THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE
#113 | NOV. 2023
FEATURING
ALTA GARDENS // pg. 32
BENSON ARBOR // pg. 36
LEFT COAST STANDARD // pg. 40
TRUECARE FARMS // pg. 44
CHOCOLATE MINT OG BY ALTA GARDENS
THE HARVEST ISSUE F RE E / L E A F M AGA Z I N E S . COM
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ENTRY INTAKE WINDOW NOW OPEN!
NOV. 1 - DEC. 31, 2023 GENERAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 20 grams of flower, 10 grams of concentrate, 10 units of cartridges / pre-rolls / edibles / topicals.
$420 per entry. For every 3
entries you buy, you get a 4th entry free!
Accepting entries starting November 1, 2023. Final deadline for entry TBA.
2024 OREGON LEAF BOWL CATEGORIES FLOWER PRODUCTION METHODS • INDOOR • MIXED-LIGHT/GREENHOUSE • LIGHT DEP • FULL-TERM SUNGROWN
*NEW FLAVOR PROFILES!* • GAS, OG & CHEM • TROPICAL & FLORAL • DESSERTS • SWEETS & DREAMS • JACKS & HAZES • EXOTICS • OPEN CATEGORY • CBD-RICH (1:1 OR BET TER - NO HEMP) Enter your flower by how it’s grown, then pick the category that best represents it’s flavor profile ... or enter in the Open Category for some battle royale-style competition!
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INFUSED PRODUCTS EDIBLES
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• CREAMS/LOTIONS • BALMS/SALVES • BEAUT Y PRODUCTS • SPRAYS/OILS • TRANSDERMALS • CBD ONLY
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ALTA GARDENS
TONY SIMONELLI
FEATURES
8
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
MEDFORD SHOP REVIEW
QUEST GLASS 24
50 HOLIDAZE COOKIN’ CANNABIS RECIPES
BORO PHOTOGRAPHER
TONY SIMONELLI
CENTER
GLASS ART SPOTLIGHT
BRUCE WOLF
HIGH, OREGON!
TOP SHELF WELLNESS
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#113
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NOV. 2023
issue
EDITOR’S NOTE SHOP REVIEW EDIBLE OF THE MONTH CONCENTRATE OF THE MONTH QUEST GLASS SPOTLIGHT STRAIN OF THE MONTH ALTA GARDENS BENSON ARBOR LEFT COAST STANDARD TRUECARE FARMS COOKING WITH CANNABIS STONEY BALONEY
BENSON ARBOR
THE HARVEST ISSUE LEFT COAST STANDARD
NOV. 2023
TRUECARE FARMS HARVEST PROFILES by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX | PHOTOS by TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY
LEAFLINK
WWW.TOKYOSTARFISH.COM
CANNABIS PRE-ROLLS
THIS IS HOW WE ROCKET. HAPPY TURKEY DAY, YO! Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use by adults 21 years of age and older. Keep out of reach of children.
E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0
T H E E N L I G H T E N E D VO I C E
N O RT H W E S T L E A F / O R EG O N L E A F / A L AS KA L E A F / M A RY L A N D L E A F / CA L I F O R N I A L E A F / N O RT H E AS T L E A F / U TA H L E A F
A B O U T T H E C OV E R The Harvest Issue is always among our most highly anticipated editions, and this month’s coveted cover feature goes to a very deserving flower indeed: Chocolate Mint OG from Alta Gardens, located in Southern Oregon’s scenic Rogue Valley area. The farm is one of four profiled by Editor Wes Abney, who visited the sites with longtime Oregon Leaf contributor Tony Simonelli, whose stunning photography graces the cover and so many of the pages in this sticky issue. Be sure to check out our other markets’ Harvest Issues for a look at Cannabis grown around the country! PHOTO BY TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY
WES ABNEY C E O & F O U N D E R wes@leafmagazines.com
CONTRIBUTORS
MIKE RICKER O P E R AT I N G PA R T N E R
BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN + FEATURES
WES ABNEY, FEATURES
ricker@leafmagazines.com
JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION
TOM BOWERS C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R tom@leafmagazines.com
BORO PHOTOGRAPHER, PHOTOS TOM BOWERS, FEATURES
DANIEL BERMAN C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R
AMANDA DAY, FEATURES + PHOTOS
daniel@leafmagazines.com
MAX EARLY, FEATURES
AMANDA DAY STAT E C O N T E N T D I R E C T O R amanda@leafmagazines.com
WES
ABNEY
Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up The Harvest Issue of Oregon Leaf! I remember the first time I saw a photo of a Cannabis plant, and it forever changed my perspective on the “drug” that was highly illegal at the time. It was the summer before college started, I was at a dealer's house trying to score some “hydro,” and there was a stack of High Times magazines on his coffee table. I flipped one open and was transfixed by the exotic, almost alien-like beauty of the brightly-colored budding colas. It was the first time I had truly seen the actual plant, as all of my weed buying to that point had involved Jack-in-the-Box parking lots and Ziplock bags of mids. It was in that moment, as I gazed with the wonder usually reserved for the first peeks at a Playboy, that I had an epiphany: The Cannabis plant was beautiful and not anything to be afraid of. A few summers later, I was working on the first issues of Northwest Leaf and my friends and I came into a bunch of rooted clones in red Solo cups. We decided to play a prank on my dad, a high school teacher at the time, and plant a few of the clones in the big outdoor garden full of vegetables and ornamental plants. We took bets and waited for the moment of discovery, but it took a few weeks – until the tops of the distinct plants were reaching beyond their non-psychoactive companions.
