Growing cannabis in an old K-Mart

Cincinnati has long been known as "The Queen City." Yet, in 2023, a new potentate came to town. Since its opening, King City Gardens has conquered the hearts of cannabis patients and enthusiasts with bespoke craft strains rooted in excellence. Ohio's premier cultivation facility is nothing short of a fantasy castle: 25,000 square feet of ultra-modern grow space, including seven double-stacked rooms with roughly 2,000 plants apiece. A single stack room with 2,000 plants uses hydraulic systems to raise and lower Fluence VYPR LEDs to provide greater light intensity and spectra quality. Massive, fairy-tale-sized buds are eating up the "astronomical" PPFD in this VYPR room.

As a new level one facility in Ohio, King City Gardens emphasizes craft cannabis at scale. Under the leadership of Richard Mursinna, Director of Operations with a PhD in biochemistry, and Justin Matherly, Director of Grow Operations with 23 years of cultivation experience, their experienced team applies best practices and technology to achieve this difficult goal; yet, like any art form, growing cannabis requires a delicate human touch and slight tweaks at every step along the way.

Each team member at King City Gardens brings his or her own vision and experience to growing, but the team shares a singular vision to produce the best cannabis at affordable scale. They want to be the best not only in the U.S., but also in the world and beyond. Shooting for the Moon demands a lot of forethought. Even before the original team of ten members had a facility, they hand-selected strains and head-hunted genetics from some of the best growers worldwide. With their genotypes in order, Richard Mursinna, Justin Matherly, and their team found and repurposed a K-Mart with 100,000 square feet of buildable space. They completed their build out in just eight months. Such a fast turnaround was only possible due to their cumulative experience over the decades and their solid plan of attack to secure strains and implement tried and true technologies.

Unlike some states where every application to grow is approved, Ohio is very selective with its licenses. King City Gardens installed LEDs from the very beginning, since the state has been pushing LEDs to reduce strain on the power grid. LEDs have the additional benefit of energy cost savings, which proved vital for their 100,000 square foot facility. The team plans to construct more R&D rooms and a larger mother room with Fluence LEDs overhead.

For Stephen Weik, Director of Training and Special Projects, and many members on the team, the mission to provide premier craft cannabis at scale remains a medicinal and human endeavor. From seed to sale, the plants are treated as more than just recreational enjoyment; Stephen and countless others have family and friends that rely on medicinal cannabis to relieve pain, ailments, discomfort, and melancholy. In Stephen's words, "It's that thought process of—we can continue to get better, we can continue to improve on practices and procedures that set us apart from other growers." This yearning to be the best every day is a philosophy that King City Gardens holds in spades.

King City Gardens already has become a popular and trusted brand in Ohio. With expert knowledge and industry-leading technologies, the team has realized impressive results. THC and terpene content have increased substantially. Strains that contained a respectable 25% THC content jumped to 35% under Fluence lighting. And buds that had 2% terpene content (3% at best) under HPS are now reaching 4% terpene content with consistency and even up to 6.57% on that same strain under Fluence LEDs. Cannabis enthusiasts, growers, and aficionados understand the gravity of these increases.

Even with far greater light intensities, Justin Matherly says his facility is saving 40% more on electricity with LEDs compared to defunct high-pressure sodium fixtures. Whereas most cultivators in Ohio are growing 1,200 pounds each month, King City is shipping 1,200 pounds every two weeks. Each room in the repurposed K-Mart produces 710 pounds of quality bud—booming with THC, terpenes, and flavor.

King City Gardens has increased THC content (25% → 35%), improved terpene content (2% and 3% → 4% and 6.57%) and is producing 1,200 pounds of quality product every two weeks.

By the age of 23, Alexander of Macedon had conquered half the world. Since 2023, King City Gardens has displayed a similar trajectory to the moon, but their team has spread far more love, joy, and relief than any potentate has before. For these reasons and more, "Long Live the King in Queen City."