Table of Contents
Preface ix
Sampling Marijuana xv
Chapter 1 A Quick Start Guide 1
Indoor Quick Starting 5
Outdoor Quick Starting 11
Chapter 2 The Cannabis Plant 15
Coevolution 15
How Old is Cannabis? 16
Cannabis Consumption 16
Cannabis Adaptations 17
Cannabis Paleobotany 19
Landrace Cannabis 20
Cannabis and Modern Law 22
Feral Cannabis 22
THC 23
THC Levels and THC Quantities 23
Medical Cannabis 24
Cannabinoids 25
More on Levels and Yields 26
THC Test Kits 27
Hemp 28
Anatomy of a Trichome 30
CBD Strains 31
Resin 31
Hash 31
The Plant 32
Cannabis Species 35
The History of the Scientific Classification of Cannabis 35
Species 36
Pre-Darwin Cannabis Classification 37
Post-Darwin 38
Cannabis Taxonomy for Scientists and Researchers 40
Scientific Cannabis Taxonomy 41
Breeders' Strain Type Terminology 41
Strain List 44
Cannabis Reproduction 47
Understanding Sex Determination Systems 47
Dioecious, Monoecious, and Hermaphrodites 48
Advanced Sinsemilla Facts 50
Sex Determination 51
Breeding for Desirable Traits 56
General Cannabis Morphology 56
Leaf Types 57
The Life Cycle of the Cannabis Plant 58
The Three Main Pure Types of Cannabis 59
Let's Get Growing 64
What to Know Before You Grow 67
Chapter 3 Seeds: Selection, Banks, and Storage 69
How Many Good Strains? 69
What's a Hybrid? 70
What is Ruderalis? 71
Indica or Sativa? 73
Harvesting Seeds 74
Selecting Seeds 75
Medical Equivalents of High Types 76
Seeds and Flowering Periods (Photoperiod) 77
How to Get Seeds 78
How Do You Choose a GOOD Seed Bank 79
Choosing a Seed Bank 82
Storing Seeds 85
Long-Term Storage 85
Germplasm 86
Transporting Seeds 87
Chapter 4 Germination and Propagation 89
What is Propagation? 89
Propagation Logistics 90
Germination Techniques 92
Seed Towel Propagation 94
Cannabis Seed Morphology 95
Cannabis Seed Germination 96
Cannabis Seed Functions 96
Dangers When Germinating Seeds 97
Parts of a Seedling 98
Transplanting Seedlings 99
Transplanting 101
Transplanting a Plant 103
Transplant Shock 105
Troubleshooting Germination and Propagation 106
Root Bound Plants 107
Chapter 5 The Great Divide: Indoors or Outdoors 111
Natural Light 111
Gardening Tools 112
Natural Indoor Growing 113
Outdoor Growing 116
Planning for Outdoor Growing and Guerrilla Farming 116
Guerrilla Farming 117
Security 117
Indoor Security 119
Lock It Up! 120
Fires 121
Outdoor Security 122
Guerrilla Growing Security 124
Chapter 6 Organic Growing 129
Brief History of Organic Cultivation 131
Basic Organics 132
Let's Get Growing Organically 136
Organic Soil Garden 138
Nutrient Meters/TDS Meters 141
Crop Rotation 141
Compost 141
Aerobic Decomposition 142
Organic Compost 143
Layers in a Compost Heap 144
Compost Bins 145
Compost Tea 146
Mulch 147
Aerated Teas for Living Soil Blends 148
Worm Composting 153
Vermicomposting 155
Humus 156
Coir Blocks 156
Organic Weeding 156
Controlling Pests 156
Organic Feeding Products 156
Slow Release Systems 156
Fast Release Systems 157
Vegetative and Flowering Organics 158
Best Practices 159
Large Scale Organic Cultivation 160
Organics and Hydroponics 164
Rules for Organic Growing 165
Chapter 7 The Indoor Growing Environment 167
Indoor Lights 168
Bulbs 171
Color Bands and Plant Growth 172
