u/LadyoftheOak

I am going to try peaches. I make peach crisps with them over the winter. I have read that you can hydrate them in water then drain a bit and use in recipes.

Thoughts?

May your medicine go down well!

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Enjoy the last lazy days of summer during your birthday month!

Have a great September birthday month!

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May your collections always be fruitful!

Have a fantastic August birthday!

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Bloom & Chill extend the smokiest greetings for your birthday month.

The beginning...

Bc I really have never done a dive into how they produce it before. Bc I generally do not consume it.

Fact: Cannabis is legal anywhere in Canada.

False: You CANNOT cross international borders with cannabis. Regardless of what you 'read' online

This is the first step in the process. I checked the Health Canada website and all the licensed producers are there and the requirements for growing. But, I am interested in the process of growing to consumption.

Overview from a search:

Federally licensed producers in Ontario process cannabis by turning raw plants into safe, finished products under strict Health Canada regulations. [1]

Harvesting and Drying

• Workers harvest the flowering heads, leaves, and branches of mature cannabis plants.
• They move the harvested plant material into secure drying and curing rooms.
• Staff control the temperature and humidity to stop mold growth and protect the plant's natural quality. [1, 2]

Extraction and Formulation

• Processors use approved equipment to make oils, waxes, and vape liquids.
• They use physical methods or safe solvents to extract THC and CBD from the plant material.
• Workers blend these extracts to create edible foods, beverages, capsules, or skin creams. [1, 2]

Testing and Quality Control

• Independent labs test every single batch of cannabis for safety and strength.
• Technicians check for harmful bacteria, mold, pesticides, and heavy metals.
• Labs measure the exact THC and CBD levels so the product label is correct. [1, 2]

Packaging and Labelling

• Staff pack the items into plain, child-resistant containers.
• Each label must show the red cannabis warning symbol and clear health notices.
• Workers place a federal excise stamp on the package to show taxes are paid. [1, 2, 3]

Tracking and Distribution

• Facilities record all weights and product changes in the federal tracking database.
• Finished orders go to provincial buyers, such as the Ontario Cannabis Store, or ship directly to medical clients. [1, 2, 3]
• What are the security rules for a licensed cannabis processor in Ontario?
• How does Health Canada inspect commercial cannabis facilities?
• What is the difference between a micro-processor and a standard processor license?

Cannabis harvesting in Canada by federally licensed producers combines agricultural techniques with strict pharmaceutical-grade sanitization and security protocols.

Determining Ripeness

• Cultivators inspect plant flowers using magnifying tools.
• They check for cloudy or amber-colored trichomes (the tiny resin glands).
• This timing ensures peak THC or CBD potency before cutting.

Cutting and De-fanning

• Workers cut down mature plants at the base of the stem.
• Staff immediately trim away large fan leaves that do not contain usable resin.
• Operators perform this step by hand or with specialized agricultural machinery.

Hanging and Curing

• Teams hang whole branches or entire plants upside down on large racks.
• They move these racks into highly controlled, secure drying rooms.
• Automated systems maintain optimal temperature and humidity to prevent mold.

Bucking and Trimming

• Workers remove dry buds from the main stems, a process called bucking.
• Automated trimming machines or hand-trimmers remove the remaining small leaves.
• Hand-trimming is typically reserved for premium, top-shelf flower products.

Compliance and Tracking

• Staff weigh all harvested wet and dry plant material at every stage.
• Workers log these exact weights into the federal Cannabis Tracking System.
• This tracking is mandatory to prevent any product from entering the illegal market.

So, now that we have the process. I am going to look for growers that are premium and see how their process differs.

I am going to check the shop that started my original post 2 weeks ago. Sensi Brands Brands Expansion

When I searched:

Query: How does Sensi Brands grow cannabis? Bear with me this is research not one and done.

