Daily News: Advice from a `pro': `You have to look after the poor guys'
July 6, 1997
By SUSANNE HILLER The Daily News

A local "professional" marijuana producer says police will have to
start liking their plants before they can grow a bigger crop.
"You can't be good at something you don't like. You have to care
and look after the poor guys," said Jake, who grows pot for a living.
"The first time is never easy .... They should do OK next time. If
they don't, it means they just don't have the talent or their heart is not
in it."
Trying to explain the RCMP "grow team's" poor success in its first
shot at cultivation, he suggested the police could be relying on too many
sources of information.
"Using too many handbooks and guides for growing at home can be
confusing and misleading to the beginner," he said in an interview by
email. "This causes unnecessary mistakes."
"Often, literature leaves out simple factors. For example, those
little leaflings at the bottom of a seedling should fall off after a few
weeks the plant isn't sick, it's OK and growing properly."
The 35yearold Halifax man operates underground. He doesn't have
a real bank account or a driver's licence, but lives comfortably off his
profits. His simple home system fits in a closet and over three months can
produce more pot "than you can smoke in a year."
"It's easy once you get the hang of it," he said. "Anyone can do
it. They are too stressed about it. Tell them to smoke up and then try. I
think it's really funny that the cops are now growing dope. Aren't there
some unsolved murders they could be loo king into?"
Jake, who asked that his last name not be used for obvious
reasons, started growing weed two years ago after he lost his job as a
bank teller in Halifax.
"I don't like always looking over my shoulder, but in exchange I'm
living a lot better," he said. "Also, we (marijuana growers) have
developed our own support group to deal with living underground. My
neighbors still think I work at the bank."
For their next crop, Jake recommends the police find themselves
seeds from "good" pot. They may not have been using highquality seeds or
cuttings, he said.
"God knows what they used," he said. "There are several strains of
pot bred specifically for high potency and indoor growing. They should get
their hands on that. It's really a matter of genetics."
The second most important concern is the soil, he said.
"Ask them what kind of soil they used," he said. "Cheap soil does
not pay off. Unsterilized soil leads to parasites and ruins the crop."
The soil should not be acidic because it encourages the plant to
be male, he said. Containers should be sterilized, as well.
"You can find excellent soil at Kmart and WalMart," he said,
adding a grower must be very careful when transplanting, because it
"shocks" the plants.
"Keep a close eye on them after the first week and make sure their
roots are not cramped. Do not, whatever else you do, do not bind the
roots."
The "grow team" must be careful of overfeeding or overwatering
their plants, and to use as much light as possible. Once the crop becomes
infested by bugs, it's all over.
An organic method of bug control is soap suds, he said.
"Put Ivory in some warm water and put the suds over the plants,"
he said. "Rinse it off later or you'll taste the soap when you smoke the
leaves."