GROWING CANNABIS: A Comprehensive Beginner's Guide to Learn the Effective Process of Growing Cannabis Indoors and Outdoors

By Edward Lewis

Everyone remembers their first cannabis experience. Regardless of how it went, you were brave enough to take the leap and try it out. Now, since you're reading this, chances are you've grown into quite the marijuana aficionado! And like millions of people, you want to take things a step further and learn how to grow your own. Hopefully, this gui

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edward Lewis
• Release date: Aug 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088254875

Edward Lewis

Edward Lewis, propelled by the extraordinary success of Essence magazine, has become one of the most successful and respected magazine publishers in the country. In 1969, he cofounded Essence and later founded Latina magazine. Mr. Lewis was honored with the Henry Johnson Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award, the Time, Inc. Henry Luce Award, and was a 2014 inductee into the Advertising Hall of Fame by the American Advertising Federation. He is the former chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America and currently serves as Senior Advisor for Solera Capital, a New York–based private equity firm.

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Introduction

Everyone remembers their first cannabis experience. Regardless of how it went, you were brave enough to take the leap and try it out. Now, since you’re reading this, chances are you’ve grown into quite the marijuana aficionado! And like millions of people, you want to take things a step further and learn how to grow your own. Hopefully, this guide will enable you to become a self-sufficient grower, whether you’re a medical patient or you like to blaze up for fun.

As you’re certainly aware, cannabis is one of the most popular and widely consumed recreational drugs in the world, and for good reasons. Unlike other substances that can contain harmful chemicals and toxins, marijuana is relatively mild, and most importantly, it’s almost always an all-natural product. It’s also quite cheap and easy to acquire. High-quality weed can induce a state of relaxation, promote heightened senses, as well as light-headedness and euphoria, which contribute to that characteristic high we’ve all come to enjoy. In contrast, bad weed tends to have an off taste, isn’t as potent, and can be a terrible experience overall. Fortunately, you can begin growing your own marijuana with your method of choice in just a few simple steps.

Although it’s been used and cultivated for thousands of years, there’s no denying cannabis has a bit of a stigma around it. Whereas opponents of marijuana will paint it as a gateway drug with devastating long-term effects, especially on the youth, pro-weed folks won’t rest until they’ve exalted the plant’s prodigious benefits on health, cognition, and well-being. Endless debates aside, public perceptions around marijuana are changing. Today, as more and more countries legalize or de-criminalize its consumption (in North America, South Africa, and the Netherlands…), there’s hope for more tolerance and fewer restrictions on growing marijuana.

This book aims to introduce you to the world of cannabis cultivation. Page after page, you’ll garner precious knowledge about marijuana and how it acts, how to grow it in a dedicated room or your garden, harvest it, store it, and much more. Even if your current expertise doesn’t go past rolling a simple joint, worry not – this easy-to-understand guide contains practical, ready-to-apply instructions that will help you produce high-quality cannabis with great flavor and potency.

To start off, we’ll cover everything about the marijuana plant, its recreational and medical uses, its benefits and effects, and provide insights into why people choose to grow it themselves. Next, we’ll define and explore the numerous varieties of cannabis out there and understand some key differences (THC vs. CBD, Indica vs. Sativa). You’ll figure out what strain is best suited for your needs and environment there. We’ll then delve into the practical side of indoor planting, how to build a grow room, an indoor greenhouse, and water-based growing systems. Next, our discussion will revolve around outdoor planting, where you’ll learn what it takes to grow marijuana in your backyard or terrace, openly or incognito. Both chapters contain hands-on methods that will help you achieve optimal results. Then, we’ll cover the plant’s life cycle from germination to flowering, and after that, you’ll learn how to harvest your cannabis, including a section about drying and curing your plants. We’ll then move to breed, how to choose cannabis seeds, and perform cross-pollination. Chapter 8 is all about dealing with various pests, fungi, and diseases that can jeopardize the health of your plants, along with some effective home remedies. Lastly, the final chapter is dedicated to storing your cannabis, no matter in what form you like to consume it.

So, once you’ve made sure you can legally and safely grow cannabis in your country or state of residence, the joys and pleasures of marijuana cultivation await without further ado!