Response: Sensi Brands grows their cannabis using a vertically integrated hybrid cultivation system split across two main facilities in Southwestern Ontario. [1, 2]

Initially operating on a "capital-light" model by sourcing and processing locally grown Ontario cultivars, the company shifted to holding direct control over massive-scale cultivation. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Hybrid Greenhouse System

• The company utilizes a massive 350,000-square-foot hybrid greenhouse located on a 100-acre cannabis cultivation campus in Langton, Norfolk County. [1, 2]
• This facility is engineered specifically to strict EU-GMP standards, ensuring pharmaceutical-grade cleanliness, automated climate controls, and biosecurity protocols. [1]
• The hybrid design combines the energy-saving benefits of natural Canadian sunlight with the highly controlled environment variables (temperature, humidity, and airflow) of an indoor grow facility.

Scale and Strains

• When fully developed, Sensi Brands' facilities are designed to scale up to 110,000 kilograms of dried cannabis flower annually.
• They cultivate specific premium genetics to supply their diverse product portfolio, which includes consumer brands like Station House, Potluck, and Sensimila. [1, 2]

"Plant-to-Consumer" Supply Chain

• Sensi Brands operates a centralized hub where growing, processing, and consumer sales happen side-by-side. [1, 2]
• At their main facility in St. Thomas, Ontario, they run an authorized "farm-gate" retail store. This setup allows them to move crops directly from the drying and processing rooms straight onto retail shelves. [1, 2, 3]
• Customers visiting the St. Thomas storefront can view the company's cultivation practices directly via internal video feeds showcasing the active grow rooms. [1]

Query: Do they trim by hand?

Response: Yes, Sensi Brands uses hand-trimming for their premium cannabis flower crops.

Because they run a massive operation, they use a tiered system depending on the exact product and strain. Data from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) shows that their process relies heavily on human craftsmanship: [1, 2]

• Hand-Trimmed Premium Buds: For top-tier consumer lines and variety packs under their Station House and SensiMila labels, the cannabis is strictly hang-dried and fully hand-trimmed to keep the delicate resin glands (trichomes) perfectly intact. [1, 2]
• Machine-Trimmed & Hand-Groomed: For select single-format offerings (such as specific large-run pre-rolls), they utilize a hybrid method. The buds go through automated trimming machines first to handle the massive bulk, but are then finished and groomed by hand to ensure quality before processing. [1]
• Whole-Flower Focus: Unlike competitors who use automated milling to grind up leftover loose "trim" or shake for pre-rolls, Sensi Brands processes whole, manicured flowers across their entire joint lineup. [1]

Query: Which chemicals are used in their growing?

Response: Like all federally licensed producers in Canada, Sensi Brands does not use harsh synthetic chemical pesticides or unauthorized plant growth regulators (PGRs). [1]

Instead, their 350,000-square-foot hybrid greenhouse operates under strict Health Canada regulations, which limit growers to a narrow list of approved, food-safe inputs and natural elements.

The primary inputs used in their cultivation setup are:

1. Essential Macro and Micronutrients

To grow their plants in a soil-free medium (like coco coir or rockwool), they feed the crops water-soluble mineral elements, including:

• Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (K), and Potassium (P): The fundamental core blocks for plant and flower development.
• Calcium and Magnesium: Critical secondary nutrients added to prevent deficiencies during rapid growth phases.
• Iron and Sulfur: Pure chelated micro-minerals that optimize nitrogen absorption and boost natural terpene production. [1, 2]

2. Biological and Organic Inputs

Instead of relying on harsh synthetic chemicals, large-scale hybrid facilities like Sensi Brands use organic compounds to strengthen plant health:

• Humic and Fulvic Acids: Natural compounds derived from ancient organic matter that improve how efficiently roots drink up nutrients.
• Amino Acid Complexes: Organic proteins that help the crops manage environmental stress inside the greenhouse. [1]

3. Pest Control (Strictly No Chemical Pesticides)

Health Canada heavily regulates pest control. If a facility uses an unapproved pesticide, it triggers immediate recalls and loss of license. To protect crops from bugs without chemicals, producers use Integrated Pest Management (IPM): [1]

• Beneficial Insects: They introduce "good bugs" (like predatory mites or ladybugs) to naturally hunt down and eat harmful pests like aphids or thrips.
• Bio-fungicides: Clean, biological sprays like Bacillus subtilis (a natural soil bacterium) or mild potassium bicarbonate are used occasionally to prevent powdery mildew.

4. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

• They enrich the greenhouse air with concentrated CO2 gas during peak daylight hours. This non-toxic element accelerates photosynthesis, encouraging the plants to build denser, heavier buds naturally without artificial chemical stimulants.

Query: I would like to know more about Health Canada's strict mandatory pesticide testing rules, or how EU-GMP facility standards control air purification to block contaminants?

Response: Health Canada's Mandatory Pesticide Testing

Health Canada's strict pesticide requirements mandate that every single batch of cannabis destined for the legal market must undergo strict, independent laboratory screening. [1, 2]

• The 96-Pesticide Panel: Laboratories test final cannabis flower and oil products for a specific panel of 96 banned active pesticide ingredients. This list includes common agricultural chemicals like myclobutanil, paclobutrazol, and abamectin. [1, 2, 3]
• Parts-Per-Million Limits: The government sets ultra-low Limits of Quantification (LoQ), often measuring contamination down to 0.02 parts per million (ppm). If a lab detects even a trace amount of an unauthorized chemical above these micro-limits, the entire crop batch is flagged. [1]
• Severe Penalties: Any batch that fails testing cannot be sold. Cultivators like Sensi Brands face immediate mandatory product recalls, crop seizures, or the total revocation of their federal license if banned chemicals are discovered. [1]
• Secondary Testing Matrix: Because extraction processes concentrate cannabinoids, labs must separately validate and test fresh flower, dried flower, and concentrated oils. The refinement process can amplify hidden pesticide traces, requiring independent tests at multiple supply chain phases. [1]

EU-GMP Facility Air Purification Standards

To achieve EU-GMP (European Union Good Manufacturing Practice) compliance, large-scale facilities structurally design their air systems to operate like pharmaceutical cleanrooms. This design prevents airborne crop diseases and contaminants without relying on chemical sprays. [1, 2]

[Outdoor Air Intake] ──> [HEPA Filtration (99.97%)] ──> [Positive Air Pressure Enclosure]
                                                                  │
                                 [Airborne Spores & Dust Blocked] <┘

• HEPA Filtration: Hybrid greenhouses and processing hubs utilize industrial HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters that trap 99.97% of airborne particles. This completely stops mold spores, powdery mildew, and wild pollen from ever reaching the cultivation rooms.
• Positive Air Pressure: Processing and drying zones maintain higher internal air pressure than the hallways outside them. When a worker opens a secure door, clean air pushes outward, physically preventing outside dust, bugs, or unapproved chemical particles from drifting into the room.
• Zoned Microclimates: Advanced climate systems cycle and scrub the air inside individual grow rooms multiple times per hour. This constant airflow eliminates stagnant pockets of humidity, stopping localized mold growth naturally without chemical fungicides.
• Environmental Monitoring Baseline: Following strict GMP environmental tracking protocols, facilities continuously take air and surface samples to measure Colony Forming Units (CFUs) of bacteria or fungi, maintaining a sterile baseline across the entire facility footprint. [1, 2]

Query: Do they spray their cannabis with thca sprays or anything like that?

Response: No, Sensi Brands does not use "potency-boosting" chemical sprays on their standard cannabis flower crops. [1]

LOOK HERE >>>>>>The practice of spraying buds with THCA isolate or synthetic liquid cannabinoids is primarily an American phenomenon found in unregulated, grey-market hemp channels. In Canada, Health Canada regulations and consumer safety transparency rule this out for legal producers. [1, 2, 3]

Sensi Brands manages its potency and product lines using distinct, highly regulated methods:

1. Naturally Grown Potency (No Shortcuts)

For their core flower lines—such as Potluck and SensiMila—the potency comes entirely from the plant's genetics and the controlled hybrid greenhouse environment. The frost-like crystals on the buds are natural trichomes grown by the plant, not an artificial chemical additive or spray. [1, 2, 3]

