Jorge Cervantes: the living encyclopaedia of cannabis

Jorge Cervantes is the avatar of George van Patten, one of the most recognized experts in the world of cannabis.

Born in Oregon in 1953, George discovered cannabis while studying in Mexico, a plant that would never leave him. After graduating from the University of Portland, he moved to Santa Barbara, California, and started a landscaping business in 1978. At the time, he was illegally growing sinsemilla in Los Padres National Park near Santa Barbara. La sinsemilla was then the «new» quality cannabis in Mexico, which Mexicans reserved for their own consumption.

Van Patten then sold his company, took a year-long trip between Mexico, Central and South America, and settled in Portland, Oregon, in 1981. He set up a new landscaping business and began growing cannabis indoors. He found little literature on the subject and a lot of misinformation. He decided to write his own growing guide for all indoor gardeners, and in 1983 published Indoor Marijuana Horticulture under the name Jorge Cervantes, the name of his wife and favorite author, Miguel de Cervantes.

The book became a bestseller and was quickly dubbed «The Indoor Gardening Bible», which became the subtitle of his book.

Jorge develops his own high-pressure discharge (HID) lamp system and sells it in-store or by mail order from his growshop. Indoor Garden Store.

A DEA operation in 1989 closes his shop and more than 40 others in the United States. After a nationwide investigation, Jorge reworked his book Indoor Marijuana Horticulture and republishes it under the name Gardening Indoors with Soil & Hydroponics (indoor soil gardening and hydroponics) in 1995 to avoid legal problems.

His book has now been translated into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian, and serves as the basis for numerous cannabis courses at American universities.

Jorge Cervantes has also produced videos, which he is releasing in a boxed set. Ultimate Grow in 2008. In it, he covers all the methods for setting up an indoor culture for beginners, but also targets the more experienced by giving his advice on how to set up an indoor culture. tips ans tricks for efficient planting.

In these videos, Jorge Cervantes can be seen sporting a black goatee and a dread wig, in what he calls his «Che Guevara - Bob Marley» look. At the time, Jorge Cervantes still hadn't revealed his true identity, to avoid jealousy from other growers. He didn't come out of the closet until 2010, in an interview that can be viewed here. here.

His expert advice has guided many growers around the world with simple, effective horticultural techniques. He has collaborated with High Times and Soft Secrets magazines, and has published numerous books on cannabis cultivation. His latest book, released in 2015, is entitled The cannabis Encyclopedia (untranslated into French) and is one of the most comprehensive books on the market, with numerous illustrations that bring understanding to the sometimes delicate subjects of plant life. In fact, he won the Gold Benjamin Franklin Award for this book.

One of Cervantes' most photogenic achievements is his monster plants in Humboldt, California. These giant plants are the result of the knowledge and care he has accumulated over the years. According to his calculations, a plant cultivated in this way can produce up to 54kg of weed, and 90kg with a progressive harvest and a light manicure.

Monster plant by Jorge Cervantes

Jorge Cervantes continues to be very active, producing his videos, contribute to its forum and teaches at the THC University, one of America's top cannabis schools.