Correlated Color Temperature 173
Color Rendering Index 174
Basics of Photosynthesis 175
Seedling Lighting 177
Clone or Small Plant Lighting 178
Vegetative Plant and Clone Mother Plant Lighting 178
Flowering Plant Lighting 179
Peace Naturals Grow Room 180
Common Lighting Types 182
High Intensity Discharge Lights 189
Metal Halide (MH) and Mercury Vapor (MV) Lights 190
High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lights 191
HID Wattage and Lumens 191
Lumens and Marijuana Growing 191
The General Illumination Formula 192
Questions to Ask When Buying a Lighting Kit 193
HID Bulb Brand Comparison 194
What to Look for When Buying a Lighting Kit 195
How to Get the Most from Your Lighting System 196
White and Mylar 197
Spare Bulbs 199
Electrical Warnings 199
Adjusting Your Lights 199
Overgrowing 200
Temperatures 201
24/0 and 18/6-The Vegetative Photoperiod 201
Lamp Efficiency in Lumens 202
Maintain the Photoperiods 202
Electrical Costs 203
Lamp Efficiency for MH and HPS 204
Sample Comparison of Wattage and Lumens 205
Advanced Lighting 207
How HID Works 207
How HPS Works 209
A Short Word on LEDs 211
Soil 211
Common Soil Types 212
pH 214
Nutrients 215
Mixing Soils and Soil Ratios 216
Understanding the NPK Ratio 217
Pots 218
Chapter 8 Indoor Environmental Control 221
Nutrient Control 221
Basic Feeding Plan 223
Vegetative Growth 224
Pre-Flowering Maturity and Flowering 226
Starting Balanced or Not 226
No Magic Formula 227
pH Checking 227
Classic Nutrient Types 227
Secondary Nutrient Deficiencies 229
Common Mg Problems 229
Breeding Specialization 230
Image and Deficiency 230
Nutrient Disorder List 230
Testing Nutrients 234
Feeding 234
pH Control 238
Water pH 239
Making a Travel pH Tester 242
Water Control 243
Air Control 245
Odor Control 246
Build Your Own Carbon Air Filter 249
Ventilation 251
Active Venting 252
Filters 252
Fans 252
Humidity 253
Temperature 254
Timers 256
CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) 256
Climate Controllers 260
Soil Flushing 261
Clean and Store 263
Making the Most of Experimental Trials 265
Chapter 9 Pre-flowering and Flowering 267
Failure Rates 267
Lateral Branching 269
Pre-Flowering and Early Sexing 273
Checking for Calyx Development 273
Early Sexing Methods 275
When to Flower 276
The All-important 12/12 278
Plant Traits 279
Stop Light Leaks 280
Hermaphrodite 281
Problems with 12/12 281
Pre-flowering for the 24/0 and the 18/6 Photoperiods 282
Flowering Sex Determination-Male or Female? 283
Pre-flowers: females 284
Pre-flowers: males 285
Bracts are not Calyx Development 287
Male Flowering 287
Pollen 288
Flowering 289
Dehumidification 291
Stressing for Production 292
Roots 293
Chapter 10 Advanced Indoor Grow Methods 295
Are We Really Soil-Based? 297
Why Not One Pot for Many Plants? 298
The Important Cannabis Canopy 298
Preparing the "Special Clone Mother" 300
To SOG or ScrOG? 304
SOG (Sea of Green) 305
ScrOG 310
ScrOG Growing by Real High 310
Some Notes on SOG and ScrOG Growing 314
Sweet Seeds® Micro ScrOG 318
Sweet Seeds® Guide To Plant Bending 324
Tent/Cabinet Growing 326
Closet Growing 327
Customizing Advanced Set Ups 331
Expert Gardening Tech 332
Space Buckets 333
Space Bucket Lighting 334
