The winter has brought a reminder of winters passed in the Scab lands of the Columbia Basin in Eastern Oregon and Washington State. Most of the area only gets 6" to 12" of annual rainfall per year. The winters get below zero in the winter and above 100° F in the summer but Spring and fall are near perfect. With the help of irrigation systems the Columbia Basin is one of the most productive farm lands in the world. Every once in a while someone unearths some petrified wood revealing a lush rain forest underneath the now dry grassland. For the geologist and farmers the landscape is perfect but for the visitor it may seem a little boring except for the sunsets with the mountains in the background.
There's a few places where someone can see for hundreds of miles because of the open landscape. Over 300 different crops are grown in Washington State and it is hard to find anywhere else that crops grow to such full flavor. Some examples of well known crops in the area are apples, asparagus, blueberries, carrots, grass seed, hops, onions, peas, potatoes, stone fruits, sweet corn, and wine grapes. There are many other crops as well these are just examples someone might be familiar with. Washington State was the first to legalize recreational use of Cannabis Colorado was the first to implement laws. If someone has the goal of legalization in their area a good logistic knowledge of the industry is where to start. Most attempts in the past have focused on the track record of the products safety when compared to similar products but these are not the real reasons for prohibition. When one considers alcohol as a comparable industry there is a process required to make alcohol that limits a persons interest in the industry. Most people are intimidated by industrial processes and content in just purchasing a product. Cannabis in the mind of most people doesn't take a skilled process. A decent gardener can produce decent results with very little knowledge. Availability of quality genetics makes this possible. So in the legalization process it helps to know how much cannabis is bought in the area. Washington State has about a 5 billion dollar a year cannabis industry. The legal industry is still growing but the black market that has existed long before is still dominating the sales. Washington State limited the amount of retail locations which limited availability. As the stigma of the industry wears off more stores will part of the normal landscape. Colorado allowed the growers to be the retailers where Washington separated the two. The population of Oregon and Washington State is mostly on the Western side. Most agricultural products are grown on the Eastern side of the Cascade Mountain range. The West side does have farmers and ranchers also but the focus is mostly industrial and technology. The population on the Eastern side is far more sparse.
Eastern Washington has a series of dams along various rivers that produce abundant amounts of electricity. Oregon and Washington also have large solar and wind farms mostly on the Eastern sides. What makes the area great for farming is the volcanic as soil and the dry climate. Things like juice or wine grapes can increase their brick (sugar content) with relative ease. This makes fruits like apples and stone fruits (fruits containing pits such as peaches) very flavorful. I have a bias but in my opinion there are no better apples in the world. Cannabis is right at home in the hot summers. It has been grown in the area with success long before it became legal. Some places still assume Washington State is the wild west and the car is something new to us. Strange for someone to say using Microsoft technology on their phone and drinking Starbucks Coffee but I like the horse and buggy perception. Usually cannabis would have been predicted to peak after 5 years and just the biggest companies would exist in the end. The reason for this is the same reason for the prohibition in the first place. Cannabis grows on every continent except Antarctica with relatively low fertilizer inputs. In a rural community in Eastern Washington if someone were to grow cannabis in just their lawn area they could supply a small town for almost a year. With the new extract industry creating a need for more cannabis to concentrate it has extended the industries predicted shelf life. The study of Cannabis has been avoided because of federal laws preventing large companies from touching the product. Small independent studies have been done and are currently being done again by reputable companies. Plants have always provided remedies for our ailments.
We try to duplicate substances that were initially extracts obtained by plants. Dye making companies that mined and purified pure elements often converted to drug companies to mimic substances produced by plants. Foxglove, coca, Peruvian bark, poppy plants, and willow bark are examples of plants that have been concentrated for helpful substances used in medical practices. Cannabis offers a wide variety of substances with potential medical uses. Because cannabis has a male and female plant it can be adapted for climatic conditions. Outside of recreational or potential medical use there is the obvious fiber industrial products and potential commercial products from seed production. Seeds are the only thing on a plant that contain no THC or other cannibinoids. Seeds can be crushed for animal feed and contain oils that can be made into all kinds of useful items. On average only 5% to 10% of an adult population consumes cannabis for recreational use. Industrial products are often used by a much higher percentage of people. Something medical is used for someone who is not in good health. Inhalation of smoke of any kind is not good for ones health. Even though cannabis contains anti carcinogens anything that burns to carbon also contains carcinogens. Cigarette companies made the mistake of covering up health concerns which later lead to frivolous lawsuits. In order for cannabis to stay legal any potential health threats can not be ignored. Knowing how much is sold and how much can be grown in an area will keep the industry viable. In Eastern Washington a single irrigated circle can be 130 acres.
