Pinot Vs Pot

[Rboinski]

@Blake Brown

@Rboinski

There are just as many biodynamic/veganic/organic/TLO soil growing cannabis producers with organic IPM as there are industrial grape growers. Actually I take that back, there is far more industrial grape growing than industrial cannabis. The issue is not the old time growers but rather the black market cartel stuff.

That being said, the issue with rogue/guerrilla grows contaminating waterways or growing on private vineyard land and stealing water from resivoirs needs to be addressed. Properly grown cannabis and vineyards can and will co-exist, and I believe it will be beneficial to both groups. Going after people who are trying to do it the right way as is happening in this article will not be beneficial in the long run.

Good news re the pot growers lack of use of chemicals and certainly different from what I had been told. Also, I was under the impression from friends in Mendocino that they pretty much keep the “rogue/guerilla grows” out except for small isolated plots.

They are small and isolated but everywhere. My SO is ITB in Sonoma and these grows are an annual issue, it may be a stretch but NDVI images from drones are looked at as much for signs of these grows as they are for vigor/vineyard balance. I’ve heard stories of DEA having to come in and raid Monte Rosso, so if the grows can infiltrate there you can rest assured they are about everywhere.

[Todd_Hamina]

@John Cabot

There is no more need to use chemicals growing cannabis than wine grapes. They actually have the exact same issues(powdery mildew and botrytis). Most of the growers I know wouldn’t consider using chemicals on their cannabis. In fact, in Or., cannabis that is to be either sold as flowers or processed into edibles or concentrates HAS to be tested for any chemical residue. If residue is found not only can you not sell it, the state “disposes of it” for you and you wont get it back… True story.

This is true, and not only that they announce which dispensaries were selling said pot.

[John_Cabot]

@Alan Rath

@John Cabot

@Alan Rath

Assuming there is such a thing as terroir, how likely is it that Vitis vinifera and Cannabis thrive best on the same terroir? I guess Cannabis grown in places like Maui, Jamaica, Colombia, Nigeria, etc., is just crap

Humboldt county has a very long history of growing some of the finest cannabis anywhere(as does Mendocino and Trinity… the emerald triangle). What has been discovered over the years is that the highest quality(a huge numbers of factors) is achieved in the very same regions wine grapes are grown. It loves some fog. It loves warm days and cool nights. It prefers the pacific north west because of the warm summers, the temperatures in the fall, proximity to the ocean(fog) and it doesn’t get too hot. You can grow wine grapes anywhere too, but we all know the best wines are made from very specific areas.

I get that the climate could be good for both, but surely pot wants different/better soil conditions than fine wine grapes?

Many growers are growing in large pots above the ground with purchased potting soil. Its likely more about climate than soil.

[Scott_Everson]

Can’t we all just get along?

[Blake_Brown]

@Scott Everson

Can’t we all just get along?

OK. We`ll change the thread title to read Pinot AND Pot.

[Alan_Rath]

@John Cabot

@Alan Rath

I get that the climate could be good for both, but surely pot wants different/better soil conditions than fine wine grapes?

Many growers are growing in large pots above the ground with purchased potting soil. Its likely more about climate than soil.

Then the idea of using desirable acreage well suited for wine grapes to grow pot makes even less sense. Grow the pot down the road where no one wants to grow grapes, but has similar climate.

[Chris_Freemott]

Then the idea of using desirable acreage well suited for wine grapes to grow pot makes even less sense. Grow the pot down the road where no one wants to grow grapes, but has similar climate.

If a vineyard has already absorbed the sunk costs of preparing it for being a vineyard then why sink new costs into clearing new land? It’s a math problem at this point isn’t it? Buy for x or buy for y and the compute your land acquisition costs/clearing costs/planting costs. Seems to me that converting a vineyard into pot would be cheaper than converting virgin ground into a field for planting pot.

[Alan_Rath]

But the soil isn’t what they’re after (according to John). So maybe aside from irrigation and already being cleared, what does existing vineyard land offer a pot farmer that other nearby land wouldn’t? What a shame to take good vineyard land and turn it into a pot farm that doesn’t even rely on the terroir (assuming that’s at all important to growing pot).