Class 207: Honor Students
My first grow cycle has ended, and I am making some adjustments to my next flower cycle. I will have 12 plants to #fillthetent so we can see how yields might look. We will examine some of the problems we saw in the first run and go over more advanced techniques to maximize our plant potential in growth, THC, and final harvest yields. I invite everyone to follow along, and make sure to follow me on Instagram @drogado_del_gato or by downloading the Cannabis Cactus app! I want to shift focus from our grow, and the plants grown here to some of our readers who have followed along. We will see some of their success, and meet our community that has embraced their rights to cultivate with the passage of Proposition 207 in Arizona.
We start with Jeff who designed my new logo you see above! He was one of the first to embrace our connect feature on the app which might see some upgrades soon. He took the time to engage, ask questions, and became a new friend. Check out his updates, and his artwork @revsoddesigns so you can get an idea of some future collaborations.
Jeff aka @azawkwardnhigh
I’m a native Arizonan medicinal user, although I was self medicating much before 2003 was available. I’m married and a father of two awesome kids. I’m fascinated by spiritual connection through the arts.
Can you suggest some Recommended Listening?
Rock? Braidedveins Lyricism and hip hop? Black Star
How long have you smoked cannabis?
25+ years
How long have you grown or wanted to grow cannabis?
I’ve wanted to grow for a long time but finally started in Jan 2021. I personally was afraid of the risk of a grow in my house with children.
How was your experience with home cannabis cultivation with Proposition 207 passed?
It was really easy to get started and to just keep adding to your setup. I had challenges, was able to overcome them and still have a decent harvest!
What did you find most enjoyable about home cultivation?
Learning, a connection with the local growing community and of course the incredible fragrance in the tent!
What challenges did you face when home cultivating?
I’ve had quite a few. As a new grower it’s easy to over do it. I over-watered, overfed and up potted too early.
Did you have a successful harvest?
I did! I had 3 plants at harvest that pulled in about 3 oz.
Will you be cultivating cannabis at-home again?
I already have plants in the tent in early veg now!
What will you keep or do differently in your next growth cycle?
Watch my watering. Water less quantity with more frequency. Leave plants in smaller pots longer to get better root development early.
Did the Cannabis Cactus help you get started with home cultivation?
Hell yes! I have read all of the articles and have enjoyed the group on the cannabis connect. I have already found myself referring back to the grow content!
Our next graduate is a new friend but also someone who won an Ace of Spades and Blood Diamond clone from me, and has since taken them to new heights! He has a 4×4 tent that he has used to maximize the potential of his two clones utilizing low stress training. Living in South Phoenix, I am happy to pass him the torch, for a dab but also to carry on the rich tradition of having quality endo!
Can you suggest some Recommended Listening?
Rittz – Switch Lanes
Poison – Every Rose has its Thorn
A$AP Rocky – Peso
How long have you smoked cannabis?
I have been smoking cannabis for about 14-15 years. since I was about 13-14 years old regularly and haven’t looked back.
How long have you grown or wanted to grow cannabis?
This is my first time getting completely through the process. When I was younger, I just tossed seeds in the back yard and randomly had a few sprouts but never kept them alive. I kept a plant once when a friend took care of it. It had grown about 2.5 ft tall and had not flowered yet when the homie tossed it, this was the closest growing process I got through before this.
How was your experience with home cannabis cultivation with Proposition 207 passed?
It was a good experience and it’s been going along great. Started off with low hopes of even doing well but it turned out better then expected. I still can’t wait to learn and do even better the more I work on my home grow.
What did you find most enjoyable about home cultivation?
The experience of trying and seeing how well I could do. I had a good time meeting multiple people along the way, who showed me great tips and methods to improve. As well as seeing the end product to finally enjoy all we’ve been working on.
What challenges did you face when home cultivating?
My biggest problem was sometimes temperature due to the placement of my grow. Overall, I was able to fix it by relocating but it was one of the issues I personally wasn’t always happy with.
Did you have a successful harvest?
I am currently in my last few weeks before harvest but I do believe it is going to be great. Smells are getting strong ,buds are getting dense ,and they are frosty as a snowy day. I can’t wait to try the end result.
Will you be cultivating cannabis at-home again?
Yes I will continue to do so as long as I am able. I love the fact we can grow our own medicine so I’ll definitely be trying to always improve and work on getting my grow just the way I like it.
What will you keep or do differently in your next growth cycle?
In my next cycle I will be seeing the difference between how my plant’s growth becomes with less low stress training. My first grow cycle I applied low stress training to maximize my tent space (4×4) due to only having two plants going to flower on this cycle.
Did the Cannabis Cactus help you get started with home cultivation?
Yes, they did very much so, I was able to get my first cycle started thanks to @drogado_del_gato when I won in his clone giveaway. Drogado helped me a lot along the way and I was able to speak with him on occasion to check my plant progress, as well as get great tips. The articles pointed in the right direction when I was needing any help. Cannabis Cactus magazine was a good reference to see tips on how I should go about things, and recognized others that are utilizing different methods in their grows as well.
Last but not least, is the Cactus number #1 OG, Mr. Birdman himself! He has been a loyal reader since I started with the magazine, and has become a close friend who has absolutely found his calling in cultivation. He went from a simple tent setup to constructing a whole grow room. The room and his hard work produced a dense, hard-hitting bud on his first try, which you can see in our Cactus Approved for Season 4, Episode 6!
I am originally from a small town in Illinois, and I grew up around farming. My wife and I moved to Arizona 5 years ago, and we have two boys.
Can you suggest some Recommended Listening?
I enjoy listening to Growcast and anything 90’s grunge/alternative.
How long have you smoked cannabis?
I have smoked cannabis for 27 years (I started smoking when I was 15).
How long have you grown or wanted to grow cannabis?
I have only been growing for about 8 months, and I once tried unsuccessfully to grow a plant when I was a teen. Since I started smoking, I have always been interested in cultivating cannabis.
How was your experience with home cannabis cultivation with Proposition 207 passed?
My experience has been awesome! It’s nice to be able to go to grow stores or nurseries and ask questions specifically related to growing cannabis. It’s great to not have to hide and to get advice tailored to growing cannabis. I haven’t had any negative experiences with going to businesses and getting help on growing cannabis.
What did you find most enjoyable about home cultivation?
What’s most enjoyable is doing it! Spending the time to grow, learning about the process and talking about it with others has been so great.
What challenges did you face when home cultivating?
My biggest challenge was initially regulating my temperature and humidity levels. I eventually moved from a grow tent to a grow room that I built. I now use a York mini-split 1 ton to regulate that for me.
Did you have a successful harvest?
Off of four plants, I yielded 15 ounces: 2 sunset sherbets, one zittles, and one wedding cake
Will you be cultivating cannabis at-home again?
FOREVER – for the rest of my life! I will be cremated with my cannabis!
What will you keep or do differently in your next growth cycle?
I got good results from the Fox Farms nutrients and the great white myco and Orca. For my next round, I will probably change over to soil king big roots because I think I want to slowly move to organic grows for my next round of exotics.
Did the Cannabis Cactus help you get started with home cultivation?
Yes, of course! Drogado and SmokeeeJ definitely helped me out, especially in the beginning. I initially freaked out about every little thing, but they really spent the time talking to me about what was important and what wasn’t a big deal.
See the whole cultivation series to keep reading and learning.
Adrian Ryan was born in New Mexico and attended school since elementary in Arizona, his time growing up split between the two states. He hopes to work towards recreational cannabis, enjoys reading, writing, film, music, and also writing music.