The Homegrown: Cannabis Culture

Sortable Guide to Marijuana Strains

homegrown — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:34:51 -0700

One of the most popular questions on marijuana forums is which strains have which properties. In general, the strain you choose is mostly only relevant to growing marijuana, but different strains do tend to produce different highs. We found that there were very few resources on the internet that summarize information about strains all in one place, so we compiled it for you!

This guide is available at our sister site, MarijuanaGrowGuide.info.

8 Simple Rules for Growing Marijuana

homegrown — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:48:13 -0800

I have received a lot of requests by email to write some articles about growing marijuana here on THG. I have compiled information from my own experiences and resources all across the internet, into the official THG Guide to Growing Marijuana. The guide is hosted at a different domain name, so to promote it, I decided to compile what I feel are the 8 most importan rules when it comes to growing marijuana.

1) Minimize risks by being discrete. There are many risks to growing marijuana. First of all, for most of the world, it is illegal to grow marijuana and detection by local authorities of even a small operation can be quite disastrous. Also, due to the fact that marijuana is a counter-culture entity, some people may be more willing to steal a marijuana plant than, say money or electronics. Be careful who you let know about your garden. Minimizing the number of people who know about it will minimize the risk of detection, so just keep your mouth shut. It may be hard not to brag about your accomplishments, but you need to take precautions if you want to continue safely.

2) Take the time to learn as much as you can. Knowledge is power. Don't just plop some seeds in some dirt under a single light and expect to grow marijuana. The internet has numerous resources on growing marijuana (of course, I would recommend this Marijuana Grow Guide) so read up and know what you're getting into. Remember, the end product is a direct result of the work you put into it.

3) Ensure proper genetics; buy quality seeds. The best marijuana comes from strains bred by professionals. You can find seed banks online, for instance, Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds. Seed banks like AMS ship worldwide and accept payment methods other than credit card (which I would discourage using). Sure, you can grow marijuana from bagseed, but in the end, well-known marijuana strains are usually much higher quality. Also, if you know exactly what strain you are growing, you have a better knowledge of what to expect in terms of height, care, and yield.

4) Don't skip out on lighting. Marijuana plants need a significant amount of light to grow up strong and produce great buds. Make sure you have enough lights for the number of plants you are growing, and make sure you have the right kind of lights. As I discuss in the grow guide, you will need blue-spectrum lights for the vegetative stage and red-spectrum lights for the flowering stage. You will also need a timer to ensure that the day-night periods are just right.

5) Do not over water. This is a very common mistake made by novice growers. You should only be watering your plants when you can press your finger into the soil and feel that it is dry, not damp. You should also try to keep the soil moist, not wet. Your plants are better designed to handle a dry-spell than a torrential flood, so keep a lookout for slow growth and drooping leaves as these can be a sign of overwatering.

6) Don't over fertilize. It is better to use no fertilizer at all than to use too much. A lot of novice growers seem to operate under the notion that more is better, but too much fertilizer will actually burn the plants and will hurt the final crop. There is an optimal amount of fertilizer to use and it is usually listed on the product. Do not use any more than directed, err on the side of less fertilizer. Also, stop fertilizing approximately 1-2 weeks before harvesting to get the best-tasting marijuana.

7) Stay clean. Cleanliness might not seem very important for growing marijuana, but the cleaner you and your equipment are while you work in your garden, the better chance you have of growing high quality marijuana. Wash your hands before handling any seeds or plants. Nicotine is much more toxic to marijuana plants than it is to you, so don't smoke around your plants. Use your head and don't let your filth kill your plants!

8) Take your time; don't rush it. If you want the best yield of the highest quality marijuana you can get, you need to take your time. A full grow should take around 3 months. Don't try to speed up the growing time by leaving the lights on 24 hours a day during the vegetative period. Do not harvest too early, and when you do harvest, only quick dry a small amount of the crop. Properly drying and curing your buds will provide you with the highest quality product you can get, so just do it. You'll be glad you did. Take great care of your plants, and they will someday return the favor.

So there you have it, 8 simple rules for growing marijuana. By following these rules, and reading the Guide to Growing Marijuana, you will be well on your way to growing great marijuana.

Hashmouf's Secret Spy Sploof

homegrown — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:19:08 -0800

Originally created by Hashmouf.