2. Physical Blending (Not Spraying) for "Infused" Products

Like many Canadian producers, Sensi Brands does make high-potency infused products (such as their Station House "Express Infused" line). However, they do not achieve this by secretly spraying liquid chemicals onto raw buds. [1, 2]

• Instead, they use a dry mechanical blending technique.
• Their automated machinery takes premium whole flower and cleanly blends it with solid, highly purified THC isolate powder or kief before rolling it into joints. [1, 2]

3. Clear Ingredients and Health Canada Rules

The Canadian legal framework heavily regulates the modification of cannabis flower:

• The Solvent Ban: Spraying a cannabinoid isolate onto dry flower usually requires dissolving it in a liquid chemical solvent (like ethanol or butane). Health Canada tightly controls residual solvents because inhaling them carries severe health risks. A batch with chemical spray residues would instantly fail mandatory provincial lab screenings. [1, 2, 3]
• Full Ingredient Transparency: Under the Cannabis Act, if a producer adds anything to a cannabis flower product, it must be officially categorized as an "Infused Pre-Roll" or a "Cannabis Extract". It must clearly list the exact ingredients (including the isolate) right on the packaging. [1, 2]

Summary

If you buy a regular bag of dried flower or a standard pre-roll from Sensi Brands (or any legal Ontario grower), it is 100% natural, unadulterated plant material. If you buy an "infused" product to get higher THC percentages, the added isolates are mixed in openly, safely, and cleanly in accordance with federal consumer protection laws. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Well I just learned a whack ton! Guess I know enough for today.

So, for all you folks out there that wonder about regulation. Well when it works it works really well and looks after our best interests.

Be well, be kind, smile, and spend time outside even if it is raining.

This NOT a government cannabis versus my homegrown cannabis. It is merely my observations the last 2 weeks or so.

So, I do not usually consume government approved in their shops cannabis. I do grow my own, and have been getting better each season. With that I made a post about 2 weeks ago about a cool cannabis shop that I saw and posted pics. It was there that hubs bought me a Summer 10 Pack I think it was called. So, I have been working my way through that pack. I have not smoked my AK-47 from 2025 for about a week.

What I am noticing is that the high is quite different. I am not even sure I know what I mean by that yet. I am just hmmmmm, I am high, but differently than yesterday consuming gov canna.

My ponderings are: is there something in the process that is fundamentally changing the cannabinoids? I know I have read/heard chatter in the community that the process degrades the cannabis profile. Enough for me to be aware that it is not as clean as it ought to be, nor is it anywhere near as clean as I grow. I know exactly what goes into my grow. What I am seeing this year with my grow is that MG works! My plants are tiny with the timing that was set up for feeding this summer. I digress.

So, I will do some research and learn more about a very multifaceted process of the how the federal government of Canada is now my legal supplier! Who would have thunk it!? Certainly not I! I know I say this in each post, but I am grateful every single day that cannabis is legal here everywhere! Minus borders. Gotta use common sense lol

With that enjoy the day, smile, be kind, and most of love yourself.

Many many moon ago I lived in Southeast Asia. I had a very small normal local apartment. I lived there for nearly a year.

I noticed that I had a gecko that showed up in my apartment. The gecko was always up near the ceiling and did not seem at all interested in anything lower than the top foot of the wall where it met the ceiling.

Then one day I noticed a second gecko. Each day that passed they inched closer to one another along the walls.

Then in the shower one day I saw a WHOLE bunch of baby geckos! It was really really cool!

I had a LOT very unique experiences that year. No, I do not have any pictures bc it was a LONG time ago. No such things are smart phones back then.

Do you have any cool gecko stories?

Many many moon ago I lived in Southeast Asia. I had a very small normal local apartment. I lived there for nearly a year.

I noticed that I had a gecko that showed up in my apartment. The gecko was always up near the ceiling and did not seem at all interested in anything lower than the top foot of the wall where it met the ceiling.