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“ALL THESE YEARS LATER, I STILL EXPERIENCE A CHILDLIKE SENSE OF WONDER WALKING THROUGH A CANNABIS GARDEN … ESPECIALLY OUTDOORS. ”
JESSE RAMIREZ, DESIGN MIKE RICKER, FEATURES MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING
makani@leafmagazines.com (808) 754-4182
TONY SIMONELLI, PHOTOS
MEGHAN RIDLEY C O PY E D I T O R meghan@leafmagazines.com
BRUCE WOLF, PHOTOS LAURIE WOLF, RECIPES
We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in an upcoming issue of Oregon Leaf. We do not sell stories or coverage. We can offer design services and guidance on promoting your company’s recreational, commercial or industrial Cannabis business, product or event within our magazine and on our website, leafmagazines.com. Email makani@leafmagazines.com to learn more about our range of affordable print and digital advertising options to help support Oregon Leaf, the state’s longest-running Cannabis magazine!
CO N N EC T WIT H O R EG O N L E A F ! @OREGONLEAF |
@OREGONLEAF
When he realized the garden transgression and angrily tore them up, it was a funny and sad moment. This culling shaped my view of Cannabis and drug policy for years to come. The fact that my dad had watered the plants for a few weeks before realizing they were the “wrong” plants, reaffirmed my view that no plant should be illegal and that fears of Cannabis as a harmful drug were dangerously exaggerated. After all, why should we be scared of a plant that makes people feel good? All these years later, I still experience a childlike sense of wonder walking through a Cannabis garden … especially outdoors. Looking up at plants that are taller than my six-foot eyespan feels magical, as the fan leaves and heavy colas dance in the wind and bloom under the sun while waves of terpenes wash over the mind. We must not forget how wonderful it is that we can grow our own medicine, and we should be very appreciative of the farmers who dedicate themselves to this crop. Walking into a dispensary full of bright packaging and competing brands, it’s easy to forget that it all begins when a grower places a seed or clone into dirt, caring and nourishing a baby plant until it reaches harvest. So to all the farmers – those hard workers with dirty fingernails putting in long hours – the Leaf says “thank you.” We celebrate this harvest and the freedom to do so, for we remember a time when simply growing a plant was enough to earn a prison sentence.
@NWLEAF
ISSUU.COM/NWLEAF
FREE ONLINE ARCHIVE
-Wes Abney
leafmagazines.com
MAKANI NELSON STAT E S A L E S D I R E C T O R
shop review
TOP SHELF WELLNESS CENTER
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MEDFORD
leafmagazines.com
D E SI GN I N M I ND
With a beautiful store design and a logo featuring an airplane with a pot leaf propeller, it’s clear that you will leave Top Shelf Wellness Center flying high! We visited the Medford location – the smallest of their three shops – but a staff favorite due to its homey and cozy, chill vibes. The owner, Wade Hall, built the location using his prior life experience as a master carpenter to bring his vision to life of a comfortable, customer-service oriented shopping experience. Each person that comes through the door is greeted by a team member to guide them through the process – and with four registers, there’s time to chat with a friendly budtender or get in and out quickly.
nov. 2023
G ROWING IN HOUS E
Top Shelf Wellness is a vertically-integrated operation, meaning that they grow a portion of their own Cannabis in off-site greenhouses that have supplemental lighting to produce year round. The result is 30+ strains of absolute terpy fire for $9.60 a gram after tax, or $168 an ounce. We smelled the Gummiez – a 31.82% THC gas house with bright and sweet, syrupy green-apple flavors. The Sex Panther comes in at 30.99% THC with a creamy, gassy front and applepepper finish. Our palate and nose were teased by the Modified Grapes – a 31.5% THC heater that reeked of sour and funky fermenting grapes with a gluey, gassysweet finish. The store goal is to have 40-50 in-house strains priced right, out of a total selection of 100 options in the flower department. So if you love smoking flower, this is the shop to stock up at!
SELECTION IS EVERYTHING
Top Shelf Wellness has a huge selection with nearly 1,000 products for customers to be dazzled with. “We have everything for the budget-minded customer to the connoisseur, and our in-house premium affordable Cannabis, to have everything for everybody,” said owner Wade Hall. He began as a medical grower providing RSO to patients, which is still a core value to the team today. It’s these values of customer service and Cannabis as medicine that have built such a diverse product offering – and while having nearly 1,000 products to choose from might sound overwhelming – with a helpful and knowledgeable staff happy to show products and answer questions, the selection represents a promise to patients and rec consumers alike that they’ll find what they need at the right price, every time they visit.
S TA F F P I C K S
Entourage Infused Pre-Rolls They’re a little spendy, but they hit really well – effects are out of this world and they’re consistent and don’t run.
Altered Alchemy They have some of the best flavored dabs for only $14 a gram, and their flavors are wonderful!
Bucket Slabs Unique dabs come with two grams of crumble or sauce and a custom dab tool – all in a cool little bag! -Prestyn Rolland, District Manager
Kalya Their rosin is such fresh fire – they have freshpressed live rosin too. The flavor and highs are very uplifting and put a pep in my step.
Grom Pearl Gummies The 3-1 Pearls have 300mg of CBG and 100mg THC, which is such a good high for enhancing the mood and having fun! -James Dotson, GM at White City Location
LOCATIONS Medford 1925 Elm Ave, Medford, OR (458) 226-2140 | 8am – 10pm daily
Phoenix 205 N Phoenix Rd, Phoenix, OR (541) 897-0716 | 8am – 10pm daily
White City 7162 Crater Lake Highway, White City, OR (541) 879-0925 | 8am-7pm daily
topshelfwellnesscenter.com
STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY
Discover the best cannabis for you, powered by the most dependable ratings in the industry.
1% of salee proceedd gg towarr reforestatioo projectt.
edible of the month
theco2company.com/mamalous | @whomamalou
“We dropped a little of each under our tongue, but you can try it in a beverage or empty capsules that are often available in your local health supplements section.”
