However, growing plants from seed has a major risk involved. The desired cannabis flowers are female, but a seed can be male or female. If a mature male cannabis plant blooms in a female cannabis garden, it can pollinate the room and destroy the entire crop. Pollinating a female cannabis garden causes seeds to form in the female flowers and will lower the overall potency and quality of the marijuana buds.

I have been studying how to determine the sex of a cannabis plant prior to blooming it. This is extremely important because it can save a lot of time, space, money, and resources. My goal has been to determine the sex of my cannabis plants while they are still in one gallon pots versus five gallon pots. This would save soil, pots, and nutrients. It would also save time from having to water, manicure, and transplant a plant that will ultimately be destroyed.

I have spent hours analyzing the preflowers of my cannabis plants at The Mountain Orchid facility. Fortunately, I have been able to determine the difference between the male and female cannabis plants while they are still in one gallon pots! Below is a picture of a male preflower. The hanging bells will continue to grow in a grape-like formation until they bloom and pollinate. As soon as I determine a male cannabis plant, I remove it from my garden to be safe.

The ratio of male to female cannabis plants with my first round of seeds has been around 40/60 (male/female). I will continue to remain diligent with all plants while I bloom them to ensure that no males slipped through the cracks, but I feel confident in my sex determinations. The picture below is a cannabis female preflower.

The two white, wispy hairs are pistils emerging from the calyx. This is a sure sign that the cannabis plant is a female. Once I see the confirmed pistils on a female plant, I transplant it into a five gallon pot and prepare to bloom it!

Since our cultivation facility’s elevation is above 10,500’ and most other state licensed facilities are much lower, we are concerned about clones experiencing transportation and altitude stress when traveling between gardens. By beginning from seed, we eliminate that concern. 

Many of the growing processes can be rushed, however we believe in the importance of patience and allowing the plant to determine the timeline. Even though it takes the plant much longer to reach maturity when started from seed, we think that you will notice the difference in our final boutique buds.

We received these beautiful seeds from Colorado Seed Inc, The Farm, and Freeworld Genetics. I have really enjoyed working with all three companies and look forward to growing their genetics.

We feel blessed to have a new business in the Colorado marijuana industry. Throughout my networking, the entire industry has really impressed me. There seems to be a resounding theme of open mindedness, positivity, professionalism, and diligence with all employees and companies that I have had the pleasure to work with. We look forward to deepening these relationships as we grow as a business. Stay tuned as we pop these new seed strains on Monday 4/20/2020 at 4:20pm! The countdown is on!

He custom built a light rack that is able to move within a ten-foot range at a touch of a button. This allows the ability to maintain the proper distance between the lights and the plants at all phases of growth. We believe in letting our plants reach maturity before blooming them. Therefore, it is extremely important to have the ability to adjust our light rack so that the lights are not too close to our full grown plants.

After programming the lights to turn on and off in a staggered formation, recreating a similar effect to the sun rising and setting, we illuminated the room for the first time! It was an overly exciting moment for The Mountain Orchid family to see years of labor literally light up!

We will be growing with doubled ended 1000 W HPS bulbs.  Double-ended HPS bulbs are more stable than traditional, single-ended HPS bulbs. Not only do double-ended HPS bulbs emit more UV and IR light than traditional bulbs, they also have a 10 percent increase in light intensity.

Anthony constructed the facility to have very high ceilings in order to better control the garden’s atmosphere. Double ended HPS bulbs conduct a good amount of heat. The high ceiling allows space for the heat to rise, and the top-of-the-line ventilation system completely exchanges the air in the room within minutes. The high ceilings along with the brisk mountain air, also eliminate the need for air conditioners in the facility. Mother Nature cools our garden down for us.

We are beyond excited to cultivate cannabis in this amazing facility! Anthony, thanks for your amazing vision and hard work to create the perfect grow space!