Maximum Yield Cannabis USA February/March 2018 | Page 30

grow
A large number of hydroponics industry companies,
such as Hydrofarm and General Hydroponics, are
located in Sonoma County. Why is this?
The area is dramatically influenced by both urban and
rural cultures, with IT/tech-heavy San Francisco to the
south and the woodsy regions of Mendocino County
and beyond to the north. With this blending of indoor
and outdoor cultivation and technology, Sonoma has
become a cauldron of innovation for horticultural
technique as well as hydroponics equipment.
How was bio365 effected by the fires?
bio365 has a research farm in Sonoma County. We use
it for studying plants and soil science in controlled
environments. Also, our associates at Oso LLC
operate a not-for-profit cannabis cultivation
operation on the property. We collaborate for
research purposes. In total, the operation lost
three greenhouses and bio365 lost all of its soil
science data from the entire year. We did not
even know if we could keep the farm going, so we
decided to join the efforts of many organizations
in their work, not only to support the cannabis
community but all people effected by the fires.
How many Sonoma County cannabis
cultivators were affected by the fires?
Hundreds and hundreds of farms and
personal gardens were affected by the
fires and toxic smoke. A large reason
for this is that a majority of growers set
up their operations in the backcountry,
forested areas of the region. The fires ran
right through these large forest systems in Sonoma
County. Unfortunately for those whose gardens were
destroyed, insurance companies don’t cover outdoor
cannabis crops. Even worse, if these growers were
permitted by the state and county, they still have to pay
taxes on their crops. Because the local police were too
busy to take reports on damaged cannabis gardens,
these police reports would be the only way for growers
to prove to the state and county that their crops were
lost. For growers who didn’t lose their crops to fire, the
smoke could have rendered their harvests worthless.
Toxic smoke from fires contains heavy metals, which
easily contaminate flowers. These damaged flowers
cannot be made into concentrates (a common practice
with low-quality buds) because the contaminates will
come out even more pronounced in the process.
Can you please tell us a bit about
bio365’s fire relief program?
bio365 put together a free fundraising event at the
Grange in Sebastopol, California, on December 1.
We teamed up with the Sonoma County Growers
Alliance (SCGA), the California Growers Association
(CGA), and Left Coast Wholesale to raise funds for
any farmers that were affected by the fires, including
those that don’t grow cannabis. Also, bio365 is giving
away up to a palate of free soil to those growers who
lost their crops. We had a great lineup of live music
that came up from the San Francisco area, including
Steve Kimock, Dave Nelson, and members
of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful
Dead. We had 267 people turn out for
the fundraiser. We really hope it helps
people get back on their feet.
"these FIres, which
impacted Sonoma, Napa,
Mendocino, and Lake counties,
destroyed more than 7,500
structures and caused
$1 billion in damages.”
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grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
myhydrolife.com