Local Appellation Exploration: Whitethorn Valley Farm

Cherry Chem

The Emerald Triangle — Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties — covers an area of more than 11,000 square miles. Between the three counties, there’s coastline, mountains, river systems, forests, marshlands, meadowlands and lots of rugged terrain.

It’s a diverse place, both in terms of culture and ecosystems, but The Emerald Triangle is often referred to in one fell swoop as California’s cannabis hot spot, without regard for or mention of the manifold conditions rural farmers work in. This fall, I visited five cannabis farms in distinct local regions to experience this range of conditions firsthand, to write about local cannabis farms in terms of terroir.

Historically the word terroir has been used to describe the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate, or the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment.

Modern cannabis cultivators have taken to applying the concept of terroir to their products, particularly full sun outdoor products grown in some percentage of native soil. All of this terroir talk goes hand-in-hand with cannabis appellations, a hot topic since our new state regs include a provision for the California Department of Food an Agriculture (CDFA) to “establish a process by which licensed cultivators may establish appellations for standards, practices, and varietals applicable to cannabis grown in a certain geographic area in California.” (Link to the CDFA Appellations Fact Sheet, Courtesy of the CDFA CalCannabis Appellations Project.)

Appellation designations will go beyond county-of-origin standards already at play, standards that apply to all cannabis products, regardless of cultivation methods. In contrast, “appellations allow licensed cultivators to recognize cannabis growing areas within and beyond county boundaries, and to create specific requirements for how cannabis is grown in those appellations.” (Link to the CalCannabis Appellations Project FAQ, Courtesy of the CDFA CalCannabis Appellations Project.)

Cannabis goods produced with any given appellation designation will have a level of exclusivity and rarity, and thereby an increased value, presumably. The CDFA has until January 2021 to establish the process to establish appellations. Once the process is in place, establishing appellations will take some licensed farmer teamwork.

The CDFA’s CalCannabis Appellations Project team is creating this process, a team comprised of five state environmental scientists with varying scientific backgrounds. They held a series of public workshops this past September in Mendocino, Humboldt, Sacramento, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Monterey counties to solicit public input.

According to CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Communications Manager Rebecca Forée, right now the team is busy reviewing comments received thus far. They will compile a summary of this input before pursuing research into more specific issues, such as varietals. The last day to submit public comments for consideration this year was October 31; however, there will be more opportunities for the public to share comments with in 2019.

There is some local organization around cannabis appellations. Notably, the Mendocino Appellations Project (MAP) has a number of recommendations for the CalCannabis Appellations Project to consider, including developing a list of protected terms and a cannabis cultivar library. Read the full text of their recommendations at their ipetitions site. You can follow MAP on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with their ongoing advocacy.

When I caught up with her on November 2nd, Humboldt County Second District Supervisor Estelle Fennell expressed enthusiasm about cannabis appellations, saying, “I think that this is exactly the kind of direction we need to be going in in Humboldt County. We talk all the time about the brand. Appellation is another part of it… a great opportunity for this fledgling industry.”

Back to the farms… The farms I visited are spread across the three Emerald Triangle counties and are owned and operated by people that are enthusiastic about the coming framework for establishing cannabis appellations. The environment of each farm is dramatically different, but each farm had full sun plants in the ground in some percentage of native soil.

The interviews covered the soil, topography and climate of each farm, plus the farm’s standards, practices and noteworthy varietals. It was opportunity for licensed farmers to talk about how the place and their culture affect their products.

My questions were partly inspired by Chrystal Ortiz’s “Appellation Designation” article on page 60 of the Spring 2018 issue of the Humboldt Cannabis Magazine. I was also guided to some extent by conversations with International Cannabis Farmers Association Chair Kristin Nevedal, Humboldt County Growers Alliance Executive Director Terra Carver and Mendocino Appellations Project Executive Director Genine Coleman.

Commodity appellations have a long history, and if you want to dig in, there are endless resources and articles online — historical perspectives, cannabis perspectives and modern day realities. Richard Mendelson’s book Appellation Napa Valley was highly recommended; I hope to read it soon. Wired Magazine has a great feature from last month, The Quest to Make California’s Weed the Champagne of Cannabis; Forbes covered this topic in August: California Cannabis Goes Luxury, Plans Appellations Just Like Wine.