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MAMA LOU’S TINCTURES Mama Lou has long been dedicated to the pursuit of herbal healing, hailing back to the Oregon Medical Marijuana days before modern recreational legalization. If you take a peek back in the Oregon Leaf archives (exactly nine years), you’ll even see her on our cover in November of 2014 – first appearing in our pages growing CBD-dominant cultivars at Sweden Farms as a source for The CO2 Company. Today, she’s developed a namesake brand under The CO2 Company umbrella, with four RSO options and a loving lineup of Cannabis and hemp tinctures containing complementary Ayurvedic herbs. Each bottle contains a base of MCT coconut oil and hempseed oil, with an organic cane alcohol, full-spectrum extract. The exact herbal ingredients depend on the particular blend. We dropped a little of each under our tongue, but you can try it in a beverage or empty capsules that are often available in your local health supplements section. We prefer to drink it in something hot like tea to tackle any taste, speed up the solution and really drive the rate of relaxation. Self-care seems scarce for us modern adults (who knows, maybe we’re just doing it wrong), so you have to soak up that sweet serenity when you can! Let’s dive into the lineup and land on which Mama Lou’s will lend you the perfect pampering.
NOV. 2023
THC Energy Cannabis and Hemp Tincture This uplifting option features 33.1mg THC and 0.8mg CBD per 1ml serving, with over 1,000mg of total cannabinoids in the bottle. A kick of energy comes from a special blend of flaxseed, turmeric, Celastrus paniculatus (also known as the intellect tree), bacopa monnieri (often called Brahmi or water hyssop), and pandanus (a palm-like, deciduous tree or shrub).
Mama Lou’s recommends it for consumers looking to “support calmness and focus by reducing anxiety and targeting inflammation.” Relief relies on the aid of turmeric, ginger, Boswellia (a tree known for its fragrant resin), Celastrus paniculatus and vitex negundo (a large aromatic shrub).
CBD Sleep Cannabis Tincture If the sweet release of sleep evades you, try this tincture. Its gentle blend of 5mg THC and 30.4mg of CBD per 1ml serving flings you into Cover photo by Daniel Berman the fuzzy embrace of slumber, with the help of flaxseed, Valeriana wallichii, nutmeg, 1:1 Wellness Cannabis Tincture Celastrus paniculatus, bacopa monnieri, Cyperus For a balanced bliss, you’ll find flaxseed, holy basil, rotundus, and gota kola. ginger lily, spearmint, turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, amla (Indian gooseberry), Tinospora cordifola (a CBG Calm Cannabis Tincture climbing shrub known as guduchi) and eclipta alba The “calm” in this tincture trickles in from a (also known as false daisies). A perfect potency of 1:1:1 blend of CBG, CBD and THC, with roughly 17.6mg THC and 17.2mg CBD per 1ml serving settles 11-12mg of each cannabinoid in every 1ml in with a smooth dose of physical and mental repose. serving. Flaxseed, cardamom, cinnamon, ashwagandha, saffron and mucuna pruriens provide CBD Relief Cannabis Tincture a pleasing palette in which to paint the perfect The CBD Relief Cannabis blend contains 2.1mg of THC picture of tranquility. and 36.7mg of CBD per 1ml serving.
REVIEW & PHOTO by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF
CROPTOBER
Coming Soon!
DESSERT R*NTZ
CONCENTRATE OF THE MONTH
Community Cannabis Rosin Pods
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Community Cannabis is rolling out a brand new line of OmegaXL Low-Temp tech from King Fu Vapes. Featuring a five-second preheat option, they are both rechargeable and disposable, and are heavy metal, silicone and cotton wick-free. We opted for a sneak peek at these tasty, palm-sized rosin pods … but instead of choosing between the two samples generously provided, we’re taking a look at two separate cultivars from two different cultivators. Right out of the bag, we found ourselves reaching for these on the regular. Not only is this hardware design incomparably discrete and delightfully fun, it also handles Community Cannabis’ concentrates exceptionally well. PAPAYAMON BY REMEDY RIVER FARMS
leafmagazines.com
This Tallymon and Papaya cross is like someone stuffed an overripe papaya into a sorbet smoothie of tropical fruit. Each hit maintains its integrity and provides a perfectly even puff – silky, balanced and refreshing.
KALYA’S co-brand Community Cannabis offers a “quality for all” model, with prices noticeably lower than their Kalya label. The Community selections still provide a fabulous fine-tuning of flavors, but company owner Scott tells me they achieve their lower prices by working with farms to find select cultivars and collaborations that make this model possible. Many of those farms are full-term, sungrown Southern Oregon operations with strong roots in their communities.
NOV. 2023
BIG LEAGUE SHERB X RAINBOW BELTS BY GROUND UP FARMS
Sherb is the star of this show. It swiftly sends a smack of stoniness as you spiral into a tunnel of fiercely focused thought. This is only broken up by the sheer desire to return for more … only to begin the cycle once again. KALYAEXTRACTS.COM @COMMUNITY.OR @KALYA.OREGON @KUNGFUVAPES3.0 @REMEDY.RIVER @GROUNDUPFARMS
REVIEW & PHOTO by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF
glass art spotlight
@QUESTGLASS
Quest Glass
Glass Art by With a burning Quest Glass passion to get x Power Pat behind the flame, @_powerpat Johnny Quest received his first introduction to glassblowing when his mom gave him a Groupon for his 16th birthday to learn from Aaron Tate. At that same glass studio, Quest met Kevin Morris to help him with his initial foray into the glass realm.
