the UK issues as well as taking the spanish issues. I was in ibiza this week and picked up UK issues 3 witch made me happy!!! Anyway here are some photo of my first mini grow out in spain in a cuboard in my house as there are no safe space out side. I kitted out a 1 metre q by 2 metre high waredrobe with a 400 watts cool tube and the standard kit, I grow 2 Blue Cheese and 2 Yumbolt 47 from clones. I only Used (Black Gold) grow and bloom, (Bionova) Missing Link and (Atami) bloombastic, so I ended up with 180 grams of A1 buds and the rest I saved for making hash. I am about to start my next grow in a small grow box with a sea of green around 10 small plants. BEN Readers can download issues in several languages free of charge at www.softsecrets.nl. It’s a shame that you live someplace so oppressive that you can’t grow outside, but great use of cabinet space! Remember when starting a sea of green, either use clones or feminized seeds, or start twice as many as you want to end up with so you can cull the males.
6 ANONYMOUS Great fence for the plants from the dogs. Large dogs can devastate a garden with a few well placed bounds. Looks like you could turn it into a cold frame easily enough with a bit of clear plastic.
SCOTTNBABE Babe looks very nice, but hard to see much of your plants in the photo. It looks like they may be a bit overcrowded.
This my second time 3 weeks before havest had a problem 1 week into flower with mites so you can still see the leaf damage but it wear still a nice smoke hope to have a better go next time MICK Spider mites thrive in hot, dry conditions, and underwatered plants are particularly susceptible. Misting plants can help raise the local humidity, or better yet use garlic water with a couple of drops of dishwashing soap.
This is my first grow way cheese x i used canna coco pro plus with perlite canna coco A+B and Atami B.cuzz bloom booster I cant wait for my next one ive got the bug your mag has help me out with probs in the start now I look forwand to it coming out. Well done on a successful first grow! Be careful the tops don’t get too hot from the light, and keep up the good work.
MADE IN THE UK
PLUS
PLUS
8 Shogunjimmy here from Glasgow, thought I would share some of my pics of my buds in the pics we have a selection of buds from AK-47, Chronic and POPs. These where grown using ebb and flow. The final yield was just under 24oz using 800watts HPS. The pics are about the 6th week of flower, using Advanced Hydroponics of Holland nutrients. SHOGUNJIMMY
Am a grow shop owner (and stockist of your paper) in north London/Herfordshire border and spotted what I believe to be a sativex field/ taxed Mary Jane less than 300 metres from my shop. Smelt good but buds looked odd. Minimal THC I’d guess but fun pics anyway CHOPPER81 Thanks for sharing that with us dude. Funny how often government morals seem to depend on who profits.
They look like they know how to grow them big in Glasgow, Shogun.This bud is a real beauty. Don’t smoke too much of that at once, or you’ll forget where you put your drink.
Hi, here are my two beauties, Green Spirit revert and my gorgeous girlfriend. My Green Spirit plant is a 12 month revert grown in soil ina 50 litre tub using Canna products,Boost and PK13/14 under two 600 watt Hps, yeilding after 10 weeks flower 16 oz ANONYMOUS Nice example of what can be done with a single pinched plant in a small space. Very similar shape to a screen of green, without the screen. Green Spirit is a high yielding Big Bud x Skunk cross.
FROM A SPANISH READER
® Best Seeds Bank EXPOcannabis 2007
Best Seeds Bank Spannabis 2008
New Strains 2011
Black Jack
®
Cream Caramel
Auto
1HZ DXWRÀ RZHULQJ RI RXU VWUDLQ Black Jack. Result of the cross breeding of our S.A.D. Auto with our Jack Herer Auto. Automatic of superior quality, with dense buds and big resine production, with a sweet and PXVN\ LQWHQVH DURPD TXLFN À RZH ring, strong effect and a big strong hybrid.
$XWRÀ RZHULQJ THC: 19% CBD: 1,1% CBN: 0,3% Indoor Blooming: 6 weeks. Indoor / Outdoor Harvest: 9 weks from germination. Height: 40-110cm. AUTO 3 seeds 24€ / 5 seeds 40€ 10 seeds 80€
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New autoflowering of our strain Cream Caramel. Result of the cross breeding of our best auWRÀ RZHULQJ JHQHWLFVV RI &UHDP Caramel. Automatic of superior quality, with dense buds and big resine production, with a sweet and musky intense aroma, quick À RZHULQJ VWURQJ HIIHFW DQG D ELJ strong hybrid.
New autoflowering of our strain S.A.D. S-1. Result of the cross breeGLQJ RI RXU EHVW DXWRÀ RZHULQJ JHQH tics of S.A.D. S-1. Automatic of superior quality, with dense buds and big resine production, with a sweet and musky intense aroma, quick À RZHULQJ VWURQJ HIIHFW DQG D ELJ strong hybrid.
$XWRÀ RZHULQJ THC: 18% CBD: 1,6% CBN: 0,4% Indoor Blooming: 5 weeks. Indoor / Outdoor Harvest: 8 weeks from the germination. Height: 40-90cm. AUTO
$XWRÀ RZHULQJ THC: 18% CBD: 1,4% CBN: 0,4% Indoor Blooming: 5 weeks. Indoor / Outdoor Harvest: 8 weeks from the germination. Height: 40-90cm. AUTO
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3 seeds 20€ / 5 seeds 33€ 10 seeds 66€
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First genetic evolution of BigDevil. )HPLQLVHG DXWRÀ RZHULQJ YDULHW\ and high-class, in response to the demand of our customers that UHTXHVWHG ODUJHU VL]HG DXWRÀ RZH ring we selected this gene, which reaches a height of 1-1.5 m. More productive and more aromatic than its previous version, and compact resinous buds with numerous side branches. Sweets and incense aromas with hints of Skunk.
First evolution of the Fast Bud geQHWLFV $XWRÀ RZHULQJ VWUDLQ RI JRRG yield with big buds with plenty aromatic resine. New strain more productive and aromatic. It produces very strong and plenty lateral brances, that reach a height between 40 and 90 cm. Strong effect and sweet aromas with exotics shades coming from its Diesel legacy. $XWRÀ RZHULQJ RI YHU\ IDVW À RZHULQJ
$XWRÀ RZHULQJ THC: 19-20%. CBD: 1,1%. CBN: 0,3%. Indoor Blooming: 6 weeks. Indoor / Outdoor Harvest: 9 weeks from the germination. Height: 100-150cm. AUTO
$XWRÀ RZHULQJ THC: 17%. CBD: 0,8%. CBN: 0,4%. Indoor Blooming: 5 weeks. Indoor / Outdoor Harvest: 7 ½ weeks from the germination. Height: 40-90cm. AUTO
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10 seeds 84€
3s. 19,90€ / 5s. 33€ 10s. 66€
Blue Black x Maple Leaf Indica x White Rhino
1st Price Indoor Bio Cannabis Champions Cup
Black Jack S. A.D. S.1 Sweet Afgani Delicious ®
Black Domina x Jack Herer
Jack 47
®
Jack Herer x Ak 47
Black Domina Self-Pollination
Indica/Sativa: 90%-10%
Indica/Sativa: 50%-50%
3 s. 24€ / 5 s. 40€ 10 s. 80€
3 s. 19,50€ / 5 s. 32,50€ 10 s. 65€
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Ice Cool
®
Indica/Sativa: 40%-60%
3 s. 33€ / 5 s. 55€ 10 s. 110€
3 s. 29,30€ / 5 s. 48,80€ 10 s. 97,50€
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Cheese x Black Jack
Indica/Sativa: 90%-10%
Indica/Sativa: 30%-70%
Indica/Sativa: 60%-40%
3 s. 29,70€ / 5 s. 49,50€ 10 s. 99€
3 s. 19,50€ / 5 s. 32,50€ 10 s. 65€
®
Indica/Sativa: 30%-70% 3s. 17,50€ / 5s. 29€ / 10s. 58€
Wild Rose
®
Indica/Sativa: 35%-65% 3s. 21€ / 5s. 35€ / 10s. 70€ ®
Indica/Sativa: 40%-60% 3s. 21€ / 5s. 35€ / 10s. 70€
Indica/Sativa: 40%-60% 3s. 19,50€ / 5s. 32,50€ / 10s. 65€
Cream 47
®
Mohan Ram
Cream Caramel x AK 47
®
Indica/Sativa: 50%-50%. Indoor Blooming: 9 weeks. Outdoor Harvest: Beginning October.
Indica/Sativa: 85%-15% 3s. 20€ / 5s. 33€ / 10s. 66€
Ganesh Spirit Flash Back#2 Psicodelicia Botafumeiros ®
Indica/Sativa: 70%-30%
3 s. 22,50€ / 5 s. 37,50€ 10 s. 75€
White Widow x Great White Shark
3 s. 24,90€ / 5 s. 41,50€ 10 s. 83€
Sweet Tai
®
Secrets Ingredients
Indica/Sativa: 25%-75%
Snow Fruit Sweet Cheese Double White
Big Price Drop!
Green Poison
NYC Diesel x Nafarroa Diesel
Indica/Sativa: 90%-10%
Secrets Ingredients
AUTO
3 seeds 24€ / 5 seeds 40€ 10 seeds 80€
10s. 58€
3 s. 18,50€ / 5 s. 30,50€ 10 s. 61€
®
$XWRÀ RZHULQJ THC: 18%. CBD: 1,1%. CBN: 0,5%. Indoor Blooming: 5 weeks. Indoor / Outdoor Harvest: 2 months from the germination. Height: 70-80cm.
3s. 14,90€ / 5s. 24,80€ 10s. 49,60€
®
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First evolution of the genetics of Speed Devil, developed during the 2009-2010 season. In this version of the Speed Devil, has been increased the average size of the plants that reach around 70-80 cm. In this version ZH DOVR ¿ QG D ELJJHU IRUPDWLRQ of se in crystals with an aroma much more intense, sweet and PXVN ZLWK À DYRUV WKDW UHPLQG to yeast and cheese.
3 seeds 19,50€ / 5 seeds 32,50€ 10 seeds 65€
*Big Devil #1
1st Price
Speed Devil #2
®
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3 seeds 22€ / 5 seeds 36,50€ 10 seeds 73€
®
Indica/Sativa: 30%-70% 3s. 19,50€ / 5s. 32,50€ / 10s. 65€
®
Indica/Sativa: 25%-75% 3s. 26,50€ / 5s. 44€ / 10s. 88€
3 s. 28,50€ / 5 s. 47,50€ 10 s. 95€
A Masterfu
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C/ Dr. Nicasio Benlloch nº36-38 · 46015 · Valencia · España · +34 963 890 403 · +34 963 473 730 (Wholesalers) · Fax +34 961 934 843
Sale prohibited to people under 18 years old. Seed for coleccionist use exclusively. It´s ilegal to make them germinate. They´re not for agriculture purposes. Consult laws about cannabis aplied in your place of residence. Sweet Seeds will not be acountable for ilegal use of this seeds done by third parties.
11
PRODUCT FLASH COCO NOVA
THE HARVEST MASTER
Mineral A/B-coconut substrate fertilizer
We all want bigger, healthier and higher yielding crops, there are a million theories to achieve this. Try Mother Nature - Copy a place that grows the biggest, lushest crops on earth then emulate. Just like the jungles of Borneo, fast cropping, lush plants are more likely in jungles!
Coco Nova A/B fertilizer is the most simple solution for cultivating on cocofiber slabs. One of the reasons which makes its application so easy is the combination of nutrients for growing and flowering within one product; two bottles/ vessels is all you need for the entire growth. This fertilizer is free of excess ingredients and contains only minerals plants are able to absorb directly. In other words: Coco Nova A/B is a complete nutrient solution which has the same convenience of synthetic A/B-systems and the quality of the best organic fertilizers. The basis for Coco Nova is Nutri Nova. All minerals are of a “Food-Grade”-quality and the trace elements are chelated so that they can be absorbed within a larger pH-range. Especially for the coconut substrate, various elements have been added to this A/B-fertilizer, which guarantee an optimal growth and flowering on coconut slabs, in particular in the case of re-use. Make sure that the slabs are free of diseases, plagues or viruses in case of re-use. The application of these fertilizers is fairly easy and restricts itself to measuring off the proper amounts of A and B and mixing them into the water one at a time. After the mixing, it might be necessary to adjust the pH to 5.8 (5.5-6.5) by means of phosphoric acid. (check the pH-meter once a month by means of the proper pH tester)
High temperatures are commonplace for growers; good climate control reduces the stress of high temperature, making an increased yield opportunity. Plants grow in less time at higher temperatures. Keeping the balance of temperature with other aspects of climate to maximize plant comfort is where Harvest Master comes in: 1. Day/Night cycles match plant growth stage 2. Plant metabolism rises with temperature: optimum CO2 concentration to feed cell growth is sustained 3. Maintains high humidity to match temperature, for wide open stomata increasing CO2 and nutrient absorption whilst reducing transpiration rate 4. CO2 is the food of plants - Nutrients the vitamins, feed the plant 1st Harvest Master climate controllers manage light, temperature, humidity and CO2. The Harvest Master replicates the perfect organic environment. High yielding, fast cycling harvests are repeatedly achieved by novice growers using the Harvest Master series Harvest Master is available at good stores or contact the distributor CleverGreen.co.uk
JOIN PLAGRON ON FACEBOOK AND KEEP UP WITH THEIR LATEST NEWS AND TIPS!
Coco Nova is the best coconut fertilizer available on the market today and excels comparable nutrients. Therefore, cultivating with Coco Nova leads to top results, especially when the other factors (light, air, and plant material) are optimal as well.
Plagron has recently started its own Facebook account: www.facebook.com/plagron. In this way Plagron keep “friends” of Plagron informed of the latest news and developments, their products and growing in general. Stay up to date and become a “friend” of Plagron by clicking on the “ like” button on their page.
DOSAGE: 400-500 ml. per 100 litres of water. In the first week of the growth a small dosage suffices. Build up from 200 ml. to 400 ml. during that period. From the second week, the maximum dosage should be applied. When you are re-using coconut slabs, it is recommended to first do a EC-measurement to determine the initial dosage.
How does it work? 1. Create an account on www.facebook.com 2. Login with your account information on www.facebook.com 3. Type in the search field “Plagron” 4. Click “like” (left on the page)
When the recommended nutrients are used, a TOP result is secured.
From that moment all updates will appear automatically on your bulletin board.
The use of K-20 from the fourth week onwards is highly recommended. BN Coco Nova can be applied to the majority of coconut slabs.
Do you have any questions? Do not hesitate to contact the Plagron service desk: servicedesk@plagron.com or call 31 (0) 495 63 15 59. Pass it on!
www.bionova.nl
www.plagron.com/new
From just plain simple to highly sophisticated, all Bio Nova ways are incredibly effective.
You decide which way to grow!
Would you like to grow things, but lack a green thumb? No problem! Use The Basic Way and be overwhelmed by the success of your effortless input! Are you a passionate grower who wants high quality? Use The Dedicated Way of growing, it will blow your mind! Or are you that perfectionist, who knows exactly what he is doing and why? The Professional Way will be your path to ultimate satisfaction!
www.bionova.nl | Distributors United Kingdom: Mariner Packaging Company Ltd. - Progrow Scotland
Your green companion in every way!
12 ATAMI 2011 Atami did enter the hydroponic market in 1997 as one of the first manufacturers of B’cuzz stimulators and developed this into an entire range. During all these years the B’cuzz label underwent some small changes, but after 14 years Atami decided it was time to give the B’cuzz label a much needed make over. Since Atami didn’t stop developing over the years it was time to restyle our B’cuzz labels for a more modern look, a look that suits Atami, fresh and renewing. Of course we can’t let this happening being unnoticed and we would like to let you know our refreshed B’cuzz range will be available in your garden centre from September on.
POWER GENERATOR PACK: MORE QUALITYMORE QUANTITY-MORE SAVINGS! These are the three key words in the research carried out by TOP GROWER FERTILIZER, who in the past 7 years have studied the perfect plant symbiosis, launching this complete and innovative line – from the richness of its high-quality components, which represent the simplest solution for any grower (whether expert or novice), also thanks to the unique quality/price ratio. ACTI-GO: Complete activator with 4% nitrogen, glomus-type mycorrhizae, rhizosphere bacteria and yeast extract produced by brown algae to allow a natural increase in growth and pathogen resistance.
SAME QUALITY NEW LOOK
BLOOMBASTIC STARTERKIT’S LITTLE BROTHER! All products necessary for 1 entire cycle in 1 box. For all new and small growers Atami has developed the collectionbox which contains it all! The collectionbox is suitable for 2-3 plants on soil or coco. How easy can growing become! In combination with the Ata nutrients and supplements the collectionbox provides excellent growth and flowering results.
