Finger Lakes 420 September 2023 by Fahy-Williams Publishing

Growing a cannabis culture in the Finger Lakes

September 2023

Building for Lease • 7200 square feet • 1.77 acres • Brick & mortar building • High ceiling space ideal for tier grow • Located in the Village of Bath, NY • Village of Bath has opted in on all Cannabis • Open floor plan If you are looking for a building for: • Dispensary • Micro • Lounge • Processing • Lab Please call 607-346-2952 for more information!

Current Culture

Jaydega Remains Resolute After Raid

How the ECS and Cannabis Fight Inflammation

A Canandaigua dispensary owner recalls his journey in the cannabis market

Tammi Sweet explores the endocannabinoid system

Nowave Transforms Plants into Products

contents

Volume 2, Issue 3, September 2023

A tour of the Rochester-based processor’s new digs

Organic and Synthetic Fertilizers to Solve Growers’ Biggest Issues Roots Organics shares how its products can help your grow

Pictured is a strain of Poddy Mouth from Humboldt Seed Company in week 7 of flowering, grown in the FLX420 indoor home grow tent. Photo by Missy Kelly

30 FLX420 Indoor Home Grow Tips on how to help plants flourish

September 2023 • FLX420.com

contents

6 8 45

The Journey by Nate Kurash

Pot Shots

from our readers

Founder - Nate Kurash nate@flx420.com

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Publisher Fahy-Williams Publishing Vice President - Tim Braden tim@flx420.com Editor Victoria Ritter victoria@fwpi.com Contributors Tina Manzer Tammi Sweet

34 38

Why Feed Charts Don’t Work … Also a Feed Chart

Twelve volunteers share updates

Graphic Artists Mark Stash mstash@fwpi.com Tammy Spear tammy@fwpi.com

Advertising Sales Amy Colburn amy@flx420.com To Subscribe to the Magazine visit FLX420.com To Advertise in FLX420 Amy Colburn 315-789-6431

The Goods

To share your cannabis experiences, advice, photos and stories, visit FLX420.com / submit-here.

Small Talk

The Limit

Labels Matter at Beast Coast Packaging

FLX420 Outdoor Home Grow

Maia VanOrman maia@fwpi.com

The Dank Tank

Joshua Waterman

FLX420.com • September 2023

FLX420 is published by Fahy-Williams Publishing Inc. FWPI.com Copyright© 2023. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher. FLX420 is a member of the Cannabis Association of New York and the Legacy Growers Association.

journey THE

hings are finally starting to happen, slow yes, but hey this is New York. First and foremost, congratulations to all of those who received dispensary licenses! The state awarded nine new dispensary licenses under the CAURD program, that brings the total to 16 in the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region. I attended the New York State Cannabis Festival back in June in Whitney Point and wow, what a turnout! I estimate there were more than 700 people that came through the festival. I had the opportunity to talk with about two dozen people

and was amazed by how far some had traveled to be there. Several of them drove more than 200 miles to attend, demonstrating that a passion for fellowship runs deep in our community. I was also surprised to hear how many people have started making their own edibles, tinctures and topicals. They were all so eager to share their recipes to help others. The festival was a huge success and I look forward to attending it again next year. Speaking of festivals, we are rapidly approaching fall harvest, one of the most joyous times of the year. I am looking forward to the upcoming festival season and encourage you to attend as many as possible. It’s a great way for you to show support for the community, meet new people and keep up to date on all of the happenings in the industry. There should be a good number of new growers this year excited to show off and share some of their bounty.

It looks like the state will finally start accepting applications in the next couple of months, fingers crossed. The FLX420 scene could look very different this time next year. We could be waiting in line for a dispensary grand opening or possibly enjoying some good eats at an onsite consumption lounge. Good luck to all of those applying, we are with you. Be diligent in making sure you follow the application process exactly right; if you aren’t sure how to answer a question, reach out to the state or community for help. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and don’t forget to give thanks; we do live in one of the most beautiful and uniques parts of the world.

Nate Kurash

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FLX420.com • September 2023

from our readers

pot SHOTS

@m_t_healthyhealing shared a sample of their organic flower bred by Fresh Coast Seed Company. This plant was grown in Six Coast Super Soil.

From @Waldo_SkullDoh: Some morning sun on a female Unicorn Poop/ Pancakes Breath from Shadowborn Genetics, in collaboration with Dr. Dankenstein and Elevated Elf.

amnicpon0621 shared a picture of their home grow of sherbadelic.

epellette works for a grower out of Western NY called Greenside Cannabis and weekly documents their cannabis growth. From Derekdebois: If you grow with true passion, the plant will show it for you. Take pride and learn from your mistakes. I enjoy showing off what I love doing!

(Continued on page 10)

FLX420.com • September 2023

You can find Jaydega 7.0 and Canandaigua Cannabis Club on Facebook.

THE PLUG

HEALTH WELLNESS RECREATION •

•

pot SHOTS

@oneil_family_farms shared a picture of their grown Tropicana Cherry from Relentless Genetics, just prior to harvest.

@true_north_gardens shared a picture of Sunshine Daydream, one of their favorites. Very euphoric and uplifting, a great choice for social occasions.

From @terrrps2.0: Garlic Cocktail (GMO x Mimosa) on Day 67 of flower.

From adamhagadone: This is a photo of a legal commercial grow at a farm that I manage in Franklin County. I had to stand on top of my van to get the shot, but it was definitely worth it! I came on board as the Cannabis Cultivation Manager for Full Spectrum Ag. in April and haven’t looked back since! The sense of pride that I feel over what we’ve managed to accomplish in just over two months makes every bit of it all worthwhile! This is definitely a passion and I’m honored to have such a fantastic opportunity!

From Cannabis_fannabis: Gary Payton x Jealousy. (Continued on page 12)

FLX420.com • September 2023

Light up and Listen New York’s favorite cannabis podcast

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from our readers

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From Dalamond: I have been growing since 2009 and now am a legal medical patient in New York with my wife. I have a long history with cannabis and felonies along the way. I’m just here to help people grow their own and stop paying ANYONE for it including small craft growers.

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from our readers

pot SHOTS

Medicine_from_the_earth managed to snap a shot of a dragonfly on their wenty20 Mendocino Bubba Whip.

Erin Connorton (@erinecx) shared their cannabis inspired artwork. Sonja Belliard (@srosa96x) posed for the photo.

FLX420.com • September 2023

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Jaydega Remains Resolute After Raid

by Victoria Ritter

George West, right, takes a moment to document the raid on Jaydega on June 28, 2023.

eorge West of Canandaigua has operated in the cannabis market for 30 years. When he opened Jaydega 7.0 on Main Street in March 2019, he was hopeful that the legal market for cannabis would be open soon thereafter. On June 28, 2023 his shop was one of dozens raided by the Office of Cannabis Management across New York as part of the state’s crackdown on the gray market. But today the “Open” sign is lit and West is committed to carrying on. West has sold cannabis since the 1990s, operating out of his home. He started selling to just friends and family, eventually expanding to 200 to 300 customers a week. After sustaining spine and traumatic brain injuries in a 2010 car accident, West began using cannabis to manage the pain. With some trial and error, he was able to get off of several medications. Nearly a decade later, he wanted to help people have access to cannabis. “Trying to navigate around the pain pills and stress and anxiety medications wasn’t easy. I found that CBD and THC provided an easier way for me to have a better quality of life,” West said. “Also, I thought the legal cannabis market was not too far away. I thought it would happen in 2019.” Jaydega began by providing hemp flower and CBD tinctures. Business increased significantly with the introduction of THC products. “As things developed, everything moved pretty fast,” West explained. “We started providing CBG (cannabigerol), CBN and all of the different cannabinoids. Soon after that we added hemp-derived THC – Delta 8 and Delta 10.” Ever since he founded Jaydega, West’s goal has been to operate in the legal market. Until then, he is dedicated to create a store and cultivate a selection of products “that anybody in the town and city can be proud of to have in Canandaigua,” he said. West continues to ensure that customers have access to safe products by using trusted suppliers, people he’s worked with for decades. He works long past business hours, sometimes laboring 12- to 18-hour days, and has sought to foster strong community relationships. West applied for a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) license last year. Although he had been raided before opening Jaydega – with his weed supply and profits confiscated and investigations made about his property – his application was declined as he was never convicted. Nevertheless, West remains interested in obtaining a CAURD license. “It’s a lottery in a sense,” West observed. “With the amount of people submitting for the CUARD

