Cultivation
Rookie Errors To Avoid When You Are Just Starting To Grow Weed
Cannabis growing is a great adventure. You’ll never stop learning, but if you keep these points in mind, you should be off to a flying start.
If you’re considering growing your first ever cannabis crop, congratulations! It’s a massively rewarding thing to do and even experienced growers will feel envy, a little like seeing someone discover a great movie or piece of music for the first time.
However, you are also embarking on a road strewn with traps for the unwary. Here, we highlight some of the more common rookie errors and how to avoid them.
The Bag Seed of Doom
Oh, it is so tempting. A free cannabis seed that magically appeared in your bag of buds. The buds were great, so surely this will produce a plant that delivers more of the same? Don’t waste your time. The seed could be anything, it’s most likely a male, in which case you won’t get any buds at all, and even if it is not, it’s highly unlikely to produce the same buds that you bought.
Getting off on the right foot starts with having the right seeds, so visit an online seed bank such as Zamnesia and choose the exact type that you want. There will be more than enough surprises on your growing journey without throwing mystery seeds into the mix!
Trusting Luck With pH and Nutrients
Remember what your mother told you about what it takes to grow up big and strong? The same applies to cannabis plants. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the nutrient advice that’s out there and the associated acronyms, and you wouldn’t be the first rookie grower to throw your hands up in despair, give the plants a good watering and hope for the best.
Even if you think you’ve got it covered with nutrient-rich organic super soil, it counts for nothing if the pH is off-kilter, as this will prevent the roots from absorbing whatever nutrients are there. Most nutrient problems are actually pH problems, so keep that at the right level and the battle is more than half won. If you are growing in soil, the pH should be between 6.0 and 6.5. With coco coir or hydroponics, aim closer to 6.0, or fractionally below.
Underestimating Light Requirements
Lights are expensive, and so is electricity these days, that is understood. But here’s a word to the wise. If a basic household lightbulb was sufficient, then all the professional growers would be using them instead of their expensive HID and LED set ups!
Younger plants can manage without lots of light, but you need to be able to crank it up when they get to the flowering stage or your buds will be a disappointment. In short, there is a direct correlation between the light intensity and the amount of bud produced. The type of lights you need depend on your personal set up, but if possible, invest in LEDs. They deliver phenomenal intensity without producing heat and are very energy efficient, so you will thank yourself later as they don’t take long to pay for themselves.
Over or Under Watering
It’s easy to make a blunder on the watering, and it’s something that trips even experienced growers up occasionally. An underwatered plant is plain to see. With thin and brittle leaves that feel dry to the touch, the plant will look generally sickly and sorry for itself. Don’t over-react, but increase the watering frequency and when the plant is looking healthier, consider transferring it to a larger pot.
An overwatered cannabis plant has droopy leaves that are curling downwards and might have yellow or brown spots. The problem is not necessarily that you are giving the plant too much water. It could be down to insufficient drainage or even too large a pot.
Getting the watering just right is a fine art, and different strains of cannabis have different needs. The most important tip is to be on the lookout for signs of trouble so you can react quickly.
Not Enough Ventilation
When you grow indoors, you can be so busy monitoring temperature, humidity and so on that you forget to give your plants a little fresh air. Inadequate ventilation can lead to mold, which in turn, can destroy an entire crop.
Assuming you’re not growing on a large scale, a free-standing fan should be more than adequate to keep the air moving.
Lack of Care
Ventilation is no problem when you grow outdoors, but it does expose you to a whole new set of risks. In short, it boils down to two things: Don’t forget to protect your valuable property and be considerate towards your neighbors.
As far as the first point is concerned, growing cannabis where any passerby can see it is never a good idea, even if you live somewhere where it is perfectly legal. Let’s assume your plant will yield 300g. Average dispensary prices are around $10 per gram. Even in the best neighborhood, you wouldn’t leave a $3,000 car in your yard day and night with the keys in the ignition for all to see. By growing companion plants like chamomile and lavender, you’ll disguise the smell, too.
It’s not just thievery you need to think about. You might have been punching the air with delight when cultivation was legalized in your state, but that doesn’t mean your neighbors felt the same. Keep your plants a respectful distance from boundaries so that they are not obvious to the eyes or nose. That’s doubly important if the neighbors have children.
Harvesting Too Soon
Every new grower finds the first harvest stressful, it’s only natural. Harvesting too early is a shame, as it reduces the overall potency and weight after all your hard work. Be patient and wait till most of the pistils have darkened and started to curl in. Choosing the right moment comes naturally with experience, but if it’s your first harvest, these tips will help you along.
Cannabis growing is a great adventure. You’ll never stop learning, but if you keep the above points in mind, you should be off to a flying start.
Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/how-to/rookie-errors-to-avoid-when-you-are-just-starting-to-grow-weed/
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.
According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”
Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”
The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.
The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.
Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.
One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.
In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.
Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.
“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.
“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”
Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”
While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.
“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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