Interview with Master Grower — m0use

Hello Growers!

The Growdairies team has decided to bring back the interview series where we ask numerous questions and the expert gives his/her opinion. We truly hope this series helps you get better at growing some spectacular cannabis plants. And, yes, we hope you're going to have some fun too!

In addition, we will be contacting you for more interviews like these, so stay tuned!

Last but not least, a big thanks to @m0use for suggesting that we bring back this series, and for taking the time to answer all the questions so kindly. Thank you!

Question: Hello M0use! We are very excited to conduct this interview today, considering how you pitched in and encouraged us to talk to master growers here on the site. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Answer: Hey, CannaScience it’s great to be here. I am so happy to be a part of this reawakening of the grower interviews. I know we have chatted a bunch about the site's inner workings and your articles, so it’s hard to say things about me — I feel we already know each other. 

I guess I could say I like growing plants and have a knack for gardening, or so I’ve been told. I am relatively new at growing cannabis — around 5 years — but have picked up a lot of skill sets in my short time growing. 

I grew up in a small town but now live in one of the world's most multicultural cities. I have a pet and like thunderstorms, hot peppers, cartoons, cooking/eating, and computer games to name a few. I’m also single and ready to mingle, hit me up, boys ;) bahaha…

Question: Why did you start cultivating cannabis?

Answer: TBH I wanted to make some extra money on the side to fund the rest of the other side projects I had going on. Now that it is legal in my country it was a pointless effort. But, I still love the art of growing though and that’s why I continue to do it. Plus, it’s a lot like all the other plants in my garden. 

I have recently gotten into the specialized aspects of growing cannabis, CBD, CBG, special cannabinoids, and fancy terpenes. That’s my main goal now — trying out the weird and niche strains of cannabis and finding a few that truly resonate with me.

Question: How has cannabis helped you?

Answer: I would have to say it has helped me learn a new skill or two and become a bit more confident. I started a new hobby and got good at it — that's a good win for me. 

I’m no OG grower but I can now grow beautiful plants with minimal effort and share that with all my friends and family. I used to think it helped me with sleep but it was all in my head. 

I do use CBD for some anxiety and anti-inflammation relief. I feel it helps with my predisposed genetic conditions. I'm yet to grow the CBG seeds I have acquired, and I hope they will also help out a lot with this. 

The lovely breeders at Emerald Triangle Seeds, Spliff seeds, and Kannabia Seeds have hooked me up with some special-looking CBG/CBD strains. I even have some discount codes I can offer to others should they be interested — my way of giving back to the community.

Question: Do you remember how and why you started using Growdiaries?

Answer: I do but it’s a bit faded, I can't fully remember my main goal. I know my profile says when I started and I have a few legacy grows on it, but overall I think it was mainly to document my progress. 

I know I wanted to upload my grows to have an online backup and compare to others and become better at what I do. I also saw the contests and thought, "Wow, they give away some pretty cool things just for showcasing your grow". So that was definitely a bonus when I found that part of the site.

Question: What do you love about Growdiaries?

Answer: Given my time spent here, I'd say the best part of Growdiaries is the community of users. Granted, not all of them, but the ones I have made relationships with are gold. I also like how easy it is to start a diary and log the information for reference at a later date.

Question: Do you train your cannabis plants? If yes, can you describe one technique that’s easy for even beginners?

Answer: I do train my plants. I have used various forms of HST, topping, FIMing, super-cropping, mainlining, lollipopping & some basic LST, SCROG, and bending/tieing branches as well. 

I would say a combo of both is best for photoperiods and something I like to do. It’s easy enough for beginners as the plants bounce back so well if all the other factors are locked in. 

Topping and some LST is a gold standard to me, working things into the SCROG net is so rewarding once it’s full and blooming. 

I would say this though — if you’re new and just starting, let it grow as is and just learn about the plant and see what you can do as a baseline then get creative. Got to learn to crawl then walk then run.

Question: Are you a DIY person or do you purchase most equipment, including nutrients?

Answer: I love a good DIY but most things I can’t do, like build my own lights… yet

I have a special Diary on my profile about my little side projects on GD, mainly the LABS I make for the soil grows I do.

Before I started growing I made my own grow tent out of styrofoam panels, gorilla glue, paint, and velcro tape. It was amazing! I wanted to test the waters before purchasing a big expensive tent. I salvaged all the materials from different places around the city and got it done for around 40 dollars. 

If I could grow in a homemade box, then I knew I could grow in a fancy tent! I used my basic Sunblaster 18w led strips in a light array. The strain I picked was a fire one, Dinafem’s OG Kush CBD Photoperiod strain. It grew so well with the crap equipment I threw at it. 

In the end, I got over 1g/w. I don’t even pull that in most of my current grows now. If I knew a buddy who grew, I would 100% have used an old tent they had. The styrofoam is not the best for the environment but it worked out well for its intended purpose.

One other thing I like doing on my grows is making my own medium mix. I combine what is available and what I want in it and it works out really well. Almost always, a coir soil hybrid with fancy dry amendments and added fun.

Question: Can you describe a few things you do (DIY) that perhaps saves money?

Answer: LABS serum 100%, no need for liquid microbes from other companies that cost way too much for a product with questionable quality control. Also, making my own medium, and buying raw materials in bulk saves me more money vs single bags with ingredients I don’t care for or ratios they are in. Plus when you make the LABS serum you can create a cheese out of the byproducts and eat it on fancy crackers with dried fruit and herbs for a real treat. Quite Tasty!

Question: Can you name a few growers who have inspired you here? What do you like the most about their growing style?

Answer: Hmm… I would have to say when I first came on this site I paid no attention to anyone else and only recently have branched out and made friends. Becoming more of a contributing member of the community was an added bonus. Seed swapping and group chats are great. 

With all this happening I found some good grows from a few users like @TheBudWhisperer, @GMSGrows, @NobodysBuds, and @EzzJayBruh. They are just a few people who pop into my head right away but there are tons of others that I’m not remembering. 

I would say I like how easy they made it look to grow really nice-looking plants.

Question: Is there any strain you grow in particular? Would you recommend it to beginners?

Answer: I guess I have grown Dinafem’s Dinamed CBD Kush Auto a lot. I'd recommend it to others. It’s a great strain, I love it! In fact, I love almost anything from Dinafem. *RIP*.

Dinafems cheese seed I got as a freebie was really nice. It had salmon-colored pistils and a lovely hint of cheesiness to it once it was done. G13 Labs Blue Cindy is also a great option. Such a great plant, smells divine and so fruity.

I think growing extremely high THC-only strains is not a good thing to do. Instead, a nice mix of CBD/THC + special terpenes is classic. G13 Labs has a Peach Puree CBD strain that looks amazing with 1:2 THC to CBD ratio. 

Sadly, I can't find it on my regular seed banks, which sucks, but I’ll keep on searching. Peach Puree CBD is so much like the Dinafem Purple Orange CBD 1:2 I grew, and it was a beauty of a plant. 

I do feel autos should come after you get a good understanding of growing plants in general outside of growing cannabis. So, with that said, any photoperiod suited for your region is a great start. One from a good breeder and a KISS “keep it simple stupid” plan to grow it is a solid way to go. Anyone can grow with a setup like that.