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Introduction

The Humble Indoors

It’s about time. A time to sprout and plant. A time to water and feed. A time to mature and grow. A time to develop and age. And finally, a time to cut, cure and, last but not least, consume the fruits of the labor. There once was a time, not-too-ancient, when it was all done in the great outdoors, under the full open sky.

But, as fate would have it, some creatures have chosen to appoint themselves as predators. They have chosen to prey upon the good folk who produce and use the blissful fruit. Some of the more sadistic control freaks of the world have taken it upon themselves to fabricate rules and laws that, supposedly, demonize and criminalize the production, transport, sale, possession and/or use of the amazingly benign and benevolent substance we know as cannabis. These latter day witch-hunters like to believe that they are succeeding. But we know better.

Welcome to the humble indoors. I am trying to accept the fact that I have been a closet horticulturist for thirty years now. I have the white hairs to prove it! (Pun intended.) Perhaps the greatest lesson the plant has taught me in all of my years of experience with her is that of patience. This plant has taught me the virtue and the potential value of waiting. Plants also have the ability to show us what it means to make the best out of a given situation. This book explains ways to cultivate patience and optimal conditions to produce a garden of exceptional quality.

Before Indoors

In the early 1970s we did not know much at all about growing good herb. We had grand quantities of seed from the commercial Mexican and Colombian herb we were consuming and we knew the plants grew from seeds. But we couldn’t get the damned things to sprout, no matter how we tried. Years later we found out that the seeds in the large commercial shipments were sterilized—some by pressure, heat or it is rumored by irradiation.

Two phenomena sparked what would become my lifelong ambition. The first came in 1973, when I received a little “seed sprouting chamber”—a two-inch round, clear plastic bubble that came as a prize in a box of breakfast cereal. It had one flat side that opened with a little sponge that sat in the bottom. The second phenomenon was that I had acquired a decent quantity of good, semi-commercial, seeded Hawaiian. I put a whole fingertip-sized seeded bud into the moistened chamber. A few days later the seeds sprouted and roots shot through the buds—and away we went! These early plants sat under a twelve-inch fluorescent desk lamp and grew to be a foot or two tall.

In 1974 another important event occurred: the founding of High Times magazine. Tom Forcade’s vision had accurately pegged an era and served a movement. I was a teenager when I bought my first copy, the second issue (the first issue was sold out by the time I discovered them). High Times lent a great amount of credibility to what many of us knew to be true; that certain personal freedoms and liberties are natural rights, yearning to be exercised and expressed. Then in the mid-1970s, Mel Frank, Ed Rosenthal and Murphy Stevens finally taught us how to “grow the good buds” through their timely “how-to” grow books.

After this point, some American growers became proficient at growing the herb and understanding its finer qualities. Some of these growers moved to regions of the world famed for high quality cannabis. (I like to refer to these specific regions as “sweet spots.”) Many teamed up with the locals; others designed their own production schemes. Their collective goal was the same—to help produce high quality, semi-commercial quantities of indigenous and designer cannabis. Many of these entrepreneurs were successful in their quests, both in quantity and quality.

The Herbal Expansion

From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, some of the finest herb of all time was produced in these “sweet spots.” They included, but were not exclusive to, highland Oaxaca and much of Southern Mexico, Colombia, Thailand, Nepal, many parts of Africa, Afghanistan, Hawaii, Jamaica and the Northern California/Southern Oregon coastal mountain regions. These were the areas from which came the acclimated land race varieties that were the P1 generations of much of the seed genetics available today.¹

What made each of these varieties of herb so unique and desirable is the “head” or mental feeling the bud gives. A question often asked of the herb experience is: “Does it have a good head?” (Or a happy, goofy, stony, sleepy, paranoid, nervous head.) Each of the sweet spot regions had its own ganja with its own unique head and palate. This is not often attainable in the limited environments of our indoor grow worlds. But we are getting closer!

