The Evolution of Cannabis Cultivation

On this episode of The Real Dirt with Chip Baker, I’ve got not one, but two cannabis cultivation pioneers. Call it a dynamic duo. Today I’m here with Dave Malone, founder of Green Dot Labs and Doug Marvin, head of Research & Development at Botanicare.

Green Dot Labs is a Colorado based extraction lab that focuses on acquiring exclusive genetics that cannot be found elsewhere. Their lab was custom built for making cannabis extracts and nothing else. These guys aren’t messing around. Botanicare based in Chandler, Arizona is one of the leading nutrient hydroponic equipment manufacturers in the indoor horticultural industry. Doug works specifically in the Commercial Business Development side of Botanicare in Research and Development.

Although the cannabis producers and equipment suppliers are on different sides of the food chain, we all have so much experience in the industry that we’re able to discuss the evolution of it all. Listen in as we discuss the where to get quality seeds and genetics, how to create new strains and how to start an ancillary cannabis business from scratch.

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This podcast is brought to you by Cutting Edge Solutions. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing John, the founder of Cutting Edge Solutions for over 25 years. He’s an expert horticulturalist and a great guy all around. I truly stand behind his products as a grower and as a wholesaler and retailer. As a grower, you know when a nutrient line has been developed from extensive research at real farms throughout Northern California.

This podcast is also brought to you by Cultivate Colorado. Cultivate is one of the largest indoor horticultural suppliers in Colorado with two stores in the Denver Metro Area and free delivery from the Front Range to Pueblo. They are the place that commercial and personal growers go to for a wide variety of high quality soil, lights, hydroponics and expertise. They have everything you need to grow your dreams and cultivate your legend.

This podcast is also brought to you by Growers. Growers is a Colorado owned and operated soil and nutrient company, established in 2015. After 15+ years of experience as growers, they know how to make a consistent and effective line of soils and nutrients in an environmentally conscious way.

Show Notes

Dave discusses one of the most desired strains on the market – the Triangle Mince from the Wedding Cake Pheno strain (01:02)
The difference between the way extraction labs see cannabis versus farmers (01:35)
Dave, Doug & Chip discuss the evolution and development of the “best” strains in Colorado (03:39)
The difficulty of getting good genetics in the regulated market (07:44)
Why Green Dot Labs was lucky to get into the market early (08:53)
Green Dot’s new state of the art recreational cultivation facility with a professional photography area (09:42)
Dave discusses the complexity and modernization of cannabis photography (11:09)
The importance of the trichromes place in extraction and where these strains originally came from (13:53)
How Botanicare became the most major cannabis nutrient company on the market (19:30)
The significance of using Botanicare’s Pure Blend on your cannabis flower (21:32)
The purchase out of Botanicare by Hawthorne Hydroponics, a subsidiary of Scott’s Miracle Grow (25:17)
The mutually beneficial relationship between Green Dot Labs & Botanicare (26:00)
Chip brings up the issue of “full disclosure” on the horticultural side of the cannabis industry (28:48)
Chip talks about the quest for knowledge that cannabis industry pioneers exhibit (32:23)
Dave’s favorite strain (that he would take to a deserted island) (34:00)
Why it’s important to preserve great cannabis genetics (36:22)
The six strains that rule all cannabis genetics (37:37)
Chip’s belief that humans have an instinct for intoxication (38:47)
How Dave started Green Dot Labs on a shoe string budget (45:28)
The early system of “open blasting” extraction explained by Dave and why they developed the “closed loop system” (46:48)
The overhead of labor and economy of scale of growing weed (55:28)
Why growing has become a volume game in the current saturated market (57:30)
Why the future revolution is in indoor farming (59:09)
Doug talks about if by this time next year, you can’t run your entire grow on your iPhone you’ve missed the bus (1:02:00)
Dave discusses why 1000 grams of OG Kush is not the same value as 1000 grams of Blue Dream from an extraction perspective (1:09:15)
Why separating the terpenes from the cannabinoids is the true essence of the plant from the extraction process (1:16:30)

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