Gardeners: On your mark, get set, go!

by Elana Dusse

Here in Northern California, we were recently blessed with some late-season rains in a very dry winter. They extended our natural green season but now it seems the last of the rains have come and gone and any green that is forthcoming will have to be coaxed and cultivated by human hands.

Now is the time to get those stiff garden gloves and hand-tools out of the shed; to get those seedlings in the dirt; to set up your automatic drip systems if you have them. Now is the time to turn your soil, maybe add in some compost or nutrients to fortify it, to give the little plants their best chance at surviving and eventually thriving.

This is not specific to cannabis cultivation but the same rules apply, except cannabis plants are especially delicate little fairies in the beginning of their lives and need to be carefully transitioned to the Great Outdoors in a process sometimes referred to as ‘hardening off’. Sounds kinky, no? But it’s pretty straightforward and I will attempt to explain it with the remainder of this article.

If you expose your little cannabis seedlings to too much cold, too much wind and too much direct sunlight too early, they may not make it through their vulnerable plant puberty and reach adulthood.

Many gardeners start their seedlings in a controlled environment, such as a greenhouse or even inside their home under a light to give them their best shot of making it through to adolescence. As the plants become accustomed to their warm, protected environment, the process of acclimating them to the outside world must be done with care. A small fan circulating the air around the seedlings will help them strengthen stems and better prepare for the potential windy days that Spring is known for, at least here in Northern California. You don’t want the fan blowing directly at the seedlings because it could dry them out too much but just enough to keep air circulating around the room and bring a little movement to their structure.

Consistent moisture for the seedlings is also very important for their early leaf development but again, they must not get saturated and risk getting root rot so a little spray bottle of pure water is a great way to evenly distribute moisture.

Although once they start growing, you will want to feed them a hearty brew of nutrients on the regular, resist the temptation to fertilize them before they are in their forever-home soil.

And as mentioned above, too much direct sunlight can also shock these little girls as the sun’s rays are so much more intense than any artificial lighting, so as you begin to transition them outside, you start with a shady area for several hours and after a couple days in shade, you can start introducing them to direct sunlight; start with an hour and then increase by an hour each day and after about a week (depending a bit on their variety) they should be adjusted enough to transition outside. If there are any signs of burning or wilting, than you might need to slow down the exposure time a little.

As mentioned above, California spring days can be wildly windy so it is also a good idea to give the seedlings a little wind block when you are hardening them off outside so they don’t get damaged by wind when their structure is still vulnerable.

With regard to temperature, nights in Springtime can also still be too cold for seedlings so it may be necessary to bring them back in each night until the overnight temperatures increase or the plants get a little bigger. It’s good for any type of gardening enthusiast to be aware of their ‘hardiness’ zone to know when they can expect average last frost dates to better protect their vulnerable young plants. Here is a link to one of the many online search engines to determine which hardiness zone you live in.

I usually transition my cannabis plants from a seedling pot to a larger 1 gallon pot (of a nutrient-rich soil mixture) for a couple weeks and then to their final container, which is ideally at least 20-25 gallon size. I used fabric pots, which are very popular, for the first few seasons (they have excellent drainage and are not as wasteful as plastic) but last year I grew them in old clawfoot tubs, two to a tub and they did nicely.

Some people prefer to stair-step up the pot size more gradually but I just did one transition and it worked well. Be very careful when you are transplanting to not damage the roots. Give the roots a little bit of a gentle ‘tease’ before transplanting. Make sure the soil is moist but not too dry and not saturated (aka, do not transplant directly after watering; rather water them in well just after transplanting them to their larger pot. Also, they will benefit from a ‘rooting tonic’ - a supplement that you dilute in water when you water them in to help them better root into their soil substrate. There are different rooting supplements out there, some are fungal-based to help them better establish mycelia, some are actual hormones to help the plants root better. If you are more of a hobby grower and don’t want to get too fancy, you could just use an epsom salts dilution to give the roots some support while they acclimate to their new substrate. Potassium and phosphorus are also nutrients that help to encourage roots to spread and strengthen.

And then, of course, there is the nutrition needs of the plants from transplant til harvest to consider, which are considerable. Cannabis, being the ‘weed’ that it is, can still thrive with just sunlight and water but it will be lanky and devoid of full foliage and its flowers will be minuscule and lackluster. To encourage these plants to pop out the voluptuous, crystal-caked flower buds that we worship them for, we must tend them and feed them well and keep them pest-free. That is way too much to get into in this article but there is no shortage of information online on what is the best way to feed your lovely green goddesses so that they produce high-quality flowers for you in roughly 4-5 months time. Let’s just say, it is a labor of love from start to finish to grow this beautiful plant if it is not for the purpose of financial gain but you will be rewarded if you put your time, love, and energy in, for as they say: you reap what you sow! Happy planting!