THE-COMPLETE: Latest generation fertilizer with all you need to obtain an enviable growth and flowering. The solution’s strong point is the presence of soft phosphate directly from the Gafsa deposits; it makes the solution more environment-friendly and more digestible for the plant. FINAL-YIELD: The name says it all... it contains natural ecklonia maxima and ascophillum nodosum yeasts that not only increase the plant’s production, but also its internal structure. Your plants grow large and strong, and will surely thank you when you harvest them! Highly recommended! www.top-grower-fertilizers.com
The collectionbox contains: Soil: 250 ml Terra Leaves 250 ml Terra Max 60 ml Bloombastic 100 ml Atazyme 60 ml Rootfast Grow guide Atami lighter
Coco: 250 ml Coco Max A 250 ml Coco Max B 60 ml Bloombastic 100 ml Atazyme 100 ml Rootfast Grow guide Atami lighter
www.atami.com
SOFT SECRETS OUT IN ARGENTINA & CHILE! Soft Secrets is proud to announce crossing into Latin America with a local publication, which will be distributed mainly in Argentina and Chile. Both countries are upcoming markets. In 2008, Chile declared the sale of cannabis seeds as legal! Public consumption is generally accepted among young adults. All the products related to growing are allowed; fertilizers, nutrients, L.E.D’s, lamps, closets/home boxes and so on. In 2009 Argentina decriminalized cannabis for personal use if it poses no risk to others. This is a trend in the region of Latin America, that’s why we decided to make the crossing. Distribution of Soft Secrets will take place using grow shops, bars, tobacco shops, festivals and cups. We welcome our new readers in LatinAmerica and wish our local writers all the best in this new Soft Secrets adventure! For more information and advertising inquiries please contact Discover Publisher at info@softsecrets.nl
COCO-BRICK for ± 10 litres of professional coconut substrate This block of compressed coconut results into 10 litres of ready-to-use coconut substrate after adding 4-5 litres of water to it. Furthermore its volume will increase approximately tenfold. As a result of its initial size the substrate is fairly easy to transport. Compared to regular peat substrate (potting soil) coco substrate has a great number of benefits, which are: it is easy to use it has the low EC value of < 0.8 mS/cm it has the ideal pH value of 5.8 it stimulates a perfect root development the coco substrate is not compact which makes it easy to drain it is a light product: 85 kg/m3 (peat substrate weighs 125 kg/m3) coconut has a good and swift water absorption coco substrate can be re-used the use of coconut often leads to a higher yield compared to other substrates This substrate is thoroughly washed out and treated for diseases, vermin and weeds. Moreover, it contains special additives in order to assure a TOP result. INSTRUCTIONS: 1 Fill a bucket or tank with 4-5 litres of water 2 Let one block of Coco Brick swell up in the water 3 Stir the mixture thoroughly after about 30 minutes and you will have approximately 10 litres of ready-to-use substrate. The Coco Bricks are packed per 6 pieces in a carrier bag or per 24 pieces in a box. Use the special Coco Nova fertilization scheme during the growth in order to properly administer nutrients and minerals. www.bionova.nl
15
INTERVIEW INTERVIEW WITH JORGE CERVANTES, GROW GURU
In the summer of 2006, we interviewed Jorge Cervantes, one of the greatest international cannabis experts and contributor to Soft Secrets. Five years later, he doesn’t look a day younger, and still has the same enthusiasm for work and learning. It is always a great pleasure to speak with Jorge Cervantes, not only for his knowledge of the H. Madera cannabis world, but also for his depth as a person. Soft Secrets: What have you been doing since our last interview? Jorge Cervantes: In 2005, I started writing for several magazines; more than 20, actually, most of them new. Biblia Nueva was published in 2006, followed by my first video. 2006 was an important year; things started changing, and – thanks to our success – I realised how central YouTube would become. Many users shared the video right away, which was great publicity for us. In 2007, the Indoor Bible was published here in translation, and an edition in French was published, as well, and I made my second video. The key was being in Spain in that period, because a lot more was going on in Spain than in the United States – it was during the George Bush administration, when you couldn’t do much of anything. Of course, medical laws already existed in several states, but people were afraid, and so things progressed slowly. In the meantime, I had no trouble working in Europe, in countries such as Spain,
be done. When you use flowerpots, you need to know how to care for them, and make sure they don’t get too warm. Soil is also different from place to place; for example, in the Cantabrian area it is much better than in other areas. What do you recommend doing to improve the ground? You can carry out analyses to determine what is missing, but the most important thing is to add organic matter – manure or any compost you can find. Compost and more compost. The main thing is to find life and ensure that it can grow and develop in the ground. This is super important. For example, I recently wrote about a group of young people who grow giant plants. Well, all they add during the growing process is a couple of handfuls of bat guano; the rest is due to the soil’s previous enrichment. . You have to try and make life grow in the ground, and help it develop. The main
JORGE POSING WITH THE PLANTS
you have become very interested in outdoor growing… I actually prefer outdoor growing to indoor growing, it’s the great thing that I learned in Spain. If it weren’t for the law, everyone would cultivate outdoors – it would be great. When I began, 30 years
COMPOST AND MORE COMPOST. THE MAIN THING IS TO FIND LIFE AND ENSURE THAT IT CAN GROW AND DEVELOP IN THE GROUND Holland and Sweden. It was a constant learning experience; we were quite free to visit fields and gardens, there was not much control. I worked a lot, and worked hard… How old are you? That is quite a work rhythm to maintain… I’m 57 years old. Most people my age don’t work as much as I do, it’s true, but I am surrounded by young people all day, and they inspire me. Young people have a lot of strength and energy. What have you learned about outdoor growing in the past few years? That both the ground and the water are terrible in Spain. It is expensive to improve the ground, there is a lot of clay and drainage is very poor, not to mention the dry climate throughout most of the country. The water has a high pH level, and there is too much wind, which makes cultivation more difficult. Most outdoor growers don’t improve the ground, but it needs to
thing is to infuse life into the compost and the soil and maintain it for the whole year, because it can die very easily. When you grow organically, you must be careful never to use chemicals, because they destroy all life in the soil, and it will take a very long time to reach it again. People rely on the products they buy; these products are useful, but not much. The main thing is to know your ground well. A good idea is to start a garden with other types of plants, which you can use as an example for your own garden, If you plant marijuana in one plot and lettuce, tomatoes and peppers in another, these other plants can warn you about any problems there might be before they affect your marijuana plants. You need to use mulch and keep the soil covered with materials, in order to protect the roots and the ground itself. You became famous with your lessons on indoor growing, but now
ago, everyone told me: “Weed planted indoors won’t take.” Now it’s the opposite, people say that indoor weed is better, that it takes better. But actually, both types can be equally good. Why did you return to the United States? I’d spent ten years far from my family, and my children are older now. So, mainly for family reasons. There were also business reasons, of course, especially since Bush left. But in first, second and third place is the fact that I wanted to be with my family; other reasons aren’t as important. If it hadn’t been for my family, I would have stayed in Spain – I like it here. Also, I can help with the crisis; politicians really need help. Did you notice many changes when you returned to the United States? Everything has changed in the States; it feels like a different country. When I left last time, I lived in fear of persecution… and it was certainly not possible
to buy marijuana. When I returned, it had become possible. Buying marijuana legally in the United States was a very emotional moment for me; I didn’t realise how it would feel until I left the shop with my newly-purchased bag; I started trembling from head to foot. It had been illegal my whole life, but not anymore. It was amazing to be able to purchase marijuana with a receipt and everything, a tax-deductible receipt, no less. Buying medical cannabis there for the first time was very, very exciting and moving. All of a sudden, I could plant seeds in my own house. Before, there was a law stating that if you used your home for illegal drug activity, then the house could be seized. Any grower lived in fear of losing their home. Now that law is no longer valid. I can plant my medical marijuana without worrying about losing my house. This represents a great change. However, the former law is still valid in several states; your house can be seized and the money goes to the precinct that catches you. It’s crazy. Have you been planting crops there this whole time? Of course, of course. My wife and I both have a licence for medical use. We began feeling ill as soon as we entered the country, it was a disease, and we had to request a licence to be able to grow and purchase medical marijuana. I must confess that, the first year, I was still afraid to return. You know what
16 they tell you, what the laws say, you know what you see on TV, what you read in the papers, you know what you buy and that you possess the card… but it’s different once you put your own neck on the line, you’re still afraid. Many of our friends have ended up in prison and lost their house because of their crops. It took me several months before I began planting my seeds, I kept making different excuses; I didn’t think it would be like that for me, but it was. After working illegally for years, it’s hard to change gears, even when you have the opportunity. It was hard for me. Once you change, though, it’s a whole different story. Now I am still very attached to marijuana, but I also tend tomatoes – they’re all plants, really. That’s the fun of this job: you can grow marijuana as if it were any other plant. How many marijuana plants can you grow? Where I live, you can have up to six plants per person, so my wife and I can grow twelve plants, total. Does the number vary from place to place? Yes, the number of plants isn’t clearly defined; the amount depends on where you live. In some places, your licence
it, is no longer an option. Now we’re talking seriously; the free market has arrived. I have been studying the costs of producing these large pants, and they around 20%-30% of the final price. This is too high; costs should actually be around 1%-5%. This is the most important change for new and future sellers. The change towards outdoor growing and larger plants is very important, because now growers can obtain much more than before; a good crop can yield a ton of weed. Of course, that’s not enough; afterwards it must be sold, and now everyone and their neighbour has a ton to sell with each crop. A lot of weed! And what are we going to do with it all? The first step is exporting it to a place with money; this is a very common practice, it happens in most markets. Also, the price will decrease, and the stupidity will end.
In California, I’ve met people who were spending between $5,000 and $10,000 in fertilizers for their crops, when $1,000-$2,000 – maximum – would be a fair price. But soon, these farms will begin implementing the normal procedures that the Department of Agriculture could recommend.
You need to place lights on the side, to avoid premature flowering, because these seeds are planted outdoors around March and are harvested at the end of October – they take around eight months to bloom. It is best to use low-consumption fluorescent lights, but remember to break the light cycle to avoid premature flowering. These lights are inexpensive but, for 99 plants, you need to use 99 light bulbs, with the corresponding cables and equipment. You must add an irrigation system separately – pipes, droppers, tank and water pump. Water also costs money, not to
Lots of people consider this unfair; they would prefer a more controlled legalization, in order to maintain more stability in the market. These people also think that they have earned their place, if it becomes legal. They believe that they have learned and struggled a lot in the past 20 or 30 years and so they deserve a place on the mar-
NOBODY LEARNS ALONE, NOBODY KNOWS EVERYTHING, NOBODY IS GOD. THE REAL MARKET IS ON ITS WAY; FOCUS ON THAT, AND YOU’LL BE READY FOR IT allows you to have six plants, in others you can actually plant up to 99. It depends on several factors, and even law enforcement itself isn’t sure. One of the main things is to never exceed those 99 plants, because then it becomes a federal crime, which is very dangerous.
it easier, but there is a limit to the holes you can dig. Others use grow bags and flexible flowerpots (called “smart pots”). They use 200 gallon bags (around 910 litres): They buy soil or create it to fill the flowerpots. The large “smart pot” alone costs $50, not to mention the amount of soil you need to add.
SPRING GROWING WITH EXTRA LIGHT TO AVOID BLOOMING
ket, whereas the “newbies”, the new growers who are showing up as the laws are changing, don’t deserve what’s being given to them.
What’s going on with the US market? How has legalization affected it? There are large fields and plantations. It’s quite similar to Switzerland, where they would also plant large fields and greenhouses. In some places, harvests are huge, and it takes a lot of work to take care of everything and harvest in time.
That is a ridiculous point of view! Why should anyone have “special rights”? Many people think “I know all this, I learned it all – by myself, nobody helped me.” It’s all “me, me, me” for them; but too much ego can blind you. We aren’t special; nobody learns alone, nobody knows everything, nobody is God. The real market is on its way; focus on that, and you’ll be ready for it. Leave the talk to the others, because that’s all they’ll be doing.
I am noticing a lot of difference in prices. For example: two seasons ago, a half kilo cost between $ 3,000 and $4,000; now it costs between $2,000 and $3,000. And prices will come down, too; several people are saving their weed, because they don’t want to just sell it and are willing to wait to sell it for six months or more – but this means that, when they place it on the market, prices will go down.
So, the old prices are too high; prices must be lowered. Nobody wants to, but it will soon be necessary. Things are going to change very rapidly, and the people who realise this are the ones who will come out on top. It’s going to happen and it needs to happen. The market will become cleaner and clearer; the public will choose growers who provide the best quality for the lowest price.
Will this change growing habits in general? Indubitably. Before, you would invest a lot of money in a single plant, but things are changing. A plant that earned you $1,000 two years ago now earns you $600, but two years from now, the same plant will be worth $200 dollars for you. This makes it necessary to be much more efficient in planting. Squandering large amounts on products and fertilizers, just for the sake of
The changes you see are aimed at a better efficiency; but would you summarise how cultivation was in California during the years of expensive weed, when there was no shortage of resources, for us? It’s very interesting, actually. What they do is obtain several cards or licences and then have a large farm for growing. Most of the ground is in bad shape; some growers dig wide, deep holes to make
PARTIALLY GROWN PLANTS
THE PLANTS ARE ENORMOUS COMPARED TO THE CAMERAMAN’S SMALL HEAD
17 mention the time it takes to maintain it; you basically have to pay yourself. All of this requires labour, expense and maintenance. You need to know how to introduce these techniques correctly – it will simplify your work and, in the long run, be less expensive, rather than complicating things. So you see great changes in growing styles? You need to follow the market and be realistic; realise what the market requires, because that’s all there is. New products are well and good, but remember that, for example, a large nursery for normal plants won’t use many products. The conventional agricultural market is not very sophisticated. There is an overdose of products; we use much more than we need, too much fertiliser, for example. Lots of people buy without having a clear idea of what they need. That attitude must change, these growers need to become more efficient. As you tell it, you’re not the only one to have changed gears: many other growers have also lost their fear. That goes without saying. Let me tell you about a friend of mine, for example. He’s Mexican, about my age, a great guy. Before, to reach his field, he had to climb up to it with an engine, hanging off two wheels attached to a cable. Then he had to use a ladder to get back down. Now he lives peacefully in the area nearby, he got a bulldozer to level out the field and uses huge grow bags. In other words, he’s got it all clear. Tell us some more of your outdoor California colleagues’ secrets. One very common practice is to cultivate bit by bit. They carry out two or three cuts for each plant – sometimes even four, with plants like Mr. Nice. As the plant grows, they add wire netting to hold it, usually two layers. They start cutting the tips of the branches over the netting, which is already one or two kilos. Then the remove the top layer of netting and wait a couple of weeks. These buds receive more light and grow enormously, which leads to harvesting an extra kilo or two. Then they remove the lower netting and wait another week, when they collect the last kilo.
Usually, planters stay and smoke these last buds, which are the best ones, with the most resin. A field that yields 120 can yield 200 ponds with this technique – in other words, 40% increase in production. That’s not much if you just have a few plants, but a 40% increase in production – not to mention a much more conveniently distributed harvest – makes a big difference. This is an excellent technique for distributing labour and increasing production.
It is a fact that CBD works very well against inflammation; it also lowers the stoned effect, which most medical users don’t enjoy. Jaime has done a really interesting job and his plants are very high in CBD; they also show a 1-to-1 ratio of THC and CBD. Anything he tells you is a fact; not many other people have observed these aspects before now. It’s important to invest in investigating several things, studying everything!
Will Spain be seeing the same decrease in prices? Spain is beginning to show some symptoms of overproduction, so prices will probably go down a little, but not as
What are your next projects? First of all, I plan to make several videos. I have about five hours of edited material, but would like to double those hours by the end of the year. Videos represent the
in other words, more people have access to information and more people are starting to grow – it’s phenomenal. This is the outdoor special edition; we would like some more advice on outdoor growing in Spain. If you want to grow big plants outdoors, you need to begin germinating; the plants will already be good-sized when you place them in the holes. Artificial light is necessary to avoid the plants blooming in the spring, which is the wrong moment. You need to prepare the soil half a metre deep; I used to think a deeper hole was necessary, but now I’ve realised that half a metre deep and one metre wide are sufficient.
You are a member of several California Cannabis Clubs; how about some advice to people in Spain who would like to start a club in their country. Each country or state has its own laws, which you need to know so you can push them to the limit – but you need to be careful to realise what that limit is, because it’s often difficult to determine. One good thing is that legal action is quite expensive; the ability to negotiate with politicians and changes in government is also important. Money is a card that we need to know how to play. Times are better than ever for us; the economy crisis CERVANTES WITH THE PROUD GROWER OF THIS GARDEN means there isn’t enough money to confront everyone, so that’s why we should be planting more and more. much as in the United States, because future, we are always filming, indoors the previous increase wasn’t as high. and outdoors, in Spain and in California. I also have a request: I would like to be Here in Spain, hashish has always set I want to have more than 10 video hours able to have access to the Spanish clubs the market’s reference price. Hashish ready by the end of the year, I will be with my US membership cards. is cheap, between two to six euro per presenting my own channel: www. gram, depending on the quality, and jorgecervantes.tv. You can also find us on Some advice for an outdoor grower who this keeps the price of all weed low. YouTube; our video with the big plants is would create a large plantation for a club? That’s the mechanism that regulates this very popular, it still receives more than More water. A very typical problem is market. Also, growers have always been 875 hits a day, which is impressive, con- that the plants are thirsty and require quite efficient here, without spending sidering how long ago we posted it. more water. Automated irrigation is the All you have to do to see our videos on best choice if you have a large piece of large sums on unnecessary problems. YouTube is plug in “Jorge Cervantes”. land. Of course, you have to add mulch and consult with neighbouring farmers. Yesterday, Jaime - breeder of Resin Seeds, mentioned to me his impres- Several countries don’t belong to the And make sure the wind doesn’t dehysion that plants with a high CBD level “cannabis circle”, for several reasons: drate your crop. are much more resistant to problems because of their laws, or because it’s not such as infestations. Other people profitable for them to have or import Would you like to add anything, to have said that the CBD level is over- magazines, but the internet is like an round out the interview? Just keep planting; plant more and more estimated, that it’s not too impor- open door that will never close. Videos are easy to translate or to understand; and more. That’s what has to be done. tant. What do you think?
