Departing Berkeley, California on a foggy Wednesday morning, I used to be in for a deal with. I knew I used to be headed to my favourite place and to what’s, in my expertise, the perfect hashish farm on this planet. On the drive north, every thing bought extra stunning, sunnier, golden, and inexperienced. I drove all the way in which to Dos Rios Farms in Dos Rios, California. This farm opens my coronary heart. The locale and the folks there are unparalleled and so is their herb.
Dos Rios is in northeastern Mendocino County on the way in which to Covelo. The highway to Covelo has a sophisticated historical past. Covelo is the tip of California’s Path of Tears and Dos Rios is about midway down that highway. I came over Mark Thies and his spouse Leslie Hines at their farm. They’ve one bustling little nursery and two 10,000-square-foot cultivation websites the place they work to breed and develop among the most unusual and impeccable kinds of hashish on this planet. It’s essentially the most stunning of the lots of of hashish farms I’ve visited in my life. The situation is exclusive; an amazing sense of peace and safety comes over you as quickly as you arrive on the farm. Their land virtually magically retains freezing temperature snow off the vegetation and buffers towards excessive temperatures and fireplace. The most effective vibes replicate instantly within the herb grown at Dos Rios, which is cultivated by people who find themselves really dedicated to an natural way of life. They’re my favourite for good motive; they domesticate and breed the perfect hashish I’ve ever had the enjoyment of discovering.
All of the product from Dos Rios Farms is unbelievable. A few of the most notable strains of theirs I’ve tried are Fruity Booty, Lemon Crème (which positioned ninth within the flowers/blended gentle class on the 2023 Emerald Cup), Dutch1 (which is T1 Purple Jasmine crossed with Dutch Deal with), Cherry 1 (Cherry AK crossed with the T1 Purple Jasmine), and Hood Candyz. My sincere favourite of theirs is likely to be their household of OG Kushes; their Skywalker is one I keep in mind as the top of a wealthy, piney, citrusy, petrol smoke.
“The Kush I like has that deep, deep oily taste with a lemony paste on the again of your throat,” Thies says. “It’s a no-joke, sofa locked time to eat or time to create, in any order, form of deal, no extra with payments, chores, and so forth.”
The flowers that Thies and Hines develop are universally sticky, highly effective, and are all the time completely cured. Thies has been rising for 40 years (with 11 years spent at Dos Rios) and his breeding strategies have launched numerous unimaginable cultivars to the market and the folks of California. The highly effective terpenes and trichomes cultivated by the crew at Dos Rios are not any accident; they’re the results of a long time of dedication to the therapeutic herb everyone knows and love.
The hashish at Dos Rios is of the very best grade and the land the place the farm is positioned has been completely natural since lengthy earlier than hashish was cultivated there. With naturally occurring water sources like a pond that’s all the time full and the right geography, Thies and Hines aren’t simply fortunate. They work onerous to are likely to the land, training regenerative farming strategies that work symbiotically with nature. Their farming strategies and practices create a really sustainable surroundings. The whole lot farmed at Dos Rios is planted, fed, and harvested with reference to the moon, the celebrities, and the solar. They’re Solar+Earth licensed and have been contributing again to the soil and our planet by rising nice hashish for a few years.
“I take the position of biodiversity severely and I don’t need to pollute our cherished floor with salt-ladened animal vitamins,” Thies says. “That’s to not say you possibly can’t pollute your soil with natural merchandise. Secondly, I like the flavour and the excessive of well timed harvested natural flower.”
The one issues that aren’t sustainable are the costs and legal guidelines constraining our favourite cultivators and their profitable operations. Since Proposition 64 handed, like many farmers, Thies and Hines have struggled to fulfill ends. They’ve, nevertheless, discovered options and assist of their group by way of collaboration with neighbors and teams just like the Round Valley Cannabis Co-Op, a group of small farmers that work within the pristine, distant fantastic thing about the Covelo/Dos Rios Appellation. They’ve additionally partnered with retailers like Pure Hashish Co. which persistently options Dos Rios’s cultivars of their retailers and of their famed Better of Harvest containers yearly. The state of the market stays in flux however as a result of Dos Rios Farms product is so unimaginable they preserve their presence on the highest shelf and in addition within the hearts and lungs of all of us fortunate sufficient to devour what they produce.
As I head again dwelling into the fog financial institution, I ponder the probabilities. There are numerous peaks and valleys, difficult by climate situations, politics, funds, well being, and actuality. The one factor that I do know for certain is Dos Rios Farms is essentially the most particular hashish farm that has made it by way of the storm of legalization (to this point) and I can guarantee you that it’s best to search out their product for those who can. Thies and Hines are like my weed dad and hashish mother; in my dream life they’d undertake me, however not less than I get to get pleasure from their herb and be pals with them.
The tough actuality of authorized hashish for small farmers is that for a lot of the state of affairs with licensing, charges, taxes, and laws just isn’t tenable or sustainable. It’s significantly robust for regenerative farms.
“Sadly, these final two years I’ve been chasing the extremely marketable strains to maintain our farm afloat,” Thies says. “Apart from that I nonetheless develop for private pleasure and attraction, I like the landrace, old-fashioned sativa strains so I’m all the time going to have these genetics in my cultivar designs.”
Fortunately, Dos Rios Farms has to this point continued to succeed, albeit not with out a battle. Thies regrets that they may “by no means once more be growers; solely farmers,” however finds it worthwhile to stay for the reason for cultivating unimaginable hashish for the folks of California.
I’m grateful for the chance to know and love Thies and Hines and their herb. I’ve spoken out for years towards massive company hashish and their foyer and it’s my dearest hope that towards all odds we are going to proceed to get pleasure from their product and their presence for a few years to return.
This story was initially Up to date within the October 2023 difficulty of Excessive Instances Journal.