Cannabis and its use have historically been a hot topic in North America. But on October 17th, 2018, subject to provincial and territorial restrictions, the Canadian government legalized its use across the country. In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing welcome Sarah Osterlee of Empress Gardens to share her knowledge on the art of cultivating cannabis.

About Sarah Osterlee

Sarah owns a gardening company called Empress Gardens that offers consulting on all plants, including cannabis. Sarah has a red trade seal and diploma in horticulture and a grad certification in cannabis production.

Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode:

• Tell us more about Empress Gardens. Where do you operate and service? What services do you offer?
• Cannabis anatomy:
  • Why is this important and what do casual growers need to keep in mind?
• What species of cannabis are there?  
• What is a cannabis strain and how are they produced?
• What is the life cycle of cannabis?
• What growing conditions does cannabis require?
• What pests and diseases do casual cannabis growers have to be aware of? How do we treat these issues?
• Indoor vs. outdoor growing:
  • How does each method differ?
  • What do we need to consider when deciding which is better for us?
• What are ‘cannabinoids’ and why are they important?
• How can someone increase the cannabinoids of their plant?
• Where can our listeners go to learn more about growing cannabis?

Find Sarah Osterlle/Empress Gardens online:

Website: www.empressgardeningservice.com

Instagram: @empress.gardens

Facebook: @empressgardeningservice

Resources mentioned during the show

Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden

Down the Garden Path: Growing Cannabis

Down the Garden Path: Cannabis, Part Two

Down the Garden Path Podcast

Each week on Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designers Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing discuss down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes.

As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. A horticulturist and landscape designer, Matthew Dressing owns Natural Affinity Garden Design, a landscape design and garden maintenance firm servicing Toronto and the Eastern GTA. Together, they do their best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible.

In their new book, Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and Matthew distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. It's now available on Amazon.

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