Exploring Raw Cannabis as a Superfood and ingredient in powerful topical medicines. Today we dive into how to integrate cannabis into our garden and engage with its many gifts without getting high.
I think growing marijuana indoor in greenhouses is a great way to pay for the construction of greenhouses and train people in the horticultural practices. The workers and infrastructure can then by repurposed, as necessary, to grow other food and medicinal crops indoors.
Technology is the answer to what? The ancient northern food forests of this land produced all the food and medicine humans need without hydroponic greenhouses, lithium batteries , computers and fracking gas.
Techno-optimism is hubris and anthropocentricism in disguise as being hopeful about a jetsons future.
It seems like you would be fine with throwing other people under the bus to get at the minerals for your high tech.
Have you read American Canopy, Man vs Nature, 48 Laws of Power, Atlas Shrugged, Wheel of Time, the lost language of plants, 1984? To name a few off the top of my head.
These books provide great analogs in a new digital world. History repeats itself for sure.
I used to get frustrated about stuff like this too, but as I have aged and matured, I know the only way forward is thru compromise and embracing both old world technologies and new world technologies.
I don’t like fracking for gas that much, but that same tech will be used for geothermal. Lithium will be replaced with sodium based batteries. Rare earth magnets will be replaced with alternatives.
I think Terra preta and companion planting are great old ideas but that’s only because I have specialized knowledge about it and have seen the results for myself. I can and have done this in my backyard, but at scale it’s super difficult to do. But that does not mean we can’t try to do it.
All I’m pointing out is that compromise is how things get done. To reach a compromise both sides need to think outside of their box. You need to reject the yes/no to get there.
I would be concerned about bio accumulation of heavy metals and other bad stuff when using cannabis as food. This property can be used to clean up dirty land, but you’d want to dispose of the cannabis offsite.
Thanks for pointing out the capacity of the cannabis plant to hyperaccumulate heavy metals from contaminated soils (and synthetic fertilizer as well as conventional livestock manure based "organic" fertilizer). It is however worth pointing out, that if one is creating/enriching their own soil via composting and not applying synthetic fertilizer, manures from conventional livestock operations (typically high in heavy metals) and not using fungicides or pesticides, there is no reason to be concerned about heavy metals in home grown cannabis for eating.
It is also worth highlighting the capacity for enhanced Phytostabilization/Phytoimmobilization, (a method for containing heavy metals in soil) which is available to those using compost as a soil amendment.
I have a friend with access to Mass Spec equipment so I am blessed to be able to test my crops (including cannabis) for phytonutrient, cannabinoid as well as heavy metal content. Thankfully, the background levels of heavy metals in soil here which are accumulated into some plant tissues (including cannabis) do not aggregate into dangerous levels in my plants. The annual compost application likely helps with this a lot.
So, if one grows the plants in homemade soil, enriched with compost and avoids synthetic sprays/fertilizers, nothing to worry about for eating homegrown cannabis.
Hemp as well as many other plants will be used in phyto remediation strategies for soil impacted with metals and persistent organic pollutants. The pyrolysis technologies to make this happen are just starting to surface mainstream. DoD sites impacted with firefighting foam are initial targets. Lots of early research is happening in Maine.
Very interesting and informative. I will add some things from the list at the bottom of the page. Now I know why I've been drawn to mango so much in the last three years. I have also always also been drawn to pine, cloves, lavender, bergamot, geranium, lilac, etc. anything very aromatic.
We drink a variety of black and herbal teas, use herbs and spices for flavoring and use essential oils topically. I feel the need to add more dark greens and weeds, though. Growing mostly dense lettuces in garden this year with interspersed flowers. Roots in fall. Learning to forage local wild plants is a growing interest. Dandelion tea is a favorite that I think is helpful, especially the one with a dark roast. We drink herbal and earl grey and cinnamon black teas, especially chai. I find chai tea to be particularly beneficial lately. I also love capers for quercetin. It's a potent little seed with high a quercetin content !
I just want to look at posts like yours these days. Makes me feel hopeful and proactive. Oftentimes, I find that I am not getting the researched detail I'm looking for without pulling from so many different sources. Thank you for sharing the deep dives !
:) Thanks I appreciate the comment. I think there are still a fair amount of people that see the topic of Cannabis as taboo as I am not seeing much engagement.
That sauerkraut sounds awesome. Sometimes I just ferment big chunks of turmeric rhizome with hot peppers, black pepper corns and ginger in a salt brine and keep it on hand for those rough days at work when I need a potent anti-inflammatory. If I am feeling sore in the morning after an intense day of work I just eat one piece of that fermented turmeric rhizome like half the size of my pinky finger, a few pepper corns and a spoon full of coconut oil and half an hour later I feel good to go and ready to do big things.
Fantastic article! Very informative!
Thank you.
I am gobsmacked by this information. Thanks for this compendium.
You are most welcome!
Large male cannabis stalks also make for some good biochar material ;)
Wow, lots of information. Didn’t know about the current state of development and Biopiracy in the corporate Cannabis world in Ontario 😔.
Well I will see how some of these heirloom cannabis seeds do in my west coast, biologically active, indigenous microbe compost amended garden.
Thanks for pointing me here.
I think growing marijuana indoor in greenhouses is a great way to pay for the construction of greenhouses and train people in the horticultural practices. The workers and infrastructure can then by repurposed, as necessary, to grow other food and medicinal crops indoors.
Well then I have bad news for you, as here where we live the biggest chemical soaked garbage hydroponic grow operations are almost fully automated.
I am curious what would your vote in this poll be ?
https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/poll-of-the-month-if-all-the-minerals?r=q2yay&utm_medium=ios
Technology is the answer. I assume you’re familiar with biochar and clean rooms?
