A Growing Industry - by Ben Smith - Part 1

The winter has brought a reminder of winters passed in the Scab lands of the Columbia Basin in Eastern Oregon and Washington State. Most of the area only gets 6" to 12" of annual rainfall per year. The winters get below zero in the winter and above 100° F in the summer but Spring and fall are near perfect. With the help of irrigation systems the Columbia Basin is one of the most productive farm lands in the world. Every once in a while someone unearths some petrified wood revealing a lush rain forest underneath the now dry grassland. For the geologist and farmers the landscape is perfect but for the visitor it may seem a little boring except for the sunsets with the mountains in the background.

There's a few places where someone can see for hundreds of miles because of the open landscape. Over 300 different crops are grown in Washington State and it is hard to find anywhere else that crops grow to such full flavor. Some examples of well known crops in the area are apples, asparagus, blueberries, carrots, grass seed, hops, onions, peas, potatoes, stone fruits, sweet corn, and wine grapes. There are many other crops as well these are just examples someone might be familiar with. Washington State was the first to legalize recreational use of Cannabis Colorado was the first to implement laws. If someone has the goal of legalization in their area a good logistic knowledge of the industry is where to start. Most attempts in the past have focused on the track record of the products safety when compared to similar products but these are not the real reasons for prohibition. When one considers alcohol as a comparable industry there is a process required to make alcohol that limits a persons interest in the industry. Most people are intimidated by industrial processes and content in just purchasing a product. Cannabis in the mind of most people doesn't take a skilled process. A decent gardener can produce decent results with very little knowledge. Availability of quality genetics makes this possible. So in the legalization process it helps to know how much cannabis is bought in the area. Washington State has about a 5 billion dollar a year cannabis industry. The legal industry is still growing but the black market that has existed long before is still dominating the sales. Washington State limited the amount of retail locations which limited availability. As the stigma of the industry wears off more stores will part of the normal landscape. Colorado allowed the growers to be the retailers where Washington separated the two. The population of Oregon and Washington State is mostly on the Western side. Most agricultural products are grown on the Eastern side of the Cascade Mountain range. The West side does have farmers and ranchers also but the focus is mostly industrial and technology. The population on the Eastern side is far more sparse.

Eastern Washington has a series of dams along various rivers that produce abundant amounts of electricity. Oregon and Washington also have large solar and wind farms mostly on the Eastern sides. What makes the area great for farming is the volcanic as soil and the dry climate. Things like juice or wine grapes can increase their brick (sugar content) with relative ease. This makes fruits like apples and stone fruits (fruits containing pits such as peaches) very flavorful. I have a bias but in my opinion there are no better apples in the world. Cannabis is right at home in the hot summers. It has been grown in the area with success long before it became legal. Some places still assume Washington State is the wild west and the car is something new to us. Strange for someone to say using Microsoft technology on their phone and drinking Starbucks Coffee but I like the horse and buggy perception. Usually cannabis would have been predicted to peak after 5 years and just the biggest companies would exist in the end. The reason for this is the same reason for the prohibition in the first place. Cannabis grows on every continent except Antarctica with relatively low fertilizer inputs. In a rural community in Eastern Washington if someone were to grow cannabis in just their lawn area they could supply a small town for almost a year. With the new extract industry creating a need for more cannabis to concentrate it has extended the industries predicted shelf life. The study of Cannabis has been avoided because of federal laws preventing large companies from touching the product. Small independent studies have been done and are currently being done again by reputable companies. Plants have always provided remedies for our ailments.

