Stoney Tark’s First Book Release

A Real Game Changer 

SSUK: Hi Stoney. What inspired you to write this book? I decided to write this book as a self-help guide to any new beginner growers, so decided to publish the book myself through Stoney Tark Media. The idea was to combine all my years of experience, and translate it back into an easy to digest, top tips and what to avoid style, to ultimately save growers time, money and from learning the hard way. For me, all books about growing are the same and don’t really differ from each other, so my plan was to write something that was totally different to the conventional way and to add value and give my personal opinions at the same time. What gives you the moral authority to write a self-help book about Cannabis?  There are a lot of Donnie Brascos in the industry and most of the writers, breeders and growers out there at the moment don’t actually put the work in, or have anything solid to show. They all seem to talk the talk...but cannot walk the walk.  I personally am proud to say everything written in my book has been based on my past experience as a grower, breeder, hash maker and overall purveyor of all things Cannabis.  I explain many times throughout the book that everything stated is based solely on my opinion and should never be classed as the right or wrong answer, and simply a new outsider's expertise and perspective. How many chapters are there and what do you cover? In total there are 18 chapters, covering 180 top tips, over 140 what to avoid points, and over 40 questions and answers all relative to the trouble shooting the contents of the book. The entire book is 191 pages and has been written in my usual easy to understand style that has made my work so popular to date. I believe that everything in this book has been covered and broken down in great detail from growing, genetics, silencing the indoor garden, flowering, hash making, flushing, breeding, water quality, harvesting and drying, growing outdoors, organics and hydroponics and much more! Can you tell us exactly what a beginner grower can expect to learn? Anyone who reads this book will instantly improve their growing game, and will be hardwired with a whole new awareness of how I personally work in my garden, and most importantly what not to do! I think it can be easier sometimes to explain what not to do and to save people years of forming bad habits that eventually become passed down in forums and amongst growers. Where is the book available and which available formats? The book is available to buy on Amazon as a digital, hardback and audio book format. As long as you have an iPad, kindle reader or even a laptop with a book reader, you can enjoy the book. If you prefer to listen to an audio book, then that is also available and can be purchased together with the other formats if you wish. The links to the books will also be embedded to the Soft Secrets website, as well my own personal website Official Stoney Tark that will be ready very soon! Why did you add a ‘Ask Stoney’ part of the book? The main reason is because all of the questions are genuine troubleshooting questions, that I have received over the years from various seed banks, nutrients brands and from growers who have contacted me directly. Having other people’s questions as a reference point can often be the easiest way to diagnose your own problems. I hope that somebody can relate to some of the Ask Stoney Q and A, and even help solve their existing issues instantly.  What do you think are the three main bad habits growers form? Personally, I think the first is not paying attention to temperatures and humidity as one of the main ones. This means the temperatures of the air, the root zone, day time and night time temperature, floor and reservoir. Poor air circulation is another bad habit I notice new growers forming, which goes back to temperature and humidity and the third is the drying out process after all the hard work in the garden has been done.  The way a plant is dried can make or break the end result, and unless you have been well advised, you can easily form a bad habit in this department and be none the wiser. In my opinion, the best way to dry your Cannabis plants is to hang the whole plant for 14 full days with humidity levels at 50%, the room temperature at 15 degrees Celsius and never have a fan blowing directly at the hanging plants. What are your top tips for the growing phase under 18/6? Air circulation is very important, as well as checking your environment with digital hygrometers. These will also give you a minimum and maximum reading over a 24-hour period, allowing you to see the fluctuations between daytime and night-time temperatures. If you are planning to use CO2, then early veg and early flower are best but beware of high temperatures needed in order to maximise uptake. Have a play with growing many smaller plants in a Sea of Green, flower after 7-10 days and reduce electricity bills right down. Which are your top tips for flowering indoors? Being vigilant throughout the entire flowering cycle will give you the advantage when it comes to pest and pathogen control. I cannot emphasise how important the right amount of air flow is, especially when flowering out big chunky, dense buds. Judging the flush correctly is also a big difference maker and understanding the difference between washing the medium and root zone of undissolved salts that have accumulated over the plant’s life cycle, and when the plant has used up all of its internal reserves as well as all the food.  Are you working on any other books for the future? Yes, and I am also making a short series of books that will be available as digital and audio books, aimed at the beginner grower. These will be available later in the year and will cover everything from A-Z about each set topic.  Do you have any other projects in the works? I certainly do and am working on an audiocast that will be pre-recorded and educational. As well as my website which will offer a membership for 6 months, to give growers 24/7 assistance to help diagnose any issues they may have during that time. There will also be a promotional page that will offer savings and discounts as well as many other great ideas that will add plenty of value to any great grower.  Between the breeding work for my seed bank Prana Medical Seeds and new projects, I am pleased to say there are lots of great things in the pipeline and they will be available for everyone to enjoy soon enough! Massive thanks for all your support over the years Soft Secrets and thanks in advance to anyone who will purchase the book. Peace Out!