Kyle Kushman lost an entire cycle to mold and bugs. So he tore it all down and built a 20-by-10 tent inside his family’s workout room, with a dozen plants, living soil and a phone app running the weather.
This article originally appeared in High Times’ Spring/Summer 2026 print edition. Get yours here.
Once again, the opportunity to share my garden with the world brings me pure joy. It’s been almost 35 years since the first time a garden of mine appeared in High Times. Written by Nate Eaton, the story was titled “The Blindfolded Hostage Headroll.” It led to a trilogy of stories with Adam’s Garden making the centerfold, and eventually the cover.
Pictures for these stories and nearly every story I wrote over 20 years for High Times were shot by Andre Grossmann. His pictures made the bright colored leaves and pistils so alive you could almost smell them. Over the years, we have travelled around this country and several others, producing feature stories for the monthly magazine. One of High Times’ most prolific and greatest photographers became one of my best friends.
First and foremost, I’m a grower. A grower who became a writer. A writer who became an activist. An activist who became a journalist. I wasn’t quite as altruistic when this journey began. Becoming an advocate for the plant brought many opportunities to travel and meet people of this culture from around the world. Becoming an advocate for the plant changed me.
This publicized journey really has been all about Kyle. And ever since Kyle took over, it’s all been about normalizing cannabis use and educating the community. Always trying new products and methodologies in the name of investigative journalism. This project will be different. I want to create a garden that helps minimize stress and maximize effort, in line with my mantra of maintaining equilibrium through meditative cultivation and copious ingestion of cannabinoids.
Kushman’s Flying Circus
The concept for TENT-CHELLA came to me as great ideas often do. From the ashes of my last grow cycle. Literally, for the first time, I couldn’t even limp over the finish line. Multiple pathogens, from insects to molds, had moved in. I rarely paid attention to the space between the floor of the tent and the waterproof liner on top. Excessive foliar spraying was the culprit.
Starting over was necessary. Combining multiple tents into a single space could make it more of a grow room. A place to hang out amongst the plants, maybe shoot a podcast. Unique, but also more efficient. This could make growing fun again.
There were several key factors essential to manifesting this tent within a tent. First, precise measurements were made to ensure I had enough room. As luck would have it, my family’s workout room was JUST BIG ENOUGH. Second, collaboration with several awesome companies to make sure it’s outfitted with our industry’s newest and finest technologies. Finally, a teensy bit of cajoling my wife.
The buildout would be a big job. I’ll need help setting up this carnival-sized tent. Over the past five or six years, I have built up a collection of great products from AC Infinity. They make all the electrical gear I need for precise control over my environment. They could be my one-stop shop for controlling every piece of equipment.
I pitched my idea for a multi-environment tent to AC’s media support team. Their response was a resounding yes. After forwarding them my project specifications, we began putting together a list of what was needed to outfit TENT-CHELLA. They had all the equipment required to universally connect the spectrum of appliances from the different manufacturers I intended to use.
Rather than leave it to this newly minted Grandpa to read manuals and hopefully assemble and install everything correctly, they sent five members of their team to build and record what took two full days to set up. You can watch the full 360-degree build here.
The Tent
Why not just build out the room itself? This would be more costly, take more work, require modifications to the room, and a higher level of expertise. BudBox provided the solution. They sent me a 20-by-10-by-7-foot-4 Titan Pro grow tent. It’s bigger than some NYC apartments.
Now I can combine all aspects of my home grow into a single space. This would help improve the workflow. This garden will be more efficient by sharing one environment for at least 12 hours per day. I’ll have room to work on the plants and get great content.
The tents from BudBox are quite simply the best. I’ve been using BudBox exclusively for 10 years. I’ve never had one fail. I started with two 4x8s. One for veg and one for flower. After a few rounds, I moved up to a 10×10 for flower.
Now I have the same flowering space, same veg space, plus a 4-by-10 workspace inside this massive Titan Pro. This one weighs in around 300 pounds. It has plenty of vents from 4 to 14 inches in diameter placed throughout, so there are no limitations on where you can place appliances. The white interior is not only great for the plants, but it should make the space feel more livable than Mylar.
Methodology
This time I’m growing for myself. Besides all the technology and automation, I’m doing it the old-fashioned way. Hand-watered plants, in living organic soil. Observing the signs, or as I like to call it, the language of the plants. The plants give visual signs when they require attention.
Grow methodology has been a cycle of journalistic adventure as well. It always led me back to organics. Specifically, “living soil” organics, which basically brings all the aspects of natural cultivation indoors. For me, it’s the easiest, most flexible and cost-effective way to cultivate cannabis. Also, the healthiest and tastiest.
