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THE CANNABIS NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Issue 4 - 2015
9 Classic strains: Hindu Kush
12 Jelly Hash
17 Cream Mandarine XL
37 Seeding your Growth
18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published six times a year by Discover Publisher BV Netherlands
AMSTERDAM
RRY SENSI-STAR DELAHAZE PANDORA BELLADONNA WAPPA ALL
Is Cannabis Cultivation Decriminalized in Spain? The new "Citizen Safety Law" that took effect in Spain on July 1 is notoriously draconian, making it illegal to march on public buildings, and imposing prohibitive fines for holding any protest without a permit. It also raises the minimum penalty for public cannabis use or possession from 300 to 600 euros, with the maximum penalty set at a whopping 30,000 euros for "grave infractions." But even this is something of a victory, as conservatives had been pressing to raise the minimum for to 1,000 euros. And there may be a more surprising bright side. According to reports on the Medical Cannabis Spain Blog and LaMarihuana.com, language was added to the section of the law dealing with cultivation, saying that it will only be punishable when it is "in visible public places." The reports state that this means cultivation behind closed doors is effectively decriminalized
in Spain, as private possession has been for several years. The cultivation provision is getting little mainstream media coverage, even within Spain, and we hope that it will be honored. Spanish news site 20Minutes reports that cultivation busts have been on the increase. The National Police in 2014 "decommissioned"
86,000 plants nationwide. Just in the first six months of 2015, the figure was up to 60,000. And that doesn't count another 90,000 plants seized by the Guardia Civil last year—the paramilitary force that is brought in for bigger hauls, where the involvement of trafficking is suspected. Source: Hightimes.com
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Cannabis Breathalysers Coming Soon? The race is on to build a viable pot breathalyser, as cannabis is becoming increasingly legally available around the world. Reuters reported that a Canadian company called Cannabix (which sounds more like a whole-grain breakfast cereal for Snoop Dogg) is working on a device that roadside police will be able to carry to check that drivers aren't stoned at the wheel. Apparently the challenge is in creating a device that will detect THC, the psychoactive substance found in cannabis. The first devices won't be too sophisticated - merely offering a binary yes or no as to whether THC has been detected (rather than offering a more nuanced calculation of exactly, similar to how to a breathalyser will tell you how much alcohol is in someone's blood). What's more, it appears that the company that manages to invent the breathalyser first looks set to make an absolute killing.
Genetics: F1-hybrid, mostly Indica Recommended veg. time seedlings: 5 - 6 weeks Indoor flowering time: 50 - 60 days Indoor yield: 300 - 500 gr/m2 Seed bank: Serious Seeds
Motavation
This short/squad-growing Indica plant is the final creation of a long process of development by the former company Magus Genetics. The parental genetic lines combine old plants like Starwarz and Medizin Power into this ideal indoor plant. A very thick layer of resin glands on the flowers and sugar leaves, makes manucuring less necessary, and gives her a popular presence in every growroom. Excellent variety for indoor and closet rooms with limited height. A powerful aroma, sweet with undertones reminding of fresh paint, developes during the flowering period. The effect after smoking Motavation is an overwhelming body stonedness, nailing you to the couch while your mind is fueled with a lot of creative ideas. This hot girl also has strong medicinal properties for pain-relief and relaxation.
Cannabix's rival, Lifeloc, which is also working on its own says that while a regular alcohol breathalyser sells for $300-400 in the States, a cannabis detector go for us as much as $2500-$3500. What is slightly unfortunate though is that though the technology is getting there, scientists don't really know how much cannabis is bad for driving. The American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration apparently published a paper earlier this year saying that "cannabis impairs psychomotor skills, attention, lane tracking and cognitive function, but not enough is known about how much is needed to affect driving performance". The difficulty is apparently that cannabis apparently affects people in different ways depending on whether they have smoked or ingested it - and whether they have taken it in combination with alcohol or other drugs too. So expect to start seeing cannabis breathalysers some time soon... not that you'd be as irresponsible as to drive whilst high, right? Source: Gizmodo.co.uk
READERS@SOFTSECRETS.NL
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. 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! Hi Soft Secrets readers@softsecrets.nl 7 plants in 10L pots in a 1.2mx1.2m bed w/extra 70L soil. All organic soil mix with added bat guano, scrogged under 800w. 4 wks veg, approx 16oz total. Nice head and body stoned, no sketchiness whatsoever, good satisfying evening smoke! Nice one! Ed Nice litlle SCROG matey, but we think your buds could have been bigger. Did you remove the lower foliage?
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Dutch Passion are celebrating
two new Cannabis Cup successes Night Queen, Dutch Passions hard-hitting original Afghani indica, won 1st Prize in the 1st Edition Champions Cup at Spannabis Malaga. Night Queen is very potent Afghani with a rich old-school Night Queen Orange Hill Special kush aroma and a notably frosty and resinous appearance, she is often grown by medical growers looking for a very strong body stone with the ability to offer powerful pain relief. Recreational growers appreciate the above-average harvest quantities, the old-school taste and the long-lasting high. The 1st Prize award came in the Indoor Category at Malaga. Orange Hill Special collected 3rd Prize in the ‘Bio’ section at the 2015 Highlife Cup. Orange Hill Special is a strong citrus Skunk which produces above average yields and comes from crossing original Orange Bud with California Orange.
www.dutch-passion.nl
DUTCH PASSION Presents AutoBlackberry Kush®
Auto BlackberryKush is an automatic cross between Dutch Passion original Blueberry and a dark coloured resinous Kush hash-plant selected from our gene bank. AutoBlackberry Kush has been introduced to offer a top quality indica with a heavy hitting stone together with a fresh fruity Kush taste. The Blueberry may slightly, but not always, dominate the Kush characteristics giYLQJ D VZHHWHU DQG IUXLW\ LQÀXHQFH WRJHWKHU ZLWK WKH VWURQJ HDUWK\ LQGLFD FRQtribution from the Kush. Auto BlackberryKush grows vigorously with a strong main bloom and numerous side branches typical of an indica autofem. The majority of plants will show colour in the leaves/buds at harvest, occasionally the hard and compact buds may develop particularly dark colours. AutoBlackberry Kush typically reaches around 0.75 - 1 metre and is ready to harvest about 10 weeks after germination when grown on a 20/4 light cycle. AutoBlackberry Kush will appeal to growers wanting premium quality genetics capable of delivering extra sticky XL harvests with a really strong body stone. A visually beautiful automatic Kush which produces top quality effects together with great taste and aroma. A superb new auto which has it all, highly recommended.
Indica Dominant XL
Contact: info@dutch-passion.nl
70 Days
€
3 X € 29 7 X € 60
0031 43 321 58 48
Find your local dealer on our official dealers list or purchase seeds online www.dutch-passion.nl
Visit Our Shop: Dutch Passion Grote Gracht 40 6211 SX Maastricht The Netherlands
Head Office: Dutch Passion Hoogoorddreef 133 1101 BB Amsterdam The Netherlands
Est. 1991
l a n i g i r O The orium p m E d e e S is b a n n a C
The Highest Quality Genetics be lo G e h T ss o cr A rs e d e re B m Fro Buy in store or online. livery. Super fast, super discrete de
www.drchronic.com 01702 611209
Road, Dr Chronic, 100 Southchurch 2LX, Southend-On-Sea, Essex, SS1 United Kingdom
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CLASSIC STRAINS
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Hindu Kush Hindu Kush provides one of the few modern tastes of ancient Sativa Diva genetics that smokers can still enjoy today. Strain Name: Hindu Kush Region: Afghanistan/Pakistan Status: Cultivar Genetics: Pure indica Origins: Hindu Kush mountain foothills Flowering: 8 to 11 weeks Outdoor Harvest: Mid-September through October
Hindu Kush Cultivation, Phenotypes and Effect
Hindu Kush tastes like Hindu Kush and nothing else. The spicy, licorice-flavoured smoke of genuine HK
maturation process. Add to all of that a smooth, clear and relaxing buzz with an extended yet predictable plateau – not the knockout punch that popularized the 60/40 and 50/50 hybrids – and there is no questioning the staying power of this strain.
due to their supposed ease of cultivation, the cultivation and requirements of plants in each category (indica, sativa or haze) may vary widely – which is exactly why people go to great lengths and expense to purchase reliable genetics.
Finished buds are dark green, coated with a dense, silvery frosting of resin glands, few top leaves and a high calyx volume dotted with minimal pistils – trimming is a breeze. Another hallmark of a true HK plant is that, when healthy, many of the top leaves will curl and twist in a manner that traditionally
True indica varieties are generally classified as being shorter, bushier and usually darker green than sativas, in addition to displaying wider 'finger' fronds on their palmate leaves and maturing faster than sativas. However, not all indicas flower in an extremely short time, are easy to grow, yield a bumper crop or get the consumer super-stoned. A genuine Hindu Kush plant defies these stereotypes, as the original genetics can be temperamental for the grower. Finicky with nutrients, the Kush's signature super-dark green leaves do require a lot more nitrogen, for example, than other indicas, yet caution should be exercised in order to prevent foliage burn. Some Kush cuts take ten weeks or more to flower properly, failing to mitigate the sacrifice of the grow space for those who prefer sativas but eschew them for allegedly faster indicas.
History of the Origins of Hindu Kush
A unique anisette flavour and pungent, almost incense-like scent have resulted in Hindu Kush remaining one of the top Cannabis strains of all time – for some, the absolute best weed available. Her pure, relaxing-yet-clear indica effect and variety of breeder-friendly traits only added to the legendary status earned by this ancient mountain cultivar.
The HK's short nodal spacing still allows for good air flow but, due to rampant hybridisation, some versions may retain a shorter flowering period and yet exhibit longer nodal spacing, resulting in taller plants than desired. However, widely-varying phenotypes may be chosen from in order to suit specific requirements. Optimal outdoor conditions may also lead to towering plants, so guerrilla growers or those with privacy concerns should remove the central cola and promote lateral branching (in lieu of one prized 'top bud'), which increases yield and allows for controllable and predictable plant size. Staking is another option, but base foliage should be trimmed away to prevent various moulds and mildews from attacking the lush, dark green Kush leaves.
The seminal Cannabis strain that hails from and is named after these verdant peaks is also revered on an almost spiritual level. Additionally, due to its antediluvian heritage, Hindu Kush is often referred to as the 'grandmother of all Cannabis' and the region itself is by many revered as the birthplace of weed. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, group of intrepid breeders hand-selected seeds from ancient cultivars and clones from landrace varieties across the globe. As early as the mid- to late 1970s, Hindu Kush genetics were among the first indicas to be transported to North America, around the same time as Mazar-i-Sharif and Afghani #1. Traditionally, the flowering period of the trippy sativa and haze strains proved to be too long for many climates and too tedious for many amateur growers. Thus, indicas were grown instead or were bred into these tropic, sub-tropic and Equatorial genetics and the modern wave of weed hybrids gained its footing. The four original, imported cultivar strains that kick-started the European Cannabis seed industry, Original Haze, Afghani #1, Skunk #1 and Hindu Kush, were established in California before being brought back to the Netherlands in the early 1980s, where they were able to be preserved for generations. Unlike the subsequent wave of female clone-only strains that swept the Dutch industry – Hash Plant, Northern Lights, G-13 and Big Bud – Hindu Kush and the others had been collected and shared as relatively stable seeds, allowing for careful selection of male pollen. It is from those seeds of the original quartet of genes that hundreds of new strains were created for the Dutch Cannabis industry, one of the reasons that many strains popular in Western Europe taste, smell or look similar. The Kush, for example, could be either propagated in pure HK form, back-crossed or hybridised into some of the strains over which Kush lovers still salivate today, as it dosed the F1 offspring with a healthy amount of its most desirable traits. Many folks claim to possess true Hindu Kush but more likely have some sort of cross, in spite of its ubiquity and abundant original stock.
