Indoor VS Outdoor Weed

The merits of cultivating both ways.

The Broccoli Report 
Friday, August 5, 2022
Time to read: 7 minutes, 56 seconds. Contains 1588 words.

Indoor VS Outdoor Weed: The Merits of Cultivating Both Ways

The question of indoor vs. outdoor weed is simultaneously a conversational icebreaker amongst cannabis enthusiasts, an ineffective way to organize flower offerings, and a hill that huge swaths of the industry are willing to die on. 

With so many cultivation styles and methodologies in practice, it can be challenging to figure out which is better, particularly when it comes to environmental impact. As legal markets have become established, data has revealed that both indoor and outdoor grows can strain natural resources. From water usage and carbon emissions to single-use plastics and pesticide run-off that harms wildlife, no growing approach is faultless. The good news: Both indoor and outdoor growing styles offer unique opportunities to maximize efficient use of water and electricity—and they can even positively impact sustainable agricultural practices more broadly.

As with many multifaceted, nuanced issues, sometimes the best way to begin to broaden your understanding is to engage with relevant perspectives. In this case, two perspectives: an indoor grower at the forefront of sustainable innovation, and a longtime sungrown specialist working to make terroir a more established part of cannabis categorization, as it is for wine. 

I spoke with Nick Rutkaus—Head of Cultivation at California cultivator Pure Beauty—and Matt Dolinar, Head of Cultivation and Co-Owner of Oregon’s Pilot Farm, for a piece about different approaches to more sustainable cannabis cultivation practices for Broccoli’s 12th issue. This potent pair of stories, previously only accessible via print, is a revealing look at sustainable practices in weed, energy consumption, the perceived clash of indoor and sungrown philosophies, and the general state of agricultural production in the U.S. 🌸

I know I originally teased a newsletter about best hiring practices for small cannabis businesses for this week, but this dispatch is taking a little longer than expected… not unlike the real hiring process. 🥁 It’s still coming soon.