3rd week update…
I want an “I LOVE my job!” bumper sticker… yes I’ve become one of “those” people!!
So far I’ve partaken in LOTS of defoliation, scrogging, trimming, TWO harvests, and lots of cleaning / decontamination of finished rooms. Jumped over to the propagation department for a day to test the waters, then decided I wanted to stick around in Flower a bit longer. (Propagation department was a bit slow-paced for me, days fly by with my people in Flower :D)
So, let me dispel some myths about some MSO’s (can’t speak for all of them, but the one I work at I can). First… Pretty much all of my co-workers consume (NOT at work!!), and speak about it openly with our managers. You quickly notice that the employees actually give a shit about the quality of the product. Between talking about the effects, to noticing issues and nipping them in the bud, its like I am with a bunch of my friends growing, not “stuck at work” with a bunch of clock-punchers… There are a few there who just like growing things and have NEVER consumed, and these people are just as cool as the life-long heads…
Second is the quality of the product. Clearly there are multiple lines, a premium line of bud, mids and low end flower (really its more like popcorn nugs instead of bigger nugs). When harvesting the premium line of buds we’re super careful when removing from the scrog, and they are treated like gold. Mids are more “cut and rip”, which leaves a lot of buds on the table, and some make it to the floor. This is an important distinction, because once it touches the tables or floor its now considered contaminated. Anything that is kept to the table can be used in the extractions lab, anything that hits the floor is garbage and is destroyed. Its really crazy to me to step on BIG top colas that had accidentally made it to the floor. Its like a friggen cow-pattie! (and they sometimes stick in the treads of your shoes!). Feels so wrong sweeping up so many buds to toss out / destroy when I’ve spent hours at home picking up a spilled bag out of carpeting with dog hair. How many times did I scrape resin from the bottom of a bowl to smoke, and here I am tossing out entire garbage bags of nugs that hit the floor.
Still haven’t sampled the goods yet. Our dispensary needs to have samples in stock (I am NOT paying my “discounted” full price, which isn’t bad really, to buy premium nugs when I have plenty of my own.) The samples are either carts or 1/8s of popcorn, and for the cost of them, I will wait till there are more in stock, then take a ride down there (dispensary is 45 mins away). We have a Mandarin Zkittles that I REALLY wanna try in nug and cart form… The smell of those flowers is AMAZEBALLS…
Working on bringing up the numbers of the Taylor Ham society 
Several of my co-workers have signed on already and more to come mwuhahahahaha
I’ve also realized that this IS the place for me… My existing knowledge base of growing REALLY comes into play, and my name has come up in manager’s meetings as a suggested person for various teams because OF that knowledge Let me tell you how nice it is to finally be recognized for what my parents would have called “useless knowledge”. I believe it will open doors for advancement and promotion for me for once in my life 
Its also nice to not be “the smartest one in the room” for a change, as many of my co-workers have knowledge in various areas that interest me. Fertigation automation and IPM come to mind, there’s lots for me to learn from those folks. For moms, prop, veg and flower I’m on par with their knowledge level, though I still learn a trick or two, and have shared some of my own. After 6 months there I can change departments if I wanted (to say… packaging, transportation, kitchen or lab), and while packaging and transportation doesn’t sound fun, kitchen looks like it could be, and I’ve talked with a guy in the lab who makes that seem like its another avenue I might explore the the future. For now, I LOVE my crew in Flower, and love the varied tasks which make each day fly.
I can also say, the right job changes you… I was chronically late for most jobs I have had for the past 30 years. I would always stay late to make up for it (get in at 9:05 but stay till 5:15), or, in the koi pond company “stay till the work was done” with no idea when quitting time was. NOT here! I am habitually early, even having time to change into my scrubs BEFORE punching in 15 mins early (the most we’re allowed to punch in early). And at quitting time you can actually leave on time! (or stay late to finish a harvest and make some overtime!).
Since I mentioned scrubs, let me point out that cleanliness is second to none there. Sometimes I swap out my scrubs 2-3x a day, certain rooms you need booties and tyvek suits on, and the decontamination of a room after a harvest is pretty intense! Disassembling fans and AC units, cleaning fan blades, filters, etc, the washing of the tables and all assorted grow items, even regular sweep and mop on the floors (which aint always easy with a room full of grow tables / racks / trays). After a harvest decontamination, those rooms are SO friggen bright and white with just racks, lights and trays with no plants or medium. Cleaner than any grow I have ever seen, bordering on white-room clean. I watched them make cuttings one day, and for each mom, they used a dedicated set of gloves, jar for the cuttings, and they rotated thru sterilized snips, one set per mom, never using a “contaminated” item on a different mom. Thats some pretty strict procedures for cleanliness, and impressed me. Heck, when we are scrogging a room with more than one strain, we change gloves when we change strains. Almost seems overkill to me, but I work for them, and govt regulations I am sure play a part in the final product.
Finally… The atmosphere and people. Awesome-Sauce!! Seriously, there’s not one co-worker that I even slightly dislike, they have assembled a great team (200+!!) and the positive mindset of each individual is there. I don’t have bad days at work anymore. Some days might be harder than others (scrogging is easy compared to harvesting the BIG flower room in a single day, which we did with 12 people last week and CRUSHED it!) There had to be over 2000 plants in that room. We even made it fun by competing with teams from opposite ends of the rows, first to reach the middle wins. Racks of weed were just flying outta that room…
So… If you get the chance to work for an MSO… Don’t think twice… Just jump in. You might find the most awesome job in the world. And at the end of the day leave happy, not because you are finally “leaving that place”, but because you had a GREAT day at work. TRULY makes a difference in your own personal happiness… It really does!!!
