Hey abby Grower Story:
Kilo

In Hey abby's grower community, few have been as helpful and supportive to our journey as Kilo! This passionate grower is one of the original members and supporters of Hey abby, and he has played a crucial role in shaping our community.

His passion for cultivation, dedication to quality, and willingness to share knowledge have made a lasting impact. Now, his journey is expanding beyond personal grows. He’s actively involved in local cannabis regulation, working alongside breeders, and focusing on growing his influence in the industry.

Today, we sit chop it up with Kilo to discuss his evolution as a grower, his contributions to the community, and what’s next in his cannabis journey.

Image shared by Kilo in the Hey abby Discord Super Bowl channel

Hey abby: How did you originally discover cannabis?

Kilo: That was a long time ago, since the dir/brickweed times. I guess I've always smoked—can't remember not smoking. But when I started growing (weed), I realized that it's a lot better.

Hey abby: Was it a family thing? Or was it just a couple of buddies when you were younger?

Kilo: Yeah, just friends. Back in the day, I started smoking, got into it, I loved it, and never stopped. For me, it was more of like, you know, it helps me sleep. I kind of used it as a medicine.

Hey abby: I feel like most people who grow find some type of therapeutic or medicinal benefit from it. How did that lead you to growing your own cannabis?

Kilo: I think it was more about the medicine part and loving it so much that led me to grow it.

Hey abby: Did cannabis or growing bring anything new or exciting into your life?

Kilo: Yeah, I keep on expanding, that's for sure. I went from one Hey abby grow box to a 15-plant setup now. I also switched to soil grow—not that there's anything wrong with DWC, I like that too. But I did a side-by-side with 2 identical clones, one in DWC and one in soil. While growing cannabis with DWC hydro produced more and faster, I felt like the organic soil had a lot more terps.

Hey abby: How would you compare the Hey abby hydro grow boxes (like 420 Edition) to the Soil Edition?

Kilo: With DWC, the plants can get a little too big. At first, I was just growing, trying to get as much weight of weed as I could, but now I've kind of thinned back and just get as much quality as I can. With the Soil Edition grow box, I probably get at most, maybe a quarter pound, and it's a little slower, like I said, with soil.

But soil is a little easier than changing the water every three days. you just give it a drink every now and then, which makes it real easy. I use the Giai Green stuff, some microbial fungi, azomite, and stuff like that. I give all of them the same shit, and it all works out.

Hey abby: What was your first growing experience like?

Kilo: My first grow in the Hey abby started with a clone that was originally in soil, so I had to transplant the clone from soil to the hydro...

Hey abby: Oh that's never easy! Did it go through shock?

Kilo: Yeah, I cleaned all the roots off and did the whole thing. I got root right real quick, and I battled through a lot of issues during that grow, but in the end, I made it to harvest. I think that's what got me feeling everything else was really easy after that.

Hey abby: How did it turn out?

Kilo: Actually it turned out real good! and I think I got close to eight ounces on that first harvest. The strain was lilac diesel, and produced big old chunky buds. Now, they were a little airy, but it still was some of the best smoke—very, very tasty.

Hey abby: How do you compare the weed you're growing to what's available in shops?

Kilo: It's not like stuff you can buy in the store. Most of the terps are gone or it's been sitting on a shelf for a year, you never know. A few weeks ago, I realized how much of a snob I am. I went into a dispensary in CA and asked, "what do you have with a real close harvest date?" They don't even have harvest date on the label, just a packaging date. I got some of their "top shelf" stuff and it was mid for sure. I did get some of that Khalifa Kush, and that was real good, but still, not to the caliber in which I grow. I looked around for the best dispensary and I think there's just like all the same. I went to a few of them. It just feels like it's a packaging and a marketing game.

Hey abby: Unfortunately, I know exactly what you mean. Circling back to your cannabis—what's it like sharing it with your friends and family?

Kilo: I get some of the best compliments on what I grow. I've got quite a few plants, so it gets in quite a few hands and, I'm just killing it out here. The quality is on point—this ain't California, but I feel like the stuff that comes into Texas is often reject stuff. Some of the rejects can be for some bullshit, like the tough testing, but some are just old, so you never really know what you're getting. It's kind of a guessing game on what you're gonna get around here. But I I've never gotten a complaint. Actually, there's one guy who was real funny—he thought it was fake cause it was so good. He was like, "this ain't even real stuff, man!"

Hey abby: Hahaha, that's awesome! When I pull down or when I go consult, and they give me a pound or whatever, and I bring it around, one of the things I really enjoy is sharing it and seeing how people react and how much they enjoy it.