We try to duplicate substances that were initially extracts obtained by plants. Dye making companies that mined and purified pure elements often converted to drug companies to mimic substances produced by plants. Foxglove, coca, Peruvian bark, poppy plants, and willow bark are examples of plants that have been concentrated for helpful substances used in medical practices. Cannabis offers a wide variety of substances with potential medical uses. Because cannabis has a male and female plant it can be adapted for climatic conditions. Outside of recreational or potential medical use there is the obvious fiber industrial products and potential commercial products from seed production. Seeds are the only thing on a plant that contain no THC or other cannibinoids. Seeds can be crushed for animal feed and contain oils that can be made into all kinds of useful items. On average only 5% to 10% of an adult population consumes cannabis for recreational use. Industrial products are often used by a much higher percentage of people. Something medical is used for someone who is not in good health. Inhalation of smoke of any kind is not good for ones health. Even though cannabis contains anti carcinogens anything that burns to carbon also contains carcinogens. Cigarette companies made the mistake of covering up health concerns which later lead to frivolous lawsuits. In order for cannabis to stay legal any potential health threats can not be ignored. Knowing how much is sold and how much can be grown in an area will keep the industry viable. In Eastern Washington a single irrigated circle can be 130 acres.

That is likely enough area to product half of the state's annual recreational supply if done correctly. Washington State limited the canopy area of plants to prevent one computer or individual for controlling the entire market. For industrial products many more acres are needed. Considering single farmers can own several thousand acres of irrigated ground makes the recreational market not practical for large scale operations. Cannabis is still not federally legal making it an even worse deal with farmers who often have to deal with government programs. The majority of Cannabis farms are actually small time backed by individuals rather than large companies. Larger companies deal with manufacturers that build items for the industry such as lighting. Green stocks are companies that cater to the Cannabis trade but do not touch the products themselves. The other limiting factor is the inability to use Federal banking. It is a strange thing became federal income tax can be paid on earnings. All things does is cause some tricky accounting tactics that were once applied to black market trades. Really it forces the more successful companies to start other companies just to pay tax. From a collection aspect the government wins twice. Heavy taxation and regulation keep the industry more profitable than if it were a free for all. If they just legalized it and allowed everyone to grow as much as they wanted it would become worthless and the market would collapse. When tested and regulated the market remains stable. People don't like to think in such Capitalist terms but that is the nature of the business. Mint in Washington State had a similar collapse from overproduction from mostly a single farmer. So knowing a little about the industry might make people make more well informed about getting into the industry. My perspective is that of the gardener. I enjoy growing all plants that I can get my hands on but my interest came from Cannabis plant and most of my knowledge of plants was obtained by cultivation of this misunderstood plant. I have also spent time working for more commercial types of farms and have become familiar with modern techniques. Some of the chemical use needs creative ideas to eliminate the need.

Chemicals were only meant to be a temporary solution and it has always been predicted that they would loose their effectiveness over time. I have experience growing indoor and outdoor using just about every technique however I will try and focus on outdoor growing in the Columbia Basin. As described earlier the Columbia Basin is a dry grassland. The reason why it is important to recognize what grows naturally in an area might determine what type of farming practices to use. Areas where grasses and herbaceous plants grow are going to likely work better with bacterial compost. Areas where more woody stemmed plants such as a forest is likely to benefit from more of a fungal compost. Fungal composts are usually made from wood. Bacterial compost can be made from a variety of materials. As an example one mixture that works well in the Columbia Basin is 25% grass or green plant materials, 25% dry leaves or grass, 25% cattle manure, and 25% grape pulp or other crop with high sugar content. Basically the green materials contain nitrogen, dead leaves contain phosphorus and potassium, manure contains what the animal ate and beneficial enzymes, and the grape pulp or over ripe fruit contains sugars for enzymes to multiply faster. It is not that one compost is better than another but in a grassland more beneficial bacteria is available than fungus.

