Those little SOBs. One day they just show up and they’re so little that early detection is hard, especially if you have no idea what you’re looking for.
I just found this article. I am officially in love. It is from houseplantjournal.com. This website is excellent for all your houseplant woes, and has great pictures if you’re in need of pest identification. This particular page is on thrips and how to deal with these evil little jerks:
I used painters tape instead instead of a lint roller, but I must say this is one of the most satisfying techniques I have ever come across. It’s fast, safe, organic and you can vanquish you foes at an extraordinary rate. I found that if I wrap it around my fingers, sticky side out of course, I can get right in the ridges on the back of the leaves.
Obviously this technique is only viable if you have a couple of plants – if you have a larger grow op you probably have your own techniques. In this case, as an organic gardener, beneficial insects would be my first line of defence.
For those of you suffering from this particular pest I feel for you, keep vigilant and good luck.
We all need a break sometimes. It is certainly something I strongly encourage. I have been absent from here while taking the time to focus on myself, my health and my healing process. As I emerge from the little cocoon I’ve been living in I have decided to start taking more photos and reading more articles again. As with cannabis I’m going to start low and go slow, so this is a short one. Just one photo and one article.
As my health is slowly improving I’ve found it easier to take tolerance breaks from cannabis as well, however, it is not always easy and for some medicinal patients it may feel impossible.
This is an excellent article by Ashley Keenan (@askcannaqueen) on the subject:
So for all you warriors out there, remember to stay strong, and take care of yourselves. Be mindful of your emotional needs as well as your medical needs and remember to take a break (and a nap).
As you may or may not be aware today is Burns Night. Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and song writer and is considered the national Bard Of Scotland. If you’ve ever been to the highlands it’s no wonder that its beauty inspired Rabbie to pick up a quill and write from the heart.
Celebrated on on his birthday, Burns night includes a Burns Supper. If you are ever in the position to take part in these festivities be prepared for piping, recitation of his poetry and of course, Haggis, which gets its own address.
Sadly, as we need to be apart this year, we will celebrate as best we can. Whether you’re willing to try traditional haggis or not there are plenty of other fun foods you can enjoy. Don’t forget – Short bread is Scottish too.
Lastly – remember to have a dram or two of Scotch Whiskey (or cannabis infused whiskey). It’s traditional after all.
It’s winter. Again. For all of you who grow cannabis outdoors it’s a nice time to think about what you’re going to do next year, perhaps read a book or two (or some blog posts). However, the best way to learn is to practice. So here I am to give you a little nudge in the right direction. Why not try an indoor plant? There are the usual reasons:
“I don’t have a grow tent” – Try an auto flower. You don’t need a grow tent because you don’t need to flip the light cycle. Alternatively you could start a nice mother plant to clone.
“Cloning seems like a lot of work” – All of the “proper” ways you find to clone can be daunting. You don’t need to bother with all of that. Just cut off a little branch, strip off the bottom two sets of leaves and stick it in some water. Wait a week or two. Voila. Roots. Propagating can really be as simple as that. If you’re not in it for speed then just root things old school.
“What about the hydro bills?” – There are some great LED products out there. $20 gets you a 9 Watt, full spectrum bulb that screws into a normal socket. Feit Electric has some good options. Put it in a corner with two mirrors and your lumens are instantly boosted. No, your plant will not be as big, but who cares? This is a learning experience. Also how much room do you have in your home? Practicing pruning techniques to make a small compact plant with a high yield is not something to scoff at.
“I live in a small apartment in the city” – More the reason to have a little plant in the house. Even if its just a conversation piece. A bonsai for example. Say what? So cool right?
Check out @cannabonzai on instagram. They have videos outlining techniques to achieve your bonsai goals.
The internet is full of sites with long winded explanations of what you should do, each one different from the next. What’s the right way? The right way is what works for you and your plants. Throw the “rules” out the door and go have fun.
A close friend sent me this video to make me smile and it is all the summer feels for me. This one is dedicated to LaLa, DW, James, Becki and everyone else who attended “I love the 90s” at Burl’s Creek August 2018.
