About
Jorge Cervantes’ public career spans 39 years. His books and DVDs (50 total) are published under his given name, George F. Van Patten and pseudonym, Jorge Cervantes, in Dutch, English, French, Italian, Japanese, German, Russian, and Spanish.
Self-publisher, Cervantes’ (Indoor) Marijuana Horticulture book was christened “the Grow Bible” in 2000 by indoor, greenhouse and outdoor growers. His knowledge and hands-on experience inspired millions of growers worldwide to apply simple, effective techniques to grow more and better cannabis.
Countless growers opened their gardens, greenhouses and grow room doors to help Jorge share their know-how with you.
Underground guerilla years (1983-2010) Cervantes wore a disguise to conceal his identity so that he could teach the world to grow. Operation Green Merchant (1989) set up by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and local law enforcement sent more than half of Jorge’s friends to prison during the infamous “War on Drugs”. Cervantes came “out of the closet” in a 2010 interview on National Public Radio (USA).
Hundreds of articles by Cervantes are chronicled in 12 languages – Dutch, Cheech, English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. His regular columns in High Times (USA) and Soft Secrets (Europe and Latin America) keep millions growing.
YouTube videos receive millions of hits. Check out more than 250 grow videos with cultivation information you can use immediately.
Travel – Cervantes trekked to five continents traveling extensively in North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Australia to research and publish cannabis cultivation techniques.
Bilingual (English/Spanish) Cervantes lives in Spain where he continues to teach the world to grow more and better cannabis.
Year 1983 - IMH 1Ed English
Jorge Cervantes
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, First Edition, English.
Nobody would print or publish my first book, Indoor Marijuana Horticulture. I wrote the book on a Kaypro computer with two 64K floppy disks and typeset the galley text at a local service provider, the Nickel Ads. I waxed the back of the galleys. I shot black and white photos and made simple line drawings. I´m no artist. I laid them out to make print ready plates.
I talked Big Al, the owner of Insta Print on 82nd Avenue and Foster Road in Portland, OR, into letting me come in after business hours to use the press. I learned about printing in my hometown, Ontario, OR. I printed the black and white book on a Multilith 1250 printing press. I printed it on 8.5 x 11-inch 20-pound bond paper, two up – 5.5 x 8.5-inch pages, front and two on the back side. I printed a two-color cover on 12-point coated paper stock. My wife and I collated the 24, 8.5 x 11-inch pages plus the cover, into a 96-page book. We walked in countless circles around a large wooden table. We worked dizzying hours.
I rented a manual industrial stapler to saddle-stitch the 25 total “pages” together into a book. I returned with the folded, saddle-stitched books to Insta Print to back trim the three rough sides of the book to form a finished product.
My wife, Tom Alexander, publisher of Sinsemilla Tips magazine and a handful of close friends were my only support group.
Big Al smoked cigarettes but had never tried marijuana. I left him with two joints. A few hours later I stopped by the print shop, entering via the back door. Big Al was hugging the floor giggling uncontrollably. I’m not sure if he puffed after that.
I sold the books personally to local headshops and a few indoor garden stores in Portland, the Willamette Valley, Oregon and along Interstate 5 north to Seattle, WA. The indoor garden stores that would sell Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, kept it under the counter to avoid legal prosecution under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). After proving the book would sell, Homestead Books (Ballard), Seattle, Washington and Last Gasp of San Francisco, CA started distributing them. The first edition of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture sold for $8.95. Six thousand copies sold the first year, 1983.
Year 1985 - IMH 2Ed English
Jorge Cervantes
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, Second Edition, English
The Second Edition of was printed by a commercial printer. With the confidence and a little bit of income gained from the First Edition, I was able to do a lot more research and expand the book to 288 pages with a full color cover. The black and white photos and drawings improved, and so did distribution. Back then few people believed you could grow cannabis indoors under “street” lights. I was very fortunate to model my work after Steve Murphy, AKA Murphy Stevens, author of How to Grow the Finest Marijuana Indoors Under Lights, and owner of the Indoor Sun Shop, in Seattle, WA. Steve Murphy, David Tatelman, (Homestead Books), Tom Alexander (Sinsemilla Tips magazine) and I remain life-long friends.
Year 1986 - GI 1Ed English
George Cervantes
Gardening Indoors, First Edition, English
The first edition of Gardening Indoors was a sanitized copy of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture that could be sold openly in the indoor/hydroponic grow stores. Greg McAllister Son, Kenny, was kind enough to pose in a flower-filled grow room. I was experimenting with my name and decided the book was by George Cervantes.
The RICO statutes kept indoor grow stores from selling cannabis books. By selling a cannabis cultivation book, the store owners, employees, and anybody associated, could be prosecuted under the RICO statute as a criminal organization that knowingly sold growlights and grow equipment to grow cannabis. Cannabis busts back then were often Federal and heavy. The Feds were handing out “nickels” and “dimes” – five- and ten-year prison stents like clockwork. For several years about half of my friends were in prison, work release or parole.
