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MedMen -- Los Angeles, California

In the second issue of our Grow Operation Overview series, we interview Damian Solomon, the Ag Technology & Systems Director for MedMen. Damian has a background in commercial agriculture, with an emphasis on commercial-scale, controlled-environment agriculture. He has worked for some of North America’s largest hydroponic greenhouse operations and was the NAFTA region greenhouse expert for international vegetable seed company DeRuiter Seeds.

MedMen is a company with the express purpose of “mainstreaming marijuana by fundamentally changing the way cannabis businesses are capitalized, built and managed.” MedMen is based in Los Angeles, California and has operations and investments extending throughout North America, including Canada, California, Nevada, and New York. They recently broke ground on a new cultivation facility in Nevada measuring 45,000 square feet.

The following is an interview with an industry leader. Growers Network does not endorse nor evaluate the claims of our interviewees, nor do they influence our editorial process. We thank our interviewees for their time and effort so we can continue our exclusive Growers Spotlight service.

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MedMen is a growing company based in Los Angeles, California. The company currently manages two indoor cultivation facilities; one in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles with 4,100 square feet of canopy, and a second facility in Utica, New York. The company is also managing construction of a new greenhouse cultivation and production facility outside of Reno, Nevada that measures 45,000 square feet and is expected to open in the summer of 2017. A similar greenhouse project is slated to start construction in Desert Hot Springs, California in the summer of 2017.

A Little History

With modern greenhouse technology and precision controls, we can rival and surpass the operations of indoor grows.Damian Solomon

What's your background with cannabis?

Tell us a bit about MedMen.

MedMen is headquartered in Los Angeles, but we manage grow operations on behalf of license holders in several locations, including near Reno, Nevada, and the Sun Valley area of LA.

Construction work on the cultivation facility outside of Reno. When we build cultivation projects, we select locations based on many factors, such as the availability of natural resources like sunlight, water, and elevation. We prefer to build high-technology glass greenhouses. However, in a warehouse-retrofit situation, we can optimize indoor operations by incorporating modern agricultural technology. With modern greenhouse technology and precision controls, we can rival and surpass the operations of indoor grows. Because greenhouses use natural sunlight as the primary source for lighting, they use up to 70 percent less electricity.

Operations

How many different kinds of plants are you growing?

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.

What's your feeding style?

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.

Media

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

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.

What is your pest management regimen?

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:

Beneficial insects (Bioline is a great resource.)
Sticky cards for monitoring
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!

What lights are you running?

What kind of automation are you employing?

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.

The MedMen Vision

This is the industry to be in if you want to innovate and leave a lasting mark.Damian Solomon

What are your biggest challenges?

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.

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.

What has been your biggest success?

What do you wish you had done differently?

What are MedMen's long-term plans?

What advice do you have for new commercial cannabis growers?

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Want to get in touch with MedMen?

You can reach MedMen via the following methods:

Resources:

If you're interested in following the Medmen, take a look at the MedMen Website.
Curious about LED Lighting? Fluence Bioengineering produces the LED lights for MedMen.
Construction has already begun on the MedMen's new facility in Nevada. Click here to learn more about it!

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About the Author

Hunter Wilson is a community builder with Growers Network. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 2011 with a Masters in Teaching and in 2007 with a Bachelors in Biology.

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MedMen – Los Angeles, California

MedMen -- Los Angeles, California

MedMen

A Little History

Operations

The MedMen Vision

Do you have any questions or comments?

About the Author

MedMen – Los Angeles, California

MedMen -- Los Angeles, California

MedMen

A Little History

Operations

The MedMen Vision

Do you have any questions or comments?

About the Author

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