FLX420.com • September 2023

A Timeline of the NY Marijuana Market permit, that many people can’t all get a permit. In the future, if I’m one of those people who doesn’t get a permit, I could get a micro-license or some other type of license. It’s unfortunate, but it would still put me in a position to do my job.” Jaydega continued to operate in the gray market and build relationships in the community. Last fall, West presented at a city council meeting, explaining Jaydega’s business, what products it provides and his plans to continue to operate. In October, the City of Canandaigua issued tickets to West and one of his five employees for illegally selling cannabis. Although the charges were dismissed at trial and West didn’t have to pay any fees, he received an ominous promise from OCM. “They said that if they did have to come back, they would take everything,” he said. That pledge came true at the end of June. The day before Jaydega was raided, West was aware that the OCM was conducting raids in the area. As he drove to work on June 28, he checked spots that authorities might visit nearby. He then received a call from his store saying that that the OCM was there. “Basically, they were taking everything – THC and CBD products,” West said. In past raids, West witnessed police officers kick down his door, trash his home and take everything. This time, members of the OCM and police officers were very open about what they were taking and treated everyone with respect. “That day, authorities stood outside – people were still trying to come into the store – and they informed them of other stores they could go to, but told them they couldn’t come here that day.” West is not facing any fines or jail time, but has a hearing scheduled for September 1. Jaydega continues to operate, but business has been cut in half, according to West, as customers have assumed that the store is closed. West remains patient as he acclimates to the situation and slowly welcomes people back to the store. For him, the raid and its aftermath are just another adjustment in his career in the cannabis industry. “The only thing I can do is adjust and adapt as things come my way. We have to change according to not only laws, but payment options and paycheck methods. It’s a never-ending change for the industry right now.” West understands that the raid could further limit his chances to receive a CAURD license, but he is dedicated to continuing his job, as he has for the past few decades, and supporting his customers. Patrons include veterans and cancer patients who use cannabis to manage their pain and senior citizens who use cannabis in place of their medications. “Many of the doctors’ offices in Canandaigua send their patients to the store and have them ask for me,” West said. Operating Jaydega is just as beneficial for West as it is for his clientele, as it’s helped him engage with the community. Some customers bought from West when they were teenagers and continue to buy from him as parents, coaches and professionals. West enjoys seeing older people visit the store; even if they don’t buy anything, he appreciates the chance to see them and make sure they’re doing well. “It’s a good feeling to see those people still here, to have a conversation with them,” he said. “I always tell everyone who comes in that no matter what, even if the store isn’t here physically, I’ll be there for them to help them.”

March 2021 – New York legalizes the recreational use of marijuana. However, the rollout is slow due to several complexities including a lack of regulations, a sluggish licensing process and the state’s plan to issue the first licenses to people who had past pot convictions. Unlicensed sellers quickly fill the vacuum in the state’s marijuana market. February 2022 – The OCM sends out more than two dozen letters to suspected gray market retailers, urging them to stop selling or prepare to face fines and a low prospect of getting a license. October 2022 – Governor Kathy Hochul says the state is “on track” to open 20 conditional adult-use dispensaries by the end of the year. She expects another 20 dispensaries would open every month or so thereafter. November 2022 – Kenneth Gay of Variscite NY One, a Michigan-based marijuana company, sues the State of New York, challenging the legality of the CAURD program. A federal judge rejects NYS’ effort to toss the lawsuit, resulting in a months-long injunction that delays the opening of licensed recreational marijuana stores across the state. The injunction lifts in most areas the following March while the Finger Lakes Region has to wait until the end of May. December 2022 – Housing Works in lower Manhattan is the first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana to open in the state. At the time, the OCM had recently granted licenses to 36 dispensaries, with an additional 139 licenses yet to be issued; 900 candidates are still awaiting word of their application. March 2023 – Gov. Hochul introduces legislation that would increase steeper fines for stores operating in the gray cannabis market. Stores that have illicit cannabis product among their inventory face fines of $200,000 while the OCM is also able to fine stores $10,000 a day for selling illegal cannabis products. April 2023 – After lawmakers discuss how crackdowns on illegal shops are to be enforced, Gov. Hochul signs legislation expanding the OCM’s and Department of Taxation and Finance enforcement powers which includes levying fines on illegal retail operations and closing down those shops. June 2023 – The state has a total of 251 retail dispensary licenses. By the end of the month, only 19 legal recreational dispensaries are open across the state, with nearly half of them just in the NYC area. July 2023 – At the Cannabis Control Board’s July 19 meeting, the OCM reported that 53 inspections have been conducted across the state, with approximately $11 million worth of products seized. September 2023 • FLX420.com

How the ECS and Cannabis

Fight Inflammation Part 3 of a FLX420 series by Tammi Sweet, The Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials

here are two kinds of inflammation: acute, which heals (I’ll call it the “good” one) and chronic (“bad”), which increases the risk of a variety of damaging diseases. Luckily for us, our endocannabinoid system and cannabis shine at modulating the chemicals that cause inflammation, called cytokines. Here is an overview of how it all works.

Inflammation gets a bad rap, but it shouldn’t – the inflammation process is the only way our body heals injuries – any injuries. When we hurt, our damaged cells begin to create and release chemicals called cytokines. Think of cytokines as distress flares: their function is to

FLX420.com • September 2023

summon more blood and immune cells to the injured area. Cytokines also increase capillary permeability so that nutrients, oxygen and immune cells can migrate into the area easily. More immune cells release more cytokines to signal more cell friends to join the process. It becomes a “party with a purpose” with all the friends needed to repair, heal and

grow cells and to fight off potential infection, particularly if the injury is open to the outside world. When the injury no longer needs the inflammatory response to heal, cytokines decrease, disappear or simple stop the process. But if the cytokines continue to signal

inflammation – or signal inflammation when there’s no injury at all – it becomes dangerous. In the case of osteoarthritis, one type of chronic inflammation, the damaged tissue cells themselves release inflammatory cytokines making the damage selfperpetuating. Long-term ouch. So how, exactly, do cytokines know when to stop? Magic? Not really. Recent scientific evidence shows that our endocannabinoid system is a major mechanism for halting inflammation. AEA – “anandamide,” an endocannabinoid that one researcher called “the amide of inner bliss” – for instance, binds the CB1 receptors in our cells and actively shuts down inflammation. Endocannabinoids can even actively switch the enzymes that make inflammatory cytokines to enzymes that make anti-inflammatory cytokines. Wow! That’s pretty magical. Shutting down inflammation when the damage has been repaired is one of the main jobs of the endocannabinoid system. And cannabis, by interacting with or mimicking our endocannabinoid system, carries out the same healing effects. Here are ways the two help with chronic inflammation. 1. They stop the production of specific enzymes in the inflammatory cascade that make inflammatory cytokines. The constituents of cannabis and endocannabinoids modulate the inflammatory process at multiple levels, thanks to the complexity of the system and the beauty of cannabis’ intervention.

2. They prevent immune cells from releasing inflammatory cytokines. Immune cells race the inflammation site and produce more inflammatory cytokines to keep the party going. But the binding of CB1 and CB2 receptors by your endocannabinoids and THC on the surfaces of activated immune cells (T cells, B cells, macrophages, antigen-presenting cells and dendritic cells) induces apoptosis – a fancy word for programmed cell death. Endocannabinoids and CBD activate apoptosis on immune cells (Helper T-cells and Killer T-cells) that are also overproducing inflammatory cytokines.

LIFESTYLE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN FIGHTING INFLAMMATION I want to reiterate – cannabis is great for inflammation. However,

4. They can kill the immune cells that produce inflammatory cytokines. In some cases, the binding of cannabis to CB1 and CB2 receptors actually induces cell death.

