Cheyenne Mountain Seed Company Podcasts

*Banjo music plays* Alright, good morning boys and girls, cowboys and Indians, Republicans and Democrats. We’re live from Colorado Springs, Colorado, we’re going to talk about the hemp industry in America this morning. Um, I’m Reed Mason, my partner here is Bill Fitzgerald, and Kirk Rigozen, never can get it right. It’s only been 7-8 years. Yeah, never could get it right. Um Bill, where should we get started this morning? Well, let’s get into it, uhh. Everyone knows about the new USDA regulations, they’re basically gonna, they’re gonna write regulations for states that don’t have Departments of Agriculture, um, regulating the particular state they’re in. So, if you’re in a state that isn’t regulated, you’ll have to follow the USDA rules and get USDA licensing. And that should pretty much set the standard for the whole country. I would expect all the state’s Department of Agriculture to get in line behind the new regulations, and they’re really not that different from anything we’ve been expecting or lived under for the last couple of years, wouldn’t you say Kirk? Right, it’s the same that we’ve always held under the .3% THC level in total THC, where you know if you’re from a state that has had a little different outlook on that, some people have gone delta 9 instead of total THC, and as Bill said the USDA is just a blanket for the country, it’s not changed it’s just clarifying is really all it’s trying to do. So, you know, some of these states might have a year, this year, to kind of filter through that and get their department of agriculture or their inspectors out, you know, it’s a process. Even here in Colorado we are basically the standard. We’ve been doing it for years with such immense growth and changes, uh, our department of agriculture probably only got to 75% of the farmers last year. So, I can only imagine in the new states at lot of change is going on. Yeah Reed, what are some of the new states comin’ online this year for their first year really doing the hemp program. We have quite a few of them: Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Missouri, Florida, I think Georgia’s talking about it as well, um might already be in the process. A lot of these people are gonna be receiving their licenses within the next three months, hopefully get in on this summer’s growing season. Um, we’re gonna talk a little bit about, um, various other events that are happening in America, um, auctions what to do with your products and so forth down the road; but right now where just going to get in to where do we start? How do we start? Do we apply for a license in each of these individual states? Um, I would say go to your department of agriculture pull of the appropriate forms that you need and start there. Then, start doing your research online. Where you’re going to get your seeds, where you’re going to grow, um, your conditions, um, your investors, get your relationships lined up, um, for the beginning and for the end. Right, and that’s- that’s obviously a question we get a lot here at the seed company. People ask us, you know, if grow out your seeds well what’s the end product? And again, up here in Colorado we’ve got it established a little bit easier, uh, channels are open, processes are in place. So, if you are in a new state, you know, look around and also look to other states around you too and see if you can move your product that way. But as far as Reed’s sayin’, it all starts with the right seeds, and that’s where we come in. Um, so, we went to Nashville to the I.H.A.M. convention, this was the first year of it. We had a booth there and met some people. It was fairly attended, lightly I would say. Um, there was hemp auction, um, we saw a lot of different things on the hemp auction floor didn’t we Kirk? We did, and-and- and it goes back to uh, to what we were sayin’ earlier, that even though there’s certain states as in Tennessee goin’ of the Delta 9, that’s great, but then when they go to sell these bulk products the processes are looking at it as that’s basically over the legal limits of total THC, so what did sell was clean, uh, and under .3, which is always what we’ve preached and go by, you know, that’s the standard that we- should be across America. Yeah, until they change the regulation, which hopefully they will and raise the .3- amen, yeah that would make everybody’s life a little better. And what they didn’t sell they’re going to have to store until March, April when maybe the prices start comin’ back up. What a lot of people were talkin’ about, but they have to take it back home and store it properly. Correct, yeah. Yeah, mold and issues like that, you know uh, if you’re talkin’ about such a bulk harvest and you’re pullin’ down a hundred to a hundred thousand pounds, you know, even ten pounds sitting in a pot for too long will mold. So, we don’t want that, you know. Guys, do your research like Reed said and you know we’re here to throw questions at us, you know, we put a lot of information on our website to help everybody, but. We could have bought a whole lot for a real good deal, but we didn’t know what we were going to do with it or how we were going to get it back home. Um, we are going to have to talk about transporting, um, in America here real quick, um, from state to state. There are some new laws in the works to make inter-sate commerce easier for hemp, um, law enforcement is having a real hard time distinguishing between the two which obviously leads to testing, but people are sittin’ in jail while the testing is goin’ on. Alright, the considerations for planting this summer for a hemp crop in America, we’re going to go over a little bit of a list of what we need to talk about. We need to talk about our climate, we need to talk about our location, our region, our soils, our water sources, our planting mediums how we’re going to go in and out of the ground, where we’re going to start, our climates, our weather