While a sploof can be constructed as simply as the traditional sploof, sometimes you want to go a couple steps further. Whether it's simply a matter of novelty effect, or you really need some serious odour control, this guide shows you how to make the ultimate sploof, all for under $10!

This guide originally appeared in the GrassCity forums, on this page. The credit for the design and the pictures used in this guide goes to Hashmouf. It has been edited to fit the format of THG.

You Will Need: (See figure 1)

Empty toilet-paper roll
Empty paper-towel roll
Activated carbon (find at aquarium/pet store)
Dryer sheets
Tape
Scissors
Fork
Lighter

Directions

Begin by heating the fork with the lighter and pressing a grid of holes into both of the milkcaps. (See figure 2)

Tape one of the milk caps to one end of the paper towel roll. Ensure the seal is tight. (See figure 3)

Fill the paper towel roll 3/4 full with the activated carbon. (See figure 4)

Tape the other milkcap onto the open end of the paper towel roll. (See figure 5*)

Cut four one-inch slits into the bottom of the toilet paper roll. (See figure 6)

Slide the toilet paper roll over the paper towel roll. (See figure 7)

Tape over to whole tube ensuring the rolls stay together and all sealsare tight. (See figure 8)

Crinkle up several dryer sheets. (See figure 9)

Stuff the dryer sheets into the bottom of the sploof. (See figure 10)

...and your Secret Spy Sploof is ready for super secret smoking! (See figure 11)

You can use this sploof just like you would any other, exhaling your hits through the open end. Be sure to control the smoke escaping from a cherried bowl with a quarter as even this sploof can't deoderize what doesn't filter through it.

Figures Used In This Guide

How to Make a Sploof

homegrown — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:46:33 -0800

When you want to smoke, but odour is of concern, you need to take precautions. One classic solution to the marijuana smell problem is a simple device referred to as a sploof. This guide describes the process of constructing one of these homemade odour-eliminators.

The pictures used in this guide were submitted anonomously though email. The directions were unreadable, but to whoever sent the pictures, I thank you.

You Will Need: (See figure 1)

Empty Paper-towel/Toilet-paper Roll
Several Dryer Sheets (Fabric Softener)
Duct Tape or Rubber Bands

Directions

Begin by taking 3-4 dryer sheets and placing them over one end of the paper towel roll. (See figure 2 and figure 3)

Next, seal the dryer sheets onto the paper towel roll with duct tape. (See figure 4)

Crinkle up the remaining dryer sheets. (See figure 5)

Stuff the crinkled up dryer sheets into the open end of the sploof. (See figure 6)

...and your sploof is ready for clandestine smoking! (See figure 7)

Use and Tips

To use the sploof effectively, simply take your hit and exhale through the sploof. The smoke will be filtered through the dryer sheets and will be expelled nearly odour-free!

Be careful, because only smoke that is filtered by the sploof can be deoderized. Use a pipe and place a quarter over the bowl as soon as you are done taking your hit to minimize the impact of escaped smoke.

Test out the sploof in a safe location before using it in a high-pressure situation to make sure it deoderizes properly.

Figures Used In This Guide

Comparison of Smoking Methods

homegrown — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:15:42 -0800

For novice smokers, there is an entire world of options for using marijuana. While long-time users are familiar with the pros and cons of all the different methods, new smokers often find themselves confused and bewildered. This guide examines the five main ways for using marijuana, providing a brief introduction and a summary list of pros and cons.

Note: this article is a spinoff of the Methods of Use section in The Beginner's Guide to Marijuana Part III.

Joints/Blunts

Smoking marijuana rolled into cigarettes (joints) or cigars (blunts) has a very traditional and natural feel to it. Because blunt papers are often flavored, they can provide a very fun tasteful experience. When instead of rolling exclusively marijuana, a mix of tobacco and marijuana is used, it is referred to as a spliff. Spliffs provide a uniquely relaxing experience. Many argue that nicotine and marijuana have a synergetic effect. While rolled marijuana can be somewhat wasteful, it is very enjoyable and safe. In emergency situations a joint can be much more easily disposed of than a pipe, bong, or vaporizer. In the past, I've had to eat a joint or two to avoid police interruption! See the Rolling Methodology category for more information.

