Think you have the line on top-shelf reserve in your state? Sure, local Cannabis Cup-winners might have that fire, but for a more quantifiable take, now there\u2019s The Grow-Off \u2014 a contest helping preserve flower appreciation in America.<\/p>\n
The Grow-Off<\/a> pitches itself as \u201cthe Iron Chef of weed\u201d \u2014 except a single grow season takes six months to conclude and the final judges are lab equipment. Wonky comparisons aside, the three-year-old contest idea has taken root internationally. This year, The Grow-Off expands to Canada<\/a>, returns to California<\/a> and goes back to its home state of Colorado<\/a> to determine some of the world\u2019s best growers.<\/p>\n Similar to \u201cIron Chef,\u201d each contestant gets the same ingredient \u2014 one fresh clone of a new mystery designer strain \u2014 and has six months to grow it out any way they like.<\/p>\n At the end, each contestant submits 5-gram samples to an accredited lab. Organizers announce the winners at a wild bash where the name of the mystery strain is revealed and first, second and third place trophies are awarded to top finishers in three categories: Potency, Terpenes and Yield. Everyone can see their lab scores. No funny business.<\/p>\n As a contest, \u201cThe Grow-Off really stands alone,\u201d said Jamie Hubbard, the cultivation manager for 2017\u2019s Denver winner, Verde Natural<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s no politics involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The couple behind the contest consists of former critic for The Cannabist<\/a>, Jake Browne, a 30-something Denver-ite who has worked in the weed industry since 2009, and his fianc\u00e9 Samantha Taylor. Browne grew weary of the typical awards chicanery \u2014 the bleary-eyed judging, the inevitable rumors about pay-to-win. Browne and his fianc\u00e9 also loved competitive cooking shows.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see more and more shows, either it\u2019s \u2018Iron Chef\u2019 or \u2018Chopped,\u2019 where everyone is starting out with the same ingredients,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also wanted to rely on science, not someone smoking 40 strains in two days and walking away wondering what happened to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Building on two successful years, the 2018 season in Colorado got off to a solid start on Jan. 30, with 52 contestants receiving their mystery clone from leading breeders The Herbal Cure. But things went sideways quickly. Two weeks into The Grow Off, a \u201cbitter\u201d former employee at the clone shop leaked the mystery strain\u2019s name, Tangie Power, to all the contestants, Browne said. Browne offered all contestants full refunds. Only two pulled out. The Colorado contest runs through July.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to everyone\u2019s mindset that they stayed in,\u201d said Jason Paley, inventory and compliance manager for Verde Natural.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t going to change our approach anyway,\u201d said Hubbard. \u201cWe looked up what the cross was, but we have faith in our flowering bed.\u201d<\/p>\n For Verde Natural, their 2017 first place win in the potency category and third place win in the terpenes<\/a> category validated their whole business model and plant philosophy. The contest triggered a sales run on their winning 2017 strain, Scroopy Noopers (a Cookies X Stardawg cross), and it gave Verde priceless industry cachet.<\/p>\n When the award was announced at the party, Hubbard said he was \u201cjust really happy for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing something special,\u201d he said. \u201cThis contest is a way to see how your methods stand up to the industry across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n Verde Natural took top honors with an all-organic and sustainable approach that just 3 to 5 percent of the industry uses in Colorado, Hubbard said. They grow indoors with Gavita-like \u201cSunsystem\u201d lights, CO2 enrichment and nutrient-rich soil beds that are two and a half years old. They\u2019re the largest indoor organic cultivator in Colorado.<\/p>\n \u201cWe literally do everything by hand,\u201d said Hubbard. \u201cIt\u2019s where we want to see the industry move.\u201d<\/p>\n The Grow-Off win helps justify Verde\u2019s higher-cost $50-$60 eighth-ounces, and their sales pitch to customers. Unlike with wine or craft beer, organic food shoppers often still smoke chem-weed (cannabis grown with chemicals) because they lack education and a chance to care. \u201cWe know the market is out there,\u201d said Paley.<\/p>\n Out in California, a 2017 Grow-Off win gave two virtual unknowns the courage to seek state licensing. Family-run, two-year-old Delta X Family Farms<\/a> of San Bernardino can\u2019t afford huge booths at the Cannabis Cup or a major media buy. But the small, 16-light indoor hydro operation in the battleground county bested almost everyone in the state in strength and terps.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were like totally shocked,\u201d said co-founder Mikey. \u201cWe weren\u2019t thinking we were going to get first. We were hoping we didn\u2019t get last.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they called out our name, we placed in all three categories, first in two of them. It was a surreal moment,\u201d says Mikey. \u201cIt made us say, \u2018OK, we know we can make it in this industry.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Will the Delta X brothers be back in 2018 to defend their belt?<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d said Mikey, without missing a beat. \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n For contest updates, follow @thegrowoff on Instagram and #thegrowoff.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, would you compete in The Grow Off?<\/p>\n Originally published in Issue 32 of Cannabis Now.\u00a0<\/em>LEARN MORE<\/a><\/p>\n The post The Grow-Off: Who Is America\u2019s Best Bud Farmer?<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Think you have the line on top-shelf reserve in your state? Sure, local Cannabis Cup-winners might have that fire, but for a more quantifiable take, now there\u2019s The Grow-Off \u2014 a contest helping preserve flower appreciation in America. The Grow-Off pitches itself as \u201cthe Iron Chef of weed\u201d \u2014 exceptContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,5764,2121,21,5765,5,85,5279,5766],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29181"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29181"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29182,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29181\/revisions\/29182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: The Grow-Off: Who Is America\u2019s Best Bud Farmer?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"