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Cultivation
At Artizen, we use either High-Pressure Sodium light bulbs or advanced LED fixtures. Our plants are grown in a coco-fiber substrate and fed with a customized feeding program that we develop for each strain in-house. Our expert teams manage various stages of plant growth, including Mom Stock, Cloning, Transplanting, Trellising, Pruning, Defoliating, and Harvesting.
We take proactive measures to manage pests early in the plants' cycle by using essential oils and beneficial microorganisms. We introduce predator bugs if necessary, during the flower cycle. We use industry-standard climate monitoring and controlling software to ensure optimal environmental conditions. When it's time to harvest, our team works together to chop down everything and get it into the dry room, where the flowers are dried for 10-14 days in a cold, dark room.
“…any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest; and, any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant (drying agent).” - Environmental Protection Agency
This list sounds like some technical jargon, but the simple take-home message is that the term “pesticide” is an umbrella term for thousands of materials, some totally natural like household soap or rosemary oil.So yes, the homemade mixture your Great Aunt Eda likes to spray on her prize tomatoes, made up of crushed up garlic, cayenne pepper flakes, and vegetable oil, is most definitely and technically a pesticide. By definition, “pesticide” sounds scary at first, but educating yourself on what they really are used for in “organic growing methods” you will find that most are not scary at all. According to an article from the University of Missouri, Pyrethrum was first used over 2000 years ago during the Chinese Chou Dynasty. Pyrethrum oil from the perennial Daisy plant, Tanacetum cineariaefolium, was used to control lice, aphid, mites, and other pests.
Pesticide-free has been seen across many brands in the cannabis industry, especially in the last couple of years, so we asked, “What does this term mean exactly?” The idea is that no pesticides were used during production. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the claim means that no pesticides residue would be present at consumption. The FDA does not require that the crops be produced without the use of pesticides at all during their life cycle. There is no certification or test required for these brands to make claims to be “pesticide-free.” What we found out is that the term “pesticide-free” has no governing agency to support or deny the claim that no pesticides were used during the entire life cycle of a plant. Without a regulatory definition, anyone can throw the term “pesticide-free” on their label if they believe that there would be no pesticide residue present. It is left up to interpretation whether the brand used any pesticides at any point during production, cultivation, processing, or storage of the product.
We want to make sure that all Artizen™ branded products are packaged and labeled with full transparency and not hide behind a “pesticide-free” label. All the products our cultivation partners use are approved by the Washington State Department of Agriculture for use on cannabis. Only safe, ethical, and used-as-needed products are used—ever.
OMRI: Organic Materials Review Institute
Safer Spray is an OMRI listed (Organic Materials Review Institute) certified for use on organic crops. This product consists of Potassium Salt of Fatty Acids, a soap salt made from plants and thenatural element sulfur. This spray acts as a contact killer for pests.
Tritek is an OMRI listed horticultural oil certified for use on organic crops. Horticultural oil is another ancient and simple pest deterrent used in agriculture.
Pyganic is an OMRI listed pyrethrum certified for use in organic production. Pyganic is derived from natural chrysanthemum flowers, has no petroleum distillates, and is used to knockdown common gardenpests.
Ecotec is an OMRI listed pest repellant certified for used on organic crops. It utilizes a blend of natural botanical oils such as rosemary and peppermint.
Venerate is an OMRI listed product made from heat-killed Burkholderia, a natural and beneficial insect friendly microbe.
Coir, or coconut fiber, is a natural fiber extracted from coconut husks. Coir is a hyper-renewable resource. One healthy coconut tree produces up to one batch per month of coir!
Clonex Rooting Gel (IBA) is a safe root growth enhancer used to protect the cut ends of fresh cuttings to promote healthy root development.
