Finally: a Ray Of Hope For Our Office Rooftop Cannabis Grow

There's one surviving plant, and she's going strong.

July 1, 2015 marked the legalization of recreational marijuana in Oregon. Now, everyone can legally grow up to four marijuana plants. This is the third year WW has grown pot on the roofs of the office.

I have some good news and some bad news.

Bad news first: there's only one plant left. We replanted Dogwalker and Harlequin—plants generously donated to us a few weeks ago—onto the roof. Harlequin looked alright at first, but last week's heat wave took its toll swiftly. Here's a visual representation of her existence:

Try as I might, I couldn't seem to match the level heat with the proper amount of water, and it slowly withered away. Or maybe something went wrong during the repotting process. I'm not sure. But even if I wasn't raised to be a plant murderer, my recent growing experience seems to suggest otherwise.

So we're left with Dogwalker. This is where the good news kicks in. For the first week on the roof, she struggled a bit. But for the last five days or so she's made a wonderful recovery. The leaves are a lush green, thanks in part to some fertilizer—I actually diluted it this time—which revitalized some of the unhealthy limbs.

At the end of this very rigorous learning process, we're left with one very healthy-looking Dogwalker plant. I suck as a grower, but at least I'm learning. My plan is to channel the spirit of Harlequin—may she rest in peace—into our last surviving plant. Things are going well for now. We've decided to water the plants twice a day in the face of the recent heat; even the healthiest plants are going to struggle when temperatures reach over 100 degrees.

To close: I know I'm probably causing a lot of facepalms out there. But every person who reads this blog who reached out to help has been nothing but extremely kind. So, thanks for that.

It's not every day your journalism internship tasks you with growing pot for the first time in your life. Hopefully it'll be less of a disaster from now on.

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