In terms of acreage, few varieties have ever covered as much land as Lifter. It grows well from Alabama to Washington State, achieves some of our highest production numbers, and frequently gives extractors CBD crude oil returns between 12-13%. Good growers aim for 4,000 pounds per acre, with many surpassing that. Lifter can grow very large, so be prepared. The ideal harvest window is from October 1st to October 21st, but it can be delayed by later planting dates.

A new addition to our lineup, Sour Lifter has shown trimmed flower numbers exceeding 20%. Its structure is slightly smaller and bushier than the original Lifter, making it a great option for mechanical harvesters tired of damaging their machines with big stems. In 2024, we had a grower report 15% oil returns. The ideal harvest window starts about a week earlier for Sour Lifter, making it a good option for farmers looking to field dry before late October rains.

Harvest can begin as early as September 21st and go into mid-October, depending on the planting date.

This old-school favorite is our most mold- and mildew-resistant variety, making it ideal for those growing in wet climates. Over the years, Suver Haze has posted some of the most impressive CBD contents we’ve seen in a plant. While it produces slightly less than both Lifter and Sour Lifter, planted a week or two earlier, the difference is hard to notice. We still hear reports of growers hitting 5,000 pounds per acre in the right climates. Suver Haze is easier to manage than Lifter for mechanical harvests.

It matures around the end of September, with most biomass growers harvesting it between October 1st and 21st. Because of its disease resistance, it can be left out the latest.

Scale growers who use the transplant model generally aim for between 1-2 pounds of homogenized biomass per plant, depending on planting date and field conditions. Earlier season plants lead to bigger plants with more material and bigger spacing, while later plantings generally increase density. All aim for overall yields above 3,000 pounds of biomass per acre to make it lucrative.

It’s one thing to yield 5,000 pounds of material per acre with cheap autoflower seeds planted at 20,000 seeds per acre, but the 4% CBD material that comes from these plants just doesn’t sell to labs. Choose genetics that yield 10% CBD biomass or more, as this is the sweet spot for extractors. Extractions work exponentially better with higher-testing material, and growers get a better payout.

This should be a no-brainer by now, but there are still some breeders growing large populations of cheap, non-feminized seeds. While it’s possible to achieve large yields per acre, most of the result will be seeds. Not only are cannabinoid contents drastically lower in seeded plants, but extractors also hate running heavily seeded material.

If a breeder offers seeds with less than 99.97% feminization, don’t take them. For example, with our genetics, we generally see around one phenotypically male plant per 4,000.

Seeds that don’t sprout shouldn’t be planted, but after the glut of seed production in 2019 and 2020, there are still plenty of old seeds out there that may not have been properly cared for. Before purchasing a large lot from an unknown supplier, do your homework.

Often overlooked, plants that produce tons of leaves within and around their flowers tend to offer lower CBD crude oil returns. The more leaf, the lower the oil returns per pound - and the lower the payout.

• Autoflowers are highly sensitive plants that will flower at the first signs of stress, regardless of how old the plant is.
• Large scale growers simply cannot ensure they won't end up with large swaths of their fields covered in plants only inches tall.
• Seed production costs for reliably feminized seeds far exceed what growers can afford to pay a breeder.
• Autoflowers commonly produce lower content than photoperiod plants, even in trimmed flowers.
• Plants commonly have a low flower-to-leaf ratio, which further reduces oil returns.
• Autoflowers are extremely difficult to inspect for hermaphrodites in large populations.