Outdoors

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Much of the information that pertains specifically to outdoor cultivation is in this chapter. Many of the subjects in this chapter are covered in great detail in other chapters of the book. References to these chapters are made in the appropriate places.

Outdoor growing is more popular than indoor growing in countries with lax cannabis laws. The reason is simple – sunshine is free; lights and electricity cost money.More people grow outdoors than indoors for this simple reason.

Cannabis is a strong plant that can be grown successfully almost anywhere. As long as you pay attention to security, virtually any growing area can be altered enough, often with little effort, to grow a healthy crop.

Do your research before planting. Read garden columns and talk to local growers about the best time to plant and grow tomatoes or similar vegetables, then plant accordingly. Also inquire about common pests and insects. Collect publications on local growing conditions. These are often available at nurseries or through your local department of ministry of agriculture.

You can grow anywhere. For example, one of the first guerilla crops I planted was on a freeway on-ramp in a city in Northwestern US in the 1970s. I planted seedlings in a clay soil in a blackberry infested environment in late June. I gave the plants a single application of time release fertilizer. By late September there were short little female plants with dense little buds to smoke. The harvest weighed in just under a pound of fragrant but leafy little buds. Everybody called it “homegrown”.

My first big guerilla crop was planted and harvested in the California foothills. I hiked up one of the many canyons carrying a 3.5 hp engine that weighed 30 pounds, pus the pump (another 30 pounds) and the plumbing connections that made it attach to a 2 inch inlet and a 1.5 inch outlet. Schlepping four, 30 gallon plastic garbage cans to act as reservoirs, 10 foot lengths of pvc pipe, and 200 feet of hose was a challenge!

After many trips up the canyon, I harvested six pounds of Colombian and Mexican bud. The quality was fair, but I harvested early and had the only fresh buds in town in mid-September.

In “the good old days”, rural real estate for sale in California often advertised the number of marijuana growing holes that had already been amended.

Now Park Rangers carry guns and have the authority to arrest suspected growers. Latin mafias have also moved into the National Forests installing illegal immigrants with guns to grow and defend large patches of guerilla grass. The War on Drugs has turned much of America into an unsafe place to live and grow.

Australia, Canada, much f Europe, and many other parts of the world are significantly different; growers can plant in their backyards, greenhouses, or in remote locations with little fear of arrest.