Year 1988 - IMH Dutch
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana Binnen, Dutch
Educare bv, Woord Noord, Drachten, Netherlands translated and published the Dutch edition, Marihuana Binnen. This was the first complete detailed cannabis cultivation book in the Dutch language. Marihuana Binnen was the first cannabis cultivation book many Dutch growers read. The publisher was very happy to have a best-selling book in the small country. Marihuana Binnen opened the grow room door for me to countless Dutch friends and associates.
Year 1989 - Operation Green Merchant
Year 1991 - GI 2Ed English
George F. Van Patten
Gardening Indoors, Easy, complete “how to” guide on high tech gardening in the 1990s, Second Edition, English
The Second Edition of Gardening Indoors was a large, 8.5 x 11-inch (21.5 x 28cm), format. I found a printer in Florida that printed this format for a very reasonable cost. The large format allowed me to add more text and drawings without increasing the shipping weight. When operating on a shoestring budget, every square inch, word, image, and gram counts. The large format displayed better in the indoor grow stores too.
Emails started arriving about this guy, George Van Patten, that was ripping of Jorge’s work. Back then it was difficult to correlate George Van Patten with Jorge Cervantes. Few people knew they were the same guy.
Genaro Calabrese, R.I.P., was kind enough to pose for the cover of Garden. Genaro and his partner Michael Christian started a big garden store, American Hydroponics, near Arcada, CA. Michael and I are good friends today. Michael grows the coolest dahlias!
Year 1991 - RW 1Ed English
George F. Van Patten
Gardening: The Rockwool Book, English
Rockwool was all the rage in the Early 1990s. The Dutch growers were using small 4 x 4 -inch (10 x 10 cm) blocks on flood and drain tables. My friend Kees (real name Karel) at Super Sativa Seed Club was pioneering this technique. Nevelle Shoenmacher (The Seed Bank) grew all of his breeding stock rockwool. It was not until years later, a shitload of DEA and Interpol activity, fear and hiding that Karel, I knew him as Kees back then, and I met at a cannabis trade fair in Europe. We had both aged a lot. We are both in the same cannabis world with a passion for the plant and close friends today.
Year 1991 - OGV English
George F. Van Patten
Organic Garden Vegetables, English
I tried to hide publicly by publishing an Organic Garden series of books. My good friend Steve Rogers had a big organic urban garden that morphed into a small farm in Portland, Oregon. I also grew organically in Portland. Steve was and still is the master of organic gardening. Back then he was an engineer at Tektronix in the Portland metropolitan area. He finally quit his techie job and, as he put it, “decided to farm until he went broke.” Steve, Stevie to me, and I are lifelong friends. He taught me so much and is still teaching me and has been teaching the world too. Guys like Stevie walk the talk. He is genuine.
I joined the local garden clubs in Portland, Oregon. Most of the time I hid behind flowers and vegetables. A few garden writers did their best to shame me and by exposing my disingenuous (cannabis) intentions. Other friends including Barbara Neidig, Larry Turner, and Jill Miller, all helped with the book. We are all good friends today. Jill´s husband, Mikie to me, is one of the founders and the curator at the Japanese Gardens in my hometown, Ontario, Oregon. He also posed for a couple of fotos in my early books.
Format 8.5 x 11 inches (21 x 28 cm).
Year 1993 - GI 3Ed English
George F. Van Patten
New Revised Gardening Indoors, Third Edition, English
Genaro and Michael’s hydroponic gardens were so impressive that Genaro agreed to be on the cover of the Third Edition. I shot the bulk of the black and white fotos and did the layout and design to make the book press ready, just the first two editions. By now we, my wife and I, could hire artists, including Heart James, Connie Cohen, and D. B. Turner. My good friend, Tom Alexander (Growing Edge magazine) supplied a big chunk of the artwork and fotos. Alex started Growing Edge magazine after Operation Green Merchant in 1989. All of the advertisers and most of the writers for Sin Semilla Tips, fell victim to the RICO laws. Alex and I attended countless book fairs and cannabis events together. We became very close lifelong friends.
Year 1993 - IMH 3Ed Burst
Jorge Cervantes, Robert Connell Clarke & Ed Rosenthal
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, Totally Revised, Third Edition, English
The War on Drugs was scary as hell for years after Operation Green Merchant. Prison sentences, broken families, and broken dreams take a very big toll. I finally surfaced publicly and had the courage to publish an update of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, by this time marijuana growers called it “the bible”.
I contracted Ed Rosenthal, expert cannabis witness and Robert Connell Clarke, author of Marijuana Botany to write two additional chapters. Ed wrote “Legal Considerations”. His chapter was very timely because it listed the “Federal Sentencing Guidelines” and “Sentencing Tables”. Rob wrote “Indoor Cannabis Breeding”. This chapter was outstanding because it delineated the international movement, importing, variety crossing and backyard/grow room cannabis breeding that had been accomplished to date. As you can see from the first page in the chapter, Rob already had 20 years of experience in 1992.