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"I am very inspired by the scene as a whole. I have so many talented friends and am constantly finding new glassblowers that ‘wow’ me.”
nov. 2023
Being creative from a young age, Quest had been trying his hand at video editing for FPS games and enjoyed drawing particular glassblowing designs like Arik Krunk and Kevin Howell's wigwags. Fast forward to 2023, and Quest has now carved his lane into the glass game – offering everything from gorgeous pendants with his signature "fleur" design and immaculate hammer pipes including silver fuming and thumbies, to scalloped glassware and his one-of-a-kind "floor perc." This unique creation provides an unparalleled function where the water jets up through four holes through the bottom of the rig – hitting unlike any other piece of glass. "I am very inspired by the scene as a whole. I have so many talented friends and am constantly finding new glassblowers that ‘wow’ me, which stokes me out. Inspirations like James Daschbach, Kevin McCulley, Cesare Toffolo, Mike Raman, Arik Krunk, Yuko Sorte, Davide Fuin, Chris Eberhardt, Chris Carlson and Pat Powers made me the person I am today," said Quest. Quest holds it down in the streetwear industry, offering branded clothing and collaborating with homie Cary @allmyhatsaredead. Additionally, Quest wants to give a big shout-out to Groovy Money and his mom for helping him get to where he is today. "I am grateful to have found this path of glass so early on, and sharing it with people I've admired since I was a kid," said Quest. Keep up with Quest on IG to see where you can find his work next, as he's constantly on the go and has his art regularly featured in renowned glass shows around the globe.
STORY by MAX EARLY @LIFTEDSTARDUST for LEAF NATION | PHOTO by @BOROPHOTOGRAPHER
STRaIN OF THE MONTH
Coconut Milk GROWN BY
ROGUE RIVER FAMILY FARMS
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Located in Jackson County, Rogue River Family Farms built their foundation on family. From there, a garden focused on organic practices has flourished – where this Certified Kind farm is fed “directly from the mountain shed streams” amid the luscious lands and sweet sunlight of Southern Oregon. COCONUT MILK is a Ziplock Seeds success, brought to life by blending Cereal Milk with (Jungle Cake x GMO). The team at Rogue River Family Farms tends to a plant that produces tight, bright-green flowers freckled with a few fair, light-orange pistils. Everyone’s been hard at work harvesting, and some Coconut Milk sounds like a nice way to nourish souls and senses after another successful season. Let’s peek into the playful packaging – which offers a new system of music-inspired strain categorization – and serve up a bowl of this decadent cultivar. ROGUERIVERFAMILYFARM.COM | @ROGUERIVERFAMILYFARMS_LLC 27.41% THC
NOV. 2023
A sweet musty nose, like a whiff of grainy Wheaties, opens your olfactory senses – but breaking into the bud brings out a surprise of savory steak that screams GMO. It briefly bounces back to a magically milky bowl of Frosted Flakes, all before flashing to a fresh undertone of evergreen – the latter of which is more of a mouthfeel than a tangible taste tickler. The sensation is its moniker’s match made in heaven. Creamy. Smooth. And likely to lull you into a sweet, satisfied slumber of overindulgence.
“C AN RE A SA YO D L MY T U IK . OV ISF INT ELY SM ER IED O A TO OO IN SL S L TH DU U W UL . LG MB EET L EN ER , CE OF .”
REVIEW & PHOTO by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF
THE harvest ISSUE
W H I T E C I T Y, O R
altagardens pread across a field larger than a football pitch is a finished spread of beautiful sungrown flowers that began just a few months before as baby clones – spending their whole lives in the natural dirt from planting to harvest.
s
Growing from barely rooted clones only a few inches tall takes faith and determination, which is something that the team behind Alta Gardens has in spades. Their technique is unique, taking cuttings from mother plants, turning them into clones and planting without the plant or roots ever touching a plastic pot. The idea is to give the roots as natural of an experience as possible, never letting them run into the wall of a pot. While it’s a risk to put such a small plant into the elements of a Pacific Northwest June (where rain or hail isn’t out of the question), the return is a healthy root system that expands deep through living soil mounds into the native soil in search of water and nutrients. By providing a natural growth cycle for the clones, the plants thrive – producing better terpene expressions as they encounter bugs and the elements – which is why sungrown living soil weed has such amazing taste and flavor. Alta Gardens uses natural amendments that are in line with organic practices, brewing their own compost tea onsite and feeding the plants as naturally as possible. For this year’s main field, all the strains were returning winners from last season, getting the benefit of a second year to dial in the genetics. Up above the first field, behind a row of greenhouses waiting on funding to start operating, is the R&D field – where phenotypes of different strains are competing for consideration for next year’s harvest. It takes two whole years from popping a seed to a growing season, before Master Gardener Danny Mendoza will commit to a full row in the main field. It’s a long process to be an outdoor farmer, and it’s something that the dedicated team at Alta is all in for. We walked through a field of terpy flowers with Mendoza and Mark Joseph LaPaglia, and they shared the passion that drives the Alta team to hunt for genetics and grow from clones for the last five seasons. Plant Count
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1,454 plants Employees 6 full-time 5 seasonal for harvest
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Yield 25,800 wet pounds this year
nov. 2023
QUALITY CONTROL IS HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD WITH STONER MANAGING PARTNERS LIKE MARK & ALLISON LAPAGLIA, DANNY MENDOZA AND TRAVIS ASHLEY.
What strains are you most excited to share from this year’s harvest? L: Purple Martian Kush came out so perfect that I am so ready to share it with everyone. It evaporated last year because we only had 50 pounds, but we have 120 pounds this year. It’s Purple Kush, Blackberry Kush, and Martian Mean Green...really brings out the candy notes from the Purple Kush and is a grape-in-your-face strain.
