What Is Croptober? Understanding the California Cannabis Harvest Season
As cannabis lovers through and through, we are so excited to welcome the Croptober season. Croptober is the peak harvest season for outdoor cannabis, running from the middle to last week of September through the end of October and early November.
Our Orange County dispensary staff geeks out about Croptober every year because it means our store will receive an influx of the market’s freshest products. We get stocked with the best of the California cannabis harvest season, with terpene-rich, aromatic buds all around.
For our Costa Mesa cannabis customers, this influx of fresh cannabis means one thing: great deals. Our menu selection is the largest during Croptober, and the flower is at its best quality. If you’re a cannabis aficionado, you don’t want to miss out on the fresh flower Croptober brings.
Let’s take a closer look at the California cannabis harvest season and why Croptober is the best time to buy fresh flower:
All about Croptober
Croptober harvest signals
Croptober takes place between the middle of September and late October, with some strains still getting harvested in early November. It’s all centered around the plant’s outdoor growth cycle.
Outdoor cannabis follows the sun’s natural cycles. When sunlight starts to wane and fall below 14 hours per day, cannabis plants know that it’s time to prepare for winter by flowering ahead of the cold weather.
The best cannabis growers know exactly how to time their Croptober harvests. They wait for the plants to develop milky-white trichomes loaded with resin and dark hairs called pistils. Then, they carefully harvest and prepare them for their journey to the dispensary.
What strains does Croptober include?
There are no Croptober-specific strains. If it’s ready to harvest in this peak fall season, it’s a Croptober strain.
However, we know that some strains follow slightly different cycles than others. For example, Sour Diesel takes somewhere between 11 and 12 weeks to finish flower, whereas Girl Scout Cookies follows a 9 to 10 week cycle. Green Crack, on the other hand, takes about 8 to 9 weeks to complete a flower cycle.
The Croptober timeline
Croptober harvests should be collected within days of the physical signs (like milky resin and amber hairs). After harvest, the curing and drying process typically takes around three weeks to a month.
With this in mind, a Croptober flower hitting our shelf in the end of October was likely harvested in mid-September. If we get a new batch of flower in mid-November, it was likely harvested in early October.
The Emerald Triangle and Croptober
While Croptober is a harvest season that most cultivators across the country follow, it’s especially meaningful here in California. That’s because we’re home to the most iconic regions for growing cannabis, collectively known as the Emerald Triangle.
Composed of Mendocino County, Trinity County, and Humboldt County, the Emerald Triangle is the “unofficial capital of cannabis” and home to the highest cannabis production in the country.
So while Croptober is an exciting harvest season for all cultivators, California is home to the peak of Croptober culture. We’re lucky enough to have access to some of the most iconic cannabis growing regions in history, and our Costa Mesa dispensary is honored to bring Croptober delights to our customers each year.
The importance of freshness in cannabis
When stored properly, cannabis can last a while. Put it in an airtight container and keep it in a cold, dark place, and you should be able to enjoy it for months to come.
But like every fresh crop, cannabis gets stale over time. Even if it’s been properly stored, it will slowly begin to dry out and lose its potency over time.
Light, heat, oxygen, humidity, and time all contribute to the degradation of cannabis flower. As the plant degrades, THC slowly converts into CBN–a generally non-intoxicating compound with some suggested sedative properties. Over time, the plant will contain more CBN and less THC, making it less potent.
Along with THC, the terpenes and other compounds in cannabis degrade over time, too. This process causes the aroma and flavor of the plant to slowly fade, alongside its overall potency. The longer this process goes on, the lower the quality of the flower.
That’s why Croptober is so exciting. We get a huge supply of fresh, aromatic, and perfectly-timed plants that are ripe for enjoying.
Beyond Croptober, our boutique cannabis store cares deeply about providing quality experiences through fresh cannabis. It’s why we don’t accept any flower that’s older than 90 days.
What happens after the Croptober harvest?
As we mentioned, Croptober harvests take a few weeks to hit dispensary shelves. After reaching optimal growth, the plants undergo several processes before they’re ready for purchase.
Generally, plants get trimmed, dried and cured, and tested before they can make it into the proper packaging. Once all those steps have been completed, they are ready to make their rounds into local dispensaries.
Where to buy Croptober harvests in Orange County
Our Orange County dispensary might not be located right by the Emerald Triangle, but we certainly get a lot of drops from amazing cultivators across the iconic region. So if you’re looking to buy fresh Croptober harvests, know you can visit High Seas for some of the state’s best cannabis options, straight from the Emerald Triangle.
Because Croptober is such a big deal across all cannabis farms, you can expect to find Croptober drops at any local dispensary that values quality and freshness. Budtenders should be able to point you in the right direction of fresh Croptober harvests.
If you’re looking to take advantage of the fresh, aromatic flower that Croptober brings, we have you covered. Whether you’re visiting from out of town and want weed delivery to your hotel or you’re a local planning to stop by after work, High Seas has a great selection of cannabis with freshness at the forefront.
Located at 1921 Harbor Blvd, Costa Mesa California, 92627, we’re open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.