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California’s most elite cannabis growers submit their finest harvest cuts to Bay Area dispensaries this week for potential top honors at The Emerald Cup at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds Dec. 13 and 14.
Winners this year get an all-expense paid trip for two to Jamaica. The Cup is accepting entries until Dec. 1., with twelve drop-off locations across the state (see below).
Flowers must be grown organically in full sun (greenhouse and light dep allowed).
After Dec. 1, judges will determine the Top 40 contestants, and perform a double-blind test to determine the Top 20.
Initial judging is based on a point scoring system consisting of: looks, smell, taste and effects. Points are docked for improperly cured and trimmed entries.
Over the last eleven years, the contest has grown from 20 flower contestants to over 250 flower entries last year; along almost 60 solvent-less entries in 2013.
Cup founder Tim Blake said the hot, dry 2014 growing season punished many farmers, but similar to grapes — yields are down and quality is up. Plant thirst can boost resin production, he said. “A lot of times, the cannabis is better.”
Blake said winning growers are usually the most dedicated, and commitment is about more than making money.
“You see the same people come in the top ten,” Blake said. “There’s just a commitment to excellence. One guy waters each plant by hand while he prays to them. That guy’s won, like, top five every year for five years.”
It’s called The Emerald Cup in honor of “the Emerald Triangle” a nexus of three California counties responsible for the bulk of America’s marijuana cultivation.
Back-to-land hippies from the Haight re-settled Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity in the ‘60s, and the remote, rugged mountains are perfect for small-scale pot-farming. “Marijuana back-filled the gap left by timber and fishing,” said cannabis researcher Jennifer Budwig.”It saved this county.”
Federal Drug War efforts meant to cut off international dope supplies in the ‘80s turned weed into the Triangle’s #1 economy — sending demand for domestic, artisanal bud soaring, along with its cost. Pot revenues add billions of dollars per year to Humboldt’s economy.
Soon after, international interdiction became local, and triangle growers helped pioneer the lamp-grown, high-THC, hydroponic indoor pot that took over cannabis in the ‘90s. “It is much more potent than it ever was before,” said Budwig.
With the rise of medical cannabis, some of the triangle has gone legal, and the best medical growers began gathering ten years ago to swap jars of freshly-cured flowers, tips and stories from the growing season.
Last year, in a symbolic and logistical move, The Emerald Cup outgrew its local roots and moved south to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds — which is much easier and safer for Bay Area crowds to access.
This year, Slightly Stoopid and Ozomatli are scheduled to entertain the crowds, which could swell to 10,000 in Santa Rosa next month.
Again, a “Prop 215” area lets patients sample the regional produce. Single-day tickets for visitors are $45 and hotel rooms have largely filled up.
Unlike New York-based High Times events or L.A.-based Hempcon, The Emerald Cup is presented by locals, for locals, and the state’s definitive county fair draws much of California’s original cannabis industry.
Good luck to all the growers!
Drop-Off Locations
BUDS AND ROSES
13047 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
KIND PEOPLE
Santa Cruz 3600 Soquel Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
HARBORSIDE
Oakland 1840 Embarcadero
Oakland, CA 94606
SPARC SF
1256 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
ORGANICANN SANTA ROSA
301 E. Todd Rd
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
PEACE IN MEDICINE
Santa Rosa 1061 N. Dutton Ave
Santa Rosa, CA
PEACE IN MEDICINE SEBASTOPOL
6771 Sebastopol Ave
Sebastopol, CA
HEALING HARVEST FARMS/AREA 101 LAYTONVILLE
54895 N. Highway 101, Laytonville, CA
HPRC ARCATA
980 6th Street
Arcata, CA
530 COLLECTIVE SHASTA LAKE (REDDING AREA)
550 Locust Ave
Shasta Lake, CA 96019
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS SACRAMENTO
2831 Fruitridge Rd Suite E
Sacramento, CA 95820
TAHOE WELLNESS TAHOE
3445 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetrut...as-finest-pot-lauded-in-santa-rosa-dec-13-14/
Winners this year get an all-expense paid trip for two to Jamaica. The Cup is accepting entries until Dec. 1., with twelve drop-off locations across the state (see below).
