Potcast 175: Backyard Cannabis Gardener
As we anticipate spring's arrival, we’re flirting with nature and the idea of cannabis in this year's garden. Penny Barthel, a Bay Area cannabis horticulturist and author celebrating the release of her new book, The Cannabis Gardener, guides us through envisioning cannabis in our springtime garden setup and the practical steps to get 'er growin'. Penny also shares great tips for choosing the right seeds for both you and your garden climate. We also talk about the wellness perks of gardening your own cannabis and the sacred bond between gardeners and the food and medicine they grow and share.
If you're in the planning and preparation stages of your garden, this potcast is for you. If it hadn't occurred to you to grow your own herb this year, I think you're going to be inspired. Smoke 'em if you got 'em and daydream about your very own medicinal garden.
It's time to get casually baked. 💚-Jo
This Potcast is Lit By White Ash Group
If you want to take casual cannabis gardening to the next level perhaps you're ready for a career in cannabis cultivation. Submit your resumé at white ash group dot com. White Ash Group is North America’s premiere choice for Cannabis staffing, recruitment, and executive search. And if you’re an industry trailblazer with a growing business, lean on White Ash Group to provide pre-screened and vetted top-tier talent and custom hiring solutions so you can feel good building your dream team and work/life balance. From roots to suits in the U.S. and Canada, visit white ash group dot com to learn more. Tell 'em Jo sent you. ✨
‘After the Show’ Notes
Penny Barthel is an author, certified cannabis horticulturist, nutritionist & recipe developer. She interprets the complexities and mystery of cannabis for the home cannabis gardener. Penny’s work with cannabis is the perfect expression of her passions: gardening, recipe development, and teaching.
My name is Penny Barthel, a Bay Area cannabis gardener and educator. I’m a big fan of Casually Baked, and I’m a friend of Johanna Silver. She wrote about me and my garden in her book, How to Grow Weed in the Garden — I’m the one who gave her the chocolate sauce recipe. We both got pleasantly high at that photoshoot!
I’ve just published a new book, The Cannabis Gardener (Ten Speed Press, February 2021).
I'm also co-founder of a cannabis education company, Let’s Sesh for the Cannacurious. I look forward to connecting with you!
You and The Garden Nurture Each Other
I would suggest that you yourself are growing when you're in the garden.
I think it's deeply important for our souls, for our psyches to get out there in nature, especially during the pandemic, when we're cut off from each other socially, it's not how humans are meant to live. And there's something about being with plants that is at a really deep level nurturing to ourselves.
So it's mutual, I think it's a relationship. I say that I like to step out and go have conversations with my plant friends in my garden. It's a little woo, but you can touch them and you see what's growing and you smell the leaves or whatever it is.
I know it's winter, but if you can go up and look at the beautiful branch structure of a local tree. Or smell that snow. It's amazing.
-Penny Barthel, Author of The Cannabis Gardener
‘Before You Grow’ Cannabis Gardening Tips
Allow cannabis to be something that you love - put it in your heart and mind when planning your garden
Reverse engineer how you want to feel and explore cultivars (aka strains) to plant-based on that. Leafly.com is a great resource during your search. So is Humboldt Seed Company for seed hunting.
Cross-reference those cultivar’s growing climate with your own and go with the strain that works for both you and your garden.
Find a place in your outdoor space that gets a minimum of 6-hours of full, direct sunlight per day. 8-hours is ideal.
Know your soil. When in doubt, add compost. Try worm composting!
A consistent watering schedule is important. Only water the soil; keep the leaves dry. Make sure they have adequate drainage. Soaker hoses are great.
Hand watering is the best way to build a relationship with your garden and know what’s happening with each of your plants.
Label and store unused cannabis seeds in the dark in cool or cold temps (like the freezer) but ideally, sprout them within 1-2 years.
A spade is the chef’s knife of the gardening tool kit. And have a good set of pruners for big leafing and clipping small buds to use in your smoothies and salads.
Know the cannabis laws in your state and municipality. NORML.org keeps an updated state-by-state guide.
Choose and Buy Seeds
Peruse regular or feminized seeds, cannabis auto-flower, clones, and high-CBD seeds at BuyCannabisGenetics.com. Save 20% Use Promo Code: casuallybaked