CLEVELAND, Ohio – Starting today, Ohioans may legally grow cannabis plants in their own home for the first time in the state’s history. But many budding horticulturists are asking themselves, “Where do I start?”
Cleveland School of Cannabis responded to the demand for that information with the launch of its 16-week My First Plant Program, which begins Feb. 19.
“There are so many people who want to get into this without having a concept of how to grow a cannabis plant, and they’ll end up making hundreds of dollars’ worth of mistakes, getting frustrated and giving up,” said Lisa Zwirner, cannabis hub director at the school. “Having an expert guide you, week to week, is not only going to give you more success when you start, but the knowledge to continue on your own.”
As the only state-approved career school for cannabis education east of Colorado, Cleveland School of Cannabis in Independence has been offering cannabis education to students from more than 28 states since 2017.
The school previously ran a test launch of the My First Plant Program to finalize the curriculum so it would be ready to offer the full program when Ohio legalized recreational marijuana use.
The 16-week virtual program will be led by instructor Zach Simcoe, who is Ohio’s first and only certified ganjier – a licensed expert in the history, science, genetics, cultivation, processing and consumption of cannabis and cannabis products. Ganjier certification, which is similar to a wine sommelier, is an extensive process, requiring online and in-person coursework and a passing score on three rigorous exams.
In addition to the weekly 90-minute class sessions, which will take place via Zoom, My First Plant students will receive a welcome box containing everything they need for home cannabis growing, such as a grow tent, seeds, nutrients package, fans, lights, soil and a journal. The box also includes a video that explains the program and instructions for how to assemble the tent.
The first day of class, students will jump right into growing by germinating seeds and learning about the process – what to expect, what size cup to use, what soil they’ll be using and what they’ll see throughout the next week, until they meet again for the second class.
Over the first few weeks, Simcoe will cover cannabis anatomy and the basics of growing a cannabis plant, such as proper grow light use and how to monitor the temperature, humidity and circulation in a grow tent. When the cannabis plants hit the vegetative stage, instruction will shift to cannabis plant lifecycle, plant maintenance, plant nutrition and proper pH levels.
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