Suspended Brands spared no expense in developing one of the most impressive cannabis greenhouses in the world
Story by Greg James
Photos by Kenton Bradley
In typical agricultural production, the most efficient and cost-effective way to grow a crop commercially has been refined over many decades. Lettuce, cherries, corn, tomatoes and most other agricultural products are grown in climates that address their specific needs, and in a manner that has been proven effective. Nothing is left to chance, and the relentless drive for profits in a capitalist system that rewards quick studies almost guarantees careless farmers will last about as long as the proverbial snowflake in hell.
One of the fascinating things about the new, legal marijuana trade is that proven techniques and styles that ensure success or failure in most agricultural crops are all but absent. In other words, with legal commercial marijuana production still in its infant stages, the perfect production model doesn’t yet exist. Or if it does, it hasn’t had enough time to become accepted and widely practiced.
Currently, growers are experimenting with numerous different styles and techniques. Some choose to create high-tech indoor facilities that rely on modern, manmade equipment and electric lights to create perfectly balanced environments. Others choose a far different path, and utilize Mother Nature, natural sunlight and native soils.
Is there a right or wrong way to grow commercial marijuana? Not yet.
Right now, everybody is a pioneer in a new business. Like all pioneers, they are blazing a trail for others to follow or abandon, depending on where the trail leads.
The cutting edge
Nenad and Fadi Yashruti are pioneers. Like so many in the cannabis industry, the two brothers are experimenting, refining their techniques and gathering data. Their company, Suspended Brands, utilizes a state-of-the-art greenhouse in Belfair, Washington, located on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. It gets less sun and more rain than Eastern Washington, where the majority of the state’s traditional agriculture takes place. Why, then, did they decide to erect a greenhouse where the climate was less sunny?
“Early on, we went back and forth on location quite a bit,” said Nenad, the younger of the two brothers. “We knew that traditionally greenhouses are seen as more efficient where there is an abundance of sun, but we considered things like the political environment of different communities, as well as the type of greenhouse we wanted to build. We consulted with a lot of people, and ultimately decided on a great plot of land in Mason County that already had a small greenhouse located on it. Mason County is marijuana friendly, and our design was going to be a little less sun-dependent than a traditional set up.”
At 17,000 square feet, it’s a large facility, but what exactly made it unique?
“What we basically did was create a really advanced hybrid facility,” Nenad said. “You could say it’s both a greenhouse and an indoor facility in one. To start with, we have a computer that controls everything. It’s tied into a series of weather stations that monitor temperature, humidity, wind and sunlight. “Depending on how it’s set, the system will make rapid adjustments in any number of ways to ensure the plants are always growing under optimum conditions.”
Just how advanced and well-controlled the environment can be inside the Suspended Brands facility is nothing short of amazing. For example, the entire 17,000-square-foot layout can be completely purged of all air in 30-45 seconds, and the temperature can be raised from 30 degrees to 85 in just 7.5 minutes!
The facility also features a full light deprivation system, as well as 250 double-ended, 1,000-watt high-pressure sodium grow lights that are tied into the computer and its light sensors.
“When it gets cloudy, the lights come on automatically to fill in extra PAR radiation as needed,” Nenad said. “This way we get the perfect balance of natural and artificial light hitting the plants at all times.”
The computerized system also controls the light deprivation shades, and is able to turn the whole space dark in a matter of minutes. In practical terms, this adds up to a modern grow facility with computer systems and engineering that allow it to operate as efficiently as a traditional greenhouse, but with the environmental controls of an indoor facility.
When it comes to grow mediums, Suspended Brands’ preferred method is a soil-less hydroponic system. The nutrients employed are all organic and tested for purity. The Suspended Brands flowers consistently check out high in THC, and extremely low in contaminants like mold, bacteria or pesticides.
Strains
One thing the Yashruti brothers and operations manager Jesse Zaragoza came to realize was that marijuana varieties — just as with other plants — can be particular to certain environments.
“We started out with 78 strains, and quickly discovered that some just seem to be more at home in a greenhouse environment than others,” Jesse said. “For whatever reason, certain varieties of cannabis seem to exhibit more vigor in our hybrid facility, and that led us to whittle the original 78 down to 30 core strains that now make up the mainstay of our stock.”
While many producers have migrated toward multi-product offerings that include oil, flower, pre-rolled joints and pressed hash, the Suspended Brands offerings are currently limited to top-shelf flower. However, the company is working on a proprietary new refined product called Bare, which is expected to be released soon.
“It’s a bit early for me to talk openly about it, but let’s just say we believe it will be the purest and cleanest form of refined oil on the market,” Nenad said. “So far, our tests have shown us that Bare is going to be a big hit, and something unique to Suspended Brands.”
In an industry populated by pioneers, new and exciting grow methods are being developed and rolled out at a dizzying pace. The hybrid greenhouse/indoor facility developed and built by Suspended Brands represents an interesting synthesis of existing technologies and farsighted vision.