Antibiotics are a good example of the unseen wars between bacteria, fungus, and viruses. Plants can often adapt to different situations and can benefit from both types of compost but when looking at a landscape either bacterial or fungal breakdown dominate the plant life. Another factor to consider is soil type and PH in soil. The Columbia Basin has a variety of soils ranging in PH but I would say that higher PH soils are dominant. Once the PH of soil is determined the PH of water should also be determined. Soil will eventually become the same PH as the water used over time. The ideal growing range for cannabis is somewhere between 5.5 PH and 6.5 PH. It will still grow outside of this range but for maximum fertilizer intake this is considered the best. PH measures acidity and alkaline 0 being acid, 7 being neutral, and 14 being alkaline. To lower PH in soil organic matter is the most practical using organic methods. Acids used in water and sulfates are also used for lowering PH. Hydrated lime is often used to raise PH in soil or alkaline liquids in water. When making fertilizer mixtures the resulting PH should be considered. Varying too much can cause prohibited growth leaving a plant susceptible to pests. There are numerous books and plenty of magazines with how to grow information. To be completely specific I will cover how to grow outdoors in the Columbia Basin without using pesticides. One of the first mistakes being made is getting clones from outside the area that are more susceptible to pests or may have pests hiding on them. The Eurasian hemp moth has made it's way to the area despite never being here before the legal industry. There are benefits from growing clones but it is good to note the most successful cannabis companies in the world are seed companies. Some of the wealthiest companies in the world sell crop seeds. Growing from seeds offers a lot of advantages that clones do not. For some reason pests are far more likely to attack and cause crop failures in clones. I like to think of it like putting a domesticated animal out in the wilderness. The wilderness will sense it's weakness and attack it. Until the animal becomes part of it's wild surroundings it will exist in conflict. What can also lead to infestations is a monoculture approach to farming. Cannabis is an extremely resistant plant however it can benefit from close proximity of other plants that off symbiotic relationships. A good example of naturally occurring plants in the Columbia Basin that offer this beneficial relationship are sagebrush and yarrow. Yarrow is a herbaceous plant with some medicinal qualities. The benefit to growing with cannabis is that it is also a biological fixer. When the yarrow plants become distressed they send out a chemical signal that attracts parasitic wasps. Parasitic wasps are what can keep Eurasian hemp moths in check. The catipillers are what usually do the damage. Yarrow also can access fertilizers that are locked up in the soil allowing other plants access to nutrients. Using a well balanced polyculture technique will counter most insect infestations. The idea is not total prevention but a diverse population kept in balance. Other problems such as molds can be solved through breeding resistant strains. Clones never develop new DNA or RNA eliles that allow adaptation to an environment. Through forced breeding and plant selection plants can be grown to the highest quality standards and be resistant to pests that can cause failures. I thought I would write some of what I have learned from many years of research and development from a relatable perspective. There are several growing guides and information on the same subject so I will stick to practices and methods focused on quality rather than the science of growing plants. I have grown thousands of varieties and bred several hundred of my own. I have tried a wide variety of techniques and have become well known for the highest quality products. I feel somewhat safe in writing this because of legal status and I have no current interest in the industry. I am compelled to grow things like a musician is compelled to play so I may abandon the effort when the growing season arrives. Hopefully someone will find some use or maybe just apply the methodology to other industries. Until next time.

A Growing Industry - by Ben Smith - Part 2

Plants are grown for variety reasons throughout the world. For medicinal use plants are used to create extracts. Alkaloids, glycosides, essential oils, tannins, bitter principles, sugars, fatty oils and organic acids are found in plants and used for all kinds of industrial and pharmaceutical uses. Cannabis extracts focus mostly on essential oils. Essential oils contain terpenes, sesquiterpenes, and other components.

Extracts are often made from solvents like alcohol, butane, propane and can also be made with CO2 with high pressure. The chilling effects of the compressed gasses help separate the THC or other desired cannibinoids. What is being done under federal research guidelines is determining potential extracts. Different strains of Cannabis have different cannibinoid levels. With thousands of strains being grown there is a wide range of chemical compounds available within the extracted oils. This is work that has to be done by large pharmaceutical companies because of practicality. Independent studies are useful also but it is hard for most people to keep controlled environments to lab standards. Pharmaceutical companies bring their good and bad to the industry. Just like big agricultural it wouldn't be hard for a single company to dominate an industry. Most Washington State legal operations are at a mom and pop business level. Individuals are making millions in some cases and the industry is making billions. The state industry has not yet caught up with the total recreational market which is a predicted 5 billion annual industry.

