When you are setting up your grow area, you need to do a few things to ensure a better chance of successful growing. Your grow room (even if it is a closet) needs to have the following features: It must be clean! If it is not, clean it up really well before you start growing in there. By cleaning, I don’t just mean tidy and uncluttered. It must be free of mold, mildew, bugs and other things that can infest your plants. Wipe all of the services you will be using with rubbing alcohol just to be safe. It must be dry. Excess moisture can create real problems for your plants, including mold and... Read More

Even though spring in Colorado typically involves snow, it seems this spring will be warmer, earlier.  March is usually the snowiest month in Colorado and yet, here we are, halfway through the month with no snow.  As the longer, warmer days of spring unfold, you may still be feeling the heaviness of winter.  Since we spend more time indoors in the winter, coupled with less time moving and often more time eating, it is common to feel a little sluggish, sleepy, and possibly a few pounds heavier.  To energize yourself and prepare for the season ahead,  make some adjustments to your current routine.   Eat... Read More

Last week Curtis, the ultimate weed snob, was in town from Boulder. He had just finished skiing and was jamming out at a concert when a joint was passed his way. First, he smelled it, using two fingers to waft a little of the smell into his nose. He asked if it was a pure indica, a pure sativa, or god forbid a hybrid doobie. He asked the person who handed it to him if it was weed grown in soil or hydro? “What kind of ‘noots’ were used in the growing of this plant?” Was it the LGS or was it the buds with the little red hairs, he considered? He inquired about the name and if there was any... Read More

Sometimes a giant ape is just a giant ape. Sometimes not. If you’re a filmmaker, the trick to making a memorable creature feature is to make sure your message doesn’t overwhelm your entertainment value. Yes, you can read 1933’s King Kong as a screed about the racist fear of black sexuality. Yes, you can also read 1954’s Godzilla as Japan grappling with their anxiety over nuclear power. But you can also read those two movies as being about: A giant gorilla killing people and wrecking stuff. An atomic lizard killing people and wrecking stuff. Hey, if you’re looking... Read More

Welcome to Growing on the Cheap! I’m happy to be able to write a weekly column about how to grow really good, organic Marijuana. It’s been a myth for many years that you need $4,000 – $5,000 to start a home grow. That myth also requires you to spend up to $500 or more per month for electricity. My partner and I have proven that you can grow really good weed for $75 – $100 a month, after you make your initial purchases of $200-$500. That monthly cost includes soil, water, nutrients, electricity and CO2. We have been doing that level of low-cost growing every month for almost... Read More

What if a device could give you proper health advice based on your age and weight? Amazon, the American electronic commerce and cloud computing company, has launched a new KidsMD skill that can help parents decide to call a doctor on symptoms like fever, cough, headache, rash, vomiting, sore throat, diarrhea, fatigue or shortness of breath.  If you currently ask “Alexa”, the intelligent personal assistant made popular by the Amazon Echo, to assist you with music, lights, shopping lists and more, then you already have the hardware to enjoy the KidsMD application. The Boston Globe recently... Read More

The best way to enjoy any weed shop experience is to have an open mind, ask questions, and bring cash. People are not all created equal when it comes to the effects of this stuff. Even the most experienced cannabis user should heed the advice of the budtender who is helping them. It is like those old heads say, this stuff is way stronger than it used to be. Listen to the recommendations of your friendly budtender, they are there to help. Speaking with a budtender can save you hours of research on the internet and can be valuable for someone who is new to cannabis. You probably know the feeling... Read More

The superhero genre is usually designed to be a perpetual motion machine. Characters keep going through movies, comics, video games, every medium you can think of. They live through decades, change with them, reflect their values and priorities. As a result, smart writers like Grant Morrison, Gail Simone, and Mark Waid have been able to see the potential inherent in the genre and tell a wide variety of stories involving superpowered folks that are complex, challenging, and human. A superhero movie doesn’t have to be a dull origin, a cackling villain, and a swirling portal of death in the... Read More

March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme, Put Your Best Fork Forward, is an opportunity to improve your eating habits by improving your overall habits.  Have you ever noticed that when there is an abundance of choices it is harder to make a good one?  That’s because we have less stress about decision making when there are fewer choices to make. When you visit your local grocery store, you see the phenomenon of too much choice in action.  There is one entire aisle devoted entirely to breakfast cereal!  If you want to eat cleaner and healthier, one way to do so is to strategically... Read More