And while cannabis appellation development is of broad and current interest in the Emerald Triangle, I have yet to see a full-blown treatment of local terroir. So let’s get to it.

This week, we’ll learn about Whitethorn Valley Farm on the west side of Southern Humboldt County. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for terroir coverage of Sunboldt Grown in Holmes, NorthCountry Farms near Hayfork in Trinity County, Sun Roots Farm near Covelo, Mendocino County, and Moon Made Farms on the east side of Southern Humboldt.

The “Thorn Junction” community is in a sweet spot on the west side of Southern Humboldt County. It sits on the Mattole River side of Ettersburg Junction, far enough to the west to escape the influence of the South Fork Eel River valley fog, and far enough inland to escape the dense Pacific coastal fog. It’s on the sunny side of Paradise Ridge and the King Range, about 10 minutes from the Lost Coast trailhead.

It’s the beginning of October and just after the first rain of the season when I meet Whitethorn Valley Farm Owner-Operator Galen Doherty at the post office across from the Whitethorn Construction complex, a landmark on SoHum’s well-traveled Shelter Cove Road. There was some thick Eel River fog that morning along the 101 corridor, but it was all blue skies on the west side, a clear, crisp morning out Whitethorn way.

The farm isn’t far from the construction complex and Flow Kana’s soon-to-be-opened Southern Humboldt Processing Center. The surrounding landscape is rich, dominated by a mixed hardwood forest, replete with fir, hazelnut and tanoak.

Ruby Rose and Galen Doherty

It’s a chilly morning, so we catch up over hot tea in the home of Doherty and his partner Ruby Rose, co-owner and operator of Whitethorn Valley Farm, before heading out to see their light deprivation and full sun outdoor gardens.

Doherty and Rose are new to this parcel, and they are endeavoring to do things right from the get-go by practicing regenerative and permaculture farming methods suited to this unique ecosystem.

“We learned a lot from Briceland Forest Farm, Taylor and Daniel over there,” Doherty says. “Most of what we do with our full term cannabis is based on what they’ve developed over the last 15 years.” Briceland Forest Farm is a local producer of both vegetables and cannabis and is also a 2017 Emerald Cup Regenerative Cannabis Farm Award winner.

The Whitethorn Valley Farm’s 10,000 square foot permitted cultivation space is split in two — half devoted to light deprivation and the other half to full sun seed plants. This scheme was chosen to suit the existing features of the parcel, which is cut by Buck Creek. The dep is on top of an old horse arena on the near (east) side of the creek, and the bulk of the full sun garden is on the far side, in an area they refer to as the “West Meadow.”

West Meadow Garden

The full term garden is technically “new cultivation” under county standards, meaning the West Meadow has prime agricultural soil. In particular, the soil qualifies as “soil of statewide importance,” mapped where there’s been deposits of alluvium from historic floodplain channels. It’s in what’s called the “Gershwin Complex,” and Doherty describes it as a little sandy, a little loamy, without too much clay.

In preparation for their first season in the West Meadow, they tilled and cover cropped the area last November, then mowed and tilled again in the spring. After a soil test with Dirty Business Soil, they added just a sprinkling of amendments. This fall, the plants look amazing, Rose says. “They were just so happy over there. I was blown away.”

“So it’s interesting in that it’s a brand new area,” Doherty says. They haven’t been working the land that long, but they know that a good place to start is healthy living soil and varieties that will thrive at their locale. This season, they went big on Cherry Chem seed plants (Cherry Pie X Chem Dawg), an earlier varietal demonstrating four phenotypic expressions in their full-term garden.

Ideal plants for their valley location are fast maturing and not super huge, Rose explains, with compact plant formations and higher bud-to-plant ratio. The season is on the short side here, with hot days and cold nights as the norm. There is a slight amount of high Mattole River fog during the summer and a fair amount of dew on the plants in the mornings, a daily wetness that usually dries off before too long.  All in all, Doherty says, they have mostly clear days at Whitethorn Valley Farm, “the perfect growing conditions.”

West Meadow Garden row

They’re at about 1,000 feet in elevation, and the average rainfall is around 100 inches per year. They placed the cultivation rows on contour with the land, so that when it does rain, surface water is captured, as opposed to running off.” The goal is to “slow it, spread it and sink it,” thereby increasing groundwater in the soil.

