Get your Cannabis fix on Route 66!
Inside Look: Territory greenhouse and Hiklas extracts facility in Winslow, AZ
Photo by @_kingjayy
One of the outpost dispensaries in AZ is located up in the mountains just off of the historic Route 66 in Winslow, AZ. A cozy greenhouse sits up against the beautiful mountains just behind the beautiful Territory Dispensary. The breeze is cooler at this altitude and the air is filled with chirping birds and terpy scent of pine. It’s always great to get out of the city because cannabis always tastes different when you can hear the sounds of nature and feel the mountain breeze.
Photo by @_kingjayy
While we love lab grown cannabis, it can lack some of the charm and flavor of outdoor grown cannabis. Territory is taking a natural approach to growing cannabis rather than using shortcuts for a quick buck. Head of growing operations is John Villalobos; he is growing some wonderfully tasting strains. One of the most beautiful is the Pineapple Chunk, flavorful and bursting with citrus notes and strong gassy flavor. His Purple Punch is coming along really beautifully in the mountain climate with incredible purples and heavy ambers. They also have a GDP from GrandDaddy Genetics that grows wonderfully in this greenhouse. They are set up to harvest about every ten to fourteen days. It takes one day to clean the greenhouse and they start a new crop within forty eight hours. John’s team has made a lot of changes in the last couple of years and implemented new techniques that increase the efficiency of the grow, overcoming the obstacles of growing outdoors in a humid mountain climate. The result of their efforts are flavor packed strains like Gelato and Lemon OG. All have really nice terpene profiles from the soil and environment they are grown in. As we walk through the rows of plants, we see ladybugs grouped on the branches waiting to assault any harmful bugs. In the veg rooms the younger plants get sprayed with a dilution of lime sulphur to protect them from harmful bugs. Since this contains no pesticides it is commonly used on cannabis plants and other crops like grape vines. John and his team are dedicated to natural techniques instead of saving money and time with a quick chemical fix.
Photo by @_kingjayy
The Territory greenhouse was built to maximize sunlight exposure efficiently depending on how bright the summer days or how dim the winter days are. They have supplemental lights for when the plants need extra light but the greenhouse is fed mostly by sunlight each day. The temperature stays between 78-81 degrees Fahrenheit. The transition from winter to summer brings new critters trying to get into the greenhouse. They prepare for this by releasing extra good bugs to fight off the bad ones. The lady bugs are bio warrior angels watching over cannabis flowers as they grow.
Photo by @_kingjayy
The flowers are grown to sell in the three Territory Dispensary locations listed at the end of this article but more and more of the harvest is being put aside for very special Hi-Klas craft concentrates. Some of the flavors we have tried on the market are Purple Larry batter, OG Gorilla Glue and Pineapple Chunk. We met with the craftsman Ian, who goes by @dred_pirate on Instagram, about his new and improved line of Hi-Klas extracts hitting shelves all over the valley. Ian’s finished products have a purified look and flavor from being dewaxed to remove the impurities and inactive materials left behind from the plant. Remediating the color from the extracts starts with running cold solvents instead of hot. Then the dewaxing process involves using a series of absorbents to remediate all the gunk that doesn’t need to be there. All the solubles, vegetable fats and chlorophyll that sneaks through. Ian’s finished product looks like creamy frosting and smells purely like the strain it’s made from. The consistency and color of the finished product are inviting like the top of a gourmet cupcake. Ian is also making fat diamonds in a beautiful clear sauce. He showed us a batch that was waiting to crash out – when the THCa drops out and nucleates to form a crystalline structure. This is what we see when we look at a pure THCa diamond. Ian floats them in their own clear terpene sauce.
Photo by @_kingjayy
These are the terps of the future. No wait, these are the terps of the now! We would like to thank the team at Territory for sharing their knowledge and their wares with us. Special thanks to John Villalobos, Ian and Eric Brown for showing us around. Hiklas extracts are available at the Mint and Territory locations and many others across the valley. Ask your favorite retailers for more information.
Territory Mesa/Gilbert (map) 5405 S Power Rd, Mesa, AZ 85212
Territory Chandler (map) 7200 W Chandler Blvd STE 7, Chandler, AZ
Territory North (map) 2015 W 3rd St, Winslow, AZ 86047
Photo by @_kingjayy
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