Marijuana 101: Professor Lee's Introduction to Growing Grade A Bud.

This is the book I wanted to have when I first started growing. The explanations are simple to understand, and written for the small-scale home gardener; no previous experience is needed.

This is the book I wanted to have when I first started growing. The explanations are simple to understand, and written for the small-scale home gardener; no previous experience is needed.

Conversational text, photos of pretty buds and straightforward illustrations fill this refreshingly easy to comprehend marijuana grow primer. For those who enjoy good bud photography, some of the flowering cannabis photos are exceptional. For visual learners, Professor Lee includes several step-by-step photo tutorials.
The book is divided into two parts, the first portion of the book addresses the technical aspects involved in growing weed, and the second part teaches readers about the practical applications. These divisions are called "lessons" and each is further broken up into several topics.

The technical lesson describes the various factors involved. Professor Lee's instructions read like friendly advice from an experienced grower, his interest in helping people succeed seems sincere. For example, the chapter on nutrients emphasizes what they are, and how they are used. The chapter does so without getting bogged down in the heavy science behind it, or lost between ads from fertilizer manufacturers. The chapter instead focuses on what nutrients are, how to use them, and what happens to plants that don't get enough of them. Understanding that many real world people grow with limited budgets, frequent references are made to low cost alternatives. For example, in the chapter on pests, the book gives readers step by step instructions on homemade remedies made from garlic, tobacco, or soap as alternatives to commercial insecticides.

Professor Lee gives realistic advice geared for the hobby grower. The chapter on hydroponics includes both do-it-yourself, and store-bought systems. The end of the chapter includes instructions for a build it yourself DWC (deep water culture) system named an "aeration garden".

The book covers soil and hydroponic medias, and includes a step by step recipe for herbal organic tea fertilizer. The section on breeding explains the process well enough for a beginner to start making seeds. I did notice an odd lack of male flowering photos, but the truth is you only need to see a male flower once to know what they look like. The little balls that drop pollen are the male flowers. They are descibed, but not shown. Not a huge omission, but a noticeable one.

The second part (or "lesson") puts the material covered in the technical section to use. From sprout to harvest, Professor Lee walks the reader through each developmental stage. Not afraid to admit his personal past mistakes, Professor Lee humorously describes some of his own "if I knew then what I know now" types of mishaps, to show what can go wrong, and to encourage folks to chuckle at their own errors.

After discussing the entire growing cycle, the book includes information about how to dry and cure.
A quick and easy read, the book is a great choice for the inexperienced cannabis gardener. 101 is the number often given to introductory classes in college, and Marijuana 101 makes for a nice self study introductory class in basic cannabis gardening. This is not an advanced text on the subject, and it doesn't try to be. It is a well-illustrated book with enough information for a beginning gardener to learn how to grow some smoke.

When I say that I wish I could have had this book with me for my first few tries at growing marijuana, that is no exaggeration. Had I been able to read this book before trying, I could have saved myself several mistakes and missteps.

Peace, love and puka shells,
Grubbycup