“The longer we can keep the water up here into the dry season, the more likely there is to be water in the rivers when the fish really need it,” Doherty says. They’re all about being a model fish-friendly farm, which means they’re figuring out all the ways they can reduce water use and store all the water they need. They are endeavoring to do the things that mean you can have cannabis and salmon together.

“It’s not necessarily a conflict,” he continues. In fact, it can be a benefit if farming cannabis is able to keep people on the land, managing the ecosystem instead of having to take a job in town. To recover forest health and climate resiliency and salmon, we have to have people stewarding their land, Doherty says, clearing to reduce fire hazards and to promote fewer and bigger trees. “This landscape has evolved to the touch of humans.”

Indeed, the Thorn Junction ecosystem was stewarded by native peoples for thousands of years. Local historian Ray Raphael writes of burning as part of the seasonal maintenance done by Native Americans in his book An Everyday History of Somewhere, 1974. “A good harvest depended on proper preparation by prior burning, so the Indians were in essence farming the forest.” Burning underbrush every fall made for abundant acorns and for healthy willow and hazel shoots, used in basket making.

The Whitethorn Valley Farm water source for cultivation is a spring, and they find that since full term garden is planted directly in native ground, it doesn’t dry out as fast as the light dep beds. This year they did straw mulch over the beds, and this fall they will cover crop the West Meadow garden again. Next year, they’ll cultivate in what was this year’s paths, alternating back-and-forth to avoid hammering the same spot over and over.

When asked about ideal standards for establishing cannabis appellations, Doherty and Rose say they are proponents of full sun, full season, in-the-ground (with some percentage of native soil) as a starting point, coupled with geographic indicators and uniform grading standards (such as those established by the International Cannabis Farmers Association).

People want to tout traditional farming practices as a valuable factor in appellation development, but the fact is, “Not very many people have had the opportunity to grow row crop cannabis in full sun before,” Doherty says. “This is pretty new in the scheme of things.”

“The old timers… they were guerrilla growing, out in the hills, in like marginal, recently cut over timberland,” he muses. The really old school growers were growing in pots in trees or in pots on the side of a hill with camo netting. “They weren’t really farming. They were doing what they had to do because it was so illegal.”

At this point in time, legal farmers can settle in and really focus on developing operating philosophies and practices suited to their land. Doherty and Rose advocate for conserving pristine areas, preventing excess subdivision of working lands and helping private landowners be the best possible stewards of their land.

###

It’s still crisp when we head outside. With the recent rainfall, they are selectively harvesting full term plants. We make a brief stop at the light deprivation garden, and then pivot toward their exuberant vegetable garden and a small patch of full term plants in the ground. We are still on the east side of Buck Creek.

Doherty on footbridge over Buck Creek

To reach the West Meadow garden, Doherty leads me over Buck Creek via a small footbridge. A short climb up a steep embankment follows, and then a nice flat walk to the weed. Once inside the fenced area, Doherty points out the different Cherry Chem phenotypes, which range from 6′-10′ in height and from lime green to deep purple in color.

Marigolds, amaranth and Mexican sunflowers accompany the cannabis plants and are still vibrantly in bloom. Squash meanders amongst the rows — the garden is animated and full of life.  As we walk and as I marvel at the plants, Doherty tells me more about the surrounding landscape, how the trees are mostly about 25 years old — young, dense and thirsty.

This year’s season has been a success for Whitethorn Valley Farm, their ecologically sound approach to farming this land is paying off. Since their farm is so new, they have yet to define the characteristic taste and flavor of their products. But the fact that they are direct planting locally sourced seed plants in the ground, with minimal amendments, ensures they have captured the Whitethorn Valley terroir.

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73 Comments
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Willie Caso-Mayhem
Guest
5 years ago

Thank you Emily, very good read,very good information, thank you.

Ocrimony
Guest
Ocrimony
5 years ago

I started laughing when I first heard about appellation and terrior applied to pot. I’m still laughing after reading this article. I grew pot for over 40 years; excellent pot, in nothing but native soils, and certainly not in cut over timberland. But appellation and terrior?? Grown “with some percentage of native soils.” How can you even talk about terrior unless you are growing in actual 100% native soil? Isn’t that what terrior is?? C’mon folks. Really?? I think someone has been smoking a little too much of their own product.