Space Bucket DIY 101 335
Preparing the Growth Chamber 337
Lighting Configuration 338
Airflow Installation 341
Height Stacking Spacers 341
Growing in a Space Bucket 342
Open DIY Community 342
Automated Space Buckets 342
Training Techniques 342
Airflow Options for Buckets 343
Controlling Heat 343
Chapter 11 Hydroponics 344
Two Types of Hydroponics 347
The Grower and the Growing Medium 348
The Benefits of Hydroponics 348
Basic Hydroponic Systems 349
DIY Hydroponics 349
Additional DIY Parts 349
Sizing 350
Roots and Air 351
What to Know Before You Grow 356
What System to Select 357
Manual NFT System 357
Nutrient Film Technique 358
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) 358
Flood and Drain/Ebb and Flow 361
Ebb and Flow System 362
An Ebb and Flow System 364
Wick System 369
Wick 369
How to Build a DIY Wick System 370
Gravity System 372
Gravity 372
Drip Irrigation 373
Drip Irrigation System 373
Automatic Hydroponic Pots and Manual Hydroponic Pots 376
Aeroponics 376
Commercial Pot 377
Aeroponic System 378
DWC/The Bubbler 380
Setting Up the Hydroponic Environment 381
The Bubble Bucket 382
Hydroponic Nutrients 384
Preparing Nutrient Solutions 386
Hydroponic pH 387
Algae 387
Grow and Bloom 387
Controlling the Hydroponics Environment 388
Hydroponic Grow Chamber 390
Affordable Hydroponics 392
Lighting and Hydroponics 393
Chapter 12 Outdoor Growing 395
Time Zones 396
Growing from Seed 397
Growing from Clone 397
Research Your Strain First 398
Patch Basics 399
The Elements 399
Collateral Damage Planning 399
Weeds 400
Seeds Outdoors 400
Transplanting 401
Duck's Foot Cannabis 402
Outdoor Cultivation in Africa 404
Soil 406
Watering 406
Polymer Crystals 407
Irrigation 407
Preparing a Plot 408
Rainwater and Resins 410
Pests and Fungi 410
Advanced Patch Care 410
Guerrilla Outdoor Growing 411
Outdoor Cannabis Gardens From the Air 412
Outdoor Challenges 414
Caring for Outdoor Plants 416
Advanced Weeding 416
Outdoor Cultivation in Australia 417
Visit Weeding 419
Autumn Clearing 419
Advanced Outdoor Watering 420
Adding Nutrients 422
Air Pruning 422
Outdoor Flowering and the Photoperiod 424
Chapter 13 Caring for Mature Cannabis Plants 427
Don't Remove Any Healthy Leaves 427
Types of Plant Manipulation 428
Light Bending (Phototropism) 428
Pruning for Yield 431
Regular or Bushy? 435
Regular Shape 435
Topping 440
How to Make Cannabis Bushes 442
FIM Technique 443
Super-Cropping Technique 443
Super-Cropping 444
Super-Cloning 446
Regular and Bushy 447
Broken Stem Fixes 448
Cloning 450
Automated Hydro Cloning 452
Step-by-Step Guide to Cloning 454
Cloning in Rockwool 458
Advanced Plant Care Techniques 460
Bonsai Clones 462
Increasing Yield 465
Reverting to Vegetative Growth 465
ScrOG Cannabis Rejuvenation 466
Increasing Your Chances of Females 469
JB Haze Guide to Cannabis Regeneration 470
End of the Grow 473
Chapter 14 Problem Solver 475
Domestic Pets 476
Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fungicides 476
Pesticides 476
Why Cannabis Resin and Soapy Pesticides Don't Mix 478
Pest Index 478
Ants 479
Aphids 479
Cutworms, Caterpillars, and Larvae 480
Deer 482
Gnats 482
Grasshoppers 482
Groundhogs 483
Mealy Bugs 483
Rabbits 483
Scale 483
Slugs and Snails 483
