2018 03 UK by SoftSecrets

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THE CANNABIS NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985

Issue 3 - 2018

8 AMSTERDAM

Never Confuse What's Legal With What’s Moral

20 Top Tips on Choosing Genetics

25 Interview with Dutch Passion!

18+ For adults only. Soft Secrets is published six times a year by Discover Publisher BV Netherlands

RRY SENSI-STAR DELAHAZE PANDORA BELLADONNA WAPPA ALL

UK COULD LEGALISE CANNABIS WITHIN FIVE YEARS, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS Experts believe that the UK could legalise cannabis for recreational use within the next five years. With countries including Canada and Australia having already loosened their regulations on the drug, the Metro reports that investors have started to circle around cannabisbased companies which are looking to open in the UK, with calls for the drug's total deregulation growing stronger.

Remo Chemo

Company representatives and investors met in a plush hotel in London to explore the possibility of investing in cannabis-based businesses. A joint enterprise, perhaps? Some attendees admitted that they've never even tried the drug, but conceded that interest was very high. "We are very, very eager to get into the UK market," said Max Zavet, who founded cannabis company Emblem. Emblem is a company which dries and sells cannabis. They were one of many company officials that attended the meeting in Mayfair last month. Zavet feels as though it's just a matter of time before the UK starts to

strip away its drug laws on cannabis, opening a lucrative market. "It will definitely be medical first," he said. "Once that starts happening, people aren't as afraid about pot anymore and the stigma reduces. You may see a recreational regime here in the next five years as well. "The UK is on the forefront of most industries, but I think the culture is maybe a little too conservative, and

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is afraid of a new substance to harm children and harm society. That's even though people are consuming it regularly anyway." The legality of cannabis is a contentious issue in the UK. Many feel that it's a misunderstood drug and its illegality is flawed, suggesting alcohol is more damaging and yet remains on sale to the public. However, some feel cannabis is very harmful. They say that it can exacerbate mental health issues and should not be legalised simply because alcohol is. It's a massive cultural drug in the UK, where over one in twenty UK individuals age 16-59 have used it in the last year - and momentum has now shifted towards its legality. But don't sit back and put on your Bob Marley vinyl just yet. A spokesman from the Home Office told the Metro: "Cannabis is a controlled Class B drug, as there is clear scientific and medical evidence that it is a harmful drug, which can damage people's mental and physical health, as well as harming individuals and communities. "The government is 'absolutely committed' to reducing drug use."

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The use of cannabis in medicine is not a new phenomenon. There is evidence that the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks knew some of the many medical applications of the plant. Chinese physicians in the 1st century CE used cannabis resin mixed with wine as a painkiller. Over the past decade or so, there has been a marked increase in interest in the medicinal properties of the cannabis plant, and after many years of denial and nay saying on the past of mainstream medicine, it is now known, beyond any doubt, that cannabis is effective in the treatment of quite debilitating conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, and for the side effects of chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Beyond this point, what is known begins to falter somewhat, and indeed begins to segue into the realms of the hypothetical (which is reasonable: more research needed!), and the wishful thinking (which is potentially dangerous). It's in the realm of wishful thinking that we find claims regarding the effectiveness of cannabis not as a means of managing the very unpleasant side effects of chemo, but as a cure for cancer. Social media is awash with this sort of thing: "the cancer cure the government don't want you to know about!". These stories are usually accompanied by the testimony of someone extolling the virtues of weed and blasting the pharmaceutical industry for profiting from ineffectual and - allegedly - harmful cancer drugs, along with the government and the medical establishment for colluding with and enabling the great cancer drug swindle. However, we need to stop and look at this more closely. Even in the worst sort of research project, presenting one person as conclusive evidence of a far greater (and in this case, potentially world changing) truth would be regarded as an utter nonsense, and so it is here. This is dangerous guff, right up there with vaccine denial and faith healing. Here are some facts; it has been observed that in specific laboratory conditions, cancer cells grown in a petri dish have been "treated with" cannabinoids (which particular ones is vague). What happened is that cell death was observed; the cancer cells didn't divide; the spread of cancer cells was halted. This all sounds very promising, and there is indeed a lot of optimism in the medical research community that, perhaps, at some point there might actually be a treatment developed which might not cure an individual of their cancer, but may well slow its development and spread right down. This is the aim, and it is to be applauded, but at present the science being proposed here is in its infancy and is therefore very basic and quite primitive. It is also a million miles away from "CBD oil cured my cancer", or "smoking Kush made my tumours disappear": this is the realm of snake oil salesmen and charlatans, and people who - for reasons best known to themselves - give false hope to many desperate and gravely ill people. While it is undoubtedly true that cannabis can be very effective in the treatment of a range of health issues (note that the word used was "treatment" as opposed to "curing"), and it is also fairly clear that the pharmaceutical industry know this to be the case and are actively obstructing the legalisation process for this reason, and it is probably true that at least some governments are enabling them in this. What is absolutely not true - at least as far as the hard, objective scientific evidence is concerned - is that cannabis cures cancer. It doesn't, and we should not buy into quackery and opportunism. Cancer Research UK (2017) Cannabis, Cannabinoids and Cancer: The Evidence So Far http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2012/07/25/ cannabis-cannabinoids-and-cancer-the-evidence-so-far/ The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (2017) The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: THE CURRENT STATE OF EVIDENCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESEARCH Dr John Dee

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BACKGROUND

NEVER CONFUSE WHAT'S LEGAL WITH WHAT'S MORAL The internet has been buzzing over the past few years at the prospect of biotech company Monsanto registering the names of a range of cannabis strains in order to trademark them, with the ultimate master plan of cornering the (presumably legal) cannabis market. Dr Dee In response to all of this, the Monsanto Company tweeted "Happy 4-20. Time for our yearly reminder: Monsanto has not and is not working on GMO marijuana". Indeed, Charla Lord, a spokesman for the company has reiterated this on their GMO Answers site. They have continued to deny involvement in cannabis as recently as May 2nd of this year, and the whole episode has been written off as a hoax; "The Monsanto GMO Cannabis Hoax", no less. End of story. Except that it really isn't. It has proven to be impossible to find any substantiated evidence that the company has any interest in cannabis at all. Certainly, there have been strains trademarked e.g. (Gorilla Glue #4), but this appears to have been done by their developers. So it is being done, just not (apparently) by Monsanto. However, where there is a lack of hard evidence, circumstantial evidence is abundant. First, some background information for you. Imagine, if you will, two deeply unpleasant people getting married. The unpleasantness is doubled and then some. Such is the situation with the merger of Monsanto and Bayer; two dishonest multinationals with individual histories of legally and ethically questionable practices come together to form the marriage from Hell.

Monsanto were a major producer and supplier of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and (possibly connected) developed the controversial weed killer "Roundup" in the 1970's. They were also (with Solutia Inc) fined $700 million for the contamination of an entire town with carcinogenic PCB's. Another of their “breakthroughs” from the 1990's is "genetic use restriction technology" involving modified seeds that can be used only

" American multinational, agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation" Monsanto seems about to be bought by "German multinational, pharmaceutical and life sciences company" Bayer for between 62 and 66 billion dollars (the reported amount varies, but really, what's $4 billion between friends?). As mentioned, neither of these has a particularly great record. Here are a few details regarding each company:

once. Any seeds produced via the modified seeds are sterile, meaning anyone wishing to grow more of the same will have to buy more seeds from the original source. They're still involved in a number of controversies internationally. Monsanto have been buying out seed companies for the past two decades and have recently been rumoured to have set their sights on the cannabis seed market.

Bayer are rather a different beast. Originally founded in 1863, they are perhaps best known for introducing aspirin and heroin to the world. In the 1920's, they became a part of the IG Farben conglomerate, known - among other things - for being involved in the production of Zyklon B for use in the gas chambers, use of slave labour in their factories, with thirteen of their board of directors being sentenced to prison sentences in the Nuremberg Trials following World War 2. There is also the matter of the sale of HIV contaminated blood products from the late 1970's to the mid 1980's. Bayer is involved in the distribution of cannabis based products made by GW Pharma, who are a British biopharmaceutical company specialising in cannabis based treatments such as Sativex and Epidiolex. GW are currently on the peripheries of a scandal of their own, with their raw cannabis supposedly legally grown and supplied by a UK company, and sanctioned by the UK government, who simultaneously deny that cannabis has any medical benefits. On the face of it, neither Monsanto nor Bayer appear to be bothered by anything that might even vaguely resemble a conscience; both of them now tend to work with what's legal as opposed to what's moral or ethical. And between them, they currently control 29% of the world's seed supplies.

Given the number of people in the world who use cannabis either recreationally or for medical purposes, it would seem quite reasonable for Bayer-Monsanto to focus their greedy eyes on the cannabis market. However, a major stumbling block for them in this regard is that in most countries cannabis remains illegal. Even for a multinational company as vast as Bayer-Monsanto, knowingly working in an illegal market is potentially very bad press, should the truth ever come out. Worse than that, it's bad for business and would be very bad indeed for their shareholders for whom illegal markets would present an unacceptable risk. And here is the fundamental problem; they very possibly want to move into the cannabis market, but it has to be legal and "above board". The question would then become how to solve the issue of legality and illegality? Step forward, George Soros. The name of George Soros polarises people. He is one of the thirtieth richest people on the planet, and for many years has been actively campaigning for - i.e. funding - the reform of the drug laws both domestically and internationally, specifically those around cannabis, and a number of pro-legalisation groups benefit from his largesse through funding via his Open Society Foundation (one of these groups and a main beneficiary is the Drug Policy Alliance, of

9 whom more presently). In the eyes of many, this makes Mr Soros something of a hero (along with the likes of Richard Branson), which is a most curious situation. His reasoning around the issue is as follows:

"Regulating and taxing marijuana would simultaneously save taxpayers billions of dollars in enforcement and incarceration costs, while providing many billions of dollars in revenue annually." He has also made a number of statements regarding medical cannabis and denying individuals access to "the wonder drug". All of which rather creates the impression that his motives are born out of selfless philanthropy and general benevolence. However, George Soros is also a major Monsanto shareholder, leading one to consider where his interests really lie. People really should be asking "what’s in it for George Soros?" Could it truly be, as some optimists think, that he has made enough in the way of personal wealth and is now turning his attentions to making the world a better and more equitable place, beginning with largely eradicating organised crime and its influence in the drug trade? Or is it more as a cynic might see it and all of this work by these people is aimed at creating a huge (legal) market, while simultaneously crushing the competition? To return to an earlier point, the Soros funded Drug Policy Alliance

have been feted and applauded as hugely influential in the legalisation of cannabis in the US. They continue to be a mover and shaker in the international cannabis legalisation movement and, irrespective of the views of the US Department of Justice on the matter, it looks highly likely that their ongoing efforts will mean that more states will follow Washington, Colorado and the others and legalise cannabis. Inevitably, countries outside of the US will follow suit. None of this is to undermine the efforts of the pro legalisation groups, but in short, they are creating precisely the "legal" situation required by Bayer-Monsanto in order to allow them to legitimately move into the cannabis market. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot. As mentioned, circumstantial evidence abounds, and this is all very much conjecture, and ultimately it could amount to seeing a pattern where none exists. But there is also a permanent sense of doubt about the whole thing, and if it transpires that all of these rumours are in fact correct, then the possible overall outcome of all of this could be that individuals or small scale growing set ups could legally be prevented from growing their own weed. Of course, maybe all of this is way off the mark. Perhaps Monsanto are

Some sources:

indeed a shining example of benevolent capitalism. They have claimed, as recently as 2016, that their overarching aim is to address a looming world food shortage (based on predictions that demand for food will jump by 70% by 2050) and that, really, they're the good guys in all of this. How they will do that is through genetically modified crop production. Without getting into the many other arguments for and against it, there was (and remains) a question mark over whether or not introducing GM crops to the food chain and consuming GM food might be harmful over the longer term. The other side of this is that an increasing number of hungry people will need to be fed somehow, and that that Monsanto are just "doing the right thing". Alternatively, this could reasonably be regarded as a cynical example of two faced capitalism, where they appear on the face of it to be saving the day, while in actuality pursuing a much longer term and deeply sinister plan. The overall, ultimate aim here seems to be all about control; in this case the control of the plant world, the control of the food supply. Ultimately, the real threat is that the natural cycle of planting a seed, growing the crop, using the crop while saving the seeds for the next planting and growing cycle will be gone. All of that will be gone, and let's be

honest, cannabis grown for recreation and relaxation purposes should really be the least of our worries. Consider, for a moment, the effect this will have on (for example) maize production in the developing world? The implications of this are very serious indeed and rather puts "not being able to grow a couple of weed plants so I can get high" in the shade, doesn't it? Before the start of every planting season, the a significant proportion of the seed supply will have to be bought anew from these big biotech interests or their subsidiaries. If you’re not prepared to do that or can’t afford to do it, "well then that’s very unfortunate, but business is business and we can’t just give the stuff away as we’ve shareholders to keep in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed". A possible future, and a dystopian future: the weed in your pipe; the medicine you need to keep you well; the food on your plate; all of it monopolised and regulated by scientists and money men at a real life Tyrell Company. What to do? No answers here, I fear. Grow your own food; grow your own cannabis; keep your seeds; boycott Bayer-Monsanto and any other company dealing with them. What is for certain is that sooner or later, we will all have to take a stand.

http://theinternationalforecaster.com/topic/international_forecaster_weekly/The_Bayer_Monsanto_ Merger_Is_About_More_Than_Profits https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8088290/George-Soros-backs-thelegalisation-of-cannabis.html https://www.georgesoros.com/2010/10/26/why_i_support_legal_marijuana/ https://www.marketwatch.com/story/monsanto-aims-to-tackle-looming-global-food-crisis-2016-04-06 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bayer-admits-it-paid-millions-in-hiv-infection-cases-just-not-in-english/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_GMO_cannabis_hoax https://www.cannalawblog.com/marijuana-patents-fear-loathing-and-beating-monsanto/ https://gmoanswers.com/ask/care-explain-gmo-marijuana-now-you-are-patenting-it-you-are-fighting-itslegalization-does https://www.marijuana.com/news/2017/03/a-marijuana-strain-has-finally-been-trademarked/ https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/21/business/700-million-settlement-in-alabama-pcb-lawsuit.html https://dailyhealthpost.com/anniston-alabama-monsanto/

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ICE KUSH

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An amazing hybrid combining perfect Indica traits – an astonishing flowering speed and huge resin-filled buds – with the advantages of a Sativa strain, i.e. a lush growth and abundant yields. Another distinctive feature is its special and exquisite aroma with fruity notes. TricomaTeam (tricomateam@gmail.com) This feminised Advanced Seeds strain was produced by crossing a Kush and a South African Sativa. Plants are medium sized and retain all the traits of the original strain, with large Sativa leaves, a very rapid flowering period and a quite high yield of high-quality weed. Buds are also sizeable, dense and resinous, which is typical of Indicas. These plants are easy to grow, with no particular issues or requirements throughout their lifecycle. They are also suited for any growing style or substrate, do not require a large quantity of fertilisers and are particularly resistant to moulds and insects.

as you continue tasting it. THC is 16% and its effect is very pleasant and soft. The agreeable and relaxing feeling it elicits will not hit you hard, so it can be tasted at any time of the day.

