Creeks and marshes are some of the best places to grow in because they provide seclusion, foliage to hide your plants in, and water. They also have a few things that can be a problem, such as a lot of rodents with a taste for plant stalks and humans that are hunting frogs, fish, or other wildlife. Also, you must take a good look during the previous fall to make sure that you have year round water and green foliage as it tends to decline as the summer progresses. It can dry up and run out, leaving your plants without water to grow.

Don’t make a trail into your grow spot no matter what. Throw all your growing material over the bushes in the winter time before the brush has grown in. Look for a fallen log or body of water that you can walk on or in when you enter and leave. The soft wet ground means that just one careless trip in can leave you with a set of foot prints that can be followed the whole season.

Use containers such as very large pots, trash cans, or chicken wire cages to hold your potting soil. Make sure that they are well above the water in such a way as that they are constantly damp but well drained. On a creek dig holes up on the bank and fill them with good quality potting soil. You can carry the soil in protective burlap sacks or some kind of cloth. Large pillow cases can work just as good. If you don’t package everything up well the soil will seep through rips and tears.

Mix in vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, and a small amount of lime. This will bring up the ph. Anything such as buckets, irrigation equipment, or hand tools have to be painted flat black and primer brown for camo purposes.

Use block rat poison and rat traps with peanut butter on them to control rodents. Don’t ever run out of poison, there should always be some laying out for any rodents that happen by. One rodent can do a lot of damage to stalks in one nights work.

Get everything clipped back and set up. Bring in the female starts that you have been growing in large drink cups for the past two months.

Plant them and use a sparing amount of fertilizer in the water at first to avoid burning and stunting your crop. A plant sprayer filled with a quadruple strength solution of miracle grow and a teaspoon or so of Epsom salts plus a few drops of dish soap as a wetting agent works well for foliar feeding by spraying it directly on the plants. If you don’t use the dish soap the solution will bead up and roll off the leaves. Don’t pluck off leaves - remember clip back the foliage as the plants grow into it. Use tie wire to hold them up when the rain comes. Use 0-10-10 when they start to bud - be careful with it because it is a strong acid. Too little is better than too much, it won't force the plants to bud by over using it. Burnt yellow leaf tips are a sure sign of over fertilizing and or an acidic soil. Put some solution in the sprayer and spray it on the branches when they show the first sign of budding. Don’t spray it on when the branches are starting to fill out or you will have it in the buds.

Use tie wire to support the plants well or the weight of the buds on the branches will cause them to bend down and snap long before they are ripe. Healthy plants in a ph balanced soil will have a nice green to slightly brown stalk. Acid soil will stunt growth and cause a crusty brown plant stalk. Use hydrated lime sparingly in water to neutralize an acid soil.

Don’t pick early and let it ripen until the hairs start to dry and fall off. Dry in a cool dark room and don’t let it mold. It should take about three days. Never show anyone your crop and remember that 'loose lips sink ships'.