The Ugly Truth
The hard truth about growing hemp plants outdoors in soil (whether its “organic” or not), and the impact of NOT using pesticides to control pest infestation, mold, mildew, and disease, is an ugly truth that is seldom told by industry insiders.
The fact is, there are hundreds of species of pests that are inherently drawn to the sweet, juicy, aromatic hemp plant. Unfortunately, these pests can NOT be removed before extraction, and they are subsequently ground up and processed along with the hemp biomass. These ground up pest carcasses, feces, mold, mildew, etc. are readily extracted along with the plant’s beneficial compounds (ie: CBD), so when consuming hemp-based products that are NOT grown in a sterile environment, these hemp-based products will inevitably contain extracted remnants of these unavoidable pests.
Additionally, runoff in agriculture, which refers to the excess rain or irrigation water that flows over the surface of fields or cropland, carries with it numerous substances such as fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metals, PFAS “forever” chemicals, and other pollutants that the hemp plant readily absorbs. Again, these absorbed and unwanted substances are readily extracted along with the desirable hemp compounds. This condition is unfortunately unavoidable in all outdoor grows, whether it’s grown organic or not. Don’t be misled…there is NO safe "surrounding buffer acreage” of organic farming can stop this from happening!
Hemp plant growth is best optimized within very specific environmental parameters and when grown outside its tolerable parameters, fungal diseases are unavoidable. A very common, but extremely unhealthy disease resulting from growing hemp outdoors, in an even semi-humid environment is, Bud Rot, also known as gray mold or Botrytis Cinerea. This is a common fungal disease that affects hemp plants, particularly their flowering buds. This disease can be destructive and lead to significant losses in both the quality and yield of hemp crops. Signs of Botrytis are:
- Grayish-White Mold: The most noticeable symptom of bud rot is the presence of a grayish-white or grayish-brown mold on the affected buds, stems, and leaves. This mold often starts on the inside of the bud and may not even be visible from the outside.
- Mushy and Discolored Buds: Infected buds may appear water-soaked, become soft and mushy, and may eventually turn brown or black. The affected buds can also become heavy and droop.
- Foul Odor: As the mold progresses, it often emits a musty or unpleasant odor that can be detected when inspecting the affected plants.
In summary, the extraction process removes and concentrates the final quantity of ALL the extracted compounds of hemp biomass. Unfortunately, as a result, these extractions (as well as the final market ready “CBD” Products) will also contain higher ratios per unit of the undesirable compounds that were extracted along with the plant’s beneficial compounds.
Only hemp grown in a pharmaceutical grade, sterile, aeroponic closed environment, can be trusted as the safest, highest quality, pure whole plant extraction available.
The FDA requires all CBD approved for medicinal use to be grown in this manner.
Always pesticide, heavy metal, pathogen, contaminate, and bug free!