Hartford Business Journal

26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 Special Report: CT's emerging cannabis industry the importance of these factors the hard way at the company's first grow facility in Webster, Mass. Curaleaf launched that site in the summer of 2017, harvesting just three pounds that October. In those early days they ran into several issues. For example, when they loaded as many plants as possible into two grow rooms, the HVAC system got overwhelmed and couldn't control the extra humidity, which can create a breeding ground for mold and fungi. Additionally, the plants' girth depleted the room of carbon dioxide that's key to a flower's survival. That's why, Raleigh said, Curaleaf's grow rooms are now equipped with heavy-duty HVAC systems and CO2 tanks, which are monitored by a censored control system that adds heat, cooling and carbon dioxide as needed. "We're constantly injecting these rooms with CO2 so that they can photosynthesize and they can make the carbohydrates and sugars that they need to create these medical- grade flowers," Raleigh said. "Environmental control is of the utmost importance." In addition to climate controls — which are set at tropical conditions for early-stage plants, and cooler temperatures for mature ones — light is a crucial factor in a successful grow, Raleigh said. Growing plants need 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness each day, he said. Precision is key Massachusetts-based Green Meadows, which grows and sells cannabis to the medical and recreational markets in the Bay State, operates a cultivation facility in Southbridge, Mass., about half the size of Curaleaf's Simsbury operation, said CEO Bob Patton. The company controls the same elements as Curaleaf — i.e. temperature, light, etc. But Green Meadows only uses LED lights, whereas Curaleaf uses a mix of LED and more traditional high- pressure sodium lights. "There are two schools of thought on lighting," Patton said. LED lights are more expensive to install, but use less electricity and could lead to different state tax rebates, depending on where a facility is located. Jonsson said Curaleaf is working to increase its use of LED lights to reduce the company's carbon footprint, but it isn't ready to rely on them entirely. "Our stance in general is LED lights are great, they're the future, but ... [the technology is] not there yet," Jonsson said. Maintaining a solid water and fertilization system is also something that can make or break a harvest, Patton said. Green Meadows' "fertigation" system runs fertilizer- containing water to all plants, and is controlled by the same automated system as the lights and HVAC, he said. Curaleaf's Simsbury facility has an irrigation room filled with huge sealed plastic drums holding fresh water that feeds into nutrient tanks, and then drips into plants via the system's irrigation line, said Brendon Lasky, a cultivation manager. Green Meadows' equipment and infrastructure cost about $350 per square foot, Patton said. While the six-month-old company is much smaller than Curaleaf, it produces about 80 pounds of cannabis per week, which is a larger operation than what smaller craft-cannabis companies may do. It's possible to establish a small grow operation for less money, Patton said, but growing cannabis at a high volume is an intensive and pricey proposition. "I think you can generally say a grow with a couple hundred square feet of canopy can probably work on a simpler system," Patton said. "[But] we're talking here about producing quality cannabis at scale." Brendon Lasky Curaleaf employees monitor a harvest. Equipment in the irrigation room of Curaleaf's Simsbury cultivation facility. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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