Marijuana Business Magazine May-June 2019

May-June 2019 | mjbizdaily.com 135 “By allowing light to penetrate deeper into the canopy, you turn some of the lower leaves into more resources, because they’re receiving more photosynthetic radiation, where they can actually help support the plant,” Monroe said. Brooks Lustig, founder of Denver- based vertically integrated cannabis company Seed & Smith, tries to push the limits on how much pruning his plants can take before there are diminishing returns. “I would say we prune on the heav- ier side compared to most,” he said. “Depending on your grow system, you’ll see where the limits of that are and how far you can get that light.” Proper Spacing Is Key Keep your plants spaced in accordance with your lighting system. For example, if one plant senses it’s touching another, it will start to shoot up rather than out, something you want to avoid in the early stages of a plant’s life, Kline said. “If the plants aren’t spaced appro- priately, depending on the type of lighting you’re using, you’re going to be disappointed,” he added. At High Street, the cultivation team uses two different plant arrange- ments and lights in the same amount of space to ensure the plants receive adequate lighting. On one side, 60 plants are “much more spaced out” under high-pres- sure sodium (HPS) bulbs. The goal is to create a much larger bud structure. Kline’s team pulls apart the upper branches and removes the small branches from the bottom. “It opens the plant up,” Kline said. “We’re hoping to get light down to the very bottom and create a much bigger bud.” On the other side, 300 plants are housed in the same space as the 60 under the HPS light, but these have light-emitting diodes (LEDs) installed above. This arrangement employs a more “sea of green” canopy style. With this arrangement, Kline said, you’ll get a more top-based product with trel- lised plants and smaller buds, but you can pack more plants into the space. Monroe broke it down this way: If you cram your plants together in the vegetative room, you’ll get taller, longer plants rather than squatter, bushier plants, because they’ll compete for light. When plants are growing into each other, you’ll get what Monroe calls a shade-avoidance response. “It’s basically a way for the plant to try to outcompete its neighbors,” he said. “It causes elongation of the stems and will shorten your flowering time, which reduces your overall yield.” It also causes your plant to grow upward rather than outward. “I like to put the plants far enough away so they’re not touching. That way, your side branches are getting enough light,” Monroe said. Lustig echoed Monroe’s approach. “If something’s in the shade, it’s not receiving as much energy as something that’s out in the sun, or in the light, so your production value is going to be limited,” Lustig said. He tries to prevent the plants from competing by spacing them out. That way he gets light penetration through the canopy and can maximize the facility’s cubic footage, not just the square footage. Fine-Tuning Light Levels Kline attempts to mimic natural lighting conditions with his lights. “When the plant starts off, you don’t want your light too intense,” he said. “In nature, the sun doesn’t flip a switch and get to a super intense point. It kind of ramps up to that.” Lustig makes sure his lights aren’t too close to the plants, so they are not overloaded—but he does push the limit. The industry standard for micromoles (a scientific measurement for light particles) is 800-1,000 per square meter, he said. “I can tell you that we run a more intensive system than that,” Lustig said. Your plant arrangement—particularly how far apart you space your plants—will greatly influence light penetration and how tall or squat your plants grow. Photo Courtesy of Shift Cannabis Brooks Lustig is the founder of Seed & Smith in Denver. Courtesy Photo