18
Soft Secret’s
readers survey WIN FREE SEEDS FROM ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS! Soft Secrets has been going on for quite some time now - which means it’s high time for us to listen to how our readers value it. So we’re asking you to answer a list of questions online. Besides helping us to make Soft Secrets an even better newspaper, you can also win free seeds! We’ll draw 25 names from among the senders who will receive a free pack of feminised seeds from the one and only Royal Queen Seeds!
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19
FILM REVIEW
Mila’s Journey TAKE A TRIP WITH THE HASH QUEEN OF AMSTERDAM Mila Jansen, proprietor of the Hemp Hotel and Pollinator Company in Amsterdam, has been long-considered one of the pioneers of the Cannabis movement in Europe. Since 1994, she’s been helping us all to make super-clean, high-grade hashish, and is now the subject of a moving documentary in which you can pick your way carefully along the same path to her beloved India, which ultimately led Mila back Sativa Diva home to Amsterdam. One bad breakup was all it took – Mila’s half of the 8mm film reel was not to be reunited with that of her ex-husband until three decades later – the documentation of their pilgrimage through one of the world’s most spiritual landscapes. She and Hans were lucky to obtain much of their footage, due to being some of the first Westerners to pass through this rough terrain. It was 1976 and they were on a threemonth voyage, covering over 1500km (932 miles). India-bound, tired and suffering from the elevation, their captivating footage presents a time capsule, showing a part of the world formerly untouched by Western influence – a sparkling gem of nature and spirituality, which has drawn millions of pilgrims since that time.
It was the unfortunate event of Hans falling ill with cancer that brought the two back together: Mila realized that the film had remained without audience for over thirty years – including the filmmakers themselves. So the footage was cleaned and digitized, and thus the time capsule has been cracked open. For Mila, the film also represents a different time, one that has been lost in the shuffle of modern progress. In the ‘60s and ‘70s,
They were on foot, trekking from the Netherlands all the way to India, with a healthy amount of stops and countries in between. Weeks of walking and high altitude had taken their toll, but Mila and Hans pressed on, determined to capture the majesty and nature of the Himalayas and its people. When you begin watching Mila’s Journey, something magical starts to happen. Whether you know Mila or not, her voyage is an amazing experience to behold and it’s difficult not to get as excited about the trip as if you were, yourself, about to embark. It’s not simply the rolling green hills or craggy mountaintops, frosted with snow, that compel you to keep watching. Nor is it the amazing shots of indigenous people, quick to share a beaming smile with the camera, naive to their own uniqueness. It is perhaps these universal themes: freedom, exploration, love, family, spirituality, acceptance and loss, which allow each of us to find something of ourselves in the story.
Mila points out a virtue of travel: “You can create a situation where there’s space for yourself... I was very lucky, I think.” The ability to travel was indeed lucky for her, as she needed a break from the Dutch Police. After running an extremely successful tailored clothing boutique, Kink 22, with Henk Koster (where she also acted in the film De Verloedering van de Swieps [The Whipping Cream Hero], 1967), Mila opened her own ‘tea house’, which is debated as the first-ever ‘coffeeshop’ in Amsterdam. “But we never sold anything there;” she recalls, “we just shared!” After a few years of blissful tea-sharing, the Dutch police caught on and began raiding the spot weekly, deporting foreigners across the Belgian border. It would be a combination of this police harassment – as well as stories of “India live” that were recounted by the latest traveler to patronize her tea house – that would impel her to seek a life of less restriction. He had heard about her place (and the fact that hitchhikers could sleep upstairs) while traveling – in Afghanistan! For the first time ever, Mila could juxtapose her book-learned education on Hinduism with
Dutch citizens, as it reminded them of the not-so-distant WWII. Indicating how much change has occurred since then (for the worse), within the past five years the same measures were re-introduced in the Netherlands – and were met with little or no protest. Mila’s Journey covers multiple visits to India and shows just a glimpse of that ethereal world; it is one that also has changed, and unfortunately no longer exists. Upon her return to this verdant land, she encounters trash-filled rivers (once sacred), satellite dishes and MTV. The magical place has succumbed to the temptations of the Western world, in one short generation. For this reason, re-connecting with the past is all the more important. One of the most poignant moments is her return to a mountaintop oasis, in an attempt to reconnect with her 1970s guide, Tashi – a young Tibetan whom they had met in the Manali Bazaar. In fact, the proceeds of this documentary’s sales are ear-marked for the education of his grandchildren, in an homage to the familial-type bond that was forged between them during their three-month mountain trek. It is difficult to watch Mila’s Journey with-
MILA IS A FAMOUS FEMALE AT THE TOP OF THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY
THE ORIGINAL TREK WAS DOCUMENTED BY HANS SWART
– WHAT SOME CALL “A MAN’S WORLD”.
ON 8MM FILM, RECENTLY CLEANED AND DIGITIZED.
the phenomenon of ‘dropping out’ held less of the negative stigma that it does today. Especially in the Netherlands, quite a small country, young people were excited about exploring the vast, interesting and different world out there, and sometimes even encouraged to do so. That freedom was what drew Mila back to the spiritual center of Hinduism, after learning about it through devouring philosophy texts in her publisher aunt’s French home. Freedom meant that anyone could go anywhere and do anything they wanted. You could go, do or think... alone or with friends and family. The possibilities were limitless.
actual stories of the place. The desire to experience India first-hand overwhelmed the wish to stay (and put up with the cops), so she decided to pack everything up and leave the country. She recalls that, at the time, the decision to relocate was not difficult: “People were actively looking for other ways of living than how our parents did it.” Besides that, “Everything was controlled in the West. I didn’t like that.” This was an era in which the Dutch authorities were suddenly insisting that residents carry ID at all times, a move that incensed
out being compelled to travel to India. Viewers are lucky to steal a personal glimpse into someone’s sacred, spiritual journey through such amazing lands. You know about her products, the Pollinator Company and Hemp Hotel. Now you can see for yourself the experiences that helped to lead Mila to the top of the Cannabis industry, as well as having a peek into the history of a part of the world responsible for some of the most amazing hashish ever. All of this against a stunning backdrop of re-discovered film. “I’ve stood at several points, with my arms as wide as I could stretch. I was as insignificant as a speck of sand, and the whole of nature was out there – totally – untouched by man. It is really a special feeling to be back here again.” » www.milasjourney.com
RE-CONNECTING WITH THE LOCAL MONKS – SOME RECEIVED PHOTOS OF LIVING FOR MONTHS IN ROUGH CONDITIONS CREATED
THEMSELVES FROM THE ‘70S AS SOUVE-
A FAMILIAL BOND BETWEEN MILA AND TASHI.
NIRS. (PHOTO: CHRISTINA JANSEN)
Anecdote Films Running Time: One hour Format: DVD Annie Perkins, Rinku Kalsy and Christina Jansen » www.anecdote-films.com/milasjourney
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21
BACKGROUND ENTER THE TERMINATOR
By Dr John Dee This story has been brewing for a good number of years now, but in recent months has started to – as it were – grow legs as the wider implications of what it might mean start to sink in.
Naturally, it’s all about money; not the sort of amounts usually attributed to the cannabis market, but gazillions of dollars, Euros, pounds sterling, whatever, and all of it legal (but definitely not moral).
modified seeds that can be used only once. Any seeds produced via Terminator seeds are sterile and useless, so anyone wishing to grow more of the same will have to buy more seeds from the source.
This is fine for small scale operations, but what about bigger ones producing crops other than cannabis but more immediately important? Something like corn, for example?
As most of those reading this will be aware, the whole landscape of the cannabis growing scene has changed dramatically over the past couple of decades as advances have been made in hydroponic science, plant nutrition, grafting one type of plant onto another to produce strains with higher yields, stronger yields, speedy dope, trippy dope: all of that kind of thing. And genetics; we mustn’t forget genetics. Genetics itself has changed a lot over the past few decades; now it’s less about just studying hereditary transmission and inherited traits and more about changing these; modifying them; and, so the propaganda machine is forever telling us, improving them.
As far back as 1938, the value of cannabis as an organised and bona fide industry was estimated as being worth billions of dollars. Since those days, of course, the potential of the cannabis plant is becoming more widely recognised. To take one example, the medical and therapeutic possibilities of
This will be bad enough – eventually – for cannabis growers, though it does strike me that as weed is one of those plants with an innate capacity for survival, it will be pretty much impossible to eradicate it from the face of the planet; the Americans have been trying to do it for years, after all.
As I was saying, this will all be bad enough for cannabis growers, but there’s a more serious issue at the heart of the matter. When the whole GM crops thing started to properly hit the news back in the late 1990’s, it was predicted by some that all of what is now
cannabis have come to the fore in relation to effective treatments for – among many others – Multiple Sclerosis, various cancers, mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Find truly efficacious medicines for any of these and you’ve hit the jackpot. Find a single source for treatments for all of them and you’ve got a license to print money, particularly if you can keep the source to yourself. And restricting access to the source is what’s going on.
The best advice I can think of (but do get in touch if you’ve any better to offer) would be: just grow a nice, moderate strength, au naturalle strain that’s not been fiddled with in a lab or tweaked by some kitchen geneticist to up the THC content. Arguably, high THC isn’t very good for you over the long term anyway, and there are plenty of decent single varieties out there. Think about it this way: what did you do for grass before Skunk and all the rest of them came along? Get cuttings from a reliable and trusted source and do it the low tech way that functioned perfectly well for millennia.
happening would come to pass. There was (and remains) a question mark over whether or not introducing GM to the food chain and consuming GM food might be harmful. However, this was only one part of a far bigger concern, namely, if in the fullness of time the only crop seeds available are patented GMO seeds, which when planted these produce edible (?) food stuff but not viable seed for growing more crops next season, what happens?
There’s been an element of modification present in the dope scene for a long time in the shape of cross pollination, simple grafting and so forth. But what’s on the horizon is something else completely because the big (and we are talking BIG) genetics and bio-technology boys have decided that they want to play too, but they don’t want to share the ball, and they want to re-write the rules of the game into the bargain.
“But it’s a plant! How could that possibly happen?” Enter “Terminator technology”. This horrible scientific “breakthrough” involves
Here’s what happens: something that used to be part of a natural cycle of plant a seed, grow the crop, use the crop while saving the seeds from that crop for the next planting and growing cycle is gone. All of that will be gone, and cannabis grown for R&R purposes should really be the least of our worries. Before the start of every sewing season, the seed supply for planting will have to be bought anew from one of the big bio-tech interests or their subsidiaries (I’m taking care not to mention any names here). If you’re not prepared to do that or can’t afford to do it, then that’s very unfortunate, but business is business and we can’t just give the stuff away as we’ve shareholders to keep in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed. Consider for a moment the effect the effect this will have on, say, maize production in the developing world. The implications are seriously grim, aren’t they? Where will it all end? Fifteen years ago, I’d have dismissed all of this as paranoid nonsense, but it’s here and I’m sure it’s just the beginning. A possible future: the weed in your pipe; the medicine you need to keep you well; the food on your plate; all of it monopolised and regulated by scientists and money men. If this isn’t what you want for the future, then it’s time to take a stand.
22
INDOOR GROWING
Wicked Windowsills!
By Little Lebowksi
If you’re considering a windowsill grow, here are a few handy hints. First off, as with any grow, security is the most important factor. If your window is completely over looked and your neighbours are just a stone’s throw away, then it may not be so suitable for a mini grow op! But, if you’re in an upstairs apartment and the neighbours are a safe enough distance away, then its fair game to get your grow on. Adding other herbs to the grow and keeping your plant in amongst them will help to hide the silhouette of your covert crop and keeping fragrant herbs alongside will go some way to help mask the smell as the nuggets start to develop. WICKED WINDOWSILL GARDEN!
Home grown bud tastes sweetest of all, and it’s even sweeter when it’s cost you next to nothing to grow. You don’t have to have a garden to grow your favourite herb in the summer sun. If you’re living in a small house or flat, like most of us do in the UK, you need to utilise the space you have… how about that nice big windowsill?
leaves became evident. So, I confessed all, expecting the worst. But, happy days, I got the green light! Result! I tended that little windowsill garden over the whole summer and, as well getting some tasty free herbs for a bit of home cooking, I pulled about a quarter of bud off that plant. Not amazing in the grand
Basil is a great plant to keep on the windowsill. It’ll survive the ups and downs of the British weather and it grows like hell! Using the window pane as a support, you can easily train a basil plant to grow a couple of feet tall and then top it (cut the main growing stem) so that it fills out nicely. One of those on either side of your main plant will easily keep it hidden and, if you use a decent organic nutrient, the fragrant smell of the basil acts as an effective air freshener!
YOU WANT A NICE COMPACT PLANT THAT WON’T FILL THE ENTIRE WINDOW AND ALERT THE NEIGHBOURS TO YOUR EXPLOITS My first windowsill grow came about due to my complete lack of willpower when it comes to cracking seeds! The better half had decided that she was fed up of splashing the cash on fresh herbs (the eating kind… no… not that eating kind!) from the supermarket. So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the spring, we headed down to the garden centre to pick up some supplies. A couple of hours later we were the proud owners of a windowsill propagator, complete with seed tray, small 3 inch pots and several packs of seeds.
scheme of things, but pretty good considering that I kept it in that 3 inch pot for the entire grow, pruned it to within an inch of its life to stop it from filling the whole window and it never cost me a penny in electricity! Plus, it’s a bit of fun to have over the summer when the temperature is a bit warm to get a real grow on.
entire window and alert the neighbours to your exploits. It also needs to be fairly robust and hardy; particularly considering the temperature fluctuations it will have to endure to get it through a British summer. Go for something that is indica dominant as these will stay compact and won’t stretch out like a sativa dominant strain will. You also need to consider the dark period. If you want to bring the crop to an early finish, you need to restrict its daylight hours. Otherwise you’ll be growing it into late September and struggling to keep it to a manageable size. Taking the plant out of the windowsill once it’s had 12 hours of full daylight and putting it into a darkened room will force it into flower. If you’re handy at DIY and what to save yourself the effort of carrying the plant to a different room every night, one top tip is to build a light proof box using a simple wooden frame and cover it with black and white sheeting. The box can be kept near the window and the plant can be placed inside. Or, completely save yourself the hassle of restricting the amount of light and go for an auto flowering strain. They’ll flower on their own regardless of the amount of daylight they get. Even better, get a dwarf auto flowering strain! They’ll flower on their own and stay compact in size, saving you the time and effort of constantly topping and pruning.
For those with the luxury of a second loo in their home, the opaque glass of a bathroom window will hide your crop from prying eyes, whilst letting through ample light for decent growth.
The sunny weather seems like a hell of a long way off right now, but stick a note in the diary to crack some beans in late spring to get your windowsill garden flowering and harvested before the start of the Autumn time. Nothing like a nice bit home grown bud courtesy of mothernature to put a smile on your face!
Pick your strain with care. You want a nice compact plant that won’t fill the
And some tasty herbs will keep the other half happy!
I had a few litres of light mix and some organic nutes left over from some previous gardening and spent a happy hour sowing my basil, mint and coriander into the seed tray. Then the uncontrollable urge hit, as I remembered that I might have had a couple of beans left over from my last grow! Several frantic minutes of searching later and I’d found the crumpled up, zip lock bag of Smile (from the Kannabia bank) in the bottom of a draw. One seed left… perfect! In it went. One week in and the better half was beginning to get a bit suspicious of the strong looking, fat stemmed seedling that was out-growing the surrounding herbs at an alarming rate. I knew that the identity of the mystery plant would be revealed FROSTED GLASS LETS LIGHT IN AND HIDES YOUR CROP in a couple of weeks, when the first fan
A BIG BASIL PLANT WILL BREAK UP THE SILHOUETTE OF YOUR FAVOURITE HERB!
25
HYDRO GROWING HYDRO OVER HAND WATERING PART 5:
Passive Hydroponics Let’s face it, active hydro isn’t for everyone; playing with pumps and Why passive hydro over hand pots? feeding schedules, checking EC and pH may not be your cup of tea… watering They’re simple – for an inexperienced and some of us like getting our hands dirty with soil! But how about grower who is still learning the basics the benefits of hydro; more buds and less time spent watering your of cultivating indoors, passive hydro reduces the risk of over or under-waterplants, without having to give up your beloved pots? Time to give pas- ing and there are no pumps, timers or complicated feeding schedules to sive hydro a second look… What is passive hydro? Passive hydroponics is the ‘catch all’ term for growing technics that involve making nutrient solution constantly available to the roots of a plant. Unlike active hydro techniques, which employ a water or air pump to deliver
up will have constant access to water and food and, because most passive systems involve watering from underneath, the top part of the root zone remains highly oxygenated. Therefore, passive hydro can provide superior results compared to tradi-
YOU’LL CERTAINLY DO LESS WORK FOR YOUR BUD nutrient solution, passive hydro techniques usually rely on the capillary action of the growing medium surrounding the roots, there is no pump involved. This is usually achieved by keeping the growing media in contact with a reservoir of nutrient solution, in its simplest form standing a pot of growing media in a saucer of nutrient solution is passive hydroponics. Plants grown in a passive hydro set
tional hand watering methods. The more oxygen, water and nutrients that a plant can absorb, the bigger the yields they will produce. For growers looking for a simple introduction to hydro or simply an increase in growth rates and yield compared to hand watering, but aren’t ready for a ‘true’ hydroponic set-up, passive hydro is the way forward.
figure out. Increased yield - constant access to nutrient and water means healthy growth, bigger plants and more buds. Less work - looking for less maintenance? Passive hydro provides the perfect compromise between workload and yield. You’ll pull less ounces than you usually would with an active hydroponic set up, but you’ll certainly do less work for your bud. Easily expandable – most types of passive hydro systems that run off a header tank or reservoir are easily expandable without increasing your workload. This means it’s as easy to water 200 plants as it is to water 20 plants!