Hybrids Related to Hindu Kush
Pot of Gold from the Flying Dutchmen mimics the flowering period of Hindu Kush and preserves its unique flavour
buds is not only unforgettable but also incapable of being replicated or faked. It is not flowery or fruity, like Skunk-based strains. The flowers evolve from sweet-smelling to spicy and pungent throughout the
signifies that a plant is being burned by nutrients or heat, or suffering from other maladies. While many growers favour indicas or hybrids
Sensi Seeds still offers regular (♂/♀) Kush seeds that flower in forty-five to fifty days. The Pot of Gold from the Flying Dutchmen label combines two of the most influential strains in their truest form; an HK mother is teamed with a Skunk #1 father, preserving the anise flavour and shortening the flowering time, in addition to allowing the grower to select the perfect F1 to use as a mother plant. Master Kush, originally known as High-Rise, presents a similar genetic blend and was a Dutch coffeeshop favourite for decades. Across America, OG Kush is a common offering in dispensaries and pot shops.
The Hindu Kush mountains [Credit: LailaMahmood/WikiMedia Commons]
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OUTDOOR 2015 By Demian Vrij
So you have reached to this point. Up to now you've seen the plant or plants that you nurtured growing, hopefully without any problems, and now summer is past it's peak. The days will start getting shorter and shorter as autumn is approaching. What does that mean for your plants and for you as a grower? What do you have to expect from now on?
THE FLO OWERRIN NG PERRIO OD Flowering is already on its way, by the time you'll be reading this article you should be at about the third to the fifth week of flowering, depending on your location and the choice of strain. The buds are well structured and you can smell them all over as you approach close to the plants. Depending on the strain(s) that you grow, you should expect to cut from mid-September, to as late as midNovember. I hope you have taken that into consideration when you selected your strains, and that your climate is suitable to accommodate a long flowering period if that's what you picked. If the local climate is cold and accidentally you have selected a long-flowering strain you have to start making plans to avoid low-temperature problems that will come from October onwards. One solution, if you grow outdoors in pots, is to get them indoors or in a greenhouse. If that is not possible, get a lot of greenhouse nylon and make sure you cover the plant(s) every evening as the night time temperatures are the ones that go low enough to cause damage. But the cold weather is not the only thing to look out for. Come September you might see lots of caterpillars, and most of them want a taste of your plant. Keep a close eye for them, they can totally
destroy it and despite them being big enough to spot, their colouring is such that you need to actively look for them. In case you get stormed by them, my best advice is to use Biothur, a product whose base is Bacillus Thuringensis and it's your best defence against them and totally organic. It smells horrible but the smell doesn't stay on the bud so use it without worries. Mould can also be a problem if you're living in a wet environment and you got those nice thick, dense buds. If your strain is not mould resistant, make sure you check them regularly for mould traces (do so even if it is resistant, you never know). If you see something, cut it immediately as it will damage the rest of the bud as well. If you feel like you'll be having lots of problems, it might be a good idea to lighten up your buds just a tiny bit to allow for better air circulation; you might lose a bit of your product but you'll save the rest.
HAARVESST Finally your plant is ready to harvest. How will you know? The calyxes will swell quite a lot and the hairs will retract. A lot of people advise looking through a microscope at the pistils and checking their colours. If you go down this road, the period to harvest is when you have 75% amber and 25% white pistils. However I advise you to closely
look at the plant and it will show you when it is ready. You will see that it has matured, specially if you've been paying attention on how it flowered. Depending where you're growing, you have several options on harvest day. If you're growing guerilla, cutting down the whole plant at once is a one-way street since you'll need to transport it for trimming and drying. If on the other hand you're growing in your garden, things are more relaxed. You could cut down the whole tree, but you can also cut it branch-by-branch, thus making it easier to handle.
TRIM MMIN NG I would advice towards trimming the plant before putting it up for drying. It is way easier to trim fresh leaves than it is to trim dry ones. Try to get a comfortable scissor as it takes quite some time; my personal best is at around 40-50 grams per hour, so you realise that it's a time-consuming process hence make it as comfortable as possible. Once you're done trimming, don't get in a hurry to clean your hands and scissors. If you do you will miss the joy of hand/scissor-hash. Rub your hands together and all the resin that was on them will unfold and you'll end up with a charaslike ball. Likewise scrape the resin that was on the scissors by using a sharp razor, you will not regret it.
DRYYIN NG & CUURIN NG Most beginners think that once you're done with the plant your grow is completely finished and there's nothing more to do. Major
error! Drying and curing are important processes that can make or break your final product. When it comes to drying, optimally you will have a drying room where temperature, humidity and air-flow will be regulated. Your temperature has to be at around 20-25, humidity at 55-60% and the air-flow has to be slow and constant. If you can't have a dedicated space for drying, then use your grow tent, it will do the job if of course you got no more living plants in there. At worse you can use a cardboard box, lined up with wire to serve as a place to hang the branches from. In extreme dry weather if you don't have a regulated space keep a constant eye as it might dry very fast and ruin your product. If that is the case, you have to find a way to increase humidity somehow. Your bud will be dried after a period of five to ten days depending on your environmental conditions. You will notice that the stems will bend but will not totally break. The bud will be dry but still have the juices that you need. Once you reach that point, it's time for the curing process which is nothing more than putting the buds into vases where you keep them for a minimum of 10 days. During those days, make sure you open up the vases at least once a day so as to let the bud breathe and to let the extra humidity escape. And finally you get to the point where you enjoy your product. As you lay back and take a toke, you form a smile which you completely deserve.
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ADVANCED INDOOR GROWING
JELLY HASH A POTENT DELICACY! In this issue, we will describe how to prepare our jelly, a series of extractions resulting in a resin of excellent quality. There are several steps to follow in order to obtain a specimen that presents a good level of purity; Mr.X hopefully you will find our advice useful!
Dry extraction
First of all, begin with the easiest and most familiar part for any cannabis consumer: dry and/ or ice trichome extraction. The result will be the first component of our jelly. To work in dry conditions, you can use any of the classic systems that everyone is familiar with: rods in a sieve, manual shaking, cylinder-shaped extraction containers… As long as the material used is of good quality, any of these systems will work. I recommend that the weed be cured for at least a couple of months, to avoid chlorophyll as much as possible, and that it be in its prime, strength wise. One thing I like about this method is that it’s not necessary to wait for the resin to dry; the terpenes remain more intact, and so we usually retain a better aroma/ flavour. However, if you wish to keep the quality high, extracting a decent percentage of the whole weight without introducing impurities is rather complicated. Inserting dry ice in the rotating drums works very well and increases production; this allows you to maintain
the low temperature steady, while also ensuring that the trichomes rupture optimally. Remember that we’re talking about dry ice, also known as card ice, which doesn’t leave any liquid residue when it evaporates – this makes it a powerful ally. Because of the large quantities of carbon dioxide released, you should always work in a wellventilated environment, and wear thermal gloves when handling it, in order to avoid skin damage or damage to your respiratory system. In this issue we will also describe how Juanito Manoverde showed us his effective and interesting method that uses liquid nitrogen, obtaining excellent results in just a short time. I find his method quite recommendable.
Ice-water extraction: Ice
In this case, the best way to maximise your results is to opt for ice-water extraction. By using good-quality screens and correct micronage you’ve already won half the battle; then you need to gather a good quantity of ice in order to
maintain water temperature as low as possible during the process. Although there are washers especially for this use, which work quite well, in my experience it is easier to control the process if you have the time to carry it out by hand. Beating the compound lightly means being less aggressive and so rupturing less vegetable material that you aren’t interested in. Using a large container means giving the buds more space to open. A mass of damp weed in 15 litres of water is very different from a mass of damp weed in 100 litres of water, where there is definitely enough space for it to unfurl and free its load. Using small leaves from the manicure gives good results, but if you can use buds, the best way is to shred them slightly with your hands instead of grinding them. Otherwise most of the resin will remain trapped inside. Quality is improved by alternately beating the compound and letting it settle (15 minutes per cycle); it’s important to keep adding ice so that a minimum amount is always visible. This method is no longer effective if the temperature rises. The idea is that frozen trichomes fall into ice water, while vegetable matter floats on an air-entrained concentrate. Once this part is complete, the next step is to catch the first floating layers in a strainer, crushing them in your hands to try and free as much liquid as possible. Then move over to another container where you’ve placed your wire netting; of course, the thicker part is turned toward the inside and the thinnest part toward the top. After siphoning everything, place each net on a dishtowel to remove any excess water. Then gather the product and place it on a plate, using a knife to grind the grain as much as possible, in order to be able to strain it in a colander, as if it were a cheese grater, applying a slight pressure with your fingers and rolling the compound until all that remains on the plate is a fine powder. The powder must be left on a piece of cardboard or on a paper towel for a few days (at least a week) to expel any remaining humidity. Never press it right away because, although the result might look good at first glance, it will crumble or harden within a few days, losing all elasticity and organoleptic properties. In other words, if you don’t let it settle, all your work will be ruined.
The first step is to try and obtain a high-quality and refined gas – some of the most common types are colibrì, vector or z-plus, as their impurity contents is much lower. I use a surgical stainless steel extractor, made by Leocadius, which has a section to capture activated carbon, so the gas is already free of contaminating substances and traces by the time it reaches the weed. Fill the extractor with material, not too tightly but without leaving empty spaces, because the gas needs to be able to pass through quickly, and it needs to be in contact with the most extended surface of weed possible. Once again, the same as during the “ice” procedure, if you’re using buds you must crumble them with your fingers, not with a grinder. When the extractor is full, it needs to be placed in a freezer with the bottles of gas you intend to use for at least thirty minutes. Leaving it overnight is even better. Now you need a Pyrex container – borosilicate glass has higher resistance to thermal changes, solvents and acids compared to regular glass. The bigger your container, the easier it is to carry out your purge; you also need another container, larger than the first, for your bain-marie. After having done all this – and always outdoors – it’s time to put the gas through the bud-filled tube on top of the Pyrex container. In just a few seconds you can observe the liquefied gas rising and covering the bottom; if the first bottle starts shrinking it’s best to change to the second one right away, to maintain pressure. Having already prepared a dish with several inches of solution, place it in the second container, previously filled with very hot water. Throughout the process it’s important to keep far away from any stoves, lighters or closed spaces in general. You’ll see how quickly the water starts evaporating, forming bubbles that you need to puncture with a pin to free the gas. In just a few minutes, you’ll find a layer of oil at the bottom, that will get harder and harder but won’t be ready to use yet.This first purge only takes about 2 minutes, all in all.
Extracting the BHO (Butane Hash Oil) At this point, you have one of the two parts you’ll be using, and it’s time to turn to the more complicate and delicate part of the process – extracting the BHO, which calls for great care. First of all, I must thank my friend, master Leocadius – a genuine web crack as far as extractions go – for advising and helping me as I wrote on the subject.
Let everything settle briefly while you reheat the water and repeat the previous step, placing the Pyrex in a bain-marie; puncture the bubbles that start forming again. If you’re lucky and carried out the process properly, this purge should already leave you with something that’s fairly clear. This second purge should take around 15 minutes. After finishing the second purge, wait at least an hour while everything cools down, then reheat it one last time, which makes extracting the result easier. Be quick, because the compound will harden so much in just a few seconds that you won’t be able to remove it. Use a series of blades to catch part of the oil on each one; it will crystalize, forming attractive gems, in a range of colours that go from pale yellow to dark amber.
Extracting oil with gas is simple; doing it properly is a whole different story, and requires a job that is partly confectioner and partly chemist. Most extractions I’ve witnessed show a high level of retained gas, and the principle aim is to avoid this, because the mercaptans contained in the gas are extremely toxic and shouldn’t be consumed. The word mercaptan means “capturing mercury”, a substance you certainly don’t want to come into close contact with.
Now you have your BHO, the strongest extraction possible. In this case it’s used in combination with dry pollen but I recommend that you keep a portion aside and try it like that, because it’s truly a delight for the senses. Only if you have a high tolerance level, though, because otherwise it could leave you KO before you notice! This type of extract offers its best strength within the first week, so you shouldn’t prepare much more than you plan to use; if you have
When it has dried completely, it’s best to keep it in this powder form and just work the part you want to use. In this case, save it for subsequent blending with the oil that you’ll extract as second component.