DawnI
Guest
DawnI
5 years ago
Reply to  Ocrimony

Ocrimney – I had to chuckle inside when I read those words also.
“Appellation and terrior” were the ONLY ways we grew weed for most of those first years. It was quite a while before folks even added amendments.
I’ll forever remember this Hoy quote from one Long Ago afternoon at the Drinking Tree in Downtown Whitethorn, circa late 1970’s, “Fertilizer, What Do you Mean?” Not to mention it took us a couple years to get the good sensmilla buds going too.
Or like my mother used to say also, “It’s just a weed.” Our folks and a lot of the university collegues were growing plants in their backyards in Albuquerque in the early 1950’s.
Kind of interesting some of the kids are now making a ‘real’ business out of it.
BTW – as far as I am concerned growing outside is really the only way to go, preferrably in Native Soil, not in a plastic pot or such.

It's me
Guest
It's me
5 years ago

It’s a weed that grows as fast as corn. Will be a cheap commodity crop at best once it is legalized in all the states. May have some value in countries like Japan in the future. Oh yea and it smells like Pack Rat piss, but it does get you high!

hmm
Guest
hmm
5 years ago
Reply to  It's me

Pack rat piss? Sounds like someone played a cruel trick on you.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago

God. The new face of weed. Ya might bw from here but yer still a yuppie bud.

Thlyn
Guest
Thlyn
5 years ago

It’s just a little saddening to everyone involved when disdain and nasty remarks are tossed in the face of success. Those are some beautiful buds!

Farce
Guest
Farce
5 years ago

Ha Ha Ha! What a load of bullshit! But people are so stupid- maybe this hyped bullshit approach will get them to buy your “super-special super-duper” weed with a terroir and appellation that is oh so nobly worded. Tell them it’s sprinkled with fairy dust while you’re at it! Ha Ha Ha!! Those old growers weren’t FARMING. FARMING is so much better. It’s weirdo world when people can’t even see through their own snow job. But everybody is just so full of shit while furiously telling each other it’s all so awesome and we will be the special ones to survive the corporatization. TRACK AND TRACE THE PERMITTED GROWS!! Then let’s see….

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  Farce

Im not saying they aren’t in the T$T program, but I certainly don’t see any T$T tags on any of those plants. I’m surrounded by “permitted” grows that have sold 100% of their crop black market, they have trashed the place and suck water out of a stream that is in one of the critical watersheds. I found plastic netting deep in the woods and signs of a deer struggling to get lose. But shit, I’m just jealous. If I were some of these growers, I would be taking the county supes and planning dept. out for a nice steak dinner and maybe even a Christmas bonus. The county just gave a free pass to complete shit bag growers and at the same time screwing over responsible growers. What a joke the county is at this point.

Trackandtrace deez nutz!
Guest
Trackandtrace deez nutz!
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

Spot on comment! Interesting how loco covers the big story of the 4.5 million in abatements against some of the first to receive them over a year ago… so many questions need to be asked:

Will the liens magically disappear when county takes possession and auctions them off?

Who would buy said properties with so many known violations?

Does the county understand the effects of plummeting property values?

Will planning department ever turn
they’re satellite gaze at all the “permitted” farms who just got away with murder this year?

Will track and trace and state liscencing continue to be such a complete joke to the county?

Will we ever hear more of the supposedly easier to get micro permits under 2.0 that Estelle touted so loudly?

And progress or updates on any of these lawsuits??

Crickets…

Emily
Guest
Emily
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

No shit. I think it’s ballsy af to be getting permitted and still sell on the black market. Here’s all my information and just don’t ask any questions about where my untracked and untraced weed went (when they have all the satellite pictures on file).
I think that’s crazy, but everyone else thinks I’m crazy for never going for a permit and keeping it old school. So we’ll see who’s still around in 5 years I guess.

That sauce
Guest
That sauce
5 years ago
Reply to  Emily

^^^Abatement notice coming soon!

