Hey abby Grower Story:
Zeroz

Behind every cannabis plant is a grower with a unique story. Whether you’re an active or aspiring grower, nurturing your first seedling, or fine-tuning a sophisticated irrigation system for you plant/s, there’s something deeply personal, and relatable about cultivating cannabis. It’s more than a hobby—it’s a craft, a science, and for many, a way of life!

In this interview, we’re excited to shine a light on one of our own: a grower whose journey is as interesting as the plants he cares for. They’ve faced challenges, celebrated milestones, and discovered the subtle magic that only comes from growing cannabis at home. Their story is proof that every grower—no matter where they are on their growing journey— not only can grow at home successfully, but also has something valuable to share. So grab your favorite strain, settle in, and let’s connect with Zeroz!

Zeroz has definitely turned some heads, and caught my attention with some of his absolutely stunning harvests he has posted on discord! Zeroz is one of the original founders and supporters of the original Hey abby Kickstarter campaign! We have collaborated in the past, and I must say; i am impressed with how well he has been able to not only take my advice (when asked for it), but also his ability to apply the techniques we discuss, and execute them! Zeroz isn't only an excellent grower, he is also a pillar to our growing community! He serves as a Grower-Mod, because of his knowledge, and excellent advice/input he has continued to provide to our growers on discord!

Hey abby: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got you originally discovered cannabis?

Zeroz: I would say that started for me in college. I think it was more initially the social aspect of it; everybody's sitting around and smoking a joint or hitting the bong, whatever the apparatus of the day was. Cannabis lets you connect in different ways than when you're sitting around drinking or just hanging around. It kind of brings down some people's social anxiety for sure. Seems like it just allows people to be more authentic. For lack of a better word, people aren't as vulnerable when they're on booze.

That's a lot of times what I think about—those kind of memories. Sure, you remember some great strains you smoked, but it's really when you're sitting around sharing and enjoying that you connect with people on a different level. Even sharing a joint in a bar, whether with someone like-minded or completely different, can help you find some commonalities.

Hey abby: I totally agree. Vulnerability, in my opinion, kinda forces peoples guard to drop and that's what really fosters a genuine connection. I feel like that's how we kinda built that little sub community with the grow-along. In any way, did those "original experiences" or memories lead you to want to grow your own, or was there something else that inspired you to start growing?

Zeroz: Yeah, I think ultimately they're somewhat linked. I've grown hot peppers, tomatoes and, a lot of vegetables, fruits, et cetera. Cannabis was kind of a taboo—the one where you’d think "oh my god, I can't grow that, I'll go to jail, right?" Lol.

Hey abby: The Devil's Lettuce? Lol. So was it kind of your natural progression to grow next?

Zeroz: That stigma around it kind of put up on a pedestal as this "holy grail" of things to grow.

I was sitting on my couch back in 2022 when the Kickstarter for Hey abby started. And I'm like "All right, it's time! Everybody's got their tents, they're great, but for someone living in a smaller townhouse, the footprint is what initially drew me to it." The smaller, self-contained, less of an obvious "what's going on in there" sort of device. Having experience growing other things, cannabis was just one of those things you'd see on TV—there'd be a grow room—and it turned into something I knew I had to try at sometime.

Hey abby: That's very cool. Have you, or do you feel like your connection with cannabis or your habits have changed since you've started growing?

Zeroz: Yeah! Before I was growing, it was more about picking up a new quarter or a half ounce, and you were just happy to have it. You didn't get to think much about how it got there, how it was grown, who grew it, or what the genetics were. You were just happy to have some.

I think now, growing has actually increased the connection. Growing it from seed, start to finish, drying and curing, any aspect of of the grow—it makes you appreciate it more, not less. It's a fascinating plant! Even when you understand it more, I think that just deepens that connection with it.

Hey abby: Is there anything that you have found in growing that you really enjoy, something you weren't expecting?

Zeroz: When I think of it as a parallel of brewing, I love brewing itself, but the prep for it starts to tarnish that experience. You spend so much time prepping, sanitizing throughout the process, and then cleaning up afterwards. It's like a six-hour date to to brew from scratch, and that's a long day.

