Shaping Fire

Your relationship with the land you cultivate is perhaps the most important variable for growing thriving cannabis plants. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los chats with Nicholas Mahmood of Green Source Gardens about best practices for putting your gardens to sleep in the fall, some ideas for off-season improvements, and some strategies to start your spring with abundant momentum.

The phrase "tissue culture" can get cannabis folks excited and yet not many have a good idea of what it is or how the cannabis plant can benefit from its opportunities. In this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los welcomes back cannabis geneticist Ryan Lee to discuss what tissue culture is, the opportunities found in micropropagation, how to remove viruses and other impediments from important cannabis cultivars, and the wide range of other scientific possibilities that tissue culture holds.

Autoflowering cannabis cultivars have come a long way in the last decade. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with autoflower breeder and co-founder of Autoflower.net Dan Jimmie aka Mandalorian Genetics about the early days of autoflowers, the genetic breakthroughs since 2008, the establishment of a forum dedicated to the autoflower community and the basics of why breeding autoflowers is trickier than photosensitive varieties.

Prohibitionists often argue that cannabis causes psychotic breaks and schizophrenia. And while the science does not support that position, schizophrenia is not entirely unrelated to cannabis use either. In this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with neuroscientist Greg Gerdeman PhD about the nature of schizophrenia and the relationship between psychosis and cannabis.

Cannabis pollen is both feared and sacred. It can ruin a crop of sinsemilla, while at the same time create a new cultivar than can bring health and joy to many, and fame to the breeder. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with Daniel Morford of Heartrock Mountain Farm in Mendocino County about his best practices for the collection and preservation of pollen.

Today's episode is different. Shaping Fire host Shango Los was invited to moderate a private webcast entitled, "Cannabis, Mushrooms and Terpenes for Optimum Health." Shango didn't choose the topic or speakers but the quality of answers by this experienced panel are so good that we want to share them with you. Dr. Ethan Russo, Tony Verzura, Jeff Chilton, and Berner discuss how best to blend a variety of alternative medicines to reach healing goals often unattainable by pharmaceuticals.

None of the stylish cannabis advertising is directed at folks soon to die. And yet, humans at the end of their days often wish for the relief and perspective that comes from cannabis. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los welcomes back Dr. Sunil Aggarwal to talk about integrating cannabis into end-of-life care, dosing protocols, and how to address objections from family and institutions.

Age-old natural farming fermentations and preparations have made a huge resurgence in the cultivation scene. However, there is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding how to blend them, if at all. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with Certified Master Natural Farmer Chris Trump about how best to use Korean Natural Farming preparations, how to blend them, and how small amounts can have such substantial impacts on plants.

One of the greatest challenges in life is to suffer from an ailment that people have chosen to take for granted. Fifteen percent of all humans suffer with migraines and yet still little is known about them. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los interviews world-renowned neurologist and cannabis researcher Dr. Ethan Russo about the state of the science on migraines and how to incorporate cannabis and psilocybin mushroom as therapies.

Female cannabis plants are often threatened by male pollen coming from a neighbor's garden. Now though, regular breeding has created the first cannabis triploid plants. This naturally occurring plant type not only is impervious to unexpected pollen, but the third chromosome these plants have makes them larger, more resistant to pests and molds, and with bigger yields. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with socio-ecologist Seth Crawford about these new plants and their extraordinary characteristics.

More and more people are growing cannabis and making ice water hash at home. It is an incredibly simple yet satisfying hobby that takes a short time to learn but years to master. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los discusses home hashmaking best practices with lifelong hashmaker Ganja Gil - The Ice Wook. Their discussion spans the entire process, including choosing starting material, ice, hash bags, temperature, screens, washers, agitation, drying and storage.

Feminized seeds have a reputation based on devotion, hyperbole, and myth. Cultivators have strong feelings about these particular seeds, no matter if they love or hate them. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with biologist and cannabis geneticist Ryan Lee about the science behind feminized seeds, how to make them, and why they used to have a bad reputation. The third set is dedicated to understanding "female-only" breeding.

Natural gardeners like the idea of planting companion plants that will distract cannabis pests and harbor the insects that prey on these same pests. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with Suzanne Wainwright-Evans, The Buglady, about the complexities and challenges of using banker and trap plants in a cannabis garden, why the plants suggested so often online don't actually work in real life and some strategies for making banker and trap plants work for you if you are willing to put in the effort.

Pain and chronic illness are so dynamic that they can injure us on multiple levels. Too often, not only does our body suffer, but our sexuality suffers as well. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with sex educator Chris Maxwell Rose of Pleasure Mechanics about the mental and emotional challenges of having sex while experiencing chronic pain, communication between partners, and positions, toys and other strategies for sexualizing your life, even with a chronic malady.

The application of light to plants, whether it be sunshine or from electricity, is an important part of the overall skillset a cultivator needs to perfect their craft. On this week's episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with former NASA lighting scientist Robert Soler about some of the key threshold points in the relationship between the light spectrum and cannabis plants that impact all cultivators, clearing up some botanical myths that persist in cannabis cultivation, and a bit about how working under artificial lights impacts the lives of professional indoor cultivators.

One of the most common reasons people become interested in cannabis is for pain relief. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los talks with Adie Rae, PhD about the physiological underpinnings of pain, how cannabis offers pain relief by interacting with several body systems, and how patients can transition from highly addictive opioid pain relievers to using cannabis instead.

Water is essential for all of our cannabis gardens and yet so few of us have an intimate understanding of its role in the rhizosphere. On this episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los welcomes back soil biologist Leighton Morrion to explore the origin of water, water harvesting, water's role in in the soil and some best practices for watering your garden.

Korean Natural Farming is very detailed and very adaptable. On today's episode of Shaping Fire, host Shango Los leads certified KNF educator Drake down some uncommon paths to discuss how to adapt KNF for atypical implementations like growing and wildcrafting in the city, collecting IMO in desert environments and using preparations for human health and biosecurity.