Please note that a “good-head” high is not entirely dependent upon set and setting. Up until the late 1970s my “setting” was Detroit, Michigan. And there are few set and settings more depressingly awful than Detroit in the winter. And yet my buds and I were able to get really incredibly high—high enough to rise above the depression of the urban blight. And I attribute much of my anti-depression (and “intact” survival for that matter) to the high quality, good-head herb available to me then. Good-head herb also has a tendency to expand the consciousness of those who use it. My expanding consciousness soon began to learn of an Oz-like land to the west.

Oregon. The promised land, during that period anyhow. Governor Tom McCall had forged a region toward a more common decency. Gov. McCall was the first politician to mandate cannabis law reform in favor of decriminalization. He was also very green in his successful efforts to restore and protect the natural environment. And rumor was beginning to spill about another very green bounty of the region—West Coast Sinsemilla. Hippy-magnet vortices developed all up and down the Pacific Northwest Coast. In and around Humboldt, the Oxbow, the Applegate, Ashland, Eugene, Portland, Olympia, Seattle and Vancouver BC (to name but a very few) cannabis communities sprouted and thrived.

My first bag of sinsemilla came from a reputable dealer in Eugene in 1978. I have been blessed with the knack of making good connections. I believe it has to do with a certain respect of etiquette, the ability to conduct oneself in a professional manner and the ability to recognize the same respect and professionalism (or lack thereof) in others. This dealer had good Colombian for $55 an ounce. I was used to paying $40-$45 an oz. for good Lum back in Detroit, and the “sticker shock” took some getting used to. He mentioned having some “Oregon Sinsi.” “Butler Green” he called it, and it was going for $75 an oz.

“OUCH! $75 an o-z. Man, that is steep!” I thought. But the little bright green bud the dealer gave me to check out had me very curious. It was so different compared to the herb I was used to. It was so fresh and green and sweet! “Will ya’ do a half for thirty-five?” I asked.

“Sure.” The dealer was flexible and I had cash, so I ordered a half of the “Lum” and a half of the “Green.” The dealer went to another room to weigh up the bags while I waited. When he returned he handed me the half of Lum and a fat Ziploc sack of green sinse buds.

“Oh, hey man, I only wanted a half of the green,” I stated.

The dealer, only slightly annoyed with my naiveté, said: “That is a half.”

Holy Moly! I was sold.

By 1979 many people along the West Coast were growing relatively openly in their backyards and other areas. Many folks experienced unexpected bumper windfall harvests in ’79 and ’80. Well cared for plants grew into hefty bushes and yielded over a pound of high quality bud each. It was fun having shelves-full of giant glass jars filled with perfectly matured, manicured and cured buds.

The indoor grow scene progressed considerably during this period as well. Mel, Ed and Murphy did their first “Indoor Under Lights” grow books. Early on it was all fluorescent, Vita-lites and Grow-lux bulbs, High Output and Very High Output systems, and the equipment developed. Some outdoor growers used indoor methods during the off season (winter) to develop and produce the next year’s stock. The first Halides appeared in late 1978, and High Pressure Sodium systems soon followed.

From Outdoors to Indoors to Underground

The late ’70s, up to and including 1980, was truly an era for the expansion of cannabis consciousness. So many things were going so well. There were so many things happening at the time. I am not sure if it was “us” behaving so boldly at the time that spooked the status-quo into electing Reagan, or what. It was probably destined to happen regardless. But the Eighties soon became the evil twin of the Sixties. The foolish flames of the illusionary “War on Drugs” were fanned back into existence to the delight of many a greed-head. Para-military “CAMP” raids on outdoor grows intensified, limiting supplies. As supplies dropped, prices rose. More and more outdoor producers moved indoors. For many, it became a time to hide. For some, it was a time to run.

And the indoor grow industry breathed a life of its own. Advances in equipment technology were regular and swift, and the industry blossomed.

