I’ve been in California for seven weeks now, doing my best to avoid the ever-encroaching heat. The coast is cool and foggy and I’ve spent several lovely nights camped out oceanside by Highway 1 – a dream come true.
While my time here has been jam-packed with amazing things, like climbing Half Dome and visiting multiple national parks, last weekend I got to do one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in the van: camp out at a weed farm.
I spent several days parked at Sol Spirit Farms, an outdoor, earth-conscious cannabis farm in Trinity County. I connected with owner Judi through mutual friends on LinkedIn and when she extended an invitation to stay, I knew there was no way I could pass it up.
The drive to get there was treacherous, a crumbling single lane winding down through the mountains, 30 minutes from the nearest town. My arrival was announced by two of the three farm dogs that reside on the property, protecting the crops and other animals from the bears, foxes, mountain lions, and other predators that call these hills home.
I could just see the tops of the greenhouse rows where the cannabis is planted from where I parked, snug in the shade of new growth trees. I got up early every morning to chat with cultivator Walter and his team of farm hands/ Ganjiers about weed, regenerative farming, indigenous fire management practices, and the best place to take a dip in the river.
Walter and his team walked me through the rows of baby weed plants, showing me which ones had taken and which ones were likely to get pulled soon. We talked through no-till soil, their use of jidama and Korean natural farming methods, co-planting, and the impact of the ongoing heat wave on the plants. I spent Saturday on the banks of the South Fork River, escaping 100-degree heat in 65-degree water. On Sunday, we loaded the team up into a few cars and drove down to the Trinity River to go tubing. After, we sat down and had their weekly family dinner under the tent on the property.
I have been to cannabis grows before, indoors in Mississippi, and outdoors in New York at Ayrloom Farms and Tap Root Fields. But this was my first time in the heart of the Emerald Triangle, the most famous cannabis-growing region in the world, talking to people who have been caring for the land for over 20 years, growing some of the best weed you’ve ever smoked.
I can’t say enough about the generosity of Judi, Walter, and their team, or enough about the magic of the sun in growing cannabis. Studies have shown that outdoor-grown weed has a wider range of minor cannabinoids and a more robust terpene profile than indoor-grown, and there are even compounds that exist in sungrown nugs that are only possible with the sun.
There’s been a lot of negative things said about New York’s outdoor-only growing mandate, but after many conversations with Judi and Walter, I’m doubling down on it being a good thing. Indoor grows have massive environmental footprints and there’s something about cannabis that just prefers to be outdoors.
My time in California is winding down, but I can say with certainty that I’ll be back to the Emerald Triangle for many more farm visits – just, perhaps, not in high summer again.