Germination and growth

Ice Kush looks like a good plant from its seed form. We germinated 10 seeds of this specimen between wet cloths, then planted them, after two days, into a thin earth substrate (with radicles facing downward) and exposed them to light, at a prudent distance from sodium lamps. The next day, the first leaves started to appear and find

ITS SIDE BRANCHES AND CENTRAL STEM ARE BOTH LARGE, AND INTER-KNOT DISTANCE IS FAIRLY SHORT Indoors, this strain grows up to around 90-120 cm and – under lamps – easily yields 400-450 g/m2 in 8 weeks only. Outdoors, it is among the first strains to be harvested in late September. Indeed, if grown appropriately, it can reach 2 – 3 m in height, with yields in excess of 500g per plant. Its sweet, fruity aroma with citric/hash tones is remarkable and will please your palate

their way towards to light. Plants were left for 10 days in pots of slightly less than one litre, filled with fairly light soil, and later transplanted to large, seven and eleven litre pots. During the first 2 weeks of growth, we gradually added a root booster to irrigation water, so as to favour the formation of a good root ball because,

General view given our forthcoming harvest, we had to wait enough time for plants to develop. After their first transplantation, we also added a specific fertiliser to strengthen them and help them complete the final phase. We also fed a quite moderate quantity of nutrients. Based on our previous experience, we found that this strain does not need large nutrient doses. Its growth is not ‘explosive’, although it is rather constant and smooth. Its side branches and central stem are both large, and inter-knot distance is fairly short. In roughly one month’s time, our specimens developed a remarkable structure and branches, so we decided to move them to our flowering room, where we created the best possible conditions to make the most of their flowering period.

Flowering

After starting the flowering phase, as usual, we added a nitrogen-rich fertiliser to irrigation water, followed by a short root wash. Then, we started feeding a flowering stimulator – which we always combine with a powerful biostimulator, plus other additives such as Bactobloom. With 12 hours of light and 12 of darkness, plants experienced a short burst of growth during the next few days and, finally, the last shoots were formed. When the growth slowed down, pistils appeared and rapidly developed into huge buds. With the passing of days, flowers grew larger and denser with an increasingly sticky resin cover. Their unmistakeable fragrance could be smelt at the lightest touch. Leaves were constantly pointing towards the light. At around week six of the flowering period, we removed the fertiliser and stimulators from irrigation water, made a final root wash and, finally, only fed plants with pure water. We used a microscope to check that trichomes were ripe enough for our specimens to be harvested, which was made on day 55 of flowering and all of them had an excellent appearance and smell.

Harvest

All ten specimens were harvested on the same day. The low leaf-to-bud ratio required minimum trimming and care, which only took us a few hours. Plants were very homogeneous among themselves as to yield, effect and taste. With the cuttings we took from each of them, we will select a mother with even more outstanding features.

Tasting

We have been growing seeds for more than ten years now. So far, all the strains we grew were well worth our efforts. A part of the name given to them was either ‘Ice’ or ‘Kush’, mainly for their aromas and effects. What struck us in Ice Kush was its refreshing and delicate berry taste with touches of lemon and hash. For its balanced effect, this delicacy can be enjoyed at any time of the day, without fear of getting too high. Another spectacular central bud

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TESTING DINAMED CBD AUTOFLOWERING Dinamed CBD Autoflowering has a surprising quality and speed. It is simply grown and, after a short amount of time, yields generous harvests, with dense, savoury and resinous buds. Its effect is relaxing with no psychoactivity for its high CBD and poor THC concentration. J. Searcher In the breeding process of Dinamed CBD and its auto version, tests were extensively made to achieve the highest CBD and lowest THC concentration, of around 14% and less than 1% respectively. The final seed batch was also tested before putting the product on the market. This scientific breeding method, with repeated tests, helps achieve a totally stabilised strain in terms of cannabinoid content.

Dinamed CBD Autoflowering, medical and recreational effects

Effects are physical and relaxing, with low psychoactivity. Its high CBD content makes it pleasant to smoke, but it also satiates and satisfies users. After tasting Dinamed CBD Autoflowering you will not even feel like lighting a joint of a THC-rich plant.

In a special issue on strains, back in 2015, we visited John, a Dinafem strain tester. Over the last few years, he has continued testing genotypes and Dinamed CBD Autoflowering is among the strains that most impressed him.

Plants high in CBD are associated with medical use, and can be useful for children, for any user not wishing to experience a psychoactive effect, or in the treatment of diseases where only CBD is only needed – for instance to treat stress and anxiety or alleviate epilepsy convulsions and spasms.

John is an outstanding tester who uses sophisticated equipment and has full control of all factors ranging from climate to fertilisation. Plant feed is totally organic and based on a highly aerated substrate with the addition of worm compost, which supplies humic and fulvic acids, algae, guanos, aloe vera and other biostimulants. He likes using teas, various composts as well as simple and natural elements.

On these occasions, Dinamed CBD Autoflowering is a great option, as it is easy to grow for its vigour and also grows fast, which allows growers to harvest a large quantity of dense and resinous medical buds with high CBD and low THC content. Its auto-flowering genetics makes it possible to have multiple harvests in a year for constant supplies of medical buds all the year round.

Growing Dinamed CBD Autoflowering

In any case, Dinamed CBD Autoflowering is also fit for recreational use. CBD-rich strains are increasingly consumed by recreational users, as can be seen in the Swiss and Italian markets where they are all the rage.

Growing this plant is extremely easy as it is a quite stabilised strain that yields uniform harvests. The plant is medium sized, with strong branches that require no training. In general, it has an impeccable appearance, robustness and vigour. During the test, John proved that Dinamed CBD Autoflowering needs no large quantities of fertilisers, but fertilisation must be constant, as it would otherwise turn yellow. It develops well in 7 litre pots, but larger pots are preferable - the larger the substrate volume the better for the plant. Leaves have a serrated edge and a Sativa profile, but are also wide, which is typical of Indica genetics, and become more concentrated close to flower clusters. The plant develops medium-sized inter-knots and tends to be bushy, so it does not elongate too much. It grows explosively around the third and fourth weeks, reaching a final size of around 80 cm on average. Starting from the burst of growth during week three, this plant needs large quantities of direct light. For this reason, it is best harvested in spring and summer, when sunrays are strong. In weeks five and six, the plant stops growing and buds start to form and become thicker, week after week, with amazingly high resin production. Its taste has dominating citric tones, mainly of sweet orange, and a few notes of walnut. It never exceeds one metre in height, so it is perfectly suited for growing on balconies and terraces in an urban environment, away from prying eyes. What is more, being an auto, it will not be affected by the typical light contamination of the city. Its foliage is not dense, so it is quite easy to trim. The speed of its growth cycle is surprising and the plant will be ready to be cut in less than 70 days from germination.

Although John is a smoker of THC-rich strains, such as Amnesia Haze or US Kush types, he was really impressed by the pleasant effects of Dinamed CBD Autoflowering. He told us the best time to taste it is when he does not sleep well: “There are days when you don’t sleep much and wake up tired. When this happened in the past, after waking up, I usually smoked THC-rich strains, but I got even more stuck. Now, instead, I prefer to smoke, in this case, a couple of joints of Dinamed Auto that make me feel balanced and with a lot more energy”.

Dinamed CBD Autoflowering versus Dinamed CBD

Compared to the conventional Dinamed CBD, this strain is more vigorous and resilient and easier to grow. Conventional Dinamed has a fruity taste, while its auto version has the typical orange and walnut taste of the CBD parent. As regards effect, the auto version has a more sedating and physical effect, which clearly gives away its CBD content.

Conclusions

John says his Dinamed CBD Autoflowering test had a successful outcome, which pleasantly surprised him: “Running this test was a very positive experience. Initially, I thought about growing it without tasting it at all, for its being an auto with consequently low psychoactive effect. Quite the reverse! I saw it tastes good and breeding it was a great thing to do. As for its effect, I have discovered a new, more mature way of experiencing cannabis. It helps you work without feeling much disconnected in your head, with a clear effect that keeps you focused, which I did not expect. Indeed Dinamed auto charms me and interests me more and more with its broad spectrum of use.

OPINION

Common sense I’m going to begin this column by talking briefly about a tangential subject; it is relevant, and there is a point to it, so please bear with me.

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Here in Scotland, and particularly in Glasgow, we have a serious problem with addiction, heroin and drug deaths. The most recent drug fatality figures show a figure of 867 for Scotland overall. Of those, 257 were reported in Greater Glasgow, which is a lot for a city with a population of around half a million. Deaths aside, there are a whole range of public health concerns around this, such as transmission of HIV, hepatitis and other blood-borne viruses. A (partial) solution to the above that’s been suggested is the introduction of safe injecting facilities. It’s all very common sense stuff; users attend and inject, with trained staff on hand to step in should anyone overdose. However, the big stumbling block here is the question of where the drugs being used come from. As there isn’t any legal heroin provision, people will have to provide their own.

VAPORIZERS

The Lord Advocate (our top legal person) has pointed out that this won’t work as possession – in this case of a Class A substance – is very much against the law, meaning that anyone in possession (technically, anyone going into the building) could be arrested and charged. Which presents a problem. It’s generally agreed across the political spectrum that the facility is needed, that it’s a good idea and would save lives: there is no question about this. However, the law is the law and the fact is that an injection facility would exist purely for the purpose of using (serious) drugs, and this means the authorities can’t just ignore it.

& MANY CBD PRODUCTS

What’s being proposed as a way around this is a change in Scottish Law. The details are vague, but presumably this would involve a formal change (as opposed to asking the police to “turn a blind eye”) to legally allow possession of small amounts of whatever for personal use. If we ignore the principal problem of drug policy (meaning decisions such as this) being controlled by Westminster rather than by Edinburgh, this could open up a potentially very interesting situation for users of other, less “serious”, but still controlled, substances. Possession and/or intent to supply have always been the issue: use of, or being under the influence of a substance is not a crime in itself, unless the user is endangering themselves or others, as in driving a car, for example. So a formal, legal change regarding possession of a substance such as heroin must logically and reasonably raise questions for users of – arguably – far less harmful substances, particularly cannabis. On the say so of the Lord Advocate, for the past couple of years we already have the police “overlooking” possession of cannabis in amounts of 3.5 grams or less, and that’s great as far as it goes. However, as this is not a formalised arrangement, there still remains considerable anxiety amongst cannabis users, as technically, they can still be arrested for possession. While the “overlooking” rule supposedly applies across the whole of Scotland, there are a number of anecdotal reports of overzealous rural police ignoring this and taking the opportunity to detain “soft” targets in order to increase their arrest rates, making this arrangement less than ideal. However, if it is indeed the case that there is a serious proposal on the table to modify the drug laws to allow legal possession of Class A substances, then logically this should cascade down to the lesser classifications as well. One has to wonder whether the authorities have considered this. If not, then they really need to, and if they have, is the whole thing a Trojan Horse exercise in order to liberalise our out of date and unfit for purpose drug laws? https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2017/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-in-2016 Dr John Dee

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QUIZ

7) A hookah was designed to smoke what? A. B. C. D.

1) 1. What is an E-Nail? A. B. C. D.

An electric dab nail that is permanently hot The name of a vape pen It is a strain name It is another name for an E.C pen

2) Which of these cannabinoids is psychoactive? A. B. C. D.

CBN THCA THC CBD

3) Which of these is not a land race? A. B. C. D.