Pros

Marijuana smoke filtered through unsmoked material
Papers inexpensive and widely available
Flavored papers available
Lightweight and portable
Easy to sneak into/use in public places
Easy to hide/destroy in emergency

Cons

Difficulty rolling, particularly in nonideal environments
Wasteful as the marijuana continues to burn while being held/passed

Pipes

Pipes are the preferred method of many smokers. Pipes can range from the small and discreet to the large and elaborate. Pipes are an efficient way of smoking marijuana and are usually relatively portable enough to take places. Because pipes have such immense variety, it is difficult to provide a paragraph introduction, so see the full Introduction to Pipes for more information. Pipes can be easily constructed from household materials, so even if it is difficult to obtain a suitable pipe in your area, one can be made for little to no money! The preferred pipes among smokers are medium-to-small sized glass pipes with a choke or carb. They often feature elaborate blown glass designs and come in an enormous variety of shapes and sizes.

Pros:

Easy setup
Efficiency and marijuana conservation
Relatively lightweight and portable (compared to bongs/vaporizers)
Relatively easy to hide (comparede to bongs/vaporizers)

Cons:

Hits can be hot and harsh
If you hide one on your person and get patted down, game over
Clog with resin over time and eventually need cleaned (see Cleaning Pipes)

Bongs/Water Pipes

For regular smokers who have the liberty of smoking inside, bongs or water pipes are preferable. Bongs are typically large and nonportable, so they remain in one location almost exclusively. Bongs also have a great deal of diversity even in the mechanisms used, but all have essentially the same principle of passing the smoke through water to cool it down and filter out some of the particulate matter. Some studies show that bongs are not an effective method of filtering particulate matter, but it is undoubtedly so that bongs cool the smoke down making for a a much more comfortable hit. See the Introduction to Bongs for more information.

Pros:

Smooth hits filtered through water/ice
Massive hits cause intense highs
Some claim the water filters out particulate matter, but studies prove otherwise

Cons:

Expensive
Fragile, easy to drop and spill/break
Very difficult to hide

Vaporizers

A newer method of using marijuana involves heating a sample of marijuana to a temperature in the range of 380-450 degrees Fahrenheit. In this range, the THC and other active compounds are vaporized without combusting the plant material. This provides for a cleaner experience with far less particulate matter. There are two major types of vaporizers. Induction vaporizers heat the material directly and convection vaporizers pass hot air over the sample. Convection vaporizers are more complex and costly, but heat the material more evenly and are more efficient. See the Introduction to Vaporizers for more information.

Pros:

Amazingly efficient
Healthy alternative to smoking
Novelty effect

Cons:

Some are more portable than others, but in general they are difficult to take places and hide in emergency situations
Some can be very expensive

Cooking/Extracting:

Of course, if you don't feel like inhaling your marijuana, you can eat it too! Everyone knows of pot-brownies and pot-cookies, but marijuana can be used in any recipe that includes butter. As it turns out, the THC (and many other chemicals) are fat and alcohol soluble. You can mix marijuana into a chai tea latte or dissolve it in grain alcohol for a shot of green dragon. You can also extract some of the chemicals and do some interesting things with the THC-oil. See the Cooking/Extracting category for fun recipes and extraction techniques. Be aware that for many people, the effects of eating marijuana are distinctly different and more intense than with smoking. The highs typically last longer as well. Eating marijuana can be a difficult first experience, so I would recommend beginning with another method. After you are more comfortable with being high, you can move on to experimenting with ingesting marijuana.

Pros:

Long-lasting highs
Intense highs
Able to be easily taken anywhere baked goods are allowed

Cons:

Highs can be too intense and last too long for some people
Uses a lot of weed, a good batch of brownies can take 1/2 - 3 ounces of marijuana.

Conclusions

While many people have personal preferences for method of use, most regular smokers alternate between the various methods of use. It is best to experience them for yourself and understand the pros and cons on your own. Each seems to offer its own unique highs, of varying intensity. If I had to rank the smoking methods by intensity, it would be from lowest to highest: joints, blunts, pipes, bongs, vaporizers, baked. Some would disagree, but that has been my experience. One note I would make is to save eating marijuana for once you are used to being high; it can be a scary experience for a novice.