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  That sauce

LOL! For what? As long as the county gets their tax, they have zero interest in anything else. Thats a fact. Zero enforcement if you pay the tax. The county knows this as well. How can they go to work and not think to investigate all the permits they’ve issued to see if those growers have in filed for a state permit and have enrolled in track and trace. They don’t follow up on anything but getting their money. Its actually quite awesome if you play the game with them. Outlaw as f@ck. These growers owe the county this year for the protection they have been given. I bet they laugh every chance they get.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

Outlaw as fuck? Outlaws thatvlast will never be seen in the light of the law.

warrens buffet
Guest
warrens buffet
5 years ago
Reply to  Emily

I expect that 5 years from now the ma and pa grow biz, legal or otherwise, will not be profitable. Even folks like honeydew will struggle to make a buck. Little ma and pa scenes are hanging by a thread. Soon enough they will discover that a greeter job at Wallmart will yield more money than three rounds of dep. Overproduction, wide spread commercialization, diy gardens, price erosion, marketplace quality standards and expectations will put most of the ET out of biz.

Go check out some fine valley mj. A completely different level of product at a competitive price.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  warrens buffet

I don’t know. I suspect “artisanal” pot products will be included in the options to keep small farms going as is done now in many ways. It just won’t support the crowds of illegal growers in the style which they seem to feel is their right to have.

Alt right the turd reich
Guest
Alt right the turd reich
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

I’m a medical farmer AKA black market grower. I grow organic for the flavor and because I’m producing medicine for those in need. I do two hoops and a flat of 99. Same soil since 2008. I make enough

Huh?
Guest
Huh?
5 years ago

How is it medicine if it’s black market?

Tailgate
Guest
Tailgate
5 years ago
Reply to  Farce

Rickman
Guest
Rickman
5 years ago

God their so annoying

Emily
Guest
Emily
5 years ago

Newbies, taking the hard work from the outlaws of the past and trying to monetize it. I do think they have the right idea, and I prefer these types to the other greedy grower types, but the idea of legal weed is bound to fail. Good luck, you’ll need it.

lauracooskey
Guest
lauracooskey
5 years ago

Glass half full: The West Meadow. Actual plants growing on sun, water, and earth.
Glass half empty: The East Light Dep. A plastics farm. Terroir: Fox Farm, Royal Gold, Gardner & Bloome, or__? Climate: Courtesy of petrochemical corporations.

Loke
Guest
Loke
5 years ago

Come take a hit on this klamath river terroir, good weed can be grown anywhere with good sun good soil and good water, dimwits that’s why grapes grow in many different regions of the world and they do exceptionally well in many different areas under different conditions, great weed is grown from Cal all the way to British Columbia, believe it I have smoked great weed grown on the coast of southern humboldt to mountain weed from shingletown it’s all good if its done correctly and grown with some compost for full flavor and full colors. Get your facts straight terroir is wherever you make your terroir. Also I dont care how good the deps are if they r grown in plastic pots with mass produced soils they r just like everyone else and you should be slapped for calling it organic, slapped I tell you. Nothing that is grown in plastic is organic, period. Beds with compost tilled in or your just a SoCal dbag like every other yuppie grower hahahaaa

Buzz
Guest
Buzz
5 years ago

Spot-fucking-on comment! No disrespect to the farmers or author but this is navel gazing bullshit! Just shut up and farm people, there’s nothing new under the sun. Y’all don’t even know bout dis here Klamath River terroir!! 😂

Disgusting supervisors
Guest
Disgusting supervisors
5 years ago

Blllllaaaaa hhhhhaaaaa. Hhhhhaaaaa hhhhhaaaaa. !!!!!!!!

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago

Good effort.

G
Guest
G
5 years ago

Flowkana..I dunno if they have anyone’s but their own interests at heart.

Yellow
Guest
Yellow
5 years ago

Wow ! What a great job they have done on there farm all there hard work is paying off I don’t think anyone’s negative comments are really paid much attention to most of these people are drowning in there own mistakes and misery while this farm seems to be doing just fine. Personally the way new people to the area are treated is complete B.S. if these people are treated disrespectfully there something seriously wrong with Humboldt.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  Yellow

When u are gifted land and dont have a mortgage.. Yea youll do better than someone growing less produxing more food and with more bills

Ricky
Guest
Ricky
5 years ago
Reply to  Swine

You hit the nail right on the head

Icarus
Guest
Icarus
5 years ago
Reply to  Ricky

Actually he missed the nail, completely. They weren’t gifted the land, they bought it and have a big, fat mortgage. But don’t let the truth get in the way of your mindless snark-fest.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  Icarus

Oh im sure

msknowitall
Guest
msknowitall
5 years ago

You all “outlaws” had a free ride for decades. Some of you grew conscientiously aware of your responsibility to nature (none of us are perfect in that regard!) and gave time and tithes to your community, but, especially as the glow of the 60’s and 70’s wore off, far too many were in it for the big bucks. I sympathize with older growers on a selective, individual basis. As a group, I have NO sympathy for you. Let the legal growers prosper, and the rest of you should retire. No savings? No Social Security? Not my problem!