Afghan Mazari Colombian Gold Lambs Bread Sour Diesel

BHO Cannabis flowers Tobacco Hashish

A. B. C. D.

Thick rolling papers A cigar wrap Transparent rolling papers A foot long rolling paper

8) Which of these cannabinoids has the most therapeutic properties?

15) The world famous strain White Widow is what?

A. B. C. D.

CBN THC THCV CBD

A pure indica An indica-dominant strain (>70%) A pure sativa A 50% indica/50% sativa hybrid

9) Which of these best describes a 90% sativa / 10% indica?

16) Why is allowing the grow medium to dry out good?

A. B. C. D.

A. It allow the roots to search for moisture and air prunes roots B. This is a bad idea and will kill your plants C. It saves you money by using less nutrients D. The microbes within the medium prefer dry conditions

An automatic strain A racing sativa A strong Indica A hybrid

10) Why is clearing the lowest part of the canopy beneficial before flowering?

17) Humic acid is best described as what?

A. It is not beneficial and will cause unwanted stress? B. It converts the growth energy to the remaining upper parts C. The buds will now turn purple D. The lowest buds are the best

A. A liquid state of organic matter that has broken down B. The acid used to clean hydro systems after a grow C. Another name for hydrogen peroxide D. It is acid that worms create inside of worm bins

4) Which of these is not an option for inside a grow room wall?

11) Epsom salts is a natural form of what?

A. B. C. D.

Kitchen foil Reflective mylar White painted walls Grow tent mylar

14) Which of these would be used to make an American style blunt?

Magnesium Zinc Boron Calcium

18) The entourage effect is a term used to describe what? A. B. C. D.

It is a famous coffeeshop in Amsterdam When cannabinoids work together in harmony A group of famous breeders from the UK Never heard of it!

19) What is the difference between F1 and S1? 5) What does foliar feeding mean? A. It means feeding a certain nutrient to the roots B. It means spraying the tops and undersides of leaves C. This is the term for flushing plants D. Using a organic compost tea that has been aerated for 24 hours

12) Which of these strains is sold by Royal Queen Seeds? A. B. C. D.

Larry O.G Neville’s Haze Green Gelato Barry’s Cookies

A. It means the first and second generation of that genetic B. It means regular and feminised forms of that genetic C. If it has the number 1 it means it is the best D. F1 is racing for bolides, S1 is for go-karts

20) What is Mapito? 6) Which of these strains is a Skunk cross? A. B. C. D.

Northern Lights Cheese Amnesia Haze Power Plant

13) Which of these strains is sold by Sweet Seeds? A. B. C. D.

Skywalker Black Jack CBD Girl Scout Cookies Himalaya Gold

A. B. C. D.

The capital of Zambia A kind of hydro granules A new exciting nutrient It’s a new shade

For answers see page 46!

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THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER CLONES (PART 2)

Hello, dear friends of this wonderful community. As promised in the previous issue, I will be presenting four clones listed among the ones most sought after. Clearly, there is enough material to talk about, and there are even many strains which, despite their qualities, have shifted to the background for a number of reasons – i.e. the passing of time, the preferences of new generations, etc.... What these strain have in common is that they are hard to find. More importantly, some of them are used as genetic base to create others considered as élite clones. Alfred, Dr Underground PRE 98 BUBBA KUSH

This good-looking lady is in high demand among the pickiest consumers and sells well in the US dispensaries, which is why it is worth considering. It may not be among the most sought-after plants, but it is indeed a legend. Many selections based on it make it worthy of mention. Its history dates back to 1993, its name parts relate to known genetic bases used for a number of great product lines. There are many versions about the history of its origin. Most believe it is a cross between Old World Kush x the real OG Kush (Putz cut) – we will talk about the latter in another article. No doubt, it seems that all these strains – OG Kush, Bubba Kush, Chem dawg and others – have more than one trait in common. According to another theory, the authentic Bubba Kush is a cross between OG and Bubblegum.

Headband

HEADBAND (AKA ORIGINAL DIESEL, AKA DAYWRECKER)

This strain was the base for a wave of élite clones, such as East Coast Sour Diesel (discussed in the previous article). As is usual in this type of plants, the origin is somewhat debated, most of us think Headband is a cross between Chemdawg and (MassSuper Skunk) x Northern Light by Sensi Seeds. What is curious about this strain is that it gave rise to a number of selections, for instance the Sour saga starts from here. Similarly, the Diesel saga starts from Chemdawg, but the history of Diesel is much longer and more complex and will be discussed in another article. For those who manage to obtain a Headband clone, otherwise known as Daywrecker or Original Diesel, fun is ensured for quite a while. As you grow it, you will realise it is a unique plant. Root formation is not that complex. When the plants generates a couple of decent roots and starts absorbing light and nutrients, be ready to enjoy the show. It has a strong aromatic character and a penetrating smell. Its vegetable cycle will surprise you. The plant develops without any issues. We tried to grow it both on an earth substrate and in an aeroponic system. In both cases, growth was surprising, much more so in aeroponics under both LED and sodium lamps. It is tall and with good branches, full of flowers on their tips, and buds spreading a Diesel smell. Make sure you train branches for them not to slip out of control, especially in hydroponics and aeroponics. If you have a typical 2-metre high grow tent with an integrated aeroponic system,

you can safely bend branches, or they will come into contact with the lamps and be scorched. Considering the huge number of flowers and resin quantity during the flowering phase, you can imagine what the final yield could be. Many friends of mine were shocked, when they saw the resin produced by this monster in aeroponics.

Even so, there has been some talk about Pre 93 as a possible clone from a line as old as 30 years and then stabilised in a clear form. A few examples of these ancient lines include Deep Chunk and Pine Tar Kush by the breeder Tom Hill. As far as I am

smell will spread rapidly. The plant branches out well, which makes propagation by cuttings easier. The best, however, comes at the end of growth. Its aroma is earthy, the plant smells like deep wet soil with notes of coffee. When you smoke it, a delicious taste will linger in your mouth. Its buds are as hard as rock. This is strange, because Pre 98 Bubba Kush grows taller than the “Bubba Kush” sold by some banks in seed form. It takes 7 weeks to ripen, although waiting until 8 is recommendable for it to be perfect. In addition to the above qualities, what makes it famous are its medical properties. It sells well in dispensaries, and it numbers among the most popular, with an effect of mental and physical muscular relaxation. In the absence of the original clone, you can try the following: Peyote Purple (Cannabiogen): a strain derived from Pre 98 Bubba Kush. Pre 98 Bubba (Cali Connection): Pre 98 Bubba Kush BX2. Schematically: Pre 98 Bubba Kush x (Pre 98 Bubba Kush x SFV OG Kush) a backcross based on the famous SFV OG Kush.

Its best quality, however, is its effect. I will tell you a small anecdote. A few months ago I received bad news, nothing serious or life-threatening, but it was bad enough to affect my mood for a number of weeks, as usually happens to all of us from time to time. At that time, the first buds of this nice lady were ripe enough for tasting, which was a favourable coincidence. I smoked it and I noticed a feeling of wellbeing that drove my bad mood away. This also happened the next day, so I had the curiosity to look for similar experiences of other smokers with this plant and I started reading their tasting notes. Surprisingly, I was not the only one who had experienced this depression-healing effect. If you read those reviews, you will see that nearly all have this common denominator. Of course, not all people are equal and effects may vary. Below are other hybrids based on this clone, if you are not able to procure the original: Sour Ape (Top Shelf Seeds): Original Diesel x Cinderella 99 Sweet Diesel (Dr. Underground): Original Diesel x Sweet (only cut) Headband BX (Immortal Flowers): Original Diesel x (Original Diesel x Deep Bubba Kush)

Green Crack

concerned, I give credit to the first theory. I will now talk about my growing experience. Currently, this cut is still unavailable to me, but I can proudly say I had the opportunity to grow it quite a while ago. If you manage to get your hands on this legend, you will have two moral duties, i.e. grow it and create your own plants, because its offspring have a good chance to perform well. Its growth is a bit slow compared to the previously discussed clones.

GREEN CRACK (AKA CUSH)

Its leaves have a broad Indica shape and tend to turn dark green. If you rub its stem, a distinctive

History tells us it is a cross of a Skunk (1989) marketed by the historic Super Sativa Seed

Here I will talk about a clone I have so far not managed to procure. Although I have no personal experience, I will tell you something about it. I have been chasing the original for long, and for good reason, as you can imagine. This clone was first bred in the early 1990s and is today among the top strains. If you also consider there is a large quantity of seed banks offering hybrids, including some in S1 versions, then there is more than a good reason to grow it.

17 strain with a solid background and in high demand in Californian dispensaries) with Big Bud. I focused on Ken’s clone because – as my Californian friends also say – it is the most potent of all existing Grand Daddy Purple strains, and was obtained by backcrossing hybrids until the most potent was reached. This Indica-dominant cross has impressive tonalities. Unsurprisingly, the famous Purple Urkle is one of its parents. Almost all strains derived from Purple Urkle tend to be dark purple. In GDP Ken´s Cut you will find dark purple hues and reddish leaves – spectacular, to say the least! It is not only a matter of colours, tasters talk about an extremely relaxing mental effect favouring the proliferation of ideas and projects. It does not cause any hangover and sharing it could be as good as sharing a smile. Medically speaking, I am really attracted by the fact that, in all reports I read and based on the information I received from friends using it in the USA, mention is invariably made of its antiinflammatory, pain-relieving properties, so it is particularly suited to medical users. As said previously, if you already have your clone, because you are lucky enough to live in the USA and have a dispensary, such as the Dark Heart Nursery, close to you, then your life will be easier. Otherwise, you can try one of these:

Élite clones in a dispensary, ready for clients

Club (SSSC) seed bank with an unknown Indica. That cross was made by Cecil, a quite famous name in the US breeding community. The strain also came into the hands of the famous MrGreenBeans, but only in 1994 – 95 was its name “Green Crack” coined. If you look up on the web, you will discover this name was given to it by the rapper Snoop Dogg, when he first tried it. Indeed, in those days many plants were sold without names. I cannot really confirm whether this is true. But the story is told in more than one webpage. The plant grows rapidly and, despite its largely Indica genetic origin, reports say its effect is energetic and reinvigorating, perfect for the full day. It forms dense buds with a distinctive aroma – ranging from acid to fruity/mango. What strikes me, though, is its potential as antidepressant. A state of happiness and good mood was reported in most

cases, which makes it suitable for other types of medical conditions, on top of depression. To talk about side effects, not only of this plant, I remember reading reports of anxiety episodes. For this reason, it is not suited for anyone suffering from anxiety or panic attacks. Normally, Sativas are strong, rapid and euphoric plants and their ‘electrifying’ effect causes fright, which in turn triggers the much unwanted panic effect. If this happens, my recommendation is always the same, i.e. if you have a disorder of this type and these strains are unsuited to you, do not smoke them and opt for others. But, if that is the only one you have, and you do not want to, or cannot, change your medicine, or do without it, just remember, smoke slowly, wait for a few minutes between one puff and the next. You will end up tolerating it and, little by little, this plant will no longer be a problem to you. I

can confirm this from my personal experience. At the end of my coverage of “the most sought-after clones”, I will also write an article on “marijuana and anxiety” since this is a topic worth discussing. Going back to this marvellous clone, I will continue looking for it, and I hope I will grow it with my own hands one day. I do not know if you have ever had the chance to try it. If not, you will always be left with the option of procuring it in seed form: Green Crack (Humboldt Seeds Organization) Alien Bubba Crack (Riot Seeds): Green Crack x Pre 98 Bubba Kush (two birds killed with one stone)

Grand Daddy Purple (Ken’s Cut)

This cut – introduced by Ken Estes in 2003 – is the last clone of our list of four top products. I must say I do not have it either and I have not grown it so far, but... it is on its way and I am really looking forward to it. It is a hybrid between Purple Urkle (another

Original Grand Daddy Purple (Grand Daddy Purple Seeds): Grand Daddy Purple (regular seeds) Granddaddy Purple (Blimburn Seeds) Alright my friends, that is all for the time being. As you may have noticed, I only mentioned cuts from North America. In the next issue, we will move on to the four most sought-after strains in Europe, where there is a great potential and a large quantity of clones. Of course, I will not be able to list or discuss them all, as there are really many and some of them, such as G13, are pure myths. It would take me years to number them all. I hope you liked this second part and I invite you to start your own search for your favourite. The most talked-about cuts are not always the best. Sooner or later, they will be overcome by others. That is why I encourage you to make your own selection, so as to mark your name in the history of cannabis and create your own élite clone. A warm hug to all of you, my dear readers.