The prime directive of this garden was to keep it simple and easy to care for. Leaving room to move around and take care of the plants is the key. In the 4×8 there’s enough room to keep a few mothers. Plus enough space to veg out each cycle of clones or seeds. The flowering space is 10×10. I’ll only flower around a dozen plants.
I’ll be growing only seeds or clones from tissue culture. No outside shoes. I had a few fungus gnats during my first cycle. Because I acted quickly, they were easily eliminated with a product called Microbe Lift, a biological larvicide used by pond-owners for decades to control mosquitoes. This liquid formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis eliminates millions of larvae with a root drench of only 5 to 15 milliliters per gallon. Keep it clean, and you won’t have problems.
Watering has never been so simple. Growing in living soil in large beds like the 4-by-8 I got from Grass Roots Fabric Pots is virtually automatic. I rarely use a pH meter or feed NPK. It’s only when adding NPK fertilizers that pHing becomes necessary. I use a turn-of-the-20th-century tool called a tensiometer, which measures how hard the roots have to pull to get water, to gauge when to water.
The plants have plenty of space for roots to continue expanding. This allows for a smorgasbord style of feeding. Larger root structures allow them to grab molecules of exactly what they need and avoid what they don’t. When you stuff all their food into the water, they have less choice over what they can absorb at any given moment.
I’m using all organic living soils from two great companies. Gaia Green for my vegetative and Bio365 for flowering. All the proper nutrition is pre-loaded, so you really can just water. Most of my waterings are appropriately fortified with humic and fulvic acids, enzymes, amino acids, carbohydrates, beneficial organisms and other bio-stimulants.
Flowering plants in living soil behave very differently when they’re grown in small pots. The Purple Hindu Kush from Green Bodhi that I have in 3-gallon pots, for example, needs constant upkeep. Everything eventually runs low, Cal-Mag, micro- and macronutrients, and especially NPK, so regular amendments are essential. Monitoring pH is also part of the job.
Every two weeks, I top-dress with Gaia Green All Purpose or Power Bloom and a couple handfuls of their worm castings. The slow, constant breakdown of major, secondary and trace minerals does most of the work. The highly soluble Organics Alive dry soluble powders amend well. They make five different formulas like 10-2-2, 0-10-2 and 0-10-8. Pure and potent, this product shines when added to organic regimens.
I also use products from Roots Organics, like Terp Tea for Veg and Bloom, to reinoculate endo and ecto mycorrhizae, the root fungi that extend what the plant can reach. They have a new soluble Cal-Mag supplement that’s more economical than their other liquid supplements. For complex carbs, I use Humboldt Honey ES and orgasmic Bio-stimulation from the BioAg line to round out the feast.
Why is there so much foliage on my plants? Well, my plant count is low, and indicator leaves have great benefits. Instead of stripping your plants, let some lower leaves remain. These leaves are the first to show signs of any problems. Pathogens like pests or mold. Natural leaf drop and senescence can help diagnose underfeeding or watering.
Speaking of water, I use a reverse osmosis filtration system. The best one I’ve ever owned is my Axeon Water Hydro RO. High-efficiency hyperfiltration. It has an automatic backflush function, with a digital display showing PPM and filter quality.
I love the high-tech parts of my garden, which allow me to check or modify parameters from anywhere in the world. I also love the low-tech, hands-on approach to feeding, watering and the environment that connects me to the garden and my plants.
The Environment
AC Infinity turned out to be the heart of the whole project, allowing me to incorporate lighting and appliances from various manufacturers into highly customizable settings. Several components were key to optimizing this White Elephant.
Their new AI+ controllers gave each of my tents its own controllable environment. These are impressive machines, offering precise control over every aspect of the grow room from an app on your phone. Setting day and night routines for the AC, dehumidifier, humidifier, and even adjusting fan speeds becomes effortless.
We hooked up 15 Cloudray clip fans and two floor fans wirelessly using the UIS wireless transmitter and receiver packs. That’s 20 fewer cords to hide once you add up all the appliances. You can pair the system with the Control Plug to manage non-AC Infinity devices as well. Once we installed the app and I saw how simple it was to program custom routines for everything, I had smiles for miles.
Drew Moegling was part of the build crew and is Director of Marketing for AC Infinity. I asked him for insight into what drives innovation there.
“TENT-CHELLA is a perfect example of what happens when dedicated growers and engineers push the limits together. Working alongside Kyle, we helped build a grow space that operates a highly complex system through just one or two controllers, integrating third-party lighting, AC and dehumidification into a single seamless ecosystem.”
Drew Moegling, Director of Marketing, AC Infinity
I love working with forward-thinking teams, and this build crew was top notch.
Lighting the Future
Lighting has come a long way since I started growing indoors. We used to need two sets of heavy ballasts and matching bulbs for flowering and vegetative. Now we have spectrum-tunable, fully programmable, cool-running, super-efficient LEDs.
