Grow Your Own : Understanding, Cultivating, and Enjoying Marijuana

Honest, intelligent, and approachable, Grow Your Own combats the inaccurate stereotypes that are again being used to bolster the case for prohibition.

Featured in Esquire, BuzzFeed, and more.

The benefits of marijuana are undeniable—medicinally, sure, but also for stress, for creativity, and for relaxation. And as any homebrewer, winemaker, or backyard gardener can tell you, there’s a particular joy in doing it yourself.

Whether you’re new to cannabis and need to walk through the basics, or you’re an experienced grower looking to hone your techniques, Grow Your Own provides all the background and instruction you need to set up a grow space, raise your plants, and harvest your buds. It will teach you how to choose a strain based on its flavors and effects, how to to manage insects and molds without the use of pesticides, and how to mix just the right soil. But Grow Your Own will also give you a primer on the myriad ways to enjoy cannabis—from carving an apple pipe to baking a delicious batch of pot brownies. With photography, visual aids, and illustrations from Allen Crawford (Whitman Illuminated), Grow Your Own makes cultivating cannabis as accessible as it is rewarding.

Nichole Graf is Raven Grass's creative director and head of product development. A designer, illustrator, fine artist, stylist, and art director by trade, she worked as a footwear and accessories designer for Madewell in NYC, before moving West. This background, combined with her deep interest in alternative medicine, nutrition, and the natural world, led her to the creation of Raven Grass and its product offerings.

Micah Sherman is a trained architect who has worked in construction management, technical design for the modern luxury furniture brand Poliform, and as operations director for Hailey Development Group. His understanding of building and engineering has allowed Raven Grass to pursue innovative and uniquely effective systems beyond those used by conventional cannabis operations.

David Stein is Raven's Master Gardner. He has over forty years of experience cultivating cannabis in both Amsterdam and the United States. Known for his use of organic nutrient development and natural pest control, as well as his passion for unique strain development, Stein has been awarded "Best Weed" at High Times's Cannabis Cup, first place at Highlife Hemp Fair's Hash Cup, and his exclusive strain Stella Blue was featured in Jason King's Cannabible 3.

Liz Crain is the author of Food Lover's Guide to Portland, editor of True Portland: The Unofficial Guide for Creative People, and coauthor of Toro Bravo: Stories. Recipes. No Bull and Hello! My Name is Tasty: Global Diner Favorites from Portland's Tasty Restaurants. A longtime writer on Pacific Northwest food and drink, she has also written for Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, The Sun Magazine, The Progressive, and The Guardian. She is editor and publicity director at Hawthorne Books as well as co-organizer of the annual Portland Fermentation Festival.