Hi Friends-
I’d like to start by thanking everybody who provided feedback, love, and good vibes regarding my last email and tribute to Dora. Your support, words of encouragement, and compassion is motivating, certainly made me smile, and also helped ease the transition to life without Dora. I miss that crazy Dora every day, but can’t help but to smile when I think of the memories and her antics. We had some beautiful times and I’m honored that many of you were able to share them with us along the way. I will always remember and value your kindness- thank you.
Quite a bit has occurred since our last email update! Covid continues to run wild, we’ve seen social unrest geared towards positive change flood our nation, and had the opportunity to slow down and consider the history of our country with the 4th of July. Despite all of the chaos, there is no place I’d rather be than the good ol’ USA. On a more personal level, I was finally able to experience the homegrown goods, and even start the drying process for one of my other plants- The Critical Jack Herer. With that, I hope everyone is safe, healthy, and had the chance to count your blessings during these unique times. Now let’s talk about cannabis!
In our last email update, I shared that the plants were ready for harvest. After the drying phase (which took about 10 days), I started the “curing” process. Like a fine wine, cannabis gets better with age. Curing simply involves storing the nugs in a cool, dark place, while allowing fresh air to circulate a few times a day. I cured the Blueberry Northern lights by placing them all in glass jars and removing the lids 2-3 times/day, for several minutes at a time. Some people skip the curing phase altogether, although most suggest to engage in the process for at least two weeks. With our first batch (a little more than an ounce), I decided to cure half for 2 weeks, while the other half I will wait for 6-8 weeks.
After much anticipation, I finally sampled the goods on June 20th, the summer solstice! It was my hope that the full moon, coupled with the planetary alignment would provide extra juju for this batch. Not only that, but it was a helluva way to kick off summer!
The Blueberry Kush/Northern Lights strain did not disappoint! The first thing I noticed when inhaling a mega bong rip was the purity and crispness of the goods. This resulted in a clean, tasty, and powerful hit with no coughing fits! The BNL is an indica strain, meaning that shortly after the hit, I was “Inda-Couch”, enjoying a relaxing, mellow, body high. It felt as if I was floating on clouds as my body slowly melted into the couch- not horribly overpowering and again, some of the purest nugs you’ll ever enjoy. I feel these clean hits are due to the extensive care taken throughout the growing process, purified water, and no additives such fertilizers or nutrients- All Naturál, baby.
In other cannabis related news- I also began the drying process for the World’s Smallest Cannabis Plant. Back in April, I began growing some new plants (two more BNL, and 3 Berry Cherry OG’s). I also planted an “autoflowering strain”- a sativa dominant called Critical Jack Herer. Sativa strains typically provide more of a “mind high” with people experiencing an array of feelings; such as higher energy, the giggles, or reduced anxiety. An “autoflowering” seed differs from a standard feminized seed in that it will begin the flowering stage based on age, rather than the amount of sunlight it receives.
For example, this Critical Jack Herer will automatically switch into the flowering stage after just 55 days; whereas the BNL (a standard seed) wouldn’t start the flowering stage until altering the light intake. When in the vegitative stage, the BNL received 18 hours of light on, followed by 6 hours of darkness. After we switched the light cycle to 12 hours on/12 off, the plant knows to enter the flowering stage, thus sending its energy to start forming frosty nuggets!
Now that you’ve got some background information regarding Auto vs. Standard seeds, I’ll share how we ended up with the world’s smallest plant (try to stay with me as it’s a tad confusing). I planted the Critical Jack Herer on April 12th, expecting it to automatically enter the flowering stage around June 7th. During this time, I was using both natural sunlight and the grow tent, transitioning the Jack Herer from the outdoors in the early morning, back into the grow tent during the evening. At the time, I had the grow lights set to a 12 hours on/12 off schedule, as the Blue Northern Lights were already in the flowering stage (they were on different schedules).
In mid-May, I had one of my immunotherapy treatments and a week later, I got struck with wicked side effects- nausea, vomiting, extreme body temp fluctuation (freezing my ass off while sweating profusely, then overheated with the chills- you get the idea), and heavy fatigue. Usually, when I get blasted with side effects, they last for 6-12 hours and I need a good 24-48 hours to get back on my feet. During this time, I had completely forgotten about the plant, as the Jack Herer sat in the tent for a few days with the 12 hours on/12 off light cycle- forcing it into the flowering stage far too soon!
I bounced back from the side effects after a few days and realized what had happened! I immediately put the plant back on the 18 on/6 off light cycle, hoping to keep it in the veg stage… but no luck. Just a few days later, it was obvious that Jack had entered the flowering stage and there was no going back. Naturally, I was bummed that I wasn’t able to take advantage of the vegetative stage, in hopes that it would grow taller and provide a bigger yield; however, we stuck with the baby plant, continuing to love and nurture it, resulting in the world’s smallest plant and yield. Today, I chopped the plant at its base and we will begin the drying process. If I had to guess, I think this plant will provide 7-10 grams of goods after being dried and cured.
Other than that, all plants are looking healthy and strong, despite a scare several weeks ago in which they got overheated and had a lack of water. Plants sure are dramatic, and this picture proves it! Notice how much better the plant looks after letting it soak in some water for 24 hours!
The Nevada House is back on track and going strong. Thank you again for your wonderful support and I look forward to sharing more about the growing process as the summer lingers on. I’m thinking of you often, and always sending love!
Best,
Andrew