13 an excess amount and wish to keep it for a while, be sure to freeze it to maintain its properties. As a fun anecdote, I remember performing my first extractions of this type a few years ago – in spite of having read and heard innumerable times that the process should never be carried out indoors, I thought that the final stage really wasn’t so dangerous, and I decided to perform the purge in a bain-marie over the saucepan on my small cooker. I thought I could save a few minutes this way. But I had barely set it down when I saw a huge ball of fire lighting the dishcloth and food wrappers, and singeing my eyebrows and beard. Luckily I had an extinguisher on hand and was able to put out the fire, but I can promise that I was so scared that I never even think of smoking anything else all day!
1
Resin obtained by dry extraction in a curing container
Surgical stainless steel extractor
Preparing the ice and other materials
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2
Resin obtained with ice
3
5
6
The gas starts rising, carrying the trichomes with it
Placing the tray in a bain-marie
Preparing the Jelly
Now you have everything you need, and, with a little margin, can decide the quantities on a personal basis – however, a good foundation is 25% BHO for every 75% of resin. The rest depends on the texture and strength you wish to obtain; the result is so creamy that a light pressure is enough to amalgamate and unite it. Actually, it would be hard to avoid this result. This jelly is without a doubt one of the strongest and impressive hashes available for consumption; touching, moulding and observing its gelatinous appearance is always a pleasure. A crystal pipe is probably the best way to enjoy its many properties. Taking all those pains to extract resin just to reapply it to weed or – worse! – tobacco doesn’t make much sense. Nor does it make sense to use the oil to camouflage a mediocre pollen; the only reason for creating this blend is the high quality of each individual component which, together, are even more easily manipulated, allowing us to dose strength and consumption more effectively. The level of purity is sufficient to consume it in a crystal nail file or a titanium swing, vanishing without a trace and offering a flavour, scent and “clean effect” without additions. For me it led to an important change in my appreciation and enjoyment of this type of extracts with crystal pipes, which allow you to avoid using lighters, although you still have to use specialised gadgets for oil or ceramictipped heaters to begin combustion. A possibility for the most health-conscious is converting a vaporizer to a bong (for example), achieving a clear, rehydrated vapour, which is much appreciated. For your next manicure, I encourage you to save any small leaves or low buds and then try to carry out your own extractions – I’m sure the results will amaze you. Happy smoking, X.
7KH ȴUVW SXUJH
Moulding the jelly
7
BHO, ready for consumption
10
Bubbler prepared for smoking concentrates
8
Moulding the jelly
11
Jelly, ready for consumption
9
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GROW REPORT
14
Buddha Seeds - Magnum Strain
Magnum
Medium
Co Co and Perlite mix
Lights
Outdoor Grow
Nutrients
Bio Bizz Fish Mix, Wood Ash during flowering.
Yield
64g
" I planted one seed from Buddha Seeds. This strain was called Magnum. This auto variety is meant to be a heavy producer for an automatic strain, so I was excited to grow this one out. I started the seed off straight into a jiffy. I pushed the seed down the correct side up, then watered and left in a side house that stays warms all day. After a few days the shell had sprouted up and a fresh green shoot was now popping through the surface. I filled a mix of old co co and perlite and filled a big 15 litre bucket. I placed the jiffy into the bucket and watered through, till the bucket had a nice weight to it. To make sure the young seedling does not get dried out or attacked by pests, I place a pint size plastic cup over the plant. This will allow it to keep warm and wet, whilst it is fully protected. The little seedling grew strong with dark red colours on the little thin stem. The bucket will be left in a place where around 14 hours of sun per day will shine. This strain grew fast with lots of small side branches. I am always disappointed when alot of autos do not side branch. This was a good trait in an auto so I was pleased so far. For nutrients I am feeding only Bio Bizz Fish Mix as I like to use a one part base feed if possible. The feed is a heavy smelly fishy molasses mix. The plant loves it and the medium due to the heat, is warm and wet. Perfect like a sponge! After the third week the plant was around 9 inches high but also squat
and wide. I had tied town the top of the plant to let the side branches come through strong. After 30 days there were alot of pre flowers and flowering sites. Especially on the lower branches and side branches..so it looks like this strain will be a heavy yielder. The smell is strong. Like Afghani # 1 but with a potent lemony lime smell that catches your attention. I am expecting the buds to be a real knock out judging from the smell. I start to feed alot and the leaves become dark green and very pointy. The plants has red veins all over now she is feeding like mad. It is now 5 weeks in so after 42 days of a potential 70 day harvest, I see this plant is a good strain.. I like the height which is now just 15 inches but with main shoots making a small uniform bush. Now I will add wood ash to my medium and continue to feed fix mix. I basically go to my garden and find wood from trees that I can burn. The great thing about burning wood is..you can obtain the materials for free and you can choose how much bio char to ash you want to use. I burn enough wood to make a small tub of half ash and half charcoal. I get some co co and mix it in to the ash and then create a one inch layer of the mix. I always find using ashes create a smooth wet taste.. and the microbes in the medium have plenty of Carbon to feed on. I am now feeding 4 times per week. 3 times nutrients and 1 feed distilled water. Between the heat and the plant, I am feeding 5 litres per time with 10ml of the fish mix. With around 4 weeks to go..the buds
Magnum Auto Flowering Strain
and new leaves are growing very well. The smell is really potent..almost sour lime but still strong Afghan. The trichome production is impressive and many buds forming with many new leaves. The colour of the plant is starting to purple and darken. Compared to some other autos I have, this strain is nearly 3 times the yield of these. I think in future I will grow alot more of these. The ash really kicked the flowering into shape and now after 8 weeks, I was watching the buds swell and darken. I am really intrigued by the smell and am looking forward to testing. The side branching is very good and lots and lots of buds forming on all parts of the plant. To sway it around by the base , makes the heavy oily plant stink..and I get a smell to say harvest is not far now. For the last 14 days I feed only distilled water into the medium at 5 litres per feed. I see some yellowing on old leaves but new growth looks so wonderful. I wish I had alot more of these to make oil with. The trichomes are thick and sugary, yet really posses a strong lime terpine. After the first 7 day flush, alot more leaves are yellowing but the buds are big and tight. Silver and purple with dark green colours. The pistils are all golden brown and red. I feed this for the last time with 10 litres of distilled water. Now I will let the roots and whole plant dry out and really push for the last nutrients available, also it makes the harvest and drying period a little quicker. After 68 days, I harvest this strain.
Loads of thick buds at the bottom of the plant, also a strong flower set on the top. Trimming is quite simple and what sugar leaf I can save, I add to my collection box for a rainy day. I dry the buds out on a net and there is a real stench in the dry room. Sour lemon comes through strong. My first joint is tasty. Deep lime flavour and a nice ring of oil forming down the joint, where the ash burns. The high is strong. Kind of high where you lose your train of thought mid conversation! I become very thirsty and very hungry after a short while. Seems like a great strain for anyone who enjoys an indica style hit. I weigh my yield and minus the occasional bud I smoked whilst drying..I end up with 64g dry. I would recommend this strain to anyone and is worth the wait! "
OFFICIAL UK DISTRIBUTOR
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PARADISE-SEEDS.COM M
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SH DURGA MATA MAGIC BUD OPIUM DUTCH DRAGON DR RAGO GON N WHIT WHITE ITE BERRY RYY SENSI STAR TAR DELAHAZ TA DELAHAZE ELA LAHAZE ZE PANDORA PA ANDORA RA ORIGINA ORIGINAL INA CHEESE BELLADONNA WAPPA SW
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16
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A Legal Low
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Another month, another daft government overreaction to "legal highs".
2015
Dr John Dee
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It appears that we in the UK not only have an insatiable appetite for drugs of the illegal variety: we also really like all these dodgy new things, commonly known as "legal highs", particularly synthetic cannabis. So, the government has had the genius idea of banning “all mind-altering drugs unless specifically mentioned”. Obviously, the specifically mentioned drugs are substances such as tobacco and alcohol; you know, the really safe ones with no deaths associated with use? As ever, what we’ve got here is another knee jerk reaction that’s the usual ill conceived and ill considered legislation we’ve become so used to from successive governments. This one takes the cake, though, as even the government's own drug policy advisors in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs think this will be an unenforceable dud. Back in 2009 the last government decided they didn't much like the old ACMD going "off message" about drugs and staged high profile sackings. Most of the 2009 committee resigned in disgust, to be replaced by a more pliable bunch of yes men. Jump forward 6 years and the same yes men are warning against the proposed legislation. One really would think alarm bells would start ringing, yes?
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Well actually, no. Mike Penning, the government minister responsible for all this nonsense says he’s “determined to protect young people from the dangers of so-called legal highs and target those who profit from their trade". Noble words and a noble aim, but I’m having a real problem working out how making these things illegal is going to achieve this. I mean, let's face it, banning all the "old school" substances hasn't exactly been a roaring success, has it? It’s pretty well known that banning stuff doesn’t stop people wanting it, and in fact might make a certain type of person more determined to seek out and try said stuff. What happens then is that rather than protecting young people from legal highs, it actually criminalises them, thus putting them in a situation where they’ll have a drug-related criminal record if they’re busted with any of them (and inevitably, busts will happen). And the way things seem to be going, having a criminal record for illegal substances is almost as harmful as quite a few of the substances themselves. I’ve said it before but – at the risk of sounding like a stuck record – I’m going to say it again. As it seems to be hugely en vogue at the moment, let’s take synthetic cannabis as an example. One way to stop the synthetic cannabis market right in its tracks would be to legalise and regulate the real thing, as is happening elsewhere in the world. I did little online research into this recently. In all, it took me about ten minutes to discover that in Colorado there were clusters of poisonings and hospitalisations related to synthetic dope from 2010 or so (when synthetic dope first appeared on the market) right up to 2012 when the state took the decision to legalise “real” weed. Almost immediately, the problem with synthetic dope ceased and the market disappeared. What does this tell us? Well, it tells me that a) people thought that “legal” synthetic cannabis was actually the same as the illegal varieties (it isn’t); it tells me that b) people thought “legal” equals “safe” (it doesn’t); it tells me that c) many people really, really want to get stoned, but don't necessarily want to break the law, hence the popularity of the "legal" varieties of dope; and it tells me that d) given the choice between “real”, legal dope and some crap cooked up in a factory somewhere in the Far East, the Real McCoy wins hands down. It's not rocket science! When will our lawmakers just wake up to what's staring them right in the face?
SEED BANK
17
THE TITAN OF AUTO-FLOWERERS, ® CREAM MANDARINE XL AUTO . I grasp this opportunity to talk about the growing test I made with one of the latest strains launched on the market from the Sweet Seeds bank. Jaypp On the date of its 10th Anniversary, Sweet Seeds renewed its catalogue with new products and promotions and, for its most steadfast fans, they now present a new version of our beloved, large-sized and high-yielding Cream Mandarine® (strain SWS29) with great properties that made it popular among expert growers. I am talking about the new Cream Mandarine XL Auto® (strain SWS55). It is a large, top-yielding, 4th generation auto-flowering strain produced by crossing selected individuals of Cream Mandarine Auto® and an elite clone of Súper Tai ’98 giving it interesting Sativa properties; size is bigger and smell is smooth and spicy with dried fruit aromas. Cream Mandarine Auto® brings a more Indica-like look and feel. Yield is high with flowers and resin having a sweet and fresh smell of citrus fruit with a prevailing tangerine hint. Indoors, the plant yields 450-650 g/ m2 9 weeks after germination and, in the final stage of its growth, reaches up to above 100 cm in height, a very promising prospective champion in many gardens.
PLANT GROWING; A DEDICATED JOB.
