Marijuana Business Magazine September 2018

and what we feed them is providing beneficial runoff as it runs through the soil, even in areas where the ganja isn’t,” Simpkins said. “It’s all good stuff. It’s nothing harmful. Everything we’re put- ting out there isn’t just safe but making things better.” Simpkins said the Netafin system cost $58,000, and the pump, filters and tanks cost $49,000. To keep that moisture in the ground and reduce the chance it will be lost to evaporation, Simpkins uses mulch and rice straw – the latter being one of the few products not grown at Sacred Farm. Specifically, he top dresses his main layer of soil with mulch. Last year, he brought in 160 bales of rice straw and spread six to eight bails on each of the 24 cannabis rows.That protected the soil from overheating during the sum- mer and freezing over the winter. “It really holds a ton of moisture down where you want it. If you dig down, you’ll find a ton of moisture underneath the soil where you want it, even on 100-degree days,” Simpkins said. “When you employ methodologies like heavy mulching, you dramatically cut your water needs. And you’re keep- ing that soil alive because that top layer never dries out.That allows worms to come up and provide their castings on the top layers of the soil to keep things rich and alive.” The next step in Simpkins’ water strategy is building a rainwater catch- ment on the roof of his 4,000-square- foot barn. Improving the Soil After Simpkins picked his farm, the next step was laying a foundation of top-shelf soil. He chose Plant Your Root, a company in Eugene, Oregon, that makes high-end soil that usually sells for about $200 per yard. Simpkins got a deal on some less-custom soil for $130 per yard, figuring he could add some ingredients himself. The soil starts with a base of one- third peat moss, one-third compost and one-third aeration ingredients, like pumice and lava rock.The compost is made from many ingredients, includ- ing fish compost, organic mushroom compost, organic dairy cow compost, vegetable compost, worm castings and bug excrement. The idea is that this is a one-time investment and the organic nutrients and the beneficial bacteria will improve the soil over time. “Hopefully it gets better every year as we give more love to the soil,” Simpkins said. For example, every year Simpkins and two employees top dress the soil with 5 yards of worm castings plus alpaca manure; they then add a top layer of mulch. Alpaca manure contains numer- ous trace minerals that are vital to can- nabis, and it’s also high in nitrogen and potassium, according to Simpkins. “Every year, more organic matter is going into that soil, keeping it alive and thriving,” he added. Whipping Up Nutrients Almost all the nutrients that Sacred Flower puts into its cannabis are so- called dynamic accumulator plants that are grown on the farm. Such plants have Hugel beds are used to grow plants such as comfrey, stinging nettle and peppermint, which grower Mark Simpkins uses to create soil nutrients. Photo courtesy of Sacred Flower Farms September 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 51