CBD and similarly cannibinoids are being isolated for their medical potential. THC has more psychoactive properties where CBD offers relief without the narcotic effect. There's always too much of a good thing. More than once I have witnessed the over use of THC leading to an uncomfortable state of being. Strangely CBD can counteract the effects in some people. Not too far in the past Freud used cocaine to treat opiate addiction. Cocaine is addictive itself but in controlled doses it could eliminate withdrawal symptoms caused by opiates. Currently CBD is being considered for addiction treatments. Cannabis addiction is more behavioral and psychological than physical. It is definitely not for everyone and just as many bad experiences would likely be recorded as good in the overall. Most people don't like an uncomfortable paranoid feeling that THC can cause. There are three basic types of Cannabis I am familiar with Indica, Ruderalis, and Sativa. Most have become hybrids of one type or another. Heirlooms which can be defined as a plant grown in a specific area with specific genetics for more than 30 years are not usually hybrids. Indica originates mostly from Northern or mountain regions of the world. Indica plants are often short with broad jagged leaves.

It allows plants to capture more sunlight or water. Sativa like most tropical plants has less ridges on the leaves. Again the ridges often depends on availability of sun and water. A tropical plant does not have as much use for water retention. Often Sativa plants have longer flowering cycles. Because most Sativa is found near the equator and cannabis being photo periodic allows the plant a longer flowering cycle. It grows as it flowers more than Indica or Ruderalis. Ruderalis is more similar to Indica in size and leaf structure often having webbed leaves. Ruderalis was mostly ignored until recently with interest in CBD and Ruderalis is an automatically flowering plant. Auto flowering just means that the amount of time rather than change in daylight hours determine flowering stages. All three advantages have been cultivated in hybrid auto flowering plants. The size from the Sativa, potency from Indica, and the auto flowering from Ruderalis give the growers new options for integrated farming methods. Knowing the basics might help in plant selection. Now as far as the Columbia Basin goes hybrids offer the most advantages for yield but heirlooms often have distinct flavor from years of cultivation in one climate. Generally photoperiodic cannabis plants are put outside as clones from around May 1st to about mid July. They can be put out as late as August but flowering effects usually start to show around the middle of August depending on strain. Certain strains acclimated in mountain regions often flower earlier.

The Columbia Basin is right around or just above the 45th parallel. Summer solstice is right around 18 hours of light so after about the 21st of June the light reduces. Harvest time range depending on variety but on average most photoperiodic strains finish from the middle of October through the mind and November depending on elevation. A low lying valley is subject to earlier frost. Usually the area experiences low average rainfall and fall can fool farmers into neglecting draining water from freezing pipes. Good for the retailers but costly in time and effort. Seasons can be extended with greenhouses or light can be manipulated with light deprivation techniques but I prefer to grow specifically for an environment. Over time a plant acclimates itself to an environment. California had The Skunk Man or the Haze Brothers and in the Columbia Basin some less known individuals achieved heirloom status through breeding. Cannabis like hops has both male and female plants and the female plants are cultivated commercially in both cases. It is becoming difficult to find heirloom strains because of the popularity of hybridized seeds. Both have their qualities but heirlooms offer a better resistance to common pests of the area. Most commercial cannabis growing is done with clones. Nothing wrong with cloning but to avoid pest issues starting initially from seeds in the intended environment will yield the best results. From personal experience in the region anytime clones from a source outside of seeds grown in an environment often attract pests that can lead to infestations.

There are feminized as well as regular cannabis seeds available. Feminized are bred through disruption of the flowering cycle causing the plants to think a catastrophic event is about to take place causing hermaphrodite plants that can seed themselves. All of these seeds are female but prone to hermaphrodite under stress. Another way to feminize seeds is to flower pollinator plants ahead of plants needed to be pollinated. After cannabis plants have reached maximum cannibinoid or plant sugar production they can grow yellow flowers that can be used for pollination. It depends on strain as far as how long it takes to produce flowers. Female plants have buds not flowers but a common term for female buds are flowers. Flowers grow on the male or hermaphrodite plants. Sorting males and females is no big deal but requires an extra step and may use up more space if that is a limiting factor. Really though growing directly from seed removing male plants will likely yield better results than using clones from an outside source. If you have to get clones get them from the area. Extra caution had to be used in the area because of the existing hop industry. Cannabis and hops are in the same plant phylum and share common pests. Doing everything possible to obtain or build genetic qualities is the first step in having the highest quality products. Unfortunately seeds can be expensive so people often take a lot of care in the germination process. If an abundance of seeds are available seeding directly outside rather than transfer from indoor will produce much stronger genetics. It would take about 6 years of breeding to obtain a strain that could rival the best indoor. Indoor growing allows total climate control but can be expensive.