What’s unique about how you grow at Alta? Mendoza: We start from clones, clones from the get go! We start with our selected mothers around February and the new season’s cuts go into the ground in June – over 1,400 of them – barely rooted and only three to four inches tall. Some people think we are crazy, because it’s not normal, but it’s our methodology. What is the advantage to growing from clones? M: Because of the roots, we don’t want any root binding – which limits plant growth when you put them in pots, even just when vegging. We’ve done side-by-side tests where we vegged in pots and let the roots ball up, and when we plant them in the four-inch raised beds above native soil, the plant roots stay in a ball – even up to harvest. But when we grow from clone, the roots spread out much further, and we’ve actually had to widen our rows and our watering zone because the roots push out so far looking for water and nutrition. It’s more natural and liberating for the plant, which produces better Cannabis in the end. We think of the field as a living organism – including the Cannabis plants, the cover crops, the rhizosphere in the soil – which we want all living in harmony.
What is your favorite part of pheno hunting strains? LaPaglia: The variability of seeing the potential strains – the strains that we choose are from really recommended sources, and this year we got a lot from J.B. @Organanarchist_). He works at Rogue Soil and he’s the purveyor of some really dank strains … we tried the Permanent Marker, Black Scotti, Larry Burger – all really showed out as amazing cuts. We also loved the Pure Michigan and Grape Cake from Tyler at Kumba Hills. The Pure Michigan turned into this ambrosia red-purple color because it went so cold in the Valley this year – it’s definitely going in the field next year. At the end of the season we share pictures and cuts and compare notes, because it takes a whole PURPLE village to find a good MARTIAN pheno anyways. It’s not KUSH gonna be one guy behind a pheno – there’s a whole team and a community full of amazing genetics floating around. We’ll also take a few branches and pollen them up, and share the seeds with our friends to keep the cycle going.
What drives the team to do this year round, and how does it feel to finish? L: The last month of work was worth a year round. It’ll make anyone cry, harvesting that much weed. We had a 43% larger harvest than last year, and our rate increased by eight days with two less people. So we found a better crew to keep on full term, because we have so much more weed to process. We are looking forward to the future – the plant leads itself into a beautiful cycle of yearly flowering and being taken down and smoked all winter. It’s really just a cycle, and you get to grow on it next year, and keep going. That’s really the dream – to keep growing each year. How does it feel to finally be done with this harvest? L: Sore! Everyone is ready for a few days off, but we feel so accomplished. This is the biggest harvest for Alta ever – 25,800 wet pounds this year on 30,000 square feet of canopy – so we still have room to grow more next year! What’s your message to folks who haven’t tried sungrown Cannabis before? L: I mean, do you want the best experience in Cannabis whatsoever? I mean, sungrown Southern Oregon Cannabis is some of the best weed on Earth! It scientifically has more cannabinoids because the sun produces a better UV spectrum than any light bulb or any indoor program that you can create. Even the weathering on the plant is like a natural process that helps the plant express more cannabinoids and terpenes – so the rain and cold just makes more dank weed. So at the end of the day, if you like smoking the dankest weed – you’ll love sungrown Cannabis! ALTAGARDENSOR.COM | @ALTA.GARDENS
STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY See more photos from the garden at LeafMagazines.com
THE harvest ISSUE
JACKSONVILLE, OR
bensonarbor Co-owners Noah Levine & Matt Dautrich rom humble roots as full-term sungrown farmers to quickly becoming the largest joint producer in the state of Oregon, Benson Arbor is delivering the beautiful flavors of sungrown Cannabis one puff at a time.
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PRETTY VIEWS OF CHEMFUEGO
OCT. 2023
Just as a seed transforms before sprouting and then grows as a vegetative plant before blooming into flower, so has grown the vision for Benson Arbor. Their love for the plant and genetics has been the driving force to keep evolving and taking the time, energy and risk to grow Cannabis outdoors. The team has leaned into a push to become true farmers, not just growers – using tractors and technology to become more efficient in their pursuit of supplying customers with fresh, high-quality sungrown Cannabis year round. Growing in a sunkissed valley with rows of powerhouse strains like Where’s My Bike (so popular it deserves a whole field to itself), the team has perfected the curing and storage process to keep their weed fresh for a whole season. Custom-built facilities for storing and rolling stand proudly above the field, and with a fresh-grind guarantee, every joint on a shelf is rolled and intended for consumption within 30 days. Inside a joint, their sungrown weed shines – where the true test of flavor and smoothness Plant Count earns repeat customers. 3,700 full sun plants Benson Arbor’s reputation for 4,750 light dep plants quality and consistency has built this Employees year-round demand for flower that is 8 person team FT grown and harvested as midsummer 20 helpers for harvest light deps and fall-harvested full-term Yield sungrown, powering a joint processing 7,000 pounds harvested facility that never stops rolling. this summer/fall We toured the farm with co-founder and co-owner Noah Levine and co-owner Matt Dautrich and have selected questions that highlight their love for the Cannabis plant and community.
WHERE’S MY BIKE
How do you select the strains to grow each season? Noah: When you put really top-shelf indoor and top-shelf outdoor in joints, the customer appreciates them both. They’ll purchase them both at the same price. When you hide the aesthetics of indoor in a joint, the bag appeal, it’s lost. We breed and select for the exhale – how the terps coat your mouth on the exhale. And if it doesn’t do that, if it only smells and looks great – it’s not a keeper. We got rid of everything that was pretty but didn’t coat your mouth with flavor. We’re flavor focused. So it doesn’t matter how high something is in THC when you are hunting for new strains? N: We do our hunts and we first go through smelling the plants for nose, and then we select which ones we want to cure and dry and smoke-test ourselves. We kill plants before we see potency, because it’s all about the flavor. What’s been a surprisingly hard part of the growing process? N: We get a lot of hate. People say we aren’t craft anymore because of our size, but I don’t honestly see the industry pursuing craft like we are, at scale. We breed the plants, we grow in native soil that’s barely amended, we feed with kelp and fish and crab and basic inputs. We’re family owned and operated. And there’s not much money left in farming – so we’re really doing this because we love it. How does it feel as a grower to have all your beautiful flower turned into joints? Matt: The joints have paved the way for us to expand. But if you told me years ago that we would be a pre-roll company, I’d have said ‘no way.’ We’ve changed the way we think about joints, and consumers’ impression on what a good joint is. It’s ground flower, no trim, and our joints get to the customers’ mouth within 30 days. As soon as you grind the flower, the clock is ticking – so we don’t pre-grind any material. It’s all grind as we go.
“FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A FEW YEARS I FEEL HOPEFUL, BECAUSE A CRAFT APPROACH IS WINNING – AND IT’S ALL BASED ON VALUE AND QUALITY.” -NOAH LEVINE
GAS RUNTZ
CHEMFUEGO
How have you changed the business model as you’ve gone from selling bud to joints? N: For us, the change in our model was taking a unique approach where every decision is based on value to the customer. That’s why we picked a Roll Pros joint machine, because it rolls a better joint. That’s why we have specific grinds for different inputs. Everything is set up by giving value, and if you do that, the customer knows that they are safe spending their money with you and then they come back. We also believe strongly that money follows passion if you’re smart, and we won’t produce anything that Matt and I wouldn’t smoke. I smoke our joints every day! Do you believe that craft at scale can win the race against corporate weed? N: For the first time in a few years I feel hopeful, because a craft approach is winning – and it’s all based on value and quality. So if that equation works for us, then it can work for the other farms too. There is a sweet spot for companies that can do craft at scale, and when you put it in a joint all things are equal … it’s all about flavor and high. @BENSONARBOR And that’s where living soil organic flower wins.
WHERE’S MY KUSH BEING HUNG
JOINT ROLLIN’
STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY See more photos from the garden at LeafMagazines.com
WITH
At Mule Extracts, we choose to partner with farms that prioritize craftsmanship and quality. Alter Farms, located in Southern Oregon, currently grows over 60 cultivars while working diligently to phenohunt their next winning strain. We love working with Alter because of their consistently strong genetics, dynamic terpene profiles, attention to detail, and genuine love for the cannabis plant. Their commitment to excellence aligns with our continued efforts to produce some of the best extracts and edibles in the Oregon market, and we are grateful to be doing that alongside partners like Alter Farms. DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE OR MACHINERY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THIS DRUG. FOR USE ONLY BY ADULTS TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.
THE harvest ISSUE
GRANTS PASS, OR
leftcoast standard trolling along the manicured rows of plants with names like Rainbow Cadillac, Puta Breath and London Chello, a sense of magic is evoked as terpenes float from plants warming up on the cloudy, early-October morning. This season has been a little cooler than the last few, offering a break from the 80-90 degree October heat waves that push the plants to grow later each year. Left Coast Standard is by definition an organic farm – even if they can’t use that certification due to federal regulations around the term “organic” – they’re Clean Green Certified, use only OMRI listed inputs, and grow in the native soil with a living-soil raised-bed methodology.
s
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This harvest season’s big hits include Fizzerp, a winner from last year’s pheno hunt that features bright-pink pistils and a frosty coating of trichomes. The Juicy 40 Fruit was the Exotic Fruits category winner at the Leaf Bowl 2023 – with a flavor profile almost exactly like the chewing gum bringing a lemon and vanilla gas on the finish. And we can’t forget the Guava Z, which smells like a tropical fruit smoothie with a Z funk rounding it all out. The team owns the property and has spent years working the land and building greenhouses, as well as tiering the earth to create layered growing zones. While the Plant Count harvest is a highlight to 7,500-8,000 look forward to, growing Employees Cannabis in the dirt is 5-person team FT a year-round process: Yield starting with mothers in 1,500-2,000 pounds January, clones in March, and the first light-dep plants hitting the greenhouses in May. With nearly 8,000 plants being grown and harvested each year, there is no slow season for these fully sungrown farmers. They’ll put a cover crop in for the winter, which builds the soil quality and sequesters carbon – essentially making the land better for growing while having a positive impact on the environment – all in a constant cycle to prepare for the next growing season. We sat down with Co-Owners Benjamin Mertens and Joseph Blackwood to explore their growing philosophy, and why their classic strains seem to be doing so well – winning multiple Leaf Bowl awards in the last two years.
nov. 2023
JUICY FRUIT
HOOP HOUSE
TALL TREES
What drives you to grow outdoors and live the lifestyle of a true farmer? Ben: We love growing outdoors, being in such a beautiful environment, and the land and plants have provided for us. They say if you love what you do, it isn’t work – but it’s definitely extremely challenging.”
FIZZERP
While you have “GROWING WITH some fire new LIVING SOIL genetics, what’s GIVES BACK TO the inspiration for THE EARTH. IT’S growing older cuts MORE CONNECTED from the ‘90s? TO NATURE AND B: We’ve been doing NATURAL LIFE, good with legacy BECAUSE WE USE strains, like the OrWHAT HAS BEEN ange Blossom that THERE FOR A won the Citrus and MILLION YEARS TO Sap category, which HELP PRODUCE THE is a ‘90s strain. The PRODUCTS...” Juicy Fruit is from the -JOSEPH BLACKWOOD ‘90s, the Santa Cruz cut of Blue Dream and the White Rhino are all legacy cuts. We’re proud to show a range of strains and our ability to win awards with classic and new genetics. Joe: The classic strains stand the test of time. There’s a little bit of nos-
talgia in it – where you grew up smoking a classic, or what you remember from decades ago, and people love that. I also feel those landrace strains are pinpointed to what they are. Nowadays you have a lot of strains that are bred with this and that and have 15 crosses. The old strains yield well, have great smells, and while they don’t always test the best – they get you high the best.