Talking about plant growing I try to keep it as simple and clear as possible. The philosophy for my own crops, as a rule of the thumb, is “less means more” and this ideally applies to Cannabis growing. In the test I made, plants were grown indoors, in a growing tent with 2 fans, one of which acting as air inlet, plus a service stove to control temperature as the indoor temperature was very low. The following parameters were used during the full growth cycle: Light cycle: 20hs. ON- 4hs. OFF, for the full plant growth. Light output: 1ª week/Growth: 200W CFL – flowering starting on day 10: 600W HPS. Fan operation: 24hs. ON. Temperature: 18º/26º (stove-controlled).
Number of plants: 9 plants in 1 m2 (3 plants in a pot of 20 litres, 6 plants in a pot of 10 litres). Total growth time: 63 days. Fertilisation: BioCanna + Magical. Substrate: professional Canna earth. Total weight for 9 plants: 620 g. Maximum weight per plant: 128 g.
WATER, A GOOD SUBSTRATE AND AN IDEAL CLIMATE, A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS.
Germination is the most important part of the full growth cycle. Seeds need to be properly moisturised in advance. To do so, I place them in a pot with water at a constant temperature of 22ºC and a few drops of oxygenated water to keep the water medium in good condition and free of fungi. After 28 hours, all seeds become hydrated and swell; more than 50% have root tips visible when shell is removed. I wait 36 hours for all seeds to germinate,
18 after which I plant them directly into their final pots. With an auto-flowering strain, I recommend using the final pot since the beginning, because these fastgrowing plants can fill the substrate with their roots in record time during the first few weeks. If you limit root growth at this stage, yield will also be depleted. It is better to use a medium-to-large sized pot, which will make your life easier and, more importantly, avoid unnecessary or untimely transplanting. I place germinated seeds into 6 pots of 10 litres and 3 pots of 20 litres with 200W CFL up to the growth of the first proper leaves. With good initial watering by water that has been let sit with half a dose of root bio-stimulant, I saturate part of the substrate with a sufficient quantity for the first 10 days of the lifecycle. Week 1: Plants are moved to the flowering room with sodium light and start to develop side branches with very short internodal distance. The combined effect of light output and the lush growth of Cream Mandarine XL Auto® is such that watering sessions will have to be every 4 days in the following 2 weeks. I do not fertilise water, except for half a dose of root bio-stimulant. Week 4: Plants reach a height of 75cm and the beginning of flowering is already visible. Structure is highly branched, with strong shoots and thick foliage. I water every 3 days and then I add 1 full dose of flower bio-stimulant and keep the root biostimulant at 1/2 dose. Week 6: Plants cease to grow and cover the full space. Flowers are highly developed, all with white pistils. In a few plants it was necessary to add a little bit of Cal/Mag given their high consumption. Earth kept the plant perfectly stout and fertilised, but from this time onwards it was appropriate to add flowering fertiliser to meet the
demand of these nutrients. The diet I keep is based on 1/2 dose of organic flowering fertiliser and root biostimulants, and 1 dose of flower biostimulant. Using catalytic enzymes on a weekly basis is also of great help to keep the substrate healthy. Week 9: Ripe, highly resinous buds are visible and pervade the room with a strong fruity smell. This is the right time to harvest plants, only after washing roots copiously. Why should you do that? Because it improves taste a lot, alleviating the essential characteristics of each strain with subtler tones and more intense smells and tastes and, more importantly, because it is much healthier, as fertilisers tend to cause the accumulation of mineral salts in the earth after continuous watering cycles that are quite harmful for plant health. In addition the final effect is much neat and more optimistic and ‘medicinal’. There are products making washing more effective. Do not use these supplements sparingly as they are crucial for your health and for the final use of your sweet harvested plants.
A LAST TIP. TASTING.
When a plant is properly grown and its earth has been timely washed, the final stage of its lifecycle will be marked by a very distinct leaf colour which also characterises its full lifecycle. Leaves take on a bright green, orangey or purple colour and, more importantly, lose their shininess.
If your plant is dark green and shiny, and is already ripe, next time you will have to use a less concentrated fertiliser in reduced dose, or you should start to wash the substrate before. This Cream Mandarine XL Auto® has already consumed its nutrients and is ready to be harvested. I will give you a last tip on tasting: at first sight, buds are hard and highly resinous, and spread a particularly sweet, overwhelming citrus fruit smell with exotic hints calling to mind tangerine. Very soft and tasty to the mouth, it becomes more perceptible when you blow smoke out of your nose. This effect is even higher if you use a vaporiser. Mental high is strong without being excessive, ideal for creative tasks or social relationships. One of the greatest plants I have ever had in my garden. Thanks for reading and enjoy your smoking!
m o c . s d e e s a z n www.Bo
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20
ED ROSENTHAL
BUD ROT AND POWDERY MILDEW Millions of gardeners all over the world suffer from the heartache of bud rot and powdery mildew just as they are about to harvest, although these diseases can strike marijuana plants at any stage. A garden’s susceptibility to disease is often traceable to environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, light, airflow, pH, and nutrients. Fungus grows when it finds the right moisture level, temperature, acidic conditions, and a reliable source of food. There are several things that you can do to protect plants from these diseases.
Gray mold attacks outdoor plants when there are high levels of moisture or rain.
Gray mold and a hint of powdery mildew attack this sativa bud.
GRAY MOLD (BOTRYTIS CINEREA, BOTRYOTINIA FUCKELIANA - BUD ROT)
Gray mold spores float in the air so they are always in contact with plant leaves, their possible hosts. However, they require a moist, acidic environment to thrive. The infected area first appears soggy and browned. Then the mold develops a silvery-gray, fuzzy covering composed of thousands of grape-like clusters of spores. The cool, wet conditions the mold prefers occur most often in early spring and fall harvest time outdoors, or in under-ventilated and humid areas indoors. Botrytis cinerea often develops in the tight floral clusters of cannabis where airflow is restricted. Mold in the center of a bud may not be immediately apparent,
and a nice-looking large bud may in fact be “hollow” due to mold damage. This gives rise to its common name “bud rot,” although the proper name, Botryotinia fuckeliana, seems appropriate for this pathogenic fungus. Outdoors, thick buds ripening in cool, damp weather can be affected by an outbreak. Wounded or diseased foliage is also a suitable host for the mold. Indoors, poor air circulation results in still pockets where dampness collects, encouraging fungal growth. B. fuckeliana is a parasitic fungus that can destroy a plant or buds when left unchecked. It needs no light to grow and prefers cool, damp, acidic, underlit locations. If the spore lands in a moist acidic spot it will sprout and grow strands of hyphae. As these strands fill in the area, the colony becomes easily visible. The mass of hyphae strands develops into mycelia—the gray-white thread covering that is the obvious indication of a colony. The mycelia absorb nutrients from the host-plant material, destroying leaves and buds in the process. Enzymes are released that break down the plant matter into a nutrient slime that the mold can absorb. This causes the most damage.
Typical powdery mildew infection— leaves appear to be covered with confectioner’s sugar.
As long as the conditions remain favorable and there is plant-host material, it continues to spread. At the same time, it grows reproductive structures that release airborne spores. A B. fuckeliana spore can germinate and mature to produce more spores in a matter of days.
21 Powdery mildew infections quickly spread. The whole garden is infected.
A single colony releases billions of spores, and each is capable of starting a new colony. If a spore lands in a suitable environment, it will germinate and continue the cycle. Spores that land in an environment not conducive to germination remain dormant until the environment changes. (In a dry environment they can stay dormant for years.) Spores can enter the indoor garden through the ventilation system, on clothing, or on contaminated plants. Proper housekeeping can reduce the number of suitable host sites in the garden, but preventing all the spores from entering the garden is unrealistic in most situations.
Controls
The best way to avoid gray mold is to not give it a suitable home. Since the mold develops only in overly moist conditions, the first line of defense is controlling humidity to keep moisture levels under 50 percent. Gray mold is likely to be most severe within the thickest part of the canopy,
where air circulation is poorest. Thick outdoor plants can be spread with twine or netting to improve airflow. Remove interior and weak branches to improve circulation. Fans assist in Powdery mildew spores—they are visible using a photographer’s loupe or hand microscope.
mold prevention by removing pockets of high-humidity air surrounding the leaves and flowers. Don’t foliar feed plants during the last 30 days of flowering because moisture may become trapped inside the buds. Foliar feed early in the day during vegetative and early flowering so moisture on leaves or buds has a chance to dry before darkness. Watering the garden at the beginning of the light period or early in the day will give any excess moisture on the leaves an opportunity to evaporate. Cut out and remove the affected portions of the plant or bud, or remove it entirely to reduce potential host sites. Destroy any infected material, and sanitize any tools to prevent them from spreading infections. Moldy weed should be thrown out, although unaffected buds from the same plant may still be consumed. After removing all signs of infection,
correct the environmental conditions. If circumstances do not allow the environment to be controlled, use preventive measures such as applying Bacillus subtilis (QST 713, known by the brand name Serenade), or a fungicide like Ed Rosenthal’s Zero Tolerance Herbal Fungicide, which includes potassium bicarbonate. Fungicides are more effective when used preventively, so apply at the beginning of the wet season. Some gardeners use sulfur to treat at-risk or infected plants. It can be applied as a powder, in sulfur dioxide mats, or from sulfur pots. Potassium bicarbonate prevents mold germination; sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) can be used as a substitute. Cinnamon, seaweed, D-limonene (citrus oil), and chamomile sprays have antifungal properties and will help control an outbreak.
POWDERY MILDEW
Powdery mildew (caused by several fungi) is the bane of modern marijuana growers. It looks like confec-
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23 tioner’s sugar dusting leaves. At first it appears as an irregular circle on just a small portion of the leaf. But it quickly spreads onto the surrounding tissue, covering the entire leaf. Colonies soon develop on the surrounding vegetation and in other areas of the garden. Powdery mildew is most likely to attack young leaves, up to two or three weeks old. The plant becomes infected when
The Fungi
There are at least two different fungi that cause powdery mildew in cannabis. One of them, Leveillula taurica, is probably encountered in humid gardens. Sphaerotheca macularis is the more virulent organism. L. taurica is more likely to attack warm gardens. It prefers a temperature of about 25°C and can germinate in low humidity, but functions well in the 40
bing the plant’s nutrients. The S. macularis spores also migrate with moving water such as drops of water falling from leaf to leaf, or blown by the wind to other plants.
Controls
Because of this pesky fungus’ mode of transmission, it can be hard to prevent an outbreak, and it is challenging to control once an infection begins. It is in some ways more noxious than insect pests because it ruins any plant matter it touches, rendering it useless. However, infected buds can be processed for their contents to make concentrates such as water hash. Indoors, it is especially important to quarantine new plants before introducing them to the garden. Air filtration helps prevent powdery mildew from entering the room in the airstream. If there is any uncertainty about a location’s history with powdery mildew, sterilize the area and appliances before starting a new crop. An additional precaution for powdery mildew is to add UVC light to the garden. With ventilation, all incoming air should pass through the light. UVC light is germicidal, and delivers a fatal blow to all airborne fungal spores that pass under it. Once an indoor garden shows signs of powdery mildew infestation, there are many different approaches to eradicate it. If it is caught early, the gardener can prune away affected plant parts. It is important to disinfect tools used in the removal of infected plants and to carefully handle the pruned material in order to avoid accidently spreading spores.