Types of passive hydro system Trays and saucers – placing a pot of growing media in a saucer or tray is the simplest form of passive hydro. Plants can be watered from above using a watering
THE MOST POPULAR PASSIVE HYDRO SYSTEM – THE AUTOPOT
can, the run-off fills the saucer and, as the plant feeds, the run-off will be absorbed into the pot via the capillary action of the media. The saucer acts as the reservoir and effectively decreases the number of waterings required – handy if you can’t get to your plants every day. Another method is to water from below, using a gardening tray as the reservoir – these are available in various sizes from any decent hydro shop. Pots are filled with an absorbent growing media – soil, coco, rock wool mini cubes – and placed in the tray. Nutrient solution is then poured into the tray and will be absorbed into the pots. It’s a good idea to place a cover over the top of the tray (cut holes in it for the pots first) as this will prevent the nutrient solution from evaporating away under the hot grow lamps. Saucers and trays are a simple and cheap way to reduce the amount of time you spend watering your plants, but do have their draw backs; keeping the growing medium wet all the time will mean there is less oxygen in the root zone, which can lead to root rot. It’s important to allow the growing medium to dry out and become aerated between waterings.
HEALTHY PLANTS GROWN IN A PASSIVE POT AND TRAY SET UP
Gravity fed – a similar watering technique to using pots and trays, these systems use a large reservoir or waterbutt to deliver nutrient solution to the tray in which the pot sits. The rate of flow POTS AND TRAYS – HAND WATER AND LEAVE FOR DAYS of the solution is controlled by a valve
26 that is either connected directly onto the reservoir or onto the tray itself. The solution flows through the valve and into the tray, where it is absorbed into the pot. The valve then stops the flow once the level of solution reaches a desired height in the tray.
ing the water table that a plant feeds from when naturally growing outdoors. For the first 2 weeks the plant will need to be watered every other day as its roots fill the bucket and head towards the reservoir at the bottom. Once the roots
plify the actual feeding of your plants! Using a passive set up with a reservoir turns watering into a weekly task, rather than a daily chore, so you can concentrate on mastering the basics of your grow room; lights, extraction and fighting the urge to trim off your
TO AVOID GETTING CAUGHT WITH YOUR HANDS DIRTY, YOU’LL NEED TO SPEND AS LITTLE TIME IN THE GROW ROOM AS POSSIBLE The most popular of these systems is the Autopot which is a modular system that can be expanded from 1 pot to literally 1000’s of pots! Depending on the size of the reservoir used, the system can be left for weeks. Ideal for large scale grows. Hempy buckets – these are a great option for growers looking to cultivate big plants, they are also cheap to make and easy to maintain. To make one, you will need; A 20L black plastic bucket (important that it’s black, as this will keep light out of the root zone and prevent algae from growing in the reservoir) A drill with a half inch drill bit A try to catch run-off A mix of 3 parts perlite and 1 part vermiculite Any decent hydroponic nutrient Drill a hole on the side of the bucket, 2 inches from the base. Fill the bucket with the perlite / vermiculite mix and pot up your plant (the plant should be root bound in a propagation block). Water from above until you see run-off coming out of the hole on the side of the bucket. The base of the bucket is now the reservoir, effectively mimick-
reach the reservoir, the growth is phenomenal! The watering is then reduced to twice a week, hand water the nutrient solution until you have achieved around 30% run-off, then you can be sure that you’ve replaced all the old nutrients in the reservoir and have drawn fresh oxygen into the root zone. The hempy bucket offers the constant supply of nutrient, water and oxygen that leads to rapid growth and massive buds. When the roots hit that reservoir at the bottom of the bucket your plants will fly! The only downside is that planting up in a relatively large container from the start means a longer than usual veg period, so they’re not so suitable if you’re looking to get a quick crop in. But if you like the idea of big plants, give them a go. What type of grower is passive hydro good for? Any grower looking to reduce their watering workload should at least take a look at passive hydro, for some growers it is a perfect match; Beginners or inexperienced growers – when starting out from fresh, there is so much to fuck up when growing indoors, that it makes sense to sim-
A SAUCER UNDER A POT ACTS AS A SIMPLE RESERVOIR
first buds as soon as you spot them! Newbies scouting for a fail-safe system should look no further, passive hydro could be your saviour! Growers on a budget – cheapskates who don’t want to splash out on their grow set up, can head to the local DIY shop and pick themselves up a set of 20L buckets and a couple of bags of perlite and vermiculite to create a hempy bucket set up for the same price as some quality pots and two bags of soil – and they’ll most likely score a better yield! Commercial growers – when growing large scale commercial, it’s all about getting maximum yield with minimal risk. To avoid getting caught with your hands dirty, you’ll need to spend as little time in the grow room as possible. Hand watering large scale is a full time job, so that’s a no-no. Active hydro systems will give you the yield, but maintenance duties will mean frequent trips to the grow room to top up the system and adjust EC and pH levels. A passive system fed by a large reservoir can, in theory, be visited once a week, massively reducing the risk of drawing the attention of the nosey neighbours, local law enforcement or dirty, crop stealing herberts! The three steps to passive hydro heaven 1. Use a light and airy growing medium – passive set ups rely on the capillary action of the growing medium to transport food and water throughout the root zone. This means that the growing medium is wet for the majority of the time. To ensure that the roots remain oxygenated and healthy, choose a well aerated growing medium; coco is ideal as is a coco / clay pebble mix (like the 60/40 mix currently on the market), mix perlite into heavy soil mixes to increase the aeration or try a 50/50 perlite/vermiculite mix for an equal balance of aeration and water retention. 2. Choose your nutrients carefully – it may sound obvious but, when using a reservoir in a passive set-up, organic nutrients will spoil as quickly as they would in active hydro, possibly even quicker as there is no pump to agitate or oxygenate the solution. If your passive set up consists of watering from above and catching run off into pots and trays, then organic nutrients are fine. But if you’re using a large reservoir to feed your crop, then choose mineral nutrients all the way. If using a very large reservoir then it’s a good idea to fix a circulation pump at the base of the res and set it on a timer. This will effectively ‘mix’ your solution, allowing you to leave the grow for
longer periods without the worry of the nutrient settling. 3. Keep on top of your levels - when using a large reservoir, bear in mind that when plants first go into the system, they will use much less water than when they are mature and will take a longer time to empty the reservoir. Therefore, if you completely fill your reservoir when the plants are young, be prepared to add additional nutrients to the solution before it runs empty. Otherwise, you may notice your plants showing signs of under feeding as their food requirements increase, but the amount of nutrition in their feed remains the same.
Q+A with a passive hydro grower When can plants be transferred to the system? As soon as they are root bound in their starter medium, you should see white roots on the outside of the block or pot. To avoid transplant shock, try and use the same starter medium as your main growing medium, e.g. a coco pellet if you’re potting up into coco, or a rockwool cube if you’re going into a hydro mix of perlite and vermiculite. How should plants be spaced? Depends entirely on how you want to grow and the amount of space you have, passive systems usually allow you to space the plants out however you want. Put them nice and close and flower them early for a sea of green or space them further apart and veg for longer if you want some monsters! Will plants need to be supported? The passive systems rely on having growing medium around the roots, so this is usually enough to support them. However, it really depends on how big you grow your plants! If you’re going for a sea of green then you shouldn’t need any extra support. I’ve always preferred growing bigger plants, so usually just use a bamboo cane and a simple tie, just the same as I did when I hand watered pots. Make sure you set up your supports before you flip to 12/12, when you can actually get in amongst your plants. Nothing worse than crawling through foliage and snapping off branches and stems as you go! So, there you have it; want to cut down on your watering workload? Give passive hydro a go!
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x1
10 €
x1
11 €
x1
10 €
x3
26 €
x3
25 €
x3
23 €
x5
43 €
x5
40 €
x5
37 €
x10
85 €
x10
80 €
x10
75 €
D I N A F E M
D I N A F E M
D I N A F E M
ORIGINAL AMNESIA Super Strong
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Sativa
CRITICAL+ AUTOFLOWERING CRITICAL JACK AUTOFLOWERING Hard Buds
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x1
14 €
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x1
9€
x3
33 €
x3
28 €
x3
21 €
x5
55 €
x5
45 €
x5
35 €
x10
110 €
x10
90 €
x10
70 €
D I N A F E M
D I N A F E M
D I N A F E M
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x1
11 €
x1
10 €
x1
9€
x3
33 €
x3
23 €
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21 €
x5
50 €
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37 €
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35 €
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75 €
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D I N A F E M
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60 €
...CLOUD 9, WHITE SIBERIAN, SHARK ATTACK, ROADRUNNER, ROADRUNNER2, AND MORE.
28
GROW REPORT
Danger and delight grow on the same branch... By Packed Nicely
For this grow I went with Swazi. Originated in Swaziland, South Africa, it’s a pure sativa that can reach heights of 2 -3m with an exotic taste and smell. The flowers tend to have large bracts which are resin coated and it has a flowering period of 9 to 14 weeks with high yields. A cutting was taken from a mother plant, applied with Clonex and allowed to propagate until it was brimming with roots. It was placed on an Atami Wilma 4 pot, but the four 11L pots were replaced with a single Mapito filled 18L pot to accommodate one plant and greater root growth. I am a great believer in providing the proper quantity and quality of light, but with this grow I was interested to see just what was possible to achieve with this single plant and a single 400 watt HID. On the nutrient front, this time I went for the Atami B’Cuzz Hydro range with Bloom stimulant and Bloombastic. I also used the additive Vitalink Biopac during the veg stage to ensure a healthy root zone and the provision of beneficial bacteria. I believe that observation and awareness are the keys to a quality crop, not just checking the pH and EC, but looking - gaining knowledge about your plants. Having said that, the pH and EC were of course regularly checked, but neither required much alteration during the entire grow. The minimum and maximum temperature and humidity levels were also measured to ensure that there were no major swings that could cause difficulties detrimental to growth of the plant. Pleasingly, there were no pest problems either. The Mapito was thoroughly soaked prior to use in order to lower its EC value. The cutting was placed in a 1.2m tent which had been lined with diamond reflective material. After the first few weeks of vegetive growth, a plastic
mesh was fitted across the tent at a height of about 18” above the pot top and molded into a concave shape to ensure growth not directly beneath the light was pushed closer to it for more exposure. Throughout the veg cycle and for the first week of flowering, any new growth was woven through the mesh, being careful not to cause damage to the delicate shoots and meristems. Although if they are given time, plants do normal-
across the mesh. Throughout the grow, leaves were removed from below the line of the mesh to prevent them from wasting energy stretching in a search for light. Other leaves were periodically pruned from the canopy, but never more than 25% - 30% of the large leaves, after all, these are the sites that produce the sugars for growth and flowering. From experience, I have realised that it pays to put the plant into flower when there is still some area
ly tend to recover from the occasional snapped stem and they can actually be mended by fixing the two ends of the stem back together with sticky tape.
of mesh available. This takes into account the growth during early flowering phase where the plant makes some room for the buds to grow upon.
This method is a form of trellising and helps with light exposure especially when using a lower powered light and is also a method worth considering when dealing with a low ceiling height. The plant was trained to grow horizontally and a vegative state was maintained until the majority of the mesh was utilised. Let’s face it, veg is everything to good flowering. Vigorous growth was observed through this period of around ten days as the plant filled out
Once this point was reached, I started use of the B’Cuzz Bloom stimulant slowly increasing the dose over the flowering period from 0.5ml to 1ml. At this time I also reduced the light cycle from the 18.5 hours the plant had been receiving, down to 11.5 hours to induce flowering. I used a Sunmaster dual spectrum bulb with it’s 30% more of the blue spectrum for the vegetive growth and the initial couple of weeks of flower-
ing, then changed to a Grolux bulb, to give more of the red light spectrum for the final weeks toward harvest. It wasn’t long before there was an observable response from the plant as flowers began to form across the mesh. As mentioned earlier, I also introduced Bloombastic into the mix as a bloom booster for the last four weeks or ripening phase of flowering. With this product it is advisable to steer away from also using a PK booster. There’s no need, Bloombastic has enough bio-minerals and bio-stimulators contained within it and I have heard tales of plants being killed when using both together. There was soon a visible increase in formation of trichomes across the leaves and the calyxes. The plant was put into flush for just under two weeks and was provided with only water to ensure the dissipation of any excess nutrient salts. Then the day of harvest finally came, by this point one got the impression that the mesh was beginning to strain with the weight resting upon it. When cutting, most of the bud was found above the mesh, one of the benefits of this technique, but there was also a very charming crown of frosted buds, profuse with crystals, that was located just below the mesh. When dried, the yield came in at just under 14.5 ounces of sticky sweet Swazi bud – a very satisfying and smashing harvest. There is often discussion as to how many plants it is legal to grow; “I’ve heard it’s four?”, “You’d get away with eight.” Sadly and illogically, it is still illegal to cultivate any Cannabis in the UK without a licence, though if you want to decrease the danger but heighten the delight, then perhaps you might want to consider branching out and looking at this trellising technique.
30
TRAVEL
Growing in Laos: Mr Don and the Wild Man PART 2
By The Professor
There was still a good week to go, or so I thought, before the end of the long wait when Mr Don knocked on the window of my hut again. It was about 7 in the morning; he looked a little bit concerned and he was motioning for me to follow him: “Nah, man, it’s too early, you gotta leave them another week.” He shook his head… “Cannot, people come, steal two plants, only four left.” “What?” He laughed… “It’s ok, have a bigger crop, more plants…” He raised his fist and wrapped his hand around his forearm, indicating the size of the stalks, “I not tell you before!”
Mr Don ripped off a good-looking branch from one of the bigger plants and gave it to me to take back to my hut. I told him I’d use it as a time gauge and when it had dried out properly I’d give him a shout and we’d set to work trimming the rest of it. We didn’t have to wait long – the heat and the breeze of the river dried the branch out in five days. I took the two pairs of nail scissors I had with me, went down to the stash house again and met up with the wild man where we set to work trimming the plants as we sampled the harvest… It was great smoke, not a seed to be found and I doubt the extra week I’d have given them would’ve made much difference – it was fully mature, pure sativa, organic sensimellia that had been grown under the tropical sun and fertilised with some local chicken
HE HELD THE FLAME TO THE BOWL AND INHALED AS HARD AS IF HE WAS SUCKING HIS FIRST BREATH OF AIR AFTER BEING HELD UNDERWATER FOR FIVE MINUTES! I jumped into my shorts and followed him down the path into the jungle of the island. When we got to the last house at the end of the track he led me upstairs, where the plants had all been stacked on top of each other. The wild man was there as well, still grinning his wild grin, but this time without the machete in his hand. They both looked incredibly proud of themselves. Mr Don ripped a branch from one of the plants, wrapped his forefinger and thumb around the bottom end of the branch and then, very aggressively, pulled the branch through the tight hole he’d made in his hand, ripping all the leaves off, squashing the buds and taking a good portion of the precious trichomes off with it all – I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen! Still holding the branch, he grabbed my wrist and led me briskly down into the yard again; he broke off a bud, put it on a flat stone, picked up another stone and then bashed it into a soggy green mess, he was still looking very proud of himself! He told me to roll it up and try it. I did what he asked but I was laughing at him and shaking my head: “Won’t burn, not dry, need to dry…” I led the confused looking Mr Don upstairs again to rescue the rest of the plants before the wild man set to work ripping them to shreds. I showed them how to hang the plants and stressed the need for gentle treatment… They were big, heavy plants as well, there looked to be at least kilo on the smallest ones and the bigger ones were twice the size – there were 10 of them all together.
shit. Read and weep my friends!! After trimming a couple of plants with those pathetic little scissors our hands were aching badly and we decided to ditch the work for the day and spent the next few hours getting mashed in the back yard under the banana trees. Smoking in that environment just adds to the amazing sativa high. They gave me several bags to take and sell to the
other lucky travellers knocking around, I wasn’t particularly sure about that but they assured me I wouldn’t get into any trouble… Back in Bangkok, it was over a month before I caught up with the friend who promised me she’d come out: “What happened to you?” “Yeah, sorry mate, I got stuck here and went there late, I was hoping you’d still be there I’ve only just got back. Do you know a guy there called Mr Don? He’s got some fucking good weed!” I laughed; “Yeah man, that’s the shit I’ve been talking about!” “Really! Don’t tell anyone, but I brought a kilo back, I’m gonna make some good money from that, I’m going back in a couple of weeks’ time to get another one as well!” “Be careful babe!” She was a sharp little Thai girl and I didn’t worry too much about her smuggling between the two borders, she knew the risks and she knew the game. That was the icing on the cake for me – I’d had a great experience out there, I’d helped a couple of locals get a financial step up in a very poor country, one of my best Thai mates was lining her pockets with proceeds from the crop and several of my mates
in Bangkok were getting to sample it courtesy of her efforts… Two years later I was back in South East Asia and I wanted to go and see how Mr Don was doing; I was curious to know if they’d expanded their operation and I was hoping for some new improved smoke! I managed to find him easily enough, he’d built a big new restaurant thanks to getting a lot tourist dollar for the crop and his kids were lazing about watching films on portable DVD players and enjoying a lot of luxuries that none of the other kids on the island could afford – I felt a twinge of guilt when I saw that. I asked Mr Don if he had any spare smoke and he gave me a handful of stalky, seeded crap… “What’s this? What happened?” He shrugged his shoulders and grinned his shifty grin. “I take you on a fishing trip tomorrow?” He told me, with a subtle nod of his head. “Er, ok mate, give me a shout when yer ready.” I asked about his friend, the wild man and his face dropped – he told me that they weren’t friends anymore because the wild man had gone crazy on Lao Lao and started fighting people and causing trouble. I was sorry to hear that, I’d got on well with the guy despite our total lack of verbal communication.
