One of the issues that has been plaguing the overall cannabis market is product quality fluctuations: not every grower has been able to achieve the same high quality over and over, and thus it isn’t rare that a given product would look or smoke differently if purchased at different times. Among the many reasons, surely the regulatory framework plays a big role in this, as it dictates what growers are allowed to do... or not to do in licensed cultivation practices.
When you look at the US cannabis industry, with every state individually regulating its own sector, the regulatory patchwork across the country may have an impact on such quality fluctuations. At the same time, if a state has particularly strict and clear regulations, growers may have an ‘easier’ time producing the high-quality product they strive for. This is the case for Massachusetts.
Growing in Massachusetts
Gibby’s Garden is a family cannabis business based in Massachusetts. “We were the first licensed Microbusiness,” Fred Gibson of Gibby’s Garden says. As Fred explains, Massachusetts started with medicinal dispensaries and legalized the recreational market in 2016. “Here, you have medical stores and recreational stores,” he continues. “There isn’t a clear distinction between the products sold in either store, because the testing protocols for recreational cannabis follow the same standards as medical cannabis. After the state of New York, Massachusetts is the second in the nation for the most rigid testing protocols – and New York only has medical cannabis. This surely speaks to the great length that regulators went to in setting up a cannabis sector built to thrive. You can see that the cannabis here in Massachusetts is the best, and cleanest in the US.”
The Gibson family grows their cannabis indoors, in a warehouse separated into grow rooms, each of which is equipped with automation and controls to manage every environmental condition and parameter. "There are always challenges when you grow a crop at scale,” Fred points out. “As cannabis growers, we are regulated in what we can use in the grow, in terms of nutrients and pest mitigation for instance. These are constant challenges, but based on the premium product we provide to the industry, we are overcoming them.”
Energy compliant thanks to advanced LEDs
Another aspect that is highly regulated in Massachusetts is the energy consumption of such cultivation facilities. That is one of the reasons why Gibby’s Garden has opted for LED lighting. “LEDs can be quite expensive upfront,” Fred says. “But they have longevity that’s well worth it. On top of that, we need to be energy compliant, and LED’s are the most energy-efficient lights you can purchase.”
Specifically, Gibby’s Garden opted for TSRgrow LED lights. “We did a lot of R&D testing for lights,” says Joe Gibson. “We tested quite a few lights and then we were introduced to TSRgrow. The quality of their lights was seen when through our testing protocols, we could see plants gravitating towards these full spectrum lights.” The TSRgrow advanced LED lighting solution allows Gibby’s Garden greater control over the growth of their plants. “The ability you have of controlling the PAR on the lights is a huge benefit to us. You can bring a stronger light and accommodate the different genetics we grow within one grow room.”
“TSRgrow LED lights have no ballasts and are connected to a power server that is just outside of the grow room. This scenario moves the ballast heat outside the room, makes maintenance easier and allows you to monitor and control the lights remotely. We have full control over all our LEDs; we can control each rack individually, which helps a lot with certain strains and certain phases of the plant growth,” says Joe. “That’s why we eventually installed TSRgrow LED lights throughout all our grow environments.”
The control over every aspect of cannabis growing is particularly important for a craft grower such as Gibby’s Garden. “We do what has to be done to make our product stand out,” Joe continues. “We dry and cure flowers a month before packaging which preserves and enhances the trichomes and the THC content. We finish our flower with hand trimming, and our consumers appreciate that. Customers want quality, and we guarantee that with every product. Thanks to the TSRgrow LEDs, we are getting more terpenes and cannabinoids, yields are getting better.”
The importance of being sustainable
LEDs are an important element for making the cannabis industry more sustainable. “We are pretty ahead of the curve here in Massachusetts,” Joe remarks. “The state is doing everything to have an efficient and sustainable industry. The sector is poised for growth and is getting bigger, we haven’t even tapped the surface of what cannabis can do, yet. To facilitate this growth, I think that it is critical that the federal government end the banking issues, and provide smaller growers to be a greater part of this industry.”
“We are passionate about this herb,” Fred says. “We strive to be the craft grower par excellence of the industry. When the state border restrictions drop, and federal decriminalization happens, we plan to go beyond the state line and offer our craft cannabis quality to a broader audience.”
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