Croptober Problems: Harvest Special Pt. 3

by Travis C | Oct 9, 2018 | growing, Season 2, The Real Dirt Podcast Episodes

Croptober is here! Which means harvest time, and harvest problems.

If you’re in a more arid, dry climate right now, your harvest is probably going off without a hitch. The same can’t be said for the East coast growers out there.

With the extremely rainy hurricane season that hit the east coast this year, growers, especially those in the Southeast, are feeling it.

Croptober harvest problems

October has always been the prime time for harvest, with the natural transition into fall pushing plants into their flower stage just in time for harvest. While those who grow indoors do not have to worry about the changing seasons since they can regulate their environment and grow year round, outdoor growers aren’t as fortunate.

Some can’t afford to grow indoors, others prefer outdoors, and some don’t have any other option than to grow outdoor. This puts the grower at the mercy of nature, and she hasn’t been too kind to growers in the east this year.

Not just the weather

If you thought it was just the weather impacting farmer’s harvests, think again. On the opposite side of the country, it’s a little too dry.

You may have noticed from the 400,000 acres of scorched earth in Northern California that there have been some fires. When fires destroy thousands of acres of land, they also destroy the homes of thousands of wildlife. Especially squirrels.

The impact of the forest fires in California have displaced thousands of squirrels, pushing them south into the Emerald Triangle. I’m sure you can see where this is going.

The refugee squirrel problem

Forced from their homes and into the hills of the Emerald Triangle, squirrels have become an unwelcome guest on many cannabis farms. While non-violent toward the farmers, the same can’t be said of the squirrels and their relationship with cannabis plants.

Crawling all over the plants, eating the stalks and breaking off branches of plants are just some of the problems caused by the new squirrel migrant crisis. It’s too soon to say the total impact this event will have, but many farmers are already reporting ruined harvests due to the rodents.

Harvest Special Pt 3

Hear all about the savage squirrels, the drenched east coast and more on this week’s Harvest Special! Join Chip on Lookout Mountain in Georgia as he talks harvest tips, problems, and solutions.

Listen to the episode right here on The Real Dirt, or listen on the go on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more.

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

Curing Cannabis: Harvest Special Pt. 2

by Travis C | Oct 2, 2018 | growing, Season 2, The Real Dirt Podcast Episodes, Uncategorized

Podcast: Play in new window | Embed

When it comes to curing cannabis, you want to do it right. Not doing it right can ruin your entire harvest.

You’re done harvesting cannabis from your grow. Now it’s time to cure it.

Room size, temperature, humidity, air flow…these are all things that you need to consider when it comes to curing cannabis. Too much humidity and your plants won’t dry properly. Not enough humidity and you’ll dry your plants out faster than you want.

Curing cannabis right

It really is a science. People have moved on from the old plywood sheds that they would use to dry their cannabis. Now, people get full-blown steel buildings with full, regulated setups for curing cannabis. This way can be better, if done right.

A benefit of the classic drying shed that was outside with some plywood walls was it’s interaction with the environment. It acted as a self-regulator, changing humidity and temperature with the outside conditions. Unless there was a more rainy season, this would usually result in perfectly cured cannabis.

Modernized curing

With new, modernized curing facilities, it becomes the job of the grower to regulate that indoor environment. This is where the essentials come in, such as having fans, ventilation and temperature control.

Your method of curing cannabis also depends on how you want to trim it. Some people like to “green trim”, or trimming cannabis fresh when it is still wet. Others will only trim dry, as it is easier and many think it is more effective at maintaining potency when the bud had more time to cure.

The bottom line

One of the most important factors of curing cannabis that people overlook is storage. The best way to store your cannabis for curing is in storage bins. Some plastic bags will leave an odor on your cannabis if left in the bag too long from the plastic chemicals.

Once you have your cannabis contained, it is important to monitor it regular, burping the container to prevent the buds from flattening each other out. In a regulated indoor environment, this will be curing easy.

Here more about curing and trimming on this week’s Real Dirt Harvest Special!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

Harvesting Cannabis: Harvest Special Pt. 1

by Travis C | Sep 25, 2018 | growing, Season 2, The Real Dirt Podcast Episodes

Podcast: Play in new window | Embed

It’s that time. The time all growers anticipate. Harvest season is here, and it’s time to get ready! The Real Dirt knows all too well what goes into a successful harvest, and when it comes to harvesting cannabis, The Real Dirt knows best.

Chip has personally helped hundreds of growers across the country manage their grows and harvests, and he’s the go to source for any grower serious about harvesting cannabis. You might still be in the tail-end of flower, but it’s never too early to get prepared for harvest.

Harvesting cannabis

If you aren’t prepared when the time to harvest comes around, you’re going to be in trouble. Using the same gunked up scissors from last harvest is a rookie mistake, but one that even an experienced grower may forget. After all, when you’re in the garden twelve hours a day, there isn’t much time to run to the store.

Because of this, many growers who have large quantities, especially commercial growers, will enlist the help of for-hire trimmers. This can be very helpful, but only if you vet your candidates well.

Trim migration

In places like Northern California where millions of pounds of cannabis are grown, hiring trimmers is a necessity. However, the population in Northern California is pretty small, so most of the trimmers are outsourced.

The great migration of trimmers starts at the beginning of harvest season, as thousands of people migrate to these areas to look for trim jobs. While there may be plenty of applicants, they aren’t all going to do good work.

You’ll get the lazy stoners that just want to get baked and work slow, other will try to steal your cannabis on the side, and more. That’s why it is so important to know your trimmers, and keep an eye on them.