Close-up of powdery mildew on marijuana leaf.
a spore, called a conidium, lands on a leaf and germinates. It soon grows an appressorium, a swollen structure that forms at the tip of a strand of hyphae that attaches it tightly to the leaf surface. Using the appressorium as a guide tube, the fungus pierces the plant’s cell wall and membrane and inserts a haustorium, a projection from the hyphae used to suck nutrients from inside the plant cell. The haustorium sucks up plant nutrients and sends them to the fungus, weakening the leaf and slowing growth. Within a week the fungus produces tiny mushroom stalks that release millions of spores, ready to infect more leaf surfaces. The fungus also produces another kind of structure, a cleistothecium, which contains spores. It overwinters outdoors and may also hide in a greenhouse or growroom after the crop has been harvested.
to 60 percent relative humidity usually found in indoor gardens. It is inhibited by moisture such as water spray, which destroys its spores. S. macularis prefers a cooler temperature, but the virulent race found in both indoor and outdoor gardens today is more tolerant of heat and bright light. It thrives in moderate humidity and its spores can live in water for short periods. In the unheated greenhouse and outdoors, the temperature preferences of both L. taurica and S. macularis overlap, so plants are susceptible from around 15°C to 30°C. They do quite well in moderate, rather than especially humid, weather. Spores of both species are airborne. When they land on suitable vegetation, they germinate, and start rob-
Powdery mildew is also controlled through close attention to temperature. Both types of fungi that cause powdery mildew are sensitive to heat and stop growing when temperatures range over 32°C. They quickly perish when the temperature rises to 38°C. Introducing a temperature spike to kill powdery mildew can be implemented, but if it is done improperly it could be detrimental to the plants. Fungi die in alkaline environments. Adjust the pH of the leaf surface so it is alkaline, with a pH over 8, using
potassium/sodium bicarbonate or pH Up. This makes the leaf surface inhospitable for powdery mildew. Silica helps strengthen the stem, serves as an alkaline adjustor, and has natural fungicidal properties. There are many ways to increase silica in the soil or garden medium, such as adding diatomaceous earth, greensand, pyrophyllite clay, and high-silica fertilizers such as Pro-TeKt. Sulfur has also been used to control powdery mildew for centuries. There are formulations that are sprayed on leaves, and elemental sulfur can be used in burners to create sulfur dioxide. Sulfur is more effective at preventing the formation of powdery mildew than treating an infection. When used improperly or at too high a concentration, it causes leaf damage. Still, it is an effective control method. Foliar sprays can be bought or made to control powdery mildew. Make your own using cinnamon oil or tea, copper, garlic, herbal oils, hydrogen peroxide, D-limonene (citrus oil), milk, neem oil, and vinegar. Some gardeners recommend alternating these treatment options for best results. A spray of 10 percent milk to 90 percent water is also helpful in preventing spore germination. Some biological controls also work against powdery mildew. Serenade, when applied weekly, puts powdery mildew into remission. Another strain of bacteria, Bacillus pumilus (QST 2808, known by the brand name Sonata), produces a compound that disrupts fungal development. Sonata does not eradicate powdery mildew completely, but it works well in combination with Serenade or other solutions to greatly reduce an infection. Zero Tolerance Herbal Fungicide and Serenade work synergistically to combat powdery mildew and prevent its recurrence.
CLOSING
By using the preventive measures and solutions outlined above, you should be able to control these debilitating diseases that would destroy your buds. You will minimize losses even if the environmental conditions are favorable to the pathogens.
Both gray mold (bud rot) and powdery mildew can damage marijuana plants after all your hard work in the garden. Believe your eyes. When you see bud rot and powdery mildew, act quickly and do a thorough job of treating your plants. (For example, when using fungicides, make sure that all infected surfaces are covered: get under leaves and deep inside the foliage, as necessary. It helps to use a spray wand.) However, preventive maintenance is always the best defense.
SOFT SECRETS NUTRIENT CHART The unique “Cannabis Nutrient Deficiencies & Excess” chart was derived from the “Nutrients” chapter in the Cannabis Encyclopedia. The quick-read chart allows you to see nutrient deficiencies and excesses for 13 common nutrients. The 14th drawing shows the difference between “mobile” and “immobile” nutrients. The chart is designed to be supported by the complete descriptive text in the recently published (April 2015) Cannabis Encyclopedia, 596 pages, 26.4 x 21.6 cm format, 2,000+ color images, available from amazon.co.uk (£23.39) and online from all other amazon stores (€46.79). The Cannabis Encyclopedia will be translated and published into Spanish autumn 2016.
26
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28
HISTORY & CULTURE
Man by his very nature is an explorer, but the real frontier has always been within – and recreational drugs have been a means to take him there. We have always used psychoactive substances in search of creativity, from ancient cave paintings inspired by datura root, to the psychedelic art of the acid-soaked ’60s, though it’s something we just don’t talk about. Drugs have always been taboo; the drug use of artists is usually not mentioned in the historical record. The Lakeland poets, revered by the establishment, were all avid
Alexander Dumas, author and member of Club des Hashischins
users of laudanum, another name for opium. Coleridge, for example, wrote his famous unfinished poem Kubla Khan under its influ-
Altered States I have a question and it’s a big one. If recreational drugs are so bad, how come they make us so creative? Think about it: if it were not for the mind expanding substances used by musicians over the years your iPod would be pretty light. Art and literature would also be a bit patchy. Altered states have been responsible for some of mankind’s most amazing creations and could even be a reason why they’re illegal (but more about that later). O’Riodon access the ‘left-handed’ thinking that brings insight. Aleister Crowley, the notorious magi, used an array of substances in his study of the occult and wrote many books on the subject. Aldous Huxley, another mind traveler, wrote the ground breaking Doors of Perception after his psychedelic experiments, a book well before its time.
Across the Channel in France, Alexander Dumas (author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers) was a member of the Club des Hashischins. Delacroix and Baudelaire were also members and their work is held in the highest esteem. Back in London, Conan Doyle was writing about a detective called Sherlock Holmes, who frequently used a seven percent solution of cocaine. Drug use was more accepted during this period; even Queen Victoria was a Cannabis user. Many philosophers and thinkers used psychoactive substances to
Music; I saved the best for last! In this field the use of substances to get the creative juices flowing goes back further than you might think. Mozart and Beethoven were just
The end of the last century gave us many writers who were considered outrageous for their indulgences, only later to be embraced as their genius was recognized. This was particularly common in the United States where Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs were all dismissed and even persecuted, only later to receive the accolades they deserved. These are but a few of many. The fact that drugs are illegal even helped create an art form, the Underground Comic. The weirdness
MANY WRITERS ONCE CONSIDERED OUTRAGEOUS FOR THEIR INDULGENCES WERE LATER EMBRACED AS THEIR GENIUS WAS RECOGNIZED ence as well as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Sadly in later life he allowed the drug to take him over, so the lesson here is moderation.
only the tip of a drug-inspired iceberg. Today hundreds of substancefuelled comics fill the market.
of Robert Crumb and the anarchistic mayhem of Gilbert Shelton’s Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are Keith Richards, doing it all and surviving
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an avid opium user
wine and beer (ab)users, but Holst, Schumann, Berlioz and Mussorgsky all took creative substances at one point or another. By the beginning of the last century, alcohol and marijuana were the main influences upon music – particularly the development of blues and jazz. Musicians were far more candid about their substance use. Louis Armstrong openly admitted to smoking a little reefer and wrote songs about it. Of all the art forms, drugs have had the most influence on music, although it didn’t always have a happy ending. The intensely creative but sadly short life of Charlie Parker is an example. Many early musicians allowed themselves to fall under the spell of harder, more dangerous drugs and paid a high price. However, in their suffering they gave us music that touched our souls. From the 1920s onward musicians used drugs simply to keep up the long hours of their trade. On the Chitlin' Circuit they often traveled with a bag of weed in the bus to help grease the creative wheels. The following decades it was weed, speed, coke and smack that drove the sound.
Then came the ’60s and suddenly musicians not using some kind of drug were in the minority. LSD and marijuana were so common they opened a creative floodgate. We all know the names: The Doors, The ’Dead, the Airplane and many more too numerous to mention. Over in Europe, The Beatles and The ’Stones were very obviously influenced by the substances they used, and look at the amount of music they created. Keith Richards proves that some can do it all and still survive. I also want to mention Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks, comics with insight that made us think. All these people have one thing in common; their use of psychoactive substances to access the source of creativity. However, there’s a snake in the grass: responsible drug use entails education and moderation; excessive behavior always causes problems, whether it’s drugs, alcohol or even food. Another interesting aspect to all this is that recent research has shown Cannabis has an effect on the pineal gland. This is the small pine coneshaped gland seated between the two hemispheres of the brain, sometimes called ‘the third eye’. This is our connection to the universal consciousness and the source of our insight. The pineal gland also gives us the ability to ‘see through’ things (a sort of ‘bullshit detector’), which is why substances that activate this are not popular with the powers that be, who would prefer to keep us stupid and unquestioning. Remember: more people die in one year alone from the legal drugs, tobacco and alcohol, than all the illicit Jack Kerouac, beat poet
drug deaths put together in the last hundred years. So, isn’t it about time we rehabilitated these substances – particularly Cannabis – and provide honest education that will allow us to make the right choice? Not all drugs are bad ('mmm kay?') and it’s time to recognize that fact.
GROW REPORT
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Moby Dick XXL Auto Last December, a grower named Greenvigilante had his first growing experience with Dinafem’s Moby Dick XXL Auto strain. 77 days after, the result was unbeatable: a huge harvest obtained by using mixed HPS and LED lighting for the growth of 15 plants of Moby Dick XXL Auto, which led to an incredible yield of 155 g per plant, or 2,340 g of dry buds in total. Below is a description of all the steps of the growing and flowering process followed by the grower Greenvigilante for this strain. Dinafem’s Moby Dick XXL Auto is an auto-flowering cannabis strain that has been designed to meet the requirements of growers seeking abundant harvests and the best possible quality produced from feminised auto-flowering seeds. Genetics is highly vigorous and powerful and produces a surprisingly high quantity of resin and flowers for an auto-flowering strain. In actual fact, this strain is an improved version of Dinafem’s famous Moby Dick Auto. Through this experience its real potential became clear.
Development
Greenvigilante started its germination process by placing 22 seeds of Moby Dick XXL on a wet paper towel inside a tent measuring 2x2 m. Next, he lit the installation with four HPS 600 W lamps and a few supplementary LEDs in the central part. In this environment, he used a central LED 2X75 W module from the UK manufacturer Grownorthern LTD, with high light output, and the final product output was excellent. This process consisted in using coco fibre as a particularly efficient substrate for water-drainage, which allows the plant to perfectly absorb all the mineral salts it requires. In addition, he fed plants with B-52 (i.e. vitamins B, ideal for germination), Big Bud and Overdrive. On day 3, after placing lamps, a ventilation system and pots in the growing tent, Greenvigilante watered the crop by preparing a nutrient solution with 0.3 ml of Roots Excelurator, a product that delivers basic nutrients for rooting, and 1 ml of Sensi Grow A and B nutrients (designed for hydroponic crops) per litre of irrigation water.
