How Del-Gro Works

The Business Model

Ben Levine: Del-Gro provides turnkey facilities where growers like Derek can set up shop and prosper. My business partner and I engineer turnkey facilities for growers and help them establish their practice. We teach managers how to run facilities without spoonfeeding them.

The Grow Operation

Building Layout

Ben Levine: Del-Gro currently provides two different sizes of building: One measures 14,000 square feet and the other measures 7,000 square feet. With a 7000 square foot facility, you’re generally running about 3850 square feet of flower, and right around 1280 square feet of veg. We like our growers to maintain 25-30% of their space for veg.

The Plants

Derek Martinez: We’re running a footprint of about 16 plants per light and, on average, we tend to have close to 30 different genetics that we cycle through periodically. My partner and I manage multiple facilities, and one of them is an R&D facility where we bring all of our new genetics to test. We grow them to flower and determine which ones will best suit our growing methods.

Equipment

Derek Martinez: We use rockwool and sphagnum moss for our media. Our mothers and genetics get special treatment, so they might get something different depending on their needs. For nutrients, we primarily use Advanced Nutrients, which has an all-organic nutrient line designed specifically for use with cannabis. We’re running light emitting ceramics (LEC/CMH) in veg, and double-ended HPS lights in flowering. Our propagation room uses T5s and LEDs. We use smart ballasts that come with redundancy measures just in case of a malfunction or failure. We use automated 12 station drip manifolds with drip emitters going directly to the plant. They are controlled by a station timer which is timed to activate during different times of day. The runoff is pumped to a reclamation reservoir, which is then filtered and distributed to the city. It recycles the water back to the municipal, as clean as we got it. We use a split system AC that can be mounted inside or outside depending on your rooms. If we want to maintain a low humidity, then we mount the air handler inside the room. That way the coils are directly exposed to the air in the room and act like a dehumidifier. In the event of problems, we have some redundancy vectors set up. Our room thermostats are rigged to a relay, and whenever a high temperature threshold is reached, the thermostat triggers the relay, which either turns off or dims the lights.

Pest Management

Derek Martinez: Our pest control method is primarily preventative. We face numerous pests, but since we run a clean operation, we have limited our exposure to them. The pests that we most commonly run into are gnats. Thrips and spider mites are also big threats. In the event they become an issue, foliar sprays are our primary go-to. Depending on where the plants and mites are in their respective cycles, we may dispose of the plant.

What tools do you use for pest management?

Derek Martinez: We use a few different, systemic treatments that are organic. If we anticipate a problem, we’ll use Captain Jack’s spinosad or one of our own proprietary systems. We tend to implement these in foliar sprays or our drip irrigation as a preventative measure.

Philosophy

Challenges

Derek Martinez: When we moved to the desert we started seeing single digit relative humidities. We kept running into an issue when we were trying to dry and cure in the low humidity. Ironically, drying and curing in the low humidity meant we had to keep rehydrating the product, making for a challenging experience.

Successes

Derek Martinez: Our biggest success has come from automation. It has lightened up our workload across the board, allowing us to take on more projects and expand. It’s also reduced our overhead.

Long-Term Vision for Del-Gro

Ben Levine: Our next big project is 250,000 square feet. We’re also working on co-developing a 747,000 square foot project right behind us.

Advice for Future Growers

Derek Martinez: I would advise new growers to attach themselves to someone they can see themselves growing with, both figuratively and literally. This industry has its highs and lows on a daily basis, which means you’re going to experience a lot of pain as well as a lot of prosperity. The people you work with and the relationships you build within this industry matter.

Derek Martinez: I work on some outdoor and greenhouse projects, but I prefer working on indoor grows. Because California has always been known for its quality cannabis, we have to meet or exceed that quality. That means we need to grow indoors, hydroponically.

Derek Martinez: Our propagation room currently measures in at 2,700 square feet. Our veg room is roughly 3,000 square feet, and we use another 1,200 square foot room for genetics and storage. The rest, about 7,100 square feet, is devoted to flowering. Ben Levine: Del-Gro currently provides two different sizes of building: One measures 14,000 square feet and the other measures 7,000 square feet. With a 7,000 square foot facility, you’re generally running about 3,850 square feet of flower, and right around 1280 square feet of veg. We like our growers to maintain 25-30% of their space for veg.

