In the coming weeks we’ll be telling the story of each craft cultivator we work with to produce our full-spectrum vapes, tinctures and crystallines. Chemistry’s mission is to Stay True to the Plant™. We achieve this by preserving the nuance of each strain, from flavor to effect via our super fancy extraction and refinement techniques. But the story really begins with our farms and their amazing sun grown cannabis.
Some people are only now beginning to realize the amazing potential of cannabis. But Michael Croft of Croft Farms has been an admirer of the plant since well before The Chronic album dropped.
Wedged between world class grape vineyards in beautiful Mendocino County, Michael’s farm is located up a long, winding road he fondly refers to as Dramamine Drive. The property’s tall pine trees surround his cannabis plants as though guarding them. Every now and then, a gentle breeze rouses the leaves and it seems as though they're dancing. Not silent disco dancing... Michael plays music to his plants.
Remember in our profile of Alpenglow Farms, Craig emphasized plant intelligence?
According to Michael, plants are highly receptive to music too. He’s conducted numerous experiments to support this conclusion. He once even blasted heavy metal at the plants until the ones nearest the speaker drooped, only recovering their previous vibrancy ten days later. Now he only plays the plants soothing music, like world and classical.
Michael might enjoy rocking out in his spare time, but now refrains from doing so in front of the plants.
Plants obviously don’t hear music in the same way we humans do. Rather, they react to the sonic vibration of the sound waves. The extent to which music can affect plant growth and how much the genre makes a difference are still hotly debated in the scientific community. One study found its plants responded well to all music while another found its plants reacted negatively to rock, thrived on jazz and classical, and remained staunchly unaffected by country.
One thing seems certain: Plants are picking up on those vibrations. And the ability to do so is beneficial for their survival. In 2014, H.M. Apell and R.B. Cocroft published an experiment testing a hypothesis that sonic vibrations from a leaf-munching insect trigger a plant’s chemical defense response system.
While monitoring the chemical composition of its leaves, the team compared a plant’s reaction when a caterpillar was actually chewing on it to the same plant's reaction while being played an audio recording of the act. Not only did the plants respond to the caterpillar recordings, but they were also able to distinguish between caterpillar munching, the wind, and leafhopper singing.
If that doesn’t boggle your brain at least a little, then we don’t know what will.
Michael isn't only concerned about spreading good vibes to the plants, he also wants to ensure the humans on his farm are happy too. His employees receive a percentage of the farm’s revenue. This ensures everyone’s hearts and minds are invested in the harvest.
"The enemy to any work environment is the ego," Michael said. He left his behind in SoCal after retiring his "surfer dude" days.
He still loves to surf though. And with the ocean only a short thirty minute drive from the farm, Michael now enjoys surfing with his kids.
This special Northern California spot not only allows Michael and his family to take frequent trips to the beach, it also provides unique conditions for growing plants. Michael's farm is in the Anderson Valley, a microclimate ideal for creating some of the best wines in the world. In fact, many Napa wineries source grapes from this small, but mighty region in Mendocino.
More importantly to us, Anderson Valley provides a superb climate for growing cannabis extraordinarily rich in terpenes.
Michael and his team help the plants along by keeping the farm organic and Clean Green Certified. They also provide them with a nutrient-dense, live compost tea made of glacier salt, worm castings and humus. This helps keep the plants flourishing and those terpene levels high. Our Doc’s OG full-spectrum vape cart with Croft Farms boasted a 14.8% terpene profile!
"People don't want cannabis oil injected with artificial banana flavor," Michael said.
We agree, brother.
One thing's for sure: These terps are au naturel. And much like Michael and his family of cultivators, they’re bound to give you nothing but good vibes. 🤙