On day 7, after obtaining germination by fluorescent T5 lamps, the grower placed seeds into 15 Air Pot units of 10 litres, with a root aeration system and added a few granules of Plant Magic to enhance growth. He waited four days and then irrigated the plants again with nutrients. This was followed by a further irrigation cycle every three days and, subsequently, every other day. He continued during the growth period (before the appearance of flowers), which usually lasts around 30 days. During this phase, he also added 2 ml of Sensi Grow A and B, 1 ml of Voodoo Juice and 0.1 ml of Roots Excelurator to each litre of irrigation water. With this delivery of nutrients, pH reached 5.8 and electro-conductivity (EC) 0.8. In the meantime the grower started to prepare a mesh measuring 2x2 m especially designed to control the plant size indoors. The mesh was ready on day 20. Until then he had continued applying 2.5 ml of Sensi Grow A and B, 0.2 ml of Roots Excelurator and 1 ml of Voodoo Juice. He also started to use LED lighting and a few pre-flowering shoots appeared on plants as the first sign of a full week of vigorous growing. Plants continued to grow significantly, partially as a result of Epsom salt spraying. The grower also installed a sprinkler system with each Air Pot unit watered by three sprinklers for the delivery of the nutrient solution and drainage water was removed by grow gutters. Before using this automatic system equipped with a timer (an Air Pot RTA Dripper System 16), he spent several hours in the tent during the day to water plants manually. At this time, around 14 days were left
30 before flowering could begin and pH remained at 5.8 and EC at 0.8. On day 32, the height of a few plants reached the SCROG mesh, although five to seven days were still needed for plants to grow leftwards and for all plants to reach the same height. Greenvigilante then decided to apply a stronger light to obtain a high quantity cannabis flowers, which is something, he said, he had already tried with other strains previously. Close to day 34, plants started to grow above the top of the SCROG mesh. The grower applied a small quantity of calcium (0.1 ml to 0.2 ml) and a similar quantity of magnesium. Salts were applied alternatively, i.e. on the day calcium was applied magnesium was not applied. He said one needs to be careful about the quantity of calcium to be delivered; it has to be moderately applied because it is two to three times stronger than other nutrients. Temperature with lights on is be kept somewhat below 24 degrees Celsius. Over the last few days, plants were fed by 2 ml of Sensi Grow A and B, 1 ml of Voodoo Juice, 0.15 ml of Roots Excelurator and 0.10 ml of calcium (or 0.10 ml of magnesium) per water litre. All of these elements kept PH at 5.8, and EC at around 1.1. Close to day 40, plants already projected well above the SCROG mesh, became robust and their smell was perfect. Greenvigilante continued using calcium, magnesium, Sensi Grow A and B, Voodoo Juice and Roots Excelurator. He also added Carboload,
a product enhancing flowering and significantly increasing the size of buds (pH continued to be at 5.8, but EC grew to 1.2). At this time, from the mere excellent aspect of plants, Greenvigilante could infer that harvest would be plentiful. Day 45. Plants started to flower, the canopy of leaves was so thick that manipulating the cannabis was a complex task. Initially, the grower thought he had to remove the mesh from the SCROG system, but finally decided to only remove one of the plants to leave enough space for the remaining plants to continue growing. Dinafem recommends leaving sufficient space between Moby Dick XXL Auto plants for them to grow into fullness. He also increased the doses of nutrients to 2.5 ml of Sensi Grow A and B, 0.1 ml of magnesium or calcium, 1 ml of B52 and 2 ml of Big Bud per water litre. Quantities would remain unchanged until day 60. On day 49, said the grower, the neighbours started to complain about the noise of the lamp ventilation system. To avoid further troubles, Greenvigilante changed the power-on time of these fans for their noise to go unnoticed. A few days later, on day 53, flowering was at its highest and the smell released from the crop was uniquely good. Buds reached a considerable size and were full of trichomes. In 15 days’ time, they would be ready for harvest. One of the aspects that this grower normally avoids when growing large auto-flowerers is the rotting of the bud, but he says that with SCROG he achieved a large quantity of smaller shoots instead of large tailings that could be affected by this problem. For this reason, he used a lighting cycle of 18/6 during the last two weeks, which was gradually reduced every two days until a cycle of 12/12 was reached, to prevent buds from rotting. From day 60 onwards, he slightly changed nutrients. In addition to magnesium, calcium and Sensi Grow A and B, he added Overdrive, a product that is extremely effective in hydroponic crops in order to keep plants strong in the final stage of the flowering process. Starting from day 70, the grower started to irrigate with water only, 7 days instead of the usual 10. At that time, the smell released by some of the buds was pervasive and pleasant. On day 75, the grower removed the SCROG system entirely to collect samples and take pictures. In so doing, he detected around 10% of amber-coloured trichomes. After removing the clamping system, he
left the plants in the tent for 48 extra hours in complete darkness. Finally, the duration of growth was found to be 77 days in total. By then, the anti-odour filters had been operating at full capacity. When the tent was ultimately opened, the full house smelled of Moby Dick, an intense aroma of citrus fruit, pinewood, exotic wood and sweet Indica notes. When marihuana dried, he observed that yield had been extremely high (156 g per plant on average) and the density of the buds with a marketable size was exaggerated. Greenvigilante defined the quality of the end product “sublime”.
As demonstrated in this example, even first-time growers may obtain a successful yield with a strain such as Dinafem’s Moby Dick XXL. This marihuana strain naturally produces a large quantity of resin and is very powerful; obtaining this yield also requires much patience, unswerving devotion and much love for cannabis. Greenvigilante’s love enabled him to achieve such a remarkable yield with genetics that he did not hesitate to qualify as “impressive”.
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GROW WITH JORGE CERVANTES
SITING THE GREENHOUSE Growing medicinal cannabis in greenhouses is efficient and much less taxing on the environment and pocketbook than gardening indoors. Unheated or heated and- cooled greenhouses extend seasons and protect plants from the lements. Containerized plants are mobile, raised beds warm early, or you can plant directly in the ground. Greenhouses can also be equipped with lights to extend vegetative growth or augment natural sunlight. Greenhouses can be blacked out to induce flowering with a 12/12 day/ night schedule during the summer. The type of structure you select depends on the size and location of your growing area, your budget, and how much time you are able to dedicate to your garden. Small, moveable, “popup” greenhouses are convenient and practical. Simple cold frames and greenhouses can be assembled from common materials such as old framed windows and 2 × 4s (5.1 × 10.2 cm). Small heated-and-cooled greenhouses are a little more complex. Hoop houses are inexpensive, practical, and easy to install. Large commercial greenhouses are best purchased from and installed by professionals. A good specialized greenhouse can be used year round in most climates. However, heating and cooling costs vary in relation to climate and seasonal weather changes. When deciding on a garden structure, first take a look at your budget in terms of both money and time. Greenhouses can be just as much or more work as an indoor garden. Start with a small greenhouse and learn the ins and outs of growing in your climate. Greenhouses tend to heat up quickly when the heat of sun hits them and cool rapidly when the sun goes down. Keeping the temperature
SITING THE GREENHOUSE
Choosing a site for the greenhouse may be easy because certain factors— size of backyard, property limits, location of existing buildings and trees, and so on—may already limit location possibilities. Greenhouses can be temporary or permanent. Permanent structures are more expensive to construct and may require a building permit. No matter what, greenhouses should receive ample light, especially when plants are flowering. However, midday sun could create more heat and problems than simple cooling ȏ *RRG KXPLGLW\ DQG SHVW FRQWURO and shading are able to control ȏ :DWHU UHVLVWDQW HOHFWULFDO RXWOHWV economically. In such a case, it is ȏ $ KRVH ELE WR SURYLGH ZDWHU advisable to site the greenhouse ȏ ΖQVXODWHG ZDWHU OLQHV WR DYRLG in filtered sun or so that it is under freezing, if necessary filtered sunlight or a shadow during ȏ 7DEOHV EHQFKHV DQG SODFHV WR KDQJ the hottest part of the day. plants (if they are not on the floor) ȏ $ GU\ SODFH WR VWRUH IHUWLOL]HUV SRWWLQJ Unless square or round, site the soil, and tools greenhouse so that the sun passes
Plant in the earth or in containers when growing in a greenhouse. This gardener is experimenting with growing the same varieties in soil and in containers
from fluctuating too much can be difficult. It takes understanding, experience, and a little luck to master temperature management. Start your greenhouse project by considering how much area you have for the footprint and how much space you will need for the desired number of plants. Think about how many plants you can grow. For example, if allowed to grow only six plants outdoors, they should be big plants.
HERE ARE SOME GREAT GREENHOUSE SITES TO GET YOU STARTED: www.vitallandscaping.com www.become.com/greenhouses www.charleysgreenhouse.com www.cpjungle.com www.doityourself.com/scat/ www.floriangreenhouse.com www.greenhousemegastore.com www.hobbygreenhouse.org www.igcusa.com www.permies.com www.turnergreenhouses.com
Greenhouses must have: ȏ )XOO VXQ WR SDUWLDO PLGGD\ VKDGH ȏ 3URSHU DLU FLUFXODWLRQ DQG YHQWLODWLRQ
Growing in a greenhouse is very easy once the structure is set up and covered. Plants often grow so fast that they fill the entire greenhouse!
34
Site the greenhouse where it will receive full sun all day long. Remember the sun may need to be blocked with shade cloth to cool the greenhouse.
Cut the bottom from a plastic container to form a cloche. Remember to remove the top for ventilation.
Cover greenhouses with corrugated fiberglass to exclude inquisitive passersby.
Cloches are individual protective coverings that keep plants warm at night. A simple cloche is a plastic milk container with the bottom cut off and the lid removed. Placed over a plant, the plastic will capture and retain heat while allowing ventilation through the open top. You can make cloches out of wax paper, glass, and jars, or buy them. Commercial units are made of rigid transparent plastic or heavy-duty wax paper. They are easy to use and stack well for storage.
Covers protect early transplants and can help produce a spring crop. The most uncomplicated cover is a lightweight row cover spread over the plants and held down with stones or soil. Spun-fiber products Agronet™ and Reemay® also have sun-protection properties that can be used as covers in place of the sheet or blanket.
This greenhouse is located inside a large toolshed. All the walls are white, and the ceiling is clear plastic to let in sunlight. Discreet greenhouses help keep neighborhood relations pleasant. from one end to the other rather than from one side to the other. This way plants receive the most direct light possible in relation to the path of the sun. Shadows are reduced to a minimum when the greenhouse is oriented parallel to the arc of the sun.
pertinent information about sunlight and siting gardens.
TYPES OF GREENHOUSES
The type of greenhouse you choose is governed by your climate, your budget, and your desires. The first consideration is climate. An unheated greenhouse in the mild Pacific THE SITE WILL DICTATE Northwest can easily extend spring HOW PLANTS ARE ABLE TO and fall growing seasons by six weeks GROW. A GOOD SITE HAS: each, three months total. Coastal ȏ 6XSHU VRLO California gardeners can grow all year ȏ /RWV RI OLJKW in the same greenhouse and spend ȏ *RRG YHQWLODWLRQ little on heating or cooling. With a little ȏ 1XWULHQWV heat and proper setup, a greenhouse ȏ :DWHU can produce nearly year round in ȏ )ODW ODQG Michigan and other northern climates. ȏ (DV\ DFFHVVȃ\RX DUH DEOH WR GULYH WR But be careful when planting early in it to provide the tender loving care the year. Plants outgrow the confines your plants deserve of the greenhouse and are difficult to cover before harvest if weather is Location and exposure will rainy. depend on climate, but in general, you will want the greenhouse to Use small miniature greenhouses— receive ample sunlight yet not cloches, plastic milk jugs, Wall-O-Water, be exposed to strong winds. The and so forth—to extend the spring structure should be away from planting season by two to six weeks. any areas where falling limbs Miniature greenhouses protect plants or other debris might create from cold weather and wind. They problems. Greenhouses in hot are easy to use when hardening-off and tropical climates will require transplants too. Extending the spring more shade and water. See season could allow enough time to “Sighting the Garden” in chapter plant a spring crop and a fall crop in 12, Outdoors. It is packed with many climates.
Garden stores sell many different kinds of small greenhouses.
A Wall O Water will keep plants warm when temperatures approach the freezing point.
The Wall O Water is a plant lifesaver. It is a water-filled teepee that uses the heat-emitting properties of water to shield plants from excess heat and keep them warm in the cold. It holds three gallons (11.4 L) of water and fits over the plant. During the day, the water absorbs the heat of the sun, moderating the temperature inside the teepee. At night, as the air temperature drops, the water releases its heat, keeping the plant comfortable. The Wall O Water does its best work in the spring when there is still a chance of freezing. As water freezes, it releases more heat into the teepee and can protect plants down to 20°F (-7°C).
A window box greenhouse or free standing greenhouse is a great place to start seedlings and clones. With enough light, vegetative plants do well. Most window box greenhouses are too small to accommodate large flowering plants.
More greenhouses are described in the chapter “Greenhouses” in the Cannabis Encyclopedia.
This is an excerpt from chapter 14, “Preserving the Sanctuary” from the Cannabis Encyclopedia (594 pages, 2,000+ color images, large A4 format) by Jorge Cervantes that will be available April 2015. For more information please see Jorge´s website, www.marijuanagrowing.com.
