I met Emily Gogol in my garden in June, 2021 through a mutual acquaintance. Emily and I had seen each other’s work on Instagram, and had been in touch about our mutual passion and vocation of growing cannabis. Emily farms on a glorious piece of land in southern Oregon, and has a vibrant community in the bay area. She was traveling to the San Francisco to visit friends, and reached out for a visit to my small garden in June, when my plants were approaching human size, but still youngsters. We hit it off like long lost kin!
We talked shop, shared stories, and imagined how cool it would be for all gardeners to have access to cannabis/hemp plants and seeds in typical plant nurseries. When we met, the only way for people to purchase quality seeds was in dispensaries, not where they would buy any other seed or supplies that they use for gardening. Both of us bemoaned this gap in the ability to cultivate cannabis – even in otherwise fully legal states, such as California and Oregon. I had the fun of visiting her farm the following year, just before harvest. We brainstormed a little more during my visit how to make our offerings more widely available to gardeners in her state and mine. Our wheels were turning! Emily earned a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, so knows how to apply for grants. Fast forward to 2024. Emily has secured money from the – of all places – the USDA. This is a grant to educate the public about growing high quality hemp at home. What a great way for our tax dollars to be spent! We are teaming up to reach cannacurious gardeners in the US with a free, fun and educational workshop on growing hemp outside at home. Emily offers her expertise, seeds, and plants while I offer my book, The Cannabis Gardener, and my expertise in gardening with this fabulous plant. We started off the year strong with three workshops in January, both in LA and the bay, and more to come in the future. I hope that you will be able to attend one of our workshops this year. And if you’re the owner of a nursery, or a member of a garden club or organization please reach out to me to see if your venue might be a good place to bring this free workshop.
Check out Emily’s offerings at growitfromhome.com and on her IG site, @growitfromhome
Penny Barthel 