Cannabis versus pharmaceuticals In a nutshell, cannabis and the that this beautiful, miraculous endocannabinoid system have a multipronged approach to tackling plant doesn’t have superpowers inflammation while pharmaceuticals to combat all the inflammatory have only one – they decrease the behaviors an individual engages production or release of cytokines as described above. And THC is twice with all day, every day. as strong as cortisone and 20 times stronger than aspirin for relieving inflammation. CBD is 200 times stronger than aspirin! 3. They decrease the proliferation of The great thing about cannabis and inflammation is immune cells that make inflammatory chemicals. that most of the chemical components within the plant work Along with killing the activated cells, cannabinoids bind CB2 toward decreasing inflammation. They might work on different receptors on the activated immune cells to prevent them from enzymes or by different mechanisms, but most cannabinoids making more inflammatory-producing cytokines. Think of it as are anti-inflammatory. immune-cell birth control.

we also need to acknowledge

September 2023 • FLX420.com

How the ECS and Cannabis

Fight Inflammation

THC every four to six hours. If you don’t want to work with THC, a beautiful and effective alternative is a 1:1 ratio of CBD to CBDA. Any flower that contains the cannabinoids you are looking for (THC, THCA, CBD, CBDA, CBG) wil be lovely for making your tincture. If you are branching out into the terpene world. Flowers high in anti-inflammatory terpenes – caryophyllene, pinene, myrcene, linalool and limonene – will also be beneficial.

Taking your medicine The big question, then, is this: what form of cannabis should you work with to help with chronic inflammation? The best option would be whole-plant medicine in oral form (as an herbalist I say “tincture”) in a 1:1 ratio of CBD to

Lifestyle plays an important role in fighting inflammation I want to reiterate – cannabis is great for inflammation. However, we also need to acknowledge that this beautiful, miraculous plant doesn’t have superpowers to combat all the inflammatory behaviors an individual engages with all day, every day. If everything else you do in your life promotes the inflammatory response, then teeny tiny but magnificent cannabis doesn’t stand a chance. We discussed the ways your lifestyle contributes to

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FLX420.com • September 2023

hope you now have a better understanding of the entire process of inflammation and can create a multi-pronged approach to working with it that can include our friend, cannabis. Here is a list of books and other resources that you might find helpful.

reducing chronic pain, and it also helps reduce chronic inflammation. The collective consciousness and Western science are finally beginning to understand wholeness, interconnectedness and interdependence – concepts that the first people’s sciences have been teaching us from the beginning. We cannot live an inflammatory life inside and out and expect an herb, a pill or any other single thing to correct it. If you’re over 40, it’s even more important to live a healthy anti-inflammatory lifestyle. Here are some major categories to consider and research further. • Decreasing chronic inflammatory thoughts and emotions. • Moving your body every day for at least 45 minutes. • Getting outside in the natural world. • Undergoing an “oil change”: increasing Omega-3 fatty acids and decreasing Omega-6 fatty acids. • Cleaning the gut for a healthy gut flora/microbiome. • Eliminating foods that irritate the gut lining and cause inflammatory reactions. • Eliminating ongoing triggers of inflammation.

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach, Ph.D. Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, Sexy, and Smart – Until You’re 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowly and Henry Lodge, M.D. Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom by Rich Hanson Avivaromm.com, the website of physician, midwife and herbalist Aviva Room. It features great information, include advice on the elimination diet. My blog and courses found at tammisweet.com, including my short course on inflammation (coupon code: flxfree), and my full course, The Healing Power of Inflammation (25 percent off coupon code: flx25off). Tammi Sweet is the co-founder and co-director of The Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials near Ithaca. She offers workshops and classes there in both cannabis and herbal medicine, along with a variety of courses in anatomy and physiology online. For the past 30 years she has taught a range of students in a variety of learning environments. Sweet is a licensed massage therapist and holds a master’s degree in endocrinology. To learn more, visit heart-stone.com/cannabis.

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September 2023 • FLX420.com

NOWAVE

Transforms Plants into Products by Victoria Ritter

s the New York cannabis market continues to unfold, Rochester-based processor Nowave is making sure it’s staying ahead of the game. Nowave is one of 40 cannabinoid processors in the state with an extracting and manufacturing license. Four friends, Doug Suraci, Robert Anderson, Frank Bonafide and Kyle Shea founded the company in 2014. They initially operated out of a 500-square-foot space in the back of a retail store, making CBD gummies. As more dispensaries began to carry CBD, Nowave operated as a hemp processor. The company moved both its vape and CBD gummies into a building just a few blocks away from its original site. With the demand for their products increasing, the Nowave team realized they would need to further expand their operations. Nowave’s current facility opened

last September, spanning 32,000 square feet, with space to expand. The building contains offices, a warehouse, labs, cleanrooms, a batching kitchen, extraction rooms and freezers, all laid out for easy egress. “We’ve rented a lot of older buildings and remodeled them. We figured out what works and what doesn’t,” Suraci said. “I was able to bring a full, clean design to this building for workflow.” Work hard, play hard When it comes to crafting cannabis products, it pays to be thorough. Brian Lane, Nowave’s owner and compliance officer, ensures quality through every step of the process through good manufacturing practices. From the time biomass arrives at the facility to after products ship from the warehouse, everything is documented. Logs detailing the

date biomass arrives, where it comes from and batch records help ensure that batches aren’t lost and strains aren’t crossed. Every ingredient is accounted for. “If you pull a product out and look at the barcode on the bottom, I can tell you all the lot numbers of every ingredient that went into the product,” Lane said. Nowave has high-performance liquid chromatography analyzers on site to make sure they’re “ahead of the game before we even go to a third-party testing lab,” according to Lane. Product quality remains consistent thanks to testing biomass and mixtures through all steps of the manufacturing process. As a result, Nowave’s reputation

Left: Labeling is the last step in a long process before products are shipped from Nowave’s warehouse. Each label has a barcode that, if scanned, provides information specific to that batch.

as a safe and thorough processor has spread from farmers to state authorities. “Five of our farms have been raving about us,” Lane stated. “Right now, we’re looking very good to the OCM because they like our thoroughness.” Nowave’s 45 to 50 employees make use of the work-fun balance that the company provides. There is a recreational space – complete with exercise equipment, a pinball machine and bubble hockey game – near the warehouse. A full bar and kitchen are located at the front of the building. There are even plans to build an outdoor patio. “We set it up to entertain as well as work,” Saruci said, adding he wants to make sure that employees feel comfortable. Only the freshest ingredients The company’s high-quality products start with quality biomass from about 15 farmers. “We work with farms all the way from Long Island to Niagara Falls and Batavia.” Lane said. In return, all but three have a partnership with Nowave to receive products made from a portion of their plants. “Once we extract the cultivator’s biomass, we’ll hold their distillate and only use it for their products. Everything’s labeled,” Suraci said. Nowave’s marketing team works with some farms to package and brand their products. Last autumn, Bonafide and Lane drove to 45 small farms across the state to offer their expertise in setting up pre-roll production. “It’s helped the farmers get products to market as well,” Suraci said. Growers have brought in more than 20,000 pounds of highquality flower for Nowave to turn into various extracts. Much of this is fresh frozen flower, which is used for solventless and hydrocarbon extractions, Suraci explained. Every part of the part of the plant is kept intact and can be used for live rosin and resin extracts. Water quality is paramount to producing a premium product. Nowave creates its own water by filtering tap water in three different ways. Through reverse osmosis, it produces water for cooking and making gummies. Deionized water is sanitary and best for cleaning equipment. Finally, Nowave creates its own spring water by reintroducing minerals; the end product forms the base of its beverage line, Weed Water. Getting down to the good stuff At the back of Nowave’s building are two extraction rooms. While some marijuana processors buy modular clean rooms for the extraction process, the Nowave team built their own. “Basically, we built the exact same extraction room in our former building,” Lane said. “That’s why we knew how to build it.” The extraction rooms are the sturdiest and safest areas of the facility. Everything inside – from the cameras to the lights – are sparkproof and explosion-proof. “The employees feel safe and the fire marshals are happy with us,” Lane said. To extract the oil, the biomass is ground up and carefully packed into bags, which are just as carefully loaded into the extractor, which spins at 1,500 rpm. Nowave can extract small batches (30 pounds) as well as larger batches (500 pounds). For ethanol extraction, the biomass, frozen at -80 degrees and mixed with ethanol – pumped directly into the extractor – which is

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Doug Suraci, co-founder and creative director of Nowave

Batching takes place in a fully HEPA-filtered cleanroom. Nowave can batch anything from 1 milliliter to 1 gallon.