White Rabbit
Guest
White Rabbit
5 years ago
Reply to  msknowitall

Free ride?
Now that is funny

weedageddon
Guest
weedageddon
5 years ago
Reply to  msknowitall

legal growers will prosper, but not in the emerald triangle. too expensive to grow, too expensive to transport, too expensive to keep secure, too much competition beating each other into the ground. the only thing inexpensive is illegal under-the-table employees.

Pt
Guest
Pt
5 years ago

Ole kym pumping her weed agenda again, boring and old hat now. No one’s gonna give a shit about visiting weed grows.

Sleepy Alligator
Guest
Sleepy Alligator
5 years ago
Reply to  Pt

Ole PT continuing to read Kym’s weed agenda and then talking shit about it. No one really gives a shit about someone’s complaining when that someone continues to read what he is complaining about.

Tailgate
Guest
Tailgate
5 years ago

They seem like nice people. I wish them success.

I like stars too!
Guest
I like stars too!
5 years ago
Reply to  Tailgate

Nice people don’t manufacture drugs out in the forest and call it a business…

Stinky Wizzleteats
Guest
Stinky Wizzleteats
5 years ago

Where do nice people manufacture drugs?

lol
Guest
lol
5 years ago

hope you have the financial backing to make it in the industry, will be a while before regulations get right and people are making money. Only way you’ll make it is if you got the loot behind ya.

well. . .
Guest
well. . .
5 years ago

And the rich get richer. Either former illegal mega growers or kids from rich families.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  well. . .

Yuuuuup.

political moderate
Guest
political moderate
5 years ago
Reply to  well. . .

I would guess the former and not so much of the latter.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago

Both . mostly latter

Icarus
Guest
Icarus
5 years ago
Reply to  Swine

Swine’s comments translated: Two hardworking kids from hardworking families trying to make a living. I better pile on the hate because they make my lazy ass look bad.

p.s. It’s not true they were gifted the land. They had some modest help from their family… it’s what families do. Want to pay their mortgage?

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  Icarus

Word. man or lady. To call them outlaws os ridic.

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

Deception can only take place when there is lack of knowledge.

“No state shall pass any bill or law impairing the obligation of contracts.” Article I Section 10.

I can contract all day long and never step into commerce.

Man-made manipulated “Legal” weed, available at your nearest dispen$ary.

Jorge Cervantes
Guest
Jorge Cervantes
5 years ago

I’m pretty certain the cinder block abutments in the creek to that footbridge Are irresponsible and possibly in violation. The abutments could be placed outside the stream bed for similar strength. We use logs typically in these parts.

That sauce
Guest
That sauce
5 years ago

Jeez, the amount of haters on these weed articles is ridiculous! Humboldt is gonna be a desolate pile if/ when the market crashes. just don’t understand the hate. Wish you luck Whitethorn Valley farms your cherry chem looks amazing!

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  That sauce

Smoke and mirrors, that why. Do you see any track and trace tags on those plants? Are they going to sell legally?

That sauce
Guest
That sauce
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

Just because they don’t appear to be tagged doesn’t mean shit. I know plenty of people that didn’t tag and still sell there product legally, believe it or not once the product is out of humboldt the tags are meaningless anyway. Distributors outside of humboldt are not required to do the county track and trace and state track and trace isn’t up and running yet. I’m not denying the fact that surely a ton of legal farm shit is getting diverted to the black market, however just because it isn’t tagged doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to the black market. FACT.

LostCoastEMP
Guest
LostCoastEMP
5 years ago
Reply to  That sauce

Why sell it legally???? All n all. Nice job!

Over The Hype
Guest
Over The Hype
5 years ago

Cinderblocks thrown in the creek?!! FISH AND GAME ALERT!!! I think we have a $10,000/day violation!

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

Nice.

diesel dually
Guest
diesel dually
5 years ago

Sustainable? Ecological? Biodynamic?

An industry that relies upon trucked-in soil, trucked-in plastic and lumber, trucked-in fuels and supplies of all descriptions, and which produces a commodity of falling value in a region so remote from consumers? How can you possibly call this a reasonable “business”?