OREGON LEAF BOWL WINNERS
As a farm that has gone from legacy to medical to recreational, how has it been to transition and what does it feel like to be in the game today? B: It’s definitely a lot easier for the moms and pops to be able to do it here in Oregon, the people who care about it the most and paved the way for everything today. It’s more than just a dollar for us. But it hasn’t been easy. 2017 was the first real big drop – it was pretty hard to survive that. And then last year it really dropped again – so it’s just now stabilizing to where you can make a small living again as an outdoor farmer. J: It’s also less underground. Back in the day you might have to be blind-
folded to go to a farm and trim – now it’s like, put it in your GPS.
Why do you choose to grow in living soil? J: While conventional farming is definitely pretty rough in ground soil – with erosion and runoff and chemicals – growing with living soil gives back to the earth. It’s more connected to nature and natural life, because we use what has been there for a million years to help produce the products – instead of a chemical nutrient that was made in a lab. What’s your message to consumers looking to try sungrown Cannabis for the first time? J: If you like flavor, nothing really beats the sun! And if it’s grown properly, it can rival indoor flower. Indoor lights are at best an imitation of the sun, so if you grow outdoors well and navigate through the elements, you will come out with a good product. And the living soil helps because plants want to live in dirt – it’s the most natural way. We feed the microbes that feed the plants, and it keeps @LEFTCOASTSTANDARD getting better every year!
STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY See more photos from the garden at LeafMagazines.com
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truecarefarms A
nthony Ott and Tiffany Rangole came from California. Anthony is an incredibly talented Cannabis grower who’s extremely passionate about the Cannabis industry, with over 20 years of highly valuable experience. Anthony established TrueCare Nursery back in 2011 and supplied clones to hundreds of growers in the state. Anthony’s drive and ambition drove him to go big in Oregon, with the state’s Cannabis laws and regulations being further along than California’s. He convinced Tiffany to leave her career in Venture Capital to build an amazing company together as a family farm. In addition to dozens of strains and genetics dating back to their California days, TrueCare Farms is home to a flock of chickens, guinea fowl to scare away rattlesnakes, and a rescued junkyard dog named White Dog. Living on a farm is both a huge responsibility and a point of pride for the family – further evidenced by the clean spaces and neatly trimmed grass, not to mention the vegetable garden that’s next to a chicken coop. Located on a gentle downslope in a valley, the farm is surrounded by a moat to keep runoff from other farms and agriculture from washing into the living soil beds the plants are grown from. They have extensively tested the soil – noting that a section of the field has higher sand content naturally creating better drainage, and therefore needing water more frequently. River rock and other indications would suggest that areas of the valley were once under water, which is partly why it’s such fertile ground to grow in today. With living soil and organic practices, the ground on which the family lives and grows is getting healthier – while the farm sequesters carbon and gives back to the earth each harvest in a symbiotic relationship that will continue for many more seasons to come.
COURTESY
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POPSCOTTI
nov. 2023
“OUT IN THE BIG FIELD ARE OUR TRIED AND TRUE STRAINS, AND EVERY YEAR WE PHENO HUNT ALL FROM SEED. ANTHONY HAS ACCUMULATED QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE SEED BANK AND GENETIC LIBRARY FROM ALL HIS YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY THAT WE NOW GET TO PLAY WITH.” -TIFFANY RANGOLE
HARVEST CREW
COURTESY
THE harvest ISSUE
ROGUE RIVER, OR
How did you end up here in Oregon as a Cannabis farming family? Tiffany: We’re a family owned and operated farm, we moved here in 2017 and 2019 was our first commercial year. Anthony began growing in California and has extensive background and experience in indoor and outdoor grows – but this was our first large-scale outdoor grow. We were new to the environment, so there was a bit of a learning curve, but we’re diehards. We live here; we’re out here every day; this is our full-time life. What was it like to leave the Bay Area and risk your future on a Cannabis farm? T: Anthony’s been passionate DURBAN about this his whole adult life: POISON he’s obviously an expert in what he does and he’s very ambitious … and I came along for the ride. But it’s definitely taken teamwork, and there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears that we’ve put into this. We really care about the product that we grow. We take pride in our work and strive for greatness, likely because of how we were raised and the competition level in the Bay. It’s helped us to get where we are now. What was it like going from operating a nursery and growing indoors to working outside? Anthony: Those were fun times. I enjoyed the Santa Cruz years, but it was indoor. I feel like indoor is the easiest type of growing you can do. You can control every bit of it, and unless you really don’t know what
STUNNING VIEWS you’re doing, you can grow great weed if you start with great genetics. But you go outside? Good luck. There’s a whole lot more to deal with. It’s Mother Nature. It rains in October, and the frost could come tomorrow. And that makes it more exciting … and that much harder. How do you pick which strains to grow? T: Out in the big field are our tried and true strains, and every year we pheno hunt all from seed. Anthony has accumulated quite an impressive seed bank and genetic library from all his years in the industry that we now get to play with. We look for a variety of hybrids/sativas/indicas, and different terpene profiles from the gassy to fruity to citrus, and look for some that are really crystally and beautiful. It’s a balance: We may have some strains that look the best or some that don’t look the best but smell and taste amazing, or ones that may not be either but smoke the best. So we test them out, see which strains do really well here, and put the winners in the field the following year. Which strains are you most excited about this year? T: We’ve found really good, strong sativa strains – like our Stairway to Heaven, Jack Herer and Durban Poison. Growing sativas here is harder because you’re battling the elements late into the season. But the strain I’m excited about the most this season is Popscotti – it smells exactly like Skittles!
