Many of today’s advanced cultivation technologies and techniques have been used for years in agriculture. But they have also been discovered by professional cannabis growers and will be on display in the exhibit hall at next weekend’s CannaGrow Expo in Denver.
The knowledge being shared by Shane Young, the owner and founder of Natural Enemies, is nothing new to non-cannabis growers. “The information that I’m bringing, it’s been around for a while,” said Young. The practice of using beneficial insects to eliminate garden pests is a long-established practice, but it’s still new information to many cannabis growers, he added.
Natural Enemies’ array of mites preys upon pests that can damage cannabis. Stratiolaelaps scimitus is a tiny soil-dwelling mite that eats small insects like spider mites. (Courtesy of Natural Enemies, LLC)
Young is one of many exhibitors scheduled for the upcoming expo, which will take place Oct. 29-30 at the Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Convention Center. The exhibit hall includes more than 80 vendors specializing in cultivation-related products and services. (Cannabis Cultivation Today is an official media sponsor of CannaGrow Expo.)
Young is using the expo as an opportunity to showcase his company’s predatory mites that serve as an alternative to traditional pesticides. These benevolent bugs effectively eliminate the insects that prey on cannabis plants, and they don’t come with liabilities associated with chemical pest control methods.
While Natural Enemies offers a method to protect cannabis plants, other vendors are showcasing products to feed them. Miller Soils, which caters to the industrial grower, is bringing a range of biochar soils to the CannaGrow Expo. These include its Commercial Drip Media, “an inert grow media typically used by hydroponic farmers,” said Louis Miller, the company’s owner. This product is best suited for growers who want total control over the nutrients their plants receive.
Biochar, made from pine trees and other organic, renewable resources, is one of the key ingredients in Miller Soils’ products. (Courtesy of Miller Soils, LLC)
In addition to showcasing its commercial soils, the company is also rolling out a new product at the expo: a kit for growing two cannabis plants. The package comes with soil, two five-gallon containers, and instructions. The kit is ideal for first-time growers.
Other exhibitors will feature products for harvesting. Alex Nikas, owner of Speedee Trim, will present a line of handheld corded and cordless trimmers, designed to excel at both wet and dry trimming. These provide cultivators with a less time-intensive alternative to traditional hand-trimming.
With these tools, “you’re getting all the benefits of hand-trimming, like you would with a pair of scissors,” he said. “Only you’re going through your product at a rate of about one-and-a-half to two pounds an hour.”
Speedee Trim’s butterfly-blade cordless handheld bud trimmer gives 80 minutes of run time for a two-hour charge. (Courtesy of Speedee Trim)
The trimmers come equipped with interchangeable blades custom-designed for various tasks. Smaller blades with narrowly spaced blades are designed to handle the delicate process of dry trimming, while larger blades are intended to tackle wet-trimming.
The exhibit hall will also feature industrial trimming machines from CenturionPro Solutions. The devices feature tumblers equipped with nonstick coating that prevent damage to the flower or its trichomes. The machines also include control valves that control the blower’s suction.
“Being able to increase and decrease the suction allows you to tune your trimmer in to get optimal trim quality for any strain,” said Caitlyn Drybrough, CenturionPro Director of Sales.
After harvesting comes processing, and the exhibit roster also features Colorado Extraction Systems. The Golden, Colo.-based company will showcase its Triple X-Tract and SprayVap systems. The Triple X-Tract triple extraction system “allows you to take your plant matter and convert it to tincture,” said Quinton Van Gundy of CES technical sales. SprayVap is a separator to produce concentrated oils and purified alcohols.
Colorado Extraction’s SprayVap is a continuous, closed loop distillation system that separates tinctures into distinct streams of oil and solvent. (Courtesy of Colorado Extraction Systems)
Van Gundy added that not many consumers realize products like these are on the market. “Once they realize something like our machine is available, then … it’s just an epiphany,” he said.
Until Oct. 19, a two-day all-access pass is $369; after that, it’s $499. A one-day pass, for either Saturday or Sunday, is $229. Cannabis Cultivation Today readers can receive a special discounted two-day pass by registering here.
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