The Homegrown Helpers

Tom started growing 7 years ago in order to help his mother beat cancer, which he successfully played a role in along with Rick Simpson Oil. Congratulations to both Tom and his mom!

What's the most impactful tip when it comes to plant health? Thomas joins us from his farm in Vermont where he manages a small, medical focused grow due to the arbitrary plant counts imposed on growers there.Thomas wants to make sure you get the appropriate lighting for your grow space. Ensure you pay attention to the true wattage when sizing lights, especially when it comes to LED.

Temperature and humidity control is Tom's tip for improving the yield that you can achieve off a single plant, or 2 like they are limited to in Vermont. How do you control temp and humidity? He suggests getting a mini-split AC or heat pump into the room. This cools the air but does not exchange the actual air in the room, so it still keeps it contained. This is important to Tom for a few reasons, security against theft and suspicion but also for growers that are still concerned about the stigma that still comes with cannabis. I'd also add here that mini-split units are critical if you have a sealed room and generate CO2 because if you are spending money on CO2 you don't want that money being pumped right out the window.

Tom's advice to double check your resources fits well with the advice we've been sharing with you all along. I encourage you to do your own research but don't just go with the first article because they have strong SEO. Read lots of articles, take in lots of information and then make your own judgment. Sometimes the most popular answer might not be the solution for your grow, so don't be afraid to try something and test it out, but do your research.

Be patient and learn about your plants, your process, and your particular growing method. Each plant grows it's own unique way that a cookie cutter approach to growing cannabis will not work. Pay attention to what your plants tell you, take it easy with nutrients when you're starting out with each new strain, and make adjustments as you go. Tom is a card-carrying member of the "record everything" club, as we are and encourage you to be. Keep a grow journal to take notes so you don't have to remember everything you do. Also, only change 1 variable at a time so that if something goes wrong you can track down the change much easier.

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If you liked the way Tom talked about growing cannabis, and want to learn more from Tom you can find him at @vermontgrowcoaching on IG and Facebook, at www.vermontgrowcoach.com or call him at 802-3420538.

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!

Michael joins us from Northern Colorado where he's been in the cannabis industry for about 5 years. With lots of research into the scientific side and the analytical aspect of how the cannabis plant grows and the right environment, Michael felt he was ready to take the leap into helping others learn how to grow their own medicine right at home.

We cover some great grow tips for homegrowers. How to get the most out of your grow space, when to take clones, using a shop vac, and why it's important to get in your grow room frequently.

If you want the rest of the show notes, you can find them at http://thehomegrownhelpers.com/michael-travers-start2finish710-consulting/.

If you're in the market for your own Homegrown Helper, whether it's for room design, cleanup, or just some troubleshooting you can email [email protected] and we'll find the right consultant for you.

This episode brought to you by our amazing membership partners. Learn more at http://homegrownhelpers.com/members and join up starting June 15th!

Simon joins us from his tropical farm in Puerto Rico where's he's settled in after an educational tour of the good ol' US of A where he learned every growing style that he could. He knew his mission in life was to grow and help others to grow so he learned as much as he could, and still continues to this day.

We cover a range of topics with a focus on Simon's specialty of growing sativas in tropical conditions using regenerative practices in an outdoor or greenhouse setting.

If you want the rest of the show notes in great detail, please head over to http://thehomegrownhelpers.com/episodes and find them all right there.

Our partner for the show is Homegrown Journals. Interested in your own podcast interview? Head over to http://homegrownjournals.com and apply today!

Ready for your own consultant to help elevate your grow to the next level? Reach out to [email protected] and we'll do the rest of the work for you!

Harley Beauchamp joins us Agrotech Consulting based in Eugene, Oregon where he works for Omega Blends as one of the master growers there. As a 3rd generation farmer coming from Humboldt County, Harley always found joy in helping people with their wide-ranging medical problems with medical cannabis and now helps people find joy with adult use cannabis.

Harley's currently working at a Tier 2 farm in Oregon called Omega Blends, where he's managing 10,000 sq. ft. of flowering space. He talked about maintaining quality in a 78 light facility, where they typically place 1 plant per square foot of growing space. He digs into the set up a little bit where they use a built to suit flood to drain system and HPS lighting to bring out a bit more potency to keep the customers happy.

What is the most impactful thing a grower needs to pay attention to when it comes to overall plant health (15 minutes)? He covers lots of topics here since it was hard for him to commit to just one answer, but I got him to commit to keeping a healthy root zone. He's noticed an increase in "root porn" and people admiring a nice, healthy root zone. Healthy roots are critical to having a healthy plant. Also, the more roots a plant can generate in a vegetative state will result in more nutrient uptake and faster growth.