Lighting

Derek Martinez: In our veg room, we’re running light emitting ceramics (LEC/CMH), and for our flowering room we’re running double-ended HPS lights. Our propagation room uses T5s and LEDs. We use smart ballasts that adjust automatically based on where we’re at in flowering. We can turn them on and off remotely and they come with redundancy measures just in case of a malfunction or failure. As far as light brands go, we use a relatively new brand on the market. We switched to this brand because of an issue we we had with the standard Gavita ballast. It used mounts with a vertical offset, which didn’t work with our mounting brackets. Now we’re using a brand named Illuminati. They balanced the mounting points and added a third mounting point so now it’s more adaptable for our use in lighting frames.

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HVAC

Derek Martinez: We use a split system AC that can be mounted inside or outside depending on your rooms. If we want to maintain a low humidity, then we mount the air handler inside the room. That way the coils are directly exposed to the air in the room and act like a dehumidifier. Ben Levine: Just to add on to what Derek said, we’re located in the Coachella desert. Because of the temperature, we run around 0.6 tons of air conditioning per light. That means if we’re running a 200 light grow, we’ll be using upwards of 100 tons of AC. It’s very expensive and one of the largest costs we face when setting up facilities and grow rooms.

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Automation

Derek Martinez: We use 12 station drip manifolds with drip emitters going directly to the plant. From there, a PVC line runs through some electronic solenoids. The solenoids are controlled by a station timer which is timed to activate during different times of day. In the event of problems, we have some redundancy vectors set up. Our room thermostats are rigged to a relay, and whenever a high temperature threshold is reached, the thermostat triggers the relay, which either turns off or dims the lights. Additionally, the lights we’re using also run in conjunction with a Gavita EL2. The Gavita EL2 has temperature thresholds as well. If you reach the first heat threshold, it’ll dim your lights. If you surpass the second heat threshold, it’ll turn them off. We’re also looking forward to new automation technologies. There’s a lot of money going into technology and development. New products are coming up constantly. They make the life of a commercial grower much easier in the long run.

Strategy

Derek Martinez: Our pest control method is primarily preventative. We face numerous pests, but since we run a clean operation, we have limited our exposure to them. The pests that we most commonly run into are gnats. Thrips and spider mites are also big threats. They’re not really common for us, but if we do run into them we have plenty of organic treatments for them. Knock on wood, hopefully spider mites don’t become an issue. In the event they become an issue, foliar sprays are our primary go-to. Depending on where the plants and mites are in their respective cycles, we may dispose of the plant. Editor's Note: Check out our related article on Integrated Pest Management!

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Employee Procedure

Derek Martinez: In our facilities, we have special suits for each employee. They come in, change their shoes, throw their suits on, then go about their day.

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Pest Management Tools

Derek Martinez: We use a few different, systemic treatments that are organic. If we anticipate a problem, we’ll use Captain Jack’s spinosad or one of our own proprietary systems. We tend to implement these in foliar sprays or our drip irrigation as a preventative measure. Editor's Note: Check out our related article on pesticides in Washington state!

Derek Martinez: We’re running a footprint of about 16 plants per light and, on average, we tend to have close to 30 different genetics that we cycle through periodically. My partner and I manage multiple facilities, and one of them is an R&D facility where we bring all of our new genetics to test. We grow them to flower and determine which ones will best suit our growing methods.

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Feeding

Derek Martinez: We use an automated drip irrigation system that feeds multiple times a day. The runoff is pumped to a reclamation reservoir, which is then filtered and distributed to the city. It recycles the water back to the municipal, as clean as we got it.

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Media

Derek Martinez: We use rockwool and sphagnum moss for the most part. Our mothers and genetics get special treatment, so they might get soil, coco, sphagnum, rockwool, or some mixture of these depending on their needs. Closeup of sphagnum moss, image courtesy of Wikipedia.

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Nutrients

Derek Martinez: We primarily use Advanced Nutrients. Advanced Nutrients has an all-organic nutrient line designed specifically for use with cannabis. We also supplement with all-organic additives from other nutrient lines. There’s a long list of additives that we could potentially use, depending on the application.

Ben Levine: I was recently on a conference call with some of the major marijuana companies in California. There were about 30 people on the call, and while this was a first draft, we were pretty excited. We greatly appreciated the fact that they specified canopy square footage in terms of mature plants only. That allows people with type 1, type 2, and type 3 licenses to use extra space for different projects or services. There are a few concerns we have with the draft bill, but those will probably get worked out before the final version. Because Del-Gro doesn’t directly grow anything, most of the legislation would not affect us. Large scale growers could face some challenges if the bill is enacted as is.

