| Photo: West Coast Masters |
Do you grow medical marijuana? Would you like to have more of it? Ounces are for amateurs, according to Dru West, author of The Secrets of the West Coast Masters. West wants to teach you how to yield a pound per plant — indoors.
The West Coast Masters are medical marijuana growers and patients from California, Oregon and Washington state. After researching the leading cannabis cultivation techniques from around the world, including bonsai and tomato horticulture, they developed what they call the “ultimate techniques” for growing medicinal marijuana.
“Throughout the mountains and valleys of the US West Coast resides a secret society of master growers who are producing marijuana of unbelievable yields and potency,” we’re told on the cover of this $34.99 hardback. “While most growers are content with a yield of two ounces per plant, these West Coast Masters consistently yield over a pound, and in some cases over two pounds, all while staying within the limits of their medical marijuana programs.”
West uncovers the secrets of those master growers in this book, from setting up your grow room to drying and curing your medicine.
| Photo: West Coast Masters |
| A West Coast Master’s grow room. Note this is only eight plants! |
Dru will take you through step by step as you:
• Design and set up a grow room for stealth and success
• Build your own custom equipment, including clone machines, hydroponic systems, training rails and SCROGs (screens of green)
• Master secret growing techniques: transplanting, feeding, training, and pest control
• Turn your plants into pound-yielding monsters by using simple math
• Harvest your plants and turn them into highly potent medicine
West, a medical marijuana grower, caretaker and patient from Bend, Oregon, has spent the past 15 years designing, managing, and consulting for numerous grow operations across the United States. According to Dru, operating in different areas and climates gave him the opportunity to learn a wide variety of techniques from some of the nation’s best growers, but it was on the West Coast where he and his fellow growers developed the techniques and equipment found in this book.
| Photo: West Coast Masters |
| West Coast Masters Blue City Diesel bud |
It all comes down to “Love your plants and they will love you back,” according to West. And it becomes clear, upon reading the man’s words, that he realizes growing marijuana involves more than just cultivating a plant.
West rightly calls it “the cultivation of a living, conscious, spiritual life force,” and if the cannabis you smoke is good enough, you know it’s the truth.
Since many state medical marijuana programs set their patient limits according to the number of plants, it is in the interest of patients to grow as much medicine per plant as possible, according to West.
“Using standard growing techniques you would be happy to yield 2-4 ounces of medicine per plant,” West writes. “However, using our secret techniques you can easily yield a pound of medicine per plant, and many West Coast Masters are currently yielding over two pounds per plant.
“By applying our methods to just two plants, you could yield more medicine than you normally would with ten,” according to West. “Being able to work with fewer plants allows you to focus more time on each one.”
The book is divided into four main sections.
Section I is “Getting Started,” everything you need to start your garden, from determining location, preparing and setting up your room and equipment, selecting your growing medium, and starting your garden from seeds or clones.
| Photo: West Coast Masters |
| One pound of West Coast Masters grown Cinderella |
Section II covers “Mastering Secret Techniques,” including transplanting, feeding and watering, training your plants, and controlling pests.
Section III is “Training Your Plant Into a Monster.” This is where the plants get massive. This section carries you through the the three stages of growth, Phase I, which is clone/early vegetative growth; Phase II, vegetative; and Phase III, reproductive (flowering).
Finally, Section IV fills you in on “Turning Your Plant Into Potent Medicine.” This includes flushing your plant of built-up nutrients, harvesting, drying, manicuring, and curing your buds so they are ready to be used. “Following these instructions will take you medicine from ‘good’ to great,” West promises.
The step-by-step instructions are clear, and the photographs are excellent; make no mistake about it, this is a beautifully produced volume.
If you run into questions while maintaining your garden, you can always visit www.westcoastmasters.com for help. There’s a step-by-step instructional video, or you can ask the Masters a question in the Grow Forum. You can also sign up for the Masters’ mailing list, find them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest secrets.
You can buy your copy of The Secrets of the West Coast Masters for $34.99 plus shipping on the West Coast Masters website.