Brian Lane, compliance officer at Nowave

chilled to -40 degrees. “The colder it is, the better chance you’re going to pull oils out,” Lane said. “It gives us a better yield on our distillate.” Once the oil is extracted, the biomass is discarded. The ethanol is filtered out and can be reused up to 10 times. Another extraction method Nowave utilizes includes hydrocarbon, which utilizes butane to keep terpenes intact; this makes the oil ideal for gummies, concentrates and vapes. “With the terpenes intact, now it’s a strainspecific extract,” Suraci said. Nowave also uses solventless extraction,

during which the fresh-frozen flower is combined with ice and water and sifted through bubble bags. The end product is a light-colored dust which can be processed into rosin. “It’s the least-efficient extraction we do here,” Suraci said. “The yields are so small compared to ethanol or the hydrocarbon.” The next step is distillation, which takes between three to four days to complete. The cannabinoid oil is cleaned up and transforms from a dark substance to a golden color. The distillate is then stored until Nowave needs to make a product. Purposeful packaging For the Nowave team, sustainable packaging is just as important as the contents it holds. Gummies are shipped in recyclable aluminum tins. Vapes are in 100-percent paper tubes; even the child-proof lock is made out of paper. “Trying to keep everything sustainable and healthy for people and the environment is really important to us,” said Sari Oister, head of marketing. Nowave’s warehouse contains about 200,000 units that are tested and ready to ship to dispensaries, Lane said. Nowave is able to send items containing CBD in the mail, but must ship recreational items containing THC themselves. “We have to literally pack our own truck and drive every product we make to the dispensaries ourselves,” Suraci said. Currently, Nowave ships to 13 legal dispensaries. Suraci’s goal is to be in most dispensaries in the state. He hopes that more dispensaries continue to receive CAURD licenses and is excited to help them succeed. “I’d like to make a name for us on the East Coast and New York State,” Saruci said.

Organic and Synthetic Fertilizers to Solve Growers’ Biggest Issues By Tina Manzer

regon-based Aurora Innovations/Roots Organics is split into two segments. The first – which is the “bloodline” of the business – is a fully-certified organic side which features a wide variety of soil mixtures, fertilizers, peat and perlite. The second focuses on synthetics with chemical-based fertilizers. “We believe in two different ideologies: a full organic approach, or a ‘synganic’ methodology that involves synthetics and organics,” stated Aurora Innovations/Roots Organics Director Bryan Davis. “An example would be using the Soul Sensei synthetic fertilizer and then top-dressing it with our organic Terp Teas to get the large flowers of a synthetic plus organic flavor.” Soul Sensei, a three-part system, is feeding FLX420’s home grow. The fertilizers come in bottles labeled Grow, Micro and Bloom, and each includes different nutrients that every plant needs: the macronutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – plus micronutrients that optimize the plant’s access to the major nutrients. Growers can customize the system or use it as is, depending on the nutrients the plant needs. Three-part fertilizers for cannabis have been around since the late 1970s and early ’80s, “but they hadn’t improved very much until we stepped into the arena,” Davis said. When it did, Aurora Innovations/Roots Organics set out to find solutions for growers’ biggest problems: a lack of pH stability, the need for more bioavailability and salt buildup. Down to the smallest detail The company spent roughly five years sourcing high quality inputs for their synthetic plant food, thus creating the cleanest and most bioavailable synthetic. Its sourcing

expertise goes back 23 years to its founders – two cannabis-farmer friends rooted in Oregon’s hippie culture. They developed organic soil and fertilizers for growing cannabis that today includes worm castings, bat guano, peat, coco, beneficial bacteria, beneficial fungi, fish protein, bone meal, kelp and more, sourced locally and around the world. “The heartbeat of Aurora Innovations/ Roots Organics is clean, sustainable and responsibly sourced materials and inputs,” Davis said. “Eighty to 90 percent of our business is soils. People just love them,” he added. “They’ve developed a cult following across the country.” Shipping a truck-full of soil to the East Coast from Oregon was cost prohibitive, so six years ago the company opened a factory in Goshen, NY. “We wanted to make sure East Coast people had what we feel is the best organic soil on the market. It’s CDFA-certified – California Department of Food & Agriculture, the strictest standards there are.” In addition to the Goshen factory, Aurora owns peat bogs in Canada and two worm farms. Davis said its worm casting are “the caviar of worm products” because they’re fed such a high-quality diet. “At times, even live worms hatch under the proper conditions, which enhances a grower’s soil significantly.” To maintain quality control, Aurora Innovations/Roots Organics does everything in-house. It is vertically integrated to control all aspects of production. “There’s not one manufacturing task we outsource. It’s really the key to our philosophy and ultimate success,” Davis said. The Eugene facility is the heart of the company. It features a $1 million high-tech lab, a greenhouse

for product testing and a hammer mill that grinds organic material for powdered fertilizers. All the nutrients are manufactured there. Before he became head of Aurora Innovations/Roots Organics, Davis ran hydroponics stores for 10 years. He’s grown cannabis since 2006. “I don’t know any other company in the hydroponic space that does what we do in terms of quality control,” he said. There’s no “best” way to grow pot, Davis concluded. It depends on the approach you want to take with your garden. “I love full organics but there’s a space for everything. That’s why we have an extensive catalog of products that includes a variety of grow mediums, liquid and powdered nutrients and supplements, and organic and synthetic lines. A lot of people look at that and say, ‘Oh that’s just marketing. They want us to buy all that stuff.’ No, it’s really so that you choose whatever works for you and how you see your grow. You can use as little as two products (liquid or dry) and have a successful grow with our brand.” Nutrients from Roots Organics, headquartered in Eugene, OR, are being used in FLX420’s current indoor grow. September 2023 • FLX420.com

FLX420

Indoor Home Grow by Levi LeGrow photos by Missy Kelly

elcome back to the second part of the FLX420 home grow series! Dr. Dankenstein shared some new techniques with me that will hopefully increase my overall yield as well as produce better-tasting buds and provide a DIY for first-time home growers or even some helpful tips for experienced growers.

Topping With this grow, I topped the plants at least three to four times during the vegetative stage. Topping involves clipping off the very top shoot from the plant’s branches. Once you clip the top shoot, the top node splits from one shoot into two. You can do this multiple times through the vegetative stage to maintain the desired canopy height. For some cannabis strains, this technique will produce a nice bushy structure and wide, even canopy, providing a higher yield potential per plant. The topping technique should only be performed during vegetative growth. The plants in this grow are showing more bud sites (below, right) and level canopies than my first grow using the topping technique (below, left).

Comparing plants grown last year (left) to the ones grown this year (right) at the same week of growth.

FLX420.com • September 2023

Status of the plants so far

Super-cropping

Super-cropping is the method of taking branch growth that is too tall compared to the rest of the Every strain seems to be plant and bending it in the desired direction of growth doing well. Two of my plants until the stem’s internal structure breaks. The goal is to were showing bright green break the inner fibers while leaving the outer structure leaves which Dr. Dankenstein free from damage. said was from a lack of After a few days, you will notice a knuckle forming phosphorus. To compensate, at the bend. This stress increases the plant’s ability to we will increase the amount of deliver nutrients to the top nodes on that branch, nutrients containing phosphorus while opening the lower branches to more light. which in this case would be Soul I tried this technique with one of the plants but Sensi Bloom. One of our plants was not very successful at it. The super-cropped had no pistils at all on any of the branch did form a knuckle but still outgrew my buds. I opened the calyxes and other branches because I did not do a good found baby seeds! This was a good job of securing the bent branch with ties to indication that the plant was in the keep it level with the rest of the canopy. process of changing its sex from female to Through continued training and male; I immediately removed the plant from topping, these plants were still able the tent to protect the other female plants from to even things out in the end. becoming pollinated.