patterns rains/hails, problems that can work against us this summer. First of all, once we have all that in place, then we’re going to have to find a seed source, and what makes a good seed Bill? Of course, the main thing of any cannabis crop would be the genetics. I mean, I’d say 70% of the value of a certain strain is in its’ genetics itself. I mean, what it is, how it presents itself in the field as far as the end product. What does the bud look like? Structure? We grow the seeds to be as big as we can make ‘em to start with and then we grade them out. I mean, the smaller seeds we take out as well as anything that won’t germinate, you can tell by looking at. Um, so my germination rate and my end product, that’s going to dictate my price. I’m going to pay for what I get. Right, besides the genetics, you could- a higher germination rate, you’ll pay more for because, for one thing, less labor involved in culling out seedlings that never came out. You know, we’re talking feminized seeds only, I don’t want to work hard in my garden all year for nothin’. Well, if you’re payin’ a dollar or two dollars per seed, you want to make sure each seed grows and becomes a plant because that’s a lot of money. You’re just not gonna throw them out in your garden, you’re going to take care of each seed individually, um, so we want to provide the best seed. We guarantee, at Cheyenne Mountain Seed Company, that you’ll have all the plants that you planned for because we carefully look for a germination rate. We test for our germination rates a few times, um, try and really get it correct. And then we add more seed to your order based on the germination rate. So, if you’re getting a 95% germination rate is what we test out, we’re gonna give you 5% more seed so you’ll- if you’re planning on 10,000 plants you’ll end up with 10,000 plants, at least. And that’s 1,500 and acre and that gives me room to work around because these plants are going to get wide and thick. Right, we talk about it on our website, you know, how to- how to figure how many plants you’re gonna need per acre, and it all depends on the space between your plant of course. Um, the more spacing you provide the easier it is to work in the field of course, because weed control is a huge issue. Hi guys, uh, so basically when we’re evaluating weed strains, what we’re looking at in the term strain number one, that’s the difference between you know, not just a cannabis plant, but much that plant’s going to produce. There’s apples out there. There’s a million hemp strains our there. So, what we want is the biggest juiciest tastiest buds, and we want the medicine the CBD, photo cannabinoids, to be super high as though- although the THC will remain at .3% or less. So, in evaluating our hemps strains that’s the goal right there. Biggest producing buds, the highest amount of CBD I can get and keep it at .3% THC. We want to get back to what am I getting? I’m getting as much bud as I can, I want as much CBD as I can, at .3% THC, and it’s uh, I think we talked a little bit earlier about germination rates which is again huge, uh, even if I’m payin’ a hundred dollars for a few in the backyard I want to make sure I get my hundred dollars’ worth. So, when I’m out there with 10,000 in the field I want to make sure I have 10,000 plants. So, here at Cheyenne Mountain Seed we do our adjusting on the germination rates and uh, what we do is go ahead and give you, the farmer or the grower, um the extra 5 or 10% or whatever the germination rate falls at. If it’s a 95% germination rate we’ll give you the 5% as I believe Bill mentioned earlier. So again, here we are evaluating hemp strains and hemp seeds. Um, these are the things that I would look for. What are the differences between the Cherry Wine and the Quick Kush and the Mountain Mango in size, and color, and looks? Sure, there is a little bit in each, um, some- you know, uh, again as I said the mango is a very vigorous plant. The Cherry wine tends to grow a little bit broader leaf. A lot of people talk about the difference between a Sativa and Indica, which basically means there’s more naturally along the equator, or is it in the northern or southern hemisphere where they need broader leaves to absorb the light. Um, here in North America, our seeds will do better- great in either section, whether you’re in Florida or in Wisconsin, um, it’s not that much of a difference for the plant to not do well. But as far as size and the evaluation of the buds themselves, the mango, big fruity buds; the Cherry Wine has been an industry standard for years. Very rich in photo cannabinoids, uh, tend to be a little bit squatter plant, but tend to be big, thick heavy buds. Uh, this year we have our Quick Kush, which uh I’m excited to see grow, um here in our indoor environment, we’ve noticed that it’ll set the bud very quick. A way to evaluate hemp strains by the terpene profile, which is going to be the taste, um, the fragrance of the bud itself, plus terpenes do contribute to medical values so- which makes each strain different. Um, you can see the terpene profiles of our three strains on our website, um you know, the Quick Kush has a little more kushy flavor obviously. Aroma therapy haha. The Cherry is sweet, um, and the Mountain Mango has a fruity mangoey smell and taste, fragrance and taste. Right exactly, that’s why they’re named that way and, like Bill said, that’s from the terpenes for some of you guys that don’t know where that smell comes from, it’s all in that terpene profile. Uh, the kush is familiar to a lot of us cannabis growers and kind of a new term for hemp growers. It’s a oily bud, and it tends to have almost a gasoline kinda smell, wouldn’t you say Reed? Yeah, gassy. Yeah yeah, rich and oily. So, good good for growing medicine hahaha absolutely. Alright so Reed and Kirk, I know you’ve been- I know you’ve been tellin’ me the main question that people ask is how many seeds do I plant on an acre? I mean that is