GARDEN
KHUSH KUSH FAMILY-OWNED FARM WITH FOCUS ON QUALITY, TRANSPARENCY WILL KERSTEN BRI MCDANIEL
THE PEOPLE Khush Kush is a small family farm out of Bellingham, Washington, focused on genetics, top-shelf, pesticide-free product and business transparency. Owned by Sunny Saini and his parents, who immigrated from India, and run by a tight-knit crew of experienced growers, this Tier II farm is taking on the industry with ingenuity, passion and undeniable expertise in growing clean, quality cannabis.
THE PLACE Due to size constraints, they had to fully maximize every square inch of the building. Their flowering rooms, for example, utilize custom rolling tables that run the entire length of the building, allowing them to eliminate aisles between rows. They also had to switch up the typical model for cloning and pheno-hunting. Rather than having a dedicated area where “mothers” grow into enormous bushes, they’ve devised a system where cuttings are taken and the host plant is actually allowed to flower out with the rest of the crop. All this means they’re constantly moving; they move a new crop in and take down a harvest every week.
THE PRODUCT But for Sunny and the crew, it’s about quality first and foremost. They keep their product pesticide-free with the use of biocontrols such as “beneficial bugs,” and techniques like heavy defoliation (cutting away all but the largest, uppermost buds) to prevent contamination and mold. “We cycle through about fifteen strains at a time,” explains Sunny, pointing out some of their current Khush Kush original genetics: Blueberry Scone, White Grape Stomper and Brandywine, a strain that took the 2017 DOPE Cup for Best Indica-Dominant. When asked what he looks for when developing a strain, Sunny answers, “The fruitier the better—we go for terpenes, smells . . . When you touch every single plant, you don’t miss anything. The quality of your product all depends on your moral compass. You have a question? How about you come by, we’ll feed you lunch and show you what we do and why.” He motions to his crew and says, “These guys can look at a bud and tell you exactly what it is and how it was grown. Real recognizes real.”
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Khush is a Hindi/Punjabi word meaning happiness. And kush, as many know, is slang for cannabis. But the word kush actually references India’s Kush Mountains and the indicas that have been grown there for millennia.
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