Kingston, NY – As 38 states and the District of Columbia have adopted medical marijuana statues and several states have passed laws either decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana altogether, Michael Brennan, an avid gardener and best-selling author decided that the time had come to update his seminal publication Grid Gardening Made Easy with several chapters dedicated to the cultivation and care of the marijuana plant.
“I realized that this was really a missed opportunity for whole segments of the population that have historically relied on clandestine sources of information and word-of-mouth knowledge in their attempts to cultivate the plant.” said Brennan. “This updated edition will give both beginning gardeners and marijuana enthusiasts alike an opportunity to access expert knowledge and direction to begin cultivating their own plants.”
Brennan, often referred to as the “Grandfather of Grid Gardening” by those that follow his method, was born in Sacramento in 1959 and grew up gardening alongside his grandparents. While attending college at the California State University for a degree in agriculture, he realized that the traditional ways of commercial farming were often poorly imitated in the small-scale residential gardens of his hometown.
“One day as I was touring a commercial farming operation as a student, I realized how often this method was being emulated in people’s own backyard gardens. People were trying to use industrial farming methods in their own small gardens but were disappointed with the amount of energy and waste it required.”
Setting out to change that, Brennan started researching exactly what the best way of increasing crop yield and reducing waste both in terms of energy and resources. First, he realized that instead of seeds being planted in long rows with space to walk between each row, that you could plant seeds much closer together if you decreased the amount of space between them. To do this, it required planting only one seed instead of relying on planting multiple seeds and then having to thin them out once they germinated which was labor intensive.
Then, realizing that most plants only needed no more than about ten inches of soil depth for their root system to grow, the idea for a raised bed garden began to take shape. Instead of having to till large rows of soil directly into the ground, Brennan wondered what would happen if instead you could somehow elevate the soil above ground.
“The more I thought about it, the clearer the idea became. What was needed was a small grid-based system of planting above ground with nutrient rich soil.” Sketching out several variations of how this could be done with his university advisor Johnathan Wiltrout, together they started brainstorming exactly what the best way of implementing his idea would be.
Soon the grid garden method was born. Wiltrout and Brennan settled on simplicity of both materials and design. By setting up what was essentially a square plot divided into smaller subplots with good soil consisting of a mix of peat moss, vermiculite and either compost or regular dirt elevated above ground level with untreated wooden sides to contain it, they planted their first grid garden in May of 1978.
As the first growing season continued, Brennan was proven right. The garden used less water, required no fertilizer and weeding was much easier than traditional gardening due to the ability of the gardener to simply reach in across the grid and weed any undesired growth. Plus, because there was a limited number of plants growing in each sub-grid, the plants didn’t have to complete with each other and as a result, the harvestable crop of vegetables was significantly better both in size and quality.
Brennan obtained his degree the following year and soon began to preach his new method of gardening as well as refine his system. In 1984, his book, Grid Gardening Made Easy book was published although it was not initially a big success.
“I had underestimated how hard it was to convince people to try something new, especially when the old way of gardening was so entrenched in generations of minds.” remembers Brennan. Many backyard gardeners, like himself, only had experience planting in the ground in long tended rows just like his grandparents had taught him growing up and there was a lot of initial resistance to his new method.
However, after establishing scores of demonstration gardens around the country and showing the benefits for several years, eventually people began to try grid gardening themselves. The book’s demand soon soared and was reprinted in 1987 and has undergone four major updates since then with information on suitable plants, heirloom varieties, and plant spacing as demand grew.
The latest update in May of 2022 is the first to directly cover marijuana growing, however. “For years I had heard rumors of marijuana growers using my book as a resource and why much of the information can translate regardless of plant species, information specific to growing the marijuana plant should be widely available. Brennan concluded, “Honestly, I thought it was high time marijuana growing came out of the closet and into the garden. All puns intended.”
Grid Gardening Made Easy – Fifth Edition can be purchased at your local bookstore or through multiple online retailers. Please check all applicable laws in your state and locale before attempting to cultivate marijuana as it is still classified as a schedule I substance and remains illegal under federal law.
Truth Bureau 