Note: The video can be made full screen if you click on the facebook link below this video
It’s Toronto, though, so its not really that surprising.
This means if you have any plants you have recently put outside due to the lovely weather then you either need to bring them back in or cover them. I’m not just talking about cannabis here. It will be too cold overnight for hanging baskets of flowers, the more delicate herbs like basil can not tolerate it, baby tomato plants need protection … you get the drift.
It’s also supposed to get windy. Keep that in mind while you’re covering things so your hard work doesn’t get blown away.
New to gardening and plants? Even covering things with a garbage bag overnight will help keep them warm. Add a tall stick to tall plants. Glass jars can be placed upside down over the little things or use 2L pop bottles with the bottoms cut off.
Good luck everyone. Hopefully this will be the last chill before summer.
Image by @mr.babies Check them out on Instagram. They sell prints.
It’s a big day today. The weather the past few days in Toronto has been grey and drizzly with the occasional downpour. This means the ground should be well saturated and all the plants that have been sleeping over the winter are suddenly about to burst into life again. It’s supposed to reach 20 degrees Celsius today. Much like you, the plants around us will want to enjoy the rays and warmth.
Be careful gardeners. I know what you’re thinking. Wahoo! In go all my baby veggies I’ve been growing! It is still quite early to plant outside in Ontario unless you have a game plan to protect your plants when the temperature dips again. If you got your plants from a grower then they will have been hardened off considerably, but the wee veggies you started this year at home are not used to the outdoors or fluctuations in temperature yet so proceed with caution. Typically the May long weekend used to be the “safe” time to start planting in this part of the world.
“Great Katie, but I’m not growing veggies or a flower garden, I’m growing weed.” I hear you say. The same rules apply here. Yes, put them outside during the day, but I would still suggest bringing them in at night. If you *have* to plant them in bigger cumbersome pots already then make sure you’ve at least got some garbage bags or something to cover them with overnight if the temperature falls. Keep an eye on the weather station, if its going to be 5 degrees or colder overnight you’re in the danger zone.
Still haven’t planted your cannabis seeds? That’s ok. You still have time. Or – if you ask nicely – one of your friends may be willing to give you a clone or even just a cutting and you can start there.
Once you have a plant in your hot little hands you need to decide where to put it. There are SO many factors to consider when growing outdoors. The most productive plants have the best laid plans. Luckily for you I found a great article on the subject from leafly.ca:
Happy 420, 2020 (is there an echo in here?). The journey started with isolation, Instagram and Indica …
Day 1 – To the Moon!
Day 2 – Saturn here we come!
Day 3 – To Saturn, With Love
Day 4 – So Long Solar System
Day 5 – Exploring New Worlds
Day 6 – On the Road Again
Day 7 – Final Destination!
The money shot:
This backpacking experience brought to you by “An Afternoon Wander Through Instagram” where I found the very talented:
@juilianmajin (whose work compiles a considerable amount of the final draft), @artistfromthefuture, @mr.babies, @loudpact_society, @leafandpetaldesign, @nasa, and whomever else I’ve missed here (I will update ASAP).
Unfortunately due to size restrictions I could not use interactive galleries. The galleries are now compiled on the Fun+FAQ page on my website if you’d like a closer look, which I highly recommend. The button below will take you there.
This is something that scares a lot of people. It really doesn’t need to. Edibles do not have to be made as strong as they often are and can be really quite nice at a low dosage. The effects last much longer than smoking and it is a great way to stretch out your stash if done correctly.
First off – almost ANYTHING can be transformed into an edible. Try not to get too caught up in this narrow mindset of cookies and brownies. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a great treat and for the sake of simplicity this post focuses on them, but if you’re making edibles for medicinal purposed those calories will add up fast. Also note that I have included some extra suggestions at the end of this post for those with mobility and fatigue issues or those who simply have trouble juggling time.
