Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast - Details, episodes & analysis

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Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast

Tad Hussey | KiS Organics – Growing Organic Cannabis

Science

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/20d. Total Eps: 170

Welcome to the Cannabis Cultivation and Science podcast, I’m your host, Tad Hussey of KIS Organics. This is the podcast where we discuss the cutting edge of organic growing from a science based perspective and draw in top experts from around the industry to share their wisdom and knowledge. If you want to hear the latest in growing technology and methods, this is the place..

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Cannabis Grow Room Controllers and Sensors: From Tents to Greenhouses with Kelley Nicholson

Episode 173

Thursday, November 12, 2026 • Duration 56:42

What we cover in this episode:

What to monitor in a grow tent or small room, including temperature, humidity and VPD, and why sensor quality matters so much.
Why your sensors belong in the plant canopy, not on the wall or the AC unit, and when you need a second sensor or a sensor on each tier.
Scaling up to greenhouses: how many sensors you need, why greenhouse length matters more than width, and how zones are set up.
Controller tiers and costs, from Trolmaster-style systems for small grows up to larger systems like Autogrow and Wadsworth, plus what 0–10 volt control does for lighting and fans.
Common mistakes: outgrowing an inexpensive controller, equipment that won't restart on its own after a power cycle, and planning for labor as you scale.
Switching controller brands, training and support, and getting through your first year of seasonal swings in a greenhouse.
Remote access and historical data, like spotting nighttime humidity buildup before it turns into a problem.
Automated irrigation, fertigation and moisture probes, including a Humboldt facility running four cultivars as four irrigation zones.

Black Friday Sale, November 10–30: 25% off select KiS Organics products plus three Black Friday bundles. No code needed. Shop the sale.

Show notes and related products: kisorganics.com
Learn more about Autogrow: autogrow.com

If you got something out of this episode, hit follow in your podcast app so you don't miss the next one. Happy Growing!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Cannabis Aroma Science Beyond THC: Volatile Compounds and Chemotaxonomy with Dr. Riley Kirk & Nature’s Heritage

Episode 172

Tuesday, October 27, 2026 • Duration 01:12:44

What we cover in this episode:

The Fallacy of THC Percentage: Why consumer purchasing metrics fail to predict actual experience and how aroma offers a more reliable sensory guide.
The Six Aroma Categorizations: How MariMed and Dr. Kirk broke down complex strain chemistry into six practical sensory buckets—from Jacks & Haze to OG, Gas & Chem.
Analytical COA Limitations: Why standard terpene panels miss low-abundance, high-potency molecules like volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) and flavorant esters that dominate a strain's scent profile.
Cultivation & Post-Harvest Precision: Kris Roy breaks down how drying and curing environments, water activity target thresholds, and operational SOPs preserve volatile monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes.
Combustion vs. Volatilization Chemistry: What happens to monoterpenes versus sesquiterpenes when flower is lit at high heat, and why joint dynamics shift from head-heavy to body-heavy notes as you smoke.
Industry Nuance & MSOs: A candid discussion on craft cultivation, scale, consumer safety, and the role of large-scale operators in funding plant science research.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Growing in Living Soil and Passing Heavy Metals Testing with Greg Larson

Episode 171

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 • Duration 40:12

How do you maintain a high-fertility organic living soil program in states with near-zero tolerance for heavy metals?

In this episode, Tad Hussey (KISS Organics) sits down with Greg Larson, a commercial cannabis consultant specializing in organic soil systems and heavy metal mitigation. Together, they break down the science and practical management of heavy metals in commercial cannabis cultivation, drawing on real-world data from facilities operating under tight compliance limits in South Dakota and Minnesota.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

Root Cause Testing: How to use ICP-MS lab testing to audit every facility input—from soil amendments and fertilizers down to irrigation lines and trim gloves.
Input Selection Dynamics: Why ocean-based inputs (like fishbone meal) carry significantly higher heavy metal risks compared to land-based options (like bovine bone meal, feather meal, and soybean meal).
Soil Chemistry & Plant Pathways: How maintaining optimal phosphorus levels and neutral pH prevents plants from absorbing arsenic through shared uptake mechanisms.
Biomass Removal Strategies: Why pulling root balls instead of "chopping and dropping" removes accumulated heavy metals and systematically lowers soil contamination cycle after cycle.
Beds vs. Containers: How larger soil volumes act as a buffer against heavy metal spikes while lowering labor costs and nitrogen requirements.
Irrigation Fail Points: Managing reverse osmosis (RO) systems, preventing metal stripping from plumbing, and avoiding anaerobic soil pockets that increase arsenic bioavailability.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Soil Microbes for Growing Cannabis: Dr. Colin Bell on Microbial Consortia, Rhizosphere Ecology and Mammoth P

Episode 170

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 • Duration 01:08:21

Key Takeaways & Highlights

Mammoth P Relaunch & Product Updates

The Return: After stepping away in late 2022 and spending three years working with the Microbial Mass Pro team, Colin bought back and officially relaunched the Mammoth brand.

