Ladybirds are great for natural pest control
Since 1998
we have provided truthful, objective information about all aspects of Cannabis
and hemp and have cultivated a beautiful organic flowering garden in our
basement. Recently the College experienced a bit of an upgrade.
In the early
days the Cannabis College garden hosted around 100 little trees, and then
reduced in size shortly thereafter to a display of five huge plants (roughly
three months in vegetation each). The indoor College garden reflects and is
contingent upon the tolerated outdoor plant total in the Netherlands,
currently set at a maximum of five.
Our five
big plants remain in the brand new garden but now in a different format. The typical
Amsterdam basement has been cleared out in order to provide more space for
visitors and information, and two of the plants are no longer in the front of
the garden. Rather, the volunteers at the College decided to construct a custom
grow box in order to demonstrate a cultivation method that is rapidly gaining popularity. We have also chosen to restrict the public’s access to two of the
plants due to our history of contamination from prying hands. Presenting a
controlled setting also allows us to compare strains in different growing
environments.
The
remaining three plants are unrestricted in the original viewing area, as our
crew refuses to wall in the garden. As is our tradition visitors may still approach
the plants and experience the different fragrance of each variety as well as
closely observing the crystals (trichomes). Of course, no touching or sampling
is allowed, but photos are highly encouraged!
Regarding
technology, the plants are still (and always will be) cultivated in a
bio-organic fashion, meaning that they are grown in soil with organic nutrients
and natural pesticides (when necessary). The new tiled grow box has a maximum capacity of 1600
watts of air-cooled high pressure sodium light (HPS), and the remaining three plants
are enjoying 600 or more watts of HPS each, all under brand new Lumatek digital
ballasts. Our analogue days are behind us, and for tourists this means that
photos will turn out better!
Much of
what is on display in our garden has been donated by wholesalers, retailers
and organic nutrient companies. More information on each of these organisations
is available throughout the site.