Then one day I noticed a second gecko. Each day that passed they inched closer to one another along the walls.

Then in the shower one day I saw a WHOLE bunch of baby geckos! It was really really cool!

I had a LOT very unique experiences that year. No, I do not have any pictures bc it was a LONG time ago. No such things are smart phones back then.

Do you have any cool gecko stories?

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We here at Bloom & Chill hope that your birthday month is proceeding along and full of fun and of course cannabis!

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So, you have successfully grown your cannabis and have buds! Great job! But now what to do?

I used to save all my trimming leaves, I do not anymore they go back to the Earth. I trim most of the leaves off before I wash. Last year I did not wash I was lazy and it was getting very cold.

WASHING

You need to decide if you are going to wash your cannabis or not. If you are washing you need several 5 gallon pails of filtered water - I use hose water and let it sit for 48 hours before washing.

Bucket One

Water

Bucket Two

Peroxide small amount and water

Bucket Three

Water

Bucket Four

Lemon juice small amount and water

Bucket Five

Water

Dry not washed

DRYING

I hang mine on my clothesline and let them drip for however long before they are not constantly dripping.

I put coloured tape with the strain name on my stems as I chop so I know which plant is which. Even if you only have one plant, I believe it is good practice.

Then I move them to the shed where they hang with fans moving the air. NOT blowing on the buds, but facing a wall, and the air bounces around the 10x10 shed.

Then the waiting game. You can read all about how long it takes to dry but most are drying inside where they can control the environment. I have a shed and I have zero control over the weather.

First day drying

Several days later

The stems are supposed to snap. Mine never do. So, I go by the bud and how it smells bc at times it will smell like hay and you will be asking questions, this passes. When I think it is dry enough, I wait another weekish or so. Bc if you jar it early it will mould! There is zero chance that wet buds put in a sealed jar will not mould.

Almost there

Trimming time - not the ziploc bag I mentioned lol

TRIMMING

I begin trimming with a heater in the shed and go as long as I can. My last harvest I did 6 straight hours with the rain pouring outside it was blissful, minus the sore hands. Then I stuffed the remainder into a massive ziploc storage bag and hoped for the best! Which I just trimmed a couple weeks ago and YAY it worked!

I put the buds into mason jars and make sure each jar has a label. Bc you will NOT remember which is which. Trust me...lol

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CURING

Here is the tricky part. You have made it this far so stay with the process. Do not give up now. Now is when the rubber meets the road in the process. You can skip washing, you can skip trimming, you may NOT skip curing or the entirety of your labour will be for not!

Fill each jar loosely - VERY IMPORTANT

Do not overfill the jars. Get more, but do not stuff them full. The bud requires air flow to cure.

Each day burp your jars. Open the lid, move the jar around - I do my best to not touch during this process. Just move the jar around to move the bud inside without too much force.

This can take a LONG time. Be patient, you are nearly there! You can put hydrometers in a few jars if you are curious, but your nose is your best ally. The aroma will change over time and I always sniff at least 12 jars (but I grow 4 plants and have dozens of jars) as I am opening them. If it is mouldy you will notice it. Trust your smell.

Hydrometer - $13.99 for 2

Once cured then you can smoke away!

Trim away what you do not want to smoke, and I do save trim after curing. There are a lot of goodies in the trim now that it is cured.

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This is the process I use. You can and will adjust your process to suit your needs and grow. I spent a lot of time online figuring it out and there are some EXCELLENT guides out there! I took what I learned and tweaked it to work for me. Each grow I learn something new usually more than one thing. As you progress with your knowledge your grows for the most part improve.

Please share your successes and failures, bc I learn more from failure than success.

I hope that this is helpful to some of you in our Tribe. Growing cannabis is something that is a forgiving process. Being able to grow legally in my country is something I did not think I would see in my lifetime. I am grateful to be able to grow, and make tinctures, salves, drinks, and baked goodies to manage my chronic pain.

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Enjoy your birthday month it is as special as you are to us!

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Celebrate your special day with us!

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Celebrating your birthday month with you in style!