“We’re real big into learning,” said Casey Connell, owner of Contender Gardens. Sure, this is almost as generic of a statement as “We grow some of the best weed around,” but if you spend some time with Connell and his staff you’ll learn that their interest in knowledge goes beyond simply cultivating quality plants. Think quality bugs instead, which is one of the ways that the Tier 1 producer in north Spokane is able to keep the “bad bugs” away and also avoid using pesticides.
Since 2013, Connell has performed extensive research into what types of insects are most beneficial when introduced at different stages of a plant’s growth. The role of the “better bugs” is to attack and devour the more damaging bugs that can impact a plant’s growth, lower its quality, and spread to other plants.
Different growing environments can lead to the presence of different types of insects, and also can correlate with different parts of a plant’s life cycle. For instance, certain insects will thrive in higher or lower humidity – and so will the ones that can combat them. The sequence of insect introduction is also perfectly timed with each species’ life cycle so all bugs are gone by the time the plant is ready to be harvested. “We’re all geeked out about this stuff,” Connell said.
He began growing cannabis in 2001, and earned degrees in economics and Portuguese from the University of New Mexico. He moved to Bend, Ore., during its building boom in the mid-2000s, where he worked with medical marijuana patients and built a cacti farm, which could be used in sustainable landscaping.
When the recession hit in 2008, he moved to Everett and opened a medical collective garden called Contender Agriculture. After the passage of Initiative 502, he decided to start attending various controlled environment agriculture schools including Oaksterdam University, where he fine-tuned his growing techniques. With these new credentials, he expanded his farm into Seattle.
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