Spring Planting with Lazystrain

Nature works in cycles throughout the seasons. Not long after Jack Frosts and Winter pack their bags for another year, then Spring appears and injects Mother Nature with a new sense of direction. Nature provides many signs that Spring-time has arrived; from the Mad March Hare in the field to the birds and the bees in the trees. For many cultures Spring-time is a season that represents energy, renewal, and a sense of belonging. This is especially the case with Gardeners and outdoor Cannabis Growers who are most active at this time of year.

Nature works in cycles throughout the seasons. Not long after Jack Frosts and Winter pack their bags for another year, then Spring appears and injects Mother Nature with a new sense of direction. Nature provides many signs that Spring-time has arrived; from the Mad March Hare in the field to the birds and the bees in the trees. For many cultures Spring-time is a season that represents energy, renewal, and a sense of belonging. This is especially the case with Gardeners and outdoor Cannabis Growers who are most active at this time of year.

As the days draw longer and the air feels warmer, the harmonious rhythm of seeds falling from seed packets begins. Seed sowing is a means of mimicking Nature. By saving, storing, and sowing seeds Gardeners have learnt how to increase the survival rate of many plant species. In the Northern Hemisphere the majority (not all) of the Annual plants (those that only live for one year) require a spring sowing. Today the majority of the Annual seeds in the UK are cultivated for aesthetic purposes only. Traditionally however the purpose of cultivating Annual seeds was in the aim of producing food, fibre, and/or medicine.

Luckily, a great number of Gardeners still cultivate plants exclusively for the purpose of producing their own food, fibre, and medicine at home. From inner-city allotments to yuppie-owned cottages the "Grow Your Own" bug has spread like thrips on the wind in recent summers. Aided by government-backed television initiatives employing gourmet chefs to promote a new "trend" in growing herbs, fruits, and vegetables at home. In places (and sad-cases) this has reduced certain aspects of horticulture down into almost bite-size pieces - without ever explaining the main ingredients behind the knowledge.

As a Horticulturalist and Amateur Botanist it is slightly disturbing to think that the wonders of Nature have been watered down so readily into the latest "fad" or "fashion". Whereby those adults that are not currently "growing their own" at home, are now considered not "cool" or worst still "bad parents". In fact the Chelsea-Tractor (Land Rover) drivers whizzing their kids to school are all forgiven for any ecological damage they do, so long as they are growing a few rows of carrots at home!

The main reproach to the cynicism displayed above is of course the cultural-wealth in rediscovering food and the joys of gardening for ourselves. More importantly perhaps teaching the next generation of children how Nature works and where the food they are eating comes from. In this sense, the trend of glamorising Nature and the every day aspects of gardening (in High Definition) is perhaps a positively good thing, propagating cultural-value way into the future (?)

General consensus and the mainstream media however still alienates one plant specifically above all others. When it does discuss the role of this plant within society it projects it with such a negative and downtrodden image, that if we slipped into anthropomorphism for just one second, it would appear to be racist. So abundant, mistreated, forlorn and unwanted, the mainstream media simply called it a "weed" for ages. This plant, which social-scientists are aiming to eradicate from the botanical record, and the minds of society, is as naturally as it occur Cannabis.

The champion plant of all food, fibre, and medicine is Cannabis sativa / indica. The nutritional value, fibre content, and medicinal qualities are proven to out grow any other plant species on the planet, meter by meter, pound for pound, hector by hector. The number one cash-crop in California today is not as imagined Grapefruit, Orange, or even Watermelon. It is Cannabis sativa / indica! The fine balance between the longer flowers and taste of Cannabis sativa combined with the shorter flowering period and higher CBD content of Cannabis indica was discovered years ago in California (and later in Holland). Since then every season gardeners all over the world have followed this tradition of sowing seeds in Spring.

Most outdoor / greenhouse growers will already have their benches cleaned and plant pots filled with soil ready of the season ahead. If not they will have already started sowing seeds indoors, ready to plant outdoors as soon as the last threat of frost passes over. The cannabis sowing season outdoors lasts from May to July in the Northern Hemisphere leaving outdoor growers with plenty of room to expand. Unlike other crops which require a sett period of growth, Cannabis can be flowered at any time after 14 days of growth, simply by depriving the plants of 12hours of sunlight. Arguably the outdoor Gardener with both a greenhouse and a potting shed comes into guru in this situation - flowering cannabis as and when required.

The most downtrodden within any society are those least understood. Within horticulture this botanical-menace is Cannabis. Within Cannabis Culture the next social-pariah is the "male" ... yet ironically Cannabis Culture cannot naturally progress into the next season without both aspects the "yin" (the female) and the "yang" (the male). Such is the way of Mother Nature.