Understanding every step of the cannabis life cycle is essential for any business owner seeking to break into the industry. Growing cannabis from seed to harvest involves many moving parts, and once that’s done, you’ll need to think about packaging and distribution to bring your products to market. While the cannabis life cycle may seem like a complex, multifaceted process at first, it’s pretty easy to navigate once you grasp the basics. Read on to learn all the steps involved in growing, processing, and selling cannabis today.
Growing From Seed to Harvest
Getting started with growing cannabis begins with a single seed. It can take up to 10 days for cannabis seeds to germinate, and they will require 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness to grow effectively indoors. As the plant produces fan leaves, it begins to enter the delicate seedling stage. At this point, pest, mold, and disease control is crucial to ensuring the plant reaches harvest. As a seedling grows into the vegetative stage, cultivators will begin feeding essential nutrients to the plant and carefully remove any unnecessary foliage in preparation for the flowering stage. At this point, the light cycle is altered to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark, which tricks the plant into thinking it’s the fall season. Over the next 7-10 weeks, the plant will produce colas. Once fully grown, the colas are removed and dried, ready for the next life cycle stage.
Testing and Processing
Every state has different regulations governing the testing requirements for cannabis. In general, cultivators must determine the potency of their product by calculating the percentage of different cannabinoids present in the plant. In addition, growers need to ensure their cannabis contains no harmful chemicals or microorganisms.
Marketing and Packaging
With testing completed, it’s time to begin packaging and marketing the product. Cultivators will first form connections with various dispensaries to generate interest in their cannabis. Once they find one or more buyers, the product is packaged for sale. Like with any product, eye-catching labels and graphics help brands stand out from the crowd.
Cannabis Distribution
It’s illegal for cannabis cultivators to sell their products to dispensaries outside the state where they are licensed. Instead, growers must find dispensaries within their state who will carry and sell the cannabis on their behalf. It’s important to note that transporting cannabis and delivering cannabis to end consumers requires two separate licenses.
The cannabis industry remains fairly new to the United States, and it can be challenging for new growers to become accustomed to how the process works from start to finish. Having access to helpful tools and resources can make everything much easier. At Bespoke Financial, our goal is to provide cannabis businesses with the financial support they need to succeed in the industry. We help cultivators, dispensaries, and distributors acquire the short-term financing they need to keep operations running smoothly. To learn more about how we can help, visit Bespoke Financial today.
