You and I are among the more than 70 million Americans who have used cannabis -- and possibly among the more than ten million who use it regularly. We know that we smoke marijuana not because we are driven by addiction, as some propaganda would lead us to believe, but because we have learned its value from experience. We are referred to as "recreational users", but that is hardly an adequate description of marijuana's capacity to catalyze ideas and insights, heighten the appreciation of music and art, or deepen emotional and sexual intimacy.
Due to the "War on Drugs" that has improperly catagorized marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic by the powers that be, the street price of our favorite budding plant is outrageously high. (Cocaine and heroin are Schedule II narcotics, so by law, they can be prescribed by a doctor. Schedule I narcotics are considered "the worst" kind and can't legally be used for anything.)Evidence existes that marijuana may have a medicinal use in a variety of ailments and illnesses, yet the federal government continues to keep marijuana illegal. Thus the necessity for either paying an ultra-inflated price for a bag of this God-given plant, or growing one's own. Guess which one I recommend?
By maintaining this website, I am exercising my right to free speech under the First Ammendment to the Constitution of the United States, ratified on 12/15/1791. In and of itself, neither this website nor it's content can be construed as illegal. Be aware, though, that growing marijuana is against the law in the United States, and can result in serious legal consequences if you get caught.
This "crop" was planted March 21, 2002 in rural northeastern Oklahoma. I began by finding an isolated place to grow my plants, so they wouldn't be stumbled upon by Johnny Law or other would-be nuisances. I chose a couple of spots close together, way out in the country on the upper, west side of a good-sized hill that had plenty of green vegitation that would provide cover from overhead planes. Too many times I've read in the newspaper about cultivation hobbyists who've fell victim to drug task force aircraft spotting their plants from the air.
Once I had my spots to plant picked out, I raked back all the dead leaves and other mulch that Mother Nature had deposited on the floor of these woods. The soil was very rocky about a foot underneath the surface, so with a shovel I broke up the first layer of soil and removed some of the larger rocks. I left some rocks in the loose soil so as to provide some drainage for the roots, and also something for the roots to anchor themselves around. After I had loosened up the bed for my plants to grow in, I spread seeds throughout the tilled area from the seeds I had been saving for months. Once the seeds had been spread, I put perhaps an inch of dirt over the top of them, tamped them down ever-so-slightly, and covered them with the dead leaves and stuff I had raked back when I started. All I could do then was sit back, cross my fingers, smoke a joint, and wait.
This season is my first attempt that looks promising. Several late-planted attempts in years past resulted in pitiful heat-stroked baby plants that wilted and died shortly after their first set of leaves appeared, probably from lack of water in the extremely dry Kansas summer. This year I planted much earlier than I had in the past, and opted to sow directly into where the plants would be harvested rather than to "start" the plants in pots and transplant them later.
This website is a work-in-progress, just like my precious plants. You are seeing the same things I have seen when I go out to check on them. Each time I go out to tend to my crop, I will take pictures and post them here, so you can see my progress.
PHOTOS TAKEN APRIL 15, 2002 Click for enlarged view.
Apr.15 - The plants have began to grow, and they have already sprouted their first set of jagged leaves. I worried because a few nights after I had planted, there was a light frost. I guess the leaves and other "junk" I had pulled back over the top of where I planted helped in protecting the babies from the frost.
PHOTOS TAKEN MAY 24, 2002 Click for enlarged view. Download the whole set of 5/24 pics here. (2.06MB)
May 24 - It has rained for most of the last couple of weeks, and my plants have grown now to almost a foot and a half tall! I can't observe the results of stomping on the plants to increase their THC, as a deer had chewed off all the vegitation in the one area I stomped on the plants, and made that area it's bed. Hope he got high off it, although it's pretty doubtful! I counted four and five sets of leaves on some of the plants. With the plants I had placed rocks on top of last time, they appeared to be growing somewhat vine-like, parallel to the ground, with one large clump of green leaves tight about the top of the plant. I went ahead and bent some of the stems over and, as you can see above, placed a rock on top of more plants when I visited the spot this time. For that one faithful reader, by U.S. Naval Observatory's Astronomical Applications Department data, I estimate that my plants are getting around 14 hours of daylight per day for the last three weeks, at an average daytime temperature of 78 degrees and a nightime temperature avereaging about 56 degrees.
PHOTOS TAKEN JULY 8, 2002 Click for enlarged view. Download the whole set of 7/8 pics here. (1.31MB)
July 8 - When I planted these plants, I was not going to manipulate them in any way. Then I learned that by topping the plants, I could get more buds. So on June 30, I clipped the top of each of the plants. Going back a week later to check how they were growing and to take pics for my ever-faithful viewers, I was glad I did. Already, you can see that the plants are getting bushier and growing more than one pair of leaves on each level. I was also told that this would cause the buds to have a higher THC content once they had matured. Look closely at the pictures and you will see a difference in the way the leaves are growing compared to previous pictures. All I can say is "Wow!" The plants aren't growing near as fast as I thought they would, but they are doing just fine. The herb situation is looking scarce on my homefront; I'm anxious for these plants to mature so I can smoke the fruits of my labors. I'll keep you posted!!
May 5 - It is six and a half weeks after planting, and wow! Look at how many are growing and how lush they are! I have been reading that a plant that has been distressed is usually a stronger plant and the THC content is higher, so on one of the patches where I had plants growing, I stomped all over the plants that were there. (Only SOME of my plants were in this patch...I wouldn't have stomped on all of them in case it isn't true!!) That day, I also bent some of the plants over and put a rock on top, underneath their top set of leaves (about the second set). I have heard the plant will reroot where the rock is and that if you keep bending the plant and placing a rock there, it will grow like a vine on the ground, and the buds will grow straight toward the sky. (Better buds.)
PHOTOS TAKEN JUNE 15, 2002 Click for enlarged view. Download the whole set of 6/15 pics here. (1.31MB)
June 15 - A higher quality digital camera resulted in much better pictures of the plants this time. It appears as though there are two different varieties of canibus that I have planted in separate (but close) locations, judging by the shape of the leaves of the plants in each area. In the biggest patch, a close look where the leaf stem joins the main stem revealed tiny pistals ("girl parts") on many of the plants. This excited me, as these will be the plants that produce the buds. Several plants I had placed rocks on last time have died, but there are still some alive and growing vine-like. The excess rainfall we have received may have killed them. I believe that excess rainfall is also the cause of the yellow spots on the bottom leaves of the plants. I don't think they'll be ready to smoke by the 4th of July, but I should be tokin' on my own HomeGrown by Labor Day!
PHOTOS TAKEN JULY 28, 2002 Click for enlarged view. Download the whole set of 7/28 pics here. (1.32MB)
July 28 - They're growing huge and bushy! I'm sure glad I topped the plants to make them spend more energy on growing outward rather than upward. You can see how they are growing. Looks like it's going to be a plentiful fall!