18 minutes we start a discussion in improving yield. What's his first tip? Keep things as neat and tidy as possible. Ensure that you clean your rooms thoroughly in between each grow, and don't let unclean people into or around your grow rooms. You get a dirty hood in between your lights and plants can reduce the overall lumens by over 20%.

Right around the 23-minute mark, we talk about not "over trying" new products in your grow. If you want to try a new product, do a side by side comparison with 1 plant to ensure that the product does what is expected, and you don't ruin your entire crop with a crappy product.

25 minutes: Harley digs into what tissue culture cloning is all about. Tissue culture clones plants not only carry genetics over just like typical cloning does, but doesn't carry pests or disease because it's taken from a cellular level not a systemic level. Check out @phinestcannabis on Instagram for some more details and pictures. We're also working on getting a guest to talk about this technique on Growcast, if you'd like to learn more.

What type of people make the best growers? Harley shares his thoughts right at the 30-minute mark. Drive to succeed and desire to learn while growing. The moment you start to think that you know everything, or you stop sharing knowledge, is the moment you start to die as a grower. Keep your ears and eyes open so you can continue to improve and learn from the next person that might be doing something amazing.

Harley talks about the type of people that are going to be successful in the cannabis industry. Be humble, be nice, be helpful and appreciate the fact that we are able to have these conversations about growing this wonderful plant.

The episode is brought to you by our amazing membership program, GroPass! We have worked with all your favorite vendors to get you deeper discounts than you'll find anywhere. Along with exclusive access to show hosts and guests, Ask-Me-Anythings you'll be able to completely start and stock your grow room from our vendor partner such as: Gorilla Grow Tent, VividGro, SuiteLeaf, SoHum Living Soils, Mammoth Microbes, Fish Head Farms, Atlas Plant Trainer, Rooted Lyfe, Nute Tools, Humble Garden, Danny Danko, Harvest Mutual Seed Bank, Dealzer.com, Kokonaut Weather Sensors, and many more we're working on securing. These discounts are so amazing, but you can only gain access to them by being a member. Hit up http://thehomegrownhelpers.com/members to learn more!

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!

If you liked the way Harley talked about growing cannabis, and want to learn more from Jake you can find Jake at @banishedfarms on IG, www.banishedfarms.com or email him at [email protected]. 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!

Joseph from our sunshine state and started growing from inspiration from his father. I wish I would've gotten the same advice – "Get a hobby that was going to make money", so he started growing and then realized that he was able to help people out a lot by teaching them how to grow. Helping reduce opiates has been a huge benefit of Joseph helping the senior population in Florida learn to grow.

Listen in at 7:30 as Joseph goes through his current grow set up, which is a great set up for any home grower with 1000 sq ft. total with a veg room, mother room, and flowering room. He gives a great rundown on the lighting and why his rooms are set up the way they are. Pay attention to spectrum he says, using both HPS and red spectrum 4200K 315W CMH in the flower room for better flower production.

What must you pay attention to for overall plant health? Besides the environment, Joseph talks a bit about breeding of your cannabis strains and how important it is to start with top quality genetics in your grow room. This will get you going on the right foot and moving towards a quality harvest. He suggests @jinxproof and @mzjill as his top breeders.

He's also very adamant against immediately adding CO2 to your grow, he suggests taking it easy at first and learning your plants before adding CO2 in. His reasoning: you'll have more time to correct issues before they become bigger as CO2 can help your plants grow "too" fast and you won't have time to react properly.

Joseph's unique grow tip for the show: Check your ph. I'll leave it at that, listen up around the 26-minute mark for how and why he cares so much about this.

At 28 minutes we talk about the type of people that make the best growers. Those types for Joseph? The people that need it the most. If you're a grower and care about your plants, you will identify well with this. Grow the plants that your body needs, the way that your body needs it.

Last bits of advice around 36 minutes: Don't be afraid to fail, learn from your failures, and don't change more than one thing in your rooms at a time so that you can see the impact of that change.

How to connect with Joseph: @xnosomtim on Instagram, or you can connect with him at @southerfriedproductions or @johnsmith710420. Or you can reach out to us at [email protected] or contact at http://thehomegrownhelpers.com.

