Originally published at Dope Magazine
BY SHWA LAYTART - OCTOBER 24, 2018
Honeydew Farms – Humboldt, CA
Honeydew Farms’ Alex Moore knows the stress of running a cannabis business all too well—he’s been in the hotbed of the industry for decades. At age 18, he took a leave of absence from college in Maryland and moved to Northern California. He fell in love with Humboldt County, having visited the area as a child. In the summer of 1992 he immediately dove into the grow culture. Moore started at the bottom and worked his way to the top. He initially lived in the greenhouse where he worked in a town called, you guessed it, Honeydew.
The Place
Honeydew Farms thrives deep in the foothills of the Lost Coast Kings Range in Humboldt County’s Mattole Valley, its plots scattered amongst the region’s many microclimates. Honeydew Farms was one of the very first to receive their license, and now currently holds more licenses than anyone in Northern California. Moore spent his first decade in the business buying small patches of land while learning the trade, then turned those plots into commercial agricultural preserves. He met with local officials to learn about environmental and regulatory requirements, so when Prop 64 came along he was already zoned to put roots in the ground. Moore and his wife, Miranda— a photographer and his full-time business partner—do everything from marketing, compliance, logistics, social media and, you guessed it, farming.
Together, the two have developed a refined, show-stopping brand that’s become one of the most successful sun-grown farms in Northern California.
The Product
Each parcel on Honeydew Farms’ 900 acres is mainly sun-grown, with an acre and a half of greenhouses containing their own microclimates. Honeydew Farms also builds their own organic living soils; over the years, they’ve invested in five groundwater wells so as not to interfere with local streams. With a constantly evolving catalog of strains, they add their own exclusive traits to their flower. Honeydew Farms is one of the first major California cannabis success stories; a kid who started off sleeping in a greenhouse to save money now has the largest grow around.
“Honeydew Farms also builds their own organic living soils; over the years, they’ve invested in five groundwater wells so as not to interfere with local streams.”