31 The next day he came and told me to get ready to leave in the evening, we were going for the whole night. This time he piloted the boat through the river for a good 30 minutes before we got to where we were going; another island a lot further away from the one we were staying on. He told me it was the fishermen’s island and that I was the first non-local that’d ever been there… There were a few fishermen milling about, some of them giving me a wary
burst out laughing and started chattering amongst themselves. The wreckhead loaded the bong again and we had a few more each – I insisted he took a hit for every hit that I had, and after a few bongs each we’d become the evening’s entertainment for the growing crowd of fishermen. I’d had enough after several big hits when a young, clean cut local guy came along – he’d heard all the commotion but he was too late - I was trashed and I wasn’t going
tle slope of the river bank and started throwing handfuls of water down his throat. The rest of the crowd were howling with laughter, a few of them went down to slap him on the back and congratulate him and I jumped down from the platform to shake his hand and make sure he was ok – he was, but he was just starting the ride of his life! His bug-eyes were rolling and he was laughing along with everyone else, but he didn’t have a clue what had just hit him!
I was over the moon, the nagging feeling of guilt I’d had when I’d seen the size of his new restaurant and the hi-tech toys his kids had (that no one else on the island could afford) disappeared; the whole community were in it together now… “You talk about security, but now many people know, what if someone talks? Don’t you worry about Laos police?” Mr Don grinned his usual shifty grin, we were still standing in the middle of the young plantation… “I am Laos police!” That was a bombshell I never expected! I scoffed in disbelief and he laughed at me… “It’s ok, no problem!” he said to me, enjoying his ultimate moment of glory.
once-over and others happily coming up and shaking hands. Mr Don led me to a little bamboo platform where the local wreckhead, a guy I recognised from the island we were staying on, was getting stuck into a bamboo bong; he was off his face and sprawled, grinning and glassy-eyed, on the floor of the platform but when he saw me he sprung to life and between Mr Don pushing and him pulling I was up on the platform with him and the bong in no time at all. Seeing the state he was in, I was a bit apprehensive about having a go on the bong – I’d given bongs up years ago but I wasn’t exactly in the position to turn it down! The wreckhead loaded it for me; I took the lighter and gave it some welly… I took my finger off the shotty and the smoke flew down my throat as smoothly as glass of Baileys after a 3 hour walk in the desert! Mr Don asked me how it was; “Yeah man! Nice, smooth!” He laughed and translated for the small crowd that was gathering to watch the white man smoke the bong; they all
to smoke anymore just to amuse him. He was insistent though, and so was the crowd… I negotiated with him; I told him I’d do another one if he did one after me, he didn’t want that but as soon as I mentioned the idea the rest of the fishermen started howling with laughter and slapping him on the back – there was no way either of us was going to getting out of this now! I took my bong, held it, enjoyed it, exhaled and then loaded it for the newcomer… I didn’t want to stitch him up though so I only half-filled the bowl and told him to keep his thumb over the shotty and pull hard. I don’t think this guy had ever smoked anything before, certainly not a bong, because he held the flame to the bowl and inhaled as hard as if he was sucking his first breath of air after being held underwater for five minutes! The weed in the bowl burnt through so fast he didn’t have time to take his thumb of the shotty before the ash sucked through into the water and the air that flew in behind it forced the smoke into his lungs at a rapid rate of knots! The poor guy exploded into a desperate cloud of coughing, spluttering and smoke before he rushed down the lit-
After all the excitement died down Mr Don told me to follow him – it’d be getting dark very soon and he wanted to show
That night about 12 of us pitched our hammocks under the small shelter that had been made from metal posts and bits of corrugated iron that’d been left over from the American war in Vietnam. We smoked till long after dark and listened to Hallucinogen – The Lone Deranger through my small speakers – one old guy in particular loved it, he was staring at the speakers and I could see him floating
THIS YEAR WE ALL GROW TOGETHER, EVERYONE SHARE, GOOD FOR THE ISLAND, GOOD FOR EVERYONE me something… I followed him through the trees and just as we were getting close to the shelter we were going to be sleeping under he stopped me; “Look” “Look at what” I said, looking around. “Look” he said again, pointing at the ground. I looked down and realised we were standing right in the middle of a big patch of about 60 little ganja plants… “Last year we have more security trouble, people steal the plants, not good, no trust and lots of fighting, bad for the island. This year we all grow together, everyone share, good for the island, good for everyone.”
on every sound that came out of them. When the album finished he looked at me with stoned, happy eyes and a big smile, he grabbed my hand in a firm handshake and didn’t say a word, just nodded his approval before we all drifted off to the white noise of the waterfall a few hundred metres away.
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GROW WITH JORGE CERVANTES
Damping-off Damping-off kills seeds, seedlings and clones. It can also attack buds and stems (Botrytis cinera). There are two kinds of damping off one kills seeds when they germinate and before they break through the soil. The second post/emergence damping-off is the rotting or wilting of seedlings soon after they emerge from the soil. Succulent stems have watersoaked then necrotic and sunken, zone at ground level, the little herbaceous plants fall over the ground. Root decay follows. Damping-off attacks rooting cuttings at the soil line if present in growing medium. As the fungi invade stem tissue it loses girth at the soil line, weakens, then discolors with a brown watery soft rot, and finally fluid circulation is cut, killing the seedling or cutting. It prevents newly sprouted seeds from emerging, and
attacks seedlings causing them to rot at the soil line, yellows foliage and rots older plants at soil line. Damping-off is caused by different fungal species, including Botrytis, Pythium, and Fusarium are present in the air, growing medium plant or seed. This disease breeds in wet, poorly aerated over-watered growing mediums, humid conditions and attacks weak plants. Prevent damping-off by controlling soil moisture. Overwatering is the main precursor to damping-off. Careful daily scrutiny of soil will ensure the proper amount of moisture is available to seeds or cuttings. Start seeds and root cuttings in a fastdraining, sterile coarse sand, rockwool, Oasis™, or Jiffy™ cubes, which are difficult to overwater. Set them on a grate or sur-
face that readily drains. Do not place a humidity tent over sprouted seedlings–a tent can lead to excessive humidity and damping-off. Damping-off is inhibited by bright light; grow seedlings under the HID rather than fluorescent bulbs. Keep fertilization to a minimum during the first couple weeks of growth. Germinate seeds between clean, fresh paper towels and move seeds to soil once sprouted. Do not plant seeds too deeply, cover with soil the depth of the seeds. Use fresh, sterile growing medium and clean pots to guard against harmful fungus in the soil. Coat seeds with protective dust for insurance. Seed disinfection is used to kill organisms of anthracnose and other species diseases carried on seed. Damping off organisms are in the soil, not on the seed. The coating is intended to kill or inhibit fungi in the soil immediately surrounding the seed and so provide temporary protection during germination. Cuttings are less susceptible to dampingoff and love a humidity tent to promote rooting. Keep germination temperatures between 21-29°C. Be very attentive to soil moisture and overall clone health. Control damping-off biologically in seeds with Polygangron® (Pythium oligandrum) granules to soil and seed. Bak Pak® or Intercept® are applied to the soil and Deny® or Dagger®–forms of the bacterium Burkholderia cepacia– are put on the seeds. Epic®, Kodiac®, Quantum 4000®, Rhizo-Plus®, System 3®, and Seranade® also suppress many causes of damping- off.
Chemical controls include dusting with Captan®. Avoid benomyl fungicide soil drench because it kills beneficial organisms.
Powdery Mildew Mildews are called “powdery mildew” among cannabis growers. This term encompasses all mildews. Mildew grows on foliage, leaves and buds. Most look like foliage was sprinkled with fine flower or talcum powder. It drains the vigor of plants, and can pose a health risk to smokers with lung ailments. Every year powdery mildew destroys a growing percentage of cannabis crops. The first indication of infection is small spots on the tops of leaves. Next a pow-
Jorge Cervantes is the author of: Marijuana Horticulture: the Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower’s Bible in English and Spanish, Jorge Cervantes’ Ultimate Grow DVD, Indoor Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor Bible, Marijuana Indoors: Five Easy Gardens, Marijuana Outdoors: Guerrilla Growing and Jorge’s Rx. He writes for 12 magazines in 6 languages. Jorge’s books are published in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish.
dery looking substance (flowering fungus) appears on foliage. At this point the systemic disease has been inside the plant a week or more and the disease can be only arrested by external treatments but not eliminated. Spots progress to a fine, pale, gray-white powdery coating on growing shoots, leaves, and stems.
Damage caused by powdery mildew is subliminal during the first month or two after infection. Powdery mildew is not only on the upper surface of foliage, it is found throughout the plant. It causes growth to slow, leaves to yellow, and plants eventually die as the disease advances. Occasionally fatal indoors, this disease is at its worst when roots dry out and foliage is moist. Plants are infected for weeks before they show the first symptoms. Mildew is caused by one of the many different species of fungi from the order Erysiphales. Spores are present in the air all the time. Often these spores enter the
35 isolate the clones for a week to see if they have powdery mildew and other diseases or pests before introducing them to the main plant population. Dip clones in a prophylactic organic bath before introducing them to the grow room. Sulfur products such as, Safer’s Defender, prevent powdery mildew on contact with foliage, but the disease is still inside the plant. Applying sulfur make the cannabis taste bad when smoked. It appears to concentrate on resins. Chimera, an outstanding breeder, grower and friend, does not recommend using sulfur on vegetative or flowering plants. He recommends using a sulfur burner in a room to kill all mildew when no plants are in the room.
grow room and greenhouses. They find cool moist grow rooms with poor circulation the perfect place to live. Preventing powdery mildew is the best policy. Once established, mildews must be eliminated from an empty grow room. They cannot be eliminated from plant tissue without the help of a systemic chemical. Cleanliness! Prevent this mildew by avoiding cool, damp, humid, dim grow room conditions, as well as fluctuating temperatures and humidity. Low light levels and stale air affect this disease. Increase
air circulation and ventilation, and make sure light intensity is high. Space containers far enough apart so air freely flows between plants. Allow foliage to dry before turning off lights. Remove and destroy infected foliage. Avoid excess nitrogen. Copper and sulfur-lime sprays are a good prophylactic and potassium bicarbonate is effective as a surface fungicide. Quarantine new clones brought in from outside the grow room for a week or two. If buying clones at a dispensary, hydroponic store or if acquired from friends,
Apply Serenade® (Bacillus subtilis) or spray with a saturation mix of baking soda and water to kill surface contamination to keep the disease in check. Copper-based sprays may keep this mold in check. A saturation of baking soda spray dries to a fine powder on the leaf; the baking soda changes the surface pH of the leaf to 7, and powdery mildew cannot grow. An organic “systemic” called Aqua-Shield is available from Botanicare that have had very favorable reports. A mixture of 10-20 percent milk and 80-90 percent water is also effective, but it smells bad. Destroy damaged plant material.
36
COLUMN / SHOPREVIEW
The Global Commission on Drug Policy: who? I’m writing this somewhat after the fact, but unfortunately the events related in this column unfolded just days after the deadline for the last column and so the opportunity to comment on it was missed. Please bear with me, at any rate.
other country in the world. Basically, we get a “former” chief of police, or a “former” top dog of the drug squad, and even (occasionally) “former” cabinet minister saying exactly the same thing (i.e. that the war on drugs is unworkable, unwinnable and unsustainable).
Yes, so this outfit called The Global Commission on Drug Policy appears pretty much out of the blue, announcing what every drug user in the world with a brain in their head has known for quite some time: that the drug war has failed.
The problem with this is that these characters really should be standing up and saying this stuff while they’re still in office. A bunch of ex presidents of Latin American countries criticising the war on drugs is all fine and good, but a bunch of current presidents would have considerably more clout, no?
The war on drugs has failed, ladies and gentlemen. And this time the news comes from the mouths of a load of “former presidents” of countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Brazil (all countries blighted by the drug/cocaine trade, so these guys will know what they’re talking about), plus various other dignitaries and talking heads. Now, don’t get me wrong; I applaud all this kind of thing (really), but it seems that it’s always “former” this or “former” that who say these things, and – “former” presidents or not – it undoubtedly undermines their credibility. The same thing happens on a much more parochial level here in the UK and, I’m pretty sure, in almost every
So one has to wonder what all of this reluctance to say what they really think while in office is all about. It could be, one supposes, that when a president leaves their post, they’re immediately free of all hubris and party politic rubbish that comes with the job. Certainly, in the case of policemen who speak out after retirement, there’s an element of self-preservation, or more specifically, pension preservation. One really wouldn’t have thought the issue of having ones pension withdrawn or frozen would particularly bother a former national president in the way it would a regional policeman, but who is to say? I just
wish that they’d show a bit more courage in their convictions: turning a blind eye to something that’s unworkable, unwinnable, unsustainable and largely unjust is hypocrisy, plain and simple. Maybe that’s why these former bigwigs do this: maybe it’s a form of atonement for sins while in office? While we’re talking about this, can I just say that I’m also vaguely troubled by the presence on these groups of people such as Richard Branson and (tangentially) George Soros? These are two seriously rich guys. Okay, nobody who has been a president of a country is going to be exactly poverty stricken – even if this describes the economic status of most people in their country – but there’s a big difference between “extremely well off” and “obscenely wealthy”. What bothers me is this: what’s in it for them? Could it truly be, as some optimists of my acquaintance say, that they’ve made enough in the way of personal wealth and are now turning their attentions to making the world a better and more equitable place, beginning with largely eradicating organised crime and its influence in the drug trade? Or is it more as I cynically see it and the big push by these guys on the one hand creates a huge (legal) market, while simultaneously crushing the competition? Put it this way: if someone like Donald Trump (another one of the Billionaire Boys Club) started making noises about legalisation being a good thing, what would you think? I’d think the same and I think we’d be absolutely right. dimethyltryptamine777@hotmail.com
Paradise Seeds opens Amsterdam flagship store
The Amsterdam Seed Center and Global Giftshop are located in a historic retail building on Gravenstraat 12. This lively street, teeming with terraces, coffee shops, stores and hotels is located directly behind the New Church, that stately building to the right of the Royal Palace on Dam Square. You could hardly find a more central spot in Amsterdam.
FESTIVE INAUGURATION
Big party last July in the centre of Amsterdam. The well-known seed company Paradise Seeds opened its flagship Store, in which no fewer than two new shops were combined, in a suitably festive manner. With their Amsterdam Seed Center and a Global Giftshop, the many fans of Paradise Seeds can now also find what they seek in the very heart of Amsterdam.
The combination of Seed Center and Global Giftshop means a wide range of products. Of course Luc and Erik are most proud of their own seeds at Paradise Seeds, which have won dozens of international awards. In addition you will also find many other great hemp lifestyle products including apparel, bags, gifts and body care products. In short, both the residents of Amsterdam and the many domestic and foreign tourists now have another address not to be missed!
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39 us and the rest of society. Another major problem my parents had in this era was the fact that if they’d gone to ask for any official help from the state the social consequences would’ve been massive - it was almost inevitable that me, my bro and my sister would’ve been put into care. In the end the only way they could get off the gear and keep the family together was by moving to the remotest part of Scotland and sorting themselves out with a private doctor. We lived there for quite a long time.
THE RED ONE INTERVIEWS ‘BOB’
Born to the Culture
So when and why did you get into smoking hash? Back when I was about fourteen I’d started drinking a bit - I was quite angry at that age so I’d go out, get a bit pissed and start fighting. I also suffered from bad migraines. One day my Dad told me that if I stopped drinking and fighting he’d sort me out with a couple of grams of hash each week to calm me down a bit - this is when I started smoking. At first the pot
THE CRIME I’D COMMITTED WAS A POLITICAL CRIME; IT WAS, AND IS, AGAINST THE LAW BECAUSE OF THE ATTITUDES AND INTERESTS OF CERTAIN PEOPLE chilled me out a lot - it gave me a new, more philosophical perspective on life and it also stopped my migraines. Through conversations I’d have with other, older, pot smokers I also became more aware of my responsibilities and how my actions affected others - it made me a far more stable member of society! It was over the next few years then that the hippy lifestyle and hippy ideals became my lifestyle and my ideals, just as the Rasta culture is to many of the Jamaicans or the Hindi culture is to so many Indians; pot is part of my cultural identity.
A lot of the political and corporate media discourse about drug-use assumes that users and dealers have made a choice to become what they are. There are many reasons people use drugs - some folk do it because they’re bored, some are self-prescribing against various ailments or insecurities and some are simply trapped in old habits. There are, though, a growing number of souls for whom the drug culture is all they know; we’re talking about the people who’ve been born in to it. SSUK is proud to present this reflective and philosophical By The Red One interview with ‘Bob’, a 37 year old English guy who was born in to the drug culture… SSUK: Thanks for agreeing to the interview Bob, can you tell us a bit about your early years? Bob: No worries. My parents were both drug users, but my father also worked in the music industry doing art work for record sleeves. He realised quite early on that he’d have a lot better chance of getting the contracts to do the art work if he could also sort out the record
company execs with good drugs, so he started dealing. By the time I was around five years old both my parents were chasing the dragon and by the time I was eight or so they’d fallen in to a grand-a-day habit which they sustained through dealing - they’d started off selling hash but by this time it was nearly all heroin. They were stuck with this grand-a-day habit for about three years.