Larger indoor operations need to keep lab like quality control to avoid problems. Introduction of a bug or mold could destroy a warehouse full of products. This is why people wear clothing similar to doctor or nurse scrubs from medical fields. Outdoor growing can be treated with spray but using biological techniques growing can be done without spraying. Spraying vegetables or ornamental plants is one thing but when something is smoked there is chemical changes to consider. Inhalation of bacteria, fungus, pesticides, or viruses is probably not the best for the health. Cannabis plants have a tendency of absorbing and metabolizing sprays. Outdoor cannabis often has insects or animals that might interact with the plants. Some of them even poop on the plants but this doesn't cause the same amount of absorbing as spraying with a bacterial or chemical treatment for pests after flowering. Each seed of a plant is considered a different phenotype. Only the best phenotypes should be cloned from and only the best phenotypes should be pollinated for seed production. I will go more in depth about breeding at a later time. Cannabis has been used for thousands of years for different reasons and recorded by many societies. It can be controversial but on the longer term it will likely be normalized like grabbing a beer with friends. It has made itself part of our lives.

Everyone thinks we are the smart ones studying plants but plants are master chemists way ahead of our knowledge. Plants are stationary and communicate mostly through chemical and frequencies we don't completely understand. A plants goal like all cells in ideal conditions is to reproduce. This particular plant has appealed to humans to help it's goal. It could just as easily become poisonous. Humans have around 26,000 lines of DNA and RNA coding and plants have over 100,000. They are far more adaptable than we are capable of. Who knows maybe my plant overlords have convinced me to write this so they can thrive.

A Growing Industry - by Ben Smith - Part 3

Now I am not a plant expert or any other kind of expert for that matter. This is just for entertainment value describing how I learned from trial and error. I've read plenty of books and articles on the science of growing. I will include some science but it is more about the experience. Cannabis is appealing to a lot of people because of potential profits in a relatively small area. In Washington State a tier 3 license is the largest allowing 30,000 square feet of canopy area. That is a lot of space for cannabis but to put it into perspective an acre is about 43,560 square feet. Some of the larger industrial crops in the area such as sweet corn are grown in up to 130 acre circles in rotation with other crops. As far as big business cannabis is actually limited. There are far more profitable medicinal plants simply because there's no restrictions on growth area. Medicinal place are cultivated based on the pharmaceutical industry's needs. It all depends on extraction percentage. If it takes too much plant material it is likely cheaper to synthesize. If the percentage rate is high enough it is cheaper to extract. Pharmaceutical companies usually start with extracts from fungus, plants, poisons, and all kinds of life sources for potential cures. Depending on availability and ability to synthesize determines the process used to make medications. The difference in naturally extracted and synthesized is often in the side effects. Both can have side effects but synthetic is more likely however synthetic is cheaper to produce and usually takes effect faster. Organic extracts come on slower and last longer. All kinds of plants have all kinds of medical potential potential. Use of autonomous farming systems might allow for a more practical approach to commercial pharmaceutical extraction from plants. A lot of medical plants can not be sprayed because it can add impurities to extracts. I also enjoy food gardening as well as aesthetic gardening. I am fortunate enough to live in a farming community with many enthusiastic farmers and gardeners. What I will try and cover next is soil building and a polyculture approach to gardening. Not all areas are the same so I will stick mostly to techniques for the Columbia Basin.

