GARDENING GUIDE FOR POT-GROWERS OFFERS HINTS ON WATERING, LIGHTING AND HUMIDITY

The Good Bud Guide By Albie Green Candy Press 208 pp., $26.95

Lavishly illustrated with photographs of marijuana plants, many of
which could have played the central role in the classic
botany-gone-bad science fiction flick The Day of the Triffids, this
book is positively encyclopedic.

With discussions of more than 40 different varieties of the plant,
the book also contains hints on watering, lighting and optimum
temperatures, cuttings and humidity. There are also detailed
instructions on how to roll a tight and tidy spliff.

The singularly named author, whose experience as a grower is obvious
on every page, includes an "at-a-glance" info box for each variety.
It's a handy guide for gardeners seeking data on yields, flowering
periods, relative humidity necessary for the greatest success and
light wattages required for the best possible harvest.

There are photographs of the plants at maturity, as well as close-ups
of both the cured and uncured buds.

Not content with providing the kinds of gardening tips readers can
find in any of the more traditional horticulture manuals and
magazines, Albie also provides an analysis of taste, aroma and
effect, using a variety of recognizable comparisons including such
flavours as blueberry yogurt, lemon meringue pie, root beer, old
cheese and beef broth.

For example, the Cinderella 99 F2 strain earns a rave as "gourmet"
with the aroma of musky grapefruit "which is extremely long lasting."

There's more, apparently, to Cinderella that taste.

"This herb expands the mind and is excellent for creativity," Albie
says, "otherwise best indulged in at the end of the day or on
evenings in, as the duration of the effect is extremely long with
little taper off and no ceiling level."

Consider yourself warned.

The fast-maturing Mazar, on the other hand, flowers in a relatively
brisk 63 days and is described as having the aroma of dried fruit
with "subtle, sweet aniseed undertones," making it a perfect after-dinner toke.

Or, as Albie also recommends, "this strain is excellent after
breakfast with coffee."