~70% Price Reduction: Streamlined, scalable manufacturing allowed Colin to drop the price by roughly 70% compared to legacy pricing, making it significantly more accessible for all growers.

3-Year Shelf Life: A subtle reformulation extends the active, non-spore liquid shelf life out to three full years.

Application Rate: Continuous weekly applications at 0.6 mL per gallon throughout veg and bloom yield the best results across all substrates (living soil, hydro, coco, and rockwool).

Mammoth P vs. Microbial Mass Pro

Mammoth P: Uses active (motile), non-spore-forming bacteria selected directly from natural soil samples to liberate phosphorus and trace metals like iron. It is carried in an organic, alfalfa-derived liquid medium.

Microbial Mass Pro: Uses dormant Bacillus endospores suspended in a clean, synthetic-like solution. While Bacillus spores require 24–48 hours to germinate once applied, active motile strains start functioning immediately upon contact with the root zone.

The Power of Consortia

Microbes in nature do not work in isolation. Multi-species consortia offer synergistic functionality (1+1+1+1 = 5, 6, or 7) and greater ecological adaptability across changing pH, moisture levels, and soil micro-pores than single-species products.

Addressing Common Grower Myths

Brewing into Compost Tea: Tank brewing introduces unpredictable competitive dynamics, risks losing the intended consortia balance, and isn't necessary given the product's concentration and price point.

Why Cannabis THC Test Results Vary: Lab Potency Testing with Cannabis ChemLab

Episode 169

Wednesday, July 29, 2026 • Duration 59:09

This episode covers the key scientific drivers behind lab result variability, from instrument calibration down to field sampling practices.

Understanding Reference Standards: How analytical instruments use commercially available reference standards to construct calibration curves for testing unknown samples.

The Potency Variability Study: Insights from Cannabis ChemLab’s study overlaying 35 different THCA standards, demonstrating how variance between standard manufacturers and product lots leads to drastic differences in reported THC percentages.

The Mechanism of Potency Inflation: How calibration curves at the high end of concentration explain "impossible" lab results exceeding 100% cannabinoids in concentrates and diamonds.

Neutral vs. Acidic Cannabinoids: Why acidic forms like THCA and CBDA present significantly more analytical variability in the lab compared to decarboxylated neutral forms found in edibles.

Heavy Metals and Fertilizer Inputs: An in-depth discussion on ICP-MS heavy metal testing, identifying soil amendments like fishbone meal as a primary source of arsenic accumulation in living soil.

Dispelling Marketing Claims: Why ocean-based inputs are not inherently cleaner than other fertilizers, and why growers must screen raw materials rather than relying on marketing claims.

Agronomic Mitigation Strategies: How plant biology and strategic tissue management, such as utilizing older lower leaves as heavy metal sinks, can help keep heavy metals out of the final flower.

Navigating Unexpected Results: Practical steps for cultivators when faced with surprising lab data, including when a flower batch warrants resampling versus when a process error has occurred.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS): Is It Really Bad Weed? with Dr. Codi Peterson

Episode 168

Thursday, July 16, 2026 • Duration 01:10:02

The Reality of CHS and the 1,100+ Patient Study

Dr. Peterson highlights the scope of his landmark survey, which gathered data from 1,134 CHS sufferers. The study reveals that CHS is not an acute reaction to a single session, but rather a chronic, low-level dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that predominantly impacts heavy, long-term consumers.

Frequency of Use: 96.5% of study participants consumed cannabis daily, and 45% consumed more than six times per day.

The "Buoy" Metaphor: Dr. Peterson explains the ECS as a master regulatory buoy. While occasional cannabis use gently nudges the buoy, chronic high-dose THC overstimulation completely knocks it over, triggering the cyclical vomiting state.