There's actually a fairly wide range of soil types from different geological events. "A Black Boring Rock" is a book that offers some interesting geologist's theories that might explain some anomalies. The majority has higher PH soil with sandy, loamy soils. Blueberries are commercially grown in the area which require a lower PH so there are pockets of low PH soils and it can also be adjusted. Adjusting PH is done most practicality with organic matter. The first five years of organic farming is not sustainable. There are xeroscaping techniques but those are best for native plants that don't require water. For foods, flowers, lawns, medicinal plants, shrubs and trees it may require soil building to optimize results. In the area of the Columbia Basin I am most familiar with the wind blows most often from the South. Grasslands and places without a lot of natural trees are often windy. Observation of hills and valleys can reveal which direction the wind blows most often. What I have noticed is with a dominant Southern wind the dust settles on mild northern slopes. Rocks are often exposed on Southern sides where dirt is deepest on the mild Northern slopes. Every area is different but the majority of the areas in the Columbia Basin have a dominant South wind. Rocky ground can be shallow and hard to farm. For grapes and some fruit trees rocky ground can be beneficial but most crops don't like rocky areas. Ground in the area often has an average of about 6% organic matter. Adding heavy compost the first year and mixing it into the native soil yields the best results. Usually an application of compost as soon as the ground thaws out at the end of winter and another heavy application just before planting. People often add things like Mycrorrizae which is a group of mostly beneficial fungus in and around the root zones of plants. Beneficial fungus and bacteria feed on organic matter so adding microbes without something for them to eat can be a waste. The tops of plants use CO2 but the root zones benefits from aeration of soils. The more the soil can breath the better microbial benefits. Working in organic matter helps prevent compaction.

Most of the soils in the Columbia Basin are from ancient volcanic activities in the area. They are often high in phosphorus and potassium which is helpful in flowering. The problem is the soil is often high PH which can cause fertilizers to lock up. Cannabis takes in the most fertilizers with an average PH between 5.5 and 6.5. It will grow outside of this range very well especially outside but it will grow even better if water is kept within this range. Different plants like different PH ranges. When a plant is grown to optimum performance it's leaves will shine and look like they have a wax coating on them. They will have lush dark green leaves with no yellowing, spots, or other deficiencies. Like most gardeners know a fertilizer label usually has three numbers that represent nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. If there are four numbers the first number is often sulfur. Getting to know micro and macro nutrients and what effect on the plant they have is useful. There are many fertilizer systems that the instructions can be followed with great success. Using bulk materials to mix fertilizers requires a little more knowledge of plant stages. As far as those three numbers are concerned during the vegative period nitrogen is the most important but during flowering the levels of phosphorus and potassium go up. Nitrogen levels are probably the hardest to get right. A plant usually only uses the phosphorus or potassium it needs. I can grow based on intuition and what the plants tell me from their leaves but using a PH and EC or PPM meter is optimal. It brings it from guess work to more of an exact science. EC means electrical conductivity and PPM is parts per million both measure fertilizer levels. To determine how much fertilizer a plant can take just keep increasing the dose until the leaves curl a little and then back off the first time. Over time it gets easier to know what a plant wants. Over watering is often a rookie mistake but outside is a lot more forgiving than potted plants. I won't get too deep into fertilizers because people have their preferences. What I have found is different techniques and different strains have varying results with individuals. Do what works best for the conditions and experiment. Some fertilizers can cause lock up so get to know the soil and weather conditions. Knowing the basics about the nitrogen cycle helps. Organic nitrogen sources are basically from microbes eating and converting organic matter to nitrogen. Synthetic nitrogen is made like most gasses. The air is cooled until the nitrogen turns into a liquid and can be separated and compressed. It can be made into different forms through different processes. Once nitrogen heats up it becomes nitrile gas and goes back into the atmosphere. It is important to make sure the ground stays wet during fertilizing during hot summer days. Organic fertilizers often use lower rates more often and synthetic uses higher concentrated doses less often. A synthetic fertilizer label might read 20-20-20 where a organic fertilizer is more likely to be 2-2-2. Because of the chemical change from smoking, the industry prefers organic.

