Selecting strain seed and filling one's pots with the sterilized coco fibre soil is the most difficult work connected with cultivation. That's done. Now poke a hole with your finger into the soil about 5 cm, drop in one seed, and cover it over gently with the soil. Do this to all the pots chosen for use and then water the entire pot. It becomes a lot heavier and is holding enough moisture so one needs to water it just two times a week (or whenever it dries out too much). Make sure the pot is not in direct sun during the hottest time of the day as this will burn the seedling or young plant. Indirect sunlight at midday will be fine and will help establish the plant during its early stages of growing.
From the end of April until mid to late June, the plant will need only to be watered with a grow (high Nitrogen based food). Then one should change food to one that is high in Phosphorous content. More food does not necessarily mean a healthier plant, so once a week is often enough for feeding the plant. Water the pots once a week with a good food mixed in the water and the rest of the time with normal water. The genetics of the strain control the potential of the plant more than do the external elements of feeding, sunlight, etc.
As the plants germinate and establish themselves, they will grow upwards and begin to resemble healthy green shrubs. It is possible to tip the plant by cutting out the central growing part of the main stem. This will slow down the growth of the plant and cause it to spread out and become a wider shrub rather than a single cola flower. But do not tip the plant after mid June as it will effect the flowering cycle in a negative way.
As the hours of light slowly reduce to 12/12, the plant will begin to show signs of its gender. The beneficial part of the plant used in making medicine is in the female, so kill any plants that show male gender as their pollen would quickly affect the female plants and make them produce seed rather than continue to produce a flower. As the flower develops, it will become a lot more fragrant and densely compact. Any strain that has skunk in it usually finishes in 6-7 weeks of a 12/12 light regime. If the gender of a plant is known by July/August, then 6-7 weeks later the plant should be completed, depending on the particular strain's dominance.
By late September or early October, the flower should be nearing completion and should be cut and hung it, allowing it to dry slowly in cooler well ventilated areas like those herbs or tobacco are subjected to. This ensures the plant will contain all its useful terpenes and cannabinoids and will reduce its chlorophyll content as it dries out, making it perfect for the last stage of this project - making a tincture from the flower as a means to self medicating.
Making a basic tincture from the flower requires patience: to finish making the tincture will take an extra month. The flowers without the main shade leaves that have been dried slowly now need to be submerged into a container and totally covered by pure fruit-based alcohol (alcool purissimo). Agitating this container once a week and then allowing it to settle will strip off all the terpenes and cannabinoids from the flower and dilute it into the alcohol. After a month, the liquid should be drained off and freed of any plant parts. It will now be green in color. You now have a cannabis tincture that has the ability to help disorders caused by lack of appetite, depression, glaucoma, MS, pre-menstrual stress, head-aches, arthritis, and insomnia. One needs to be careful working out the correct dose. Begin by taking only 3 drops in one day. If there is no noticeable effect, then the next day take 4 drops and so on until finding the dose that helps your particular disorder. The tincture is perfect for non-smokers and far more effective than smoking cannabis.
You have now gone through the basic steps of cultivation and production of your own medicine. You know what the life of your plant encountered and how it passed its life before becoming a tincture. You cared enough to challenge the traditional pharma-based companies by going through all the steps to control what went into your final product. You have now taken your life in your own hands and become responsible for what you do and use - that is both therapeutic and medicinal.
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