Derek Martinez: A few years back, we were growing in Thousand Palms. Our only growing experience at the time was growing near the coast, where we experienced relative humidities in the 30s. In the desert, on the other hand, we’re looking at single digit relative humidities. We kept running into an issue when we were trying to dry and cure in the low humidity. Our post-harvest techniques had to change to adapt to that lower humidity. After that, we learned to maintain humidity in our drying and curing rooms between 52 to 60 RH. Ironically, drying and curing in the low humidity meant we had to keep rehydrating the product, making for a challenging experience.

Derek Martinez: I would say our biggest success has come from automation. When automation became more mainstream, we were able to quickly adopt the new technology and implement it in our facilities. It has lightened up our workload across the board, allowing us to take on more projects and expand. It’s also reduced our overhead. A facility that would have taken 12 employees, can shrink to 9 employees or less by implementing these automation techniques.

Ben Levine: We’re currently in expansion and development mode. With upcoming regulations and opportunities in the desert, we’re bringing a lot of business experience to the table and expect to see a lot of new faces in the industry. Our next big project is 250,000 square feet. We’re also working on co-developing a 747,000 square foot project right behind us. We’re always looking for opportunities. We’ve got a lot to build on, and we’re looking forward to 2018.

Derek Martinez: I was fortunate enough to apprentice with some really qualified growers in the industry. My advice to new growers would be to attach yourself to someone you can see yourself growing with, both figuratively and literally. This industry has its highs and lows on a daily basis, which means you’re going to experience a lot of pain as well as a lot of prosperity. The people you work with and the relationships you build within this industry matter. Ideally your partners make you smile this much. Additionally, the cannabis industry may feel large and uninviting at first. Once you start communicating with your peers, you realize that people who have similar ethics to you are rare. They are in limited supply, so be selective about your business partners and the people you choose to involve yourself with, and hopefully that will lead to prosperous relationships.

Excerpt

In this Grow Op Overview, we speak with the CEO, Director of Marketing, and Director of Cultivation for Tryke Companies, the holding company doing business as Reef Dispensaries.

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About Tryke

Corporate Structure

Matthew Morgan: Tryke is the holding company for Reef Dispensaries, our trade name. Technically, there are 3 different Tryke companies and each Tryke company works in a specific geographic location: Arizona, Southern Nevada, or Northern Nevada. The same executive operating team runs all three companies, and each Tryke does business as Reef Dispensaries. We currently have 10 office directors and 250+ employees spread over the three entities.

Tryke Size

Matthew Morgan: Tryke is currently operating about 100,000 square feet of cultivation space between Arizona and Nevada, with the potential to grow another half million square feet, if the demand is there.

Why grow in Las Vegas?

Matthew Morgan: Tryke originally started in Phoenix, Arizona, but we wanted to be financially stable. When we saw that there was a good chance to go recreational in Nevada, we found a building close to the Strip where we could flagship indoor cultivation.

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Operations

Indoor/Outdoor/Greenhouse and why?

Darin Carpenter: Our operations are designed for indoor cultivation, because of location and regulations. In the Southwest, we have cooling issues to deal with. If we built a greenhouse in the middle of Phoenix, the costs would be as much as an indoor grow.

The Plants

The Numbers Darin Carpenter: Both facilities combined are growing about 30,000 different plants. Our genetics lockers have about 200 strains, but we are currently growing about 50-60 strains. Strain Selection Darin Carpenter: Our strains are selected based on supply and demand with an extra rotation to keep our retails fresh with new inventory so that our patients don’t get bored of the same flavor. Feeding Style and Media Darin Carpenter: We use a top-down, drip-fed, drain-to-waste system. We grow with Coco Coir and Grodan rockwool. Nutrients Darin Carpenter: We make our own nutrients. While the mixture is proprietary, we keep it fairly basic. The mother plants are treated more delicately, so they get a different feeding regimen. Pest Management Darin Carpenter: We use a preventative IPM strategy that allows us to pass state requirements. Every room gets looked at every day. I can’t disclose too much more, because it is one of our competitive edges.

Building Design

Darin Carpenter: About 10% of our facility is propagation, another 15% is for veg, and the flowering rooms are about 75% of each facility.

