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Alexandria Irons joins me for a great interview from her home and business location in Nevada County in Northern California. After a long history of self-medicating with cannabis, she decided to start a cannabis brand and pursued a cultivation license under the brand Royal Crest Cannabis, she’s now out on her own and helping cultivators with all facets of business but has found a niche in helping homegrowers achieve success in the garden. Alexandria starts off telling us about her current grow of 3 large plants (check out her Instagram to see some great pics of her garden) and how important it is for her to grow plants in full sun, planted right in the soil. She wants the macro and micronutrients that the earth’s soil provides with minimal amendments. We go on to discuss plant energy and root growth when planting directly into soil. Right around 13:30 she shares her process for planting directly into mother earth and more thoughts on the importance of doing so, What’s Alexandria’s tip for improving the health of your plant? Listen in just before 17 minutes to hear about her observational and journaling practices. She encourages you to track all your inputs, but also take notes on plant structure, root structure, leaf color, shape, and size. The more you can notice about your plant the quicker the journey will be to gaining experience in your garden. At 19 minutes we dig into Alexandria’s tips for increasing yield off your limited plant counts. Of course her first tip is to put your plant into the ground, however, that isn’t always possible when you grow inside. Her indoor garden tip would be CO2 enrichment. She shares some science behind why CO2 is so imperative for your cannabis plants and the yields you’re able to achieve. She shares that she’d like to harvest CO2 from her soon to be built mushroom room, as mushrooms breathe oxygen and give off CO2 so the two make a perfect pair. Right at 31 minutes, Alexandria discusses one of her passions, Integrated Pest Management. Her first tip to every gardener is to keep people out of your garden, and always shower, change your clothes and shoes before entering your gardening space. She then goes on to discuss biological practices and her favorite fungus. Tune in at 33 minutes to hear exactly what isaria fumosorosea is and how she uses it! At 35 minutes I ask Alexandria what type of characteristics make the best growers. Her answer was keeping a beginner state of mind. Don’t get stuck in a certain way, and ignore what might be a better solution. Keep an open mind and understand what you’re doing and why you are doing it. Alexandria’s last bit of advice for every grower is to stay positive. Your plant absorbs your energy so stay positive in your garden and tell your plants that you love them and that they are beautiful. I add that you should tell that to all the ladies in your life, not just your plants. Right, Danielle? Please connect with Alexandria pretty much everywhere by searching Queen of the Sun LLC. Instagram, YouTube, a website and in-person consultation all under that brand name. Have you enjoyed today’s show? Grab a few more minutes with Alexandria and all of our guests at http://thehomegrownhelpers.com/bonus and then you can get episodes and the bonus content delivered straight to your inbox. Need a bit more help in the garden than we can provide in the podcast? Need someone to come to your house and help troubleshoot a problem, set up a room or watch over your plants while on vacation? We got you covered with one of our fine consultants here at The Homegrown Helpers. Just email rob@thehomegrownhelpers.com and I’ll make an introduction for you. This weeks MyGrowPass.com partners that make the show possible are Suite Leaf Plant Nutrients and Fish Head Farms. Grab amazing discounts from these partners as well as a dozen more, gain access to exclusive audio podcasts and get entered in to our quarterly $5k giveaway by becoming a member at MyGrowPass.com for as little as $14.95 a month! Suite Leaf Plant Nutrients offers listeners 15% their full line of veganic nutrients by using code Growcast15 at checkout, or members gain 25% off from within their member portal. With many happy customers, and great testimonials, this nutrient line has also won several awards for how amazing their product is. Several High Times Stash Awards for their Cal-Mag Maximizer and other additives, you know you’re getting a premium plant nutrient when you choose to go with Suite Leaf. Grab yours today at suiteleaf.com. Fish Head Farms and their product Fish Shit can be yours with Growcast at checkout for 10% off or become a member for access to a 25% discount code. Fish Shit is a nutrient maximizer - helping increase yields, cannabinoid, terpene, and flavonoid production, Fish Shit is great for your plants from clone all the way through the flush. An ecosystem in a bottle, aquaponics on the go making all your nutrients more bioavailable. Grab yours today at fishheadfarms.com!