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CBD : WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of the more interesting stories in recent cannabis genetics. What makes it especially interesting is the fact that just 10 years ago most of the cannabis community hadn’t heard too much about CBD. Nowadays, CBD has acquired main stream approval, it is often available on high street health stores. The lack of psycho activity hasn't held back CBD’s popularity. In fact, the lack of psycho activity may partly explain the popular appeal. By Tony, Dutch Passion Seed Company There’s no doubt about it. CBD has some compelling medical uses. Lots of people grow their own CBD-rich cannabis these days and report great feedback in conditions as diverse as MS, Crohns, Parkinsons, Arthritis and many other ailments. But there is one thing that isn't said too much about CBD. It’s not for everyone. Some people love the effects of CBD and some people wonder what all the fuss is about. The main disappointment often comes from recreational smokers that are looking for a strong high. Thats one thing that you don't usually get from a CBD variety. But the presence of CBD in the buds does, according to many, offer a more rounded and enjoyable smoking experience. Some old-school cannabis lovers say that the presence of some CBD in the smoke allows them to enjoy a deeper body stone, more akin to the smokes of the 1970’s. Which raises the question, how much CBD qualifies a variety as CBD-rich? In the breeding industry, a variety with 4% or more CBD in the dried buds qualifies as a CBD rich variety. Compare this with a typical THC rich variety that you can buy from many of the seed companies. Many of these varieties will register around 0.2% CBD or below. Was the ‘average’ weed of the 1970’s richer in CBD than it is today? or is that a myth? Without extensive analytical records we will never know for sure. But CBD is making its way back, perhaps we can expect to see more CBD in future varieties. Feedback from some of the better USA dispensaries suggests that the presence of CBD helps make a variety more appealing to the public. The most popular CBD varieties offer a 1:1 ratio of THC:CBD. Often that means around 10% of both THC and CBD. Such varieties often have a somewhat less ‘heady’ high but a stronger and deeply pleasurable body stone. CBD fans often report that CBD enables them to retain a strong mental focus and clarity of thought. But the main physical benefits of CBD seem to be the relief from medical symptoms and pain killing properties. Many of those that consume CBD rich cannabis are repeat growers, they find that a particular CBD variety (e.g. indica or sativa) that suits them and they keep a mother plant in their grow room. New CBD-only varieties are also start-

starting to close in on varieties rich in THCV, CBDV and CBG. Stabilising the cannabinoid levels in these new varieties is the challenge, and in 2018 you may start to see the first of the ‘new’ cannabinoid rich varieties appearing. Only time will tell what the effects and uses will be. But if they have even a fraction of the popularity of CBD then the next few years will be fascinating as yet more of cannabis’s potential is gradually unlocked.

ing to appear such as CBD Charlotte’s Angel from Dutch Passion, with around 15% CBD and 0.2% THC. Such varieties are popular in paediatric applications because they don't get you remotely high. They are also finding a surprising use with recreational consumers, the CBD-only varieties look, smell and taste the same as a THC rich variety. And when you smoke/vape some it quenches the craving for a traditional THC rich. It’s a handy way to reduce your cannabis tolerance. The creation of CBD rich varieties is achieved through selective breeding. This requires analytical measurements of all the parent plants being

considered for breeding. Its the modern way to breed, and a great way of complementing the breeders instinct. It has been estimated that 1 in 400 cannabis plants is naturally CBD rich, so you may have already enjoyed some without realising it, perhaps noticing a more pleasurable body stone than usual. One other interesting new area highlighted by CBD breeding has been the other minor cannabinoids. As CBD rich cultivars have been created, breeders began to notice that some plants would register a slightly higher level of one of the other cannabinoids. Some clever and extremely patient breeding over many generations is

Recreational cannabis consumers are starting to enjoy the full-spectrum cannabinoids offered by some of the better cannabis varieties. Many people expect that traditional THC-rich varieties will retain their 20%+ THC levels in years to come. But the breeders are hoping to improve the smoking experience by delivering higher levels of the full spectrum of cannabinoids. That would include CBD and the others. The levels are unlikely to be anywhere near the THC levels, but they would still be sufficient to improve the quality and depth of the recreational high. Again, it’s work in progress and something for the future. But cannabis breeding is moving along at quite a pace these days, and the influence of the USA medical market is increasing the momentum. It’s worth adding that the breeders are seeing that environment is critical to allow the genetics to reach their potential. Cuttings from the same mother plant will give different cannabinoid levels under different types of grow light. More surprisingly, the respective ratios of the different cannabinoid is also affected by the type of grow light. HPS grow lights may be the most affordable lights to buy, but the spectrum was never designed for growing cannabis, it was just a cheap and convenient fit. These days better results can be had with LED grow lights which have their spectrum fine tuned for cannabis, and one reason people pay the premium price for an LED is the superior production of THC and other cannabinoids. CBD breeding unlocked a pandoras box of potential goodies on offer from the other cannabinoids present in our beloved plant. Lets see what the breeding brings, and lets see how cannabis medicine and uses can evolve further in the coming months and years. www.dutch-passion.com

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Indica: 40% / Sativa: 60%

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TOP TIPS ON CHOOSING GENETICS

A GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

As a beginner grower, you can quickly become overwhelmed by the latest and greatest genetics. There are more seed banks than ever before, and some companies charging over 100 euros a pack. Before investing time and money into your next project, below are my top tips to consider when choosing genetics. By Stoney Tark / Photos courtesy of Dutch Passion

Indica, Sativa Or Hybrid?

When you pick a strain you will want to know a little bit about the strain, before spending up to 12 weeks watching it grow. New growers will often refer to a strain depending on if it is an indica, sativa, or hybrid, yet may not fully understand what each of the three mean.

female seed do. Deciding if you want to grow regular or feminised should not be a case of having to sex the plants out of practicality, like in the old days.

market, with such a high end reputation in terms of germination, performance and strain variety, many growers happily invest in feminised seeds. The advantages to growing out all female seeds are: ȩ 7KHUH LV QR QHHG WR VH[ RU ORVH SODQW FRXQW during flower ȩ 8WLOLVHV IXOO VSDFH RI D K\GUR V\VWHP RU LQGRRU garden ȩ ,V JXDUDQWHHG IHPDOH DQG QR PDOHV ZLOO EH present ȩ &DQ KDYH D ZLGHU YDULHW\ RI VWUDLQV JURZLQJ DW once

Time Frame

A crucial factor to consider when growing any strain. This is especially important for selecting a

dictate if a grower can achieve an early harvest or require extra time, as they hammer the plants with nutrients to make up for the lack of growth, during the final few weeks.

Growing Space

This is especially important for bedroom growers, who are fortunate enough to have a secure wardrobe or grow tent in their bedroom or another part of the house. Before selecting what strain you wish to grow, you should firstly measure the grow space you have then think about the following: ȩ 6SDFH IRU SRWV ȩ 6SDFH IRU OLJKWLQJ ȩ 6SDFH IRU D FDUERQ ILOWHU ȩ 6SDFH IRU IDQV

Indica varieties of cannabis will be short, stocky and grow during the vegetative stage with little internodal spacing. Typically indica cannabis strains will have a short flowering time between 50-60 days. When flowering they will stretch a small amount, while producing dense, golf ball-sized buds, at every internode. The effects of an indica will be heavy and narcotic. Usually a starting point for medical patients who desire therapeutic relief. Indica cannabis strains are known for small yields, so it is advised to grow these plants for longer in the vegging phase before flowering. A sativa variety of cannabis will be the other end of the spectrum, regarding grow characteristics. Growing elongated, compact, nugs which have long, frosty calyxes, sativa strains will take around 70-84 days to flower. The effects of a sativa strain will be uplifting, energetic and will improve focus, creativity, and motivation. Growers can expect large yields, however, must be patient. A hybrid is a mix of indica and sativa genetics. A cross of these will often express what is called hybrid vigour. Concerning appearance, a hybrid can offer the grower the best traits of both parents and will often produce large yields. The effects will usually be a blend of heavy bodied and a strong head high. The flowering time of a hybrid can range between 55-70 days, depending on the parental lineage.

Male or Female?

The seed game is the strongest it has ever been, with so many growers having the option to grow out reliable female seeds. Deciding if you want to grow from regular seed or feminised, almost seems counterproductive. After all, it only means sexing your plants is required, which can result in a significant loss in plant count, during the pinnacle stage of flowering. Regular seeds have many pros and cons, just as

Glueberry by Dutch Passion grown as one large sized plant

Regular seeds have the following advantages: ȩ %HWWHU WKDQ IHPDOH VHHGV IRU VHOHFWLQJ D PRWKHU plant to clone ȩ 7KHUH DUH QR IHPDOH FKURPRVRPHV LPSODQWHG LQ the seeds DNA ȩ 2SWLRQV RI PDOH DQG IHPDOH VHHG IRU EUHHGLQJ ȩ $OORZV IRU D EHWWHU SKHQR KXQW IURP UHJXODU seeds ȩ &KHDSHU WR EX\ WKDQ IHPDOH VHHG Feminised seeds cover over 90% of the seed

strain that will be grown outdoors. When growing indoors, there may be variables that impact how much of a time frame you have. Perhaps the grow room you have is not as secure as you would like, so the idea of getting in and out may be on the front of your mind. On the other hand, you may have been inspired to grow the plants for long in the vegetative stage, so need to consider adding another 14 days or so on to the completion date. Depending on skill level also, can

Once you have calculated your growing space, minus the above, you will then need to think about if you are growing indica, sativa or a hybrid variety. Will you be training the plants, or letting them grow naturally? Selecting a sativa strain or hybrid, that can stretch out of your control as a beginner grower, can be a waste of time and money. It can also be a confidence breaker and leave you on the back foot financially. Here you should evaluate if growing a large plant or many small plants is more

medical strain counts as a 1:1. Depending on the reason for seeking out CBD rich strains, it is a good idea to consider what amounts of THC and CBD you are comfortable with, especially in extract form.

One Plant or SOG?

The question that is still debated across forums and amongst growers. Is it more advantageous to grow many smaller sized plants, with a short veg time, or a large plant that has been vegged up for a period and trained to promote maximum yield? Sea of Green growing has the following advantages: ȩ 6PDOO YHJJLQJ SHULRG ȩ )XOO JURZ URRP ȩ 0XOWLSOH F\FOHV ȩ 8QLIRUP VPDOO SODQWV ȩ &RQVLVWHQW \LHOGV SHU SODQW ȩ 1R 3ODQW WUDLQLQJ UHTXLUHG

A sativa dominant strain that has a very large main stem convenient and practical to your set up, skill level and grow space.

Automatics?

If you are new to growing, then you will have heard about automatic strains. These high performing strains are extremely popular throughout Europe and South America. Automatic varieties can grow themselves with little maintenance, making them an ideal solution for an outdoor crop. The benefits of growing automatic strains outdoors are: ȩ 0XOWLSOH F\FOHV RXWGRRU ȩ 6WHDOWK VL]HG SODQWV ȩ &DQ JURZ LQ D 6HD RI *UHHQ 62*

ȩ :LOO IORZHU XQGHU DQ\ OLJKW UHJLPH ȩ )URP VHHG XQWLO KDUYHVW ZLWKLQ GD\V

Experience

As this guide is written for beginner growers, gaining experience has to come from somewhere. Once you have a few successful grows under your belt, or have a certain strain dialled in, then you are ready for a more advanced strain, regarding

growing difficulty. It is recommended to grow a strain that is total indica or an indica dominant hybrid. A good ratio would be 60% indica / 40 sativa or 75% indica / 25% sativa. This will ensure that the plants will grow will a short, compact canopy, that is easy to control when flowering.

SCROG?

not hit the 20%+ THC mark. The outcome of what a plant will test at, as well as the skill level of the grower, are two huge factors. Many of the top buds from social clubs in Barcelona tested between 10-17% as do the ones sold in coffeeshops in Amsterdam, who are honest enough to tell you the test results.

You may have seen some incredible grows that were a SCROG, and thought this is the only logical way to grow. If you choose to take on this format of growing, then you should be prepared to grow the plants for as long as possible. It is a good idea to read up on which strains are better suited for a SCROG than others. Usually, hybrid varieties and sativa varieties work best, as indica strains can be better suited for a Sea of Green set up.

Medical Patients

High THC Strains

An excellent tip here is to research CBD rich varieties of cannabis. Many seed companies now offer CBD rich strains that are a ratio of 1:1, 1:2 and so on. This means there may be a THC rating of 10% and a CBD rating of 10%, meaning this

My only advice here is not to be caught up by THC levels that the seed companies quote for their strains. There are so many incredible strains of cannabis that are not considered because they do

If you are growing cannabis to produce your own medicine, then selecting the strain is what the entire project is based on. In this instance, you will not be considering a large scale commercial grow, or a bedroom homegrown head stash. The case is more you will want to make extracts from the medical strains, to help improve the quality of your life.

Sativa dominant strains can grow tall and heavy Growing one sizeable sized plant has the following advantages: ȩ /RQJ JURZLQJ SKDVH WR SURGXFH D ODUJH FDQRS\ ȩ $ JURZHU FDQ EH PRUH KDQGV RQ ȩ ,QFRUSRUDWH SODQW WUDLQLQJ ȩ &DQ XVH K\GURSRQLFV ȩ (DVLHU WR GHDO ZLWK WKH GHILFLHQF\ ȩ 0RUH FRPIRUWDEOH WR GHDO ZLWK SHVW LQVHFWV Good Luck with selecting the best strains for you... Peace Out!

SEED BANKS

NEW SWEET SEEDS® PRODUCTS FOR 2018

A new US strain with 25% THC content The feminised seed bank Sweet Seeds® takes pleasure in announcing a bright start for 2018 with new delicious products that will please all cannabis lovers. Sweet Seeds® >> For the 2018 season, we used all of our experience and knowledge to continue our investigations and product-renewal projects. As a result, this year we added as many as 11 new strains to make our collection even richer. As usual, all strains come with a feminisation rate of 99.9% and a germination rate of above 95%. This is a short overview of some of our new products.