Flowers must be grown organically in full sun (greenhouse and light dep allowed).
After Dec. 1, judges will determine the Top 40 contestants, and perform a double-blind test to determine the Top 20.
Initial judging is based on a point scoring system consisting of: looks, smell, taste and effects. Points are docked for improperly cured and trimmed entries.
Over the last eleven years, the contest has grown from 20 flower contestants to over 250 flower entries last year; along almost 60 solvent-less entries in 2013.
Cup founder Tim Blake said the hot, dry 2014 growing season punished many farmers, but similar to grapes — yields are down and quality is up. Plant thirst can boost resin production, he said. “A lot of times, the cannabis is better.”
Blake said winning growers are usually the most dedicated, and commitment is about more than making money.
“You see the same people come in the top ten,” Blake said. “There’s just a commitment to excellence. One guy waters each plant by hand while he prays to them. That guy’s won, like, top five every year for five years.”
It’s called The Emerald Cup in honor of “the Emerald Triangle” a nexus of three California counties responsible for the bulk of America’s marijuana cultivation.
Back-to-land hippies from the Haight re-settled Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity in the ‘60s, and the remote, rugged mountains are perfect for small-scale pot-farming. “Marijuana back-filled the gap left by timber and fishing,” said cannabis researcher Jennifer Budwig.”It saved this county.”
Federal Drug War efforts meant to cut off international dope supplies in the ‘80s turned weed into the Triangle’s #1 economy — sending demand for domestic, artisanal bud soaring, along with its cost. Pot revenues add billions of dollars per year to Humboldt’s economy.
Soon after, international interdiction became local, and triangle growers helped pioneer the lamp-grown, high-THC, hydroponic indoor pot that took over cannabis in the ‘90s. “It is much more potent than it ever was before,” said Budwig.
With the rise of medical cannabis, some of the triangle has gone legal, and the best medical growers began gathering ten years ago to swap jars of freshly-cured flowers, tips and stories from the growing season.
Last year, in a symbolic and logistical move, The Emerald Cup outgrew its local roots and moved south to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds — which is much easier and safer for Bay Area crowds to access.
This year, Slightly Stoopid and Ozomatli are scheduled to entertain the crowds, which could swell to 10,000 in Santa Rosa next month.
Again, a “Prop 215” area lets patients sample the regional produce. Single-day tickets for visitors are $45 and hotel rooms have largely filled up.
Unlike New York-based High Times events or L.A.-based Hempcon, The Emerald Cup is presented by locals, for locals, and the state’s definitive county fair draws much of California’s original cannabis industry.
Good luck to all the growers!
Drop-Off Locations
BUDS AND ROSES
13047 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
KIND PEOPLE
Santa Cruz 3600 Soquel Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
HARBORSIDE
Oakland 1840 Embarcadero
Oakland, CA 94606
SPARC SF
1256 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
ORGANICANN SANTA ROSA
301 E. Todd Rd
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
PEACE IN MEDICINE
Santa Rosa 1061 N. Dutton Ave
Santa Rosa, CA
PEACE IN MEDICINE SEBASTOPOL
6771 Sebastopol Ave
Sebastopol, CA
HEALING HARVEST FARMS/AREA 101 LAYTONVILLE
54895 N. Highway 101, Laytonville, CA
HPRC ARCATA
980 6th Street
Arcata, CA
530 COLLECTIVE SHASTA LAKE (REDDING AREA)
550 Locust Ave
Shasta Lake, CA 96019
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS SACRAMENTO
2831 Fruitridge Rd Suite E
Sacramento, CA 95820
TAHOE WELLNESS TAHOE
3445 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA
http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetrut...as-finest-pot-lauded-in-santa-rosa-dec-13-14/
