Hemp project at Riverside Community - for the Earth and all living things

Cannabis sativa, also known as hemp, is a species of Cannabis. It is a dioecious, annual herb. It has been used by humans throughout recorded history for its fiber, for its psychological and physiological potential as a source of drug material, and for the nourishment and oil of its seeds. Different parts of the herb have different uses and different varieties are cultivated in different ways, and harvested at different times, depending on the purpose for which the herb is grown.

Hemp is a common name for Cannabis sativa and the name most used when this annual plant is grown for non-drug purposes. When grown for industrial purposes hemp is often called industrial hemp (or industrial cannabis), and a common product is fiber for use in a wide variety of products.

70% of the Cannabis plant’s total weight is made up of the ‘hurd’ or woody inner core. This part of the plant does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and can be used in housing construction. The silica leached from soil by the plant combined with unslaked lime (calcium oxide) forms a chemical bond similar to cement which is both fire and waterproof.

coming soon...

Location: Riverside Community, Lower Moutere, South Island, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Area: 1.5 ha

Planted about 2 milions of hemp seeds on December 6th 2006. We would plant earlier but we didn’t have the licence.

coming soon...

10/11/2006 - fertilizing the field with a bokashi
11/11/2006 - fertilizing the field with a bokashi
14/12/2006 - one week and one day after sowing
21/12/2006 - it’s growing and it’s getting bigger...
28/12/2006 - ...and greener
11/01/2007 - just over a month later. incredible plant...
14/01/2007 - growing heigher...
18/01/2007 - ...and heigher
25/01/2007 - male plants are flowering...
03/02/2007 - it’s already tall like me (6.5ft)!!!
15/02/2007 - beautiful flowering females...
22/02/2007 - males are scattering polen around while females are getting fat and sticky
08/03/2007 - males are done and drying off while females are getting even fatter and stickier
21/03/2007 - she’s a beauty. check the crystals and seeds on early females. just over 3 month old plants!!!
22/03/2007 - harvest day #1. machines are on the site and they need some tuning...
23/03/2007 - harvest day #2. yeah, they are cutting it down.
24/03/2007 - harvest day #3. done. everything is cut down.
26/03/2007 - flowers are drying. the seeds are slowly getting home...
02/04/2007 - threshing and rubbing the flowers to get the seeds out...
07/04/2007 - there is still a lot of seed in the flowers and the birds just love it
14/04/2007 - winnowing seeds to separate seed from the chaff
09/05/2007 - from the field under a roof
12/05/2007 - look there are young baby plants growing again. ups here comes a plough...
15/05/2007 - some sheaves are still wet so they need to go outside to dry...

• Cannabis Sativa
  
• Hemp
  
• Norml New Zealand
  
• Hemp building
• Riverside Community