Horticulture Semester (Live)

This lesson will explore the history of cannabis, its significant role in shaping the modern world, and the many misguided public policies that have arisen due to efforts to prohibit it.

This course overviews state and federal cannabis laws, public policies, rules, and regulations. The course covers federal laws prohibiting cannabis and the risks of breaking those laws, including mandatory minimum prison sentences, asset forfeiture, and collateral consequences. Students will gain an understanding of evolving federal enforcement priorities and tactics, federal laws and policies that affect cannabis banking and taxes, and federal hemp and CBD laws and oversight. Students also will understand how states prohibit or allow medical and adult use of cannabis and the essential components of state licensing of commercial cannabis, including license types, eligibility, application requirements, and operating regulations.

This course discusses how to grow cannabis safely and comply with state and local cultivation regulations. First, we identify the places where cannabis cultivation is permitted and briefly examine the process of obtaining a license for commercial cultivation and the regulations you need to follow as a commercial grower. Then, we turn our attention to safety. We walk through the mandatory security measures for most cannabis businesses and emphasize the importance of being a good neighbor and running a discreet operation with odor and light control. Finally, we look at some potential hazards in a cannabis cultivation operation and how to address them.

In this course, we will introduce the foundations of cannabis botany — the physiology of the plant, its life cycle, and the environments in which it is cultivated.

One of the first choices you must make when cultivating cannabis is whether you start your plant from a seed or a clone — a rooted cutting that is an exact genetic copy of the mother plant. In this course, we learn more about both approaches and explore the pros and cons of each. We demonstrate techniques for sprouting and sowing seeds and identify the optimal environmental conditions for germination and young seedlings. Then, we examine the practice of cloning and its application in cannabis cultivation. We learn how to assess the health of clones and highlight the importance of quarantining new clones and acclimating them to a new growing environment.

In this course, we explore how light and nutrients affect the growth and development of the cannabis plant during the vegetative growth stage. We also look closely at how various anatomical structures of the cannabis plant develop during this phase of the life cycle and the role of each part of the plant in promoting vegetative growth. The course concludes with some best practices for transplanting and techniques for influencing the growth pattern of your plants, such as pruning, training, and topping.

Flowering is the life cycle stage most strongly associated with cannabis cultivation — the emergence of the sticky flowers, or “buds,” the plant is well-known for. We explain how changes in the photoperiod prompt the start of the flowering stage. You will learn to care for your plants while transitioning from the vegetative phase. We also demonstrate how to sex cannabis plants grown from seed by examining the earliest signs of flower development. Then, we introduce cultivation techniques for the late flowering stage and recognize when flowers reach their optimal maturity. We conclude by discussing how to plan outcrop cycles to maximize the number of plantings.

In this course, we walk through the entire process of harvesting and processing your crop. We demonstrate proper harvesting and manicuring techniques and explore equipment that one can use to automate some of those tasks. We discuss dry room conditions and the importance of correctly curing and storing your crop to bring out the best qualities in the biomass and maximize its shelf life. Then, we learn about analytical lab testing requirements for harvested cannabis biomass and how to interpret the results of potency and quality analyses. Finally, we discuss the allocation and transport of your crop and outline how to do so efficiently and competently.

This course examines how we can create a root zone environment that allows plants to thrive and provide the nutrients and water needed to optimize their growth. First, we discuss the various planting mediums used for cannabis cultivation and consider the factors when selecting one. Then, we examine the nutritional needs of the cannabis plant and the importance of having the ideal concentration and pH in a liquid nutrient solution. Finally, we explore the options available for irrigation and nutrient delivery and weigh the pros and cons of automation versus hand-watering.

In this course, we outline the conditions for optimal growth that you, as a cultivator, can monitor and control — light, CO2, temperature, nutrients, water, and salinity — and examine the role of each in the development of the cannabis plant. We also explore the relationship between these optimal growth conditions to understand better how changes in one affect the other.

We explore the anatomy of the major and minor vegetative and reproductive organs of the cannabis plant. We dive deeper into the physiological role of water and carbon dioxide, emphasizing transpiration and photosynthesis. Finally, we briefly examine how plants adjust their physiological processes in response to changes in their growing environment.

In this course, we explore plant propagation, intentionally creating new plants. We examine the difference between sexual and asexual reproduction and discuss the different propagation techniques one can use to accomplish each. After a brief discussion of breeding plants to produce seeds, we demonstrate how to root clones and define the optimal conditions for rooting. The course concludes with introducing tissue culture, a propagation technique quickly gaining popularity in the commercial cannabis industry.

This course will review the key components of soil, the key types of soil found on earth, soil microbiology, and the soil food web. Additionally, this lesson will examine how “living soils” benefit cannabis production and reduce excessive waste in cannabis cultivation.

This course examines the concepts of “organic” and “sustainable” related to cannabis cultivation. After a brief look into the history and science behind some common principles of organic and sustainable farming, we will explore the cannabis industry’s historical reliance on synthetic nutrients and the harmful effects of chemical fertilization for all crops from a soil and ecosystem management perspective. Finally, we will discuss the often unsustainable nature of many standard inputs used in cannabis cultivation and learn why something organic may not always be sustainable.

We will discuss the lack of standardization in cultivar labeling across the cannabis industry and its challenges for growers. We will conclude the course with practical advice on making good cultivar selections for your cultivation operation. We will also identify some tools for growers to help them select genetics. We will also explain how to use those tools to choose cultivars to achieve your desired result, whether a commercial appeal or therapeutic effect.

This course reviews the most common known pests that affect cannabis and discusses some general treatment options.

This course module explores how pathogens lead to disease in cannabis plants. We identify some common pathogens found in cannabis, the diseases they can cause, and the symptoms of those diseases. Then, we explore the conditions which must be present for an infection to emerge and offer strategies for controlling pathogens and disease in a cannabis cultivation operation.

In this course, we present strategies for preventing pest and pathogen infestation, such as sanitation, environmental controls, cultivating beneficial microorganisms, companion planting, and the introduction of beneficial predators. We then review some treatments available to control a pest or pathogen infestation and discuss how to do so safely and efficiently. We then introduce the concept of integrated pest management and provide resources for learning more about the practice.

In this course, we learn more about how nutrients travel through the plant, which will help us better understand how nutrient disorders occur and how to identify them. We then introduce some of the most common cannabis nutrient disorders and all the complexities of diagnosing, preventing, and responding to nutrient issues in cannabis plants.

In this course, we will explore how this fact creates additional pressures for outdoor cannabis farmers and how those pressures influence every decision a farmer must make when setting up a new outdoor cannabis farm.

We will first explore some of the pros and cons of greenhouse growing and examine some of the most commonly used greenhouse structures and the different kinds of coverage or glazing applied to the structure’s exterior. Then, we will discuss various strategies for maintaining optimal growing conditions in a greenhouse setting. Finally, we will briefly examine some greenhouses cultivation techniques and explore how they differ from the methods of other methodologies.

We will explore the many aspects of optimizing light and review the types of lighting most commonly used by commercial and home growers. We will also demonstrate how to measure the quality and quantity of the light reaching your plants and learn how to optimize the photosynthetic potential for various plant cultivars in your garden.

We will examine some of the most common approaches to providing adequate ventilation and climate control at your cultivation site, which is essential to the success of your operation.

We will introduce some basic electrical concepts, like amperage, voltage, wattage, and resistance, and learn how to calculate the safe load capacity of your electrical system.

This course module will examine financial considerations associated with launching and operating a commercial cannabis cultivation operation. Then, we will apply everything we have learned to design a fictitious cannabis grow.