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Hemp in North Carolina

ocelotshine

New member
So, its been a few years since I've been here, and a whole lot has changed, but I had to come back because this is single-handedly the most responsive and helpful community I've had the pleasure to use as a resource. Let's talk.

North Carolina started its Hemp Pilot Program last year and I have a decent opportunity so I've got a few questions, which may also be relayed to some local farmers that have already dove in.

First off, hydroponics; efficient for hemp production?

I could definitely see hydroponic production of cdb flowers being entirely worthwhile, but would it be misguided of me to get the most bang out of a system to focus on flower production over stalk/leaf growth?

Strains?

What strains would be most productive indoors/outdoors, and what strains are best for fibers/ cbd/ terpenes?

Plant training;

Is it as useful to train hemp plants similar to the ways I've learned to train marijuana plants in the past (i.e. scrog, tying down, topping, etc.)?


These are just the first few off the top of my head. Any extra tips, questions, insights, whatever, will go a very long way. Thanks in advance.


Here's a little info I've pulled about the hemp program in NC, will post some other links as a follow-up as I sift through some of the stuff I've stumbled upon.

https://www.ncagr.gov/hemp/

https://industrialhemp.ces.ncsu.edu

https://ncindhemp.org
 

Only Ornamental

Spiritually inspired agnostic mad scientist
Veteran
...
First off, hydroponics; efficient for hemp production?

I could definitely see hydroponic production of cdb flowers being entirely worthwhile, but would it be misguided of me to get the most bang out of a system to focus on flower production over stalk/leaf growth?

...
Plant training;

Is it as useful to train hemp plants similar to the ways I've learned to train marijuana plants in the past (i.e. scrog, tying down, topping, etc.)?
...
Hydro would work well for flowers and is widely used too. It is likely pointless for fibre production due several reasons. Although, the plants themselves won't mind being grown in hydro.

From my experience and understanding, training works very well with 'flower' varieties, works fairly well with seed varieties and not so much with fibre hemp. But there's no reason to scrog a fibre hemp variety, anyway.
 

Satyros

Member
My understanding is that it takes hundreds of pounds of seeds densely planted on multiple acres. Probably irrigated. Special machinery for harvesting and fiber extraction.


I am unaware that it has anything to do with cbd, flowers, or anything like that, although quite possibly oil pressed from seeds. Having been in acres of hemp, in terms of flowering, it seems nasty. Did I miss something about what's allowed? I got the impression that it would be a terrible cottage industry, and mostly go to converted industrial farms.


In which case we're talking about the production of millions of pounds. I'm outside a town that was called Hemp until the 1950s, because it was grown abundantly for so long. Still a Hemp Street there. We're not quite "down east", but even if only 1% of that potential acreage went to hemp, it would be staggering.


I think this is good and I hope it gets off to the right start, but I definitely don't want anyone's hemp pollen drifting onto my little garden.
 

40AmpstoFreedom

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
So, its been a few years since I've been here, and a whole lot has changed, but I had to come back because this is single-handedly the most responsive and helpful community I've had the pleasure to use as a resource. Let's talk.

North Carolina started its Hemp Pilot Program last year and I have a decent opportunity so I've got a few questions, which may also be relayed to some local farmers that have already dove in.

First off, hydroponics; efficient for hemp production?

I could definitely see hydroponic production of cdb flowers being entirely worthwhile, but would it be misguided of me to get the most bang out of a system to focus on flower production over stalk/leaf growth?

Strains?

What strains would be most productive indoors/outdoors, and what strains are best for fibers/ cbd/ terpenes?

Plant training;

Is it as useful to train hemp plants similar to the ways I've learned to train marijuana plants in the past (i.e. scrog, tying down, topping, etc.)?


These are just the first few off the top of my head. Any extra tips, questions, insights, whatever, will go a very long way. Thanks in advance.


Here's a little info I've pulled about the hemp program in NC, will post some other links as a follow-up as I sift through some of the stuff I've stumbled upon.

https://www.ncagr.gov/hemp/

https://industrialhemp.ces.ncsu.edu

https://ncindhemp.org

I am really interested in this thread/forum because of hemp, but I cannot in anyway see growing it indoors to be at all profitable...It's hard in legal states for weed which has far more use and demand to be profitable indoors. Not to mention hemp growth is incredibly different from our weed of this day. To my knowledge its like crazy sativa landrace untamed growth with no buds really. You grow for the fibers. I could be wrong because my knowledge is limited but the few pictures and things I have seen and read lead me to this logic.

I will check back in and read this thread/forum through when I have time. Pretty limited knowledge I would definitely like to improve upon.

:tiphat:
 

Dr.Young

K+ vibes
Veteran
What about hemp for seed production for food. That is what im curious about, with it being legal, and all.
 

