Marijuana Grower's Handbook

by Ed Rosenthal

  Small quantities of marijuana dry quickly in an open room because of the low relative air humidity indoors. Placing the buds in large paper bags slows evaporation, so they have more time to cure. Keep the bags open so the buds can breathe and release excess moisture. Don’t put more than three or four layers of big buds in the bag, because the moisture they release promotes mold growth. High humidity prevents the buds from drying. Moist environments are also conducive to mold, so the humidity must be kept low. When it is humid outside, indoor humidity may be too high for the buds to dry in the open air. Place them in a closed environment such as a closet or room and use an air conditioner or air conditioner/dehumidifier combination.

  There are many methods to store trimmed marijuana for drying. Most growers hang plants upside down on strings or place them on a rack. The Rack from Amerinada Distribution is collapsible and easy to hang anywhere. It provides four layers of drying to make the best use of space while providing the buds with air to dry, and is capable of holding over 20 pounds (9 kg) of dried buds.

  Drying large amounts of buds requires air circulation and ventilation. Fans create a draft that promotes evaporation, and ventilation exchanges the moist air for dryer air. If mold appears, it is an indication that there is too much moisture in the air. Quickly decrease humidity to 40% or less and increase the temperature to 75° F (24° C). Fungi and molds prefer cool temperatures and stop growing in warm conditions. When the temperature rises, the air holds more water, so the relative humidity goes down.

  ARE MY BUDS READY?

  The “stick test” is a good indication of bud dryness. Bend the little stem that holds the bud together. If it bends, the bud is still too wet. If it snaps, the bud has dried sufficiently.

  The next test is the joint test. Roll a thin joint and spark it up. If the bud stays lit and doesn’t go out between puffs, then it is ready for storing and aging. It is still too wet when it needs constant relighting. Wet bud is not only inconvenient, it won’t get you as high as dry bud because some of the cannabinoids have not become active.

  Buds that are packed moist are prone to mold or rot. Mold spores are ubiquitous and germinate under favorable conditions: moist environment, oxygen, temperature between 50° - 70° F (10° - 21° C) and an acidic surface on its host. Mold spores germinate on moist grass, sending strings of hyphae to ingest food from the vegetative tissue.

  Don’t put moist buds in plastic bags—they are likely to become moldy.

  Make sure the bud is dry and doesn’t “sweat” when packaged. If it sweats it has too much moisture and should be allowed to dry further.

  Bud infected with powdery mildew or other mold is unfit for smoking. It can be used to make water hash, because the hash-making process washes molds from the glands.

  Once the mold depletes the oxygen in the jar, anaerobic bacteria get to work. You can see and smell their effects. The grass turns brown and crumbly, and the herbal fragrances are replaced with the astringent odor of ammonia.

  When moist bud is packed in a sealed container in warm conditions, molds may not germinate. Instead, bacteria become active. First aerobic bacteria ingest tissue. When they deplete the oxygen, the anaerobic bacteria start feasting, releasing ammonia.

  This bud is getting its final airing, allowing it to lose just a little more moisture before being packaged.

  If you have packaged buds, and they start sweating, creating condensation on the box or jar, the buds are too wet and need to dry more. Remove them from the packaging or open it up so they can breathe. Don’t repack them until they pass the dryness tests.

  Buds should be disturbed as little as possible before they are smoked. Every time they are moved, unpacked, or handled, resin glands fall off. You can see them cascading through the air whenever a bud is handled roughly.

  Glass, ceramic, metal and wood containers are the best for storing marijuana. Unlike many plastics, they have no electrical charge that attracts the glands, and they are air-tight. Nonetheless, large plastic containers are often used to store large quantities of dried buds.

  Brown-colored “brick weed” started off green, but then turned brown during the ferment after it was bricked. The moist anaerobic conditions and nutritious vegetation supported the bacteria until the grass dried and the ammonia odor dissipated.