How did this affect you? Back in the seventies and eighties there was far more of a social stigma attached to drugs so the threat of arrest was a lot greater. This meant that me, my bro and my sis grew up with a strong distrust of cops and the authorities in general, we also had pretty restricted social circles we had to keep shtum about my parents activities so we had this barrier between
What about the progression from using to dealing? How and when did that happen? Well, the dealing started off when I moved to Edinburgh and got in to the rave scene around 1990. One of the things we found though was that the quality of the drugs in Edinburgh, particularly the ecstasy and the cannabis, was really bad - a lot of the hash around Scotland then was called diesel, it was either contaminated through bad smuggling practices or it’d been mixed with crap to bulk it out. It was the same with the ecstasy. I had friends in Manchester so I was going to get my pills off them, but then my mates in Edinburgh were asking us to sort them out so, before we knew it, me and a friend were going down to Manchester and buying pounds and kilos of hash at a time and a hundred e’s here and there - I was still only seventeen or eighteen. This really was all about the quality - even some of the bigger dealers who were selling shit would come to us for their percy because they knew our drugs were clean and safe. What about the growing? I didn’t get into growing weed until I moved down to the Westcountry - some
40 friends of mine had a big outdoor crop, 500 plants or so and I actually got a job one autumn helping them bring it in, dry it, trim it and all that. Well, that experience taught me a lot about how to grow weed outdoors and I had other friends who were getting good results on their indoor grows so I was learning a lot about growing weed in general. It wasn’t long after that when I started growing my own with a friend - at this stage it was still just about sorting out a few friends and keeping ourselves in smoke, we weren’t interested in making huge amounts of money or intending on going in to this as a profession or anything like that, we were just normal smokers trying to help other
way I could get the money… Although I’d come out of prison determined to keep smoking and not change who I thought I was, it’d also given me a bit of a kick to sort out a few other things but the cultural stigma of being inside for drugs prevented me from getting any legal work just as I was trying to get back in to society.
WE WEREN’T INTERESTED IN MAKING HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY OR INTENDING ON GOING IN TO THIS AS A PROFESSION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, WE WERE JUST NORMAL SMOKERS TRYING TO HELP OTHER SMOKERS OUT WHEN WE COULD smokers out when we could - that’s what our scene has always been about really. Anyway, we were only in to our second grow when we got arrested. What happened there? A friend of ours got nicked with a load of drugs, he grassed us up and we were busted the next day - simple as that! I was annoyed and gutted but I didn’t feel as though I’d done that much wrong and I wouldn’t get in to that much trouble - we thought they’d realise it wasn’t a professional grow or anything like that, it was just for personal use and any supply would’ve been minimal. How many plants did you have? What sort of set-up was it? We had about fifteen to twenty plants in flowering and the police found the remains of ten plants which had been a failed outdoor experiment. As far as the lights go, we had two 150 watt sodium lights and a bank of flourescents as a booster, we also had a very large Velux window which allowed about five hours of strong sun light into the room each day.
way it affected me; first off, the food was really bad and I actually suffered from really bad stomach problems after three months of eating prison food and I had general bad health issues. When you got out did you change anything about your way of life? Yes, as far as I was concerned I’d been a political prisoner - I hadn’t done anything to or harmed anyone else so the crime I’d committed was a political crime; it was, and is, against the law because of the attitudes and interests of certain people not because it’s a crime in which there are any victims. After I came out of prison I got very angry with the fact that society had put me in prison for something
that hadn’t caused anyone any harm so I started dealing quite vigorously in weed and hash - if that’s the brush they wanted to tarnish me with then that’s what I’d be. I hadn’t come out with that attitude but after a few months of looking for a job and telling them that I’d been to prison for drugs I kept hitting brick walls - no-one would give me a job. Up until that point, from eighteen to twenty-two, I’d had a full case of employment, maybe a couple of months off here and there but I’d always earned honest money. Now, by circumstance and intention, I was making money out of dealing - it wasn’t like the first time round in Edinburgh when it’d just grown out of trying to help mates out, this time I needed to pay bills and it was the only
So have you been dealing and growing since then? Yes, pretty much. I never bothered about being a big-time dealer though, one of the things I learnt was that if you don’t try and make loads of money out of it you probably won’t get caught - generally it’s the people who try and get rich out of it that get caught. I try and keep it to sorting my friends out, I’m socially responsible in that I don’t sell to young people and I try to sell it as cheaply as possible so I’m not ripping people off; one of the things that I’m proud of is the fact that I’ve managed to keep my prices lower than anyone else in this city. The other thing I learnt was that if you charge people too much and they get caught then they’re far more likely to grass you up! I don’t make much out of it, even at my busiest, when I just got out of prison, I was only making between ten and fifteen thousand a year. I also stopped growing for quite a while as well, even though it was the morally responsible thing to do - growers aren’t putting money into criminally controlled black markets or financing the lives of violent and nasty characters. Growers also know exactly what it is that they’re growing so they’re not smoking any chemically-loaded rubbish, but growing a few plants is a lot riskier than selling kilos as far as the police go.
We still didn’t think we were in that much trouble though - we were very polite and cooperative with the police and they were polite to us; they told us they’d been thinking of giving us a caution but they also felt obliged to pass it on to the magistrates court. That they did, and then, to our surprise, the CPS felt that it was a much more serious case and we ended up in crown court. We pleaded guilty to cultivation of cannabis for personal use and we both ended up getting six month sentences.
You’ve used cannabis for pain relief in recent years, can you tell us about that? Yes, after about four or five years of dealing I decided that it wasn’t getting me anywhere as far as life’s ambitions go so I decided to knock it on the head, go back to growing again and, also, to go to university. Just before I started uni though, I got hit by a car and very badly injured - I had chronic pain from my leg injuries for years and years afterwards, I still get mild problems now. The only thing I found that could get rid of the pain was the cannabis - the pharmaceutical pain killers were far too strong and they were turning me into a bit of a zombie, disabling me to the point where I couldn’t even do the simplest of things whereas the cannabis would get rid of the pain and I could get on perfectly normally with life. Growing pot was the only way I could ensure that I had a continuous and reliable enough supply of pain relief; I struggled without it.
Where did you go? I didn’t even realise this at the time, but my mate was still under twenty-one, I was twenty-two, so he ended up in youth prison and I got sent to Exeter. Luckily for me, I knew people who knew people in Exeter and I got on well with my cell mate who was also inside for the first time so it was pretty cool for me - we were both just looking to keep our heads down and get out as soon as possible. The worst thing about prison was the
So, just to wrap things up, what do you think are the major impacts of the criminalisation of drugs? The laws benefit no-one, they don’t stop the supply and they don’t stop people taking them. The criminalisation of drugs also allows career criminals to become rich and successful. Criminalisation also stops a lot of people seeking help if they become addicts, and it separates people who take drugs from the rest of society in many ways.
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43
BACKGROUND
Cannabis Gut-Smugglers: Reasons and Risks Drug muling’s a dirty way to earn money. Every year thousands ing up badly… If I don’t do this then there’s be another destitute family on the of people around the world get locked up for it, and for every gonna streets in a couple of months time.” soul that gets nicked humping drugs across a border there’s another ten desperados, outlaws or skint adventure seekers will- Ben, 38, a traveller, also from the UK: The Professor “I don’t need much money to live, I made ing to step into their hooves. it through last year on about five grand. Whenever I fly I try and make my money back on tobacco, and when I’m away I buy anything I think I can sell back home; clothes, pipes, bongs, stones, jewellery, but dope’s the easiest to get rid of and it’s the most profitable. I do a few hundred grams two or three times a year - I love the smoke, my mates love the smoke so me doing this keeps us all happy!” “Most of the risk is avoided by good wrapping, I always wrap my own and I double wrap it cos it goes through me in about eighteen hours - if any of it comes out before it should then I can take the outer wrap off, rewrap it and swallow it again. I had to start doing that cos I went to catch a plane once but there was a massive delay so I ended up losing a couple of ounces down a plane toilet! Some people take Immodium to keep it all in but that stuff sticks to the dope like cement, it’s a right twat to get off, I’d rather just reswallow it.”
SOME PEOPLE TAKE IMMODIUM TO KEEP IT ALL IN BUT THAT STUFF STICKS TO THE DOPE LIKE CEMENT, IT’S A RIGHT TWAT TO GET OFF, I’D RATHER JUST RESWALLOW IT There’s a multitude of different ways to get drugs across borders; the big-timers and the big stashes obviously have to be transported in vehicles of some description but the smaller amounts are often smuggled in peoples stomachs. Most of these gut-smugglers are independents, people trying to make enough wedge to make it through the next few months or pay for their plane ticket - very few of them are career criminals and even fewer of them are rich. SSUK has managed to find a couple of cannabis gutsmugglers willing to talk about the risks they take, the reasons they do it and the scams they face…
Bill, 47, from the UK: “I started smuggling in my belly about twenty years ago, after my first couple of trips to India. Loads of people around me were doing it and they were living the life I wanted, I was gutted to be going home to work in that bloody factory again. I’d been thinking about it then one day I just thought ‘fuck it, if they can do it and live to tell the tale then so can I’.” About twenty years after his first time, we bumped into Bill a very short distance
from some big pot fields. These days he’s happily married with a couple of young kids, but times are tough so he packed his bags and headed for ’the mountain’… “I can do half a key no worries, some people I know can do a whole one (kilo) but they’re big guys! This is the first time I’ve done it in years though - you know how things are, I’ve got a mortgage, kids to feed and work is dry-
Being pitched up in the dope Mecca that we are in at the time of writing, we’ve also been able to find someone who could supply dope ready to swallow: “These are five gram eggs, some people like four grams, some people like six grams but five is easy - good for counting and good for swallowing. Look…” Our ‘man’ puts a cling-filmed five gram wrap on the floor and stamps on it… “...See, if car drive over then no problem, no break - we test before, my eggs strong. I have one friend, he works [here] and then goes home every weekend - every weekend he take one kilo in his stomach, he do this
for one and half year but now he just start to have blood when it comes out, now he must to stop for six months.” Blood coming out of the business end? That doesn’t sound good… Bill: “Getting it out of the other end can be a nightmare, you always count them in carefully, make a mental note of how many you’ve swallowed, check your poo’s after the first twelve hours but they never all come out at once - the first time freaked me out a bit, I was still five eggs short two days after they started coming out. After about four or five days I was still one short. I thought I must’ve miscounted or missed it somehow, I didn’t want to think it might’ve disappeared into me forever, and then it popped out god knows where it was hiding but it always happens like that, you get used to carrying your little bowl around with you and poking through your poo for days at a time, it’s fucking disgusting. I never shit blood though.” Ben: “It isn’t just getting it out the other end that can be a nightmare. I scored my stash once, went round to check it out first and it was beautiful hash, we did the deal, I got it back to the hotel and opened one to have a celebration smoke but it was different to what I thought I’d bought, very average gear - the bastard must’ve pulled a bag switch on me cos he disappeared after that, that was an expensive lesson!” Out of all the things people smuggle in their gut pot has to be one of the most innocuous, but it’s still a risk if you don’t know what you’re doing - maybe you’ll get ripped off when you buy it, maybe you’ll get caught out by a delayed flight, maybe you’ll get nicked at the airport, maybe maybe maybe… The real point of the issue here is that as long as drugs are ‘illegal’ then they will be smuggled, and as long as there are people who’re desperate for cash then there will be people who smuggle drugs in their stomachs; whether it’s someone like Bill, risking his freedom to keep a roof over his family’s heads, or Ben, using his smuggling proceeds to avoid dealing with life’s responsibilities, or the guy who risked his health for riches by smuggling a kilo a week for a year and a half… This is but another angle that must be considered in the on-going debate about legalisation.
Ask Ed — TM
“Ed Rosenthal is the guru of ganja”-- High Times
LIGHT
INDICAS, SATIVAS, ETC.
HYDROPONICS
MARIJUANA
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LIGHT
Ed Spent 30 Years Perfecting His Grow Technique: All You Need Is THE BOOK
tems because each diode emits light in an unusually narrow spectrum. The minerals used to make it determine LED fixtures the spectrum are more expens the diode emits. HID lamps emit ive than HID lights, most of but they save their light in spectrums that money in the long run: are not very useful to the plant. With LEDs, UÊ LED lamps fixtures can be design use less than ed to provide half the plants the electricity with exactly of HIDs per the spectrum unit that they need of PAR light for maximum produced. At growth. $.10 a kilowatt, LEDs By tailoring will save $215 the diodes’ per light specyear when compa trum to plant requirements, red to the cost LEDs can be of running a more efficien 1000w HID t PAR produc twelve ers. HPS lamps hours a day. deliver more total light per watt of input, UÊ LEDs last but LEDs are longer than HID twice as efficien bulbs. UÊ LEDs need t in PAR light per watt little to no as HPS lamps. cooling That means equipment, a 200w LED lamp in contrast can be substit to HIDs uted for a that require 400w HPS lamp, air or water and the 300w cooling, LED lamps ventilation system can be substit uted for 600w s, or air condiHPS lamps. tioners. The first genera tions of LED lamps did not emit an intense -enough light LEDs are powere to support either d by either a active vegetat transformer or a ive growth or flowering, but digital driver. modern fixtures Transformers are similar to , which use higher-capacit old-style magne y diodes, have tic ballasts for HID units; solved those early proble they use more ms. energy than digital contro llers and produc Higher quality systems use mostly e heat that may need to light along with red be dissipated. SYSTEM some blue.DRIP This is a small S OUTDOO consid Just RS eration as any other produc with compared to Drip irrigati t, manufacturers the heat HPS on is a 90% more lamps produc standards differ. A efficient e, which has method’ of few manufacturers delivering water to be vented LEDs are convenient LED lamps emit . to add to plants green light NASA virtually no heat, outhighly efficient light use because they are lightweight thanthe has shown doors other metho so they producers, and emit far to be be placed very ds. That is can with plants, and e less HPS lamps. They are much highereffectiv close to the garden than floodin amber is also small, so they are easy heat than g an area using are not encum and sometimes Stealth LED™ grow to install. The added. Most a hose, bered with tubes light manufacturersor overhead for air or reduces energy consumpti has a 50,000 hour lifetime and include a fewspraying. The result iswater cooling, white light emitter heavy ventila more delivered to the systems by 60-70%. on as compared with HPS or MH s in theirwater tion, or any of the other root zone than units. These diodes actuall problems or other waterin any y emit a combin inconvenienc of HID lamps. es ation of red, g system. Drip irrigati green, and blue on other spectrums,has which benefits that make it useful.Light from of a 1000w HID bine to appear LEDs can be is easy tocomIt system install, easy to white. White LEDs emit very little . combined lights help design andwith heat to both supply An advantage is in-HPS and MH lamps, so expens to the plants. The light and can be placed very close ive. useful wavele of using a combin there is no spreads at a 120° angle. reason to scrap ngths for the tion of HPS plants and soften afrom Maxx Power has your digital Drip system and LED lights the eerie purple a built in digital driver This LED HID lamp. s use pressu Adding LEDs is that you tors the power going can ensure that that monire from color generated by to your other public water the to the combination you are providi lights increas adjusts accordingly to the bulbs 100 times a second and es the amoun ng all the - spectrums of red andsystem, gravity or a pump blue light. Luckily t of light deliver ensure that maximum to deliver that plants need water output is being , the spectru achieved. ed to the garto thrive. If m range is where it is wsanted.den. For instance, more HID lamps usually wider Spaa garden using than the bandghetti lines tap rather than a 400w used, that is guar- off a main deliverHPS can be increas LEDs are anteed for each they y that line add ed is to the equiva PAR light, but connected to emitter. lent of increas 600 watts using most of the the water source 120 | MARIJ e is in the yellow 100 watts of LEDs. emitter on the . An UANA GROW ER’S HANDB other end of spectrum. AddAdding ing 300 watts of For O Oeven K distribution the spaghe red and blue LEDs creates ti line contro , use tLEDs instead the equivalent ls the rate at water through its porous a water soaker hose, which “leaks” increases PAR light, but which water material. flows. not in the yellow spectrum. As with other plumbing system eastern U.S., s there are all kinds and other areas, MARIJUANA of accessories GROWER’S H there may be A N to no need to irrigate DBOOK | 121 deal with problems that plants at all or may be encoun to use it as plants just a supplem tered by or gardens. Some ent to natural sources. of these are garIn areas where dens located there is a summe on different levels, remote drought such r gardens and as parts of southe different size rn Europe varying and the North plants with American west, water needs. The plants can irrigation fertilize is required or be the plants will d using a fertilize die. r siphon placed Outdoor plants in the water line. and gardens can be irrigated using Irrigation system a hose that fills s vary tremen a trough in reservoir, using dously their complexity a gravity powere resulting from d canal they that delivers the tasks are designed water to a group to accomplish. of plants or most efficien Store bought kits tly using a drip are suitable system. for most backOverhead waterin yard gardens. Even simpler g is very ineffici is the pinhole because of loss ent pail or bag irrigation. to evaporation A container is and the with shotgun approa filled water. The water ch of deliver ing water in slowly drips areas where there to the desired area throug are no crop roots. h small holes Once pierced the plants are drilled or flowering, overhe into the reservo ir. ad water slowly It delivers water is dangerous to the buds to the plant so which are susthat little is lost. ceptible to attack by mold when moisture is present. thrive under those specifi c conditions. Indica plants Thus, in any developed in season, no matter central weathe 292 | MARIJ what the U A N A Asia G R O Wbetwee the r, some plants E R ’ S H An and 35th latitud N D B O O 25th will do better K where the weathe es, others. than r is changeable. Drought one year may Indicas, includi be followed by ng Kush varietie cloudy, rainy or sunny weathe s, have broad genera r. For the popula l characteristic tion to early, s: they mature continue, the MARIJUANA have compact plant group GROWER’S short branch needed different individ es and wide, short leaves uals that survive which are dark and even someti green, mes tinged purple . Their buds are
| 293
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8-9
45 APHIDS I found aphids colonizing my grow room. They are leaving behind exoskeletons visible in the picture of the leaf. How should I respond to this problem? CONNOR
Ed Rosenthal is recognized worldwide as a leading authority on marijuana. In his 30-plus years as America’s “guru of ganja” he has written or edited more than a dozen books about marijuana cultivation and social policy that cumulatively have sold over one million. His first book, Marijuana Grower’s Guide, is the only title on marijuana cultivation to be reviewed by The New York Times Book Review. After almost two decades, his Ask Ed advice column continues to answer questions on all matters of marijuana from readers around the world.