Spider Mites 484
Termites 484
Thrips 486
Whitefly 486
Woodchucks and Other Small Rodents 486
Pest Predators 487
Beetles 487
Braconid Wasps 487
Bugs 488
Earthworms 488
Frogs 488
Lacewings 489
Ladybird Beetles 489
Mantodea (Praying Mantis) 490
Spiders 490
Recovering from a Pest Invasion 491
Fungi 492
Fungus Botrytis 492
Root Rot 493
Powdery Mildew 494
Chemical Burns 495
Nutrient Deficiencies 496
Nutrient Deficiencies Guide 497
10 Steps to Saving Your Grow 498
No Cure for Bad Genetics 501
Chapter 15 Harvesting and Curing Your Cannabis 503
Dealing with Smells 503
Resin Slicks 503
Harvest Indicators 504
Strain Variation at Harvest 506
The Harvest 508
Label Everything 508
Quick Bud Samples 508
Expert Harvest Indication 509
Body and Cerebral Harvesting 511
Reducing Humidity 511
Dark Period Harvesting 512
Harvest Flushing 512
Trichomes and Pistils 513
Indica Harvest 514
Trichomes at Harvest 515
Preliminary Manicuring 516
Industrial Cannabis Harvesters 517
Hand Manicuring 518
Sativa Harvest 520
Drying Times 520
Labeling Trays 524
Manicuring 524
Harvest 528
Professional Trimming 530
Bud Storage Techniques 532
Curing 533
Mold 535
Mold Prevention Techniques 536
Hemp 539
Chapter 16 How to Breed Cannabis 543
Making Seeds 544
Pollen Collection and Storage 544
Collecting and Storing Seeds 547
Introduction to Plant Genetics 548
Simple Breeding 550
Continuing a Strain Through Seeds 550
Making a Simple Hybrid 552
Introduction to Plant Genetics 552
Dominant/Recessive and Genetic Notation 552
The Hardy-Weinberg Model Part 1 553
The Test Cross 559
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Part 2 564
Mendel's Pea Plant Experiments 565
How to True-Breed a Strain 567
Advanced Breeding Techniques 570
How to Generate a Clone Mother 572
Autoflowering Hybrids 574
Concluding Thoughts on Breeding 576
Lore of the Lowryder 578
Chapter 17 Top Ten 587
Top Ten Landrace Strains 589
Top Ten Indica-Dominant Strains 591
Top Ten Sativa-Dominant Strains 593
Top Ten High-CBD Strains 595
Chapter 18 How to Make Hash and Oils 597
Hash 597
Get Your Harvest Right First 597
Trichomes to Hash 598
Gathering the Stalked Capitate Trichomes 600
Easy Hash-Making 600
Grinding and Freezing 600
Cannabis Extraction Processes 601
Skuff 601
Ice Water Hash 602
Screening (Basic Methods) 605
Multiple Screening Method 607
Advanced Screening 608
Screening for Hash 609
Drum Machines 614
Basic Water Extraction 614
Advanced Water Extraction 615
Pressing Resin into Hash 616
Sol vent less Cannabis Oil Extraction (Rosin Tech) 618
Oils 620
Supercritical Fluid Extraction 620
Basic Oil Extraction 625
Butane Extraction 626
Hot Water Butane Evaporation 627
Butane Honey Oil Evaporation 628
Closed Loop System 632
Closed Looping 633
CO2 - Subcritical Fluid Extraction 639
Tank to Tank CO2 Extraction 640
Cleaning 640
Thin Film Evaporators 640
Terpenes 641
Bubble Hash 642
Chapter 19 How Jo Enjoy Cannabis 645
What is Dabbing? 646
How to Roll a Joint 648
The Equipment 649
How to Make a Tinfoil Pipe 650
How to Make a Bucket Bong 652
Dabbing Safety 653
How to Make a Lightbulb Vaporizer 654
Marijuana Butter Recipe 656
Chapter 20 The Cannabis Grow Bible Checklist 659
Endnotes 664
Resources 671
Index 673
