UPWARD ORGANICS: Maine’s first net zero cannabis cultivator
Long time SeaWeed Co. partner and friend, Nate of Upward Organics, sat with us to answer a few questions about his cultivation practices and farm in celebration of the launch of Upward Organics Cartridges extracted by SeaWeed Co. Extracts!
Tell us about Upward Organics and your sustainability efforts.
The mission of Upward Organics is to provide pure and potent cannabis with the lowest environmental impact possible. By using low demand growing techniques and over nine kilowatts of solar panels to convert sunshine into electricity, we are on track to be Maine's first net zero cannabis cultivator. After four years operating off-grid, we realized the high impact even a small sun-grown operation can have on the environment. Adding more solar and hooking up to street power has completed our dream of being as sustainable as possible. As a small, 100% owner operated business, it has taken us five years of learning, experimenting and reinvesting to get to this moment. Artificial lighting is the largest contributor to the high carbon footprint of growing cannabis. The lights in our greenhouses are used for supplementation only and for just two months out of the year.
In 2021 we installed a climate battery under our 72x24ft cold frame greenhouse for heating and cooling. This system, also known as a Ground to Air Heat Transfer system (GAHT) takes hot air made in the greenhouse and pushes it, via fans, down to 8 feet underground through an elaborate system of buried tubing in order to cool the air and warm the soil. This not only serves to cool the greenhouse, but at night it allows us to send cold air down this same system and warm the greenhouse. This year was our first full year using the climate battery and we were able to keep it frost free for eight months. Next year we are aiming for nine months!
We pride ourselves on letting our soil do most of the work. Soil testing and adding organic amendments allows the plants to thrive without much further input from us. Worms and compost teas help the plant to metabolize all that the soil has to offer.
We are constantly reviewing our packaging and speaking with reps about new products with the goal of being as sustainable as possible. Our packaging includes recyclable paper boxes for our live resin cartridges and recycled ocean plastic for jars and lids.
We have zero fossil fuels (no oil, gas, etc.) on the property, allowing us to be more efficient, lower our overhead, and lower our overall emissions.
Why sun grown?
Cannabis plants are in their most natural (and elegant) state under the sun. No matter the lighting technology, the sun can never be replicated indoors. Sungrown cannabis has the lowest environmental impact. In addition to being the most sustainable cultivation technique, full spectrum sunlight produces strong terpenes, cannabinoids and THC. This results in flower with more flavor and complex high thanks to a well balanced entourage effect. Plants outdoors also need much less pest intervention as nature tends to balance things out itself. As the cost of electricity goes up and more data on indoor farming is released, consumers are seeking environmentally conscious products. While Maine’s weather isn’t perfect and can throw us some curveballs, we love working outdoors!
What are some of your favorite or most unique strains?
A major part of our success comes from the fact that most of our cultivars are bred by Jedi Ganja Warrior and only available through a small group of growers. To pick one strain would be like a parent picking a favorite child (or pet). The Watermelon Thundersnow was bred and named by a close friend during a snowstorm. The name really sets a scene that is very Maine and the plant itself is a gorgeous purple with countless sparkling resin heads. Struckleberry (Huckleberry Space Queen x Strawberry Terpenstein) has a very fruity aroma with a light gas aftertaste and THC that tests ~25%. Pink Pony, September finishers are always nice to find for outdoor growers in Maine. It is resilient, potent (20-25%), and has some rare Chem terps.
Let’s hear about everyone’s favorite farm dog, Goose! What is Goose’s favorite part about working on the farm? :)
Goose enjoys spending his days roaming free with his brother Nemo, catching a nap in the shade of one of our cannabis plants, or happily greeting the FedEx driver at the top of the driveway. Since we are in a town that is mostly wooded and our home is a quarter mile from the road, our pups have a pretty large area to explore. This is a welcome change from their days in an animal shelter!