Lighting

Darin Carpenter: We follow the industry standard: T5 bulbs for propagation, metal halide lights for veg, and HPS DE for flowering. HPS in veg also works well. We use a custom paint spec for higher reflectivity.

Environmental Controls

Matthew Morgan: We have a building management system that runs automatic nutrient dosing and automatic feeding systems in addition to environment controls. It was custom designed for us by a controlled environment engineer.

Laboratory Testing

Darin Carpenter: Nevada law requires us to test for:

1. Pesticide residue
2. Colony forming units (CFU) of microbes and fungi
3. Cannabinoids
4. Terpenoids

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The Tryke Perspective

MJ Freeway and the Repercussions

Matthew Morgan: We lost seven figures in revenue because of the MJ Freeway fiasco. People were working 18-hour days to move us over to a whole new platform, but we had no choice. Now we’re using a hybrid system: We use BioTrackTHC and Microsoft accounting software for midsized companies. The software has multiple functions:

1. Coordinates with BioTrackTHC.
2. Tracks our inventory.
3. Acts as our accounting system.
4. Tracks our analytics.
5. Provides redundancy in case another event happens.

Challenges

Past Matthew Morgan: We entered Nevada when the market was brand new. We had to quickly adjust in order to stay profitable. Our size as a company can make that difficult. Current Matthew Morgan: What’s going on in the White House is really making it difficult to plan out our future moves. Our business model requires a thriving recreational market in Nevada, and we don’t know what’s happening with the current administration.

Successes

Matthew Morgan: Tryke is our biggest success. We’ve grown from one person to over 250 employees. We’re in great shape for our third anniversary.

Regrets

Matthew Morgan: Our biggest regret is not lobbying harder in Florida. We had high hopes and they were dashed by their regulations. Put it this way: A cannabis company cannot succeed under Florida regulations. Everybody there is hemorrhaging money. They’re receiving a ton of public backlash right now.

Advice for New Growers

Darin Carpenter:

1. Don’t cut corners.
2. Listen to people who have done this before.

Companies bring in people with zero experience because they don’t have bad habits to unlearn. We bring in people who want to work hard, learn, and come up in the industry.

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: Aww man, that’s a loaded question. I have experience with all styles of growing, and they all have their own benefits. With indoor cultivation, you’re controlling every single parameter: temperature, light density, humidity, and every little detail of production. Greenhouses are virtually identical, but there is some variation that reduces your control when compared to an indoor environment. If you’re outdoors, you’re controlled by the elements, and we’re not in a geographically feasible location for that. The Mojave desert is not known for being hospitable. All of our operations are designed for indoor cultivation, and we have a couple of reasons for that: location and regulations. Since we’re located in the Southwest, we have specific environmental concerns to deal with. For example, if we built a greenhouse in the middle of Phoenix, we’d have to implement extra infrastructure to keep it cool enough for the plants, and the costs would be equal or greater to an indoor grow.

By the Numbers

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: In both facilities, we’re currently growing about 30,000 different plants. In our genetics lockers we have about 200 strains, but we are currently growing about 50-60 strains.

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Strain Selection

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: Most of our strains are selected based on supply and demand. But we also like to keep a rotation to keep our retails fresh with new inventory so that our patients don’t get bored of the same flavor. We’re also working with breeders to come up with new strains. We want to keep things fresh.

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Feeding Style and Media

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: We use a top-down, drip-fed, drain-to-waste system. We grow with Coco Coir and Grodan rockwool. We use the same media throughout the life of the plant we’re growing. We use Coco Coir primarily in our Phoenix facilities and Grodan primarily in Nevada. We use whatever improves our quality and yield.

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Nutrients

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: Thanks to my background, I know how to mix nutrients. While our mixture is proprietary, we keep it fairly basic. Occasionally we will use specialized nutrients, but generally we make our own. The mother plants get treated a little bit differently than our other plants. They are treated more delicately, so they get a different feeding regimen. We use compost teas, beneficial microbes, and all that stuff. We give them a wider variety of treatments and media. Related Articles: Compost Teas: Taking Fertilizer to the Next Level

Layout

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: We run a tight propagation department. About 10% of our facility is propagation, another 15% is for veg, and the flowering rooms are about 75% of each facility. Editor’s Note: Based on their current size, that means they currently have 10,000 square feet dedicated to propagation, 15,000 square feet dedicated to veg, and 75,000 square feet dedicated to flowering. Should they expand, those numbers will become 60,000, 90,000, and 450,000 square feet, respectively.

