New Grower with 400 plants Greenhouse Outdoor Operation

[Emays09]

Thanks for the insight grouchyoldman & 9fingerleafs your points are very well taken. Truth be told it's very hard to ask the right questions because the growing end of this operation is not my area of expertise. I came into this arrangement as mainly an investor, but each day I'm discovering that I have so much to learn. Now the grower that I'm working with is obviously a "Shade Tree" grower who knows that my knowledge is minimal. So he wouldn't get the tough questions and oversight from me, like perhaps he would get from experienced growers like your selves. Much respect to you guys also, because I've learned more from you guys from a few post than I've been able to learn from my grower, so again thanks!!! So a little background about the 400 plant operation pre Forum. My business partner/grower claimed he was one of the best growers in Humbolt and would like to partner up on a crop. I agreed to cover the cost and he would do what he's good at...grow. So when he told me the cost I was on board. Fast forward the number we agreed on were 400 clones, which he assured me it was a number/amount he could handle. So I figured cool lets get started. He tried to explain to me that he would be using a Sea of Green method of plants not growing more than I believe 5ft. This was all foreign to me, because again I came into this partnership as an investor. Oh by the way, this is suppose to be the first of 3 back to back grows to complete the agreement. So ultimately what led me to the forum was, the difference in what he was leading me to reasonably expect (in yield amounts) in contrast to what I was discovering in my research. But like you guys have expressed, there are many variables than I'm learning now. However, after doing a little research I was coming up with at the least a half pound or at best 1 pound per plant. So I figured at the end of this cycle there would be (if all went well) a minimum of 200 pounds. However when I suggested to my grower a pound per plant or at the least a half, he countered with an expectation of less than 100 50/50. This is what brought me to the forum in search of insight as I believed these numbers were way off. I believed that this was the beginning of a lack of transparency, which gave me reason to pause with my initial already invested.
So now I'm at this point, in hopes of still having a somewhat successful crop for being a first investment out of the gate, and perhaps moving forward in the future with a grower that's more experienced and willing to partner up on a legit operation of 5000 sf (a County standard for a Small operation in Humbolt County). Not sure if this lends more insight into my dilemma, but certainly grateful to have gotten some real answers to my questions and a possible path forward. I'll continue to do more research so that I'm much more prepared to at least ask the right questions. Thanks Guys wish I would have come here before I made my initial investment!

[desertdan]

Best question is. Why are you investing in cannabis grow? Are you interested in cannabis to smoke? Are you just trying to make money? Why invest in something you know nothing about? Would you invest in a gold mine If same person asked you?

[JuanHondo]

i dunno...100 lbs from 400 plants or 4 oz/plant seems like a reasonable "low" estimate...especially in a "sea of green" where oz./plant is not the objective but rather oz./square foot...does he have any data to share from past grows (his own or other in the same area using similar style)? search "sea of green yield" and see what you might expect considering the total sq. footage of your grow as opposed to # of plants

[9fingerleafs]

Very true. Maybe he’s been extra careful to calculate the lowest possible scenario so you don’t feel cheated of things go wrong. And you’ll be very happy if the yield surpasses the initial estimate.

You will have control over harvest and you will weight everything before trimming. You can expect a 10-20 percent loss of weight to trimming. So you can take that into consideration too

[SoOrbudgal]

9fingerleafs But if I had invested in such a grow which looks minimal for a profitable operation ( sorry Emays09 ) to me this experienced grower put them in that outdoor tent too soon? I ask Emays09 is this grow going on right now in Humbolt ?

[Emays09]

In response to 9fingerleafs: Perhaps that's his re rason for tempering my expectations.

In response to SoOrbudgal: To follow up with your reply, clearly my grower is more experienced than I. However, considering everything that I've been able to learn from this forum alone, I've discovered that he's not as experienced as he first claimed, being one of the top growers in the county. With that said, the reason why I eluded to his inexperience is for point you just brought up in your response which was spot on. He did admit after taking them from the indoor flowering area and putting them in the ground, he admitted that it may have been too soon in an effort to get a jump on the season.
Yes this grow is going on right now with 200 that are still indoors and not in the ground yet. Mainly because the weather has not been good.

In response to desertdan: To answer your question in short I'm trying to make money, I'm an entrepreneur and it's a Billion Dollar industry on the legit side. No judgement to either side! More note worthy, I have a couple of associates that own dispensaries on the East. So although I do not smoke, and know very little about the growing end of the business, I figure it's time to grow my own for the sole purpose of making money. Keep in mind, there are several million dollar cannabis companies who had a very different disposition about cannabis before it became legal and millions to be made. Yet now these companies that knew nothing about the business before legalization, now their businesses are thriving. I wasn't one of those individuals who had a negative disposition about the business, on the contrary desertdan! I grew up on the retail end if you will, you know the front lines, before forums, legalization etc. So just keep in mind, that although an individual may not be as familiar with the growing end of the business (as perhaps yourself) doesn't mean that individual just stumbled on the business yesterday, because the individual is not growing his crop to smoke, or knows very little about growing. However, that individual may have 35 years of experience getting a farmers crop to the end user, which is also an invaluable component of this business. Thanks for your input!

[desertdan]

You are know a lot more than you wrote in first post. I can understand now why you want invest in your project. I have many folks come to me asking advice on how to get into growing or into the business. Most just want to get rich quick and that is it. In 2016 I spent most of a summer with some Canadian investors looking to buy some AZ. pot grow businesses. All turned out to be shams. They had licenses but the grows were all crap and growers had no clue what they were doing. The good grows were not for sale. You sound like you know what is up with the business and growers. The two things I always ask are. Why do you want to get in the business or to grow weed? Have you ever grown anything or run a business? If the answer is "to get rich quick like someone else did and no" I tell them to rethink or get educated first. I wish you well and great luck with your endeavor.

[9fingerleafs]

It is early in the season because the hours of darkness are still around 11 each day. Some plants may want to start flowering just to get back into veg once the summer arrives. The way you keep an outdoor greenhouse (or any plant) in veg state is 18 or more hours of light every day. You can set up a few household bulbs inside the greenhouse to keep them in constant light for a couple of more months. Explain this to your partner I’m sure he’ll know if it’s needed

[SoOrbudgal]

I wish you nothing but good luck and healthy future grows. And like all legal states they will squeeze the tax out of you worst is coming when DC sets up big brother it's coming.

[Emays09]

In response to 9fingerleafs: I'll definitely mention this advice to my grower and urge him to put some lighting in the green house to achieve the 18 hours you mentioned! Your guidance has been extremely helpful as I as I begin my journey in this business. I will also be checking back to share the outcome, but also to gain more knowledge from the Pros! So PROPS go out to all of the experienced growers that took the time out to share their expertise with me, It is Greatly Appreciated🙏🏾

In response to desertdan: Thanks for your feedback desertdan, it's my first time in a forum like this, so out of a bit of common caution, I didn't go into great detail on my reasons for pursuing this end of the business. LOL the story that you shared with me (Canadian Investor) had me smh! That was exactly why I felt the need to expound on the questions you posed. Also I certainly didn't pursue this business to get rich quick. I've put a lot into this business at various levels, made money as well as lost money. However, I felt it was time to switch gears and target my efforts on the source before the source/inventory reaches the dispensaries! So Thanks for the insight and well-wishes! Props to you for taking the time to entertain my inquiry.