  The terpenes which give buds their fragrance are volatile, and some of them evaporate at room temperature. To preserve them and the bud’s freshness, the packaged buds should be stored in the refrigerator for medium-long term storage. Kept refrigerated in darkness, there is little deterioration of the cannabinoids or the terpenes.

  For even longer-term storage, place the containers of dried buds in a freezer. They can remain there for years with virtually no deterioration.

  Sun leaves and trim are unsuitable for smoking but can be used for making kief, bubble hash, and ingestibles, which are described in Post Harvest.

  The quality of marijuana improves for several weeks after it has dried because THC acid loses its water molecule and becomes psychoactive.

  There are several methods you can use to dry marijuana quickly for testing. None of these methods are recommended for creating high-quality, well-dried, well-cured bud. But fast-dried bud gives you an indication of what to expect once the rest of the harvest is dried. Fast-dried bud retains its minty chlorophyll taste and has a harsh smoke.

  •Microwave. Place the bud in the oven for 30 seconds or more so that some of the moisture is removed; then lower the power to two and dry the bud until it is useable. Microwaves kill seeds, so that buds containing desired seed should not be microwaved.

  •Food dehydrators dry the buds, but many of the terpenes evaporate in the high temperature environment. They never get very hot, so the THC remains, but the flavors dissipate. This kills seeds.

  •Place the bud on top of a warm appliance such as a computer, refrigerator, transformer or ballast. This may kill seeds.

  •Don’t try drying marijuana in an oven unless it has a “warm” setting and a timer. Even so, the heat may evaporate the terpenes before the bud is dried. Set the temperature at 100° F (38° C). This may kill seeds.

  In extreme circumstances, you may possess nothing but mature leaf and trim. These are best used for making concentrates, but they can also be prepared for smoking by soaking them in cold water for several hours and then rinsing them. The water dissolves many of the pigments and resins, including much of the chlorophyll, but the THC remains on the leaves. Dump the water then dry the leaves. They smoke much smoother than they did originally. They can also be used for cooking or brewing.

  The smaller leaves that were trimmed from the buds, composed of single-finger leaves and tiny buds, are quite potent but they do not smoke that smoothly. Trim leaves can be vaporized or smoked in a waterpipe or soaked in water first.

  The buds are usually saved for smoking.

  " Tell me how long

  do I have to wait?

  Can I get you now, I said,

  must I hesitate?"

  Lyrics: Smythe, Middleton "Hesitation Blues"

  RESTARTING THE GARDEN

  CLONING

  Almost everyone has taken a piece of a plant and placed it in water or soil until it grew roots. As it developed, the leaves, flowers, fruit and other characteristics of the plant were exactly the same as the donor plant from which it was taken. This is an example of asexual reproduction. Marijuana clones are a result of the same process and they preserve the genetic code of the “mother” plant.

  Cuttings root easiest when they are made while the plant is still in its vegetative growth stage. However, they can be taken even as the plant is being harvested.

  Cuttings root within two weeks when they are given a clean, humid, moist, warm environment.

  Cuttings do not have a root so they have a limited ability to absorb water. Keep the humidity between 75 and 85% so they aren’t placed under stress.

  Cuttings root fastest when they are kept at about 80-85° F (27°-29° C). It
is important that both the air and the rooting area are kept warm. At lower temperatures the clones root slower.

  At first use a moderate amount of light, about 10-15 watts per square foot (110-160 watts per square meter). A 4’ (122 cm) long rack holds four 10” x 20” (25 x 50 cm) trays. Two standard T-8 fluorescents or a single HO T-5 fluorescent provides enough light until the cuttings start to root. After they have rooted, they require twice the light, which is supplied using two T-5 HO fluorescents.

  Planting mediums: Cuttings can be rooted in coir, vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, Jiffy® pots, Oasis® cubes, and rockwool. Most professional cloners prefer rockwool, which promotes very fast rooting. Cloning machines use aeroponics or aerated water instead.