Cannabis is a gift from God, even my grandma used to say that. Božena, 67
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OLD SCHOOL INDICA
Night Queen
Tony, Dutch Passion Seedbank
CHAMPIONS CUP WINNER 2015 Strain Name:
Night Queen
Breeder:
Dutch Passion
Origins:
Genebank Afghan Indica
Flowering:
8 or 9 weeks
Outdoor Harvest:
Early October (Northern hemisphere). Early April (Southern Hemisphere)
Dutch Passion Night Queen is an original Afghani Indica which won 1st Prize at the 2015 Champions Cup in Malaga. Its a variety that was introduced to satisfy the demand for traditional heavy-hitting oldschool genetics among recreational and medical growers. Night Queen was first introduced in the 1980’s in the original Dutch Passion seed collection. In those days many of the popular varieties were often based on Skunk, Haze, Northern Lights or Afghani genetics. Genuine Afghani genetics were not the easiest to get hold of even then, nowadays it is almost impossible to get hold of them due to the difficulties of travelling in the region. For that reason much of the modern breeding of afghani or related afghani kush genetics takes place with genetics which came out of the Afghani region many years ago. If you are a fan of indica cannabis varieties then you definitely do not want to ignore the quality on offer from Afghan genetics. The original Afghani genetics from our 1980’s indica breeding program are not just important to us, they are more-orless irreplaceable for our future breeding activities. With no obvious opportunities to safely go gene-gathering in Afghanistan these days most people have to rely on the established varieties like Mazar or Night Queen to provide the genetics. Fortunately gene banks such as Dutch Passion can rely on extensive seed collections collected in previous decades before the current inac-
cessibility issues. In Dutch Passions case these seeds are safely stored away in deep freeze where they can be used for future breeding or research programs. So what was the purpose of the original work that went into Night Queen, and in these days of indica/sativa hybrids what kind of growers want to grow pure indica varieties? Well, for some cannabis lovers there is nothing quite like a good old fashioned hard-hitting indica which will put you on the sofa for a few minutes while you debate the competing attractions of feasting in the kitchen or grabbing the remote control for a spot of extended horizontal slobbery. For some people a good quality Kush indica is the preferred smoke of the day, for others it is an occasional treat. Each of us has a unique endo-cannabinoid system, so it seems logical that we can all have our own preferences when it comes to the cannabis genetics that hit our own sweet-spot. We accept that not everyone will vote an indica as their all-time favourite, but for those that appreciate the indica qualities there is simply no substitute. The dense hard nuggets that do not want to yield when you squeeze them, the thick intoxicating plumes of hash-scented smoke that remind you of a mis-spent youth in dutch coffee shops. Indica varieties have a great deal to offer in addition to the narcotic potency levels which are so adored by recreational and medical cannabis users.
Home cultivation of pure indica varieties does not differ too much from cultivation of other cannabis types. Perhaps the most unusual thing about Night Queen and other pure indica varieties is the lack of stretch during the bloom phase. Like other photoperiod varieties vegetive growth is achieved through the use of 18-24 hours of daily light. Cutting daily light to 12 hours initiates bloom in photoperiod varieties, but unlike other varieties with sativa genetics, the pure indica varieties will not stretch much at all. This allows indica varieties to be given much longer veg times than an indica/sativa hybrid and still remain small enough to fit in a domestic grow tent. Often home growers can get exceptionally heavy harvests especially by growing indicas which have been given a couple of months veg time, the short bushy plants will produce numerous bloom points and can yield very well without the worry of dealing with difficult levels of plant stretch. Its worth detailing what really makes a great indica harvest, so here are a few tips from Antonio & Ferdinand, two European brothers who grew the Night Queen which won 1st prize in the Champions Cup. The Night Queen was grown organically in soil which contained 20% coco fibre to improve soil aeration. Nutrients came from Bio-Sannie and included mycorihiza and BAC organic feed and bloom. The championship winning Night Queen was grow in an airpot, these are similar to traditional plant containers but they have numerous air holes to allow superior root oxygena-
tion and also have a dimpled interior which prevents roots from ‘circling’ around the side and base. The main tip from Antonio & Ferdinand is to allow a long veg time, there will be less stretch than you imagine during bloom, so the size and harvest can be maximised by a long veg. Temperatures (ºC) should be in the mid or low twenties and you will see the plants develop a frosty layer of trichomes beginning early in flower. By week 5 or 6 she becomes very sticky and will start to produce some heavy scents, initially these are often citrus/fruit based. Heaviest feeding occurred during weeks 5-8 with pK13/14 peaking at 2 mils/ litre. Night Queen should be fed reasonably heavily, push her until she shows signs of overfeeding and then back off the feed concentration a little bit. Night Queen usually takes around 8-9 weeks to finish flowering, the longer you leave her the heavier the final smoke becomes. Connoisseur growers will wish to ‘flush’ the Night Queen from excessive minerals by feeding her pure water for the last week or so. The brothers grew their Champions Cup stash under LED and believe this helped them get some very dense and hard buds with optimal THC levels. When you have grown Night Queen well you will be stoned even after a couple of smokes, often it will be difficult to finish a full joint. THC levels of above 20% in an indica are usually satisfying enough for most home growers. We hope that indica varieties will be around for many years to come.
GROW YOUR OWN
37
Seeding your Growth Cannabis seeds are the starting point for all the growing we do. Even if your mother plant has many years of cuttings under her belt, she came from a perfect little packaged embryo. Finding a supply of seeds in a desired strain, choosing the healthiest ones and keeping them stored by Golgi Apparatus safely are an important part of breeding. First off, when you get a bag from a dealer that has a bunch of seeds in it don’t get excited unless you know the grower has male plants around. This is the definitive difference from ‘good’ bag seeds and ‘bad’ bag seeds. Not many growers tackle the breeding side of things with male plants and many only grow feminized seeds. This only leaves one thing to create those seeds your finding in the bag, hermaphrodites. Female plants can turn into a hermaphrodite plant and produce seeds from its own flowers. This can be genetically predetermined or happen from excessive stress on the plant during its growing cycle. This sexual breeding mishap usually produces seeds that are going to be genetically predetermined to also hermaphrodite. But you won’t know this however until your beautiful nugs are rittled with seeds at the end of the flower stage. You can take your chances if you wish to roll the dice, but instead of adding to this sexual deviancy cycle I tend to stay away from ‘bag’ seeds. The most popular seed shopping happens through online seed banks, and with so many different companies to choose from make sure you always use a reputable company, with good reviews. These companies take precautions to get you seeds delivered discretely and safely and usually will not send you anything but the biggest and brightest. Unless you happen to buy a ‘grab bag’ off the sale rack or something that disclaims no guarantee then you will want to treat them as if you got them from a plant you seeded yourself. When you first inspect your seeds you are looking for a glossy, plump, solid shell that is brown in color with striation patterns of a darker brown running around the outside. A healthy seed will not have any cracks
or pattern interruptions and will feel heavier than it looks. The heaviness happens within the formation of the seed, leaving some water weight inside with the healthy embryo. Any seeds that are grey, green or light brown with no visible pattern are immature and not good to grow. Another sign of immaturity is softness. A ‘good’ seed will have a hard shell and a uniform shape. Any malformation will show in the shell with an irregular shape or runs through the pattern. This is pretty much the same as seeing a crack in the side of the shell, alluding to the interior of the seed being compromised in some way. Any compromise to the integrity of the shell will cause the moisture stored inside during formation to evaporate.
The seed shell will fall off naturally as it grows
If you can’t tell by just looking at the seed if its shell is still intact, you can check its water weight using, of all things, water! To see if your seeds have dried out or not using the water test you simply fill a container with distilled water and drop all your seeds in. The ones that fall to the bottom of the container are ‘good’,
38
because they still have the moisture inside with the formed embryo and that extra weight allows them to sink. Leaving the floating or ‘bad’ ones at the top for you to skim off and throw away. Those don’t have enough water weight to sink meaning the shell has been compromised causing buoyancy or they are too immature, lacking formation of the completed embryo. Another check you can do to unknown seed collection is a smell and taste test. Separate them into like piles and crack one open, smell it and taste it if you’re up for it. If it has any sort of must or oily taste that means they are old seeds and are on the verge of going bad. Any sign of black in the interior of the shell means fermentation has begun and there will be very little chance for growth. Of course this test means you are ruining some of the possible viable seeds, so it’s not something ideal for any purchased seeds. If you plan on storing your seeds for long periods a few easy steps can ensure viability and longevity. First off, pick out the healthiest looking ones with no fractures. The rest is all about moisture. Make sure your seeds have no excess moisture. You can check them by sealing them in a glass jar for a few hours, if you see any condensation on the sides of the jar after this time period then there is too much moisture to seal them up. Once the outside of the shell is dry enough for storage they need to be sealed properly to retain the interior embryo intact and you need to keep all moisture away from the storage container to prevent mold from forming. It’s a delicate balance but it can be achieved with some planning, a vacuum sealer and a good air tight container. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer then use a bag and the air tight container and sprinkling it with DE (diatomaceous earth) to keep pests and excess moisture away. Always label your container or bag so you know exactly what strain you’ve got and don’t end up with a grab bag of random seeds. Cultivators can build up a stash of favorite or hard to get strains, store them properly and have an abundance of viable seeds ready for propagation. Once you have your best and brightest picked out it’s time for germination! The easiest way to do this is not by sowing them into the dirt or growing medium and hoping for the best. That can lead to wasted time and energy and doesn’t allow you the pleasure of watching them emerge from their shell. The method most widely used by growers to get their seeds to pop is the damp paper towel method. To do this all you will need is some paper towel and an air tight container. If your container is clear then you will need a dark place to put it while they are germinating. Start by wetting your sheet of paper towel so it’s completely saturated and then ringing it out. Don’t ring it as hard as you can but give it a good squeeze, leaving it completely moist but not dripping wet. Then fold it in half so it’s 2-ply then lay your seeds about 1 inch apart on half of the sheet. Once you have them laid out fold the paper towel over at least twice so that the seeds are completely surrounded in the damp paper towel and will not fall out from the sides. If you are germinating multiple strains you may want to use different containers so you can label them and keep them identified. Seal the paper towel in the air tight container and place it in a cool, dark place for a few days. I like to check mine after just two days. Some may already be sprouting at this point, and some may take longer than others so let them go for 7-10 days, plucking out the popped ones as they sprout. At this point you want to let them come out of the shell naturally, don’t try to help them out by pulling off the shell casing prematurely. Once the white root has emerged and has a good inch of growth on it you will be able to see a green leaf at the top of the sprout, usually where the pieces of the shell casing are holding onto the little seedling. This means it’s time for planting!
A healthy seed will be glossy, plump and have a solid shell that is brown in color with striation patterns
No matter what type of growing medium you are using these seedlings are so delicate they will need extra care for the first two weeks of their life. Take extra caution when using something like Rockwool blocks, which need to be treated before use to extricate the high pH that they naturally contain. If you plan to enter into a medium of all hydro rocks then I would recommend starting in Rockwool or organic starter blocks first, then inserting those into the hydroton or rock filled container once the roots have established throughout the block. Another option is to start in a soil cup and once the roots have established you can uproot the seedling and rinse the soil off before setting into your hydro system. If you plan on a growing in a soil medium then the organic starter plugs (made from formed tree bark) or even just a small cup filled with a very light soil will do. Make sure you purchase seedling soil or a blend that doesn’t contain heavy nutrients built into the dirt. No matter if it’s a block or soil the most important factor here again is –moisture. Most growers tend to over water with excitement in the early stages of growth, this can not only stunt the growth of the seedlings but it can also kill them very easily. There is a fine line between moist and wet, always err on the side of dry when treating babies to a watering. Make sure the container they are in has plenty of drainage and that there is no standing water in the tray below them. Let the growing medium dry before watering again, this promotes healthier and more vigorous root growth. If the roots are always in a wet medium they can not only rot out but they have no incentive to grow. Letting the medium dry a little bit (no longer than a day) sends them out looking for moisture, causing them to span growth further than they would if the moisture is readily available for them.
