Chris Grunenberg, Zen Leaf Gardens

Chris Grunenberg joins us from his spot in California after a brief military career and time living all over the US. After being medically discharged from the U.S. Army for Crohn’s disease he started growing his own medicine in 2006 after developing an addiction to opiates after a series of surgeries. Starting out with a 3’x3’ tent in a closet and learning everything he could along the way, he educated himself with some of the classics from the original cultivators of cannabis. Chris also has a lengthy history in marketing and startups, which has lead to a relationship with one of those original cultivators, Ed Rosenthal. Currently,H Chris is not growing, but when he does, he partners with his daughter to teach her how to grow clean cannabis. Running 20K solar power, he has 3 tents, a 5x5 mother tent, 4x9 veg tent and a 4x8 flower tent with both CMH and LED to give a fuller spectrum. He grows in a coco coir blend and keeps about 30 plants within that 32 square foot tent. We discuss the particulars of growing with a scrog setup within a tent and needing access to all 4 sides. Chris agrees with our philosophy of tracking everything yo do in the grow. It really is the only way that you will be able to improve upon things, and if necessary, seek help from a consultant. With daily notes and pictures, you’ll be able to better track your progress and a consultant will be able to diagnose a problem at a much quicker pace. How can a grower improve overall plant health? Go back to the basics. Monitor your environment within your grow tent – temperature, and humidity and ensuring they are at the right levels as well as consistent. Also, don’t go from working outside and heading right into your indoor gardens. Keep your gardens clean by keeping yourself clean when entering the garden. At least change your clothes and shoes, and shower if you are able to. What’s the single highest leverage move to increase the yield on your individual plants? According to Chris, there are lots of ways to approach this question. He sees a lot of growers trying to increase yield by bumping up their PK (phosphorus, potassium) boosters and using more nutrients, but he’d like to discuss how to increase yield without adding money to the bottom line. He strongly suggests using plant training techniques such as topping, low-stress training, screen of green, etc. Help your plant to reach their genetic maximum with proper plant training. What’s one unique grow tip that Chris would like to share. Focus on your root zone with proper microbes and enzymes, and not so much on the synthetic nutrients. Nutrients are fine to give to your plant, but he suggests using products like Mammoth Microbes (GrowPass partner), or a mostly organic product like Nectar of the Gods. You can also ensure you get the most roots and best fruits with longer veg times to allow your roots to reach capacity, allowing your media to dry out and those roots to stretch. Transitioning into a larger plant pot is not always necessary but ensure that you allow your roots to establish in the new pots is also critical to having a solid root base and successful grower. What type of characteristics does Chris think make up the most successful growers? Someone who has patience, excited about learning, and loves everything there is about growing. It’s also important to Chris for new growers to master the basics before moving onto the advanced stuff. Listen to the plants, learn what they are saying and how to help them. We then get into a discussion about garden practices and how bringing negative energy into the garden might not be the best thing for our plants, even though it’s surely helpful for us. I’d encourage everyone to think about the exchange that happens with our plants when we are in the garden, we absorb their positive energy, but what happens with the negative energy we might dispel while we’re in there? It’s critical that we think about that process and try to be as positive as we can when entering our gardens. Any last bits of wisdom you’d like to share? Do you and block out the noise from everyone else. Don’t do what everyone else suggests you do, find what works best for you and get better at it. Do what makes you happy, find your niche and excel. Connect with Chris Grunenberg on LinkedIn, @satyrchris1 on Instagram, or @zenleafgardens. He loves to connect and share ideas, please reach out he’s willing to chat any time. Ready to hire on a consultant to help you take your grow to the next level? Need some vacation coverage for your grow during a hot summer month? Reach out to us here at [email protected] and we can ensure you get the best Homegrown Helper for your needs! If you liked this interview, and want to hear more from this week's Homegrown Helper please head over to http://thehomegrownhelpers.com/bonus and download the rest of the show!  Check out our mygrowpass.com for this episode: Humble Garden is the first-ever clip on HPS smartphone filter taking the yellow light out of your photos and making them look more natural. If you are passionate about your plant photography but hate that yellow lighting, Humble Garden is the product for you. Find them at https://www.humblegarden.co and use code GROWCAST to save 15% and free shipping…or you can become a member at mygrowpass.com to gain access to a 25% off code. Also, Fish Head Farms is our partner, bringing you aquaponics in a bottle, a full ecosystem, a full-spectrum microbial product that makes your plant food more bioavailable to the plant. Use Fish Shit throughout the entire life cycle of your plants, even during flushing to ensure that all of the nutrients stored in your plant's roots are broken down. Head on over to http://fishheadfarms.com and use code Growcast at checkout and save 10%, or get 25% by joining mygrowpass.com for as little as $9.95/month.