Synthetic fertilizers often have heavy metals from mining processes. Throughout the growing season a thin topping layer of compost helps keep a fresh source of nutrients. Composting tea is great also but some experimenting is necessary to avoid burning plants. Rain forests often have poor soil but have amazing amounts of plant life. Nitrogen is one of the most abundant gasses in the atmosphere, nitrogen bonds with water. Places where it rains a lot like the Olympic Peninsula for example have lush forests with poor compact clay soils. It is strange to see rain forests growing row crops or pasture land. Mimicking nature is the best way to grow crops and improve the land at the same time. The Columbia Basin depends on irrigation and has made just as big of mark on the landscape as any other farming around the world but farmers out here feed the world and actually increase the wildlife population by making more water sources available. There's always bad with the good though. Since water is available the dry conditions make it optimal for high quality crops of all kinds and cannabis is right at home. The last thing I'll cover this time is polyculture. Monoculture is growing a single crop like a large circle of peas. Polyculture is growing crops together to have symbiotic relationships and reduce pesticides or eliminate completely. Polyculture is based on observation of nature but with a human purpose. I prefer a good combination but with some sense and order. Things also have to be practical to harvest plants especially when it gets applied commercially. For one person I wouldn't recommend more than five acres, it could be done at a time sacrifice. For cannabis the total canopy are is less than an acre so manageable. Besides aesthetics, food, medicines, or weather shield there are other reasons for polyculture. One reason is fertilizers can be locked up in soils so plants like sunflowers or yarrow can access fertilizers. Later when they are composted or drop leaves those nutrients become more available to plants. Another reason is to attractive beneficial insects like dragon flies, lace wings, lady bugs, hover flies, parasitic mini wasps, tuchinid flies, minute pirate bugs, damsel bug, big eyed bugs, and preying mantis. A wide variety of plant attract beneficial insects for example dill attracts lace wings, lady bugs, hover flies, and parasitic wasps. Herbs like dill or mint often need to be let go to flower to help attract more beneficial insects. Legumes are beneficial plants that take advantage of nitrogen available in the atmosphere. A pea is an example of legume and a pod is a good indicator of these type of plants. Legumes are able to collect nitrogen and translocate it from the leaves through the stem into the root zones. The plants use their nitrogen but when they are cut down or thinned nitrogen can be available to other plants also. Getting familiar with the shape and sizes of plants helps in organizing a polyculture garden. Knowing how invasive a plant is can be helpful also. Learning and knowledge is very important in growing plants however wisdom only comes from experience. No matter what science or knowledge that can be related only growing plants can give a deeper understanding. Plants are like pets or old friends and can have their own personalities. Talking to plants is not so far fetched when you understand what they want. "FEED ME" is usually what there saying if they have chosen to be cultivated. It is amazing that things like corn started as a grass and got force bred for thousands of years into maze and we bred it into something special like sweet corn. There are a lot of experts on polyculture gardening. I think the largest farm I have heard of is a permiculture orchard in Canada around 20 acres. Permaculture is just longer term like orchards or perennial plants.

Some polyculture gardeners don't like aesthetics but all plants have their functions and could be incorporated into a diverse garden. Because of the high cost of Cannabis or pharmaceutical plants polyculture is practical. Larger scale it will become more practical with autonomous farming systems and eventually might replace chemical use. One unintended side effect of monoculture is certain crops don't require pollination by insects and have decreased populations. A garden should be busy with birds and insects flying around. Watching dragon flies in the evening as the sun sets in the summer time while looking over the garden after a hard days work gives me a good medicine experience. I notice the birds change from an alarming sound to more sing song rhythms once I start working in the garden. Next time I will get into the harvest, proper curing, and trimming techniques. Cannabis is just the plant that created my interest in all plants. All plants give me satisfaction in the same way however cannabis and corn have male and female plants allowing more adaptable genetics. I may move on to other plants and just apply the knowledge I have learned. To me plants have limitless potential for solving all kinds of problems. That strange flower or shrub may have something to offer for future medicinal research.