MJBizMag March 2021 - 52

From the Roots Up
Steps to Attaining
Oregon cultivator says
planning, genetics,
pot size, timing and
ground transfer are
among the keys to a
successful season
O
utdoor cannabis cultivators have
little to no room for error.
" We get one shot, " said
Michael Johnson, chief operating officer of
Siskiyou Sungrown in Oregon. " We plant
in the late spring and harvest in the fall.
It's a little bit more complicated because
we don't have multiple cycles in the year,
and you really have to get it right. "
Planning helps growers improve their
chances of getting it right. " To be a true
farmer, planning is everything, " Johnson
said.
Careful planning
includes picking
the strains that will
grow well in your
climate.
Johnson and his Siskiyou teammates
spend January and February digging
into heavy planning. " You pick the right
times for everything. By the end of
February, the entire year is planned out, "
Johnson said.
The first decision to make is what
strains to grow. Johnson taps Siskiyou's
" pretty big genetic library, " which is inhouse,
and considers which strains have
been doing well both in the marketplace
and in the field. Then he uses this
To decide which genetics to cultivate, Siskiyou Sungrown management evaluates which strains have
been performing well in the field and at retail. Courtesy Photo
information to formulate a plan.
" In choosing genetics for outdoor
cultivation, it's imperative that you are
confident they are going to grow well
in your climate, " Johnson said. " The
majority of cannabis genetics in the
world would not work well in any given
climate-ours included, because there's
just so much nuance. "
For example, many cultivars-sativas
in particular-originated in warm, humid
climates like those in Central America,
the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.
" You really have to make sure that your
cultivars are going to be well-acclimated
to your environment, " Johnson said,
adding that it might take a few harvests
to determine whether a certain strain is a
good fit for your area.
It's also critical to look at the photo
periods-the length of day and
night-that trigger plants to go into
flower. " This is No. 1, " Johnson said.
52 Marijuana Business Magazine | March 2021
When breeding,
pick pollen sources
that have proved
successful in
the past.
Breeding is another important part
of the growing season. Siskiyou does the
breeding in-house. The cultivation team
produces its own feminized seeds using
pollen from male plants on female plants
that have been " winners in the past. "
" We've got a stable of females ready to
receive the pollen and create lots of seed.
By about March, we are finishing up our
big breeding rounds, " Johnson said. This
will yield 9,000 to 10,000 seeds.
Siskiyou makes a " big push " in the
first two weeks of April, filling
8,000-9,000 individual plastic pots with
organic potting soil and setting them
up in the greenhouse so the soil gets
acclimated to the temperature and other
environmental factors.
Outdoor Success
By Omar Sacirbey
MARCH
15
JANUARY
15

MJBizMag March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag March 2021