Kyle Hamilton, I'm on Fire CC

Kyle Hamilton joins us from just outside of Boston where he is very involved with the cannabis industry as a home grow consultant as well as consults for products and dispensaries in the area. He has over 10 years of growing experience to share with you today, from a variety of sizes and styles throughout his past. Currently, Kyle has a few small spaces that he grows in. One has a 3’x3’ indoor grow tent with a bunch of flowering plants for a pheno hunt where he likes to experiment with different setups of soil and nutrients to find what works best. Currently, he’s using a few of our GrowPass partners in Buddha’s Tree and Fish Shit. He prefers to grow under LEDs due to the power output as well as the ability to keep his rooms cool. Along with his outdoor grow in living soil with all-natural inputs, he manages to keep several grows and many plants well kept and producing. What’s a grower supposed to pay attention to when it comes to overall plant health? Starting with the basics, he wants to get a feel for room environment and inputs. He strongly suggests keeping a journal of all of this stuff on a daily basis to track your inputs and results so that you can spot problems before they get out of hand. This is Kyle’s suggested starting point as it will help you learn what your plants are telling you early on. What can a grower do in order to achieve the best yield off a single plant? Kyle suggests ensuring you have a quality light to start with. Kyle talks about photomorphogenesis around 13 minutes, which is how plants grow in response to light. He talks about ensuring that your plants are a proper distance from your lights to ensure that a good amount of nodes are forming, a good distance from each other to maximize the number of bud sites available on the plant. Around 15:30 we get into the importance of low-stress training, be sure to listen in to hear Kyle’s tips. Kyle and I go off the rails a little bit around 18 minutes and talk about plant energy, since you know I’m so passionate about the topic. He shares that sequoia trees actually stop drawing up water and nutrients from the soil after they get to a certain size and then only absorb water from the air. Amazing stuff! What is Kyle’s Integrated Pest Management solution? Right at 22:30 we get into his solutions, and his first tip in mindfulness. He wants you to keep your rooms clean, and be aware of what you are bringing in to your house or grow space. Be mindful of walks outdoors, hanging with your pets, or hitting up the grow store as those are all problem places that can bring a host of issues into your grow room. Further, he is a fan of biocontrols such as ladybugs and praying mantis’. He gives some tips on how to apply biocontrols in your rooms, listen in to learn. What type of person is the most likely to succeed in the grow room? The type of person that can make a plan and stick to it. Don’t change too many variables because you really don’t know which variable is making the desired impact. So decide how you want to grow, but don’t be afraid to pivot if there are problems. Kyle’s last words of advice for the audience is to always keep an open mind. Don’t be afraid to try new things, as the industry and the science is evolving as the industry grows. If something didn’t work for you a few years ago, things may have changed and LED’s (for example) continue to improve. Connect with Kyle @imonfirecc on Instagram or @heylookimonfire which is his personal account. You can email him [email protected], you can reach out regarding growing, a variety of cannabis products, or his performance theatrics if desired. Ready to hire on a consultant to help you take your grow to the next level? 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!  Today’s show is brought to you by Cultilux and Fish Head Farms, both partners of GrowPass give away 25% to our members! Cultilux is a leading supplier in the industry dedicated to providing lamps and fixtures. See, plants require a variety of specific needs to grow to their full potential. They have managed to design a lighting source that will deliver exactly what the plants need, while eliminates lighting that the plant does not need. With their industry-leading 315watt, 630watt and brand new 1000w Double-ended CMH bulb, Cultilux has the right fixture and bulb for your needs. Grab them today at cultilux.com and use code GROWCAST10 to save 10%. Fish Sh!t is a full spectrum microbial product, an ecosystem in a bottle. Fish Sh!t can be used from seedling all the way through flush. It’s an ecosystem of microbes work to make nutrients more bio-available. Promoting sustainable growth throughout its life cycle and even breaking down salts when used as a flushing agent. Their beneficial microbes aid in bud development, overall yield, terpene production, aroma, and taste. Grab your fish shit at fishheadfarms.com and use code GROWCAST at checkout to save 10%. Fish shit - bring life back to your media.