The Mountain Orchid is Open!

We opened the doors to The Mountain Orchid Cannabis Cultivation and Extraction facility on Monday 4/20/2020 at 4:20pm! We blessed the facility, toasted Champagne with friends, and then entered to initiate the seed germination process.

It was special getting to christen the facility while Anthony’s mother, Sandy, was in town. It was a beautiful day in the mountains, and we were all smiles as we peered ahead into The Mountain Orchid’s bright future. I am so excited to grow in this pristine cultivation facility!

It was a big day for The Mountain Orchid Family! I began germinating the cannabis seeds by placing them on wet paper towels between plates. It is important to ensure that they stay dark, moist, and warm.

It takes a couple days for the radicle to emerge from the seed. The radicle is the tip of the plant’s tap root. Once the seed has germinated, I place them in moist root starters under T-5 lights. Now the seedlings are ready to grow!

It is magical watching the tiny cannabis seedlings sprout. The sprout extends out of the root starters and sheds its seed covering. Then the cotyledon begin to unfold. The cotyledon are the first two leaves in the sprout. The cannabis seedlings turn to soak up the light.

Once the roots are established in the root starters, I move the seedlings to soil. The soil provides security, stability, and the necessary nutrients for the seedlings to flourish. It is amazing watching these precious sprouts absorb the elements from the soil. As the plant develops, the leaves become vibrant and beautiful!

Growing plants over the years has taught me the importance of a keeping a well-balanced diet for myself. When my diet provides all the nutrients and minerals necessary to maintain healthy life processes, I feel I am glowing bright like my healthy plants. However, if I am not eating healthy, my body feels dull and run down. Therefore, I believe it is important to concentrate on a healthy diet for both my plants and I, so we can continue to shine.

I have germinated four different strains so far. I started with The Farm’s Mountain Thunder strain. Mountain Thunder is a sativa dominate hybrid. It is a cross between, MadCow BX and Sour Bubble. I had a 95% germination rate on these seeds. Next, I moved on to The Freeworld Genetic’s Orange Cookie Chem seeds. This strain is a cross between Orange Cookies Kush x FreeWorld Chem. These seeds germinated 100% and all seedlings are consistently great!

My third strain to pop was The Colorado Seed Inc’s Doobiebird Daydream. Doobiebird Daydream is a cross between Blue Dream and Gupta Kush. These seeds also had a 100% germination rate. Doobiebird Daydream is sativa heavy hybrid with a 60/40 ratio of sativa/indica.

Currently, I have our fourth strain, Strawberry Blonde from The Farm, in root starters. Their sprouts are starting to emerge as we speak. Strawberry Blonde is Super Lemon Haze x Sour Strawberry. These seeds had a 97% germination rate. I felt is was best to compare seeds from three different Colorado State licensed seed companies. All three companies have been wonderful to work with. I look forward to seeing how the genetics compare.