These are the twelve questions I get asked most often, by readers, journalists and people who find the site while trying to fix a plant. Short answers, facts only. If your question is about growing, the grow guide and Dear Danko go deeper than anything here. For the full background, read About. Anything not covered goes through the contact page.
Who is Danny Danko?
Danny Danko is a cannabis cultivation writer, editor, photographer and grower. Born Daniel Vinkovetsky in Leningrad in 1972, he was Senior Cultivation Editor of High Times from 2002 to 2020, wrote the Dear Danko column, personally selected the Top 10 Strains of the Year from 2005 to 2018 and founded the High Times Seed Bank Hall of Fame in 2007. He has written two books on growing and hosts the Grow Bud Yourself podcast.
How long was Danny Danko at High Times?
Eighteen years. Danny Danko joined High Times in 2002 and was Senior Cultivation Editor until April 2020, when he left in the layoffs at the start of the COVID pandemic. In that time he wrote the magazine's cultivation columns, answered reader questions as Dear Danko and judged Cannabis Cups in Amsterdam and across the United States.
What books has Danny Danko written?
Two. Cannabis: A Beginner's Guide to Growing Marijuana (Hampton Roads, 2018, 144 pages) covers a first grow from seed to cure. The Official High Times Field Guide to Marijuana Strains (High Times Books, 2011, 180 pages) profiles strains from his judging and growing notes. Both are described on the books page, with how each compares to other grow books.
What is the Grow Bud Yourself podcast?
Grow Bud Yourself is the cannabis cultivation podcast Danny Danko co-founded in 2020 with Mike Gianakos, former Editor-in-Chief of High Times. It grew out of Free Weed from Danny Danko, the High Times show he hosted from 2011 to 2018, and the same feed now runs to 138 numbered episodes through October 2024 on Acast. Guests are growers, breeders, cup judges and activists.
Where do I start if I have never grown weed before?
Start at the first chapter of the grow guide, germination, and read in order. The guide is written as a sequence: germination, indica vs sativa, male vs female, VPD, trichomes, harvest, drying and curing, with more chapters being added. Each chapter ends with the next step. If you already have a plant that looks wrong, go to the plant problems section instead.
How do I get a question answered in Dear Danko?
Use the form on the Dear Danko page. Describe what you are growing in, what you feed, your lights, temperature and humidity, and what changed before the problem started. Questions that will help the most growers are answered first, and every answer is published as a page on this site. Email is not used for grow questions; the form is.
Does Danny Danko judge cannabis cups?
Yes. Danny Danko has judged more Cannabis Cups than anyone else, starting with the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam and continuing at events across the United States, plus other competitions. Judging notes from those events inform the strain profiles and the Top 10 Strains of the Year retrospective on this site. Invitations to judge go through the contact page, with the event, city and date.
Can I use Danny Danko's photos?
Not without asking. The photographs on this site are Danny Danko's own work and are not free to reuse. Journalists and publishers can request permission through the contact page and should say where and how the photo will run. The press kit lists the headshots available for editorial use and how to credit them.
How do I book Danny Danko for an event or interview?
Use the contact page, or start with the press kit if you need bios and photos first. Danny Danko takes requests for interviews, podcast guest spots, cup judging, speaking and trade show appearances. Include the date, the location or format, the audience and what you would like him to cover. Grow questions are not booking requests; those go to Dear Danko.
Is the High Times Top 10 Strains of the Year list available here?
It is being republished here as a retrospective. Danny Danko personally selected the High Times Top 10 Strains of the Year from 2005 to 2018, and the Top 10 page on this site revisits those lists with his notes on the picks. While reproduction rights for the original lists are confirmed, the page runs as an analysis with excerpts rather than a full reprint of each year.
Does this site sell seeds or clones?
No. This site sells nothing: no seeds, no clones, no nutrients and no growing equipment. It publishes the grow guide, the plant problem pages, strain notes, the podcast and Dear Danko. Requests to buy plant material will not be answered. Cultivation is for adults where it is legal.
How is the grow guide different from other sites?
It is written by one person, from two decades of growing professionally and editing the cultivation pages of High Times, with original photography instead of stock images. The chapters run in the order a grow actually happens, each ending with the next step and the problem it prevents, rather than as a pile of unrelated posts. Where a number matters, the number is given.