Foxborough – At Harvest Moon Hydroponics, a shiny tent in the window holds everything a budding indoor gardener might need.
Dangling from the top, a fluorescent light fixture shines down on a collection of young plants. An instrument lying on the floor measures the temperature and humidity. A small fan whirs away in the corner, generating a light breeze, and an air filter stands ready to scrub away any unwanted odors.
Shop owner Aaron Voog said the kit, which retails for several hundred dollars, has been a popular item since November, when voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure that legalizes marijuana for recreational use.
Under the new law, which took effect Dec. 15, residents are permitted to possess up to 10 ounces of marijuana within their homes, and to grow six marijuana plants for personal use. The total number of plants allowed within a single residence is capped at 12.
The law also paves the way for recreational pot shops to open in the Bay State, though it will likely be more than a year before commercial sales begin. Lawmakers voted last week to push back the starting date to July 1, 2018.
In the meantime, those who wish to exercise their new privileges under the law have few options to legally obtain marijuana, making home grow operations even more appealing.
Situated in a retail plaza a short drive from Gillette Stadium, Harvest Moon has been in business for more than a decade, but Voog said the last few weeks have been among its most successful. He estimated as many as 10 people per day visit the shop to ask about marijuana cultivation, ranging from millenials to seniors.
"People have been arriving, frankly, from all crazy walks of life that I’ve never seen before," Voog said.
One of the only brick-and-mortar hydroponics suppliers in the region, Harvest Moon offers everything from light fixtures to fertilizers, nutrients and soilless mixes for growing plants in water. While the store serves many who simply wish to grow flowers and vegetables indoors, Voog said much of his time is now spent answering questions about how to grow cannabis at home.
"It’s been interesting," he said.
Ethan Holmes, owner of New England Hydroponics in Framingham, said his company also serves a wide array of customers, though marijuana legalization has undeniably helped business. The company opened its third location in Auburn last week.
"We’re trying to position well for the market," Holmes said. "Business has been good."
When it comes to equipment, Holmes said lights tend to be the greatest expense for a home grower. The options range from relatively inexpensive high-pressure sodium lights, which sell for around $100 to $200, to newer LED lighting systems that can cost $1,000 or more.
While cannabis can survive inside basements, closets and other household spaces, Holmes said many first-time growers prefer the ease of raising plants inside a tent, which provides a controlled environment for their crop. A complete enclosure with poles and reflective material on the inside sells for about $250.
It takes only about five minutes to erect the tent, Holmes said, though actually growing a plant can be more challenging. Many research the subject online and find themselves overwhelmed by conflicting advice.
Others attend classes at the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis in Natick. The school, which opened a few years ago, caters largely to those preparing to enter the industry, but also offers a shorter program on marijuana cultivation for home growers. For $600, students can enroll in a series of three classes to learn about raising plants from seeds and clones, picking a growing medium, changing lights to support different stages of growth, and harvesting the plant – a process that includes drying and curing the buds.
"We did see an immediate response after the legalization passed to apply and enroll in the school," said Maggie Kinsella, the institute’s admissions coordinator. "The next day our phones started ringing. Our inbox had a ton of emails in it."
While the school offers advice on how to raise cannabis plants, students may still have a hard time getting started because of legal gray areas created by the new law.
Growers must either have seeds or a cutting from another plant to get started. And while residents can legally possess pot, it remains illegal to sell it in Massachusetts.
"It’s definitely tricky," said Holmes, of New England Hydroponics, "and it’s kind of a pitfall for everyone. People want to know, ‘Where do we get this?’ There’s really no good answer."
The law does allow residents to give away up to 1 ounce of marijuana to another adult, as long as they aren’t paid for it and the transfer isn’t "advertised or promoted to the public." Growers have capitalized on this provision to give away seeds as gifts.
Kinsella said some also risk ordering seeds from places where recreational marijuana is already legal, such as Amsterdam and Colorado, though shipping the products across state lines raises legal concerns.
Until marijuana sales become legal next year, Kinsella said the best way to start growing at home may be the same method cannabis smokers have relied upon for years – knowing someone with a supply.
"I think you’ve kind of just got to get to know the people in the community and go about it that way," she said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Home Growers In Massachusetts Experimenting Under New Marijuana Law
Author: Jim Haddadin
Contact: 508-634-7522
Photo Credit: Jeff Porter
Website: Mildord Daily News