the most basic question to start with. Um, it determines so many things from acreage that you need to work as well as lease whatever you’re gonna do, water considerations, on and on. The whole- the whole project is based on how many plants you’re gonna have per acre. Um, so Kirk, how- what’s the, you know, when you wanna lay out your hemp field, what do you wa- how do we do it? I mean, we have a thing on our website for it. Sure sure, I mean for an ideal situation, level land, no- no trees or rocks in the way, you know, go ahead and straight rows of five-foot centers is what we kind of consider. You know, we like to raise it up a little bit, um, clear out your weeds of course and all those good things, but is the basic lay out for how much you can get out of any acre. Uh, it depends on your land. Like I said, if it’s flat land like 1,500 and acre on raised beds, five-foot centers. If you guys have a hillside you might need to look at spacing that out or building something around it. If there are too many trees, you know, things like that, but a basic- basic for us using the five-foot centers would be 1,500 an acre. Right, and it’s- if you actually do the math on it it’s more like 1,681 plants per acre, but. Right, you can go more. Most people can’t plant end to end per acre, so we just round down a little bit, um, and that’s a good number I think. People- people like that number. You know, and then there are questions concerning, you know, what am I looking at for my field lay out. Your- your- your whole plan is- is in uh how much land you have to work with, right, as your business plan. Uh, but each- no matter where you are, you’re going to have to feed ‘em. These girls get thirsty in the summertime and if you’re in a wet environment, uh, that’s great you know. Could be very helpful. Here in Colorado it’s a very dry environment, so we can tell you that the middle of summer when they’re in full bud and it’s a hot day, they can drink up to three gallons a day, wouldn’t you say Bill? Easily. Yeah, so. Depending on the size, you know, if you’re just growin’ out in a field um naked, so to speak, um, depending on nature to provide your water, um, that’s possible, but like in Colorado I mean we can’t even think about that. And we don’t suggest a pivot either because you’re not getting’ down into the dirt. That’s a whole nother- the best way to grow, of course, is with plastic mulch, drip irrigation, and that saves water, um, you can fertilize through the same system. It’s the ideal setup, of course it costs money. Um, if you do it right it’ll easily pay for itself. Yeah, easily. It’s the difference between a one-pound plant and a five-pound plant, you know, hahaha. It could be huge. Yeah, so how much- people ask how to figure how much water you need, and it’s a critical matter if you’re irrigating your hemp. Um, and how you figure it, you have to figure the peak use of your water source, which would probably be in the middle of July/August, beginning of August. The Plants are big at that time, they’re goin’ into bud, they’re still in a veg mode, so they’re really gonna be drinkin’ some water. Um, now, depending on your system, you know, normally you’re only going to water eight hours a day. Um, during a normal- maybe 10 hours. Like at peak periods if your source can handle it, you could- you can just water throughout the day for a longer period to get the- get your gallons per hours up. Um, you know, water 24 hours a day. Of course it depends on your water source if you can actually draw that much water out, legally or physically, whatever the limitations are of your system, pumps, et cetera. Um, but we figure 2.5 gallons per day per plant at peak season. That should get you covered anywhere in the country, in a hot spell, um, on a 10 acre grow you’re lookin’ at 37,000 gallons a day at least. Um, so it’s a lot of water. Um, you gotta do your calculations right or you coul- because you don’t want to kill your plants when they’re at their peak growin’ season, or stunt ‘em. They really really don’t like to go without water when they’re in bud. Um, you can get away with it when they’re in their veg, but once they hit bud they will die if they do not get water, right. I’d say, that’s one of my most big things, wouldn’t you say Bill? Is the consistency of that water and also, um, you know a lot of people water out of a well or something that may have a lot of heavy metals in it, or you know, the ph levels could be really off too. Now here, we have a controlled environment indoors, how would we help the farmer get the ph right? Have the retention ponds, uh, can they treat the water as it goes out? Well sure, I mean, it’s part of the irrigation system, uh uh, a ph injector which is- has a controller that measures the ph and puts in the right amount of acid typically, um, injects it into your system as it goes into the field. Um, you know, you inject as you use the water, as well as the fertilizer is done at that point, it’s not put into some kind of reservoir, um. So there again that direct line feeding is really the way to go in all this. Absolutely, you will get the best performance without a doubt using irrigation. Well perfect. Reed, have you seen any other questions that we uh? Well, you know, with the water back to it, it’s just like your kids. The better your feed it the more they’ll grow. Um, y-y-y- you’ve got to- y-y- you’ve got to source good and around, and you can’t dry up out there or you’re gonna have problems all summer long.

Thanks everyone for listening to us today. If you want to find out some more information about everything we do here at Cheyenne Mountain Seed Company, um, about the Cherry Wine, the Mountain mango, or the Quick Kush, those are our three main strains. Uh, you can find us everywhere. We’re on Facebook, our videos are on YouTube, um, this podcast will be on our website, which is www.cheyennemountainseedcompany.com, um, and take a look at it. Thanks for listenin’.