This is Professor
Puff
Nimbin 2007
I would like to introduce myself to you as Professor Puff
(a name that was given to me by my students.) I first arrived
in Australia Jan. 2007 from Vancouver B.C. Canada. I came
here to suss out N.S.W. After being here for a few short weeks,
I realised that this is a very special place in this world,
@ that same time I realised that I have a very important job
ahead of me....
In the nineties in Vancouver
I was working in retail ...actually I was working in a "grow"
store. My job [designing, building & setting up every
possible style of growing] was to give people advice on how
to grow! . 2/3's of our customers were of the hemp/cannabis
flavour....the rest were regular folks, growing tomatoes or
basil. It mattered not to me what they were growing....my
concern was how they were growing! I am an organic gardener...preferring
to work naturally with the plants. Over the years I taught
a lot of fine people some of the basics of growing. We would
start right from the beginning ....seeds, germination, veg,
bloom, harvest curing...& finally, time for a Puff.
In the late nineties I went
to Amsterdam....to learn about the "cannabis & hemp"
industries from the Dutch point of view. The first thing that
I noticed was that "I already knew" a lot about
the plants. It was obvious to me & the Dutch breeders
& growers & hash makers, that we had a lot in common.
As my circle of friends started to grow ....so did my knowledge.
I had the honour of being a coffee shop guest judge for several
"High Times Cannabis Cups" [the Americans] Then
I had the invite to the "Dutch Cup" held in &
around Amsterdam (this is where the Dutch bring out their
best).
Returning to "Vansterdam"
Canada....things were flowing along just fine in the wee small
world of Professor Puff...until 9/11....the same day my passport
expired...HHHhmmmm...even the travel gods were saying "don't
go anywhere"...
Several years have passed & I now find myself back in
the "Cannabis Activist" position of teaching people
around the world the best ways to grow better marijuana.
I am not here to change the way people do their gardening....however
I can help improve any harvest.
Seeds or Weed?
This is the first question I ask. Are you growing for smoke
or are you growing for seeds?
If you are growing for smoke....do yourself a favour &
do that......& try to grow the best you can. Cut down
your plants before they start to form seeds....the Mexicans
call this simply "Sinsemilla". I have found that
if you let the plants produce seeds - which is perfectly natural;
they must do this @ the end of every bloom season (-ie.12
hours of light & 12 hours of complete darkness) because
they are in the "weed" family also known as "annuals"
...this is the only way they have to keep the next generation
alive. BUT! your full potency, flavour & all the other
goodness that we like for smoking......goes into the seed
production.....leaving you with a half ass smoke & a bag
full of inferior seeds. (Oh! they will grow...but you are
working with a very unreliable seed, prone to hermaphroditing
If you are growing for seeds....well
that is a whole different ball game. You now can grow males
& females, always picking the best of the best to do the
seed production for you.....you can never get any plants better
than their parents...so always pick the finest from what you
have.
Of course, when you are growing for smoke'e....you really
have NO use for the male plants. Yes ! that's right gentlemen
you gotta get outta here! One (of many) problems with growing
"Bush" is cross pollination ....from males that
you have germinated, or from another source... maybe the next
valley...or possibly from an insect or bird. All very natural
procedures that happen everyday with all plants. I cannot
stress enuff importance on knowing where your seeds are coming
from. Make sure you get them from a "breeder"....or
one of the many "seed banks" around this planet.
Those fine folks do everything in their power to bring you
the most fertile & healthy seeds of known origin. As "breeders"
they do not have any plants for smoke'e....they have to get
their smoko from a grower!
You cannot grow both seeds
and smoke @ the same time, if you want to have the best possible
product on both accounts. I know some of you are saying "Hey
Mate I have great smoke'o & I get my seeds from the same
plants every year" You will notice after doing this for
a while, you will end up having "Hermies" that look
like little girls @ first...but then when you're not looking,
those balls drop down like there was no tomorrow! Leave the
breeding to the breeders. My suggestion is to find a strain
you like & take "cuttings" or "clones"
from a mother plant....always making sure that you have the
healthiest mums possible. In my time I have seen a ten (10)
year old mother plant, she took up a whole bedroom.. had a
stock on her the size of a basketball...& in her 10 years
she produced 1000's of babies all exactly like her....not
a bad investment if you think about it.
Smoke or Choke?
Now I would like to touch bases on pest control. I prefer
to let other plants or even other pests (to us) do the work
for me. The pests that you will encounter, depend on where
you grow. If you have a nice place outside...you will have
a natural garden. Most of the pests you will encounter will
be minimum. There will be times when your humidity levels
will be higher than normal, & that will subject you to
most "airborne" illness's....mould, mildew, fungus
...all of these can be dealt with naturally.
However when you have made a decision to grow indoors. You
are saying that you don't need the sun, air, water or earth.
Wow! Now all the above are against you. You have to imitate
the "sun". You must bring into your plants..."air"....not
just any air....really good air. The "water" you
provide must be better or equal to the rain that falls. And
lastly you must give your plants the best soils that you can
find. . . . . or go "Hydroponic" (all that big word
means is "no dirt".)...which means you now have
to make your "water" as nutrient friendly as possible.
Go to any good nursery or garden center & you will see
shelf after shelf of plant foods. Some are man made...some
are made from nutrients found around us, seaweed extracts,
humic acids, organic composts....yes even "miracle grow".
Basically, you as the gardener must make a decision on which
food you use. Once you find a food that works for you follow
the instructions & do not over fertilize your plants.
Since I have been here I have seen very little "clean"
smoke'o. The best way to see if your smoke'o is clean is to
look @ the stalk....It should be hollow. If it is hollow that
tells you that it was properly "leached" before
being harvested. If the stalk is solid that tells you that
it is still full of nutrients...which you are about to smoke.
Plants cannot live on solids alone ... they (like us) need
a mix of solids & liquids you must give lots of "water"
to your plants....in the vegetative stage the plants take
in a lot of nitrogen....this is used to make the structure
of the plant....not enuff nitrogen in veg. stage means it
will not have the strenth to hold up the buds. After a few
weeks into the bloom stage...you can give your plants mostly
water as it will have all the goodies in it to finish off
the season. Now you will have the best tasting, strongest,
healthiest smoke'o around.
See you all @ this years Nimbin Mardi Grass event's.
PUFFLARGEPROFESSORPUFF
See you at MardiGrass...