Admittedly, the purple-tinged flowers are remarkable, and, if I even thought about smoking some flower, I would go looking for this variety…

When you grow flowers in potting soil, for the carriage trade, you are a florist, not a “farmer”…

Farmers usually grow near their market, and on actual farmland, so that the delivery costs will be lower.

Congratulations for creating an extreme niche product in a tough location! It seems somehow less than in tune with nature and economics, to me, but, nice job of producing an non-competitive and only marginally sustainable and mostly useless commodity in a ecologically unsound manner…

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago

Man maybe theyll read the comments and realize rhey are posers..

guest
Guest
guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Swine

Right now it’s all fake it until you make it.

Humanon
Guest
Humanon
5 years ago

So much hate… The cultural Marxism is strong on these boards

Really?
Guest
Really?
5 years ago
Reply to  Humanon

Identifying with the victim class? For a moment I thought “Cultural Marxism” was an original thought. I was going to ask for an explanation. I googled it instead. It turns out it is just another mindless catch phrase to be used in the internet insult wars. It’s proponents and opponents and those who just like to Troll use it as nothing but Troll Bait.

toobad
Guest
toobad
5 years ago

water violation.

fred krissman
Guest
fred krissman
5 years ago

I sure hope that folks like those at WhiteThorn Valley Farm can find a sustainable niche in the state’s legal cannabis industry… If THEY can’t, and if the county keeps sending out hundreds of cannabis abatement notices, the region’s economy over the next few years is going to go from marginal to nonexistent, and our local communities will become ghost towns.

political moderate
Guest
political moderate
5 years ago

NorCal wine, weed, and wilderness.

Loke
Guest
Loke
5 years ago

I’m glad those arent my plants, I would be going out of business with shit yields like that. My girl scouts were atleast 4 to 5 times as big. Maybe good seeds makes a difference. Shout out mud puddle. BMLM

Huh?
Guest
Huh?
5 years ago
Reply to  Loke

My girl scouts were 40 or 50 times as big as that. They were tended by Nobel laureates and trimmed by tibetan monks, using only crystals. I delivered it all to Wall Street, in my fleet of biodiesel Volvo’s. I’m getting $5K a pound but it isn’t nearly enough.

TQM
Guest
TQM
5 years ago

Excellent article Emily and Kim. This also helps to support and market the various brands of Humboldt Appellations. Economic development built from the grassroots level and the ground on up. Good job Doherty and Rose and kudos to you for putting your best foot forward. I wish you luck and good fortune in all your business endeavors.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  TQM

Im sure theyve never made am illegal dime

TQM
Guest
TQM
5 years ago

well, there has to be some level of aloofness – otherwise, they’d just be letting people like you bend them over and give it to them where the sun don’t shine.

Stating facts
Guest
Stating facts
5 years ago

Well looks like you’re brother did a decent job on the garden , why isn’t he in the picture with you guys ?

Dog
Guest
Dog
5 years ago

And at what dispensery would we find this purple Cherry Chem? Asking for a friend..

Let’s be positive
Guest
Let’s be positive
5 years ago

So many negative comments. I think it is good to see the younger generation taking such consideration for Mother Earth. This is the type of people we want to see grow into our next generation and be happy to know that our children and grandchildren are growing up in a sustainably minded community. Best of luck to Whitethorn Valley Farm, and may more people lead by their example.

Canyon oak
Guest
Canyon oak
5 years ago

Not all of us are well adjusted optimists.
It is interesting how phobic optimists and pessimists are of each other.
Each polar extreme seems to wish the other didn’t exist, but in reality, we need each other..
the delusions of grandeur and success seeking of the optimistic mind is grounded by the anxiety, depression, anger or safety seeking of the pessimistic mind.
Pessimism can ground the sometimes reckless nature of positivist idealism.(your welcome), but Optimism can animate the dark minds of the village pessimist’s, with leadership and dreams for the future.(thank you)
Optimists, tempered with a practical nature, may be the only ones with the vitality to save us now, so don’t crucify the dreamers who still care!🙏

Hrpuffintuff
Guest
Hrpuffintuff
5 years ago

Elegal stream crossing gonna have to get that fixed by an engineer and have fish and game come out. 2×6 with blocks in water shed 10,000$ fine .