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 Suite Leaf Plant Nutrients, the premium vegan plant nutrient line. Give your plant exactly what it needs with these smart nutrients made for smart growers. They've won many awards including their Cal-Mag Maximizer winning the High Times stash Award Best Amendment. Use code GROWCAST for

Jake joins us from his cannabis and hemp farm in Utah and we immediately start off with a story that I know you can relate too. Whether it's you, or someone you know, I'm positive there is someone in your life that is using cannabis for pain relief instead of narcotics. Maybe you even started growing cannabis for that exact reason. That's the exact reason Jake started growing, and even started helping others provide good, clean medicine for themselves.

While Jake started off growing cannabis, he's got quite a massive hemp farm with between 30000 and 40000 hemp plants that he's getting ready to plant for this summer harvest. There's a lot of passion behind Jake's drive, working 16-20 hours a day to build a farm and also help people in their grow rooms as well!

Our first grow tip comes in around 12 minutes. Jake advises to get into your grow rooms often and stay on top of problems. The moment you see the sign of an issue, start to address it before it gets out of hand. Listen in to hear what Jake's first infestation looked like and how he addressed it.

Jake grows in hydro on a regular basis, so his tip for overall plant health is even more important. Pay attention to your root system because happy roots equals happy fruits. Soil is a bit more forgiving than in hydro, but the adage is the same. If you don't have a good, healthy root system you will not have good, healthy buds. (13 minute mark)

Check in around 14:30 for Jake's tips for improving the yield you achieve off a single plant. You know I'm a big fan of Jake's solution here, as is our sponsor for the show. Listen up to know exactly what Jake suggests!

Around the 17 minute mark, Jake dives deep into having success with your cloning process and the right way to keep the machine clean to have the most successful process.

Being clean and organized is Jake's suggestion for the skills to develop to be the best grower you can be. Track your inputs and results so you can constantly improve upon any process and ultimvately yield and health of your plants. Here at The Homegrown Helpers we suggest taking daily notes and pictures so that we can help you track issues before they become issues!

If you liked the way Jake talked about growing cannabis, and want to learn more from Jake you can find Jake at @banishedfarms on IG, www.banishedfarms.com or email him at [email protected]. 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 Atlas Plant Trainer. Ensure that your plant expels energy into growing buds and not strengthening the stem like Jake suggests. Use this customizable, click together solution to train your limited plant count to maximize the yields you can achieve. Replace bamboo stakes, soft wire ties, and metal cages with Atlas Plant Trainer. Use code GROWCAST to save 10% off any order at https://atlasplanttrainer.com or join up with our membership program and save 20% off any order! Want to know more about the rest of the exclusive discounts that our members receive? Head over to mygrowpass.com to learn more and sign up.

Chris, founder of 907 Loud Gardens joins us on today's show from Alaska where he brings his acquired skills and knowledge from a few years in Colorado right around the cannabis boom back home to his friends and family, to teach them to produce better quality cannabis at a lower price.

Chris goes through his current grow set up, wherein Alaska they have a 500 sq. ft. license which is the perfect size for the home grower. Listen in and find out how he sets his rooms up, with lighting, tables, plant count, etc.

Chris gives some great tips for getting the most out of your plants throughout this episode but gets very specific when talking about plant health and setting your rooms up for proper Vapor Pressure Deficit, or VPD. Tune in to learn a bit more about the topic, but we strongly suggest you get an infrared thermometer to test the leaf temperature accurately!

PRO TIP: Want to make sure your mini-split heat pump runs efficiently or even runs, throughout the cold winter months? Build a house or enclosure around your outside condenser unit with the ability to vent it (in case it gets too warm) to keep the heat It creates around it, fooling the unit into thinking it's warmer outside than it is. If it gets too cold, it will stop working and your plants will burn up!

Grit and persistence is key to being a grower, listen in around the 23-minute mark to hear why Chris thinks these two traits are two of the most important in order to slay the grow room.

This episode is brought to you by Kokonaut Weather Sensors. Use code GROWCAST for 10% off any items in their store at https://kokonaut.com/. If you've don't have a monitoring system in place in your room to give you peace of mind, then you are missing out. Join our membership program to save 25% off by gaining access to our deep discounts, bonus content, and all the extras!

What's a successful grow look like for you? That's a great question to ask yourself, and the one that Chris asks each of his new clients before getting started. We think that's a great first step, so think about that as you get started growing.

Ready for your very own homegrown helper? Connect with Chris on Instagram at @907loudgardens. If you'd like to enlist the services of another Homegrown Helper please email us at [email protected].

If you liked this interview, and want to hear more from this week's Homegrown Helper please head over to http://homegrownhelpers.com/bonus and download the rest of the show!