Kyle Kushman is an internationally-renowned cultivator, a 30-year veteran of Organic Cannabis Cultivation whose collaborations have earned 13 Medical Cannabis Cups awards, including three US Cannabis Cups for Best Flowers. All awards were earned by utilizing Kushman’s Vegamatrix, winner of the coveted STASH Award from High Times Magazine in 2014 as Best New Nutrient. Best known for cultivating premium cannabis that is clean and healthy, he’s recognized for several cannabis strains including the world-famous Strawberry Cough, Cherry Lopez, Starberry, Star Dawg and Alexander, and his specialized breeding continues in several collaborations across the globe.
Kyle Kushman: Master Cannabis Cultivator And Thought Leader - From High Times To Higher Education
Having dedicated his life to understanding and normalizing the use of cannabis cultivation, Kushman has made his mark as an expert on countless media and educational platforms. Notably, his articles have been featured in High Times Magazine for over 25 years. After a long stint working the Q&A section of the High Times website, Kushman was hired as a staff journalist and cultivation expert. In 2004 Kushman left New York and his job at High Times to go back to cultivating and experimenting with organic growing. California provided a legal atmosphere to grow where Kushman started Karma Consulting in 2006, a consulting service for Proposition 215 medicinal cannabis gardens.
In 2009 he began teaching advanced horticulture classes at Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California. Later that year, Kushman began cultivating with his own methodology of Veganics. He taught Earth-Friendly Cannaculture classes using organics and Veganics at the OU Oakland Campus, the North Bay learning center at Peace In Medicine in Sebastopol, California, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to a class of over 300 students. Kushman Veganics is featured in the January 2011 issue of High Times with a full 12 pages; coincidentally it was High Times’ 420th issue!
Since then, there have been numerous articles published nationally about Kushman and innovative techniques including the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone, Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle, Playboy, MG Magazine and the New York Times, to name a few. Kushman has studied and used almost every nutrient, gadget and piece of equipment on the market today. This experience, his reputation as an internationally renowned cultivator and Cannabis Cup winner provides continuous opportunities to contribute as a freelancer to national and international publications.
Kyle Kushman In The Spotlight: Netflix's Explained, Awards, The Grow Show, and Homegrown Cannabis Co. Collaboration
More recently, Kushman consulted on the Netflix series Explained (the episode “Weed,” which aired July 2018) and has continued to create courses for Green Flower Media and Oaksterdam University. In 2019 Kushman was awarded the 420 Icon Award by Cannabis Business Awards and in 2018 Cultivator of the Year Award by Green State and San Francisco Chronicle. He hosted The Grow Show on CannabisRadio.com, which featured growing tips of the week, interviews with industry experts and discussed the changing climate of cannabis culture. The innovator of compassion and compromise, Kushman’s free information and resources have helped countless numbers of marijuana growers, and the benefits have extended to millions of patients around the globe.
Also in 2019, Kushman created a free Beginner's Guide to growing cannabis, in collaboration with the Homegrown Cannabis Co. This 14-part series can be found on Youtube and Vimeo, as well as Kushman’s Grow Your Own section on the Homegrown website.
What Is Kyle Kushman Working On Now?
Currently, Kushman is filming weekly and streams content both produced and live on HomeGrownCannabis.com, where education about cannabis from around the world is taught and discussed in the cultivator’s own unique way. His newest video project is the podcast Grow Weed At Home with Kyle Kushman.
Kyle Kushman's Lyric-Driven Weedsday Playlist
For his Weedsday Playlist, Kyle Kushman chose tracks that are all about the story and remind us that words matter: “Some slow and soft, some hard and fast...most everything I listen to is lyric driven. The songwriting is so good that you sing along to every word. Most of these are classics, artists with anthologies for decades. Hot funk, cool punk, it's still rock-n-roll to me…”
Ben Harper And The Innocent Criminals - "Burn One Down"
I love the drum solo in the beginning. It sets both the tempo and mood for the song. Interesting fact, The Innocent Criminals’ name was chosen because the only crime they commit is smoking weed. Always makes me want to KEEP TOKING...
Click here to play on Spotify!
Tom Petty - "You Don't Know How It Feels"
“Let's get to the point. Let's roll another joint.” Say no more...
Click here to play on Spotify!
RUSH - "Working Man"
Quintessential RUSH. I've played this song on my way to work a hundred times. RUSH is a band people like to pigeonhole—that's ridiculous. Three master musicians who've recorded songs about EVERYTHING. I say "RUSH EVERY DAY."
Click here to play on Spotify!
Steve Miller Band - "The Joker"
Who hasn't sung “The Joker” while HIGH? "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker.” Whether driving down the highway alone, or hanging with a bunch of friends, this song demands to be sung out loud.
Click here to play on Spotify!
Maneskin - "Zitti e Buoni"
Zitti e Buoni translates to English meaning "quiet and good." But in the context of the song it's more like a command, "shut up and behave." Maneskin is from Italy. They compose and sing magnificently in both English and Italian. Amazing on that alone, they also span as well as combine every genre from HEAVY METAL to reggae to flamenco, pop, ska, folk, and anything I forgot to mention.
Click here to play on Spotify!
For more about Kyle Kushman, follow @kylekushman420 on Instagram. Check out Grow Weed at Home with Kyle Kushman on YouTube and visit HomeGrownCannabis.com.
What are your favorite Weedsday tracks? Tell us about them - reach out at @honeysucklemagazine on Instagram!
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Featured image: Courtesy of Kyle Kushman.