I think the cannabis hobby, to me, is much more relaxing. There's not any of that huge prep work, and even afterwards, the cleanup is so simple. I will say, I thought I'd be super impatient growing cannabis because of the timelines, but I actually enjoy the steps all the way along. Those three or four months go by very quickly, and it's not laborious. It's something I look forward to every day—opening up the Hey abby, checking on the plant, seeing what it needs and if it doesn't need anything, just closing the door.

Hey abby: You previously mentioned that your recent harvest kind of surprised some people. What’s it like for you sharing your homegrown harvest with friends or family? What kind of reactions or feedback do you get?

Zeroz: To me, that's obviously part of the enjoyment as well. I just give it to my friends. Even on a small scale with two plants going, that's more than I could possibly smoke before it would turn. Just the other day, we were smoking a joint of trainwreck—something I had grown in the Hey abby—and one buddy of mine said "I don't even want the weed I buy from my guy anymore, I just want to smoke yours. It's so much better." That's obviously very satisfying and reassuring.

Every time a new harvest is ready, we share it. Sometimes the look on my buddy's faces when they try it shows that they're blown away, and it seems to happen subsequently each time. I'm just waiting to get to the point where it's just "normal" and they expect that. But it shows me that growing is a journey—you learn something each time, take something away from each grow, and hopefully apply that to the next plant to improve each and every time.

Hey abby: You're essentially raising cannabis standards one homie at a time, while providing your circle with clean, quality flowers. To piggyback off that, what does success mean for you as a home grower, or someone cultivating for personal use?

Zeroz: I’ve had my share of failures and mistakes. Snap a branch, snap half of the manifold, you name it! But again, it comes back to that "don’t panic'"mentality; the plant is resilient. You fix it and move on, don’t dwell on it. At the end of the day, if you’ve still taken care of the plant and it still produces something amazing, you forget about all that. You forget that you almost had to start over halfway through.

Going back to brewing—if you mess up a batch of beer, you can’t fix it that way. The reward at the end of the day is smoking your own product. When I go to a friend’s house and smoke what they have, what they’re getting from their 'guy'... it’s garbage, lol. And it just makes you thankful that you know what went into the plant and that you were successful. Not only with the grow, but just the end product being so much superior—even if they got it at a dispensary. I would say when I pull it out of the Abby, it’s far superior.

Hey abby: So if you could say something to growers who are kind of on the fence about growing or unsure about their ability to do it, what would you say to them?

Zeroz: I cannot think of a reason not to grow your own. Just let the end product speak for itself. The idea that it's difficult just needs to be checked at the door—go into with an open mind. Get a good base of knowledge, wherever you want to, whether it's the Hey abby Discord or grower support chat, and brush up on the core knowledge. Be open-minded, and I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed. Even if it doesn't come out perfect, it's going to feed that appetite to do it again and get better. Learning and growing subsequent times, obviously you're going to probably produce better results. But you've got to just get in there and do it.

Hey abby: I think people need exactly what you just gave them—that little push or nudge of confidence that anyone can really do this with an open mind! You recently tested out hte Soil edition, how was that growing experience? And how would you compare it to the OG edition?

Zeroz: I would say that those who are intimidated by hydro, and growing in general should consider the soil edition. So much less to worry about, and growers can just focus on the plant without added tasks of sourcing water every week, monitoring water parameters, etc. Even the cleanup is so simple when the plant is done. Great option for keeping it simple!

Hey abby: I think I have one final question for you. We can wrap it up with this: We've seen you do the DWC successfully, you get the drip and crop steering down pretty well, and the soil edition plant looks great! So what’s next for your personal growing journey?

Zeroz: This has been part of the evolution of my growing journey. But what's next for me? I’d love to get more of my friends into it—the guys I’m handing weed out to—getting them growing too, and then we start sharing. I think that would be something I'd love to see. And who knows, as legalization happens, maybe I’ll influence people to be more craft-driven, rather than settling for the "McDonald's weed" of the world.

Grower's Pick: Orange Cookie Gem

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We’d love to hear about your growing journey with Hey abby! Got a story to share? Let us know!