Vapes vs. Flower: The Onset Timeline

One of the most significant findings of the paper is how the method of inhalation changes how quickly CHS develops.

Vaporizing: Exclusive vapers reported symptoms starting within 1 to 2 years of beginning use.

Smoking Flower: Flower smokers took significantly longer to develop CHS, with the most common timeline being 10 years or more.

Debunking the Pesticide and Neem Oil Myths

A popular theory in the cannabis community is that CHS is actually pesticide or neem oil poisoning. Dr. Peterson challenges this theory using clinical toxicology:

The Sourcing Data: Sufferers in the study reported identical CHS symptoms regardless of whether they got their weed from licensed dispensaries, illicit sources, or their own pesticide-free home grows.

Neem Oil Toxicity: Ingesting neem oil causes immediate nausea, alongside severe clinical signs like liver damage, seizures, and brain swelling—none of which are observed in CHS patients.

Pesticide Toxidromes: Known pesticide exposures (like organophosphates) present with highly specific chemical "toxidromes" that look nothing like cyclical vomiting.

Gender Differences in Symptom Severity Recognizing the Prodrome and Navigating Recovery

Why Cannabis Clones Lose Vigor Over Time: Genetic Drift in Propagation

Episode 167

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 • Duration 54:05

The Mechanics of Genetic Drift Plants are natural genetic mosaics. As they grow and divide over time, typos naturally accumulate in their DNA code, which are known as somatic mutations. Traditional vegetative cuttings and field-grown plants accumulate these mutations at a very low, linear baseline rate over decades. However, the extreme genomic degradation highlighted in the paper is driven by rapid generational cell cycling in vitro. Forcing an unorganized mass of cells to constantly divide and regenerate bypasses the plant's normal cellular quality control checkpoints.

Somatic Embryos vs. Meristem Cultures Somatic embryogenesis involves stripping a plant down to a single cell or callus phase to regenerate an embryo. This is considered high risk for mutations because if the founder cell contains a mutation, that mutation becomes permanently fixed in every single cell of the thousands of plants propagated from it. This differs from meristem tip culture, which is the low risk, predominant form of tissue culture used in cannabis for clearing Hop Latent Viroid. Because meristem tip culture preserves the existing, highly organized architecture of the shoot apical meristem rather than forcing single cells to reprogram, the genetic risk is fundamentally lower.

DNA Typos vs. Chromosome Catastrophes The high-stress cell cycling environment caused macroscopic genomic errors, such as whole-chromosome duplications called trisomies. In the walnut clones, these large-scale errors made it incredibly difficult to grow the tissue back out into healthy adult plants. The stress of rapid lab cell cycling also desilenced transposable elements, or jumping genes, allowing pieces of DNA to insert themselves randomly throughout the genome and disrupt normal gene expression. It is worth noting that not all mutations are bad. Small point mutations, or single base changes, happen constantly in nature as life being life. Most occur in non-coding regions and have zero impact, while a rare few can actually create desirable new traits as seen historically in citrus and wine grapes.

Genetics vs. Epigenetics The guests distinguish between true genetic mutations, which are permanent changes to the A, C, T, G code, and epigenetic modifications, which act like chemical bookmarks such as methylation that change how a gene is read without altering the underlying sequence. Some instances of a mother plant losing vigor may actually be epigenetic shifts caused by environmental stress or endophyte and pathogen buildup over time, rather than a permanent genetic mutation.

Cannabis Growing Myths Debunked with Dr. Deron Caplan

Episode 166

Wednesday, June 10, 2026 • Duration 01:11:12

In this conversation, host Tad Hussey (KIS Organics) and Dr. Deron Caplan (CannaCribs Horticulture Consulting) discuss the intersection of agricultural science and commercial cannabis cultivation, focusing heavily on irrigation, lighting, and research methodologies.

Drought Stress vs. Drybacks: Dr. Caplan clarifies a major industry misconception by distinguishing standard irrigation "drybacks" from actual "drought stress." He explains that drybacks work primarily by pulling oxygen into the root zone (which cannabis loves), whereas true drought stress requires pushing the plant past the point of water availability.

The Nuance of Cannabinoid Bumps: While Dr. Caplan’s landmark PhD research found that controlled drought stress in week seven of flowering could boost THC/CBD content by 30% to 40% without losing yield, he notes that repeating this in smaller pots with faster drybacks yielded no positive results. This highlights just how incredibly nuanced and difficult it is to trigger beneficial plant stress without harming the crop.