With the help of many friends, I updated the book. Back then most everybody had an underground name, and the ones that disserve the credit for helping are lost. I scrambled to find all the new information available, and it grew to 320 pages. Ed and Rob are good friends today and continue to stand tall alongside cannabis.
Year 1993 - IMH 3Ed English Blue
Jorge Cervantes, Robert Connell Clarke & Ed Rosenthal
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, Blue, Third Edition, English
We put a real cannabis flower on a new blue cover of the Third Edition of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture. The detailed flower image inside a metal halide bulb gave the book a surrealistic appearance. The font and design were the artists creation. The pages inside the book contained the same information but it was a little bit lighter, this lowered shipping expenses.
Year 1993 - OG Basics
George F. Van Patten
Organic Garden Basics, English
During the early 1990s, like the other home growers, I was still shaken by Operation Green Merchant, and continued to build a “respectable” image for the mainstream world. I used the information from the cannabis world and made it mainstream.
The “Foreword” was written by Bob Thompson, host of the PBS-TV, Victory Garden.
First in the Organic Garden Series – Organic Garden Composting, by Steve Solomon, founder of Territorial Seeds. Steve also wrote articles for Sinsemilla Tips magazine under the name of Ferdinand the Wise. Organic Garden Annuals, by Peter Loewer, president of the Garden Writer’s Association (GWA), Organic Garden Edible Landscaping, by Rosaland Creasy, sweetheart of the environmental group Sierra Club.
Stevie Rogers and I hung out a lot in his big organic urban garden. One day a neighbor came by while we were puffing out. He told us he and Jorge Cervantes were good friends. Stevie and Hank Gonzales, another lifelong friend from my hometown, Ontario, Oregon, started asking him leading questions. Of course, Jorge’s “friend” was happy to provide detailed answers. Hank and Stevie continued to ask more and more leading questions. I had to leave because I started to laugh so hard that my eyes watered. My belly hurt the rest of the day from laughing. Henk came up with a great idea. He said, “what about making Jorge a mystic figure that everybody knows?” Little did I know at the time, Hank’s insight was brilliant. Thanks Hank! I unknowingly promoted the subtle rumors and agreed with everybody, Jorge sightings became commonplace after that.
Year 1994 - Canada lifted ban on cannabis books
Canada banned cannabis books until 1994 when Marc Emery started Cannabis Culture magazine. Before Marc stood up, Indoor Marijuana Horticulture would never arrive at the Canadian destination. We tried to ship Indoor Marijuana Horticulture books to Canada. The most successful was putting them in a “Bulk Mail M” bag. Customs started stopping and destroying books. The first few times they sent a note along with a box of unsellable books. Later they just beat the books up and sent them back. Thank you, Marc, for opening the door to my books, and for your lifelong dedication to cannabis.
Year 1994 - IMH German 1Ed
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana Drinnen, Neu uber-arbeitet, First Edition, German
The first edition of Marijuana Horticulture in German language helped change cannabis cultivation in a large chunk of Europe. Roger Liggensdorfer from Nachtschatten Verlag AG in Switzerland was the main publisher of cannabis, comic, and similar “subversive” books in the German language. Roger distributed in Switzerland, and Germany and Austria, two conservative countries. His office was in a five-century-old building above the Absinthe Bar, Die Grune Fee. It looked more like time capsule of a 1970s hippie museum than a publishing company. But Roger and crew were very serious about publishing, they made sure books were disseminated. Thanks Roger.
Year 1995 - OZ Banned
Jorge Cervantes
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture Third Edition, banned in Australia, English
We moved books into Australia for a several years before they started “redlining” the boxes. A red line at customs meant “search the contents”. They destroy subversive (cannabis) books. The vendors would not accept COD terms, I paid for the loss, books, transport, and paperwork. We changed the name on the boxes until that quit working. The Office of Film and Literature sent me a letter informing that Indoor Marijuana Horticulture was banned. It was signed by a government official that we called Miss Booglebottoms. I still can’t remember her real name. We did everything possible to evade detection. It took the authorities three more years to stop the books. After the border ordeal, our publisher, Rob Cantwell, started publishing the book in OZ and managed to print several more times. Thanks Rob.
Year 1996 - GI 3Ed French
George F. Van Patten
Le jardinage d’intérieur, Un regard éclairé, French
We would meet at the Hydroponic Garden Society (HSA), even though Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents had infiltrated the organization by this time. Store owners and indoor garden enthusiasts could get together and help one another. The HSA met in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. During this meeting, a French language edition of Gardening Indoors was born. French-speaking Canada is about 6 million residents, a large percentage happen to be indoor growers! We decided to translate the Third Edition of Gardening Indoors for the French-Canadian market. It provided the growing number of hydroponic stores a base of information to answer questions for their customers. The information helped avoid repetitive questions from customers and provided a “study guide” for home growers.
Year 1997 - GI CO2
George F. Van Patten & Alyssa F. Bust
Gardening Indoors with CO2, Gardening Indoors Series, English
Completing a four-book Gardening Indoors series in a few months required help. Alyssa F. Bust was a great coauthor. Her help with many of the tasks was invaluable. The first book in the series, Gardening Indoors with CO2.
