Aeroponics

Using aeroponics, cannabis roots are suspended in the air and are fed water and nutrients via a fine mist. Aeroponics doesn’t require any type of medium or substrate, and the growing style is commonly used to develop clones. This is done through the use of cloners, or mini aeroponic systems that blow a mist over clones to allow growth. The lack of a medium usually ends up meaning less space per plant, and the roots don’t have to fight for space. One of the cons to aeroponic growing is that when the pumps break down, the roots die quickly without an alarm and a fast response. Since growers are dependent on timers, valves, and pumps working properly, there are plenty of ways to mess up the system if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Aquaponics

This relatively rare method combines aquaculture—small fish, crayfish, prawns, or snails—with hydroponics, feeding the plants with natural nutrients produced by aquatic animals instead of synthetic nutrients. The main reason growers experiment with aquaponics is for sustainability and eco-friendly purposes. It abandons any reliance on fertilizers that are mined and manufactured, so you can be sure no synthetic fertilizers end up in the final, chemical-free product. Online, some people say aquaponics is a complicated, overhyped process with few rewards, while others praise the benefits.

Hydroponics 

Hydroponic cultivation is the process of growing plants in a water-based nutrient solution that doesn’t use soil. Roots are grown in substrates like vermiculite or perlite (porous minerals), as well as coco coir (coconut husk fiber). They absorb water and nutrients like a sponge and roots grow around them. Hydroponics ideally provides a more controlled grow site, promoting faster growth, potentially higher yields, and higher nutrient uptake. Growers often take drastic measures to ensure their hydro setup is sterile, and they have to deal with pesticides less often. 

Sea of Green

The Sea of Green (SOG) growing technique is designed to maximize the yield per square foot of a grow operation by growing lots of small cannabis plants rather than fewer larger ones. It creates a dense canopy that can be harvested earlier with the plants growing a single large bud instead of branching out. A variation, the Screen of Green (SCROG) method, utilizes horizontal netting to create uniformity. SOG and SCROG setups are typically created by commercial operations that deal with larger-scale grows. These ways can be maximized through super cropping and other pruning and suspension techniques.

Soil-Grown

Keep it natural, the way nature intended, by growing plants in soil. Generally speaking, it’s easier to maintain a plant grown in soil than in most growing methods and it’s a great medium for beginners. Soil is also an abundant source found everywhere, while quality varies. Living soil, a variation of this technique, is when the soil contains organic matter, minerals, water, air, and microorganisms that work together synergistically. Cultivating in living soil is believed to maximize the terpene and flavor profiles of plants.

This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of High Times Magazine.

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Julia Jacobson has suffered migraines for years, with one lasting as long as eight days. In 2016, she had a migraine to top all migraines—it lasted six months and came with vomiting and dehydration that landed her in the hospital on three separate occasions.

“I’ll never forget the day it began—September 22,” she shared. “It messed with my vision; I saw spots and auras. At times I couldn’t see at all,” she shared. “I was prescribed antidepressants and high blood pressure medications. Some of the meds they gave me had me dropping things, bumping into furniture.”

She was prescribed myriad medications, including Lidocaine shots and steroids. Jacobson said one of the meds, Imitrex, was so intense and had such severe side effects that the prescription was limited to two pills in a 24 hour period, with two doses in a two week period. She tried migraine glasses and had visits to an acupuncturist and chiropractor to no avail. 

“I just had a big mess of side effects and nothing worked,” she added. “My husband and I were thinking of having kids, and you can’t be on some of these medications while pregnant.”

Jacobson began using Prana transdermal roll-on 3-1 and Mary’s Medicinals CBD/THC patches. She also found a certain cultivar to be more helpful than others.

“White Buffalo is high in CBG, which they’ve discovered is a vascular dilator for blood vessels in the brain – it protects neurons,” she explained. “I also use Protab, a high CBG tablet made by Level.”

CBG is also effective in repairing neurological damage, according to a study titled “Neuroprotective Properties of Cannabigerol in Huntington’s Disease,” published in the journal Neurotherapeutics. 

From Bloomies to Bud

Jacobson was born in Chicago and attended college on the East Coast, majoring in Comparative Literature. She moved to New York as a young woman and spent four years as a buyer for Bloomingdale’s department store. 

Today, she’s traded Bloomies for bud, making her home in her husband Sam’s hometown of Oakland, California. 

Her husband’s lineage in cannabis dates back to his grandparents, who moved to Mendocino County 50 years ago to grow cannabis. His parents grew up in the once covert industry, working as trimmers while Sam slept in a crib nearby.

Mendocino is part of the infamous Emerald Triangle, including Humboldt and Trinity, where some of the finest cannabis in the world has been hybridized, perfected, and grown for as many years.

Aster Farms sits on 80 acres in Lake County, just south of Humboldt. Not technically part of the Emerald Triangle, Lake County is the step-child of the trinity, but is still a viable source of cannabis in California.

“We named the farm after the aster flower, for its 23,000 species, as cannabis is just as prolific,” she shared. “We use fish tea, high in nutrients, that we make ourselves. Our cultivars are sourced from our neighbors in Mendocino.”

Currently, the couple grow three core cultivars, Maui OG, Durban Poison, and Sour Maui, with all organic inputs, grown in the sun. 

“All of our cultivars are old school—what you smoked in the 70s,” she added. “The farm will launch tincture production later this year, promising approximately 8,000 bottles, with additional terpenes added. Chamomile to calm, limonene to stimulate, and pinene, an anti-inflammatory compound.”

But the farm’s Maui OG is a favorite stand-out.

“It’s a beautiful, classic purple,” she said. “It gives energy, creativity—very uplifting. I’m really digging this high—it’s super balanced and joyful. It’s our best cultivar, by far.”

Farmer’s Stash

Julia’s stash is a simple one, with a worn wooden cigar box gifted to her from a fellow farmer. Inside are jars of Aster Farms Deep Sour Kush, and Maui OG, with an Aster Farms Day to Night Pre-Roll pack.

The grinder is made by SharpStone, with a Lue brass spoon nearby in a small brass dish holding ground Aster Farms Strawberry Banana flower.

To treat her chronic migraines, she uses White Buffalo flower, high in CBG, Level CBD Tablinguals, used prophylactically; and Level CBG Protab, used at first signs of a migraine aura. 

She also uses Prana P1 THC Transdermal Aromatherapy Roll-on, used for migraine attacks on pain areas, if stemming from her temples, forehead, ocular areas, or neck.

An after work wind-down includes a sunset cultivar to take the edge off.

“I’m a purist when it comes to flower, and prefer to consume full spectrum flower with a PAX 2 vape,” she explained. “I enjoy our own Deep Sour Kush for those moments.”

Lastly, her travel kit, via a leather pouch made by her brother-in-law, contains PAX 2 cleaning supplies, including a pipe cleaner and a low-tech paper clip, the Lue brass spoon, RAW papers, a Bic lighter, ice water hash of Strawberry Banana in an infused pre-roll, and a tube of pre-ground Maui OG.

“I’ve found that the cultivars high in the compound CBG helps the most, while Durban Poison can trigger a migraine—so I avoid it,” she surmised. “White Buffalo with really high THC helps because it knocks me out and I’m able to fall asleep—and that resets the migraine.”

When the patient becomes a farmer, and the farm becomes her life, her stash takes on new meaning, concluding, “Cannabis has given me a safe alternative to take back my life!”

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