HPSO Gen(i)us Program featuring Johanna Silver
"Growing Cannabis: Introducing one of the oldest cultivated plants into the garden"

From peonies to pot—Johanna Silver, former Sunset garden editor, will share her journey into cannabis. Spoiler—she’s not a stoner. The presentation will include a brief history of the plant, one of (if not THE) oldest plants under human cultivation, including how regional climates impacted he plant’s evolution. She’ll paint a picture of the current state of genetics of the plant—unrivaled in anything else in horticulture, as it's not yet gone through modern breeding practices. Myths and misinformation when it comes to cultivation, coming from 100-ish years of prohibition, will be discussed and corrected. It should be noted that Johanna’s approach is outdoor-only and garden-scale. She grows for a love of the plant, not with a goal of maximizing yield. The techniques she most adheres to are those that are easiest, simplest, and most tried-and-true in the garden.

Johanna is a James Beard Award-winning author who writes mostly about plants and people. Her two books, The Bold Dry Garden: Lessons from the Ruth Bancroft Garden (Timber Press, 2017) and Growing Weed in the Garden: A No-Fuss, Seed-to-Stash Guide to Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation (Abrams, 2020) are available everywhere books are sold. Johanna is a contributing editor at Better Homes & Gardens, and her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Eating Well. Previously, Johanna spent ten years at Sunset Magazine, beginning with a shovel in her hands and culminating as head of the garden department. She lives and gardens in Berkeley, CA, where she grows fruits, veggies, and entirely too many cut flowers.

Registration is now open: 2021 Genius: Introducing Cannabis

This is a Zoom presentation.  Price is $5 for members; $10 for non-members