COURTESY
COURTESY
STRAWBERRY PUNCH
What is your favorite part of living the lifestyle of a farmer and growing Cannabis? T: The best thing is doing it as a family, and being able to raise our son here. My background is in corporate finance, so it’s quite a change to run a farm for me and it comes with its pros and cons. No one is going to tell you things have to get done but yourself – it’s all on you. I’ve learned a lot about this industry and myself, and as I said, we take a lot of pride in our work. So at the end of the day, knowing that we are capable of producing some of the best outdoor Cannabis in the state, we can’t help but tell ourselves ‘good job.’ A: When people smoke our prod-
uct and send us compliments POWER thanking us for what we grew, SHERB it’s the fuel to keep us going. There have been a few times where we’ve wondered, ‘Are we done?’ – and then an email will come in and we’ll say, ‘Fuck no, we’re not stopping!’ And I might be biased, but I think this year is the best quality flower we’ve ever produced. What is your hope for the future as a farm?
T: It’s hard to be limited to sales in just Oregon,
because we want to reach everyone in the country – but growing here we feel like it is prime because you can’t grow outdoors everywhere in the country. Outdoors is on a whole different level – its own challenges and rewards – and what the sun does is absolutely amazing. The terpene profiles and flavors that we get from organic and natural growing are unique, and we want to share that with the world. TRUECAREFARMS.COM @TRUECAREFARMS
STORY by WES ABNEY @BEARDEDLORAX/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by TONY SIMONELLI @SIMONELLITONY See more photos from the garden at LeafMagazines.com
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cooking with cannabis
HOLIDAZE COOKIN' BRIE BITES
NOVEMBER HASHTAGS // #LaurieAndMaryJane #DontFearTheEdible #EatYourCannabis #BeKind | #Share #Herb+Spice
SERVES 5, 3 PER PERSON 15 mini frozen phyllo tart cups 2 tablespoons infused butter or oil, melted 8 ounces brie, cut in ¾ inch pieces 1/3 cup raspberry jam slivers of hot chili peppers (optional) 1. Heat oven to 340º F. Place the cups on a sheet pan covered with parchment. Brush the inside of each of the mini tart shells with the melted infused butter. 2. Place a piece of brie in each cup. Place a ½ teaspoon of jam on the cheese. Top with the slivers of pepper. Bake for 7- 9 minutes.
CRANBERRY CLUSTERFUX MAKES 15 CLUSTERS 12 ounce package white chocolate chips ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped if large ½ cup pecans, chopped 2 tablespoons infused butter, melted Shredded coconut (optional) 1. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
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2. Place white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on medium power for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Continue melting for 10 second intervals until melted. 3. Add remaining ingredients except coconut. 4. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with coconut. Let set for at least 30 minutes.
ROOTS, SEEDS AND SOUP
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SERVES 6
LET’S BEGIN TO GET IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT! IT’S NOVEMBER, THERE’S A CHILL IN THE AIR … AND SOME CANNABIS THAT SEEKS TO WARM UP SOME OF YOUR FINEST COOKING PLANS. Last night I made a bunch of canna-butter using Forbidden Fruit, an indica-dominant strain that entices the eyes, treats the nose to tropical mango and grapefruit aromas, and tastes simply sweet and sublime. It’s relaxing but not overly so, with a glow that allows me to be rather productive. I have a recipe for a grapefruit sorbet and I’m thinking that this delightful strain will really make it shine. I’m going to infuse the sugar – it will make a superb palate cleanser. I will keep you posted. Laurie@Laurieandmaryjane.com
2 tablespoons infused oil, butter or infused equivalent 2 cups parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks 1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in chunks 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper 6-7 cups vegetable broth 1/3 cup sour cream, Greek yogurt or crema Pepita seeds 1. Heat oven to 340º F. In a large baking dish, combine the vegetables and toss with 2 tablespoons of infused oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast until the vegetables are getting tender, stirring occasionally, approx. 45-50 minutes. 2. Place the vegetables in a large sauce pot and add the vegetable stock. Simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes, stirring a couple of times. 3. Carefully purée the soup with either an immersion or regular blender. Be careful, and if using a regular blender, purée in small batches. Add more vegetable stock if too thick. Heat again a few minutes and divide among 6 bowls. 4. Drizzle sour cream over each bowl. Top with the pepitas.
nov. 2023
RECIPES by LAURIE WOLF @LAURIEANDMARYJANE for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by BRUCE WOLF @BRUCE_WOLF
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stoney baloney LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
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UH OH, I’VE CROSSED THE LINE. Boy, am I gonna get my ass kicked now. I stated the opinion that everyone else is thinking, but is too afraid to actually voice … at least openly in public. And the last thing you want to do is belittle the thing to which these irrefutable enthusiasts attach their identity – because if you insult the motorcycle, you insult the person riding it. And that’s a surefire way to get stuck in the gut by a Hell’s Angel, Altamont style. Hey, Harley Rider: I get it. You want people to think you’re a lion in the jungle, that your ear-curdling roar induces tingles of hair-raising fear. And that you just don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. Which is ironic. Because it would appear that you care very much about what everyone thinks, otherwise your motor would be muffled. Intent on convincing us that you’re unconventional – a rebel, unique, fringe, anti-establishment. It’s just that it’s hard to be persuaded when the company you fiercely endorse had a spreadsheet of over $5 billion in revenue last year. Now, motorcycles are cool. And if it’s not raining, they make an exciting form of transportation. It’s liberating when the sativa-soaked sun shines on your face with the unbridled summer wind sweeping your body while you harness a stout speed machine. And what do I care if your favorite pastime is standing around inspecting one another’s saddles like dogs sniffing their buddy’s backside? To each his own. But could you turn down the volume a little? It’s irritating when your conversation is jolted by a passing DC-10 on the street, that’s all. Note: This never applies to a lady on a Harley. Baddies on bikes are always awesome, no matter what – and have a license to crank their volume any time they feel overcome with the need to express themselves.
nov. 2023
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