Gorilla Girl®, a strain with THC levels of up to 25%

Following an ongoing study on US genetics, we created Gorilla Girl® (SWS74), the new strain of the Sweet Seeds® US line with THC levels of up to 25%, obtained by crossing two famous US strains, Gorilla Glue and Girl Scout Cookies. It is a potent strain with high THC levels, which may possibly reach 25% under optimum growing conditions and even exceed that rate in some individuals. The GSC individual we crossed derives from a phenotype known as Thin Mint, an Indica-Sativa hybrid with Sativa dominance. The resin produced by Gorilla Girl® is plentiful; the calyces of flowers are covered with aromatic trichomes and generate highly resinous and compact buds. The appearance of this extraordinary plant is typical of a balanced Indica-Sativa hybrid. It is also highyielding and vigorous, with long and flexible side branches. Gorilla Girl® has an intense aroma and taste, with tones of cypress, wood and citric-earthy notes. It is an outright intense, powerful and exquisite plant of excellent quality, a real delight for true cannabis lovers.

Our most appreciated strains in ‘revised’ versions

Sweet Seeds® intended to rede-

sign its most famous and appreciated strains in order to offer its customers new and attractive versions that retain the qualities of the originals. This is the case for Crystal Candy F1 Fast Version® (SWS73), a ‘revised’ version with a very rapid flowering period (6 to 7 weeks) of one of the tastier strains of this seed bank, which was awarded the 1st Prize as Best Indica in the past Spannabis Champions Cup - Barcelona 2017. This version is a hybrid produced by crossing our Crystal Candy® (SWS58) with a selected individual of Sweet Special Auto. It also has a curious and delicious strawberry chewing-gum aroma that calls to mind the smell of candy stores, similar to the original Crystal Candy®. This Indica-dominant plant also produces crystals of scented resin covering flowers and all neighbouring leaves, with a profusion of long, big-headed trichomes. Buds can be brewed into premium quality extracts releasing an extremely pleasant aroma. The catalogue of auto strains features one of our most famous products… Our Green Poison Auto® (SWS30) is now available in a version that grows 25% taller and produces more flowers and resin compared to its predecessor. We called it Green Poison XL Auto® (SWS71). This strain was developed by a breeding programme based on the selection of many generations of tall Green Poison Auto® individuals. For all those wishing to enjoy an amazing, powerful aroma with sweet, fruity tones and a Skunk background, this product is up for grabs.

Sweet Amnesia Haze®, a new top-quality, rapidly flowering Sativa.

In the photoperiod product family, we crossed two Amnesia Haze élite clones of excellent quality and cre-

ated a premium, rapidly flowering, Sativa-dominant strain, our new Sweet Amnesia Haze® (SWS72). It grows vigorously into a Christmas tree shape and produces long side branches and compact, highly resinous buds. It is easy to grow and is consequently suited to expert growers and beginners alike. The unique taste of this strain is known worldwide for its incense background with citric notes of lemon and cedar wood. A real delight on the palate!

Before saying goodbye, we would like to thank you all for being loyal to us throughout these years and, with that in mind, we will offer 1 and 2 complimentary seeds in all packs of 3 and 5 seeds respectively. We made a major commitment this year to add several amazing products to our catalogue in order to meet your requests, desires and tastes. We hope you will enjoy them and wish you a great 2018 and a sweet smoking experience!

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INTERVIEW

DUTCH PASSION IN 2018 A CATCH UP... With over 30 years experience and over 50 cannabis cups under their belts, Soft Secrets decided to sit down with the heavily dedicated breeders at the Dutch Passion Seed Company. By Stoney Tark

SSUK: Thank you for taking the time to sit down with Soft Secrets. Can you tell our readers how you got started over 30 years ago? DP: Henk van Dalen, our founder, was a Biology graduate from Amsterdam University with a keen interest in collecting seeds from the cannabis that was being imported into Amsterdam from all over the world at the time. As he began to grow and experiment with the seeds in the 1970’s, he soon found that he could grow his own cannabis which was often better quality. Henk began to breed and make his own hybrids. He became convinced that growing your own cannabis was the best route to quality and consistency, and Dutch Passion was formerly established in the 1980’s. Considered one of the most established seed banks, what are the best strains that Dutch Passion has? Ask 100 different Dutch Passion growers and they will give you 100 different answers. These days we have some customers that only grow the 1:1 THC:CBD varieties. Then there are the usual indica-only or sativa-only growers who will never change their growing habits. Some growers cultivate auto’s exclusively, often because they use a single grow room on a 20/4 light schedule allowing them to raise seedlings and mature females in the same grow room. Then there are the outdoor growers who stick to their tried and tested outdoor varieties. These days the cannabis home grown scene has become as diverse as it is sophisticated. As

a seedbank you have to respond to that. In the old days we could have answered the question and said that Blueberry, White Widow, Mazar etc were our best strains. These days it’s no longer that simple. You have over 50 cup wins in total, which are the most prolific and which strains do you recommend to any new growers out there? For indoor growers looking for heavy hitting THC rich varieties with good taste and aroma we find our Night Queen, Orange Bud and The Ultimate easy to grow with heavy yields of hard-hitting, pleasing cannabis. Outdoor growers often find Frisian Dew and Passion #1 are easy and reliable. Many outdoor growers use autos these days, and so do plenty of indoor growers. Think Different, Auto Mazar and Auto Colorado Cookies are three potent, great yielding varieties. What is your perspective now as far as regular seed sales compared to feminised. Did this revolutionise the industry for the better? In the 1990’s there was a great deal of talk about the need for feminized cannabis seeds but creating them was difficult. In those days of course, 100% of the seeds were regular. After the techniques to create feminized seeds were discovered by Dutch Passion the demand for feminized seeds was overwhelming. Today feminized seeds account for over 95% of all cannabis seeds sold, and many seed companies no longer bother offering regular seeds, though Dutch Passion still stock 15 regular seed varieties. You also offer a multitude of automatic strains. What goes behind making these strains and what are your best performers? Auto varieties have come a long way from the first generation autos which were (at best) medium potency and medium yielders. These days, potency of the best autos is on the same level as photoperiod varieties, and yields of the best autos often exceeds that of photoperiods.

Glueberry OG grown under LED That's because autos have the advantage of being able to bloom under 20 or 24 hours of daylight with consequential bloom improvements. We would say that all the Dutch Passion autos are on the same performance levels in terms of XL yields and THC levels, that's because they all undergo the same, proven breeding techniques. The key to making good autos comes in two parts. Firstly you need elite parent varieties with locked-in potency and yields. Secondly you need a proven technique to convert winning genetics into an auto form. Can you tell us more about the outdoor strains and what is recommended for European growers in Northern and Southern regions.

Auto Night Queen ready to harvest

Firstly we should say that outdoor growers are using autoflowering varieties anywhere from the arctic circle to the equator and everywhere in-between. Scandinavian growers that don’t have a long enough growing season for outdoor photoperiod varieties grow autos instead. Often they are started indoors for a couple of weeks under 24 hour light and then planted outdoors for the best 3-month growing window. Most decent quality autos will do a good job outdoors if they have reasonable mold/pest resistance.

In northern Europe, the tougher outdoor photoperiod varieties such as Frisian Dew, Hollands Hope, Twilight and Durban Poison are often recommended. In warmer mediterranean climates many of our ‘indoor’ photoperiod varieties such as Power Plant, White Widow, Mazar etc can be grown outdoors. One trend we have seen is for outdoor growers to use a mix of both auto and photoperiod seeds. What are the specific projects you work on when producing strains such as Think Different? When creating a new auto you often start with scores of photoperiod possible parent varieties. These can be clones of known genetics or cuttings from special mother plants. Often, the bigger seed companies will take advantage of their extensive gene banks and grow some old seeds looking for special new genetics. Lab testing of all plants is of course vital whether you are looking to create a CBD-rich or THC-rich new auto. A breeder is looking for several features to co-exist when introducing a new auto. Obviously you want the right cannabinoid profile, but you also want genuine XL yields, easy-growing characteristics with a robust growth pattern, heavy side branching and fast bud growth. Getting

26 all of these together is the biggest challenge for the breeding project. From your perspective how has CBD influenced not only the seed game, yet the whole medical front for cannabis in Europe? CBD has been a game changer for the medical cannabis growers/consumers. Many medical growers now only grow CBD-rich varieties. And it's not just Europe, if you visit a USA dispensary you will see CBD rich weed, concentrates and edibles. CBD affected the whole cannabis scene. Many recreational smokers now like to use a CBD rich variety for their day-time smoke, it allows them to ‘quench’ the desire for a smoke yet still function well afterwards without a disorienting strong psychedelic high. The normalisation of CBD has been a great step forward for the image of medical cannabis as a whole. Even in prohibitionist strongholds like the UK we see CBD sneaking into mainstream health shops. Anything that upsets the prohibitionist apple cart has to be a good thing. What are the current laws in Holland now regarding growing under a legal system? In Holland we remain hopeful that eventually there will be sufficient political appetite to allow commercial cannabis growing to allow Dutch coffeeshops to have a legal ‘back door’ supply. Currently the coffeeshops have a legal front door where people can come and buy cannabis. But the coffee shop owners have to buy the cannabis illegally via the backdoor. Within a few years we expect that coffeeshop cannabis will be grown legally by businesses paying tax and offering good quality employment. Until then, unfortunately, the black market producers are enjoying a monopoly position with tax-free profits. Is it correct you are also working on new cannabinoid varieties apart from CBD rich strains? One of our more exciting projects is the creation of varieties rich in CBG, THCV and CBDV. We hope these varieties will start to appear in 2018, and we hope they will be useful to the medical growing community. The varieties have been bred with selective breeding techniques, meaning that parents are selected and crossed based on their cannabinoid profile. Over many generations the cannabinoid levels can be enhanced. It was only a matter of time before the CBD rich varieties were

3 Frisian Ducks grown outdoors in North Holland followed up with new varieties. What can you tell the us about the research thus far based on cannabinoids CBG, THCV and CBDV? We don’t have much medical feedback yet unfortunately, that is the bit we are really interested in. Realistically we expect that the medical feedback will begin in the months after release. We don’t know what the reaction will be, nor do we know which medical patients will benefit the most - this is new territory and no-one really knows what to expect. CBG is said to be the ‘mother’ cannabinoid from which the other cannabinoids are formed. Curiously our smoke tests were raving, from a recreational perspective, especially about the great feel-good smoke from the CBG rich variety. Thats a surprise because CBG is said to be non-psychoactive, so perhaps the team were enjoying some full-profile cannabinoid effects. To

be honest, there are more questions than answers about the new cannabinoids. But that is exactly what we expected. You were one of the first to venture in LED lighting and break records with your harvests. How has LED shaped the industry and how involved with LED are you? DP: We started seeing Dutch Passion customers growing with LED a few years ago. Often it was some of the best growers, and although LED was/ is more expensive than HPS they refuse to switch back. Out interest in LED had begun, and we were so impressed with the results that we set up a separate dedicated LED business called Crazy LEDs which stock the best value/performance LED grow lights and sell them with free seed vouchers for Dutch Passion seeds. LED has much reduced levels of heat-stress compared to HPS, they use less electricity than

a comparable performance HPS, and they have a wavelength output optimised for cannabis growing. The main remaining benefit of HPS is the cheap initial purchase cost. Crazy LEDs is something we are heavily involved with, we remain convinced that LED is the future and we want to have Europe’s best LED grow light business. Finally, what are your upcoming projects and is there anything you would like to add? We are working as hard as ever at Dutch Passion. The innovation around new cannabinoid breeding shows that we are as keen as ever to explore new areas and break new territory. After 30+ successful years with Dutch Passion we want to continue that tradition and keep supplying home growers with the best quality seeds that will make growing top quality cannabis easy and convenient. Crazy LEDs has just moved into a large warehouse in Holland, customers will be able to visit and see all the best LED grow lights side by side.

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GROW WITH JORGE CERVANTES

MAKING SEEDS AT HOME PART ONE

Making seeds at home requires a secure garden area that can be dedicated to breeding. It must be clean and free of male pollen. Indoor garden rooms and greenhouses are best suited to breeding cannabis if there is danger of rogue pollen from neighboring male cannabis plants contaminating faraway seed crops. If growing more than 1 male to produce pollen, measures must be taken to isolate each male once they start producing pollen. Segregate pollenproducing male plants by keeping them in an enclosed area as far away from flowering females as possible. The basics of breeding cannabis at home are simple: 1. Start with diverse group of plants and know their traits. 2. Cross desirable plants. 3. Select desirable individuals and maintain diversity. Slow and steady breeding is not dynamic, but it is very effective. Pollinate a few branches on several plants and have more seeds than you can grow. The breeding project is never finished. Grow small seed crops inside a garden closet or inside a portable wardrobe made from fine cloth or something similar that will block pollen from entering or escaping. Recordkeeping is the most important aspect of cannabis plant breeding. Accurate written and photographic records with dates help you to make informed decisions. Naming Varieties Many varieties have names known only in the local area where they are cultivated. These varieties often bear the name of the region from which they originated or a person with whom they are associated. Other

varieties are named for fragrance, bud size, effect, or appearance. The names are often very descriptive and creative!

