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On July 1, recreational weed became legal in Oregon. One of the things that means is that everyone can now legally grow up to four marijuana plants. Here at Willamette Week, we were so excited that we decided to have an old-fashioned office grow-off. All of our plants started the same size and they are all the P-91 strain, but each department elected to grow their plants in different ways. We're now heading into Week Four...We've been visited by pests and suffered nutrient deficiencies, but in the face of setbacks, not a plant has withered to extinction.
Follow along with the progress of our plants at wweek.com/weedgrowoff.
SALES: Bootsy
In an interview with the Sales team, team leader Michael Donhowe admitted to a few hitches in Bootsy's growth. Although the Bootsy grows tall, her stems remain spindly. The team plans to use a fan to mimic the wind in order to thicken her stalk. Additionally, Donhowe recently discovered some sort of parasite on the leaves. Team member Rich Hunter remarks that the invaders are likely mites and may be harmless. Regardless, the team intends to eradicate the possible pest with a spray, courtesy of the Events team.
EVENTS: Liz Ka-leaf-ah
The Events team got tips from a local gardening store. Their plant lives in a shiny grow tent with state-of-the art lighting. Here's their report:
"We are learning how to succeed thanks to the advice of our friends at Roots Garden Supply. Our plant, Liz, is currently growing like gangbusters under a badass Sun System LEC 315 grow light and is getting a healthy regimen of Botanicare CNS17 for vegetative growth. We had a very short-lived fungus gnat infestation, but one treatment with BTI and they were gone. In the coming days we plan to mess around with some low stress training to hopefully free up some more room for her to grow fuller before she starts to flower. We are keeping our eyes on some discoloration on a couple of the leaves, but overall she seems to be a happy, happy plant."
ACCOUNTING: Addi
Addi has spread her wings over in Accounting:
"Using binder clips and rubber bands we encouraged her to grow out, not up. She is making good use of the surprisingly strong blaze that our $12 shop light emits. Now that she's found her roots, we are scouting for a new home where she will lavish in the rays of 400 watts. Nurtured and pampered, Addi is ready to take flight."
NEWS: Reggie
The news interns christened their plant with a masculine moniker before they learned that only female marijuana plants flower. Unable to part with the name (and the sign that they had so lovingly penned), the plant has adopted a gender-neutral identity. Here's what they have to say:
"As Reggie struggles to realize ze's full potential, we've moved the grow light closer to ze's leaves, and Reggie has perked up a bit. While Reggie has only grown a couple of inches, we are continuing to shower ze with love and fertilizer in an attempt to beat out some of the larger plants in the office."
ARTS AND CULTURE: Candis Cannabis
Candis continues to grow to new heights, but she's lost a few leaves in the process. Our friend at Roots Gardening Supply suggests that the plant suffers a nutrient deficiency. As a first step this morning we cut off all the abnormal leaves to redirect Candis's energy towards her healthier parts. We are now in search of a 20-gallon bucket to serve as Candis's new home—more growing space, says the Roots rep, may be the simplest fix.
ART: Oscar De La Juana
As their aesthetic training might foresee, the Art Department logs their plant's progress with poetic finesse.
"Oscar de la Juana isn't just growing into her new green dress—she's looking fly and ready to positively bloom this fall fashion season. Thin but with curves in all the right places, she promises to run away with the prize and drag the competitors through the dust."
WWeek 2015