Your identification is correct. Your plants are under attack by aphids. Ants often herd aphids for their high sugar exudates, termed “honeydew”. If this is the situation you must eliminate the ants to get rid of the aphids. Ants are repelled and killed by the cinnamon and cloves and other pesticides. Herbal based pesticides such as ER’s Zero Tolerance and other brands eliminate aphids. You can make a water solution using one rounded tablespoon of a combination of cinnamon and clove powder soaked in a liter of lukewarm water for six hours. To get the extra killing power of the spice oils soak the powder in about 60 grams of vodka for a few hours before adding the water. The oils dissolve in the alcohol. You can strain the mixture, but you can also use it with the powders. Pyrethrum is a natural pesticide derived from plant flowers found in some commercial anticides. Ant stakes and ant baits contain minute amounts of poisons, usually imoclad, that the ants carry back to the colony, resulting in community poisoning. The minute amount of poison is so targeted it is considered safe. A tiny solitary wasp, aphidius coleman, lays a single egg inside an aphid nymph. The larvae spends its life feasting inside the nymph, turning it into a mummified skeleton. When it matures it pops out “alien” style and is soon mature enough to mate and start laying. A single wasp can lay more than 300 eggs over its lifespan. Adults feed on aphid honeydew.
All of the branches of this Trainwreck, down to the lowest ones, are getting light and producing bud. Don’t prune this plant. Only remove branches that aren’t getting much light.
PRUNING OUTDOORS
LIGHT HEIGHT
I have some outdoor plants that are 1 to 1.5 meters tall. I never pruned the lower leaves. Now that it is early August how much should I prune now to promote readiness for flowering? Some are bushy, some are tall and a bit leggy. RUSSEL
My garden is lit by a 600-watt lamp that is at its top height, 165 cm. Two of the three plants are 110 cm, so the plant tops are only 55 cm from the lamp. I am worried that the tops will burn if they get too close to the lamp. What is a safe distance to keep the plants from the light? The lamp I am using gets quite hot. DAVE
If the plants are far enough apart not to shade each other, so all of the branches are getting light, there is no reason to remove them. Sunlight has been supporting their growth throughout the season and this will continue through ripening. If the plants are close together so that only the top canopy receives light and the lower branches are shaded by top branches or other plants, the understory will produce very few buds and they will be lower quality. The leaves don’t have access to light, which is needed to produce sugars used as building blocks for growth. These leaves and branches should be removed for several reasons. They cost the plants energy. Rather than producing sugars, they import them from productive parts of the plant to maintain metabolism. They use water and minerals collected by the roots. When they are removed the resources go to the productive leaves at the top of the canopy, giving the leaves the resources to grow faster, and the roots have less tissue to provide for. Excess branches and leaves that are not productive create more humid conditions. Plant leaves transpire water, creating a moist area around the plant. When there are more branches and leaves, more water is transpired, so the plant is surrounded by more moisture. Extraneous leaves and branches hamper airflow. Breezes remove moist and CO2-depleted air and brings fresh CO2 laden air to the leaf surfaces. Clip branches and leaves that are in perennial shadow using scissors or plant clippers that are constantly dipped in 3 percent (drugstore grade) hydrogen peroxide to prevent infections.
When gardens are supplemented with CO2, plant metabolism, photosynthesis and growth increase as the leaf temperature climbs to 30 degrees. At higher temperatures there is often some stress that results in looser buds. Without supplemental CO2, plant metabolism and photosynthesis is limited by CO2 availability so the plants function better at a lower temperature, around 24 degrees. The amount of heat that a lamp directs towards the canopy varies greatly. Lamps emit much of their heat as infrared light. When this light hits a surface such as a plant leaf, it is absorbed and its energy is converted to heat. In addition the lamp heats the air around it and this reaches the plant as well. Bleached out leaves, often called light burn, result from too high a temperature, not from too much light. The conditions should more properly be called heat burn. Air-cooled reflectors capture most of the infrared light and heat the bulb produces, so much less gets to plant leaf. Water-cooled lamps capture almost all of it. Air circulation is another factor, because it removes heated air from the area. For this reason there is no set distance between lamp and the top of the canopy. The best way to determine the proper distance is to check the leaf surface temperature with a surface temperature thermometer. This inexpensive device uses an infrared beam for measurement. Leaf temperature has a close correlation with air circulation and air temperature since the leaf, being very thin, radiates its heat to the surrounding air. Using the surface thermometer you can determine the right lamp height and canopy air temperature so that proper leaf temperature is maintained. For instance, if the leaf temperature is too high and the space has good air circulation, you would lower the ambient temperature to cool the leaf. You mentioned that your plants are over a meter tall. If the plants’ canopy cover 2/3 of the garden area, it is time to force them to flower. If much of the canopy is bare, cut the plants back a bit. This encourages them to branch out and spread over the garden while eliminating the height problem.
46 HIGH ALTITUDE GROWING I live in the mountains of Norway at 2450 meters. First frosts come early at this elevation, usually around the end of August. The spots I am considering have full sun and are covered with ponderosa and sagebrush rather than Aspen. I am planning on using smaller size grow bags in order to help induce flowering and planting next to rock outcroppings to use their warmth at night. My feeling is that it is possible to grow in this area, but I’m deciding if I should go all in and try for a big harvest or do a couple of small patches and see how it works out. What do you think about the garden’s prospects? GUNNAR It can be done. Use auto-flowering plants that are started indoors in late April and planted out in June, once the land heats up a bit. The plants will flower and ripen before the end of August. Auto-flowering plants do not require light deprivation or a long night for them to flower. They start flowering as they grow and ripen about 100 days after germination. The plants are usually fairly small at maturity and usually yield only a few ounces, so plan on growing many more plants than you normally would. Auto-flowering plants are very difficult to clone. Germinate all the plants you plan to grow.
TWO PLANTS PER BUCKET I am thinking of setting up a small four-plant wick system in a small crawl space under the stairs and I was thinking about putting two plants per 20 liter container. What will happen? Will they thrive healthfully as long as there is a good medium and nutrient solution or should I use only one plant per pot? DAVID Two plants growing in a 20 liter container usually have a higher yield than a single plant. There are other advantages as well. With two plants the canopy is covered faster because each plant has less space to fill. Eventually, the two plants fill the area more completely than a single plant. As a result the plants are ready to force flowering sooner and more buds are produced, increasing both the yield over a single plant and decreasing total growth time.
In a garden the plants were lit 12 hours per day using fluorescents. Blue LED lights were kept on continuously so they provided the only light during the 12 hours the others were off. The plants grew vegetatively but produced a few flowers that were true to sex.
LOW YIELD I had a 1 by 2 meter white flood tray with a .135 M3 reservoir, with 32 plants in it. It was a mix of sativas and indicas. We had a ventilation setup and CO2 hooked up with a timer. I used a 600 watt HPS lamp on a Light Rail. The temperature was kept at 22 degrees and humidity at 50 percent. My harvest was only 225 grams. How can I increase my yield? OSCAR
The power went out during night-cycle. The light came on early and I turned it off, and then reset the timer to the correct hours. Are my three weeks into flowering cycle plants in danger or will they be OK? What if the light timer has been doing this for weeks? ANGELA
Part of the reason that the plants had a low yield is that their growth rate was slowed because of the low temperature. As far as temperature is concerned, plants function in much the same way as cold-blooded animals; their metabolism is affected by the temperature. When the temperature is cool, plants’ rate of metabolism and photosynthesis is slow even if all other conditions—light, water, nutrients and CO2—are abundant. With the high light and high CO2 conditions in your garden, the growth rate will increase considerably when you raise the temperature to about 27 to 30 degrees. That’s an approximation. Use a surface temperature thermometer to read the temperature. Then maintain the leaf temperature at about 30 to 32 degrees by adjusting the room temperature.
If the light interruption happened only once it will have little or no effect on the flowers. If the timer had messed up regularly the flowers would appear loose and stretched and might have an odd appearance. Hermaphroditism also sometimes occurs. If the buds appear normal, I think that that the light mishap was an anomaly.
Another reason the yield might be low is the varieties of plants that you grew. Since you were growing a garden of mixed sativas and indicas, the sativas may have towered over the indicas, shading them and thwarting their growth. For best yields row plants that have similar growth characteristics.
MESSED UP TIMER
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49 FLOWERING TO VEGETATIVE CYCLE I placed a flowering plant outside in a great place with good sun in early May, way too early for Massachusetts’ cold climate. She was looking great. But the plant went right from flowering very nicely straight back into vegetative state. There are 60 cm of vegetative growth on these juicy big fat buds. What should I do? REDMAN The plant returned to vegetative state because it was receiving too short a dark period to maintain flowering growth. As the days grew longer the plant responded by going back into vegetative. The plant was probably a sativa or sativa hybrid, which are most sensitive to light changes in late flowering. There is nothing you can do now to get those buds to ripen now. You will have to wait until autumn, when the increasing darkness will reach a critical time period, once again forcing the plant to flower. In the future when you place a plant outdoors make sure it receives no more than 12 or 13 hours of light per day, resulting in an uninterrupted dark period of 11 or 12 hours, which signals the plant to flower. Aphids covering a branch.
TINY PLANTS I was just given a 1000 watt HPS light, a 120 cm square tray and a tray with about 60 clones. Can I grow all the clones in the tray? What should I do? CAMILLA Your tray can hold between 36 and 48 15 cm planting containers. Choose the healthiest, most vigorous plants to transplant, one per container. Choose a planting mix recommended at an indoor grow shop along with a complete vegetative fertilizer. Follow directions for use. Grow the plants for about two weeks under continuous light from the HPS. When the plants have grown up so they are almost touching each other, turn the light down to 12 hours and keep the plants in total uninterrupted darkness during this period. Apply “flowering formula” fertilizer as directed. Seven to nine weeks after initiating flowering the buds will ripen.
CLARIFYING THE SOLUTION I use hexane to draw THC into solution from bubble hash, my starting reactant. I still end up with water-soluble material and other plant lipids. Doing the math I figure the oil is above 90 percent. It is very transparent, leaning from fairly clear to amber. Do you know of anyway to precipitate the polar plant material from the solution? KAROLA You might try dissolving the bubble hash in alcohol. Then add water and hexane to the solution. The water and alcohol bond, leaving water-solubles in the alcohol-water solution. THC and the other oil-solubles move to the hexane because they have more affinity to it than to the bi-polar alcohol. Once the oils are in the hexane solution filter them through carbon before you concentrate them. This should draw off residue impurities that are either dissolved or mixed in the solution.
WHEN TO FLOWER INDOORS I have 4.5 meters of grow space between the plant medium and the light. How tall should the plants be when I change the light cycle to flower? My plants are about 2 meters tall now and really bushy. KEITH Height doesn’t matter. What is really important is that the whole garden area is covered with canopy. When light hits a solid surface such as a leaf it is absorbed and cannot be used again. So plants in a garden need not be tall but should be wide. The underbrush of tall plants, which receive little light, is not productive so why grow them? Force the plants to flower when looking down at the canopy, you find that it covers about 2/3 of the garden surface. The plants will fill in the rest of the area during flowering.
TOO TALL FOR GREENHOUSE I have 5 plants in pots in my greenhouse that have reached its ceiling. They have started to flower, so I’m afraid it’s too late to top or bend the stems. What should I do? ANNA Letting the buds crash into the roof of the greenhouse will create a moisture crisis that will result in mold plaguing your plants. Even at this late point Bend the stems and then support the bends or creases with dowels or bamboo stakes so they stay upright. You may be also able to support the growth by tying them to the greenhouse structure. Try to open up the space to light as you manipulate the plants so that as much bud as possible receives direct light.
50
To prevent early flowering the dark cycle was interrupted in the middle of the night. These early season plants were hit with fluorescents for a brief period late each night until they were placed in flowering.
CORNBORER ATTACK
UNINTENDED EARLY FLOWERING
I have a plant growing outdoors from seed. From the height of 15 cm from the base, the plant is drying out. The drying has now traveled 15 cm up the stem. I noticed a broken lower branch just above where the drying started. The entire plant is wilting now. It seems the dried out area is preventing the flow of water and nutrients to the remaining plant.
I’m growing outdoors and some of the clones seem a bit retarded as the buds have formed on the stalk. I had heard you said to go ahead and remove them to hopefully re-grow til the end of the season. My question is how to remove them, there is no stem to snip off at the base of the bud, they are coming straight out of the stalk. I’ve not seen this before. They are pretty small but very sticky. What should I do? JULIE
The two branches, just below the dried out area, are green and healthy, as is the main stalk up to that point. Will the plant re-grow if I cut off the upper portion? Did the lower broken branch cause this condition? When I cut the main stalk, what should I seal the wound with? INNOVANT A cornborer, a type of caterpillar, entered the stem of the plant at the wound point, where the protective layers had been stripped away by the branch break. Once it got to the inner pith layer it started climbing the stem, stopping the flow of water and nutrients, which caused the wilt. The two lower branches are unaffected by the problems in the upper stem. There is nothing you can do to save the upper portion except taking clones from the unwilted portions. After you cut the upper portion of the stem, seal it with grafting wax or grafting seal. This prevents infections. The plant may grow new shoots from the nodes of the remaining branches.
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There are three reasons why plants may start to flower early. The first is that the plants were placed outdoors while there was still a dark period long enough to force flowering. The second cause might be that there was a dramatic change in the lighting environment. The third is that the plants are receiving a critical amount of darkness that is enough to force the variety to flower. When plants are placed outdoors early in the season, March or April, there is still a long enough dark period to force flowering. On March 22, the first day of spring, the plants receive a little less than 12 hours of darkness. This forces them into flowering. As the days get longer most varieties, excluding some indicas, go back to vegetative cycle and then flower normally in the fall. Some indicas continue to flower and never re-vegetate. When some varieties of seedlings or clones are grown under continuous light or a long light cycle such as 20 hours daily and then placed outdoors where they receive only 14-15 hours of light, the change of light cycle is enough to trigger a flowering response even if the variety usually doesn’t flower under a 9 or 10 hour dark period. Plants with this problem usually readjust to vegetative growth after a few weeks. Varieties differ in the number of hours of darkness needed to initiate flowering. Early maturing varieties often require as few as 8 or 9 hours of uninterrupted darkness daily to force flowering. In lower latitude areas such as southern California and other areas in the lower tier of the U.S., and Mediterranean Europe including Spain and Italy, indica and indica-sativa hybrids flower very early, resulting in small plants, because the dark period is too long, even in mid-summer, to keep the plants in vegetative growth. Instead they are forced into flowering. The solution for this problem is the same no matter what the cause; the dark period must be interrupted. When the dark period is interrupted by light for even a few moments, the darkness countdown is restarted from zero. Use a warm-white fluorescent or high-pressure sodium (HPS) light. Imagine that the light is like a water spray that must reach all parts of the plant. The light only has to contact it for a brief moment. If the plants flowered because they were placed out too early in the season, you can stop using a light-break in mid-May. If the plants are coming from a continuous light environment they will need the light for about a month before they adjust to the new environment. Indicas growing in low latitudes require the light-break until they are ready to be forced to flower.
