Authors of gardening book series look at marijuana

They’ve written guides about growing fruit, vegetables, houseplants and more. Now, the authors of a popular gardening series have set their sights on something a little different.

“What’s Wrong with My Marijuana Plant? A Cannabis Grower’s Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remedies” (Ten Speed Press, 2017), by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth, is the fifth in their “What’s Wrong With …’” series, and is one of the first mainstream gardening books to offer practical advice on a topic some still consider taboo.

“I’ve been interested in medicinal plants for some time,” explains Deardorff. “So it seemed perfectly natural to me to extend our series to ‘What’s Wrong With My Marijuana Plant?’”

In the book’s introduction, the authors remind readers that the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal crop. They warn prospective growers to check the laws of their state before planting it.

But, Deardorff says, “Medical marijuana is now legal in 26 states. In some … you need a medical recommendation to grow it, but in others even recreation growers can now grow it, so it seemed like the timing was right.”

The publisher of the series’ earlier books declined to publish this one and Ten Speed Press agreed to step in.

“Another side to this is that we feel it’s crucially important that any plant to be used medicinally be grown organically, and our book helps people address any problems they encounter during the growing process using organic solutions,” says Wadsworth.

“Our audience is not stoners,” Deardorff adds. “Ninety percent of them are probably older women who are growing marijuana for medicinal uses.”

The book, like the earlier books in this series, takes a visual and diagnostic approach that can be especially helpful for novices.

Because so little research has been done on marijuana in the U.S., the authors researched the book by interviewing medical marijuana growers around the country.

“In general, it is a good strong weed,” Deardorff says. “It grows well. It grows strong. But like any other plant, it does have issues.”