Finding a Cannabis Garden in the Wild: Finding Other Peoples Pot

Update on the Guerrilla Grow I Found Along the River: Is it OPP?

I went for my nearly weekly hike along the Columbia River and checked on the cannabis I found growing there. It is still there, and continues to get taller and even more distinct. There is always some excitement when one finds OPP…a cannabis garden in the wild.

I am not sure if it is planted by someone or is actually a volunteer. Although I have scattered seed on many occasions, and have purposely planted seed in the wild as well. And around here you would be lucky to have any seeds sprout. I am thinking that is because all the seeds get eaten by hungry mice. Of the maybe 50 times I have either purposely planted, or scattered excess seeds around I have had actual plants come up just a few times.

I once planted a bunch of cups with seeds out and about…several seeds in each cup. Not a single plant came up, and there was a neat little hole in each of cups where a mouse dug down to the seeds and ate them. In many parts of the world you have to deal with insects eating your cannabis, or molds and mildews ravishing your crop. But around this country mice are you nemesis. I have had mice girdle 12 foot tall plants killing them outright!

That is the reason I think this is some ones guerrilla grow.

Why This Riverbank Grow Got Caught (The Growers Mistake)

When growing cannabis guerrilla…stealth, and concealment are paramount. If your garden gets found, that is usually because it was not concealed well. This particular grow they have not topped the plant…and from what I am seeing now this might be only one plant. And if a cannabis plant sticks up above the surrounding vegetation like this one it is likley going to be seen. The fix of course is to turn the plant into a low laying bush…so it is below the surrounding vegetation.

Amazingly many folks simply are not observant enough to notice. I once grew a plant right along a busy freeway. I did this purposely to see if anyone of the thousands of people who drove by every day would see it. The plant got about 12 feet tall, and was planted in sage brush so really stood out. Dark green in the very light colored sage brush. It grew there all summer, and I ended up harvesting it…no one ever saw it!

Observations About This Guerrilla Cannabis Grow

Just some quick observations on the plant I see. Truthfully the plant looks to be perhaps a landrace strain since it is still not blooming. It is a Sativa dom plant for sure, and is growing tall and lanky as so Sativa landrace strains do, they are also usually long winded as this one is.

It now looks as though this may be just one single plant, although I have not gotten close enough to tell for sure. I am going to wade the river over to it and see what I can see next time I take a hike there…I am getting curious…

Who knows maybe someone smoked a joint there and this seed was in a discarded roach…if it is indeed a single plant then I am wondering if it could simply be a volunteer. If I can get close enough to take a good look I should be able to tell if it has had any kind of care. I will check it out and do another update.

Field Etiquette & Safety: What to Do If You Stumble on OPP

I have found maybe 50 different grows in my days of going out and about. And, I have never taken any of it. There are/or were…lots of thieves around who did that. I am not one of them. I have lots of stories about the 100’s of plants I have lost to thieves.

If I find a grow I may take a look, but that is all I would do, this grow is no different, I will not mess with it at all, not go over to it creating a trail. I will simply observe from a distance, and will wait to see what happens. If it flowers out and goes all the way till the end, and no one harvests it I may…we will see.

I have found 4 different cartel grows, 3 had been busted, one was live. If you ever find one of these be very careful, as these folks can be serious about protecting their investment. I have found booby traps…so if approaching one of these it is best not to walk on trails. I wonder if those kind of grows are even a thing anymore. There is just not the money there use to be in cannabis.

I wrote another article about this grow here…Spotting Guerrilla Cannabis on Public Trails: The Ghost’s Field Notes

And if you read to the end of that article you will find a contest that I am having. I am about ready to bring it to an end so if you would like to win some free seeds enter that contest.