53
INDOOR GROW
Southern growing part 2 By Smokedout
Hi there again and welcome back to my little article, which this month is the continuing part of my first article back in february titled “Southern Growing”. The last time I documented the growth of the 150W HPS light with an electronic Ballast that are supposed to be the equivalent of around a 300w HPS. We saw last time that although the plants grew fairly well under these lights for around the first 4 weeks of flowering, they still lacked a certain amount of intensity which was clearly visible come harvest time! This time round I will be documenting the use of a new piece of technology in the form of LED lighting. The LED fixture being used is the EVADER BLOOM LED 300W. This expensive bit of kit is part of a whole range of LED lights on the market which have been designed and tested specifically on cannabis plants in Canada to find the best spectrum for the plants
cents and CFL’s, and are looking healthy and strong after a good start being fed on Advanced Nutrients’ PH/EC perfect range of grow nutrients. The Wilma system I will be growing them in was set-up a few days prior to speed up the process of moving them and reducing any chance of transplant shock. In the bottom of the 11ltr pot, is a layer of felt to filter out any leftover dust from the clay pellets (which are being used as the growing medium), so that the drip emitters do not become clogged up. Make sure that when filling up your tank, that the water either comes from a large feed tank that is PH corrected or, fill up the nutrient tank with water a few days before the plants get moved in so that it gives time for any contaminants in the water to evaporate. After this you can start to adjust your pH levels and add base nutri-
UPON CLOSER INSPECTION YOU CAN SEE THAT THE BUD STRUCTURE IS A LOT TIGHTER AND LOOKS BETTER THAN WHEN UNDER HPS AND THE CRYSTAL CONTENT IS UNBELIEVABLE to absorb the maximum amount of light energy availiable to them. There has been lots of hype around this new technology which has grown massively in the last few years and has seen companies like Advanced Nutrients taking an interest and helping to design LED lights for use in the hydro garden. This unit costs around £600, which is a horrendous amount of money to be spending on a light but if the hype around it is anything to go by then this will be the way to grow in the future. When the initial costs come down a bit more, and then a little more still, more people will be buying these lights as they run at lower wattages (which means less power consumption) and they run
with virtually no heat at all so you can get away with using smaller intake and exhaust fans which again means less electricity use! Here for this test we will be looking at growing Super Skunk under the 300w LED light to see if this can really match a 900w HPS like they say it can, or if it falls short of the mark! These plants have been brought through to the flowering room after a couple of weeks veg time under fluores-
ents, I like to give a slightly weaker dose of nutrients for the first week than what is stated on the labels so as to ween them off the grow formula they have been using for the last three weeks.
WEEK 1 The plants have been set out in their final positions and the 300W LED is hung and switched on at about 15 inches from the top of the canopy just to be on the safe side, as although these lights run very cool, the light they give off is very bright and intense and can still give you leaf burn if you place them too close too soon. Once the light is on all the plants turn a deep, dark, purply black colour and the light penetrates through every leaf and stem and through to the bottom of the plants which just seems odd in the grow room after using bright yellowish coloured HPS lights for so long!
WEEK 5 Not a lot has changed in the size of the plants as they are staying nice and dumpy but there is now visibly plenty of bud sites all over the place that are soaking up the light and making good use of it as there is not a wilting/yellow/dead leaf in site and the smaller leaves surrounding the buds are shining with a layer of resin glands already and things should be looking good as today is the day that the Shooting Powder is brought into the equation which takes the grow to a totally different level of class.
The plants are all looking a good healthy... err..purple.... and all the leaves are pointing for the light which they seem to be loving and thriving under at the moment. The EC in the tank is at about 1.3 after a dose of amazing Aqua Flakes Bloom Nutrients which is a two part formula that I’ve used for a few years now and can say is a very good set of plant feeds that cover all bases from start to finish.
WEEK 3 The plants are all looking healthy after a couple of weeks of adjusting to the new light and have gained about 30-40cm in height and all branches are beginning to show white pistils forcing their way out from the calyx’ on every bud site which is always a good sign! The nutrient solution is then drained down out of the nutrient tank to get rid of old/stale feed water and then replaced with heppa filtered water from two dehumidifiers from within the grow room itself (a small example of self sufficiency within the grow room) and then fresh feeds are added back into the tank so the plant receives cleaner nutrients that are easier to take up and shift around its internal cells. The LED light is an amazing bit of kit really, it runs so cool, yet is so bright and the plants seem to be liking the different wavelength of light as the internode spacing is tight with only 10-15mm of spacing between each set of leaves/branches. I decided that now was the time to lower the LED light down nice and close to the canopy as they had proved that they could handle it from a reasonable distance so I dropped it to nine... yes, nine inches away from the top of the buds and thought I’d keep a close eye on them for the next couple of day just in case the intense light burt my ladies. I spent the next week monitoring the tops and the leaves to make sure they were still in tip top form and to my supprise they didnt seem to care that the light was that close as they all still looked a lovely shade of deep...purple - and with no signs of leaf curl or burnt hairs in sight.
As with the start of week 3 we drain down the tank and repeat the process of re-filing and re-feeding the system but when applying the base nutrients (Aqua Flakes A+B) we only add enough to bring the EC up to 1.4. Then I add a whole sachet of Shooting Powder into a jug that has been filled with water from the nutrient tank and stir until all lumps have dissolved and the mixture has finished fizzing. (I would like to mention that when doing this I held the jug up to the purple light from the LED it gave the water a cool radioactive look!) This additive is a great investment in your garden as it works wonders in plumping up your flowers and in the production of essential oils which is clearly visible by the next week when you get to add 2 sachets into the tank! All the plants are healthy and look great although they lack a little in size of the buds forming compared to a 600W HPS but are a great deal bigger and better formed than under the 150W HPS lights from the previous issue. Harvest time should be interesting!
WEEK 8 Week 8 turns up after a pretty uneventful grow that has gone surprisingly smooth considering this is a new technology. The only downside to this grow was the overall yield which was about half what you could get off a 600W HPS, but, things do look very good with glistening THC crystals covering the buds and any leaf close to them. The plants at this stage have had 5 weeks of feeding followed by 3
54 weeks of supercharged feeding (due to the shooting powder) so they have had a whole lot of nutrients pumped into them which although is good for them, is not so good for us the consumer so now we must flush the whole system for about 10-14 days to leach out as much nutrient solution as possible from the plants so that the end result is as smooth as possible. When draining the tank down you must make sure you have somewhere suitable to dispose of your waste so that it won’ t overfill while draining down or pollute the local water supply!
with horrific temps indoors even without turning on a HPS lamp! But if you live in a not-so-sunny country such as the UK then you may need to think about somehow adding a heater to your grow room just to bring the temps up a bit to compensate for the sudden loss of heat. The hype was that this should outshine a 600W HPS light and it may well do, but on this particular grow it fell short of the mark by quite a bit. This is not to discredit the light as it has many great points which can be seen by just
TO GET THE CHANCE TO WORK WITH A LED LIGHT IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE AS IT SHOWS YOU WHAT MODERN TECHNOLOGY CAN DO FOR US GARDENERS AND OUR PLANTS Once the tank is empty I like to run the hose through each pot for short amounts of time so as to rid any excess salt build up from any unused feed, and then drain that away too, before filling up the nutrient tank with pure water to set the plants on the final stage of their life, a good clean out. The ladies are looking good although the amount of large colas is not that great, but upon closer inspection you can see that the bud structure is a lot tighter and looks better than when under HPS and the crystal content is unbelievable. The smaller yield looks as though it may deliver a knock-out stone at the end as all the nuggets are extremely dense and coated in more THC than I’ve seen on a plant ever!
OVERALL To get the chance to work with a LED light is a great experience as it shows you what modern technology can do for us gardeners and our plants. The cost of this unit is a major investment and you must show a bit of patience when using this type of light at first as just replacing it for your old light means that you have altered your plants’ environment straight away as the LED light gives off little to no heat at all. This may be advantageous if you live in a sunnier climate and struggle
looking at the plants as they have not yellowed off at all and all look in top health, not to mention the thick layer of crystals that cover the plant and the tight crisp feel of each bud. I am going to keep playing with this light for a while as I feel that I can get a better result with it but it means doing some drawings and a bit of re-arranging to get the optimum environment for it to do its thing and maybe, just maybe it will produce what they say it can. I would recommend growing a maximum of 3 plants under one of these lights to get the best results otherwise things can become a bit awkward trying to work in purple light when branches become entangled together. I dont think you can beat HPS, get a cool tube, get a heat deflector, get some fans, HPS produces the goods every time and unless a major jump is made in LED technology which visibly pisses on HPS lighting and the prices fall, people wont want to part with their hard earned cash on a bit of kit which costs more than a secondhand car and yields them less than before! Happy smoking stoners! Smokedout
uk grow rks hydroponic & horticultural specialists
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57
SHOPREVIEWS
Southern Hydro Centre, Southhampton This is a very unique shop, with plenty to see. Southern Hydro Centre is a family run business and has been well established in Southampton for over 11 years. Location is ideal with plenty of parking outside the shop and the shop itself is nice and discreet, tucked away of the main road behind Castle 4 Cars. The management of this store is why it continues to be a great shop to visit. There are not many in the industry that know more about hydroponics than these guys and stood in the shop they really do offer great advice, which comes from the 24 years of horticultural experience. Customers seemed relaxed and confident with the manager and all their questions were answered. The shop stocks all the leading brands. Nutrients include Ionic/ Canna/ House & Garden/ Advanced/ Holland Secret/ Plant Magic Plus/ Bio Bizz + many more. Fans, extraction and ventilation products are on sale as well as tents, soils and Hydroponic Systems. The shop had a good selection of Plug and Grow
The Grow Room, Worthing Few shops have opened and have had the immediate success of The Grow Room, Worthing. This team have already seen some good business come through their doors and this is down to a few things; good value for money, sound and professional advice as well great product selection. The team are genuine and will not sell you anything you don’t need. They want long term business relationships with their customers and this can only be achieved with the business ethics they practice. Michael and John have over 17 years experience between them and trust me; they know what they are talking about! Every effort has been made to ensure the best equipment and nutrients are available and the shop layout is clean and welcoming. The shop has rear access
products as well as all the accessories required to achieve the best results. Be sure to visit Southern Hydro soon, they have everything you need for a successful grow!
Southern Hydro Centre 9 Malmesbury Road Shirley Southampton SO15 5FT (t) 023 8070 4080 sales@southernhydrocentre.co.uk www.southernhydrocentre.co.uk
with parking for discreet loading and this has been welcomed by the already growing clientele who visit the shop. All the leading nutrient brands are available to purchase such as Canna, House & Garden and Advanced Nutrients with the new PH perfect range. Gavita and Plasma lighting has been well stocked as well as the various lighting shades, ballasts, tents and accessories. This is a great shop that will be here for a long time to come supplying East and West Sussex with hydroponic equipment. The Grow Room 7 Coronation Buildings Brougham Road Worthing West Sussex BN11 2NW (t) 01903 236000 (e) thegrowroom@hotmail.co.uk
Triangle Hydroponics, Bournemouth Triangle Hydroponics can be found at the Triangle in Bournemouth and has been established there for over 3 years now. The shop has clean displays with ‘flora and fauna’ being grown in the display tents – nice touch. This is good to see because it allows customers to see the size of the tents and all the products required to manage the tent and your grow. The shop stocks a wide range of products including Canna, Dutch Pro, Flairform and Advanced Nutrients as well as NFT, IWS and DWC systems among others. Although the shop itself is fairly small it is well stocked and has a large stockroom downstairs so chances are they will have exactly what you want. Although, according to the owner Jay, the shop caters mainly for the hobbyist, they
welcome large orders and operate a price match policy (details of which are on their website at www.trianglehydroponics.co.uk). Expert advice is always on hand as the shop is open 6 days a week until 6pm and info can also be found through their twitterfeed (@trianglehydo. They pride themselves on customer service and a friendly face is always ready to welcome you!
Triangle Hydroponics 31b The Triangle Bournemouth BH2 5SE (T) 01202 556661 admin@trianglehydroponics.co.uk www.trianglehydroponics.co.uk
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62
INDEX OF ADS / COLOFON Index of ads Name
Advice columnist Mamakind’s autobiographical-ish book Sex Pot is a fun romp into the mind and sexuality of a lady viper of negotiable virtue and somewhat indiscriminate affection. Quizzes, Q&As about what you can do with T&As, descriptions of kinks and new things to try, humorous answers to humorous questions adorn the 134 pages of wanton weed and stiletto sex. Be forewarned, this is not a book for those of delicate sensibilities or romantic hearts, this is an edgy book about sex and drugs. Not big on foreplay, Mamakind plunges in right away and advocates the use of the lit end of a joint on tender parts starting on page 2. Make no mistake, this is not some vanilla couple’s book extolling the virtues of getting high and then using your love’s naked body as a serving tray for a variety of munchies. This is a
book about encouraging you to find your limits, and then giving them a little herbal nudge. Popular kinks are described, and often illustrated with stories from Mamakind’s colorful past. She shares herself with the reader openly, going so far as to share her sexual highlights top ten list. On a personal note: her #9 is my #1, but her #1 sounds like a lot of fun to try. To make sense of that, you’ll just have to get a copy for yourself. Mamakind writes for Skunk magazine, and several sections in the book use an advice column format where she answers questions about sex, relationships and pot. Some questions are serious, and some silly, but each is answered in Mamakind’s unique style.
Quizzes such as “Are You a Pot Pimp or a Pot Ho?” and “Are you a Pot Snob” have a little good natured fun with cannabis culture. These tests would be well suited for after circle conversation starters with friends. In a more intimate settings, other parts of the book may make for more intimate conversation starters. Leading by example, she takes the reader through her tale of fetishes and experimentation. Recounting some of her past experiences with men and women in varying combinations and numbers. She is open and free with her own sexual wants and desires, and invites the reader to join her. The “Pussytoke” adventures were my favorite part of the book. The inspiring story of a woman on a mission to include her own sweet flower as part of a smoking apparatus . A heartfelt tale of not giving up in the face of setbacks and dangling bongs. To be fair, some of Mamakind’s appetites may be a bit more exotic than erotic to me, but I’m more the romantic-foreplay with the occasional spice for fun sort. Mamakind walks a slightly wilder path. No less valid, just a little different. For sexy stoners thinking of expanding their sexual horizons with a willing partner or two, this book is filled with lots of encouragement for friendly fringe fantasy fornication. Peace, love, and puka shells, Grubbycup
Colofon Page
8 Ball Hydroponics 61 Advanced Seeds 14 Angel Grow Hydroponics 25 Ashford Hydro 51 Atami 10 Atami 64 Attitude the 4 A-Zee Hydro II 42 Big Stone River Indoor Garden Centre 55 Bigbudbongs.com 52 Bio Nova 11 Bio-G-Power 63 Brit Crops 59 Buddha Seeds Bank 24 Buddhas Tree 51 Bushman 58 Carbon Active 29 Clever Green 1 Clockwork Horticulture 41 DavesHydroLand.com 59 Delicious Seeds 13 Dinafem Seeds 27 Distribuciones Marianas 48 Down to Earth Kent 58 Dr. Blooms Hydroponics 1 Ed Rosenthal 44 Essex Hydro-Garden 61 Eva Female Seeds 48 Flash Seeds 52 Funky Skunk the 59 Green Fever 61 Green Life Seeds 55 Green Planet 42 Greenday Horticulture & Hydroponics 28 Gro-Rite Hydroponics 61 Grow 2 Go 58 Grow Green 61 Grow Room (Worthing) the 52 Grow World Hydroponics 59 Growers Shop the 58 Growing Underground 58 Head 2 Head 59 Hesi 1 Hesi 2 Hockley Hydro 56 Hydro Lab 51 Hygrow II 56 I Grow Ponics 61 Jorge Cervantes 37 Junction 6 Hydroponics 35 55 Libertarian Medical Seeds 8 Money Tree Hydroponics 56 Mycologics 50 Nirvana 20 Odyssey Hydro 59 One Love Hydroponics 58 Paradise Seeds 41 Plagron 32-33 Plant Magic Plus 7 Procare 50 Rapid Roots 1 Red Eye Jungle 52 Royal Queen Seeds 23 SamSara Seeds 38 Seedmadness 18 Seeds of Life 56 Sjamaan de 47 Smokin Vinyl 61 Southern Hydro Centre 61 SouthWest Headshops 49 Sweet Seeds 9 TGC Trading 48 Top Grower Fertilizers 47 Triangle Hydroponics 59 UK GroWorks 55 UK Skunkworks 48 Urban Jungle Hydro 51 Wellingborough Hydroponics 59 World of Seeds 38
Soft Secrets is published by Discover Publisher BV P.O.Box 362, 5460 AJ, Veghel, Netherlands Telephone: +31-(0)73-5498112 Fax: +31-(0)73-5479732 E-mail: uk@softsecrets.nl Editor: Cliff Cremer Contributors: Ed Rosenthal, Jorge Cervantes, Jules Marshall, Lazystrain, Dr. John Dee, Grubbycup, Little Lebowski, The Professor, The Red One, Kaz Peet, Smokedout and others Translations: Jules Marshall Comics: Jim Stewart Editorial adress: Soft Secrets, P.O. Box 17250, 1001 JG, Amsterdam, Holland, E-mail: ssuk@softsecrets.nl Advertisements: James Telephone: +44 (0)751-4273810 E-mail: james@softsecrets.nl A word from the publisher: The UK government has embarked on a process of relative liberalisation towards the use of cannabis, and cannabis activists are engaged in broadening this engagement. Several local councils and police chiefs now actively support a Dutch-style coffeeshop system as a way of separating soft and hard drugs, as it has proven to do in Holland. Whether they are finding their way to new coffeeshops or growing for their personal supply, cannabis users are a menace to no one, and are causing no discernable social problem. Some politicians and commentators are calling for the outright legalisation of marihuana. Let’s wait and see how the debate develops during a period of relative peace between all sides of the argument. In the meantime, the publisher hopes Soft Secrets will show the public a positive side to the normalisation of cannabis use, and is anxious to offer a forum to both pro- and anti-legalisation advocates. This assumes that the publisher does not necessarily agree with everything that appears in articles and advertisements. The publisher therefore distances himself explicitly from published statements or images that might give the impression that an endorsement is being made for the use or production of cannabis. Nothing from this publication may be copied or reproduced in any format without prior permission from the publisher and other copyright holders. The publisher is not responsible for the content and/or point of view of advertisements. The editors take no responsibility for unsolicited submissions.
Next issue out: December 23 2011
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