Light My Fire: Warm Up to Beltane

How a Celtic Fertility Ritual Evolved Into May Day

By Dan Reich

Beltane is one of four Celtic holidays that mark the mid-points of the four seasons. May 1 happens to fall halfway between the Spring Equinox (when daylight and dark are equal) and the Summer Solstice (where the sun is up for the longest). It has long been considered the time at which spring is at the top of its powers, and the early Celts of Ireland and Scotland considered it the most important day of the year. As pastoral people who depended on their herds, May 1 was traditionally the day herds were let out into their summer pastures, and Beltane rituals evolved from the desire to protect their herds and insure good harvests as well as their own good health.

Beltane centered around the concept of a bonfire imbued with magical qualities that offered protection as well as a sense of purifying. Villagers would douse their own home fires, and bonfires would be created for the purpose of leading their herds and themselves through the fires as they believed the fire had protective qualities. Couples would jump over a small fire to express their devotion to each other, as well as to At the end of the bonfire ritual, everyone would light a torch from the bonfire and return to their huts to re-light their own fires. The bonfire also gave tribute to the sun as it marched towards its zenith on the Summer Solstice.

The tradition of going “A-Maying” (indulged most often by young people in love, or at least lust) also began to take hold. Participants would stay out all night, sleeping in the woods, making love, and gathering up flowers with which to return in the morning. Often, they would collect the morning dew and wash their faces with it. Flowers were also used to make crowns and garlands to decorate themselves and their livestock. The celebration of flowers and greenery were expanded when the Romans brought with them their own peak-of-spring fertility festival, Floralia, dedicated to the goddess of flowers, Flora.

“A trip through Google and

the Festival of Beltane looks like

Burning Man with more Pan flute.”

- Matthew Gallagher, writer

The celebration of fertility evolved into the Maypole Dance, in which people danced (often naked…these weren’t your elementary-school Maypole celebrations) around a tall pole with flowers and streamers attached. The pole represented male fertility, while the flowers and streamers paid tribute to the Flower Goddess. The G-rated version of the Maypole was quite popular in England, but never quite caught on here as our Puritan ancestors discouraged anything that had a pagan origin. Little did they know how lusty the Beltane celebrations of the Middle Ages were...writer Matthew Gallagher has described Beltane this way: “A trip through Google and the Festival of Beltane looks like Burning Man with more Pan Flute.”

More recently, May Day has been marked by somewhat tamer observances, such as the creation of flowery May Baskets to decorate friends’ and relative’s houses, and the removal of footwear to celebrate the first day of the year to go barefoot. Many colleges have local rituals that involve skinny-dipping or other “let it all hang out” activities. May Day races are also held in many locations. It also was designated International Worker’s Day in 1889 to acknowledge the gains made in worker’s rights and is celebrated throughout much of the world much as we observe Labor Day here. But that has nothing to do with the origins of May Day as a celebration of spring, fertility and rebirth.

So how can you celebrate May Day today? Given its ties to fertility, the advancement of summer and nature, you may choose to go for a barefoot walk on the beach, or gather wildflowers from the countryside. Make a flower crown for yourself. Light a fire in a firepit and enjoy the balmy early evening. Feel free to enhance the experience with the CBD tablet or tincture of your choice. You could also invoke both Beltane’s fire and flower with a strain you particularly enjoy. Beltane has also been viewed as a time for optimism and renewal…it might be the perfect time to start that project you’ve been meaning to get to.

As we reach the mid-point between spring and summer and notice the changes in Nature as it renews itself, it seems appropriate to mark the occasion with a celebration of the warm and abundant times to follow.

• • •

From the Synergy Wellness Archive: A CBD Success Story

by Billee Sharp

The Synergy Wellness archives hold many testimonials from members who have generously shared their positive experiences using CBD-rich medications. These records are a testimony in themselves, attesting to the wide range of conditions and injuries that can be alleviated or resolved with a protocol of medical cannabinoid supplements.

Even chronic disorders can be treated successfully with cannabis, our case in point, Synergy member Leenie, who has been living with a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis for nearly thirty years. Leenie took her health into her own hands and through her open-minded curiosity and tenacious spirit she found CBD and has triumphed over many of the debilitating symptoms of her illness.

When Leenie was first diagnosed with MS she followed her doctor’s orders and took the conventional medications. Unfortunately, as time went on, her condition deteriorated. At that time, Leenie was working as a district manager and her job involved a good amount of driving. MS was affecting Leenie’s eyesight, giving her double vision which compromised her ability to drive safely and ultimately to do her job.