With Hank Gonzales’ idea in my head, we decided to continue to perpetuate the “Jorge Rumor” by putting my good friend Harmon Davidson on the cover of Gardening Indoors with CO2. We really had a good time with it. I wrote the book based on Practical CO2 Enrichment by John Bushwell, a friend from Portland, OR. I expanded the John’s original information with details learned from the greenhouse industry. Harmon owned, Green Air Products, an idea he hatched during a smokey afternoon we spent together. Harmon and I are very good friends today. In fact, he came all the way to Barcelona for my 50th birthday and 60th too. Thanks for all your help, Harmon.
Year 1997 - GI Cuttings
George F. Van Patten & Alyssa F. Bust
Gardening Indoors with Cuttings, Gardening Indoors Series, English
Gardening Indoors with Cuttings solved a big need at the time. Clones were the main plants growers were planting. Everybody needed to learn how to make the best clones. This book helped growers learn to make perfect clones.
The cover is graced with Gene Klump (Mr. Vegetable). We met at the Garden Writer’s Association (GWA, now GWAA) annual meeting. He had a garden program on a Reno, NV station. The three-month-long growing season in Reno, it freezes from early September through late May, is a tough place to grow. This climate did not deter Geno from Reno. Geno smoked cannabis for several health reasons, and we became instant friends. RIP Gene.
Year 1997 - GI HID
George F. Van Patten & Alyssa F. Bust
Gardening Indoors with HID Lights, Gardening Indoors Series, English
In the early days, all HID lights were oriented vertically. I saw the Dutch growers using horizontal bulbs and reflectors in their grow rooms. I went to the NTV Fair (now Horti Fair) in the Netherlands to meet the lighting engineers. Turning the bulb horizontally disperses half of the light directly down, only half must be reflected. The entire technology is 40 percent more efficient than using vertically oriented bulbs.
Paul Cronk, from Australia, developed the Adjust-A-Shade (later Adjust-A-Wing), a response to the expensive PL Dutch light reflectors. Paul’s Adjust-A-Shade was brilliant because you could make it with basic metalworking machines. It did not need an expensive mold to manufacture. Paul applied this information efficiently. Of course, Paul and I are good friends today. Just don’t get to see him often.
Year 1997 - GI RW 2Ed
George F. Van Patten & Alyssa F. Bust
Gardening Indoors with Rockwool, Gardening Indoors Series, English
Rockwool was the growing medium of choice for many indoor growers. The trend started in the Netherlands and spread throughout North America and Europe. Vibeke (Vee) Kjoeljde (RIP), was a star at Grodan™, the Danish company that makes Rockwool. Vee, single handedly entered and expanded the “indoor hydroponic” market to a quarter of the entire Grodan™ business. It was a man’s world then, and it never deterred her. We will miss you forever. RIP.
Year 1999 - MJI 5E English
Jorge Cervantes
Marijuana Indoors, Five Easy Gardens, English
I wrote this book while living in Vancouver, BC. New growers were starting gardens every day and they needed simple instructions at an affordable price. The wave of BC growers and seed producers drove an expanding indoor cannabis garden boom. This simple black and white illustrated book with more than 40 color photographs was the peak of desktop publishing technology at the time.
Year 2000 - MJG English
Jorge Cervantes
Marijuana Outdoors Guerilla Growing, English
This book was written to encourage more outdoor growers go cannabis gardens everywhere outdoors. The book teaches how to pay attention to the climate and your surroundings. Use what you have learned to grow the best crop possible for the least amount of energy. Plant varieties that grow well in your climate, plant early in the year so that seedlings and clones require less care during the year. Choose planting locations that are sunny but protected from wind and bad weather. Sergi Doll, a friend from Barcelona, Spain is on the cover of the English and Spanish editions. So many people thought it was Jorge! Thanks for helping Sergi.
Year 2000 - MJG Spanish
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana en Exterior, Cultivo de Guerrilla, Spanish
The Spanish edition of Marihuana en Exterior answered important questions and provided important advice for outdoor growers. The book was published by la Cañamera Global (Cáñamo magazine) soon after the English edition. The guys at the Cañamera Global that publish Cáñamo magazine translated and published my first Spanish language book. The book was big news, and I was invited to speak at a standing-room-only presentation at FNAC auditorium centrally located in Plaza Cataluña, in Barcelona, Spain. The presentation went very well and TV news interviewed me and the entire country knew me! All of a sudden, I was legitimate and a vanguard.
Year 2000 - PCCC 1Ed French
Jorge Cervantes, Michka, J. C. David, B. Rappaz
Pourquoi Comment Cultiver du Chanvre, en extérieur, en intérieur, French
This French language book by Mama Editions has four co-authors. My part was an overview of cannabis cultivation chapter. I wrote in English and the text was translated to French. I was very proud to stand beside authors, Michka, J.C. David and B. Rappaz.