Making Seeds: Step-by-Step Step One: What is your goal? Common goals include making seeds for next year’s crop, reproducing new parents just like the old ones, and adding new traits to existing plants. When setting a goal, work with a single trait at a time so that it is easier to control the selection and outcome. Breeding will bring about dominant and recessive genes. Each has its own qualities. Impeccable recordkeeping and a consistent, stable climate are essential. Write out a breeding plan and plot your findings. Step Two: Select parents—(A) female, (B) male—to breed. Few varieties commercially available to medical cannabis gardeners are true-breeding and stable. Most often seeds have many different genes and are not stable or uniform. Truebreeding seed stock ensures F1 hybrid seeds that have hybrid vigor. Stable true-breeding stock is sometimes difficult to find from seed companies, and gardeners often elect to stabilize their own. Simply crossing 1 of the stable truebreeding varieties (see list below) with another stable variety will produce an F1 hybrid. List of relatively stable seeds ‘Afghan#1’ ‘Big Bud’ ‘Blackberry’ ‘Burmese’ ‘Durban Poison’ ‘Hash Plant’ ‘Hindu Kush’ ‘Island Sweet Skunk’ ‘KGB’

This beautiful medical ‘Chronic’ female is an excellent candidate for a breeding program.

‘Malawi Gold’ ‘Master Kush’ = stabilized hybrid ‘Original Blueberry’ = stabilized hybrid ‘Original Haze’ ‘Power Plant’ ‘Skunk Passion’ ‘Skunk #1’ More stabilized seed stock is updated at www.marijuanagrowing.com Step Two A: Select a female that has been flowering for about 4 weeks and has many white stigmas. Female plants are easy to select. Medical cannabis gardeners and patients know the growth characteristics of each plant in the garden. The most common desirable characteristics include cannabinoid profile with quality fragrance and flavor, strong growth habit, heavy yield, and resistance to diseases and pests. Outdoor gardeners in climate-sensitive areas look for strong branching, a big root system, and tolerance of drought, heat, and cold. Take a thin-layer chromatography test to help make correct choices based upon cannabinoid profiles. Cannabinoid profiles are similar throughout different life stages of a plant, and breeding decisions can be based upon these profiles. Observe plants carefully as they devel-

op during the season. Watch for desirable characteristics. Pay close attention to flower buds and how they fill out and mature. Apart from looking at resin gland development and stigma senescence, take a toke. Vaporize a sample bud from each plant to determine taste, fragrance, effect, and so on. Remember that flower bud flavors and aromas can change over time as they dry and cure. Additional tasting may be necessary. Step Two B: Select a male with desirable characteristics. Choosing male plants for breeding is difficult. One basic test is to rub the stem with your finger. If it exudes a pungent, resinous odor, it may be rich in cannabinoids. Look for male plants that are short with dense foliage and that contain other desirable characteristics—cannabinoid profile, strong growth, disease and pest resistance, drought, heat and cold tolerance. To determine cannabinoid profiles, make thin-layer chromatography tests before males flower. Soon laboratory analysis of the cannabinoid profile and genetic marker (alleles) tests will become more common. The most reliable way to select the best male breeding stock is to use

‘Hash Plant’ × ‘G13’ × ‘Chronic’ yielded this pistil-heavy female. Although showy, the breeder culled the plant in favor of others with heavier bud development.

the pollen from specific males to pollinate chosen males. The plants are grown to maturity and males are then selected. It takes time to stabilize males, and few seed companies put much time into male plant selection. Once selected, a super male and subsequent male lineage can be kept alive for years. Clone promising male plants and cull the rest to keep stock alive. Step Three: Collect pollen. Set up small “plates” of aluminum foil to collect pollen. Once plates are in place, jiggle branches so pollen is dispersed and falls onto plates for collection. Carefully collect pollen from male flowers and store it in an airtight container in a cool dry place or in a low-humidity refrigerator or freezer. Or cut a male branch from a plant and store it in a glass of water in subdued light.

Testing male plants with thin-layer chromatography is a good way to learn much about the cannabinoid profile. Without the test, cannabinoid profile would have to be measured subjectively

Pollen can be stored for several years if kept cool and dry. Viability decreases as time passes. But consider that there are millions of grains of pollen in a single male flower. It takes just a fraction of the pollen to fertilize an entire bud. Even though pollen has lost viability, there is still enough good pollen to fertilize pistils and produce seeds. One branch of male flowers will supply all the pollen necessary for small-scale breeders to produce many seeds for personal use. Strip away other branches to guard against accidental random pollination. To avoid premature pollination, isolate the male as soon as anthers show. Be considerate of the fact that airborne pollen can travel miles. Brushing up against a plant jostles and releases millions of grains of pollen that travel everywhere. The second half of this excerpt will be published in the next issue of Soft Secrets.

This is the first part of a two-part excerpt from chapter 25, “Breeding” from the Cannabis Encyclopedia (596 pages, 2,000+ color images, large A4 format) by Jorge Cervantes, available on amazon. For more information please see Jorge´s website, www. marijuanagrowing.com.

Waiting for a male plant to mature is difficult when growing females in the same vicinity

PUZZLE PAGE

SUMMER EXPERIMENTS Last month, I wrote about three groups of plant that were in the middle of flowering. Now those plants have all been harvested. Last month, I wrote about three groups of plant that were in the middle of flowering. Now those plants have all been harvested. The first group consisted of five Blue Dream plants in a 2’ x 4’ container on wheels. I had planted two of them horizontally lengthwise, crossing each other. Then I planted three shorter plants in a row in the middle of the container. By the time the plants started flowering the entire container was covered with growth that extended out of from three sides.

Unclipped Purple Pineapple had a large top bud that dominated growth. The side bud didn’t develop very much.

The plants were wheeled into a dark tent area each day for light deprivation and they were harvested on July 24th, after 56 days of flowering, The branches were cut and are now hanging in a slow dry/cure. The second group consisted of four plants that were placed outdoors when the short light period still promoted flowering. By the time the light period got longer the plants were in the last half of flowering. The increased light period of late spring and early summer failed to turn the plants back into vegetative growth and they were cut the week of July 9th. Three of the four plants were pollinated from a Blue Dream male that had released pollen two months earlier. The pollen had been sitting out in a cool dry place since then, but proved to be viable. Most of the buds were cut from these plants except for some small immature buds and the pollinated cola. Then the cut plants were given natural light during the day and placed under lights at night so they receive light continuously. They are now finishing seed production and reverting to vegetative growth for another round. Meanwhile, their cut buds are hanging drying/curing. The third group consisted of ten plants that sprouted unexpectedly. They were all sisters and looked like it. They were variations on a wide leaved Purple Pineapple and all had similar characteristics. The ten plants all flowered, starting shortly after germinating; they finished flowering on approximately July 27th. I performed several demonstration experiments on this group of plants. First, because they started flowering early, they grew to a controlled size. This demonstrated that cannabis could be grown as small row plants making cultivation easier using conventional farming techniques, rather than as large plants more reminiscent of orchards. In another experiment I paired plants that were about equal in growth and pruned the tops of half of them so that some were topped and some were left uncut. You can see the difference in their growth. The uncut plant grew a larger central bud at the expense of side growth. The cut plants produced several branches that held more buds than the uncut plants. These plants were ready to harvest approximately 90 days after germination. They were cut and hung whole to dry as well. They will all be dried and cured next month. Then they will be manicured.

Top clipped Purple Pineapple’s central bud did not dominate growth. Instead, without inhibition from hormones produced by top bud, the side buds grew out producing a bigger yield

Bud of Blackberry Fire plant is ready to harvest

TIP OF THE MONTH The 2’ x 4’ tray held 5 Blue Dream plants. Buds and foliage covered the entire container then spread out further

By now the outdoor plants are mid-way through flowering. You may have some regrets that you didn’t take clones while the plants were still vegetating. However, all is not lost. You can take cuttings of your flowering plants and root them while having them revert back to vegetative growth. Just take cuttings and prepare them as you usually do for cloning, and place them under constant light with no dark period. The cuttings will begin to root and to grow new leaves, not flowers.

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Cutting the buds using an electric clipper

The four plants started flowering early because they were placed outdoors in early spring when the natural light period was too short to maintain vegetative growth

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GROWING KNOWLEDGE

Understanding and Measuring pH What is pH? This is a question that usually makes new growers scratch their heads and reach for the pipe. pH applies to the level of alkalinity or acidity of a given “thing”, in this case a liquid. The liquid is the nutrient solution being used to grow your green. The pH scale starts at 0 and rises to 14. A value of 7.0 is considered neutral, with values over 7.0 being alkaline and values below 7.0 being acidic. The question that must be asked is why this is important. By Thomas Valentine The nutrient solution is basically a cocktail of various chemicals. These chemicals can react to each other in a process called covalent bonding and form new chemicals that aren’t wanted. They’re not wanted because the plant can’t use them. This process of covalent bonding is largely dependent on the pH of the solution the chemicals are suspended in, in this case water. With the chemicals being used in your average hydroponic solution, a chemist would say that the optimum pH would be 7.0, which is neutral. The reasoning behind this is that in keeping the solution neutral, covalent bonding of the constituent parts of your solution will be kept to a minimum. But since cannabis plants like a different pH level for optimum growth, lower the pH, and take the slight loss of nutrient value. Fast growing leafy plants generally like a lower pH in the range of 5.2 to 5.9. Fortunately, a lower pH will bond fewer nutrients than will a higher pH. If the pH value goes beyond the optimum range of 5.2 to 5.9, undesirable levels of nutritional deficiency and toxicity will occur, both of which can seriously impede plant growth. Be vigilant. In researching the various hydroponic methods in use, it might have been noticed that most of the growing media in use is relatively inert (rockwool, pea gravel, sand, etc.). That is, the growing medium

nutrient solution turn color, usually shades of green or blue-green. This color is then compared to a color chart that comes with the kit. The closest color is the pH of the solution. This low-tech solution poses some obvious limitations, not the least of which is the difficulty in deciding which color is closest if you’ve been into the fruits of your previous harvest. The kits sell for 5 to 10 dollars.

Adjusting pH

Knowing what chemical to add to the nutrient solution and when is paramount to success as a grower. When the pH level is too high (alkaline), it can be lowered with saltpeter, sulfuric acid or phosphorous. When the pH value is too low, it can be raised with calcium carbonate, lime or, potash. Most fertilizers cause a pH change in the nutrient solution. Adding fertilizer to the nutrient solution almost always results in a more

AS TIME GOES ON, THE AMOUNT OF SALTS PRODUCED BY THE BREAKDOWN OF FERTILIZERS IN THE MEDIUM CAUSES IT TO BECOME INCREASINGLY ACIDIC won’t react with the nutrients in the solution. For those methods that use inert media, a pH of 5.2 is recommended for optimal elemental uptake. It is at this pH level that the roots will assimilate the nutrients in the solution most efficiently. If the root has to work less to assimilate the required nutrients, the rest of the plant will benefit.

Measuring pH

Measuring pH is relatively easy, and there are quite a few choices in terms of methods. The most inexpensive and low-tech method entails taking a sample from the nutrient solution. It is put into a clean vial you get with the pH kit. Test for the pH by putting a drop of the something-or-other liquid that came in the kit into the vial (NOT the solution). The something-or-other makes the

acidic pH. Adjust accordingly. The proper way to handle all of these chemicals is important. The first general rule is don’t do it when you’re high. Just don’t do it – the plants can miss a feeding if necessary. Another general rule is to use glass or plastic, never metal. The nutrients will react with the very free elements in the metal and mess up the nutrient ratios. Glass or plastic doesn’t have that problem, so get to the kitchen section of the nearest department store first. Never add the acid to the vat of nutrient. Fill a small glass container with the nutrient to be balanced and add a few drops of the necessary chemical. Stir it in well and add small amounts at a time to the large vat

of nutrient until the proper pH balance is achieved. That’s all there is to it. As time goes on, the amount of salts produced by the breakdown of fertilizers in the medium causes it to become increasingly acidic. Eventually, the concentration of these salts in the medium will stunt the plant and cause browning out of the foliage. Also, as the plant gets older its roots become less effective in bringing food to the leaves. To avoid the accumulation of these salts in your medium and to ensure that the plant is getting all of the food it needs, be sure to flush the system with clean,

pH balanced water every couple of weeks. Do this in lieu of that cycle’s feeding. There’s always been a big debate over when to adjust your pH – before and after you add nutrients to the water, or just after. We talked to an expert, and she said to do both. The reasoning for doing both is that water is rarely dead on neutral. It’s either acidic or alkaline, depending on your region. Our chemist said that the way the professionals do it is to render the water neutral first (pH of 7.0). You would then add your nutrients to that chemically neutral solution and adjust to the desired range within 5.2 to 5.9 pH. Makes sense.

