“The ability to effectively cultivate cannabis outdoors requires the strategy to optimize yields for cost-efficient production"

Hydroponic fertilizer manufacturer Emerald Harvest has supplied WeedMD Inc. with its line of award-winning nutrients and supplements and is working closely with the company in adopting best practices to further maximize crop performance of its terpene-rich cultivars.

WeedMD Inc. recently planted more than 18,000 cannabis plants outdoors on its 27 acre-field in Strathroy, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. "The Company’s second year of growing outdoors coincides with a number of efficiency gains made in its greenhouse, which included upgrading its nutrient line to enhance crop metrics and optimization," the team with the company explains. "Since switching to Emerald Harvest WeedMD has noticed substantial vigor and extremely favorable plant responses alongside increasing yields."

“The ability to effectively cultivate cannabis outdoors requires the right cultivars along with a regimented nutrient and irrigation strategy to optimize yields for cost-efficient, terpene and cannabinoid-rich production,” said Curtis Wallace, Head of Cultivation, WeedMD. “Our cannabis consumers are now more discerning and over the past few months, our cultivation team has made significant headway in boosting both indoor and outdoor efficiencies for greater commercial value.”

WeedMD started the process by propagating carefully selected clones which were transplanted into nutrient-rich soil for outdoor readiness. The Company optimized its outdoor planting strategy for this season using precision agriculture methods which included crews of under 10 people and a high-performance mechanical planter. The planting was completed in one-third of the time, with one-third of staffing required compared to 2019.

The hearty outdoor plants, from seven different cannabis cultivars, complement WeedMD’s existing state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse for producing medical-grade cannabis. The company’s cultivation and processing facilities in Strathroy now operate on 158 acres. WeedMD has the ability to process up to 50,000 kgs of cannabinoid-rich biomass per year at its extraction hub CX Industries. All part of its planned expansion into the extraction and concentrates market, including extract production for a new line of strain-specific vape cartridge its wholly-owned subsidiary Starseed Medicinal launched in June 2020.

All of WeedMD’s high-quality cannabis is grown with Emerald Harvest’s professional, commercial-grade fertilizers, which are specifically designed for high-value, high-yield crops. Emerald Harvest is the nutrient brand of choice for numerous commercial grow operations around the world.

“Companies that are looking for the absolute best quality and cleanest lab results are coming to us,” said Emerald Harvest CEO Robert Higgins. “We’re pleased to hear reports that the WeedMD harvests are staggering in terms of quality and yield.”