Year 2001 - IMH 4Ed
Jorge Cervantes
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, the Indoor Bible, Fourth Edition, English
Updating the Fourth Edition if Indoor Marijuana Horticulture was the first step to keep up with the times. Quite a bit had changed in the last eight years of technological innovations. Lighting had improved, electronic controllers and other digital devices added precision control. The indoor garden product market had taken off. A few states including Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Washington D.C. California, Maine, etc. had legalized recreational cannabis sales. Growers in more US states and the world began to lose the stigma of growing at home and started posting photos of their gardens on social media. Cannabis books started to become mainstream in legal cannabis states.
Year 2002 - GI 4Ed English
George F. Van Patten
Gardening Indoors, the Indoor Gardener’s Bible, Fourth Edition, English
I updated Gardening Indoors for the indoor/hydroponic garden stores and omitted the “M” word. These stores did not want to be caught in the crossfire of cannabis legalization. The RICO laws still apply to cannabis gardeners. Mike Yocina, a friend, and owner of Harvest Moon Hydroponics was a regular on TV programs and a local personality in the Great Lakes (USA) region. Mike also helped spread hydroponic gardening by educating countless gardeners. Mike, thanks for being on the cover of the Fourth Edition of Gardening Indoors.
Year 2002 - IMH UK
Jorge Cervantes
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, the Indoor Bible, UK Edition, English
Avalon Books made a special edition to appeal to UK readers. They changed the format, spelling, language terms, commercial products available, etc. These seemingly small changes made a big difference when communicating. Small details really help gardeners grow the best crop. Avalon Books made major inroads into distributing cannabis cultivation books. Martin Palmer, the owner of Avalon and I are good friends today.
Year 2002 - MH 1Ed Spanish
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana Cultivo en interior, the Indoor Bible, First Edition, Spanish
This book helped change indoor cannabis cultivation in Spain and Latin America. Before Marihuana Cultivo en interior, grow information was difficult to decipher, incomplete and sales oriented. The “Bible” gave Spanish speaking growers a guide to follow in their native language. Until now almost all of the cannabis cultivation information was available in English only. La Cañamera Global, SL, publishers of Cáñamo magazine, Barcelona, Spain.
Year 2003 - JRx English
Jorge Cervantes
Marijuana Jorge’s Rx, The KISS Method, Keep It Simple Stoner, English
Jorge’s Rx was a monthly Q & A advice column in High Times magazine that he wrote from for 10 years. The best of the questions from his column are answered in this book. Rx is the symbol for a medical prescription. The symbol is derived from the Latin word “recipe” meaning “take.” The cover images was taken by my friend, Gregorio Fernandez (AKA Goyo) RIP, in Ticino, Switzerland the year before publication.
Year 2003 - MH German 2Ed
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana drinnen, Alles uber den Anbau im Haus, Second Edition, German
This German Edition of Marijuana Horticulture was a big hit. Nachtschatten Verlag AG and Sensi Seeds financed the second edition of Marihuana drinnen and it was a big success. I signed hundreds of books at CannaBusiness® Europhalle, Catstrop-Rauxel, Germany that year. Growing cannabis in Switzerland was super popular then, the enthusiasm for cannabis cultivation spread to Germany and Austria too. The Second Edition was there to help make the wave of growers bigger. I spent a lot of time in Switzerland during the early 2000s, that’s when cannabis was not considered a drug until it was rolled into a joint or stuffed into a pipe and lit up. Fields of cannabis were growing in Switzerland. After years of trade fairs in Germany, successful Swiss fairs, cannabis finally took of in German-speaking countries.
Year 2004 - HB English
George F. Van Patten
Hydroponic Basics, the Basics of Soilless Gardening Indoors, English
Hydroponic Basics was a packed with color pictures and descriptive text. Indoor garden stores were making a big comeback after Operation Green Merchant. They needed simple easy growing instructions for their customers. Hydroponic Basics fit the bill. The little book provided all the basics to grow indoors hydroponically and in container culture. We had to set the press runs high for this book to keep it in stock. It saved growers lots of time with the simple complete picture it painted for indoor growing.
Year 2004 - IMH Pirated
Jorge Cervantes
Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, the Indoor Bible, Pirated, English.
Mitch, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and I met a few years earlier when he took me on a tour of local grow rooms. The Hells Angles and the Rock Machine were in a turf battle in the area, so I had to find the perfect guy. Grow room domination figured into the clash. Thanks for keeping me out of the skirmish Mitch! When he sent me an email about a pirated copy of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, I knew I had to take action. An honest lawyer told me that suing across the US-Canadian border and getting a settlement was a money pit. I called in a couple of favors and got the fone number of the “publisher”. The short conversation that ensued culminated with the voice at the end of the line, “come over here and collect the money”.
The silver inside cover, low-quality text and graphics identify the unauthorized printing.
The pirated book kicked me in the ass, and I started to write. See Marijuana Horticulture below.
