Home Growers Corner
How To Grow Plants from Seed to Maturity
The First Edition of a Multi Part KISS Series
Part 1 by Jay Richardson , contributing writer
KISS a Stoner
Over the next few months , I will be growing several marijuana plants from seed to maturity and then trimming and drying the buds . I will be documenting this with photos , videos , and my narration . There is nothing monumental about this except that I intend to try to do it to show our readers that it does not need to be complicated or expensive to produce high-quality marijuana . The army has an acronym that says KISS . The meaning of this is “ keep it simple stupid .” In my years of teaching people how to set up an indoor cannabis garden , I have developed a similar slogan , “ keep it simple stoner .”
I am not implying that you are stupid , nor do I think that you are a stoner . You are probably pretty intelligent , based on the fact that you are reading this magazine . I was simply making note of the fact that many of the strains available from our local dispensaries are very potent , and some of the side effects of cannabis can include short-term memory loss and a lessening of the attention span . In fact , I nearly forgot what I was going to write next .
Let ’ s take a moment to be completely honest with each other . I am teaching you to grow marijuana , so I ’ m going to go out on a limb and assume that many of you are using cannabis right now . I know that I am . I took a big bong rip right before I wrote that last paragraph . You don ’ t need me to throw a bunch of scientific facts about botany and chemistry in your face . We could spend the next eight issues discussing the different nutrients that a marijuana plant requires and why they need them , or we could buy a container of plant food that contains those nutrients and call it a day .
If you are a person with an inquisitive nature who is fascinated with the intricacies of science , then cannabis cultivation is definitely an area where you can immerse yourself in a great number of areas , including botany , physics , chemistry , and mathematics . Luckily for the rest of us , there are a lot of other people who have already done that . There are proven products and techniques that have worked for years , and there is no reason for us to try to reinvent the wheel . If you follow the methods I show you , I don ’ t think you will be unhappy with your results .
The first thing we will need to decide is if you even have the need or ability to start a garden . Most of us have hectic schedules , and with the recent spike in inflation , we need to budget our purchases . If you have an abundance of spare time and money , then no problem . You have unlimited options . You can go to the dispensary and get everything you could ever want . You can also go to the garden store and buy every fancy , expensive gadget that has ever been invented . Not very many people have those choices available , including me .
The state approved amount of cannabis I am allowed to purchase each month has been four ounces , or ¼-pound . Even though our new laws increase my limits , four ounces is twice the amount of flower that I actually consume . If I were to purchase what
I truly use from a dispensary , it would cost around five hundred dollars a month . Not something that I could afford to do , even at half of that price . That also doesn ’ t take into account the extra edibles that I make from my trim and popcorn buds . My only option is to grow my own .
You need to determine how much cannabis you consume in a day . For me , it ’ s about two grams or the equivalent of four average sized joints . Some days more and some days less , but it consistently ends up being around ½-ounce ( 14 grams ) a week . If you can afford to buy the amount of cannabis needed to achieve your desired effect , it will probably be cheaper and easier to purchase your medication . If it would be a financial burden , as it is with me , a garden is the way to go .
I don ’ t grow as many plants as the law allows because if I did , I would have too much marijuana . As an authorized cultivator , I am allowed to possess 18 ounces at one time . If I follow state regulations and grow six plants in each of the three stages of maturity ( 18 plants total ), I will end up way over the limit . Although I feel that it should be my right to grow cannabis , it is merely just a privilege . It is a privilege I respect and am very happy to have . As such , I view my cannabis much as I view fishing or driving a car . To keep my license , I must follow the laws stipulated by the state of Missouri . In a way , growing marijuana is exactly like fishing . When you catch your limit , you have to stop .
44 February 2023