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INTERVIEW

THE GROWER’S GUIDE REVIEW WITH RICH HAMILTON By Stoney Tark SSUK: Hi Rich, can you tell our readers about your background? Rich: Thank you Soft Secrets, I’m Rich Hamilton. I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years now. I’ve done everything from running my own hydroponics shop to working for large distributors, designing new products for the market as well as managing sales. I have released three grow books to date and am the director and owner of the publishing house Machiavellian Media, where we produce the Growers Guide series. Additionally, I currently write for three international hydroponic magazines, and I’m a freelance consultant for hydroponics companies around the world as and when they need me. How would you best describe your books? When writing the Growers Guide I have tried to do it with the end user in mind and construct it in an accessible way, free from jargon and technical terms so ensuring that it is easy to understand and follow. The Growers Guide is constructed to feature bite-size paragraphs alongside clear images and illustrations, detailed product guidance and full shopping lists of equipment that are required for every stage of the growing process that everybody can follow and learn from whether they are beginners or more experienced. My ultimate aim was twofold, firstly the hope that someone who has never grown before could pick

of hydroponics to the masses and the Growers Guide serves as the perfect companion for this increased appetite! Additionally, my inspiration also sprung from my day to day jobs, both working with a distributor and previously when running a store, I talked with a lot of fellow store owners and customers alike, and I found myself getting asked the same questions about hydroponics on a daily basis. Whether it was a novice, who was just starting out or more of a veteran experienced grower who just had gaps in their knowledge. It made me think that it would be great if there were somewhere that you could access all this information in a clear, user-friendly style and that you could refer back to as and when needed. Was it a long process writing, illustrations and printing? It took about two years from start to finish to complete the first book. I didn’t give myself a set time in which to finish it. It was a very natural process where the book was constantly evolving, which is how I wanted it to be. I wanted to ensure that it was right. I am a big believer in the idea that if you take short cuts, you end up getting cut

I BELIEVE YOU CANNOT BEAT HAND FEEDING ORGANICS FOR QUALITY AND TASTE up this book and successfully complete a full grow cycle from start to finish and secondly that a more seasoned grower could read this book and still learn from it and take something away that they may not have tried/thought about before. What inspired you to write these books for the masses? I first developed an interest in growing indoors when I was at university in London. With both space and money being at a premium in the capital the idea of growing my produce/herbs for both food and homoeopathic remedies seemed like a no-brainer to save money! I believe in today's climate as populations rise and people become more environmentally aware of issues such as food wastage that there is a place for home growing/ self-sufficiency in all of our lives and that it will become more commonplace as time moves on. Also for consideration is the slow transition that we are now seeing with cannabis regulation as both medical and recreational use is gradually being legalised in more countries and States such as Canada and the US. These factors, without doubt, open up the practice

short! Writing a book is one thing, writing a book with integrated step by step illustrations and photos that you have created and taken yourself is another Completely! Factor into the equation also that I had to secure the many branded products featured in the book individually. On top of that I also designed the layout myself from cover to cover and brought it to print myself through my own publishing house and it is fair to say that It was one of the biggest challenges that I have ever taken on both personally and professionally. Without doubt, however, it was the most worthwhile experience and has taught me so much and I am extremely proud of the results and the feedback that I have received so far. Which is your personal favourite way to grow from organic, coco and hydroponics? I’m known in the UK for growing in Bubblers. A bubbler specialist, if you will. In fact I have a bubbler system being released later this year, which we have nicknamed the Peaky Bubbler as a pun from where I’m from, Birmingham in the Midlands, which is well known for the Peaky

Rich Hamilton – Author of the Growers Guide books

Blinders gang and subsequent BBC drama series of the same name. However I personally now grow predominantly organically. I believe you cannot beat hand feeding organics for quality and taste. Where are these books available for our readers to get their hands on? The Growers Guide, Coco and Soil (hand fed, run to waste) is currently on iBooks for digital download worldwide. Hard copies are available from all good hydroponics stores. If you would like to order online, there are a few options. If you are in the US, it can be ordered from the High Times website shop. In Canada, it is available

from TNB naturals. In The UK/Europe, it can be ordered online from Hollands Hydroponics. Do you have plans on releasing any more books in 2018? Yes, I have two books planned for release in 2018. The First is The Growers Guide book 4 Passive Watering Systems. A complete guide to growing in passive watering systems from start to finish. It will be available on iBooks and in hard copy firstly in the UK, to take it to all countries shortly after that. The second is more of a paperback style book which currently has the working title The Truth About Cannabis . This book is an entirely

fresh look at what cannabis was and is and the common misconceptions about it. It will look in detail at the history of cannabis through to how it is perceived today, the science that we know about it already and it's uses in the current world. It will explore the future of this great plant, looking at its growing and breeding development and also the positive impact that it can have on the world, society and even future missions to other planets. It's going to be epic. Looking forward to this one. Again this will be released on iBooks and hard copy so keep a look out for up date via our Instagram posts. Do you have any tips right now for our readers who want to brush up on their organic game? Make sure that the nutrients you are using are Organic! It sounds silly but there are a few companies out there that can be misleading when it comes down to being 100% honest with what’s in their Nutrients/products. The other thing is… you get what you give. Love your plants, take care of them and treat them with respect. I even name my plants! A great thing I have just been getting into is used coffee mixed with your organic soil. It’s free from pretty much any coffee house. They give it away to everyone in my local coffee house. If they don’t believe in yours, ask the manager and he will happily bag you up used coffee grounds to pick up at a later date. I’m still mid trials, perfecting mix ratios and coffee types…

The Growers Guide - Bubblers (DWC) – Deep Water Culture

media (so you will find me on there pretty much every day, any questions people can DM me) and any emails we look to get back to people within 48hrs. We try to be on the ball as much

I AM A BIG BELIEVER IN THE IDEA THAT IF YOU TAKE SHORT CUTS, YOU END UP GETTING CUT SHORT! but my god the depth of the flavour profile I am getting using the coffee is incredible. It’s adding a balanced flavour complexity, which is out of this world. I’m really please with the progress so far. A few more grows and I will have it perfected. It’s a flavour game changer…Give it a try. Finally, do you have a social media or web page the readers can follow you on? We post nearly every day on Instagram/social

as possible and If you search any of the social media sites, then you should find us pretty easy. We are also on Instagram, Facebook ,Twitter and iBooks under The Growers Guide by Rich Hamilton. Additionally you can find me on www. thegrowersguide.co.uk and contact me directly with contact@thegrowersguide.co.uk. Thank you for your time today Rich and great work producing such easy to follow guides. We look forward to catching up with you when you next release your newest work!

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The Growers Guide - Organics

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TRAVEL

CANNABIS GETAWAYS Everyone loves a holiday, Sun, beaches, adventure, culture... Whatever your preferences these days, it is easy and affordable with a bit of research to go pretty much anywhere and explore the wider world, after all, travel broadens the mind and the same can be said for weed! So with many countries now relaxing their cannabis laws the possibilities of combining your perfect break with the chance to smoke in a relaxed legal atmosphere is appealing to say the least. In order to inspire you, here are arguably, 5 of the top smokers holiday destinations around the world today. Rich Hamilton

permit to buy it if they have a prescription. If it is simply for recreational purposes however then you can still buy it quite easily just by asking around, there are no coffee shops like in Amsterdam. Like all countries it is still illegal to try and cross a border with weed on your person and so be sure to pass it on or smoke it all before you leave.

#3 Barcelona Barcelona has the best of both worlds, a vibrant

Amsterdam

#1 Amsterdam The most well known and popular destination in Europe for any smoker is of course Amsterdam! A city break with something for everyone, built on 400 year old waterways and criss crossed bridges on cobbled streets you can explore the local shopping, food and drink in one of the laid back street eateries and bars. Wander in awe of the fabulous architecture all around you. In the museum quarter you have the likes of the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk museum of modern art and the Van Gogh Museum. Of course in complete contrast you also have the wild nightlife, bars, live sex shows and of course the famous red light district, not to mention the infamous "coffeeshop" cannabis culture! Whilst not strictly legal in the Netherlands the smoking of weed is tolerated, the use of medical marijuana however is legal. Locals or tourists over the age of 18 can purchase and smoke up to 5 grams of marijuana per day in special bars called coffee shops. You can smoke in public however it is not always welcomed due to the nuisance that it can attract and cause to local residential areas, businesses etc and so you should always proceed with caution and respect in these cases. The trade of weed is still illegal and only licensed coffee shops can sell it in accordance to certain guidelines, such as not selling alcohol, closing by 1am and having no more than 500g on the premises at any one time. There are nearly 600 coffee shops in the Netherlands and 193 of those are in Amsterdam.

#2 Jamaica Jamaica, the paradise isle holiday that you can make into whatever you want it to be. Explore the rainforests and animals that live there or hike the blue mountains. If relaxation is more your style then just chill out on the beach and watch the sunset over the Caribbean Sea with a backdrop of slow reggae grooves, great food and friendly people. Jamaica is the only place where weed is legal for religious reasons, those being its integral role within the Rastafarian faith. It is legal for

Jamaica

Rastafarians to carry and use at their place of worship. For all others in the country, tourists included, the relaxation of laws in 2015 means that the personal use of up to 2 oz or 56g of weed has been decriminalised, as has the growing of marijuana plants, as long as it is no more than 5 in one home. It is acceptable to smoke weed on private property however if you are discreet and respectful you should be ok smoking in public and if not, now that it is classed as a petty crime you face no more than a $5 fine. Medical marijuana is now legal in Jamaica and tourists can acquire a

cosmopolitan city offering all the latest shopping and dining trends with a great nightlife alongside the more relaxed beach and harbour front allowing you to take advantage of the hot sunny weather. You can also experience the culture and history of the city and take in the amazing architecture and wander the old winding streets. If you are looking for something a little more outdoorsy, there are some amazing natural sights to take in, in the surrounding areas such as the Montserrat mountains and Monastery, boat trips out from the harbour or even water sports, not to mention the marijuana museum. A must visit! In Spain as a whole, private consumption is strictly speaking still illegal however it has been decriminalised so far as that you would simply get a fine for possession rather than jail time. Catalonia (area including and surrounding Barcelona) is a fiercely independent state and in 2017 it legalised cultivation and consumption in "Cannabis clubs" where weed can be grown and people including those who require medical marijuana (which is legal also in Catalonia) can pay a members fee to go and privately smoke it. This meant that there could be clear rules on how clubs should be run. You need membership to gain access to these clubs with normally a 2 week wait, this is in order to deter tourists, however in many large towns and cities, especially Barcelona it is reported that it is no problem to obtain membership if you are a tourist on a short visit. Clubs can grow up to 150kg of weed a year for customers and those over 21 can purchase up to 60g a month, 20g a month if between 18-21. You are encouraged to leave your weed at the club in a locker for example when you leave as whilst smoking is quite accepted in Barcelona it is still illegal to possess and use in public, edibles as it currently stands are still illegal. If you do have weed on you or are smoking in public it is advised to use your common sense and not be too brazen about it. If you are caught with a few grams in public the most that will probably happen is that you will be made to throw it away, however depending on the situation and who it is that catches you the police do still have the powers to impose some hefty penalties and fines!

California really does have it all, beaches, surf, own leisure sampling a selection of places and

lotions, seeds and cuttings. You can also purchase and smoke dabs which are the concentrated oils or waxes from the cannabis plant! Be warned though that dabs are much stronger than regular weed as they contain much higher levels of THC so approach with caution! The law states that if you are 21 and over you can carry up to 1 ounce of weed on you and you can grow up to 6 plants behind closed doors. These quantities increase if you have a medical marijuana card however at present only Californian residents can obtain one of these. It is still illegal to smoke in public with regulations stating that weed must be consumed only on private property, however given the relaxed attitude toward weed and the tolerant culture in California it is not unusual to see (or smell) weed being smoked in public. If you do decide to try this then just try and be discreet and respectful to your immediate environment and the other people occupying it, the police tend to leave you alone as long as you are not being too obvious, vaping is probably your best bet for ingestion in this situation. A bonus of going to California is that like many US states, neighbouring Nevada has followed suit and legalised weed for recreational purposes also, so why not extend your trip and once you've chilled out on the beaches of Cali, take in the Grand Canyon and the sights of Vegas too!

California is renowned for having been very tolerant to weed, in recent years becoming the first US state to legalise medical marijuana back in 1996 and 20 years later in 2016 recreational use was legalised! There are no shortage of state licensed dispensaries that stock a wide variety of strains catering for every taste at between $10-$30 a gram alongside oils, edibles, creams,

With the inevitable roll out of legalisation upon us, it won't be long before smoking weed recreationally is more often than not the norm wherever you go, which is a great future to look forward too. However at present the fact that it is only permitted legally in select destinations kind of makes it all the more appealing and enjoyable and so when tied in with the places above and what they already have to offer it makes for the perfect holiday of a lifetime.

Vancouver

#4 Vancouver Vancouver, situated on the west coast of Canada

it is a bustling city and seaport. Very culturally diverse it is flanked by The North Shore mountains and the Pacific Ocean and is perfect for those that seek adventure and want to be amongst nature with year round sport activities, both on land and water. Vancouver has a booming art, music and theatre presence, in the winter the ski slopes at Whistler are a mere 30 minutes away from the heart of the city and in summer the beaches and terrace bars are packed with people chilling out and enjoying the nightlife and social scene. It is also a great base to visit attractions further away such as the Canadian Rockies. 1st of July this year, 2018 is an important date for Canada as recreational marijuana is to be legalised country wide, medical marijuana already holds legal status, with all provinces poised to open regulated stores selling quality assured weed. Most provinces will set the possession age to that of alcohol consumption. The public possession limit is set to be 30g of dried weed and the laws on where you can smoke generally looks like it will be permit table on private property or wherever you can currently smoke tobacco. Check the local regulations when you travel to be sure. Federal laws states that it will allow the purchase of dry, fresh or oil cannabis, seeds and plants. This implies that Canadians will be able to grow at least some cannabis in their own home (up to 4 plants)! Marijuana edibles are also set to be legalised but not until at least next year (2019). Prices are looking at being very reasonable at around $10 a gram which is hoped to act as a deterrent to people wanting/needing to buy on the black market. The whole country is so vast and has so much to offer in terms of tourism but even more so now, especially on the west coast and most notably in Vancouver in British Columbia, where the oceanic climate is perfect for cannabis cultivation. The city has been quite forward in cannabis culture where previous to the legalisation laws being introduced, it has been home to a number of Amsterdam style "coffeeshops" where weed could be smoked openly and was tolerated by the law. With lots to do already, you now have even more reason to go.

