High time for cannabis harvest in Okanagan

• Harvest season coming to an end
• Budding number of home growers since legalization

Green thumbs of a different kind remain busy across the Okanagan Valley.

Be it indoors or out, homegrown cannabis plants are nearing the end of harvest season.

And despite record heat and smoke blanketing the region for much of the summer, one local cannabis blogger said crops weathered the storm.

“Commercially, a farmer [I know] in Oroville did quite well,” Jamie Miller-Haywood, author of the blog Growing Home Okanagan, said. “He uses Korean natural farming practices. His plant’s root system, the soil system is just beautiful, super healthy.”

She said this allows his plants to survive extreme temperature fluctuations. The cannabis plant thrives in hot, dry weather, she said, given its origins in Pakistan and India.

Tedious process

Depending on the strain – Indica or sativa – harvest can begin in mid-September to November.

The process begins by restricting nutrients to the plant so it can absorb everything in the soil. This forces the leaves to turn vivid shades of red, orange and purple.

Miller-Haywood begins with using a jeweler’s loop or small microscope to check the trichomes to ensure they are a little bit cloudy or a nice amber colour – calling this the ‘sweet spot.’ Once ready to cut, she removes the big fan leaves – aiming to do as much work while standing to minimize the impact on her body.

Once the plant is cut clean, the curing process begins. This draws out the flavour of the terpenes, with Miller-Haywood maintaining a slow curing process is key. For home growers with four plants, she said the entire process can take between four days to a week.

Growing catching on

In the three years since legalization, interest in homegrown cannabis has surged, she said, even for non-users.

“It is so much fun to grow. I have family who aren’t consumers and have been growing for years just because they enjoy growing it,” Miller-Haywood said. “[They enjoy] being outside and … being a part of nature and just watching and observing how it goes from one tiny little seed into a gigantic plant, into the medicine you use to battle a variety of issues.”