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Lighting

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: We pretty much follow the industry standard: T5 bulbs for propagation, Metal halide lights for veg, and HPS DE for flowering. I’m also a fan of using HPS in veg because it works so well. We allocated our lights based on what was efficient. We’re using a lamp combination that provides more coverage with fewer fixtures and therefore greater efficiency. We also use a custom paint spec for higher reflectivity.

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Environmental Controls

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: We’re using a custom building management system to take care of our environment. It was designed for us by a controlled environment engineer. Matthew Morgan, CEO: The building management system runs automatic nutrient dosing and automatic feeding systems in addition to conventional environment control.

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: Depending on what stage you’re in, there are different rules and regulations regarding what options are available to you. The majority of our pest management is a regimented, preventative IPM strategy that allows us to pass state requirements and virtually eliminate all pests. Every room gets looked at -- every single table, every single day. It’s difficult, but necessary to inspect them every day. I can’t disclose too much more, because pest management is one of our competitive edges. Other growers in the regions we operate in struggle with pests. Related Articles: Integrated Pest Management

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation: Nevada law requires us to test for the following:

1. Pesticide residue
2. Colony forming units (CFU) of different microbes and fungi
3. Cannabinoids
4. Terpenoids
5. Visual inspections

Matthew Morgan, CEO: We lost seven figures in revenue because of the MJ Freeway fiasco. As you can imagine, I’m very upset about the whole incident. It put a ton of stress on our organization. People were working 18-hour days to move us over to a whole new platform that nobody knew anything about. But with the losses we were facing, MJ Freeway left us no choice. Now we’re using a hybrid system: We’re using BioTrackTHC and accounting software designed by Microsoft for midsized companies. The software has multiple different functions:

1. It coordinates with BioTrackTHC and confirms information.
2. It tracks our POS systems and inventory.
3. It is our current accounting system.
4. It tracks all of our analytics, including costs per pound, and financial matters of a similar nature.
5. It provides redundancy for our entire system in case another event happens.

Past

Matthew Morgan, CEO: We came in strong into Nevada when it was the newest market in the country. We had to adjust nearly everything on the fly in order to stay profitable as a large enterprise, especially in a soft market like Nevada. A good analogy is that we’re piloting a cruise ship, while somebody with a mom and pop shop is driving a speedboat. Turns like a... boat.

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Current

Matthew Morgan, CEO: The lack of communication from the federal government about cannabis worries me. Trump is tough to read and kind of a loose cannon. What’s going on in the White House is really making it difficult to plan out our future strategic moves. There are 58 dispensaries in Nevada, and we own four of them. Our business model revolves around a thriving recreational market in Nevada, and with the current administration we don’t know what’s going to happen.

Matthew Morgan, CEO: Tryke as a whole is our biggest success. We’ve grown from just myself to over 250 employees and a large amount of space. We’re adding more as time goes on, and we’re in good shape for our third anniversary. We’ve utilized our skills to their full potential in the cannabis space.

Matthew Morgan, CEO: Our biggest regret is not lobbying harder in Florida. Their regulations and rules are pretty draconian. We really had high hopes to sell in Florida, and they were dashed by their rules. For example:

1. You can only grow CBD-only plants. THC has some medicinal value too, but lawmakers didn’t care.
2. There are only 8 or 10 licenses in the entire state. This allows for monopolies and bad business practices.
3. You have to have a pharmacist on-staff full-time for no particular reason.
4. There’s a weird requirement about having a greenhouse for 10+ years.

Put it this way: Florida designed a losing business model. A cannabis company cannot succeed under current regulations. Everybody who has a license right now is hemorrhaging money. When voters overwhelmingly voted in a medical program in November, they voted in a relatively unshackled bill. Legislators and assemblymen came in and wrote suffocating regulations. In my opinion, that was not the intent of the popular vote. And it shows. They’re receiving a ton of public backlash right now. Three or four thousand people are showing up for legislative meetings when they only expected a few hundred. Go ahead and humor yourself and read the regulations. Editor’s Note: At time of writing, Florida’s cultivation laws are up in the air. Conflict between Florida’s House and Senate over the maximum number of dispensaries will require a special session to address.

