New Exotic
Well, for me at least.
I grew up just south of the South border of Canada and I had heard about people growing these. Some of them even had carried around little bags of this tea with them everywhere. But I have never had one or even seen one up close. That all changes now!
When I was a kid, I started early but then again, I quit early too. Yes, I am still like that today. Decades later, I have to be the first in on any new thing and the others have to catch up with me. By the time I was 15 or 16, I didn't want to smoke this stuff anymore. And interfered with my business interests.
Back in those days, I could easily dig up seeds for this kind of plant and my dresser drawers or the desk where I did my homework. And I had never tried to plant any. My logic was that it would die anyways when fall hits and snow buries everything.
About a year ago, I was at my ex's house and I saw seeds on the table. This person happens to smoke a lot. I tossed some in my pocket like I would have when I was a kid.
So for over 12 months I tried planting those seeds and none of them sprouted or grew. My oldest son heard about my frustration and a few days later, he brought me three plants that he got from a friend who grows and sells this "tea" that I mentioned earlier.
They came in those flexible plant pots and I was anxious to put them in suitable pots right away. The smallest of the three wilted and died after a few days. The middle one, in size, is featured in this article, and the biggest is for a later post - it is twice the size of this one. The one that died was given a suitable memorial and cremated. The smoke went through a tube and bubbled through the water and up the chimney.
That was the first time I have smoked in many years. I know it was just the dried leaves but it seemed way more natural, a clean buzz of sorts. I was told that the owner of these plants was hitting his legal limit as to the 'number of plants' that one can have. Rumor has it that some of what he grows gets sold at some point, which speaks to the quality of this South American variety. That said, I cannot wait to try one or more of its buds when they emerge.
I am not sure what to do with these little things popping out of the lower leaves. If it were a tomato plant, I would remove them for more tomatoes. What do I do with them related to a Mary Jane though?
Is that bark starting at the base? Hey, I am wingin' it here. I have no idea how to prune or raise these plants. When I was in high school, a "lid" contained a lot of leaves, seeds, and a few buds if you were lucky. If anyone has any tips or tricks up their sleeves, let me know what's what.
I grew up when the Cheech and Chong movies were big in the theaters. Those were the days! And those guys are still going strong, proving that everything we were told about drugs and early death due to them was completely false. Al the old bands and their members are lasting into old age just fine. My generation was fear mongered by cops, teachers and parents.