I’m very excited to be the first to mention that a brand new lighting fixture has just come to market. The L800 and L1000 by Lucius Lighting. What makes them special is that they’ve engineered what you’ve been missing: fully adjustable UVB and infrared spectrums added to the already powerful and adjustable red, yellow and blue cultivation spectrum. Bringing you closer to natural sunlight than ever before.
I didn’t want to leave anything out. So I asked another old friend of mine, Alan Lien, co-founder of both SOLIS-TEK and now Lucius Lighting, to tell you about them.
“The real game changer, built-in dimmable, switchable UVB and IR. UVB enhances resin and terpene development, while IR promotes flower expansion and finishing. Both options in a single fixture allows growers to tailor spectrum output to each stage of cultivation.”
Alan Lien, co-founder of Lucius Lighting
I just got my hands on these, and to say I’m excited is an understatement. There’s never been a light like them.
Protective eyewear has always been important. The introduction of infrared and UVB makes it more important than ever. Method Seven has been innovating its products for over 20 years. They’ve got lots of stylish Italian-designed frames. And they even do prescriptions. Engineered for the various grow lights, they’re also amazing outside.
Almost Automatic Living Soil
Part of making this project easier was choosing to use a fortified living soil. I’ve been bottle feeding for decades, even creating the nutrient line Vegamatrix. When I first started growing, there weren’t any cannabis specific nutrients. So I’d make my own nutrients with guano teas.
Using the living root-soil food web to break down organic inputs, beneficial bacteria, nematodes, fungi and even earthworms all help decompose dead tissue and release nutrients the plants can use. Just a sciency way of saying: yummy.
Rather than asking or forcing your plants to eat what you put into their water, you provide a smorgasbord where everything they need is available. Instead of measuring and mixing nutrients for every watering, just water.
This is my second round with the soil provided by Bio365. It’s been maintenance-free so far. I used a cover crop in the first cycle, but it died on the second run when I left town and the bed dried out. I water every two to four days, around 10 to 15 gallons for the 4-by-8 bed from Grass Roots Fabric Pots. I’ve seen no deficiencies, and I only regularly add humic and fulvic acids. Also, occasionally reinoculating with endo and ecto mycorrhizae.
Sebastian McIntyre is a friend and one of Bio365’s sales and support specialists. I asked him what to do with living soil after harvest.
“Reusing living soil requires proper testing after harvest. Follow the lab’s nutrient recommendations. Cover crops are valuable because root exudates feed microbes and legumes fix nitrogen, supporting a diverse soil ecosystem. Feeding microbes with complex carbohydrates supports species diversity, while enzymes help cycle organic matter. Healthy soil requires both bacterial and fungal communities. Bacteria drive fast vegetative growth, while fungi support flowering and phosphorus cycling.”
Sebastian McIntyre, Bio365
Living soil is the gift that keeps on giving when you take the time to care for it.
Stimulate Your Nutrients
Everyone wants to get the most out of their plants and inputs, and BioAg has been supplying farmers with some of the best nutritive and biostimulant amendments for decades. BioAg’s specialty is using organic chemistry to create unique fertilizer enhancers. Josh Hedberg is Director of Sales and Specialty Crops there, and a friend for many years. I asked him to explain what bio-stimulants actually are.
“A bio-stimulant is a substance or microorganism that, when applied to plants, seeds or soil, stimulates natural processes to improve nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance or abiotic stress, and crop quality and yield. Common bio-stimulants used in agriculture today are humic acid, fulvic acid, amino acids, silica, mycorrhizae, beneficial bacteria, kelp, enzymes and many others.”
Josh Hedberg, BioAg
Stoned Retrospect
Some may read this as a long advertisement for products for you to buy. But there’s a personal aspect. I’ve taken care to curate the choices I’ve made for my garden. Every one of these products and companies are long-term friends and collaborators. This article is a testament.
I feel the same ethos as when I co-created the S.T.A.S.H. Awards with Chris Simunek. The chosen products had to be new, cutting-edge or breakthrough. They had to be reasonably priced, not a rip-off. Last but certainly not least, have verified quality customer service.
In my opinion, everything I’m using is the best in the business. Sharing this isn’t a paid advertisement, it’s a part of my mission to never stop giving back. Therefore, I submit the following list of companies where you’ll find explanations of individual products, and in some cases, services as well.
- BudBox Grow Tents
- AC Infinity
- Lucius Lighting
- Grass Roots Fabric Pots
- Bio365
- Gaia Green
- Aurora Innovations
- AeroMixer
- Axeon Water Technologies
- BioAg
- Organics Alive
- Method Seven
Editor’s note: Equipment, growing media and other products described in this article were provided to the author by their manufacturers, several of whom are longtime collaborators of his. High Times received no payment for this coverage and the author selected the products himself.