Chapter 1

What Cannabis Is

You probably know what that five-blade leaf you see on t-shirts parents ask their unknowing kids not to wear symbolizes. It is indeed Cannabis. But what else do you know about one of humanity’s oldest cultivated crops (apart from their head-in-the-clouds high)? Worry not. You have come to the right place. Everything you need to know about Cannabis, from how it is grown to how it is used, you will find in this book.

Cannabis is a drug from the plant Cannabis sativa. Other plant subspecies are Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. When the leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds of Cannabis sativa are harvested and dried, you get Cannabis. Amid the drug world, Cannabis is the reigning ruler. More commonly known as weed, it is also interchangeable with the names Pot and Marijuana. Have you heard of pot brownies? Yup, that is what those are. Sweet delicacies imbued with Cannabis. While the name Pot is commonly used, the term Marijuana is losing its popularity due to its racist connotations. With a wide array of uses, from recreational to medical, Cannabis consumption and production are increasing day by day.

Fun fact: If you thought Pot is a weird name, you are in for a ride. Back in the 1970s US, different strains of Cannabis had all sorts of bizarre and absurd names. Purple haze and chocolope are a few of many. Naming was and is a big part of the weed consumption culture.

What Does Cannabis Contain?

As a common psychedelic (drugs that create hallucinations and mimic states of psychosis), Cannabis is widely used for its recreational purposes. While most think of it as just another drug used to get high, it has many medical properties useful in the healthcare industry. We will touch upon that later. You need to understand what Cannabis contains to understand how it has the effect of euphoria. Cannabis is made of a group of compounds found in the Cannabis plant called Cannabinoids. Similar to Opioids, Cannabinoids interact with the human nervous system. Of the 120 Cannabinoids found in Cannabis, the ones found in abundance are CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). While CBD and THC have psychoactive effects, CBD is non-toxic and non-euphoric, meaning it does not give people pleasure or rather what is known as a high. Hence, it is mainly used for medical purposes. On the other hand, THC is the main component in Cannabis responsible for relaxing effects.

Origins and Legality

Cannabis cultivation first began on the hills of Central Asia, in parts we now know as Mongolia and Siberia. From there, cultivation spread to China, where Cannabis was used for its medicinal properties as an anesthetic. It spread to the Middle East and then moved to Europe and Africa. During the pre-modern and modern era, Cannabis finally reached North and South America. As mentioned before, the two major reasons for using Cannabis are recreation and medical utility. The legality of Cannabis production, consumption, and trade can vary depending on the reason for consumption. In most of Asia and the Middle East, Cannabis use is deemed illegal and is prohibited. In many regions of North and South America, Australia, Europe, and Africa, Cannabis is de-criminalized for medical usage and is allowed for recreational use in a few regions. It is important to understand the laws surrounding Cannabis in your country to avoid running into problems with the law. With the increasing medical gains of Cannabis, countries that were once hostile towards its use are now opening up their borders for it.

Fun fact: Iceland is the world’s largest Cannabis consumer. An estimated 18.3% of its population uses weed annually.

Recreational Uses of Cannabis

A visit to drug heaven is best through Cannabis. People describe Cannabis as creating a high like no other. So, it seems obvious why so many people use it recreationally. Apart from giving you the high, weed has many other effects, depending on the person’s tolerance level and the product’s potency. Using larger quantities of Cannabis with more THC for longer durations will lead to wider and longer-lasting effects.

Short-term effects include:

Light-headedness

Relaxation

Heightened senses

Altered perceptions of reality

Experiencing things more intensely,

Stimulated appetite and bowel movement

Increased focus and creativity.

Using Cannabis relaxes an individual and gets their mind off things temporarily. It is also generally used in social settings or for getting in the mood for pleasurable activities like sex.

Cannabis can be consumed in numerous ways. The most popular method is to smoke it via cigarettes (joints, blunts, or pipes) or e-cigars (vape). Cannabis is usually crushed to a powder and then rolled into tobacco-rolling paper to smoke it. The lit role is used to inhale Cannabis fumes. It is advisable to use unbleached rolling paper that doesn’t contain harmful chemicals. If you’ve ever heard the phrase roll me a joint and didn’t get the reference, now you will. It is also used as edibles, where a food product is infused with it. Pot (remember those?), candies, and cookies are the most common favorites. And tea. Never be fooled by a ‘pot of tea’ (pun definitely intended). Another interesting choice is eating it raw. Used as pills, topical creams, and tinctures are more common for