10/18/2025
Preparing your grow space properly can make the difference between a mediocre harvest and exceptional results.
Whether you're setting up for your first grow or prepping between runs, cleaning, sanitizing, and sterilizing are critical to ensuring healthy plants.
We spoke with 5 expert cultivators from across the country about what they consider before planting seeds and between grows.
Their 4 decades of collective experience offer invaluable insights for growers at every level.
George David Perez, Hotbox Chicago (Illinois):
"You learn as you grow. Your last harvest is almost always better than your first harvest. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, take joy in your grow."
Randy Rembert, Rembert Family Farms (Florida):
"The first is cost because the sun is free, the beneficial bugs are free, the rain is free, and the wind is free. When you go indoors everything is controlled by you and will cost."
Matt Gunter, Busted Bucket Farm (North Carolina):
"When I first went indoors, one of my OG mentors had to beat it into me to meticulously scrub, clean, and sanitize every surface and interface imaginable."
Stephen Davidson, Zenbarn Farms (Vermont):
"As a new grower, once you find the light that works with your growing environment, you have to learn how to use it. More importantly, how to take care of it."
Herbert Orlando Gonzalez, Herbs Cali Krush LLC (California):
"Growers forget to change filters and that alone can change the health of your grow."
For more cultivation wisdom from expert growers- visit the Grow Magazine website and check out "Ask a Cultivator" by the The Traveling Canna Writer for general cultivation insight and advice from cultivators across the country.