My forte was the breeding of fine herb. My primary goal was always to satisfy my own head. I was one of the lucky few who had access to so many different strains. I’d been saving imported seeds since 1975, which was the basis of my early breed stock. These imports, however, were all Sativa. The first Indica buds entered the market in 1979. These all came from one source in Northern California who had imported the seed directly from Afghanistan. Short, stout, dark, compact and skunky, these plants were totally different than what the industry had been accustomed to. The most desirable features of the pure Indica were their compact productivity and shortened growing season. Indica plants produced large, dense, potent buds very quickly. They soon became the variety of choice for the indoor scene. The pure Indica head was generally much more of a narcotic and sleepy/dreamy body high than anything else.

I was not at all pleased with the pure Indica head. It lacked much of the quality I had grown fond of. I did, however, enjoy the plant’s good growing qualities, along with its potency. So I began “working” with it in 1979. Incidentally, the imported strains I had been working with prior to this were: Golden or Highland and Chocolate Thai², Purple/Gold Highland Oaxacan, Lowland Colombian Red, High Coastal Colombian Gold, a nice Guerreroan Green Spike, various Hawaiian and Jamaican, a “woody” Mexican Flower-top and a Piney/Citral from India that I called “Gin Blossom.” I had also been working with a few of the more special local treats (from the prized few sinsemilla that had a renegade seed or two in them). Another aspect I attribute to my success is a very sensitive, discerning and educated palate.

After a couple of years of working the breeder’s magic and performing the necessary crosses, the Sweet Kush Indicas arrived in 1981. These ranged in luscious flavors from honey to various fruits and berries. “Blueberry Kush” became the herb of choice for many from then on. Several more years of research and development yielded the floral and blossom flavors of “Flo” and “Blue Velvet.”

The late ’80s and early ’90s were some of the hardest years on us. CAMP escalated to a frenzy and Operation Green Merchant went after the indoor farmers and their equipment suppliers. Mandatory minimum sentences proved to be a further burden on the community. We were forced further underground—deeper and smaller. It was a very rough go for a while there. We were scraping the bottom during those lean years. I quickly learned that the best camouflage in regard to greed-heads was under a veil of poverty, or for those who could afford it, the security of affluence. Then I tenaciously waited for the sun to shine again. That’s how I protected and continued my humble and precious stash. The sun seems to be shining a little bit lately. The clouds are slowly parting in many areas of the world. In parts of Canada, Europe, the South Pacific and even some places in the States, many people are beginning to lighten up their attitudes toward cannabis. I do hope that the trend continues and our cannabis consciousness has a chance to expand and grow a little further. As for the long run, I know a few things for certain. We will survive. And the sun will shine again. It is merely a matter of time.

About this Book

Without seeming too contrary, the first and primary tip I would like to offer to the potential farmer is, in fact, rather contradictory to a book that focuses on indoor gardening: Whenever possible, grow outdoors. I realize that the budding apprentice indoor grower may not want to accept this. But I cannot emphasize enough the importance and the completeness of the outdoor environment. At least consider the possibility, it may help you better appreciate what it is you are trying to duplicate.

Having said that, there are a number of gardening principles and practices that contribute to successful indoor cultivation of exceptional cannabis. The chapters in Section I cover the important facets of the garden environment and describe what to do at each stage of the plant life cycle in order to produce a garden of the utmost quality.

No matter how scrupulously a gardener maintains a loving environment for cannabis, quality genetics are the other essential ingredient to arrive at exceptional results. Section II of this book discusses the art of breeding Fine Quality Cannabis.

1. I refer to these strains as the Heritage Strains. They are discussed in detail in Chapter 17.

2. Some loose and some from stick. The Golden or Highland Thai became known as “Juicy Fruit Thai” and the Chocolate Thai crossed with the Highland Oaxacan became known as “Purple Thai”—both were sweet, fruity Thai’s.