I like to start with infused coconut oil. THC and CBD will infuse in some fats easier than others and coconut oil happens to be high up on the list of best choices. I have included a link on how to do this below. The main issue that causes most people to worry is how to know how strong your oil is. There are plenty of ways to calculate approximately how strong it should be, but the true concentration is always going to be off one way or another and everyone has a different tolerance. Instead of making up the entire batch of brownies, gummies or cookies etc and blindly hoping you get the dosage right why not just sample it yourself beforehand. How? Well you could try something fun and simple like drizzling half a teaspoon of infused oil on some toast. If you’re a heavy cannabis user then you can start with a bit more. Top with some peanut butter and jam and viola! Nom nom nom. You have just taken your medication with breakfast, you can’t taste it at all, and after an hour or two you know how high you’re going to get after consuming half a teaspoon of your oil. How does that help? A quarter cup of oil is 12 teaspoons. If you like where your half teaspoon of oil got you then you know that there are 24 servings of that strength in a 1/4 cup of oil. If you feel you could have doubled your dosage great. That means 1 teaspoon of oil is the dose you want and 1/4 cup is 12 servings. Check your recipe. How many servings does it make or how many pieces do you plan on cutting those squares into? Are you going to make brownies and cut it into 12 pieces? Perfect, just make sure you only use 1/4 cup infused oil and use regular oil or butter for the remainder of the fat in the recipe. For example a boxed brownie mix will likely call for 1/2 cup of butter or oil. Use your 1/4 cup of infused oil and the other 1/4 cup plain.
Honestly, unless you’re planning on sharing some treats with friends or just keeping some brownies handy in the freezer, it is actually easier and safer to simply keep it in infused oil form and mix it in with your meals as needed. This stops cases of unexpected dosing with your spouse or kids. Young children don’t often get into the oil and vinegar cabinet and proceed to consume the contents. It really isn’t a pleasant experience. The same is true for solidified oils. You can keep infused coconut oil in the fridge for months.
Why not try whipping some up? Check out this article by Macey W. from wikileaf.com:
Sidenote regarding this article: I always leave the leaves in the oil while it cools and keep them there at least overnight. I rewarm it from the fridge when I want to use it and I use a French press to strain it. A French press is reusable and does not absorb any of your precious oil.
Don’t want to go through all the bother of making oil but want to try to make a fun and easy edible at home? Try making firecrackers. They are versatile, fast and beyond easy. If you can make toast, you can make a firecracker. Here is a great article from Wikileaf:
I like firecrackers made with oatmeal cookies, peanut butter and Nutella. Yummers.
Looking for cookbooks to help guide you through some exciting savoury dishes? These two are wonderful. There is a short write up on each in the book section of my website if you want to hear me gush about them. The links here will take you to Amazon and the “official” descriptions.
Until next time I’ll be playing in kitchen just like my buddy the Swedish chef:
*** I have mobility or fatigue issues ***
Well then this section is for you. I know. You read the list of things you need to do and simply laughed. As if, right? Keep in mind that all of these things can be done one day at a time and the dosage can be made much stronger as needed.
Day 1: Have some nice flower? Decarboxilate it. Now that step is done. Check. Put it in a nice sealed container.
Day 2 (which can be several days or even weeks later): Make a firecracker! Edibles complete. OR make up some oil. If you really want to you could skip the decarboxylation day and do a VERY long slow oil infusion. The link below will take you to an article by Jessica McKiel from rxleaf.com which uses a slow cooker. Infused oil can be kept for months.
Day 3: Mix your oil in your food a single serving at a time or, if you’re feeling adventurous, use your oil with a prefab boxed mix. Just replace part or all of the oil with your infused oil and share with your friends. I like adding a little vanilla and a thawed mashed banana to these things too. I always have a few in the freezer that I didn’t get to quite in time. As much as I would prefer cooking from scratch the extra reaching, measuring and dishes make it a daunting task. However, a lovely warm, chocolate, bananay cannabis infused treat is really worth it sometimes and Betty Crocker certainly helps make it easier.
PlantieKatie 