How to grow hemp
How to grow hemp
In Italy the cultivation of Hemp is permitted and this is regulated by the Law of 2 December 2016, n. 242. The condition is that the seed be certified and that the varieties of cannabis contain a percentage of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) of less than 0,2%. For more information, you can also contact Assocanapa to receive information about it.
Hemp, has countless uses, from that for the production of textile fibers to medical uses and to various other uses.
The percentage of THC can vary greatly and the varieties that have values between 7 and 24% have a psychoactive effect. This question led to the launch of Prohibition against hemp in 1937 with the signature by President Roosevelt of the “Marihuana Tax Act”. The United States subsequently joined other countries, also banning the variety of Hemp Sativa with low THC content that was used exclusively for textile and industrial purposes.
Since Hemp is a very resistant plant that adapts to different types of soil it is possible to grow it almost everywhere. The sowing therefore goes from March to April and we recommend a seed quantity of 50 kilograms per hectare to be spread by hand (for small surfaces) or with adapted semitrables.
Hemp, for its rapid growth, does not need particular weeds, let alone chemical ones. For harvesting, it is cut with a cutter bar towards the middle of August and it is packaged with a normal press after having been left on the field for a short period so as to favor partial maceration.
Hemp is a typical renewal crop and soil preparation is roughly the same used for other renewal crops; requires medium-textured soils and does not have. The water needs of the hemp are limited and the use of irrigation can be considered superfluous.
Due to its characteristics it can also be grown in large pots at home and then, after harvesting, a drying and preservation period in dark and airtight jars to protect its active ingredients.
In the next few years the cultivation of Hemp will be rapidly growing but for its medical and therapeutic use it is not recommended to do so without a thorough knowledge and without consulting your doctor.
Guido Bissanti