#5 California sun, wine country, theme parks, the Bright lights and tourist trail of Hollywood, dazzling cities full of glitz, glamour and unrivalled shopping choices. Not to mention a delicious and varied selection of food and drink to discover, alpine beautWy, jaw dropping national parks and vistas and historical places of interest. It's one of those places that everyone is familiar with from seeing it on the TV but to really experience it you need to get yourself there. Road trips are a popular choice, hiring a car so you can work your way around the sunshine state at your

California

activities that appeal to you on your own tailor made experience.

GROW WITH STONEY TARK

PREPARING FOR SPRING TIME When preparing your garden, I always like to start off my grow guides with genetics as like anything else, they determine the characteristics and reliability of a strain. You need to remember that the strain you are going to grow out, or multiple strains depending on how long you spend fixated on the seed catalogues which plague your house. Sweet Seeds® I like to think of it like this and consider what type of weather you will receive and will the strain you have selected come through strong, or will it become restricted or much needed light and longer blooming periods? Will you have a good initial summer but as September creeps up, will you be faced with challenging cold winds and grey skies? Do you have the luxury of a mediterranean climate where you can be guaranteed long sunny days where the possibility of long flowering sativas can be fully grown out? Is it better for you to invest in a reliable autoflowering strain and perform growing cycles every 70 days between April until September? There are many variables to consider when thinking of a plant you will basically mother for the next 180 days. Seed banks such as Dutch Passion and Sensi Seeds will offer a wide variety of outdoor strains and many that were originated in Holland, to give hope to reliable strains in the northern parts of Europe.

Grow Medium

Here is the starting point of the seedling and where you need to invest in some soft, organic, airy, humic materials that the roots can become comfortable in when preparing your garden. The tap root will emerge from the seed and proceed to make its way down through the medium, until once established itself, it will then grow fibrous roots which will search for available nutrients and detect moisture. If you have a huge pot or are planning to work the plant up in size and repot, then my tip here here is to have a grow medium that are humates. What I mean by this are organic matter which are decomposing, so if you use worm castings, bat guano, coco and then use an airy substrate such as diatomaceous earth and perlite, you will create the perfect water retaining aerated medium you can find, which is packed full of beneficial bacteria. On top of this you can literally just add

water to your plants if affording continuous nutrient is not possible. This simple cheap and effective mix is packed full of micro and trace elements as well as all the carbon the microbe and fungi need to metabolise food particles in the grow medium, whilst allowing your plants to grow lush green and with true vigour. My tip here also is to use a liquid seaweed nutrient, as this contains natural plant growth hormones that are essential at this stage.

Repotting Plants

If you are going to repot your plants or are waiting to transplant into the ground which you have dug out, then starting off with a pot that is around 6.5 litres is a good size. The plants will only grow small and will not become lanky and restricted to movement. As Long as there is good outdoor lighting and the heat is not too intense to cause the seedlings to stretch and become weak. Repotting into bigger pots is advantageous in the sense you can personalise what your grow medium will be for the flowering period.

Insect Attacks

As mentioned above diatomaceous earth is a great weapon in the grow medium against insects and slugs, when preparing your garden. This bright white hard silicone based rock, when broken up and it's surface area expanded, it causes insects and amy soft bellied predator from burrowing into the medium. If you have even been unfortunate enough to cut yourself when breaking up this hard white stone, you know the effects are the skin around the cut

instantly blisters as all the moisture is sucked out of the skin. I personally cannot recommend this stuff enough and the other great benefit it is it is very rich in Silicon.

The aid of silicone will harden the leaf structure and enhance the plants defences against further attacks. The added silicone which is constantly being leech out every watering or everytime it rains, will deter spider mites and other leaf eating bugs as the ability to penetrate through the weak parts of the new leaf tissue will seem difficult. Here I would also say if you are planting your seedlings outside in the UK, then slugs are your worst nightmare and these relentless pests will eat one tenth of your seedling each time until there is nothing left. The best way to counter slugs and snails is to use copper which will send a shock through their bodys. Sharp shells and broken rocks such as diatomaceous earth will help, however the reaction of a slug when it interactives with a copper wire is something to be noted.

Feeding Schedule

My tip here is less is more and especially when the plant is in the earliest stages. If you have used my organic mix and fed with liquid seaweed once the medium is totally dry, then really you should be feeding every 3.5 days so in a week the plant has received 2 lots of liquid feed, as well as working through all the NPK and trace elements in the medium. The worst thing you can do is give the seedling too much food and cause it to become stunted at such an important stage in the growth cycle. The principal behind dry periods is to allow air to flood the medium and the root hairs to expand further out to search for available nutrients. Waterlogged envi-

ronments will encourage bad bacteria to form which will cause serious problems with the roots. Also consider that you don’t want your precious seedlings in a soggy damp medium as the cold nights are working themselves out.

Camouflage

Perhaps a bit early to think about camouflage and using companion plants, however thinking about blending in your garden with natural yellows, pinks, blues, reds, purples, greens and whites will allow your crop to go undetected to a nosey neighbour. Not only will you have an enthusiastic looking terrace or garden patch, many of the companion plants that are available will help fight off insects with their ability to repel them, so well worth considering when preparing your garden. A good suggestion is to build yourself a polytunnel which is kept covered by a plastic white sheet. These are really great for keeping the environment for the seedlings that bit warmer and it allows your plants to be out of sight. To build one is very easy and cheap and literally involves placing 4 sticks in the ground, then to place rubber pipe tubing over the sticks until you can fix a frame together. Once the frame has been attached with bamboo cane for example, the polystyrene sheet can now be tightly fitted in.

Automatic Strains And Clones

If you are not able to have a grow period that comfortably extends until the end of September, for whatever logistical reason, then a great tip here is to grow autoflowering strains in cycles all the way until July / August. What is the brilliant about automatic strains is they can grow with upto 10 hours of lighting and produce great quality flowers. I would personally advise to grow automatic strains April until June and July until September. You will for sure hit out a great crop and if your work with the right numbers, you can easily achieve the same yields as if you were growing a plant from seed until harvest outdoors when you add the 2 harvests up. Any autoflowering strains from seed banks such as Royal Queen Seeds, Dutch Passion, Paradise Seeds and Dinafem all offer top quality autos. If you have worked with clones indoors and the idea of putting your current favourite reliable clones outdoors is tempting then to avoid the clone flowering and then re-vegging itself, you must wait until late May / early June to place the clone outdoors and allow it to continue enjoying long days. After June, clones can be grown outdoor and will be harvested by the end of September, mid October depending on the climate. Many things to consider as you are preparing your garden for 2018 and the best harvests ever! Peace out.

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OPIUM ® As you would expect with our Queen, we invested much time and energy into her preparation. By the time she stepped into the limelight she had been bred over several generations, using the genetics of original classic lines; and she didn’t disappoint when she arrived. A High Times Cannabis Cup prize winner, Opium was an instant hit with the growing community. The characteristics we channeled into Opium have created a strain with stand out qualities. The plant grows strong, with a thick stem and bushy side branches. This gives it the tools to produce BIG and heavy buds that are trichome rich. 50% / 50% 56-60 Days

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NEWS

GUANO IS THE WAY TO GO There are lots of people who have tried their hand at growing with guano, and there are many who have failed for a few simple reasons. Guano, especially bat guano, can actually be a deterrent to your crop rather than the great gift most seem to think it is. For most people the mistake made was growing in pure guano or using too much of it with another medium such as soil or peat. It should be used as an additive rather than a pure medium. By Thomas Valentine The best way to grow with guano is to use a peat / perlite mixture with guano thrown in as fertilizer. This is because guano is either too acidic or too alkaline to be used to grow cannabis in its pure form. Depending on the animal it comes from, the odor can be very strong. Use guano outside or your entire home will be infused with the smell. Even if small amounts are used, there can be quite a strong odor. Use a peat / perlite mixture and add perlite to the peat moss at the ratios that are on the bag of perlite. It is important to wet the peat and perlite mixture before adding the guano. This is because the guano won’t mix well with a dry medium. It tends to want to stick together and form little balls. A good ratio of guano to peat and perlite is about four ounces of guano to one liter of peat and perlite. Mix it well with the moist peat and perlite. It should be completely mixed with no balls of guano in the medium. A moist form of guano works best for this. If a dry guano is being used, it should be moistened before being added to the peat and perlite growing medium. Some would say that now is the time to pH balance the growing medium. While this may make sense, it is not needed. However, the water you’ll be using should be pH balanced to a range between 5.2 and 5.9. This is the optimal range for marijuana. Now that the growing medium has been mixed, the decision will have to be made as to where you’re going to place your pot. Since wet guano smells horrid, it should be put outside somewhere. Perhaps on your deck or some other place where a large green growing plant won’t raise an eyebrow. Another useful way to use guano is as a foliar feeder. That is, spray a very weak mixture of guano and pure pH balanced water directly on the leaves of the plant. Foliar feeding is a great way to ensure your green is getting all of the nutrients it needs. Use about an ounce of guano in 1 to 1.5 liters of water.

A few words should be given to the nutrients found in guano. Most guanos have a high amount of phosphorous, so the plant won’t be lacking that nutrient. Guano as a fertilizer is about as complete a nutrient that you’re going to find. However, it is still not a 100% complete solution. Keep an eye out for nutrient deficiencies that will usually pop up midway in the growth cycle of the plant. Another thing to keep an eye out for is pests. Insects seem to really like the smell of guano for some reason, so choose a place for your plant that is not near a door. In this way the house won’t be deluged with insects. Because insects are attracted to guano, some resort to covering the plant with an insect net. This will keep the insects off of your plant and has the added benefit of disguising the plant, making it possible to grow in a city on your backyard balcony. Just tell visitors that the plant under the net is a tea plant. Not a lot of people have ever seen a tea plant, so this white lie will work quite well.

ZIMBABWE SAYS WILL ISSUE CANNABIS LICENCES TO GROWERS

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans can now apply for licences to grow cannabis for medical and research purposes, the government has said in a legal notice, making the southern African nation the second country in Africa to legalize cultivation of the plant. Lesotho last year announced the continent’s first license to grow cannabis legally. Until now, it has been illegal to grow, possess or use cannabis in Zimbabwe, with offenders facing up to 12 years in jail. Health Minister David Parirenyatwa published new regulations, seen by Reuters on Saturday, allowing individuals and companies to be licensed to cultivate marijuana, known locally as mbanje. The five-year renewable licences will allow growers to possess, transport and sell fresh and dried cannabis as

well as cannabis oil. Applications should include plans of the growing site, quantity to be produced and sold and the production period. A license can be refused when information has been received from a “peace officer, a competent authority or the United Nations” that an applicant was involved in the diversion of a controlled substance or precursor to an illicit market or use”, the regulations said. “The Minister may not oblige if the issuance, renewal or amendment of the license is likely to create a risk to public health, safety or security.”

46 Index of ads Name

Page

Amsterdam Seed Center

Juicy Joint

Atami

Kannabia Seeds

Barney's Farm

Kosmic Kitchen

Buddha Seeds

Mama Publishing

Canapa in Mostra

Mycologics

Dinafem Seeds

Paradise Seeds

Dinafem Seeds

Paradise Seeds

Discover Publisher

Procare

13. Ocean's 12 was partly filmed in coffeeshop Dampkring.

Drift Wholesale

Pyramid Seeds

14. Molasses are high in carbs and a great food source.

Dutch Passion

Royal Queen Seeds

Ed Rosenthal

Stanford Hydroponics

15. Cannafest is an event which takes place in the UK.

Gea Seeds

Sweet Seeds

Gen 200

Sweet Seeds

16. The liver processes THC differently as an edible.

Genofarm

Sweet Seeds

Humboldt Seed Organization

Tech Grow

Hydrogarden

Wilma's Lawn & Garden

18. CBD is used to treat inflammations.

Jorge Cervantes

19. In veg your humidity should be around 75%.

Colofon

20. Charas is when hash is pressed together with a 2 ton press.

Soft Secrets is published by Discover Publisher BV P.O.Box 362, 5460 AJ, Veghel, Netherlands Telephone: +31-(0)73-5498112 E-mail: info@softsecrets.nl Web: www.softsecrets.com

TRUE OR FALSE?

Stoney Tark

Fabric pots allow roots to be air pruned.

Too much oxygen in water can increase Acidity.

10. Vaporisers will burn the flower.

T.D.S stands for Total Dissolved Salts.

It is legal to grow at home in Holland.

Las Vegas is now a legal state for cannabis use.

11. Seaweed contains natural growth hormones. 12. AK47 and Chronic are not strains from Serious Seeds.

17. The entourage effect is when cannabinoids work together.

Plants will not need Nitrogen during flowering.

Durga Marta is a strain by Paradise Seeds.

True False True True False True True True True Fals.

Bubba Kush is Bubble Gum x Kush.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

True False True False True False False True True False

Dry sift is when refined plant matter is pressed together.

ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ AT PAGE 14 : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

A C D A C B B D B B

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

A C B B D A A B B B

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Editor: Cliff Cremer Contributors: Ed Rosenthal, Jorge Cervantes, ~ Dr. John Dee, Stoney Tark, Mr. Jose, Hugo Madera, Mr. Jose, Robert B., cccp 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: July 27, 2018

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