That is likely enough area to product half of the state's annual recreational supply if done correctly. Washington State limited the canopy area of plants to prevent one computer or individual for controlling the entire market. For industrial products many more acres are needed. Considering single farmers can own several thousand acres of irrigated ground makes the recreational market not practical for large scale operations. Cannabis is still not federally legal making it an even worse deal with farmers who often have to deal with government programs. The majority of Cannabis farms are actually small time backed by individuals rather than large companies. Larger companies deal with manufacturers that build items for the industry such as lighting. Green stocks are companies that cater to the Cannabis trade but do not touch the products themselves. The other limiting factor is the inability to use Federal banking. It is a strange thing became federal income tax can be paid on earnings. All things does is cause some tricky accounting tactics that were once applied to black market trades. Really it forces the more successful companies to start other companies just to pay tax. From a collection aspect the government wins twice. Heavy taxation and regulation keep the industry more profitable than if it were a free for all. If they just legalized it and allowed everyone to grow as much as they wanted it would become worthless and the market would collapse. When tested and regulated the market remains stable. People don't like to think in such Capitalist terms but that is the nature of the business. Mint in Washington State had a similar collapse from overproduction from mostly a single farmer. So knowing a little about the industry might make people make more well informed about getting into the industry. My perspective is that of the gardener. I enjoy growing all plants that I can get my hands on but my interest came from Cannabis plant and most of my knowledge of plants was obtained by cultivation of this misunderstood plant. I have also spent time working for more commercial types of farms and have become familiar with modern techniques. Some of the chemical use needs creative ideas to eliminate the need.
Chemicals were only meant to be a temporary solution and it has always been predicted that they would loose their effectiveness over time. I have experience growing indoor and outdoor using just about every technique however I will try and focus on outdoor growing in the Columbia Basin. As described earlier the Columbia Basin is a dry grassland. The reason why it is important to recognize what grows naturally in an area might determine what type of farming practices to use. Areas where grasses and herbaceous plants grow are going to likely work better with bacterial compost. Areas where more woody stemmed plants such as a forest is likely to benefit from more of a fungal compost. Fungal composts are usually made from wood. Bacterial compost can be made from a variety of materials. As an example one mixture that works well in the Columbia Basin is 25% grass or green plant materials, 25% dry leaves or grass, 25% cattle manure, and 25% grape pulp or other crop with high sugar content. Basically the green materials contain nitrogen, dead leaves contain phosphorus and potassium, manure contains what the animal ate and beneficial enzymes, and the grape pulp or over ripe fruit contains sugars for enzymes to multiply faster. It is not that one compost is better than another but in a grassland more beneficial bacteria is available than fungus.
Antibiotics are a good example of the unseen wars between bacteria, fungus, and viruses. Plants can often adapt to different situations and can benefit from both types of compost but when looking at a landscape either bacterial or fungal breakdown dominate the plant life. Another factor to consider is soil type and PH in soil. The Columbia Basin has a variety of soils ranging in PH but I would say that higher PH soils are dominant. Once the PH of soil is determined the PH of water should also be determined. Soil will eventually become the same PH as the water used over time. The ideal growing range for cannabis is somewhere between 5.5 PH and 6.5 PH. It will still grow outside of this range but for maximum fertilizer intake this is considered the best. PH measures acidity and alkaline 0 being acid, 7 being neutral, and 14 being alkaline. To lower PH in soil organic matter is the most practical using organic methods. Acids used in water and sulfates are also used for lowering PH. Hydrated lime is often used to raise PH in soil or alkaline liquids in water. When making fertilizer mixtures the resulting PH should be considered. Varying too much can cause prohibited growth leaving a plant susceptible to pests. There are numerous books and plenty of magazines with how to grow information. To be completely specific I will cover how to grow outdoors in the Columbia Basin without using pesticides. One of the first mistakes being made is getting clones from outside the area that are more susceptible to pests or may have pests hiding on them. The Eurasian hemp moth has made it's way to the area despite never being here before the legal industry. There are benefits from growing clones but it is good to note the most successful cannabis companies in the world are seed companies. Some of the wealthiest companies in the world sell crop seeds. Growing from seeds offers a lot of advantages that clones do not. For some reason pests are far more likely to attack and cause crop failures in clones. I like to think of it like putting a domesticated animal out in the wilderness. The wilderness will sense it's weakness and attack it. Until the animal becomes part of it's wild surroundings it will exist in conflict. What can also lead to infestations is a monoculture approach to farming. Cannabis is an extremely resistant plant however it can benefit from close proximity of other plants that off symbiotic relationships. A good example of naturally occurring plants in the Columbia Basin that offer this beneficial relationship are sagebrush and yarrow. Yarrow is a herbaceous plant with some medicinal qualities. The benefit to growing with cannabis is that it is also a biological fixer. When the yarrow plants become distressed they send out a chemical signal that attracts parasitic wasps. Parasitic wasps are what can keep Eurasian hemp moths in check. The catipillers are what usually do the damage. Yarrow also can access fertilizers that are locked up in the soil allowing other plants access to nutrients. Using a well balanced polyculture technique will counter most insect infestations. The idea is not total prevention but a diverse population kept in balance. Other problems such as molds can be solved through breeding resistant strains. Clones never develop new DNA or RNA eliles that allow adaptation to an environment. Through forced breeding and plant selection plants can be grown to the highest quality standards and be resistant to pests that can cause failures. I thought I would write some of what I have learned from many years of research and development from a relatable perspective. There are several growing guides and information on the same subject so I will stick to practices and methods focused on quality rather than the science of growing plants. I have grown thousands of varieties and bred several hundred of my own. I have tried a wide variety of techniques and have become well known for the highest quality products. I feel somewhat safe in writing this because of legal status and I have no current interest in the industry. I am compelled to grow things like a musician is compelled to play so I may abandon the effort when the growing season arrives. Hopefully someone will find some use or maybe just apply the methodology to other industries. Until next time.