Feature of Month
An In-Depth Look at Vivid ’ s New Commercial Grow Facility
Grandview , MO .
by Ryan Van Horn , contributing writer
The EVOLUTION Magazine was so impressed with Vivid ’ s recently acquired commercial grow facility in Grandview , MO , that we invited Ryan Van Horn , who wrote grow tips articles for this magazine in 2019 , on a tour of the Vivid facility and the opportunity to interview Kerrin Wuchter , their Director of Cultivation . industry to southern Colorado , he specializes in side-by-side multimedium grows , constantly testing new fertilizers and soil mixes . With extensive experience in growing , post-harvest processing , extracting , and infusing , he ’ s now back in KC sharing his cannabis knowledge with new and experienced growers alike .
Here ’ s the Q & A interview by Ryan Van Horn ( RV ) with Kerrin Wuchter ( KW ).
( RV ) How many years of experience do you have growing cannabis and where ?
( KW ) I ’ ve been growing cannabis for four years now and have worked in cultivation facilities in Maryland , DC , Virginia , and Missouri . I became fascinated with the plant and ultimately decided to leave office life behind in favor of learning a new trade . Starting at the ground level , I did my time trimming buds for a few months at a local cultivation facility before ultimately transitioning onto its cultivation team .
( RV ) What extra steps do you take to ensure your product is better than your competitors ?
( From left ) Boston Dickerson , CEO of Show-Me Organics ( Vivid label ) with Kerrin Wuchter , Director of Cultivation , and Ryan Van Horn , during his tour or the Vivid cultivation facility for this interview .
Ryan Van Horn is a KC native with over 20 years of experience in cannabis cultivation , both organics and hydroponics , indoors and out . Starting in Californian during the green rush , then following the
( KW ) What sets us apart from other commercial grows is the fact that we are constantly collecting and interpreting data and pivoting our irrigation , environmental , and plant maintenance strategies based on the data we collect . Crop steering has the potential to push and stress a crop pretty hard , so the fact that we are collecting so much data on a daily and weekly basis keeps us well-dialed and limits any particularly negative consequences .
We also flower our plants for an additional ninth week ( as opposed to the industry-wide standard of eight weeks ) to ensure enough time for our cultivars to properly mature and finish . During that ninth week , we also provide our plants with a thorough flush of pH ’ d water to eliminate salt buildup and ultimately provide our patients with a cleaner , smoother smoke .