Delay watering during early flowering “Push the plants” as Dr. Dank would say, simply means waiting a little longer between each watering; this causes your plants to stimulate root growth. Letting your soil dry a little bit longer will force the plant to increase its root base in search of water. A strong root base is essential to growing big, healthy buds. In a couple of instances, I may have pushed a little too far. However, the plants seemed to rebound within a day after a good watering. The pictures below show a plant needing water (left) and that same plant 24 hours later after receiving a good watering (right). Pushed

Rejuvinated

September 2023 • FLX420.com

Plants showing early buds at Week 6 of flowering FLX Flowers

Jughead F1

Heirloom Organics by Skaneateles Seed Company

Lifted Leaf Labs @liftedleaflabs Aroma: gassy, diesel

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Pungent Punch

Empire Strikes Mac

Shadow Born Genetics

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Holy Communion

Aroma: sweet and a little earthy

London Pound Cake

Piff Coast Farms

Lightning Ridge Farms

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Aroma: very subtle gassy smell, almost like natural gas

Aroma: gassy, diesel

The Indoor Grow Environment Grow Tent During vegetative: Lights on 18 hours, off 6 hours During flowering: Lights on 12 hours, off 12 hours Light position: 32 inches above canopy; 585.35 umol/s/m2 PPFD Average humidity: 60 percent during vegetative state, 50 to 55 percent during flowering state Average temperature: 82 degrees light on /69 degrees light is off

During flowering, I increased the intensity of the light to 95 percent, which increased the temperature of the tent. To help balance the overall temperature, I partially unzipped the sides of the tent – this increased air exchange and released some of the heat. This also helped keep the humidity in a lower and more ideal range for flowering, since higher humidity can create mold and mildew problems.

FLX420.com • September 2023

Thank you to our sponsors of the home grow:

• Soul Sensi nutrients from Roots Organics • Greenfields soil from Roots Organics

• Mini Mixer with flow controller from Aeromixer

• Tarantula Vulcan LED light from Grand Master LED

Side view, before

Overhead, before

Defoliation/ lollipopping during vegetative

Side view, after

During the entire vegetative stage, I was clipping fan leaves that looked unhealthy or that were obstructing air flow or light. Although I did not use the “lollipopping” technique for my first grow, Dr. Dankenstein suggested I do it with this one. Basically, you are stripping away undergrowth and creating a well-defined canopy with the intention of pushing robust new growth to the top of the branches. When the plants entered the flowering stage, I defoliated them, continuing to remove fan leaves that were blocking bud sites and removing small “popcorn buds” below the canopy.

Overhead, after

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FLX420

Outdoor Home Grow Canna Whoop-Ass — Blueberry Muffin

Scorch — Blueberry Muffin

he Grow-Off continues as our 12 volunteer growers look after their outdoor plants. The seedlings, generously donated by sponsor, Humboldt Seed Company, were grown in FLX420’s indoor grow tent for about two months before going to their new homes; chilly temperatures in May delayed the outdoor grow until early June. Our growers received strains of Blueberry Muffin and Poddy Mouth, a bottle of microalgae – a gift from our second sponsor, SmartAlgae – and were wished the best of luck. The growers had their hands full. They helped their plants flourish in their vegetative stage as they battled the heat, haze from massive Canadian wildfires, insects and growing pains. Many kept meticulous records of watering patterns, added nutrients and the plants’ progress. A couple even offered encouraging words to their plants as they grew, reaching anywhere from 20 inches to 49 inches tall. Keep reading in the following pages to hear more about their odyssey through the FLX420 outdoor grow. Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.

From Canna Whoop-Ass, in Geneva

On May 31, I planted my two Blueberry Muffin plants in my raised garden with purple beans behind them. By the next day, the plants were visibly very stressed by the intense sun. I tried sprinkling some water on their dry, dying leaves but I made a terrible mistake! What I though was a gentle sprinkle seems to have trampled them like a herd of wildebeests. I feel nearly as devastated as Simba as I nudged them for signs of life. I told them I love them and I’m sorry. I hoped it helped. By June 2, the plants sprung back up like nothing happened. Silly fakers. I forgave them though, they’re so cute. The plants continued to grow, still hating the sun. The rain seemed to beat them down, but I sang to them and they seemed to like that, and installing support cages helped too. One plant is chronically yellow and is especially sensitive to sun and heat. Even so, by mid-July, these beauties looked lush and were filling out a lot. I defoliated them the following weekend. The plants are sprayed with diluted peppermint oil and lemongrass oil. Also, the bean plants behind them are big now and have their bean flowers, and there is some random basil in a few spots around them, but it’s said to be a good companion plant, so I’m going to leave that for now. Tickled Pink – Poddy Mouth

FLX420.com • September 2023

From Scorch, in Webster

My plants, Poddy and Blue have reached 41 inches and 43 inches, respectively. I planted marigolds and dill at the start to discourage pests throughout the growing process. Blue has been watered periodically with SmartAlgae. I added Burpee brand’s natural and organic Tomato + Vegetable Granular Plant Food to all plants’ soil in early July. A small number of leaves on each plant have some spotting, but otherwise seem very healthy.

From Tickled Pink, in Stanley

The growth experience for my plant, Poddy Mouth, has been great! I haven’t had any real problems with them at all. I didn’t see any bugs. I have moved its location from time to time on my deck or just below my deck. Poddy Mouth has never given me problems with droopy leaves, or really anything. I have mixed tomato micro grow feed in her soil twice since I had her, along with eggshells and a small amount of orange juice. I added some mulch to the pot, which keeps the soil watered and moist. I do that with my flowers and vegetable plants and it’s always worked for me. I’m having fun with the growth process, and glad I had the opportunity to do it. I think it is one of the most beautiful plants!

From Smokey Joe, in Shortsville

I kept my Poddy Mouth plant in its original container outdoors in partial sun for the first couple days before planting it in my perennial garden. I planted companion plants – including marigolds, basil, rosemary and dill – to help with bug and critter control. In Week 2, she appeared to have an infestation, so I sprayed it with Neem Oil Mixture. The next day, there was no sign of bugs, but the top leaves had little holes with a white substance. I applied more Neem Oil. The bug infestation continued to be my main concern in Week 3. There were holes in her yellowing leaves. I continued to reapply Neem Oil. I decided to remove Poddy Mouth from the garden in Week 4. I potted her with fresh soil mixed with Worm Poop and placed her on my back deck in full sun. After watering, I applied Neem Oil and Diatomaceous Earth on top of the soil. Later, I mixed Organic REV with water and applied the plant. REV is an organic concentrate that improves plant blooming and fruiting, root masses and nutrient uptake as well as fertilizer and chemical effectiveness. In Week 5, I caught the bug that had been damaging the plant – a cucumber beetle. I saw several more in the weeks to come, so I purchased sticky traps. By Week 8, the bugs were gone. I started watering with Miracle-Gro Plant Food. She looks better now and may recover. As of July 19 she was 42 inches tall.

From Opa, in Penn Yan

I originally started seed, using Poddy Mouth from Humboldt Seed Company, using natural light around March 17. Germination went great but the seedlings became too tall and spindly to support themselves. So, I restarted seeds on April 3 using an AokdoPetrichor Red & Blue LED indoor grow light from Amazon. Germination again went very well. After about two weeks, I switched over to my indoor grow tent and Phantom PhotoBio MX lighting system. The plants were very happy about this. I watered sparingly using Rock Nutrients’ Rock Rootinator and Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow. When I transplanted them into in 3.5-gallon buckets the plants on May 27 they were approximately 6 inches tall with a solid root system. I used a mixture of Pro-Mix LP15

and Garden Magic Compost and Manure for soil media. I then placed the buckets in a large outdoor planter with Pro-Mix LP15 underneath and around the bucket. On May 28, I placed the plants outside on a cement patio where they get more than eight hours of direct sunlight. With all the rain we’ve had, I had to only occasionally supplement watering with the Botanicare Pure Blend Pro. The plant is now approximately 43 inches tall. I have recently noticed a little browning on the some of the upper leaf edge, which I am guessing is from over-watering. Overall, I think the plants are doing well.