  CLONING STEP-BY-STEP

  EQUIPMENT NEEDED

  •Scissors: choose comfortable ones. Spring loaded scissors are easy on the muscles because they do not have to be pulled back to open position.

  •Clean, well-lit work area.

  •Small jars or glasses filled with water to hold the cuttings before they are prepared for planting.

  •Alcohol or hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and cloth or paper towels for sterilization.

  •Root dip solution. It should contain naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), indole-3 acetic acid (IAA), and indolebutynic acid (IBA) or a combination of these three root stimulators. Many brands are available.

  These cuttings were placed in a small styrofoam cup filled with vermiculite and water. They needed no more water before rooting; the water evaporated slowly, giving the roots more air.

  •Containers with sterile medium, or cubes that are ready for clones. If you are using rockwool soak it in water pH adjusted to 5.5 for 24 hours. This removes the lime residue left from manufacturing.

  •Lighted shelf with trays.

  1. These cuttings have been trimmed of excess leaf and are ready to place. 2. These cuttings are set into Oasis® cubes. They are neutral, need no buffering, and provide plenty of air space for the roots. Place them 1" (2.5 cm) deep. 3. After setting, a dome is placed over the tray.

  1. Domes keep the humidity high. It should hover between 70-80% the first week. 2. Cuttings in 2” (5 cm) square rockwool cubes. 3. The clones on the upper rack are young. Covers have been removed from the older clones. 4. About a week after setting roots have grown through the rockwool.

  •Wipe the table you are to work on with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to sterilize. Wipe the scissors, too.

  •Wash your hands and put on a pair of latex gloves.

  •Take cuttings from the plants and place the cut ends in a glass of water to prevent dehydration.

  •Trim the cuttings. Place them in a second glass of water until they are ready to be placed.

  •Line the clones up by the leaf canopy then cut the stems so that the clones are the same length.

  •Wipe the scissors with sterilizer then cut the stems 1/8” (3 mm) from the end.

  •Dip the cuttings in the solution to about ½” (13 mm).

  •Place the clones at least 1” (25 mm) deep in the medium.

  Roots grow from the side of the stem, not the bottom.

  Close-up of the root section.

  Cuttings have just undergone surgery and they have open wounds. They should be kept in an area where they are not likely to get infected. Sterilize the area, the tools, and your gloves, using alcohol or 3% hydrogen peroxide.

  •Irrigate using water adjusted to a pH of 6-6.3. Various rooting enhancers are available. They contain plant hormones and nutrients and are added to the water solution. Compost tea or mycorrhizae-beneficial bacteria mixes can also be added. They contain organisms that develop symbiotic relationships with the roots as soon as they emerge.

  •Spray the top of the medium with hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic.

  TRIMMING THE CLONE

  The strongest clones are cut from the new growth at the ends of the branches. These starts are 4-6” (10-16 cm) long. Remove the large leaves and vegetative growth except for three medium size leaves surrounding the growing tip. At the end of the trim only about 1” (25 mm) of canopy should remain. The rest of the stem is bare. Care should be taken that at least one node, where leaves had been attached, is near the end of the stem, assuring that it will be placed in the planting medium. Cuttings with nodes in the medium root faster than node-less sites. Roots emerge from the node site faster than along the internode.

  Clone preparation techniques vary. Larger or smaller clones can be taken. Both have advantages. Larger clones require less time in vegetative stage. Smaller clones allow you to produce more starts from a mother plant and to produce more of them in a small space.

  If large numbers of cuttings are being taken, a system using less donor-plant material is preferred. Starts can be made from many of the internodes along the branch which have vegetative growth. These starts are at least an inch (2 cm) long, have some leaf material and a node to plant.

  If your technique works well and you are satisfied with the results, then it is the right way.

  ROOTING IN WATER

  Marijuana cuttings can be rooted in room temperature water. Change the water every day to make sure it has enough oxygen. Shake the water before using it to oxygenate it. Several commercial units use oxygenated water as a rooting medium.