Year 2005 - CI French 250
Jorge Cervantes
Culture en intérieur, la bible du jardinage indoor, First Edition, French
The French language Culture en intérieur book was the first volume in a series of sanitized cannabis cultivation books. It was based on a combination of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture and Gardening Indoors. The laws in France for book publication are quite tricky. A single formal complaint from one individual that hates cannabis can clear the bookshelf. Sometimes they dispute only one book! My experience working with the RICO laws in North America (US and Canada) and insight from Mama Editions, lended courage to invest and publish the book. We all existed on a shoestring budget and a big financial hit could stop the flow of information. Thanks to Mama Editions my books are still on the shelf in France.
Year 2005 - DVD 01
Jorge Cervantes
Jorge Cervantes’ Ultimate Grow DVD, English
We shot the first Jorge Cervantes’ Ultimate Grow DVD in Vancouver, BC, Canada. We set up our base in the old bank building across the street from Marc Emery´s Cannabis Culture magazine headquarters on East Hastings Street, downtown Vancouver. The big parking lot behind the bank made unloading and loading grow room construction material and supplies a lot easier.
We shot video several days. David Bienenstock (Bean) directed and helped me write the script. Bean was also my editor for many grow articles. I loved working with him because he made my words shine. As director, Bean kept the flow and sequence of information in order so that it was simple and easy to understand for the end user. Bean directed all three DVDs in the Jorge Cervantes Ultimate Grow series.
We met growers from BC who had a photocopy of Indoor Marijuana Horticulture Second Edition (1985) in a binder, the entire book! It had been photocopied numerous times to share with other growers. Cannabis cultivation books could not cross the Canadian border until the mid 1990s. Cannabis growers had to smuggle Indoor Marijuana Horticulture into Canada, make photocopies, and distribute it one friend at a time.
Marc Emery’s headquarters across East Hastings Street was raided the last day of video production. Marc and several others were arrested and hundreds of thousands of cannabis seeds were confiscated . The arrest warrant that spurred the raid did not authorize entry to our makeshift studio in the old bank building. We joked about the DEA breaking into the bank to arrest growers. None-the-less, we all sneaked out the back door of the bank. Old habits are hard to shake.
Year 2006 - MH 5Ed English
Jorge Cervantes
Marijuana Horticulture, the Indoor/Outdoor MEDICAL Grower’s Bible, Fifth Edition, English
The pirated edition Indoor Marijuana Horticulture book prompted the publication of the Fifth Edition of Marijuana Horticulture two years later. This expanded full color book with 1,120 full color images and the most up-to-date information was available to all cannabis enthusiasts. This book holds Number One position in one or more categories on www.amazon.com, today, 20022!
All the elements came together – access to many growers who trusted me, I had street credibility, digital color cameras, lower pre-press expenses, inexpensive offshore printing, and economical transportation. All of this was coupled with a growing cannabis market, both legal and underground. I could finally make a full color book that fit all necessary parameters. Plus, the wide array books available on Amazon made purchases ubiquitous growers. YouTube pirates were copying and posting the Jorge Cervantes’ Ultimate Grow videos and growing more cannabis. Life was good!
Year 2007 - CIB French 240
Jorge Cervantes
Culture en intérieur, l’ABC du jardinage indoor, Basic Edition 01, French
Culture en intérieur, Basic Edition contains 240 color images and is a shorter more concise version of the Master Edition. It follows text from Marijuana Horticulture, translated from English to French. The artwork was creatively replaced with beautiful descriptive color drawings to avoid legal problems.
Year 2007 - CIM French 365
Jorge Cervantes
Culture en intérieur, la bible du jardinage indoor, Master Edition 01, French
The Culture en intérieur, Master Edition with 365 color images follows complete text from Marijuana Horticulture, translated from English to French. Mama Editions was able to change the text to avoid using the “M” and “C” (chanvre) words. The artwork was creatively converted from cannabis to “flowers” to avoid legal problems. A little help from the Gardening Indoors book and outstanding editing and artwork made this the first book in the series to help more growers.
Year 2007 - DVD 02
Jorge Cervantes
Jorge Cervantes’ Ultimate Grow DVD 2, Hydroponic Cannabis Indoors & Organic Marijuana Outdoors, English.
We shot the second DVD in Spain. Bean, Aaron, Hugo, and crew. Crazy times, cruising around the Cataluña, Navarra, and the Basque regions shooting video of cannabis gardens. Until Hugo arrived the third day, I had to translate, drive, navigate, consult, smooze and be in front of the camera. Hugo took over the heavy lifting – translating, logistics, consulting. Thanks Hugo!
We shot gardens everywhere – indoor urban, warehouse, outdoor, greenhouse . . . Growing was really taking off in Spain during this time and we had an exceptional level of interest with the multitude of new indoor gardeners. This was my favorite video in the series!
Zurdo and crew from pH/EC Grow in Pamplona, Navarra, purchased a restaurant and closed it the same day. They transformed it into their gastronomic club and general great place to hang out center. The food, wine and cannabis were exquisite! Thanks, Zurdo and friends!