From The Garden Hoe, in Canandaigua

This will be my first cannabis grow. I live in a dense neighborhood in town so I had security concerns. Gardening considerations won out over security concerns. I decided to put the plant in a 15-gallon pot in soil recommended to me by my local hydroponics store. I transplanted it on May 31 and placed it on my backyard sidewalk. The location gets about seven hours of direct sunlight each day. It was very healthy, but pretty rootbound. When I took it out of its 1-gallon pot, I gently pulled it apart and nestled it into the dirt. I didn’t water it then since the root ball was wet going in. Seriously, I pretty much ignored the plant throughout June. I turned the pot every other day and periodically checked the dryness of the soil. As needed, I watered it with tap water that had been sitting in a plastic jug for 24 hours. It was probably once a week, less if we had rain. June temperatures ranged from a low of 55 degrees to as high as 92 degrees. June 6 through 8, there was a heavy haze and smoke floating over the Northeast from wildfires in Canada. Five weeks after planting, I noticed a few yellow leaves at the bottom near the stalk. I pinched them and continue to pinch leaves near the bottom to optimize air flow. I also put the plant on a more regular watering schedule. Even after it rains, I have been watering every other day, adding SmartAlgae two or three times each week.

Smokey Joe — Poddy Mouth

Opa — Poddy Mouth

From Pondside, in Clifton Springs I planted Poddy Mouth and Blueberry Muffin on May 3. Both are doing pretty well

(Continued on page 36)

The Garden Hoe — Blueberry Muffin

September 2023 • FLX420.com

FLX420

Outdoor Home Grow with no bugs, but Poddy Mouth is doing a little better. Poddy Mouth was a little over-watered when it was raining so much, but it didn’t seem to have as big of an impact. When I first planted her, she was 10 inches tall; today she stands 3 feet, 3 inches. Blueberry Muffin was 13 inches tall when I first planted her. Now she is 4 feet, 1 inch. Pondside — Poddy Mouth

Empress of Dirt — Blueberry Muffin

From Empress of Dirt, in Bloomfield

I brought my Blueberry Muffin (named Esmerelda) home on May 31. I repotted her on June 3 using Miracle Grow potting soil, into a 12-inch diameter pot (in retrospect, I should have gone bigger). I put her on my back deck, which gets full sun and lots of wind up on the hill. She took to her new digs right away and started growing immediately. I watered every one to two days, unless it rained. I also fed her with the special solution every third watering. She had her first trim June 9. I pruned her lower leaves and put the growing cage on. Since then, she’s been growing steadily. No sign of pests or spots on the leaves. In the last two weeks, I’ve been noticing her overall color is turning more yellow-green. I don’t know if that’s normal or because of over or under-watering, but I’m keeping an eye on her and clipping off any lower leaves that turn yellow. Esmeralda is currently about three feet above the soil line. I’ve seen pictures of the other growers’ plants and they are much bigger than mine. I’m sure it’s because they have larger pots (or maybe my Esmeralda is an underachiever – I still love her). I thought about putting her in a bigger pot but at this stage, for the sake of the experiment, it might be valuable information to see how she will produce remaining in the smaller pot. So far, she remains healthy and beautiful … and pungent.

From Blooming Girl, in Seneca Falls

Blooming Girl — Blueberry Muffin

FLX420.com • September 2023

I potted my Blueberry Muffin plant in Miracle-Gro potting mix and set inside the garden on May 31. I decided to plant it in a pot because we have clay soil in our area. I used Burpee Organic Tomato + Vegetable Granular Plant Food at the two-week mark and haven’t

added any more since then. There were no bugs thus far, and it steadily grew bigger in its pot in the garden until about Week 6 (July 14 or so). It’s stalled out around about 46 inches tall. It has had plenty of water – I’ve watered it every few days or so around the rain we’ve gotten almost every other day this summer. There are a few lower leaves that have turned yellow within the last week (July 25) but other than that, it looks healthy with a nice sturdy center stem and lots of leaves.

From Big Buck, in Rushville

I planted both my Blueberry and Poddy Mouth plants in “mushroom” soil that I bought from a local nursery. Poddy Mouth on the left is 44 inches tall and Blueberry Muffin is 49 inches tall. I feed them once per week with Fox Farm Grow Big liquid plant food and I rotate the plants 180 degrees twice per week to make sure they get sun on equal sides.

From Late Bloomer, in South Bristol

On May 30, I planted my cannabis aside a mountain top overlooking Canandaigua Lake, facing east. I settled on a secluded area near the edge of the forest; the perfect place to nurture my plants away from prying eyes. It was difficult to dig and cultivate the soil as I was planting in a patch of brush that was hard and cluttered with roots and vines. I planted Blueberry Muffin and Poddy Mouth approximately 6 feet apart. It’s about 65 degrees at night consistently this week. I gave them a dose of water mixed with Smart Algae each morning to give them an encouraging start. Early on, I noticed that each plant was plucked from its hole and laid gently beside it. I placed each of them back and covered the base with small stones to protect the delicate stems. A friend theorized that this was the work of moles, pushing the plants up from the earth. However, I was doubtful, as the soil was so difficult to cultivate. Another friend theorized that deer were the culprit, attracted to their rich scent. By the time I was seriously considering moving the plants, the trickery subsided. On July 27, I carefully trimmed the stems that were clearly not thriving. This was a terrifying

Big Buck — Poddy Mouth

Late Bloomer — Poddy Mouth (left) Blueberry Muffin (right)

Pistil Pete — Poddy Mouth

Professional Grade Plant Performance

~ Increase Nutrient Use Efficiency Professional Professional Grade Grade Plant Performance process for me. I am an avid gardener, not new to trimming and pruning, but still nervous that I would make a grave error. Time will tell if my pruning was done correctly.

Pistil Pete indoor controlled grow of both strains

We thought it would be fun to keep two of the plants indoors so that we have a comparison of outdoor grow (natural environment) versus indoor grow (controlled environment). Since I’m growing indoors, my plants are currently at the late flowering stage. The front cover of the magazine features my Poddy Mouth plant from the indoor grow. I’ve been happy with the progression of both plants. The colors of Poddy Mouth are stunning and the buds have an earthy, sweet aroma. Blueberry Muffin was a bit temperamental at times with yellowing of leaves and brittle interior growth, but she has rebounded with buds that have a blueberry, herbal scent to them.

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dank tank THE 38

Why Feed Charts Don’t Work … Also a Feed Chart Goooooooood Morning Grow Fam!

n this edition of the Dank Tank, I want to go over basic plant nutrition and why just following a feeding schedule alone is NOT always the way to get the best results! Before we can get into anything about plant nutrition or health, we need to understand a very important concept: limiting factors. This is to understand the combination of different factors that work together to create success in our plants’ lives as well as our own. For example, if you give someone an eating schedule that would be most optimal for building massive amounts of muscle but the person never exercises, they will not become massively muscular. In this case the limiting factor is exercise! Another example would be if you created a workout schedule to build massive muscles but didn’t eat anything. Now your limiting factor is food. This brings us back to how plant feeding schedules don’t work alone. We must understand the plants’ limiting factors (and our own) before being able to suggest what exactly the plant needs to become healthy and accomplished. The first factor is lighting! If we do not have the right spectrum or light intensity, it doesn’t matter what we feed our plant; they will not have the ability to use those nutrients and feeding it can actually have a negative effect, resulting in nutrient burn! Our next limiting factor is our environment. Just having too much humidity or too large of fluctuations in temperature can stop the plant from up-taking different nutrients. If we continue to provide those nutrients without fixing those factors (via a nutrient schedule), the nutrients will build up in the soil and negatively affect the plant, again resulting in nutrient burn and other negative side effects. There are two different ways to get around this. First is to provide too much of everything so there are no limiting factors at all. This is where you would supply so much light and so much food that the plant is constantly

FLX420.com • September 2023

and unnatural eating and growing. This is how a lot of traditional farming has been done for decades. Because of this, we have poisoned our waters and soils, making it extremely hard – even impossible – for plants to grow naturally in their own environments. This is the same thing that has happened with people in society. We have been over fed, over entertained; because of this, it is nearly impossible for Americans to exist happily and naturally in their true environment. The second approach (a less popular and more difficult approach) is to be hands-on with the plant and make honest observations and realizations. We must understand what factors are limiting our plants before we can make adjustments and remove those limitation. We have to do this honestly and without ego, when looking for limitations in our plant and in our own life. It’s too easy to deny the health issues of our plant because we are the gardener