Eventually, her doctors suggested that she pursue permanent disability to minimize the deteriorating progression of her disease. With the elimination of her work-related demands and by changing her main MS conventional medication Leenie’s double vision cleared up. However, as time went on, her MS-associated “whole body”pain level began to ramp up and her doctors tried to mitigate this with increasing opioid dosages. This didn’t help, resulting in Lennie being adversely affected by the opioids while continuing to suffer debilitating pain.

After a discussion with one of her doctors who suggested Leenie try CBD as an alternative therapy, her partner, John, became determined to find it for her. So Leenie and John began to search in earnest for a reliable source of CBD. They were hearing all sorts of favorable reports about the newly discovered cannabinoid and the great results it was having with a number of conditions. It took dedication and a long time searching the internet to find the information they needed and most importantly to find a reliable provider.

When Leenie and John found Synergy Wellness they struck gold. Leonard was already working with several CBD-rich strains and making tinctures, oils and salves for Synergy members. Leenie was Leonard’s first MS patient, he remembers how compromised Leenie’s mobility was when they met in early 2013. His initial recommendation for Leenie was to take 20:1 CBD-rich tincture three times a day mixing in a few drops of THC in a moderate dose to alleviate pain as needed.

Leenie doesn’t like the ‘fuzziness’ that she associates with THC but she appreciates the way that it mitigates her pain. To avoid the ‘fuzzy’ sensation Leenie has figured out, by trial and error, her own optimum dosages avoiding the unpleasant side effects. Given that CBD offsets the psychoactive effects of THC, she has learned that she can take a little more THC in her tinctures on bad pain days as long as she also takes a little more CBD as well.

Leenie has taken a holistic approach to managing her MS, she avoids foods that exacerbate her symptoms, in particular, gluten and excessive carbohydrates and she makes sure to exercise regularly and get the sleep that she needs.

It would be easy to conclude here that Leenie’s story is simply another CBD success story but there is another crucial component to her success, namely her methodology. From the onset of treatment, Leenie has kept a careful record of her medications, dosages and the effects that she felt. In this way she has been able to experiment with various strains and dosages to get the best results from her protocol. In the early years she was writing in notebooks but now she keeps her data on spreadsheets which shows her clearly how her medications and corresponding dosages are performing.

This close attention to cause and effect has given Leenie the ability to try out different blends of cannabinoids at various dosages and track her responses. Leenie is closely in tune with her condition and at this point can make informed adjustments to dosages when her symptoms flare. She also varies the combination of strains she uses about every 2-3 days so that her body does not become adapted to any one particular strain or combination of strains, which can diminish the efficacy of that particular dosage.

Leenie’s meticulous record-keeping guides her protocol and it has also revealed certain facts about her condition. Living in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the weather can change quickly and temperatures often drop considerably when a low pressure system comes through. Leenie realized that her pain symptoms invariably flared when there were low pressure weather conditions approaching. Now she monitors the weather reports closely; if she sees a storm coming her way she increases her dosage in advance of her symptoms flaring, often managing to alleviate most low pressure related pain.

MS is a degenerative condition which often compromises mobility and is associated with chronic pain, prior to starting her cannabis regimen Leenie’s MS- related “whole-body” pain and her prescribed opioids noticeably affected her mobility. Too frequently she was unstable walking, especially on uneven ground and she fell often. Further, this resulted in a lack of confidence regarding her ability to walk and do other physical activities safely. Consequently she limited her activities fearing injury. As Leenie evolved her cannabis regimen her pain diminished and her walking improved significantly. Without the daily pain, she is able to do stretching and strengthening exercises for her legs and she is now able walk daily ( on average 2-3 miles ) and periodically she can enjoy kayaking and paddleboarding!

Leenie strongly believes that the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD have been key to her improved health. To maintain this improvement Leenie keeps a relatively constant amount of CBD in her system by taking either an alcohol-based tincture or an infused oil about every two hours.

Leenie’s experience shows that cannabinoid medications can alleviate the debilitating symptoms of MS and her excellent results have been assured by her own close attention to her cannabis regime. Leenie and John have witnessed the healing power of cannabinoids. Before starting her cannabis regimen, Leenie’s “whole body” pain was relentless. Now she typically only suffers a “bad pain” day once or twice a month. For these “bad pain” days, if her tincture regimen doesn’t sufficiently alleviate the pain, she uses one of Synergy’s 8:1 vape pen cartridges. The couple have seen how both CBD and THC tinctures and oils have improved Leenie’s health, restoring her vitality and giving her years of active life that she might never have had. She continues to take several of the conventional treatments for MS, but has eliminated the opioids and lives a relatively pain-free life.

As Leonard concludes; When I first met Leenie her health was severely compromised and her walking was unstable.. Fast forward to the present, she is full of energy and takes daily hikes. If you didn’t know that she has MS you wouldn’t suspect it at all. Leenie is vibrant and full of life, she is also full of love and gratitude, add CBD and this is a winning combination.