by Keivan K, Social Media & Content Creation

Tell us about your role at Sky High Gardens!

“I'm the guy that's in charge of day-to-day operation in the garden; come in, get everybody going to check out the plants; they are the center of our universe, so I'm kind of like, I guess the grow daddy here. *laughs*

“I've got a lot of children and a lot of plants downstairs that I keep my eyes on, and I also am what you would call the fixer; anything that goes wrong or breaks, I'm on top of it, but mostly my job here is directing the garden and making sure that every plant has a chance to be the best dank it can be.”

Tell us about the process of a seed turning into the finished product we see in the store.

“Seeds are where it all begins; new genetics are the excitement; they're the livelihood of every cannabis company. That's what really gets me excited, too. I've always been about genetics—what's the next best tasting, smelling, and having the best effects?

“So you start with a little bitty seed, and it can grow into a giant cannabis plant. It takes a lot of love and attention every day to pay attention to the needs of the plants. They start little bitty and, as you guys have seen, can get very large, and each stage requires different attention, different types of nutrition, and different types of training. So, you know, it's always amazed me that cannabis starts from such a little seed to a big amazing plant, so, yes.”

What is one thing about growing cannabis that most people don't know about?

“Most people, when they think of cannabis, think, ‘Well, you guys have the easiest job in the world. You guys are probably downstairs or in the garden hacky sacking; there's like Bob Marley playing; everybody's having a groovy time.’

“Yes, kind of. We do like to have a good time, and yes, we listen to Bob Marley sometimes, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of attention to detail to be a cannabis grower. It's not an easy job; guys get up; they get here by 6:30 or 6:45, which is early. I like to say that sky high gardeners are sweating by 8:00 usually, so it's a labor of love.

“It's definitely not an easy job. A lot of people just assume that it's an easy job, but you're farming, you're doing maintenance, you're cleaning things, you're constantly moving and lifting and putting your body through the paces, so that's what I would say would probably be the No. 1 thing: people have a facade, thinking that it's like the easiest thing you could ever do.”

What factors do you think contribute to creating a high quality product?

“I think the passion for cannabis that drives us is what creates such an awesome product here at Sky High. I mean, it starts with the owners, Phil and Scott; they're connected with cannabis; they love the plant; they study it; they're constantly, tirelessly educating themselves about how to do what we do better; and it trickles down from there.

“Of course, you can see my love for the plant. Every day I come in, I feel like it's a gift to be here and work with this plant. I've been working with cannabis for 30 years, and it never ceases to amaze me. What really makes this product special is that love for the plant. Everyone that works here pretty much is here because of that. You know, we're not just here because we have to pay bills or we have to; we're here for the passion and the love of the plant, so we pour that tirelessly into our products.

“We don't settle for less; we go the extra mile, and I think that's what truly separates Sky High from all of our competitors.”

What do you love about working at Sky High Gardens?

“Probably just the family here—the connection everybody shares. Everybody is so kind and considerate of each other. I truly feel like we have a great team here, and every day here is exciting, coming in, communicating with our friends, and just making this plant the best it can be.”

What is your favorite Sky High strain or strains?

“My top favorite strain would be Mintmosa. Mintmosa has a really nice orange characteristic to it. I'm a little bit of a sucker for orange; anything that really tastes good, like that to me, is a winner, and of course it has to have that great effect.

“I'm the sort of functional stoner that likes to get up and do things. I like to keep a clear head, so I find that Mintmosa keeps the wind in my sails, and then when it's time to kind of chill out and not have to do so much, I would probably go to Grape Runtz. So yeah, those are my two faves.”

What determines which cannabis plants become "mother plants"?

“So with mother plants in cannabis, it's all about vigor. When you select mother plants, you are looking at a pull of plants that have the same genetic makeup, and you're looking for the winners—the ones that are the biggest, tallest, healthiest ones that look like they really are the greatest growing plants, so we would handpick those and take them and kind of baby them through the process.

“Honestly, moms, as you can imagine, are very important to our process. Being healthy and staying healthy is where we start, so you know a lot of care goes into those — they are worked on every day. We keep them around for about four months. You know, we have in the past kept them around six months, but we find that the longer you keep them, you know, the harder it is to keep them healthy.

“Through the years, it's kind of evolved into a short-life cycle plant, so you know you want to keep your mom’s time short so that you can achieve optimal health. After about four months, they're giants, starting to outgrow our garden. We always have a new generation coming right behind them, and when we feel like we've reached that event horizon where we're outgrowing our space, we usually go on to the next generation.”