Matthew Morgan, CEO: I will say that we are currently looking at markets in other states, but I’m not going to go into detail. Our competitors would love to know what markets we’re looking at.

Darin Carpenter, Director of Cultivation:

1. Don’t cut corners.
2. Listen to people who have done this before.

The reason why I say that is because we’ve done this before. Companies bring in people with zero experience because they don’t have bad habits to unlearn. It’s harder to untrain somebody from bad habits than it is to bring somebody fresh and teach them the protocols and specifics. We bring in people who want to work hard, learn, and come up in the industry.

The actual number of plants will vary depending on the square footage of each facility. Generally speaking, our flowering density is 2.0 plants per square foot. Vegetative density is 8.0 plants per square foot, and our clone density is 39.0 plants per square foot. MedMen implementing a Screen of Green methodology. We choose strains based on customer demand and qualities such as aroma, flavor, yield potential, and shelf-attractiveness. We understand the importance of meeting customer demand and are always looking at new strains to trial in our R&D trial section. Currently, we have a set of eight core strains we are working with.

Irrigation Our designs are based on commercial hydroponics, using our proprietary nutritional recipes. Each plant receives roughly 1.5 liters of irrigation spread over 5 to 6 irrigation cycles per 24 hour period.

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Media

1. For propagation, we use composted peat plugs.
2. For both veg and flowering, we use Grodan stonewool blocks.
3. However, we are currently working with Riococo to develop new coconut coir transplant blocks specifically for use with cannabis.

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Nutrients We do not use pre-blended, hydroponic store fertilizers. These range in price from $25 to $50 per gallon. We produce our own fertilizers at a cost of $0.40 per gallon, using our own proprietary hydroponic nutrient recipe for all life stages.

MedMen utilizes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) protocols. We believe that early detection, coupled with the use of natural predators, is the best way to catch issues early and mitigate problems without using harsh chemical pesticides. We use a variety of tools to help control the insect pest situation:

1. Beneficial insects (Bioline is a great resource.)
2. Sticky cards for monitoring
3. Weekly scouting by our IPM technician

Maintaining the proper climate within the growing environment also helps keep away foliar pathogen issues. Monitoring and controlling plant/leaf temperature, especially in the hours before “sunrise” is a key tool for controlling mildew and molds. Editor's Note: Check out our related article on Integrated Pest Management!

We are utilizing Fluence Bioengineering LED lighting technology for all of our projects:

1. For propagation, including clones and tissue culture, we use the Fluence RAZR series LED fixtures.
2. We use the SPYDRx LED fixtures for vegetative.
3. We use the SPYDRx PLUS fixtures for flower.

With the LED lights, we’re using 40 percent less electricity compared to HID.

We use Hortimax to control lights, CO₂, irrigation, cooling, heating, humidity, temperature, and even labor management. Some facility designs feature automated moving benches. All our inputs into the system are automated to reduce labor needs. Irrigation is based on drip irrigation, so each plant gets the same amount of water every time. The black-out screens are also automated and controlled very easily by the push of a button. An automatic benching system used for orchids. There are very few tasks performed by hand in our facilities. We are always looking for ways to incorporate modern robotics in our facilities.

Regular Challenges Since we are working with a biological process, we have faced the normal agricultural challenges like pests and disease, nutritional issues, and even labor. However, by incorporating Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), we can find issues early and mitigate them quickly to reduce any economic loss.

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Current Challenges It’s proving difficult to find suppliers and manufacturers from commercial agriculture that are willing to participate in the emerging cannabis industry, especially those from Europe that specialize in controlled environment agriculture.

Successful integration of modern technology into cannabis production. After all, a plant is a plant, and 90 percent of what it takes to optimize tomato production is the same for cannabis. And a good grower can easily adapt to the final 10 percent that is species-specific.

I wish I had entered the cannabis industry sooner and not just in agriculture. This is the industry to be in if you want to innovate and leave a lasting mark.

We want to continue making MedMen a market leader. Our processes and technology are years ahead of our competition. I want to help shape the future of commercial cannabis production. Damian Solomon in a MedMen Grow Room.

Rely on the experience and know-how of commercial agriculture/horticulture growers when designing your grow operations. It will be the way of the future for growing crops. Always look for better ways of doing things.