Year 2007 - MHS 2Ed Spanish
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana horticultura del cannabis, la biblia del cultivador MÉDICO de interior y exterior, Second Edition, Spanish
The second full color edition of Marihuana horticultura immediately turned into a best seller. This was the first full color cannabis cultivation book in Spanish. The level of detail for indoor, greenhouse and outdoor cannabis gardens helped growers start new efficient gardens, and fine tune their skills. I spent quite a bit of time in Spain when the book was published and spoke at many cannabis fairs in the country. I was very fortunate to get to know much of the cannabis growing community personally.
I had a single early copy of the book to hold up during my presentation. I held the only copy of the new book up to show the overflow crowd during the presentation at Spannabis 2002 in Barcelona, Spain. An honest-looking guy in the front row of the audience asked to see the book. As soon as he had the single copy of the bible in hand, he quickly disappeared. I knew it would be a best seller.
Year 2008 - DVD 03
Jorge Cervantes
Jorge Cervantes’ Ultimate Grow Complete Box Set, English
The Box Set contains all three DVDs to round out the series. The marketing idea from High Times for the third DVD included cannabis consumption, grading, selection, etc. We shot the last video predominately in Amsterdam and featured several coffee shops. We visited the Cannabis College, the Cannabis Museum, and selected sites in the city. We rated and valued over-the-counter cannabis purchases and puffed out. The crew, David Bienenstock (Bean) directed, wrote, set up logistics, etc., Aaron Stubbs cameraman, audio, and video editor put the whole thing together with precision. Thanks so much Bean and Aaron! You made a great video series.
Year 2008 - GI 5Ed English
George F. Van Patten
Gardening Indoors with Soil & Hydroponics, Fifth Edition, English
The new all color edition of Gardening Indoors with Soil & Hydroponics was packed with 670 images. The indoor garden industry started to transform rapidly after the economic slump in 2008. New growers started frequenting indoor garden stores in US states with strict anti-marijuana laws. The Fifth Edition fit the bill for this new wave of gardeners to detail indoor gardening.
Year 2008 - HB Japanese
Jorge Cervantes
Hydroponic Basics, the Basics of Soilless Gardening Indoors, Japanese
We teamed up with Headshop chain of headshops in Tokyo, Japan to publish a grow book in Japanese. Japan is a difficult place to grow clandestine cannabis. And the retail cannabis market always needs more flowers. But laws and police presence in the country are very difficult to overcome. We decided to publish Hydroponic Basics in Japanese language, by Jorge Cervantes. The book introduced Japan to indoor hydroponic cultivation. Given the strict laws and limited space in Japan, the indoor and overall cannabis cultivation phenomena has yet to wake.
Year 2008 - MH Italian
Jorge Cervantes
Marijuana Orticoltura della cannabis. La Bibbia del coltivatore MEDICO Indoor e Outdoor, Italian
The first shipment of Marijuana Ortiicultura had just arrived in our Spanish warehouse. This is the first full color cannabis cultivation book available in the Italian language. The first pallets were en route to Italian grow stores and distributors when Silvio Berlusconi’s government cracked down on the indoor/hydroponic industry. Since this difficult time, we have managed to continue distributing books to passionate Italian growers.
Year 2009 - CM French
Jorge Cervantes + Robert Connell Clarke, Chris Conrad, Pr. A. Jansen, Pr S. J. Could, Dr. B. Lebeau, Pr. R. Mechoulam, Dr. D. Richard, B. Taylor
Cannabis Médical du Chanvre Indien au THC synthese, French
I wrote a chapter in English that was translated to French. The chapter consisted of a synopsis of the cannabis life cycle outdoors and indoors. I’m very proud to be among the authors that contributed to this work. Thanks Mama Editions!.
Year 2009 - MB English
Jorge Cervantes
Marijuana Grow Basics, the Easy Guide for Cannabis Aficionados, English
This full color book shows indoor growers how to set up simple and easy indoor garden at home. It features 150 different indoor gardens. The book worked well inspire many indoor growers to set up a garden. Now similar information, albeit sales-oriented, is available on the internet for free.
Year 2010 - DVD 05 Russian Pirate
Jorge Cervantes
Jorge Cervantes Ultimate Grow DVD, Russian, Pirated
This pirated Russian video is very well done! They had the dedication to make a complete voice over in the Russian language. I searched everywhere and could not find a copy of this video on the internet. Does anybody have a link so that more Russian language videos can be downloaded?
Year 2011 - MB German
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana Anbaugrundlagen, der praktische, Leitfaden fur Cannabisfreunde, German
Nachtschatten Verlag AG
This book was translated from English to German language to teach growers how to set up a cannabis garden at home featuring 150 different indoor cannabis gardens. The new wave of cannabis growers in the German speaking world grew quickly. This book helped them to the next level of gardening!
Year 2011 - MB Spanish
Jorge Cervantes
Marihuana fundamentos de cultivo, Guía Fácil para los aficionados al cannabis, Spanish
Cañamera Global, SL
Many of the 150 indoor gardens in this edition were taken in Spain. Spanish growers were growing as fast as they could plant more seeds and clones. The indoor cannabis cultivation market was increasing rapidly. Growers were everywhere, and private cannabis “social clubs” were springing up everywhere. This book helped fire up more and more growlights.
