David Holmes, Founder of Clade 9 Nutrients, spoke at the recent Women Grow event in Los Angeles. His presentation (above) is a primer on Cannabis cultivation for new growers. David manages 68,000 square feet of grow operations across California, Arizona and Nevada.
In his presentation, Dave mentions Elemental Wellness Center in San Jose (CA) as a great source of clones for growers. So I reached out to Danny Gagaoin at Elemental Wellness to ask a few questions.
If there was one or two things you’d tell people getting started with clones, what would you tell them?
Danny:
1) This really pertains to growing in general but – learn and don’t be afraid to make mistakes – they teach you the most. There’s so much to being a cultivator of any crop and cannabis is no exception; there’s a lot to learn, and you aren’t going to know it all in one cycle. The growing experience also becomes a much more enriching one if you approach it as an educational opportunity that gives back to you.
2) Starting your crop with clones offers a lot of advantages to a new grower – not only do you cut out the longer veg times associated with starting from seed, you don’t have to worry about separating your males from females like you do when growing with seeds. This isn’t to knock growing from seeds – there’s certainly a whole world of fun with phenotyping and propogating, but a newer grower will have less to worry about and an easier learning curve.
How do you evaluate clones and clone suppliers? What do you look for in a plant and the people who sell them to you?
Danny: Currently we source our clones from reputable suppliers who have been in the industry for several years, the main ones being Dark Heart Nurseries, Midnight Farms, and Purple City Genetics (there are more for sure). The strains that each of them provide to us and have provided to us in the past are actually quite varied which is good for the cannabis community. Obviously we look for stable genetics in the plant first and then we look for various desirable qualities in the plant – size of yield, quality of flower (THC/CBD content – partially what level of cannabinoids and terpenoids are typically produced by the plant when grown which can be verified with a lab test), and even demand and popularity in the community all play a part in how we select which strains hit our shelves. The strains that are provided to us have been properly phenotyped and field tested by the various nurseries and even a few of us on the nursery and grow teams have experience with many of the genetics we provide to our members.
What are the hottest selling strains (3 – 5)? And can you talk a little about each one?
Danny: The answer to this question would vary depending on the season but there are a few strains that are highly sought after: 1) Gorilla Glue #4 – this strain is a favorite among sativa fans and it is easy to grow, quick for a sativa with the ability the mature and finish in 8 weeks, and heavy yielding. It won the 2014 High Times Cup for best sativa. 2) Platinum Girl Scout Cookies – the original cut of Girl Scout Cookies by Berner is provided to us by Dark Heart Nurseries from time to time. We don’t always have it on shelf, but this high testing, super dense nug making strain will fly off of the shelf due to it’s demand, lore, and rarity. 3) Blue Dream – the Santa Cruz cut of Blue Dream is easily one of the best strains for a new cultivator to learn with. Aside from being very well rounded and balanced in terms of it’s effects, it is a heavy yielder; it is resilient to molds, sickness, and even some bugs; and although there are a lot of growers with this cut throughout Northern California, each year cultivators new and old seem to grab these in bulk from us. 4) There’s a question further down regarding this but anything CBD – Cannatonic, AC/DC, Harlequin, the list goes on!
In music, the most popular (pop music) is not always the best. Are there some strains that are under the radar that you think deserve more love (in addition to the popular ones mentioned above)?
Danny: Absolutely, and to parallel your music reference, sometimes the golden oldies are a soft spot for cultivators in the bay area – old school cuts of Purple Kush, Chemdawg, OG Kush, and classic Sour Diesel still make their way onto our shelves and into people’s gardens! Experienced growers are able to dial their crop in with these strains in order to achieve the best results, and conversely it’s always a great experience for new school growers to learn about classic strains.
What’s the mix of people buying clones from you – new home growers? commercial growers? seasoned artisan growers?
Danny: We honestly see it all – new home growers looking to turn out a few ounces for head stash in their stealth closet grow; cultivators who use this as a hobby will come in to collect genetics in either clone or seed form; commercial farmers have also come in looking for CBD strains to mother out and clone themselves. Many of our large scale member providers such as Kind Medicine have been known to procure genetics from us from time to time. The individuals also come from all walks of life – outdoor mountain farmers, retired older couples looking to add cannabis to their garden for the first time, medical professionals interested in cannabis as an option for their patients, and lots of indoor gardeners from the tech industry – we really do see the gamut of growers coming in through our doors!
You’re in Northern Cali, where there are more outdoor grows. Are there certain strains that you recommend more to outdoor growers vs. indoor?
Danny: Absolutely and there are certainly strains that perform better outdoors (although we do believe with the proper techniques, equipment, and care you can grow anything with the sun). A lot of Sativa strains such as Sour Diesel, Chemdawg 4, and certain hybrid strains such as Blue Dream and Fire OG grow big, yield big, and their maintenance is a bit easier than some. Additionally classic Indicas that have been stabalized such as Ken’s GDP and Purple Cadillac can be good even with colder weather in the hills or mountains. We try to keep a variety of strains on hand at all times and we’ll cater to both the outdoor and indoor cultivator.
Can you talk a little about the growth of CBD strains? What strains are out there? Is there a lot of interest in CBD strains?
Danny: CBD has gained a lot of good attention lately and much of this is attributed to the efforts of the non profit organization Project CBD and due to the national airing of CNN’s documentary Weeds by Dr Sanjay Gupta; in this the non-psychoactive properties (you don’t get high) of CBD is highlighted as it is utilized to treat a little girl’s grand mal seizures – the medicine was so effective that she went from having 300 seizures a month, to 1-2. There has actually been nearly 40 years of CBD research (more info can be found on our blog) and due to it’s medical efficacy and potential, more and more people are looking into cannabis that produces CBD. Luckily, each of our vendors do have CBD strains and some of the common ones are: Cannatonic, AC/DC, Harlequin, Harlquin GDP, Pennywise, and Johnny’s Tonic to name a few. You are able to cultivate CBD from either clone or seed!