Every October we relish the opportunity to visit various grows throughout the state of Maryland and see what has changed. It has been several years since the Maryland Leaf crew has been to the Vireo Growth facility, including its move from Hurlock to Massey.
The new operation is fully greenhouse-based, with the exception of its clones starting in indoor cloning rooms. We were lucky enough to visit during a harvest day when the materials were being used exclusively for fresh frozen concentrates. Maryland Director of Operations and National Lab Director Tyler Alzamora’s mouth watered as he walked through the facility, knowing the quality of the concentrates that would come from this grow cycle. One thing that rang true at this facility was passion, from the director of cultivation to the packaging team and everyone in between. This facility reminded me of grows I visited in Oregon, with a homey and authentic feeling of love for Cannabis in the air.
Genetics are of high importance to Director of Cultivation Kyle Judson, who tries to bring a mix of old-school and new-school strains to the Maryland market. Kyle knows that what’s hot and up next for the Cannabis market is important to keep in the mix while staying true to his roots as a grower and connoisseur. Among his favorite breeders are Archive Seed Bank, Aficionado Seeds, Rare Dankness and Ziplock Seeds. Whether you know it or not, these seed companies, among a few more top dogs, are responsible for many favorite strains and crosses available today. Talking through the amount of strains Kyle had in the works is enough to get anyone excited about the continuously expanding future of the market here.
Giving power to the employees is another core value of this company, which is one of the only union-represented grows in Maryland. They have a two-week grow cycle from start to finish, meaning every room — from clones to the vegetation stage to the flowering stage — flips plants into their next cycle every two weeks. This allows them to quickly and frequently improve conditions in specific rooms and suit the needs of the plants. One example is their recent conversion to LEDs in all of their flowering rooms. Brick by brick, this facility is being outfitted to continue to increase production and quality, while listening to the plants and acting in real time to adjust. Admittedly this is not an easy task with nearly 2,500 plants in each room, but Kyle, Tyler and Cultivation Supervisor Josh Mullins manage it with smiles.
If I tried to make a list of all the new strains this team is working on, the pages of this article would be filled with strain names and nothing else. Some that got me the most excited were Mochi Grape, Fuji Fig and Gas Tax (Face Off OG #4 x Dark Rainbow #11). The smells got more intense as we made our way through the stages of life, with the final flowering room absolutely booming with a blend of gassy, fruity, skunky and earthy aromas. Kyle was like a kid in a candy store, genuinely getting more excited about each strain we stumbled upon during the tour.
While they do own a bucking machine, all the buds at Vireo are bucked off the stems by hand, adding a level of personal touch that machines can’t match. Incorporating details like hand-bucking and trimming into the process can make a tremendous difference in the end product. Take that and combine it with passionate people who care about their craft and the patients and consumers they do it for, and you have something special.
A big thank-you goes out to the team at Vireo Growth for giving us an inside look at how they do what they do and the people who make it all possible. Be on the lookout for new strains dropping in flower, live concentrates and more!
