Feature of Month
Clone to Cure —
A Cannabis Plant ’ s Journey
by Karla Deel , contributing writer
Editor ’ s Note : We asked Karla Deel of Flora Farms to take our readers on the growing journey of a cannabis plant — from seed or clone to sale at a dispensary . What does it take , and how long to produce and bring the best quality flower and a host of other delectable products to the store shelves . Here ’ s Karla ’ s behind the scene ’ s look at a cannabis plants ’ amazing journey .
Farming revolutionized society . Crops of all kinds became the backbone of developing communities . There is an art and science to cultivating crops , but also a little bit of magic and wonder . The processes are precise , the work is hard , and the payoff is magnanimous . We ought to give a lot of thanks to our farmers . And modern-day cannabis farmers are no different .
A typical Midwest farming cycle spans an entire year , consisting of spring , summer , and fall , with a reset for winter . Flora Farms ’ indoor cultivation facility , however , experiences every season simultaneously . Employees can see all stages of growth at once , accelerating their knowledge of growing cannabis . In fact , Flora Farms encounters 10 years of farming in 10 cycles — in a brief two months .
Let ’ s take a deep dive into the Flora Farms process of farming cannabis plants .
Mothers and Babies
Mothers are where it all begins . These plants earn their name as the origin source for a perpetual harvest because their genetic traits are passed down through generations . Flora Farms knows the health of its mothers , and genetics are its biggest priorities and greatest assets . Healthy moms and healthy clones equal healthy , happy flower . It grows its mothers strong and large to help produce resilient and healthy baby plants .
The small-but-mighty cloning and propagation team consists of six to eight people working across several rooms . The team cares for the mothers and is responsible for creating healthy clones . How they cut , where they cut , and what they cut from the mother plant impacts the final product . The healthiest cuts make the healthiest clones . To do this , the cloning team first finds a nice and healthy-looking branch on the mother plant . They remove a clone from the plant just under a node , which is the location on a stem where a leaf or branch is attached . After the cut , they prepare the clone to take root by cutting off the tips of its leaves . This crucial step alerts the clone to its next mission on its journey to flower : to grow strong , healthy roots or perish .
When production is in full swing , it can produce up to 9,000 to 10,000 clones per week with an average of 95 % survival success rate . Growers cannot make clones from other clones , as this produces a phenomenon known as genetic drift , which weakens genetics and , over time , causes mutations that may produce unwanted effects .
Though mother plants live together in a shared environment , and all are kept in the same vegetative state , not all behave the same . Certain mother plants are often easier to work with than others . Flora Farms ’ Bubba Fett mom is one of its best growers . She ’ s hardy , healthy , easy to deal with , and contains great node spacing on her branches , which helps cut clones full of vitality . Bubba Fett always produces strong , healthy babies that turn into incredibly productive full-grown plants .
Youth and Teens
Veg Room Captain , Venita Ryan , provides individualized care to young plants .
The baby plants are now ready to move into one of the veg rooms , where they will spend 35 days growing into the equivalent of teenagers . Each small plant is different and has different needs and requires various levels of hands-on nurturing . This stage of growth demands intimate care from the veg team . Robust feeding schedules ramp up and help ensure proper development of the plants . The growth in the veg room is an incredibly important part of the journey for cannabis plants to grow strong enough to be ready for the flowering stage .
There is no downtime in a veg room . Veg rooms ( photo on left ) are a constant dance of loading trays and cleaning and resetting tables for new transplants to arrive . The transition from a cannabis plant ’ s vegetative period into its flowering stage will vary based on the strain . Our veg teams monitor the plants closely and determine when a plant is strong enough to handle the more mature flowering stage .