We have two goals: Make cannabis jobs for the people who want to be in the cannabis industry and maintain high-quality standards. We bring together 70 passionate people who love what they do and are excited to be a part of this revolution of our culture, industry, and the western medical system. We oversee two growing licenses in Illinois. Each license allows a building that is over 75,000 square feet and since we have two facilities, we have a total of 150,000 square feet of space. We do everything under one roof: cultivation, propagation, flowering, breeding, genetics, and laboratory work. We’re currently growing about 10,000 plants. Despite being a large company, we do everything by hand, boutique-style. We eschew any type of machine trimming. Revolution Cannabis-Barry, named for Barry, Illinois. We also have a full lab setup. Our lab produces shatters, live resins, nutraceuticals, sublingual sprays, and everything related to vapor cartridges. We even distill our own terpenes to make full-flavored recreations for our vapor cartridges. In this industry, it’s very uncommon to have a full terpene profile attached to a distillate. We test every product and only release the greatest. And, best of all, everything is 100% pesticide free.

We grow completely indoors. We’re not opposed to other methods of cultivation, and they have their place, but we believe the best way to achieve high-quality flower is indoor cultivation. We’re open-minded, though, and are thinking about expanding into greenhouses with some organic lines, because we grow via bioponic methods in living soil. We’re waiting for future phases of buildout to evaluate greenhouses.

Between the two facilities, we have a variety of rooms, including agricultural laboratories, hot houses, propagation, vegetative, and flowering rooms, and more. Each facility has identical rooms. Revolution Cannabis-Delevan, named after Delavan, Illinois. Every propagation room has multiple tiers where clones can root or wean off of 100% humidity. We have two or three vegetative rooms in each facility which have three tiers to conserve space. We also have two very large free-flowering rooms where plants get accustomed to more intense lights and more vigorous growth. And last, but certainly not least, we have two large mother rooms where we store genetics.

We grow via a bioponics method. That means we use organic base nutrients in a semi-soil mix with a light substrate. When we water the plants, we use a top-drip system in order to get more vigorous growth. An example bioponic system using fish waste for fertilizer. The substrate we use contains dried compost which comes back to life when watered. The compost adds a lot of microbial life and a large amount of carbon. We also brew our own compost teas in-house because we believe in a living soil that needs to be fed regularly with microbes, teas, and other organic nutrients. Editor’s Note: Keep an eye out for future articles on compost teas!

We are currently running 400 lights. We prefer somewhat diffuse lighting over direct lighting because we want the cola to receive light from all angles, rather than just straight down. My preference is ePapillon lights because they don’t direct the light straight down onto the plant. They cast a wide light instead of just down. We also use different lights for different stages. Right now we use a full-spectrum T5 fluorescent light for veg. We also use DE blue-spectrum MH for veg. With LEDs, we’re not seeing any major benefits yet. Right now, we think we get the most value with our DE lights per watt of electricity used. We’ll consider LEDs for future phases, but they’re not quite where we need them to be yet.

We’re growing about 50 strains right now, we’re always looking for and selecting new strains. Some of my favorites are Girl Scout Cookies, Triangle Kush, Wedding Cake, Crosses with White in them (IE White Widow, White Rhino, etc). We also grow lot of OGs, Kushes, Huckleberry, Caramel Candy Kush, Charlotte’s Web, Clementine, Tangie Banana, Alien Purple Kush, Alien Rock Candy, and many more. Those are all strains that we’re breeding with to make newer, better strains for the future.

We don’t use environmental controls specifically made for the cannabis space. Instead, we use environmental controls designed for data centers or server rooms of companies like Google and Apple. Server rooms produce a large amount of heat and are sensitive to temperature. We can control the environment down to single minute increments if we choose to. We don’t have to wait for the compressor to kick on before the AC mitigates the humidity or temperature. We want to keep our environment tightly controlled, so we went all-out on our sensors and environmental control units. It’s really great. Every door has a monitor outside it that reads environmental data. I can look at my temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels all in one unit. At any time I can look at a room’s environmental data down to the minute for the last 6 months and spot anything that might’ve been an issue, which is imperative when I’m troubleshooting a room.