Year 2012 - CIM 2Ed French 400
Jorge Cervantes
Culture en intérieur, la Bibble du Jardinage Indoor, Second Master Edition, French
The Culture en intérieur, Second Master Edition was updated with text and 400 images to show technological changes. The Master Editions also contained the most complete listing of French hydroponic and indoor garden stores available. Mama Editions was able to change the text to avoid using the “M” and “C” (chanvre) words. The artwork was creatively converted from cannabis to “flowers” to avoid legal problems. A little help from the Gardening Indoors book and outstanding editing and artwork made this the first book in the series to help more growers.
Year 2012 - DVD 04
Jorge Cervantes
Jorge Cervantes´ Cannabis Expeditions, The Green Giants of California, DVD, English
This video was definitely my favorite one to produce. Chris Valdes the cameraman, video and audio editor and I were the crew and guy in front of the camera. Valdes is super talented and a professional always. We shot video in the Northern California, Redwood forests, indoors, greenhouses, outdoors. We shot parts of the video in Barcelona, Spain too. The video even has aerial footage of a garden. This is pre-drone times when you had to get into an airplane to take video from above, aerial views.
Year 2012 - MH Russian
Jorge Cervantes
Russian
The Fifth Edition of Marijuana Horticulture in Russian language was a very difficult project and we made it on a shoestring budget. The publisher, Dzagi.org, translated the entire book from English to Russian language and laid out the pages, artwork, and text to make print ready. Van Patten Publishing printed and continues to distribute the Russian edition. We had just received the shipment of printed books in our Spanish and US warehouses when new border controls were set on cannabis cultivation information. The government later shut down internet connections and information related to cannabis cultivation. Few books arrived within the country for sale. “Holes” in the border cost double or triple to cross with minimal guarantee of final delivery. Books are available on amazon and a few other sources. Thanks, Dzagi!
Year 2014 - Mini Culture French
Jorge Cervantes
Culture en intérieur, les dix clés du gardinage indoor, Mini Edition, French
The first Culture en intérieur, Mini Edition in French was a big hit at the indoor/hydroponic garden stores in the French speaking world. The inexpensive 144-page book explained everything an indoor gardener needed to grow a great indoor crop. Cannabis was not mentioned in the book. Even though plants with very similar characteristics to cannabis adorned many pages.
Year 2015 - CE English
Jorge Cervantes
Cannabis Encyclopedia, English
The Cannabis Encyclopedia took 6 years to compile, write, edit, design and print. It weighs in at 3.75 pounds (1.7 kg.) in an 8.5- x 11-inch (21.6 x 28 cm) format. We spent most of our time in Northern California while I was writing this book. The entire West Coast of the USA was at the beginning of the cannabis crazy times. Everybody was growing outdoors, indoors, and in greenhouses. The entire paradigm had changed. California was the Wildest of the West. Colorado, Oregon and California and Washington State were the leaders in the race to legalize recreational cannabis. This is when the professional growers and business owners jumped in. State and local laws started to regulate cultivation; growers were forced to comply with laws. The Cannabis Encyclopedia gives these growers a good base of information.
Year 2017 - Mini Culture Spanish
Jorge Cervantes
Cultivo de interior, las diez claves de la jardinería indoor, Mini Edition, Spanish
The first Cultivo de interior, Mini Edition in Spanish was an important teaching tool in the indoor/hydroponic garden stores in the Spanish speaking world. The inexpensive 144-page book explained everything an indoor gardener needed to grow a great indoor crop. Cannabis was not mentioned in the book. Even though plants with very similar characteristics to cannabis adorned many pages.
Year 2018 - Mini Culture German
Jorge Cervantes
Der Indoor-Garten, die zehn schlussel zum gartnern im haus, Mini Edition, German
The first Der Indoor-Garten Mini Edition in German was helped the indoor/hydroponic garden stores in the German speaking world a sigh of relief. The inexpensive 144-page book explained everything an indoor gardener needed to grow a great indoor crop. Cannabis was not mentioned in the book. Even though plants with very similar characteristics to cannabis adorned many pages.
Year 2022 - We Grow Cannabis English
Jorge Cervantes
We Grow Cannabis is Jorge’s first all-digital FREE book released in a PDF format. The comprehensive guide to cannabis cultivation shares the traditional cannabis community's best introductory tips and practices. The 100-page digital book is a cohesive guide to growing cannabis indoors, accompanied by over 270 beautiful high-quality photographs, images, and well-written descriptive text. We Grow Cannabis provides beginner and advanced growers with an easy-to-follow, free-to-access collection of cultivation wisdom.
Jorge collaborated with Seedsman to release this free book so that information on cultivation is as accessible as possible. Our goal is to inspire readers to discover the magic of cannabis. We Grow Cannabis is the first in a line of free digital books Jorge will release in the future.
Jorge is keeping up with the ever-changing cannabis world. Publishing paper books is no longer cost effective in the digital world dominated by the internet. Jorge is translating We Grow Cannabis into Spanish and other languages too!