Chip has seen them all, and in the first episode of The Real Dirt Harvest Specials, he talks trim tips, and the business of trimming. Hear the full episode here, or listen on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.

Join our mailing list!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

The Science of Isolating Terpenes

by Travis C | Sep 18, 2018 | growing, Science & Technology, The Real Dirt Podcast Episodes, Tony Don't Smoke OG

Podcast: Play in new window | Embed

Isolating terpenes is relatively new, but it has completely revolutionized the way people process and consume cannabis. Now, any cartridge you buy at the dispensary will be packed full of flavor.

While the uninformed consumer may think that these tasty new vape pens are the result of well-grown cannabis being extracted along with its full terpene profile and flavors, this is hardly the case.

Cannabis that is grown well will most likely bring a solid flavor profile along upon extraction. However this flavor is minimal, as the main focus of extraction for vape pens is THC content, which is extracted through a distillation process.

THC itself is odorless and tasteless (for the most part), and so flavors must be added in to make the distillate more tasty. Originally, this was done by either adding in signature e-juice flavors or using non-cannabis derived terpenes from other fruits and plants that carried similar terpene profiles.

This failed pretty quick. The e-juice made the cartridges taste more like an e-cigarette than a cannabis vape pen. Additionally, the non-cannabis derived terpene mixes may have smelled the same as cannabis terpenes, but chemically were not similar to cannabis’ unique terpene profiles.

The Werc Shop solved this issue by figuring out the science behind isolating terpenes. By individually separating each terpene through their own proprietary distillation process, the Werc Shop is able to create specific terpene and flavor profiles with natural cannabis.

If you want to hear more on how this is done, just listen to this week’s episode of Tony Don’t Smoke OG! In this week’s episode, Chip, Tony, I225 and Colin talk terpenes, strains, and more.

Terpenes explained here!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

Smokin’ on Sativa: Tony Don’t Smoke OG Ep. 105

by Travis C | Sep 11, 2018 | Commercial, growing, The Real Dirt Podcast Episodes, Tony Don't Smoke OG

Podcast: Play in new window | Embed

If you asked Tony why people always give sativa strains a bad rap, he would tell you it’s because they never smoked a good, well-grown sativa.

If you asked a bunch of growers why there isn’t a lot of good sativa out there, they would tell you that it’s because most growers don’t want to put the time and effort — but mainly time — into growing a good sativa strain. They would be right.

Sativas are hard to grow, they take longer than indica dominant strains, and a lot of the time due to how its grown commercially, is lower quality than their hybrid counterparts. But those who do put in the effort reap the rewards. A well-grown and cared for sativa will taste great and provide an uplifting, euphoric effect that anybody who knows a good sativa will crave. Luckily, Tony and the gang know a good sativa.

Sativa or indica, it’s about knowledge

It all comes back to knowledge and educating people about what they are are consuming. Much like beer, liquor or wine, cannabis has a variety of different strains, characteristics, flavors and effects. It can also be grown with the utmost care, or none at all.

Some people will always go for the cheap domestic beer or the convenience store wine because they don’t mind sacrificing quality to save money. Others will always want the best, and only drink craft beer and fancy wine to fill their appetite. It’s all preference.

Suffice to say as the industry spreads, a lot of people will prefer cheap cannabis. Those coming from a black market especially, where prices are often steep, the option to get a $10 eighth or $70 ounce will always be enticing. Sure, they could splurge and go for the quality cannabis for $200 an ounce, but with such a vast difference in price for the same amount, many will at least try the cheaper option.

This will change. Everybody has their honeymoon phase with legal cannabis. There are so many options at such affordable prices, its almost impossible not to buy a bunch of different cheap strains to see how they smoke. But over time, people will start to try the more expensive stuff, and the difference will be instant. Once someone tries well-grown, quality cannabis, it’s hard to go back.

In this week’s episode of Tony Don’t Smoke OG, Chip and Tony are joined by Colin from The Werc Shop, a research group that focuses on the science of cannabis and all its chemicals, especially terpenes. If you’ve ever enjoyed a flavored cannabis vape pen, you have Colin to thank!

Join the gang as they smoke on some Big Sur Holy Weed and talk changing tastes in the cannabis consumer, why sativas get such a bad rap, and more. Tune in and enjoy!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Stitcher

…and if you haven’t already, please SUBSCRIBE on whatever platform you use to tune into The Real Dirt with Chip Baker!

Grow Management and Lambs Bread

by Travis C | Sep 4, 2018 | Cannabis Law & Compliance, growing, The Real Dirt Podcast Episodes, Tony Don't Smoke OG

Podcast: Play in new window | Embed

Tony Don’t Smoke OG Ep. 104

Roll it up, ya’ll! Tony Don’t Smoke OG Ep. 4 brings Chip and Tony together once more with their secret guest I225. The gang smokes on some Cookies in this one as they talk grow management and how to organize a cannabis business.

From constantly inspecting your environment to getting down into the dirt, managing a grow is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, growing a couple dozen plants with a couple hands on deck is manageable, but once you start growing your scale, it only gets more difficult.

Chip, Tony and I225 have decades of grow management experience between them, and share their knowledge and tips to boost productivity and reduce oversight. But it ain’t all about the technical stuff!

Cookies is one of the most popular elite strains in the cannabis industry today, with new crosses coming out left and right. The gang talks strain popularity, and what makes a strain so popular in the first place. Plus, we get to hear where the original Lambs Bread strain came from, and how Tony managed to get an original cut back in the day.

Listen to the full episode of Tony Don’t Smoke OG right now here on The Real Dirt, or listen on your favorite podcast app!