My number one strategy is don’t get bugs. My second strategy is control my environment. Put down tight biosecurity controls for your employees. My growers have to walk through 5 doors in the facility before they ever enter a grow room. You can’t just walk from the outside into a grow room. You have to scrub in, change your clothes, put on your work uniform, and change your shoes. That prevents a lot of contamination from outside sources. Very tight biosecurity controls. Image courtesy of NASA. The second strategy involves strict environmental control and monitoring. Certain problems like spider mites or powdery mildew cannot be allowed in whatsoever, but some “pests” can be used to benefit your plants. Turning a “pest” into a “friend” is what I like to call it. These are pests that can be your friend in the right proportion. For example, soil needs a certain amount of variation, and some bugs crawl through your soil and fluff it out, making a nice spot for your roots. As long as they don’t reach a certain threshold where they start chewing on your roots, these “pests” can be good. They can be kept under control with natural solutions like diatomaceous earth and other methods. Scanning electron microscope images of diatoms, the key component in diatomaceous earth. Editor's Note: Diatomaceous earth (abbreviated as DE) is an effective tool for dealing with certain insect pests. When diatoms, a special kind of algae, die, they leave behind hard, spiny shells. These jagged microscopic shells disrupt insect exoskeletons, killing them in minutes.

I’ve faced almost every challenge -- it’s what makes me so good at my job. The number one challenge I faced was coming online in 2010 and starting a 100% organic brand. Facing off against competition willing to use PGRs, poisonous pesticides, and other unhealthy methods was difficult. One of the other biggest challenges is the market. It’s a struggle to deliver something healthy to people without turning them off on price. If I had to sum it up, that’s what I’ve been learning to do over the course of the last 10 years. Cutting corners with patient health is not a good practice. Another challenge is training new people to grow. Giving people the ability to grow the best dank in the world on day one is almost possible. I think one of the things I’m best at in the world is training people to cultivate. I’ve done it hundreds of times in my life, and I’m getting better. You have to make things fun and keep morale high. You don’t have to grow in your closet any more. You can come to me and I can teach you. Editor’s Note: PGR stands for Plant Growth Regulator. PGRs are defined as a pesticide by law, although their action is different from most pesticides. Check out our related article on pesticides for more information!

My biggest success has been the creation of a scalable value chain. I’m elated with what we’re doing right now and what our current menu looks like; only 12 months into operation and we’re producing cannabis on par with the best in the world. Our edibles have zero taste and maximum effect and absorption time. Our nutraceuticals are benefiting people who don’t want to take an RSO that tastes awful. Well, I can make medicine that tastes great! I’m bringing people a new way to experience cannabis right now. Quite frankly, it’s amazing what we can do. Editor’s Note: RSO, or Rick Simpson Oil is an extract of cannabis made from ground-up cannabis flowers that have been washed with a solvent such as isopropanol, petroleum ether, or acetone and then strained. The remaining liquid is then heated to remove the solvent and leave the extracted cannabinoids behind. It is typically applied to the gums or other mucous membranes. Another name for Rick Simpson Oil is Full Extract Cannabis Oil (or FECO). See our related article on cannabis extracts!

We call ourselves Revolution because we want to take on a screwed-up system. We don’t want to see another person jailed for choosing a natural medicine. It is a revolution of common sense. It is a revolution to stop destroying people’s lives by locking them up. We’re here to use cannabis as a gateway medicine, to open people’s minds about medicinal cannabis. Many have been misguided by the Western medical system their entire lives. There are numerous natural medicines avoided by pharmaceutical companies in order to make a profit. It’s wrong.

I have two main pieces of advice. They might seem simple, but people don’t seem to understand them:

1. Stick to the basics.
   1. When you’re in the cannabis industry, you have 100 problems all the time and you’re always problem-solving. Your number one goal is solving problems. You’re going to work to fix them. You need it 100% right.
2. Don’t overthink it.
   1. Don’t solve problems that aren’t there. When people look too far outside the basics to solve a problem, more problems arise. By fixing a problem that doesn’t exist, you’re creating a new problem and exacerbating a problem that already exists. Now you have more problems because you fixed the wrong problem. And now you’re fixing more of the wrong problems and you have even more problems. You get an exponential increase in problems. What you need to do is stick to the basics.

We’re open-minded about expansion. For example, we just won a license in Maryland. We have a very strong model that anybody can operate as they grow. Our model is scalable and easily replicated. We also want to find like-minded partners that share our core values and mission. They should want to help us expand and get this medicine to people who need it. They understand that we may be the partner they’ve been looking for this whole time. Our goal is to fight for righteous change in society by shifting the status quo of cannabis in America, as well as the rest of the world.