Critics often highlight odor nuisances associated with cannabis cultivation, but it is important to acknowledge that vineyards, too, emit strong smells due to the use of agricultural inputs like sulfur. Addressing odor concerns without considering the broader context of other agricultural activities may lead to unfair treatment. Similarly, noise and lighting impacts are often cited as potential drawbacks of cannabis cultivation, but vineyard operations involving heavy equipment and non-downcast lighting practices can also disrupt neighboring communities.
Let’s step off the cannabis farm for a minute and instead look to agriculture as a whole. The cannabis industry has picked up a lot of lessons from the farming world, and while taking a fallow year doesn’t yet appear to be a widely-adopted trend, this year may be different.
While winter brings some time for rest and recovery, for those involved in year-round cultivation, the new season brings added complexities for growing cannabis. The plant is thought to have evolved about 28 million years ago on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, which is home to extremely cold winters. While cannabis can grow in the winter, taking some extra steps to support your greenhouse cannabis cultivation can certainly help.
In a market that’s increasingly being taken over by large-scale production, lower quality, and cheaper prices, it’s important to look at the better alternative: craft cannabis. What makes Giving Tree Farms and other craft cannabis producers stand out? From seed-to-package, there’s a certain mindfulness involved. So, let’s take a look at what harvesting craft cannabis entails.
Fresh-frozen cannabis has taken the cannabis world by storm in recent years. As the name suggests, fresh-frozen cannabis entails freezing the harvest directly after it’s been picked. It’s been growing in popularity—especially as it’s one of the best methods we have to preserve terpenes and cannabinoids.
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how we go about producing fresh-frozen cannabis.
We achieve more when we work together, we work better when we feel supported, and we excel because we join forces in the name of a single cause. If you dig deep enough, teamwork is at the foundation of all success. Without the actions of team-oriented individuals, we wouldn't evolve our mindset to one of collaboration and synergy - a mindset that helps us all propel forward.
The new year brings with it an abundance of new possibilities. It’s an opportunity to start anew, to try alternative methods, and to work on ourselves as cultivators. This year, we want to focus our development in the garden, working to find ways to weave sustainability and community involvement in our everyday routine. With our focus here at Giving Tree Farms on working with the natural elements, we want to expand our motivation outward so that others feel compelled to do the same. We welcome you to come along on our journey to oneness with our earth by implementing these following resolutions in your gardening practices.
Today, California’s cannabis industry is facing a seismic shift in market forces and culture dynamics. We are in the next generation of the cannabis industry, where profit margins and taxes force us to rethink how we sell and what is considered a marketable batch. But internally, cultivators are sometimes at odds.
On one side there’s the whole plant diversity group, which understands that top flower units are no longer the key indicator of market success. On the other side are some legacy cultivators, who are entrenched in traditional processes and market approaches despite the impacts that cannabis legalization brings to that approach.
At Giving Tree Farms, we’ve experienced this culture clash first hand. When we first installed our climate-controlled greenhouse, our friend jokingly accused us of gentrifying the ridge. Here, ridges are the regional equivalent of neighborhoods, and these neighborhoods typically come with a rich history of cultivation. But to some, a greenhouse is considered a threat to the pioneering work of our cannabis forefathers.
Our friend is the embodiment of the cultivator who shuns the regulated market and refuses to stay nimble in this fast changing landscape. He’s been growing the same way for more than 20 years. He resents trimming, balks at the use of dehumidifiers in the drying process, and never inspects for pests or uses preventative methods. He amends his soil with his compost pile, plants in May, and waters, harvests and hangs his crop to dry under trees. He refuses to consider new ways to improve his processes and is adamantly opposed to entering the regulated market. Everything we say is nonsense in his eyes.
The other side of the spectrum operates with a more progressive mindset. We are always looking at ways to improve our craftsmanship and for opportunities to process our plants in new and exciting ways. We attend networking events and volunteer in groups to better the industry. We are not fearful of the competition or use general statements to define well-funded companies as “corporations.”
Change is often terrifying, but we believe staying involved is key to helping shape the industry for the future. Through progressive action and collaboration, we can prevent regulatory uncertainties from destroying the work of our early pioneers. We respect those who sacrificed so much for this industry and want to make sure they have a way to participate in this newly regulated market, if they wish.
When we first heard of Hive Mendocino, we knew we had found our tribe. Hive Mendocino is a cannabis cooperative made up of small licensed farms coming together to bolster their position in the market. The group holds each other accountable, provides guidance, and works as a team to tackle policy and regulatory issues head-on. Although we each have honed our craft differently, we can offer an exceptionally wide array of skills and an amazingly deep level of expertise by working together.
For us at Giving Tree Farms, we need a community of open-minded peers to navigate this transition together. A farmer-owned and operated cooperative named Hive is the answer.