3-PART WEEKLY FEED CHART PLANT STAGE

VEG

BLOOM

FLUSH

SENSEI GROW

2.5 ML

5 ML.

6.5 ML.

8 ML.

6.5 ML.

4.5 ML.

2.5 ML.

SENSEI BLOOM

2.5 ML

4 ML.

5 ML.

6 ML.

8.5 ML.

9.5 ML.

5.5 ML.

4.5 ML.

SENSEI MICRO

2.5 ML

5 ML.

7 ML.

8.5 ML.

7.5 ML.

6.5 ML.

4.5 ML.

2.5 ML.

WEEK

SEED

PRODUCT

and that would mean we are the dumb-dumb. This is the same with ourselves. It’s so much easier to look for excuses to cover up the reality that we are imperfect and actually suck at everything until we have tried, failed and learned the different factors that go into being successful. With all this being said, all living things need a base of the most essential things needed for life. The real secret to growing plants and ourselves is to meet the minimum, NOT the maximum! This allows for the natural potential of the plant (or person) to reach its peak and its best form. Simply because you have a lot of something does not mean you are better or more efficient. In fact, as we learned today, having the maximum of something can actual be unhealthy and will result in negative effects not only for us but the communities we belong to. When you meet the minimum of one thing you will then be able to discover your next limiting factor. Once you have dialed in all your limiting factors you can then create a schedule for your plants that meets all their needs according to your specific garden. So, I have included a nutrient chart but the only required parts of the schedule are the base: micro, grow and bloom. This will cover the basic needs of your plant NPK (nitrogen, phosorus and potassium). NPK are the basic macro-nutrients

your plant needs to live, and convert light into energy and growth! I am also going to include other elements that are beneficial and what they will do to your plant but not add them to any schedule. You can use them at your discretion to reach the outcome you desire. Listed below are a number of elements I like to add to my schedule with a rough outline of how I use them. Elemental: this is a calmag supplement that I top dress throughout veg and flower (it also contains sulfur to increase terpenes). Terp teas/Top dressed amendments: I use all three of the terp teas that Roots Organic has to offer. I top dress my outdoor plants and indoor plants. For each specific stage of life, Roots Organics has a terp tea for it: grow, bloom and micro. You can also brew a tea overnight, which makes the organic matter more quickly available for the plant or top dress and let the microbial life do its job as you water your plants. Trinity: This I consider like a readily available microbe stimulate that also contains many amino acids. I use it thought all of veg and all of flower. Surge: This will help increase your overall plant healthy and add non-essential elements like kelp and

molasses that will stimulate the hell out of your plants! It works well with Trinity and is intended to increase the overall smell and taste of the plant. I use through veg and the first four weeks of flower. Soul LBS: I use this depending on what strain I am growing and how the development is during flower. This acts as a PK booster as well as a microbe stimulant and terp enhancer. Typically, you would only run this during flower. If running this alongside of other PK boosters you run the risk of potentially pushing your plants too hard… which some people prefer but I prefer terps. Slf-100: This is one of the only non-Roots Organic products that I use. It contains enzymes that help break down salt buildup and other elements without disturbing the microbial activity. I use this throughout all stages of life from veg through flower but especially the end of flower before the chop. In conclusion, don’t feel you have to use any of this the way I do or at all. Perhaps you will use them differently and I highly encourage that! When growing our own plants or our own selves we should do so according to our own desired outcome. Not the outcome that society or anyone else tells you to desire. So have fun, try different things and don’t worry about who says what about it, too.

September 2023 • FLX420.com

goods THE This natural stone pipe from Great Lakes Stonery offers a cool and steady draw, is easy to clean and highly durable. Each stone is handcrafted to be a great smoking accessory and beautiful piece of art. greatlakesstonery.com

CBD Sugar Scrubby Bars from Empire Hemp Co. are available in three new summer scents: State Fair, Tea Time and Fruit Stand. Simply break off a piece, muddle with water, scrub your skin and rinse. empirehempco.com

FLX420.com • September 2023

The Kraken mirror from Alchemy of England features the terrifying leviathan, whose tentacles writhe up from the abysmal depths of history, as the perfect frame. Available at Arizona Traders in Auburn. Arizona Traders 1 on Facebook

GIFTS

Soak your cares away with a Relaxing CBD Bath Bomb from Glenna’s CBD. This bath bomb contains 20mg of CBD combined with Himalayan bath salts and essential oils. cbdbestoil.com

The Ispire Daab is a neat and rechargeable, electronic dab rig, perfect for dab enthusiasts. This futuristic, all-in-one e-rig promises a fireless dab experience that is precise, temperature-controlled and terpene-rich. Available at Dewey Avenue Smoke Shop in Rochester. deweyavesmokeshop.com

GROW

AC Infinity Netting 4x4 is designed for climbing plants. The elastic polyester threads offer weightbearing support while improving upward growth. Versatile steel hooks securely clip the heightadjustable trellis net onto your grow tent’s frame. Available through Homegrown Hydroponics. homegrown-hydro.com

Gazzurple feminized cannabis seeds from Humboldt Seed Company produce buds that will tingle your nasal region with gaseous aromas of diesel and sweet tartness. The plant grows like sativa, but the flowers have an indica structure. humboldtseedcompany.com

Soul LBS. flower booster from Aurora Innovations blends key micronutrients with easy dissolving phosphorus and potassium to increase flowering and yield. Available in a 3-pound bag. aurorainnovations.com

pH Perfect Sensi Grow 2-Part from Advanced Nutrients’ technology keeps pH levels where they need to be. This will help the plants’ growth phase as well as your peace of mind. Available through Harvest Moon Hydroponics. hmoonhydro.com

September 2023 • FLX420.com

THE

goods

Dripomene from One Hemp Holistics is a lozenge specifically made to help people with dry mouth. This is great for people who have dry mouths due to public speaking, diabetes, nonprescription medications, and more. onehempholistics.com

Blue Razz Chews from Vandy’s contain 10 gummies, each containing 25mg of THC. vandys585.com

GOODIES Pineapple Gelatin Gummy Pucks from Melt-To-Make have a refreshing and sweet pineapple flavor. Finished gummies will have a very pale yellow appearance. Comes in a 10kg case and is also available in pectin. melt-to-make.com

Lemonade Drink Packets from cbdMD provides a wholesome way to recharge, with no sugar or caffeine. Each packet contains 25mg of CBD, only 10 calories and can be used in any water-based drink – hot or cold. Available at Syracuse Hemporium in Syracuse. syracusehemporium.com

FLX420.com • September 2023

Grapefruit Kush Weed Water by Nowave has simple ingredients that give a subtle berry tang with sweet floral nuances. With 10mg of THC and 2 mg of CBD, the beverage offers uplifting feels to drinkers. Available in 6-packs. nowave.com

ollowing the success of its first Cannabis Career Summit last year, New York State Cannabis Connect held its second Catch A Cont@ct Career Summit on July 29 in Rochester. Supported by the NYS Department of Labor, the event was designed to provide an opportunity for emerging and established cannabis businesses to network with potential employees. New York State Cannabis Connect Founder and CEO Tiffany Walters took the stage as the keynote speaker, accompanied by her partner Jumaane Hughes. New this year was a networking mixer. The event was held the evening of the summit at Hyatt’s Center City Terrace and Lounge. Guests had the chance to enjoy refreshments, receive giveaways and further network. Follow New York State Cannabis Connect on social media or visit nyscannabisconnect.com to learn about upcoming networking events.