Technology is the answer to what? The ancient northern food forests of this land produced all the food and medicine humans need without hydroponic greenhouses, lithium batteries , computers and fracking gas.
Techno-optimism is hubris and anthropocentricism in disguise as being hopeful about a jetsons future.
It seems like you would be fine with throwing other people under the bus to get at the minerals for your high tech.
Am I wrong?
https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/the-rise-of-anthropocentrism-bright?selection=b44516f6-6eda-4504-bd07-4135e9fb3b59&r=q2yay&utm_medium=ios
Is it a bus or a bridge?
Have you read American Canopy, Man vs Nature, 48 Laws of Power, Atlas Shrugged, Wheel of Time, the lost language of plants, 1984? To name a few off the top of my head.
These books provide great analogs in a new digital world. History repeats itself for sure.
I used to get frustrated about stuff like this too, but as I have aged and matured, I know the only way forward is thru compromise and embracing both old world technologies and new world technologies.
I don’t like fracking for gas that much, but that same tech will be used for geothermal. Lithium will be replaced with sodium based batteries. Rare earth magnets will be replaced with alternatives.
I think Terra preta and companion planting are great old ideas but that’s only because I have specialized knowledge about it and have seen the results for myself. I can and have done this in my backyard, but at scale it’s super difficult to do. But that does not mean we can’t try to do it.
Not surprised at all. Like I said, they have to pay for the construction. The food business is in for a shake up for sure.
My ethos requires me to think 2-3 steps ahead, so one generation in the future. Everything makes more sense if you look at that way.
I scanned that post. Any Yes/no question is false choice, because you can’t say no. It’s a vexing problem for sure.
Do you want landfills?
Your saying yes or no is a false choice is fallacious. People answered yes and people answered no.
You may not be willing to answer as it illuminates what beings you see as more deserving , but it is a choice none the less.
All I’m pointing out is that compromise is how things get done. To reach a compromise both sides need to think outside of their box. You need to reject the yes/no to get there.
I would be concerned about bio accumulation of heavy metals and other bad stuff when using cannabis as food. This property can be used to clean up dirty land, but you’d want to dispose of the cannabis offsite.
Thanks for pointing out the capacity of the cannabis plant to hyperaccumulate heavy metals from contaminated soils (and synthetic fertilizer as well as conventional livestock manure based "organic" fertilizer). It is however worth pointing out, that if one is creating/enriching their own soil via composting and not applying synthetic fertilizer, manures from conventional livestock operations (typically high in heavy metals) and not using fungicides or pesticides, there is no reason to be concerned about heavy metals in home grown cannabis for eating.
It is also worth highlighting the capacity for enhanced Phytostabilization/Phytoimmobilization, (a method for containing heavy metals in soil) which is available to those using compost as a soil amendment.
For more info, read: https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/phytoremediation?r=q2yay&selection=4866e1fd-1051-40e5-a95f-058e3582e736&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web
I have a friend with access to Mass Spec equipment so I am blessed to be able to test my crops (including cannabis) for phytonutrient, cannabinoid as well as heavy metal content. Thankfully, the background levels of heavy metals in soil here which are accumulated into some plant tissues (including cannabis) do not aggregate into dangerous levels in my plants. The annual compost application likely helps with this a lot.
So, if one grows the plants in homemade soil, enriched with compost and avoids synthetic sprays/fertilizers, nothing to worry about for eating homegrown cannabis.
Thanks for the comment.
Hemp as well as many other plants will be used in phyto remediation strategies for soil impacted with metals and persistent organic pollutants. The pyrolysis technologies to make this happen are just starting to surface mainstream. DoD sites impacted with firefighting foam are initial targets. Lots of early research is happening in Maine.
https://www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/blogs/maine-farmland-trust-purchases-songbird-farm-research-pfas
Super cool stuff.
Great to know, thanks.
Very interesting and informative. I will add some things from the list at the bottom of the page. Now I know why I've been drawn to mango so much in the last three years. I have also always also been drawn to pine, cloves, lavender, bergamot, geranium, lilac, etc. anything very aromatic.
We drink a variety of black and herbal teas, use herbs and spices for flavoring and use essential oils topically. I feel the need to add more dark greens and weeds, though. Growing mostly dense lettuces in garden this year with interspersed flowers. Roots in fall. Learning to forage local wild plants is a growing interest. Dandelion tea is a favorite that I think is helpful, especially the one with a dark roast. We drink herbal and earl grey and cinnamon black teas, especially chai. I find chai tea to be particularly beneficial lately. I also love capers for quercetin. It's a potent little seed with high a quercetin content !
I just want to look at posts like yours these days. Makes me feel hopeful and proactive. Oftentimes, I find that I am not getting the researched detail I'm looking for without pulling from so many different sources. Thank you for sharing the deep dives !
I want to lurk in your kitchen and garden, Gavin!
:) Thanks I appreciate the comment. I think there are still a fair amount of people that see the topic of Cannabis as taboo as I am not seeing much engagement.
That sauerkraut sounds awesome. Sometimes I just ferment big chunks of turmeric rhizome with hot peppers, black pepper corns and ginger in a salt brine and keep it on hand for those rough days at work when I need a potent anti-inflammatory. If I am feeling sore in the morning after an intense day of work I just eat one piece of that fermented turmeric rhizome like half the size of my pinky finger, a few pepper corns and a spoon full of coconut oil and half an hour later I feel good to go and ready to do big things.
Here is a link to a post where I include one recipe variation I do for fermenting turmeric which I like to add into Moroccan recipes https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/the-health-benefits-of-fermented
Your most welcome, I am glad you appreciate the content and look forward to hearing what you think of my future articles.