Kilo: It's very gratifying for me personally. I like asking people what they like—I got stuff that makes you hungry, and the kind that makes you sleepy. I can get pretty specific about the stuff. I probably bore the shit out of some people. I know too much.

Hey abby: When you're into it and love it, that knowledge is very helpful. Any standout strains you have grown or smoked?

Kilo: I like OGs and Kush. I've got this one called RazzboxPie—it's Raspberry Kush crossed with Cherry Pie. It's damn good kush. I liked it so much that I got it again. I also grew Chernobyl three or four times in a row, but I just can't find it anymore. If I could, I'd grow it every time—at least a couple of plants. Chernobyl would have to be my all-time favorite.

Hey abby: What makes it so special? I've heard of it, but I've never come across it myself.

Kilo: It has a citrus, lime flavor with lots of tropical in there. The buds are bright lime green and caked with trichomes. I got that as a golden ticket cut, or breeder cut, and after that one clone, the dude sent me some S1 seeds with it. I got all females, and while they were similar, they just weren't as good as that clone cut I got.

Hey abby: What's the most rewarding part about growing your own cannabis, especially now that you've expanded your setup? Is there anything that's really rewarding or something specific you look forward to as your growth progresses?

Kilo: It's pretty therapeutic for me. I like taking care of them, watching them grow up, and then seeing the fruit of labor. I keep enough to last me and all I smoke is my own stuff.

Hey abby: I've been like that for years, and there's something about it! When I'm out with friends and turn down smoking, people are shocked, like,"but don't you smoke??" Then I have to explain myself.

Kilo: Yeah, I hear that all the time. "I thought you were a big smoker. Don't you like smoking?" Yeah, but not that shit, man. Since I started growing, I have cut back. I don't have to smoke as much, and I also like not smoking all day, every day. When I do smoke, it works really well. So now I use it kind of medicinally—just take as much as I need and don't waste it.

Hey abby: Hell yeah, it happens when you grow fire. So, what is a successful grow for you?

Kilo: I rarely run into any issues. I do feel like I'm pretty good at it. So I like seeing it just happen with no issues. I've ran into issues like PM before but I've learned how to prevent it. I don't think there's been a grow where I haven't learned something. At this point, I'm getting to where I don't really have to do much at all.

Hey abby: Dope, sounds like you have a set SOP and things run pretty smoothly once you get them up and going. You know what to expect and how to plan ahead and around those expectations.

Kilo: Even with my last harvest, I didn't top cannabis as much as that should have, and I got some larf down the bottom. This grow, I'm trying to correct it without overcorrecting it. It's always something, but I quit running tests. I'd run some side-by-sides, comparing different nutrient amounts and seeing what happens, but now we've kind of got a system going. I know what to do, and that's what I do.

Hey abby: Yeah, absolutely. Is there anything you're looking to try as you expand? Any new styles you want to try out or progress into?

Kilo: Yeah, for this next grow, I'm going to hunt for a mom. I've got 22 seeds of a strain I really like, and they're all fem. I've never done that, and I've never cloned anything that I've grown either. I have just to see if I could do it. I've never really saved anything (for future grows).

Hey abby: What would you say to someone who's interested in growing, doing their research, but hesitant to try or unsure about their ability?

Kilo: I've done this before and didn't come up with this, but I ask, "Are you into science or art?" That tells me if they should try soil or DWC. I've set up some people with DWC who just really can't do it, but would be good at soil. So now, I ask questions to see what they want to do. Organic or living soil type is pretty an art—you're basically just feeding the soil, not the plant. You've got to be pretty on top of feeding and stuff like that.

I'm kind of into both, so I can do DWC as well. I'm pretty good at DWC too. So it's not like I don't like DWC, it's just not in the cards right now. DWC is more like scientific—putting nutrients straight in the water and changing the water. That's a pretty cool experience. It (Growing with Hey abby) was my first experience with hydro, and I couldn't believe you could just sit there and check out the roots. I could help people figure out what's wrong because what's going up top normally is an indicator of something going down below.

In soil, luckily I haven't run into many issues, but it would be a little harder to correct problems without really knowing what you're doing. I find that with soil, you run into less issues—no nutrient lockout, no nutrient deficiencies, or overfeeding. I've had to battle bugs on weed before, but I've got that down, so I don't have to worry about it anymore. In the summer, you really have to watch out for pests like fungus gnats. Right now, in the wintertime, I'm not even running any type of pest management.

Hey abby: Awesome! You're killing it bro. Stay it and I'm excited to see what to come for you as you continue to grow!

Grower's Pick: Chernobyl

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