Like most aspects of cannabis cultivation, the grow process is still surrounded by many myths. For instance, part of the bad reputation for growing outdoors comes from a time before Colorado Amendment 64, back when growing cannabis was illegal. But we want to shed light on and demystify this process so everyone understands the production chain of products they’re consuming.
At In The Flow, we chose to grow indoors, because we find it yields the best results for the strains we hand-pick for our customers. We put a lot of time and energy into developing the most effective grow process, so today we’re sharing three of the pros and cons we looked at when setting up the business to help us determine: indoor growth is the way to go.
Take it from our experience in the field: the main advantage of growing indoors is that you can optimize multiple environmental factors that influence the growth of the plant, from temperature and humidity to light intensity. These optimal conditions favor healthy development, which is how we end up with beautiful buds with over 30% THC content. Indoor cultivations also have less to worry about when it comes to the exploding amount of hemp pollen in the air since outdoor hemp cultivation has become more widespread. With proper filtration, indoor grows can keep out invisible hemp pollen and avoid having a harvest “seed out” due to this invader. Indoor cannabis cultivation isn’t without concerns though, and indoor growers can be at a disadvantage when it comes to controlling pests. Pests can wreak havoc on a harvest if proper attention and preventative measures aren’t taken. Pests are less of a concern outdoors, as growers can count on friendly insects including ants and ladybugs to keep pests at bay.
The level of environmental control for indoor-grown cannabis was probably your first clue: it tends to be of a higher quality. The consistent way in which we grow the plants lends some explanation as to how we manage to maintain consistently high THC levels. But, it’s not just the THC that we like to keep consistent. Bud structure, terpene profiles, moisture content, and overall plant health are all things we like to keep consistent as well, to ensure you get a terpene rich experience and a desired effect.
For all its pros, growing indoors has one significant drawback: the cost. Keeping the light and temperature constant throughout the year, especially as the days draw longer and hotter, can come with a hefty bill. As a born-and-bred Boulder business, we do make the most of the sunny days by using solar panels to produce 34% of our cultivation’s energy and we try to reach new energy management goals each year to decrease our carbon footprint as best we can.
We believe in our growing process and our award-winning cannabis is “proof in the pudding.” Stop by your local budtender today to pick up one of our strains and see what the buzz is all about!
