V1 Grow Guide

ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ is SL's only breedable and growable virtual cannabis! This Grower's Guide will get you started growing and breeding your own virtual cannabis. You got to this page by clicking "Help" on a ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ plant's menu or from a link you got with an accessory such as Plant Food Spikes or from a shady looking character in a back alley.  In the two latter cases, you'll need to obtain some ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ seeds from an in-world vendor, the SL Marketplace, or a shady looking character in a back alley.

HOW IT WORKS

You plant seeds. You take care of the plants. When they are mature, you let them breed (or don't let them breed), and then you harvest them. If they produce seeds, you rinse and repeat. Or you can save the seeds, trade them, or sell them in back alleys. If they don't produce seeds, you have some nice sensemilla to smoke or some worthless shake.  Just like RL.

That's how it works!

Each first generation ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ seed randomly selects a variety (strain) and gender when it is germinated, unless it is a pure-strain seed.  Each strain of ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ has different foliage color, potency, growth rate, lighting requirements, and maximum size.  Once germinated, the plants enter the vegetative phase of their life cycle.

The slowest-growing strain will increase in size approximately 1% every 90 minutes, completing the vegetative phase in roughly 150 hours (six days).  The fastest-growing strain will complete vegetative growth in about 30 hours. To achieve the "genetic" growth rate for a plant, you have to feed it. Just like in RL if you over-feed the plant, growth will be reduced. 

If you don't feed your plants, they will grow 1% every 90 minutes.  So there's no real advantage to feeding a "very slow" growing plant.  And you can feed or not feed your plants to "time" their maturation.

Indoor varieties require a Grow-Lite System for normal growth rate, and indoor/outdoor varieties grow 2% faster under Grow-Lites. Outdoor strains are unaffected by Grow-Lites. (The terms "indoor" and "outdoor" simply mean that the plant needs lighting or it doesn't.  Outdoor plants can be grown inside structures.) 

Like other civilized creatures, ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ plants are dioecious, which means there are separate male and female plants. Females make seeds and are also more potent. Males aren't impotent -- you have to have 'em to make seeds -- but they don't make a lot of the good stuff in their buds.  When a ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ plant reaches 100% maturity, it switches from vegetative growth to flowering. At this time, you can breed and harvest them. 

If a mature male is present within 3 meters when a female is harvested, the female plant will vanish and a "brick" containing one hybrid ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ will appear. When germinated, this seed will display a blend of the parent plants' characteristics -- potency, growth rate, lighting requirements, and maximum size.

If a mature male is not present within 3 meters of a harvested female, the female plant poofs and a brick of "sensemilla" is produced.  Sensemilla bricks have no seeds, so you can't continue growing and breeding the next generation, but they are cool little joint dispensers. Click a sensemilla brick and have a smoke.

If a mature male is harvested, the plant will disappear, leaving a brick of worthless shake. You can stack these up and make furniture or something out of them.

HOW TO DO IT

To plant a ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ seed, simply rez it where you want it to grow. If you're "off" with your positioning, don't move it (yet).  A banner will appear over the little seed showing the version number and some basic information.  Left-click on the seed to display the menu. (Seeds are small, so you may need to zoom in close to do this!)

On the menu, click the "Germinate" button. This will start the vegetative growth phase. When it's germinated, the seed selects one of six strains, and its gender is determined. This information is displayed in the banner over the plant.

The "Banner" button on the menu toggles the banner display on and off. If you have a lot of plants, this can be useful. The "Stats" menu button displays the banner information, along with additional details, in local chat.

ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ also displays other system messages in the local chat window. To make this visible to anyone within chat range, use the "Public" button in the menu. This button toggles to "Private," which limits the messages only to the owner of the plant. If you live in an apartment or there are narcs around, you may want to set this to "Private."

During the vegetative phase, the Germinate button will change to "Pause." If you wish to move the plant or take it into inventory, click Pause first. This will make the plant dormant and allow it to be repositioned. The menu button changes to "Resume" in dormant plants; use Resume to restart vegetative growth. Also, if you have an indoor or indoor/outdoor plant and wish to move it under a Grow-Lite system, toggle Pause/Resume so the plant will recognize the lighting system.

ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ plants grow in 90 minute steps. Every time the plant grows another step, the banner information (if displayed) updates, feeding status is checked, and indoor or indoor/outdoor plants scan to see if a Grow-Lite System is within 3 meters of the plant. 

To feed the plant, be sure a Plant Food Spike is present within 2 meters of the plant. Then click the "Feed" button in the menu. A single feeding lasts 8 hours. Plant Food Spikes are good for 48 hours and will feed as many plants as you can cram within 2 meters. Each plant may be fed only once during each 8-hour feeding period, and overfeeding will reduce growth rate. When you feed a plant, there will be a system message in local chat either confirming that the plant was fed or notifying you that no plant food was located in range.

When the plant reaches 100% maturity, vegetative growth ends, and the plant begins flowering. The Pause/Resume menu button changes to "Harvest."  The Feed button changes to "Remove." 

Use the Harvest button to end the plant's life cycle and produce a seed, sensemilla, or shake brick. Mature plants may be left unharvested for up to 96 hours (four days), at which time they will automatically harvest themselves.

If you choose, you can convert the plant into a decorative item by clicking the "Remove" button. This removes the menus and banner from the plant and renders it neuter for breeding purposes.

Second generation and higher plants are grown by rezzing a seed brick, left-clicking, and selecting "Germinate."  The Owner Menu for seed bricks includes a "Parents" option that displays genetic information for the plant's parents.

MENU OVERVIEW & FUNCTIONS

ḈḁṇṇḁḇḭṦḼ presents two menus: The Owner Menu is displayed only to the owner of the plant (duh!), and the Guest Menu is presented to anyone else who clicks on the plant.  The Guest Menu has three options, which also make up the lower row of buttons in the Owner Menu.
   
    Help - Delivers this notecard.
    Stats - Displays basic information about the plant. (Owner gets extra info.)
    Cancel - Closes the menu.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Menus include a "Cancel" button. This button closes down the plant's "menu listener" and thus helps reduce lag. Use this button instead of the customary "Ignore" button to close the menu if you don't want to make another selection.  The world won't end if you forget, but "Cancel" is just nicer to your sim.
   
The Owner menu includes additional controls. (Slashes indicate that the button label changes depending on function.)
   
    Banner - Toggles the overhead text display.
    Public/Private - Toggles local chat info display.
    Parents - Displays parents' genetics for hybrid plants. (Blank in 1st gen)
    Rename - Displays a text entry box for renaming the plant. 
    Feed/Remove - Feeds the plant (good for 8 hours) or removes scripts.
    Germinate/Pause/Resume/Harvest - Controls growth.