Healthy root growth can be obtained with the right amount of light and moisture
Another simple mistake that happens in the early stages of seedling growth is overfeeding. These guys don’t need much food as all while they are establishing themselves. In fact most nutrient lines have a special bottle of food made especially for seedlings or clones, containing a minimal amount of N-P-K and usually some vitamins, hormones, beneficial bacteria or fungi. The beneficial microbes are great for promoting monster root growth, they colonize in your root zone and live symbiotically with the roots boosting their growth rate.
If you get a good seed starter soil these things will most likely already be in there along with enough food, so all you will need to do is water for the first couple weeks. These specialty starter soils are very light and aerated, exactly what you need to keep the seedlings on the fast track for vegetative growth. You can also use your normal vegetative growth food but cut it down to at least 1/5 the normal amount. This should be plenty of food, remember less is more. Always give your rooted seedlings 18+ hours of light and a warm grow area. Fluorescent fixtures are best for this period of growth because you can get them very close to the plants (usually 3-5 inches) without burning them, giving them a perfect amount of heat as well as letting them absorb the most lumens from the light. Also remember to keep the ambient temperature around 19-22 degrees Celcius, you don’t want them in a cold room with the only heat source being the light. Take into consideration that these little ones will need a little extra care now while they are small and establishing a root zone, they are more fragile than clones are during their establishing phase. This is due to the size of the plants internal system. A clone starts off with an established xylem and phloem, where as a seedling needs to develop these from scratch. A little doting and babying them now will go a long way when you see them flourish into big bertha mother plants or full cycle flower into succulent and sticky colas.
40
PUZZLE
REPORT
41
SWAZILAND: JOINING THE GLOBAL REVOLUTION? Have you heard about Swaziland yet? Sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique, this tiny little country was built for the herb like Messi was born to play football. Boasting fertile mountains and a sub-tropical climate, the Swazi folk have never had to work too hard for their reputation as high grade ganja farmers, and if a certain Dr Ben Dlamini is listened to and understood the whole country could soon be lifting itself out of poverty by re-legalising its cannabis crops. But, before we hear from the good Doctor himself we shall journey into the nameless communities of Swaziland’s mountainous north, to meet the farmers and get a good grasp The Professor of the country’s grass roots… We’re sitting on a rock at the top a steep, forested slope. The Sun is hot, the breeze is cool and the views are nothing short of majestic: the forest stretches down the mountains towards a long, meandering reservoir. Beyond the reservoir more mountains ripple across into the South African distance. The forest is dense, natural, and as old as the mountain that drops away beneath us. Giant cacti are dotted amongst a huge variety of trees, bushes and plants. The patterns and colours of life are reproducing themselves es every quarter acre in a natural order of abundance. Flocks,, pairs and individual birds dart around the sky below us whilst all manner of insects busy themselves collecting pollen, building nests and humping each other. Gaia in action. ion. “Cannabis grows very easily in this country, and we can thank nkk the good Lord for that! This amazing plant helps the poor people in the mountains to live with dignity, and in a little comfort. It puts food on our tables, pays for our children to go to school and it provides us money for the luxuries of transportation and mobile telephones. Most of us who have ve ut land in the mountains grow ganja, we grow food as well but we need the ganja to trade for money and then we can trade ade the money for everything else we need to survive. We lovee to ur smoke as well – it gives us strength, power and inspires our minds - it keeps our spirits happy and free!” occo “There are no really big plantations out here, not like Morocco or India; the biggest ones have about a thousand plants in them h andd the h bi bigger ffarmers will ill hhave llots off plots dotted around the place, but most of the country’s ganja comes from small family plots. Everyone in these mountains gets their money from the ganja crops, everyone. The people who don’t grow get jobs
trimming the plants, or they work as mechanics or in shops - places where people spend their ganja money. We don’t have many problems with the police, but sometimes the government is under pressure from the international police so they have to send our police into the mountains to burn crops and arrest people, but they only do it for the
new newspapers to write about. We always know when the police are coming bec because there is only one road they can use to get roa he here so sometimes our cro crops get burned but they never know whose land ne th the plants are on, and th they can never find us to arrest us because we hhide in the forest until tthey’ve gone!” Another grower, an ex-pat, ex-pat told us about his d i h the h Swazi S i police: l adventures with “The cops here are alright, the first time they caught me with anything it was with five kilos trying to cross
the border - that ended in a hundred and fifty US dollar fine. A couple of years later I had a row with one of the locals, they told the cops I was growing so they raided my house and found two and a half kilos. The lawyer told me I should expect to pay a big fine or go to prison because it was my second offence, but when the case went to court the cop in charge told the t judge that it was w my first offence so s they gave me another hundred a aand fifty dollar fine. ItIt’s not like South AAfrica here, the cops aaren’t so easy to corrupt – if a cop co ggets caught taking money he’ll be a m disgrace to his family di and community and an have to move away ha from the place he fro grew gr up – I didn’t pay pa the cop to say what wh he said, he was just jus a good guy and he knew I was a good guy gu so he made sure justice was done, that’s what it’s like in this country.” It’s pretty much all good news from a smoker’s perspective as well, especially right now, thanks to an influx of quality genetics from overseas: “Years ago three guys came over from Europe, they were growing some amazing weed, and producing great seeds as well – they were real professionals. After a few years of establishing themselves and their crops a few of the local guys got jealous and robbed them; they stole all their seeds and it destroyed their operation, but the thieves were stupid. They didn’t know how to grow properly so the weed they got from the stolen seed was not so good, and all the genetics were grown out and lost in one or two seasons, but because they’d stolen the seed they were afraid to go back to the Europeans to ask for help growing it. More recently
42 some new guys came from Europe, they brought lots of good seed and they’re working with some of the local farmers again, trying to teach us how to grow properly and how to produce good seed crops.” Just what knowledge the Swazi farmers have absorbed and how long they manage to maintain the genetics of this lucky second chance remains to be seen, but, as you are reading this, Swaziland’s secret ng all year round with the sparkling trichomes from a global gene and hidden fields are once again glistening pool; Cheese, Blueberry, Blue Cheese, Lemon mon Skunk and White Widow are all popular, but the diversity is so strong that every connoisseur smoker in the country will bee able run off a list of strains his favourite growers are playing with. The famous Swazi Gold seems to have been lost to history though, that’s if it ever existed in the first place. Was it a specific strain or was it a misunderstood nickname for Swaziland’s cannabis crop as a whole, Swazi Gold or Swazi gold? Either way, as a tourist out here it’s hard to avoid the stuff, “just don’t smoke it in public or wave a bag of it in a cop’s face and you’ll be fine. Some people here are so brainwashed by the Christian preachers that they think it’s even se people see you smoking they’ll illegal to talk about cannabis! If those call the cops to get you busted and actually believe they’re doing you and the world a favour, these are the dangerous people, the dinosaurs that still need to be educated!” However, cannabis isn’t just a plant that can be used as a drug when it’s smoked, “I’ve eaten it every day of my life and never been high once!” claims Dr Ben Dlamini, “my grandfather grew it and his grandfather grew it, we eat it to maintain a healthy body and mind – look! I’m an old man but I can still move and dance when I feel the rhythm, and my mind is strong, sometimes I forget things, but so do all people, this why we have a pen and paper!” “When the colonial oppressors came here they created The Opium and Habit Forming Drugs Act of 1922 and The Pharmacy Act of 1929 to criminalise us for growing and using cannabis. They wanted to protect the colonial cotton industry in Egypt, but now Swaziland is independent and we have a constitution which supports a very good anti-competition law. This means that the colonial laws of oppression are unconstitutional because they protect the cotton industry. We have new laws drawn up that are waiting to be heard by parliament, but even if parliament does not hear the laws we will take the case to the national courts to complete the formality of striking these illegal laws from our lives. That will be quicker than parliament, but it will be much better if it goes through parliament because then we will have new laws to replace the old ones.” “There is not much opposition to what we are trying to do in this country, I am famous here, everyone knows I am the biggest activist trying to legalise cannabis and people always smile and stop to talk with me in the street, most people are very friendly with me and it is only the people who don’t know the arguments that are against it. This plant can uplift our whole nation from poverty – it can clothe us, fuel us, provide medicine for us, it can feed us, employ us and we can even live in houses made from it. I know a lot of people like to
smoke it, I don’t care about that, I’ve never smoked it, but if people want to smoke then let them smoke…” “The US has been sitting on our neckss for one hundred years now, conning the world with their fa fake propaganda and making sure oour expensive medicines do us m nno good. They made us criminals m ls for using this fo plant which is so pl important, and it im is iindigenous to our culture as welll ou my grandfather’s –m grandfather is whatt gra makes it indigenous!” mak s!” But Swaziland is small, relatively a sm powerless country, don’t powe worry about a negative reaction you w coming from more powerful comin neighbours, or the US? neigh “The Colombian president said that the world must sort out this problem together, but if we wait until everyone is ready to legalise then it will never happen. Some countries have to lead and when we take the lead everyone will be able to see how this plant can lift the whole world out of poverty and liberate us from oppression. If South Africa legalises it will be very good for us, but we are not connected
with their campaigners and whatever they decide will not affect our decision. The world cannot wait any longer – soon there will be an abundance of everything for everyone and many of our problems will be solved when we learn to use this plant properly, it gives me great excitement when I think of the future for this country, and for all the people of the world!” So, unlike Uruguay, the Swazi’s are planning on introducing laws that will legislate for all uses and applications of the cannabis plant. Their revolution is far from cut and dried yet though: “Back Back in 2009 20 Rwanda had very similar laws rready for their parliament to vote on, bbut the laws were never heard – the man who was responsible for the laws m nnever turned up to present them, so we tthink he was bought off by the US. Our laws have been ready to be heard by la pparliament since December 2012, and tthey’ve made it on to the list of acts to bbe heard three times but each time our hhealth minister, the very good Benedict XXaba, has failed to turn up to present the laws so I’m starting to worry that he might la have been bought off as well.” ha A copy of Swaziland’s proposed new laws can be found at www.worldwarweed.com ca
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THE ONLINE CANNABIS ENCYCLOPEDIA
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HIGHLIFE CUP Results of the Highlife Cup 2015
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Index of ads Name
Page
00 Seeds Bank
4
Humboldt Seed Organization
27
8 Ball Hydroponics
1
Indica Head Shop
42
Advanced Seeds
31
Jorge Cervantes
32
Amsterdam Seed Center
43
Mycologics
45
Atami
48
Paradise Seeds
1
Bonza Seeds
19
Paradise Seeds
15
Bristol Genuine Seedbank
12
Procare
45
Budmaster LED
39
Royal Queen Seeds
16
Cannafest
35
SANlight
13
Dinafem Seeds
11
Senua Hydroponics
39
Dr. Blooms Hydroponics
1
Smokin Vinyl
45
Dr. Chronic
8
Sonic Hydroponics
45
Dutch Passion
7
Southern Hydro Centre
45
Ed Rosenthal
22
Stanford Hydroponics
1
Emporium Hydroponics
45
Sweet Seeds
47
E-Nail
43
UK GroWorks
41
Genofarm
37
UK Skunkworks
41
Green Shop
1
Vapour Evolution
1
Head 2 Head
42
Vision Seeds
45
Hesi
2
Wheatley Hydroponics
33
Hoo Farm Hydro
45
Zamnesia
41
Colofon 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: info@softsecrets.nl Editor: Cliff Cremer Contributors: Ed Rosenthal, Jorge Cervantes, Dr. John Dee, The Professor, Sativa Diva, Tony, Stoney Tark, Kali Mist, Golgi Apparatus and others Comics: Jim Stewart Editorial adress: readers@softsecrets.nl Advertisements: E-mail: info@softsecrets.nl A word from the publisher: Soft Secrets is published in: The Netherlands (Highlife), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Chile and Argentina. 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. The publisher has endeavored to reach all copyright holders of photos and/or images. Those who still believe they are entitled to these rights may contact the publisher.
Next issue out: October 30, 2015
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