The Finger Lakes Region was the last to receive CAURD licenses due to an injunction, preceded by a lawsuit filed by Variscite NY One Inc. One of the companies, MJ Dispensary, has a known storefront in Henrietta, a southern suburb of Rochester. The OCM approved nine additional licenses in the Finger Lakes Region on July 19 among 212 licenses across the state. The licensees in the local area include: • GreenlakesDispo, LLC • Daniel S. Dennis • Kimberly Baldwin • JTCC NY LLC • Swan Lake Equity LLC • Jacob Calabria • 718 Equity Enterprise Inc. • D’Amico Group LLC • Evergreen Retail 1, LLC

talk

his summer, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management approved nearly 250 conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) licenses across the state. Of that number, 16 were given to businesses operating in the Finger Lakes Region. On June 16, seven companies in our region blazed the trail as the first ever licensees: • MJ Dispensary • William J. Wheeler • Mach Enterprises, LLC • Scott M. General • High Points of Finger Lakes, LLC • Canna Life LLC • Northfield Consulting, LLC

SMALL

he New York Cannabis & Hemp Convention is set for September 29 to 30 in Albany. The event will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. The event will feature exhibitors and programs geared around the local cannabis industry across the state; a list of exhibitors and programs will soon be available on NECANN’s website. The show is designed by the NECANN team to expand “market opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, patients, advocates and consumers.” To learn more and purchase tickets, visit necann.com/ newyorkconvention, call 207-756-5948 or email john@NECANN.com.

ank in Buffalo became the first legal dispensary to open in Western New York. The dispensary, owned by Aaron Van Camp, opened on July 18. Western New York’s second legal dispensary, Herbal IQ, opened its doors three days later. The state has set aside 22 licenses for the region, according to The Buffalo News.

Cultivating Sustainability Carbon Offset & Sustainability Planning

(607)-742-0977 • carbon-cannabis.com September 2023 • FLX420.com

THE limit

(Continued from page 46)

re-sealable mylar bags are ideal for preserving freshness of flower or edibles. Boxes can present vapes, chocolates and various products in a more attractive style. At Beast Coast, customers can choose from bags, jars, tubes, boxes and more. Kreuzer has seen a growing interest in gift/variety boxes which “give the product a higher sense of value, and create more of a consumer experience when opening and using the product.” “Mylar bags are the standard for a majority of our customers,” Kreuzer added. “Our custom mylar bags are the most popular item we sell.” Sustainability is a growing packaging trend in New York. Starting January 1, 2024, the OCM will require that packaging is not made of any plastic unless the plastic contains at least 25 percent of recycled content. Beast Coast is ahead of the regulations, offering sustainable packaging.

GREAT LAKES

STONERY

UNIQUE STONE PIPES

greatlakesstonery.com

FLX420.com • September 2023

Know your customer Packaging constitutes the majority of Beast Coast’s business, but it is an “advertising company at heart,” said Kreuzer. Beast Coast has produced more than 50 million products for 1,000 customers, Kreuzer reported. The key is knowing who to sell to and the client’s branding style. “We’ll follow the customers’ branding style and add to it,” he said. “That way, we can create a cohesive flow between the different products and the packaging.” Factors to consider include the target customers’ age, the use for which they require cannabis and what products are being marketed – from flower and edibles to vapes. “The older demographics, for example, will want micro-dosed gummies that look super professional – like something you can find at a pharmacy,” Kreuzer explained. “When you get into the highTHC content, people like the edgier styles. We’ll use deeper, darker colors for vapes to try to appease the younger market.” When consulting with a client about their branding, a member of the Beast Coast team will work to understand what the customer is looking for, what products they’re taking to market and the scope and style of their brand. From there, they will be escorted to the showroom to see past examples and get inspiration for their own project. Together, they will brainstorm ideas. “Once we feel like we have a good amount of information from the consultation, our designer will start making the first design,” Kreuzer said “Then we’ll go through the proofing process.” Beast Coast provides the option of either labeling or directly printing the design onto the containers. “It makes it look cleaner and more professional to direct print,” Kreuzer said. Before they know it, the client will see their product on a dispensary shelf, catching people’s eyes.

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Arizona Traders................................ facebook.com/arizonatraders1........................27 Aurora Innovations........................... aurorainnovations.com...................................48 Beast Coast Packaging..................... beastcoastpackaging.com.................................7 CannaZip Bags.................................. cannazipbags.com....................................... 16-17 Carbon Cannabis Consulting............ carbon-cannabis.com..................................... 43 Culligan Water.................................. watertreatmentbyculligan.com...................... 44 Empire Hemp.................................... empirehempco.com........................................45 Finger Lakes Community College..... flcc.edu..............................................................27 First National Bank of Groton........... grotonbank.com.............................................. 23 Glenna’s CBD Best Oil........................ glennascbd.com............................................... 44 Great Lakes Stonery......................... greatlakesstonery.com.................................... 44 Green Merchant Gardening & Hydroponics............ green-merchant.com........................................ 2 GreenEden........................................ greeneden.co....................................................37 Harvest Moon Hydroponics.............. hmoonhydro.com..............................................13 Homegrown Hydroponics................ homegrown-hydro.com....................................37 Jaydega7.0........................................ jaydega.com.......................................................9 JD Chapman Agency, Inc.................. jdchapmaninc.com/cannabis...........................12 Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW.................. local338.org......................................................21 Melt-to-Make Gummies.................... melt-to-make.com............................................15 Myers Security.................................. myerssecurity.com.......................................... 33 NECANN............................................ necann.com....................................................... 5 Smart Algae Solutions...................... smartalgaesolutions.com.................................47 Syracuse Hemporium....................... syracusehemporium.com............................... 43 Tri Emerald Management................. humboldtseedcompany.com............................14 Vandy’s.............................................. vandy585.com.........................................11, 24-25 Weed Ross......................................... weedross.com................................................. 22

While many traditional marketing vehicles (radio, TV, social media, billboards ...) are not available to promote cannabis brands, FLX420 magazine provides highly effective (and legal!) advertising opportunities that can set your brand apart from the rest of the pack. Contact Amy Colburn for more information at 315-789-6431, or amy@flx420.com. September 2023 • FLX420.com

limit THE

Labels Matter

at Beast Coast Packaging by Victoria Ritter

ackaging cannabis requires a creative mind and knowledge of the product and state regulations. Beast Coast Packaging Owner and Founder Tyler Kreuzer has balanced these factors to bolster brands and catch customers’ attention. Beast Coast Packaging, based out of Rochester, is a packaging and consulting firm which works with clients in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Maine and Canada. Kreuzer is excited to see New York companies’ branding and labeling evolve as the state’s legal cannabis market unfolds. “It’s been cool to see the cannabis industry start in New York,” he said. “I’ve gone to California frequently over the past 10 years so I saw their start as well. Over the years, I’ve watched companies go from jars to bags to boxes and their branding gets more

elevated. That’s what inspired me to focus on New York.” Kreuzer started Beast Coast Packaging in 2019 by providing label packaging for bags and jars. Today, the company provides about 50 products from labels, bottles, tubes boxes to signs and promotional materials. Balancing legal requirements with a fun style Branding and label design is a major step to gaining a customer’s attention as well as their loyalty. Kreuzer said he has seen people buy items simply because they were drawn to the packaging. “Designs are a top factor when it comes to the success of a product,” he said. “Branding is extremely important if you want to stand out from the rest on the shelf and gain consumer trust.” When it comes to crafting a label for marijuana products, New York stands apart from the other states with legal cannabis markets, Kreuzer said. The NY Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) packaging, labeling, marketing and advertising (PLMA) regulations states that packaging cannot use cartoons, bubble-type or cartoon-like fonts, colors that are “bright” (with a saturation

of more than 60 percent) and other elements that can be attractive to people under the age of 21. “We work with companies in California, Colorado and Arizona and they have free range to do anything. We can get super creative and use vibrant colors,” Kreuzer stated. “The design side in New York is geared more towards a professional, simpler style.” Additionally, the PLMA regulations require certain information to be printed on the principal packaging display panel including to the amount of THC and CBD (both per serving and in total), terpene profile, number of servings and weight of the product. “We really have to utilize a simple approach,” Kreuzer explained. “We’ll try to put the emphasis on the brand, give it a clean look with a simple gradient over the label. Glossy labels and oil finishes also attract attention. Formatting is huge when it comes to placing the information. It has to be big enough to follow the state guidelines, but also it needs to give space to certain elements that attracts eyes.” Pack it up Material and container shapes play an important part of packaging cannabis. Miron and glass jars and (Continued on page 44)

FLX420.com • September 2023

The best ingredients make the best products.