MJBiz - August 2023 - 8

FROM THE EDITOR Kate Lavin
Dialing in the Details
Veteran marijuana growers share hard-earned wisdom
that makes their harvests go smoothly
A
s usual, summer has flown
by. Croptober is just around
the corner, and it's time
for outdoor cultivators to start
preparing for harvest.
Of course, with the majority of
regulated U.S. marijuana operations
taking place indoors, harvest is a
year-round concern for most growers,
not a once-per-year affair.
For this issue of MJBizMagazine,
Senior Writer Omar Sacirbey interviewed
indoor marijuana cultivators
from across the country to learn
what steps they take to prepare for
harvest, how they identify when
plants are at their peak, strategies to
retain terpenes and cannabinoids as
well as when to use flash freezing,
fresh freezing and other technologies.
The Nitty Gritty
The growers Sacirbey spoke with
went into great detail about how
they change the temperature and
humidity settings throughout the
growing cycle as well as moving
LED lights closer and farther
away from the canopy in order to
boost flower production and rid
the plants of moisture as harvest
approaches. Additionally, they
outline strategies for feeding plants
nutrients as well as flushing them
just before harvest to improve the
taste of cannabis for consumers.
In an industry that is increasingly
guarded under the guise of protecting
" trade secrets, " it is refreshing
to hear cultivators open up about
how their own best practices have
changed over time.
" In the past, decisions were very
subjective-and while it's important
8 August 2023 | MJBizMagazine
In the absence of
federally funded
research available
to mainstream
agriculture, longtime
marijuana cultivators
have conducted their
own trials, testing
and research and
development.
to know what good flower should
smell and look like, you have to decide
based on science, " said Ryan Cook,
executive vice president of operations
at multistate operator Jushi Holdings.
In the absence of federally
funded research available to
mainstream agriculture, longtime
marijuana cultivators have conducted
their own trials, testing and
research and development.
Nic Robertson, vice president of
operations in Massachusetts for
4Front Ventures, drives the point
home even further, adding, " Over
the last seven or eight years, I have
been proven wrong by my aesthetic
view of how mature I think that
plant is at that time. ... Getting
those test results and showing
higher levels of CBGA-the precursor
to a number of other cannabinoids-than
I would have expected
indicates that that plant could have
gone another few days or another
week before it truly reaches its
maximum potential. "
These expert perspectives drive
home the importance of continuously
reevaluating standard operating
procedures and making sure
staff is trained to recognize issues
that can develop in a commercial
cultivation environment-a living,
breathing organism in its own right.
In an increasingly competitive
industry, some experts and thought
leaders rush to protect their hardwon
knowledge, hoping to drive
others out of business. But if a
company's success is so fragile that
having a competitor know whether
the heat is set to 68 or 72 degrees
would be detrimental, any competitive
advantage is minimal at best.
Experts who choose to share their
knowledge often are rewarded tenfold.
Of course, there is no better
place to learn about cannabis best
practices, regulations, trends and
more than at MJBizCon, the world's
largest marijuana conference and
trade show, which returns to the
Las Vegas Convention Center on
Nov. 28. The full conference schedule-chock
full of industry experts
with knowledge to share-is now
live at mjbizconference.com. We
hope to see you there.
Happy harvest season!
Kate Lavin is the editor
of MJBizMagazine. Reach
her at kate.lavin@
mjbizdaily.com.
http://www.mjbizconference.com
MJBiz - August 2023

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