Smokin’ sommelier

Hey, is someone going to open a spot where we can have weed tasting? You know, like the wineries do?

—Fran C. Pants

Good idea! Weed tasting is just as much if not more fun than wine tasting. Stoners generally have better snacks. The new rules under AUMA will allow for cannabis friendly social clubs, so you should be able to hit up the local establishment and sample a few goodies sometime in 2018.

In the meantime, there are all sorts of events all over the place that will let you try a few samples. Instagram is the best way to find these events; search for @secretsesh, @weedallstarllc, @popupsesh, @saladbowlsesh or things like that. Most of these events are done “farmers market” style: The growers set up booths, and you can wander around and try a few dabs or maybe a bowl in a 420-friendly environment.

These events are usually hella fun although maybe not as upscale as you might like, since a lot of them happen in warehouses in industrial areas. Colorado and Los Angeles are way ahead of Northern California when it comes to fancy-pants cannabis parties. Andrea Drummer out of Los Angeles and Philip Wolfe in Vail are smashing the game with their upscale canna-parties. Norcal needs to catch up.

(Quick plug: I am throwing a small, intimate cannabis tasting party in Fair Oaks on May 6. Hit me on the Instagram—apparently, all cannabis friendly parties have to be promoted through Instagram—for more details.)

Weed and wine and coffee and beer are all very similar in that, while the effects are nice, people also love the different flavors and varieties. As cannabis regulation moves along, it would be great for the regulatory bodies to recognize weed as an artisanal pursuit and not just a commodity.

It’s the middle of springtime! Is it too early for me to put some plants in the ground?

—Jeans Greene

Nope. This is a perfect time! Make sure your dirt is nice (have it tested) and let your cuttings get acclimated to the outside world by leaving them outdoors for a few hours per day before you put them in the dirt. If you are starting from seeds, be sure to “pop” them (I like the old school “put ’em in damp paper towels in a frisbee on top of the refrigerator” method) before you put them into the dirt. If you aren’t ready to plant yet, no worries. You could probably wait until late June and still get a decent-sized crop.

If this is your first time, get a book to help you along. You can find some solid references here: https://sensiseeds.com/en/blog/top-5-cannabis-grow-books. If you have good dirt and plants, good weed is easy to grow. Let me know when it’s harvest time, and I will come over to help you trim. And smoke. Yee!