When choosing to cultivate, there are so many things to take into consideration.
For me, I look at cannabis as medicine. It is serving me either physically, psychologically, spiritually, or “recreationally.” Recreational use just helps me to relax and ease up, so every time I partake it is medical in one way or another.
I feel Cannabis, as a photosynthesizing plant, needs to be grown with sunlight to reach its full potential, and I have yet to discover a bulb that completely replicates the spectrum of the sun. I am concerned about the “footprint” I create, so I choose to use as many ways as possible to reduce my environmental impact. That is another reason I choose not to use lights to grow my herb.
I choose to grow in Forever Flowering Greenhouses—automated, light-deprivation greenhouses—because I can rest assured all the materials and design are of the highest quality. Using the technology of light-deprivation, I am able to control flowering cycles so I can have fresh product continuously, just as I would if I were growing indoors. The Ludwig Svensson, or LS, fabrics FFG uses have been designed to withstand hailstorms, so I will not be filling the landfill with cheap poly products. LS, a Swedish company that has been in the textile industry for more than 125 years, is the largest manufacturer of greenhouse fabrics in the Americas. LS materials are designed with full diffusion capabilities so that light coming into the greenhouse can penetrate deeper into the canopy and give flowers the same bling so many of us have come to expect from indoor-grown cannabis. FFG worked together with LS years ago to create the first triple-layer, breathable blackout fabric, which is now the industry standard in literally every automated light-deprivation greenhouse system on the market today.
Since I look at my cannabis as medicine and a sacrament, I would never use chemicals or sprays that are not completely natural and organic. Pesticide and/or fungicide residues that stay on the flower can be flammable, and concentrating those residues into oils or dab-ables magnifies their toxicity.
When cultivating my plants, I take a beyond-organic approach. I always grow in soil, because it is in the soil that biology works to create a resilient environment for roots to grow and feed the plant. When healthy and diverse soil biology creates a subterranean orgy of microbes, a thriving, abundant plant results. Healthy plants feed the microbes, which in turn feed the plants. I use Dragonfly Earth Medicine powdered, inoculated, vegan plant superfood to feed the soil. Completely based on herbs, microbes, and the food to feed those microbes, this complete line of top-shelf plant food makes farming easy and gives me the cleanest and tastiest flowers and terps.
By Johnny “Light Dep” Valdman
Originally printed in MG’s April 2016 issue.