Organics vs. Mineral Salts at Scale: The two debate the logistics of commercial cultivation. While mineral salts offer strict baseline consistency and easier pathogen sterilization for medical export markets, Dr. Caplan notes that data-driven, evidence-based living soil systems have come a long way and are proving to be increasingly scalable.

Debunking the Leaf-Tip Cloning Myth: Dr. Caplan shares that his early research on propagation disproved a ubiquitous legacy market myth: cutting the tips off clone leaves actually reduces rooting success, unless leaves are so large that they are actively shading adjacent clones.

Advanced Canopy Management: They discuss the massive yield and quality benefits (15% to 20% increases) of under-canopy lighting (UCL). Dr. Caplan details how commercial facilities can use a PAR meter to calculate the Leaf Area Index (LAI) to mathematically standardize how much foliage to prune, rather than relying on visual guesswork.

The Future of Research: Dr. Caplan highlights his new commercial R&D facility in Canada designed to test applied science practices. They close by discussing the validity of peer-reviewed data versus private white papers, concluding that regardless of a grower's background, scientific data is the ultimate tool for bridging the gap between organic and conventional cultivation.

Can a 13-Hour Light Cycle Boost Cannabis Yields 50%? with Dr. Youbin Zheng

Episode 165

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 • Duration 01:06:44

In this episode, we discuss:

Bridging the Genetic Gap: Looking critically at how horticultural research transfers between high-THC cultivars and industrial hemp.

The 13-Hour Photoperiod: Breaking the traditional 12/12 cycle to achieve a 39%–50% yield increase and a 9% THC boost.

Linear Light Scaling: The direct relationship between light intensity and flower yield scaling all the way up to 1,800 micromoles under ambient CO2.

The UV Reality Check: Why modern high-THC genetics actually showed a decrease in final cannabinoid and terpene content under supplemental UVA and UVB.

Light Response Curves: Why relying on a single leaf measurement to guide your facility's light saturation point is fundamentally flawed.

The Veg-to-Flower Transition: Practical SOPs for adjusting PPFD and DLI safely without shocking your canopy.

Controlled Deficit Irrigation: How a single, targeted late-flower drought stress event triggers a 12%–13% spike in final THC and CBD content.

The 60 PPM Phosphorus Rule: Looking at the established replication data proving that excess phosphorus wastes money, reduces yield efficiency, and impacts the environment.

Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Visit KIS Organics for commercial living soils, amendments, and consulting: https://www.kisorganics.com

Grab Dr. Zheng's textbook, Handbook of Cannabis Production in Controlled Environments: https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Cannabis-Production-Controlled-Environments/dp/0367712571

Access Dr. Zheng’s open-access research papers on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ciGdnWAAAAAJ&hl=en

Cannabis Plant Diseases, Mycotoxins and Microclimates with Dr. Nicole Gauthier

Episode 164

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 • Duration 01:05:22

o keep the audience engaged while highlighting the technical value of the episode, this version focuses on the "why" and the high-level takeaways, leaving the "how" for the audio.

Podcast Summary

In this episode, Tad Hussey of KIS Organics talks with plant pathologist Dr. Nicole Gauthier to separate fact from fiction regarding cannabis pathogens. The discussion moves past the basics of "mold" to look at the specific science of Fusarium, Botrytis, and the reality of mycotoxins in the supply chain. From the limitations of soil testing to the importance of bud microclimates, Dr. Gauthier provides a professional framework for understanding how plant diseases actually function and how to manage them without relying on "curative" myths.

Key Takeaways

The Mycotoxin Reality: Why species identification matters more than ever, and a look at which common pathogens actually pose a toxic risk to consumers.

Microclimates vs. Room Environment: Understanding why your sensors might say your room is safe while your "chunky buds" are harboring high-humidity infections.

The Problem with Broad Testing: A critical look at why generic soil tests and "Total Yeast and Mold" plates often provide misleading or incomplete data for growers.

Biological Controls & SAR: The science of "priming" a plant’s immune system and the differing persistence levels of Bacillus and Trichoderma on the leaf surface.

The Pathology "Lightning Round": Dr. Gauthier’s professional advice on sanitation protocols, rogueing diseased plants, and the most effective ways to manage an outbreak.

Featured Expert

Dr. Nicole Gauthier is a researcher and extension specialist at the University of Kentucky. Her work focuses on sustainable disease management and helping growers navigate the intersection of plant health and regulatory compliance.

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