Only Ornamental

Spiritually inspired agnostic mad scientist
Veteran
Why would you want to grow something indoors where you need light, ventilation, cooling/heating, probably more pest control, and so on if you could simply grow it on a field? Seems as if the huge increase in acreage in the states lead to the spread of quite a few diseases... here in Europe though, hemp usually needs no pesticides. Sure, this is also limited to fibre and seed production and not sinsemilla flower production. I can imagine that as soon as you went indoors the likelihood for pests such as mites and aphids dramatically increases.
If you see the multiple harvests per year as an indoor advantage, maybe growing in greenhouses with different season-adapted varieties might be a more economical alternative.
 

Satyros

Member
I cannot in anyway see growing it indoors to be at all profitable...It's hard in legal states for weed which has far more use and demand to be profitable indoors. Not to mention hemp growth is incredibly different from our weed of this day. To my knowledge its like crazy sativa landrace untamed growth with no buds really. You grow for the fibers. I could be wrong because my knowledge is limited but the few pictures and things I have seen and read lead me to this logic.
:tiphat:


I think that is basically correct. You are growing the main stalk. The flowers have almost nothing to them, aside from the fact it can get really seedy. These seeds should have a respectable health or nutrition aspect, but if any of it has any of the medicinal or stoner compounds, I am not sure. Legal in England because it is great bird seed.



Because you are mainly growing one stalk, the plants are grown within inches of each other, and if I was trying to harvest 5-6' stalks, I could probably do three crops a year. Understanding it to be a wild, fast grower, it is hard to see a greenhouse application which would work well for vegetables or cannabis buds you wish to keep intact. In fact, if you don't control it, hemp will probably spread and take over almost every other weed.


However I'd expect the actual demand to be massive. Henry Ford made a freaking car body out of it. I mean, we could replace nylon and polyester and be done with it, and, aren't those the *real* reasons weed is illegal? I think about 70% of all the stuff in this room could have been made from hemp, and when you add in the edible aspect, you've got so much it can do that nothing else really can. Peanuts and soy are close, but hemp likely beats them all.
 

Blaze20

New member
Hey everyone figured I'd share some info since I'm involved in the hemp industry and grow some myself, but on a very small scale compared to others.


So the main reason most are growing hemp is for the CBD, whether it's sold as flower, extract etc. The hemp that's being grown is not what most assume, which is the tall lanky plants that were once grown for fiber/textile use. The hemp that most are growing does produce buds and can look and smell like some thc laden flower. In fact where I live hemp flower was selling for around $20 a gram at one point but has settled down some. It still sells in some retail shops for around $50-70 an eighth. The bud production/size, terpenes and flowering times can vary between which cultivar one's growing. Greenhouse production can be profitable, especially if it's sold as trimmed flower. Of course whether this is profitable or not depends on your location. States with no medical or recreational cannabis will have larger profit margins for their hemp flower. I'm not sure how well hemp flower is selling in states such as Colorado, California etc.
 

oldchuck

Active member
Veteran
In my experience high CBD hemp and high THC weed look and are grown exactly the same. The market here for CBD hemp exploded in the last couple years. There is nearly no market for fiber hemp or seed hemp.
 

Satyros

Member
I did not realize that. Last I saw a major meeting brought in around 400 farmers. I imagine some may have gone with the hurricane. Strikes me as strange that fiber and seed are undesirable. So you mainly are growing a cannabinoid, with, I suppose, some arbitrary cap on THC.
 

oldchuck

Active member
Veteran
Fiber and seed require infrastructure and markets to be attractive to farmers. I think it will come but slowly. It seems that high CBD hemp has a much lighter infrastructure requirement and a market demand that was already there.
 

Blaze20

New member
I think OldChuck nailed it. It's the current lack of infrastructure that's currently holding hemp back in those aspects. Obviously with the multitude of uses it's only a matter of time until that infrastructure is put in place and I believe it'll grow fairly quickly.
 

Satyros

Member
Ok, I guess I hadn't followed it much since pre-beginning, and had looked at a guy with a machine like a loom for processing fiber.


It turns out that not too far from here, there is a big hemp field just openly right there on the side of the highway, so, pretty clearly, I'm behind thousands of peoples' daily experience...
 

Seed Buyer

Member
My company has been providing indoor garden equipment in the Carolina's for the past fifteen years. We have the honor of working with the majority of licensed hemp growers in South Carolina and are working with quite a few in North Carolina. Field growing will be a huge challenge, especially for anyone east of I-95 due to levels of rain we get and the constant threat of hurricanes. There is a reason why the boys in southern Oregon and northern California dominate the outdoor cannabis market. The fact is does not rain from June to October gives them the upper hand. Full seasons plants will be hit and miss every year and day neutral cultivars in my humble opinion will be the only way outdoor production will be feasible.
 

highsteppa

Active member
Veteran
I’m hearing day neutral need to be planted 10k per acre to compete with photos, due to their growth habit. Curious if you’ve have any info on plating density for auto/ day neutral
 

llamabox

Member
Moving our seed production facility from Colorado to Western NC. Always looking for new genetics and to meet up with others.
 
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