  Another technique uses a piece of Styrofoam board with holes punched to hold the clones. The board floats in a tray with water heated and aerated using an air pump and a bubbler. When the cuttings begin to root, they are moved to a solid planting medium. Aerating and heating the water to 75° F (30° C) speeds up the rooting process.

  AEROPONIC ROOTING

  Most cloning machines use aeroponics for rooting. The plant canopy is held above the reservoir while the stem hangs down in a chamber or is held in a mesh cup. A pump or mister emits a fine spray that bathes the root in highly oxygenated water. Clone machines promote very fast rooting and take much of the guesswork out of it because they provide excellent conditions for the roots.

  Cloning trays are an efficient way to utilize the cuttings you have taken from your mother plant. The GroClone has a built in pump to oxygenate the water, which allows the roots to thrive. Up to 53 cuttings can fit in a 12” x 24” x 4” (30 cm x 60 cm x 10 cm) tray.

  The misters (red) constantly spray very fine oxygenated water at the cuttings.

  This plant was treated with silver thiosulfate. It has flowers of both sexes. Photo: courtesy Dutch Passion

  THE SILVER THIOSULFATE FORMULA

  Mix 0.1g silver nitrate in 100 ml (3.5 oz.) distilled water. Stir rapidly until dissolved (Solution A). Mix 0.5g sodium thiosulfate in 100 ml distilled water. Stir rapidly until dissolved (Solution B). Pour Solution A into Solution B. Dilute Solution A/B 1:9 with distilled water. That is, add the 200 ml of solution to a 2-liter container and fill to the top with distilled water. The solution is now ready to spray.

  Cuttings rooting in water and aeroponic-based systems do not require as high humidity as plants in mediums. They can be kept at 50-60% humidity.

  Transfer cuttings that are being rooted in aeroponic or water systems to other mediums as soon as roots appear. In both of these systems the plants develop “water roots” which are adapted to a wet environment. These roots grow without hairs, so they have a difficult time adapting to drier environments.

  By transferring them to a solid medium as soon as the roots emerge, the plants are aeroponic and water systems get the cuttings past the most difficult phase, the first few days after being cut.

  Change the water daily, or use a small air pump to supply air to the water, so that the submerged plant parts have access to oxygen. A water-soluble rooting agent containing B1 and the rooting hormone IBA promote root growth. A very dilute nutrient solution which is relatively high in phosphorus (P) is added to the water once roots appear. As soon as the cuttings begin to develop roots, plant it in a moist medium such as vermiculite, rockwool, Oasis® or peat pellets and water with a a dilute nutrient solution fo
r 10-15 days.

  One popular commercial cloning kit consists of a tray that holds peat pellets in a miniature greenhouse. The cuttings are placed one to a peat pellet. Fairly small-to-large-size cuttings can be placed in these pellets. Peat pellets are especially convenient to root plants in to be placed in soil mix, or outside in the ground.

  Tissue culture cloning goes beyond breeding by producing thousands of plants from one great plant. Here, the clones are sealed inside multiplication jars where they root in culture. They will be ready in four to six weeks and are lit with four T-5 fluorescents, which provides 10 watts per square foot. This cloner also supplemented the T-5s with three 18 watt fixtures.

  MAINTAINING TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY

  In gardens where only a few clones or a few trays of clones are being propagated you can maintain high humidity and temperature in the trays using horticultural heat mats, or a heated propagation tray with a high dome.

  Maintaining high temperature and humidity in a small room or even a closet sized space takes some effort. The lighting helps to raise temperature and humidifiers keep the humidity high. CO2 generators burn propane or natural gas. They also produce heat and humidity. Use a thermostat to regulate the generator. Even with the added moisture the room is likely to have humidity of less than 80%. Use a humidifier regulated by a humidistat. Five-micron misters are an efficient alternative. Once installed, they require little maintenance and are inexpensive to operate.