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March has truly flown by in a flurry of snowflakes. It's difficult to keep track of time when everything around us is white and silent. We came home on February 20th from our SoCal adventure, to be greeted by a huge storm that started the next day and kept us here until March 21st. Much of the time was spent measuring the height against various landmarks.
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In the end, we had a total of 56" of snow over the full month and approximately 4' of depth surrounding us, deeper in some spots. Swami mastered the art of walking in snowshoes to get to the solar panels to brush off the snow, or to the generator, or to the woodshed.
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Other than that, we mostly huddled around the woodstove with Tipu puppy and Frisco kitty, all doing what we do (computer work for Nikki, smoking and reading for Swami and sleeping for the animals!)
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We cleaned out the food in our fridge and pantry and came up with some exotic recipes in the process. Mostly we were lucky, very little was damaged (a gutter fell off the roof, the woodshed collapsed and lots of big limbs fell) and we count our blessings. We are also so thankful for Barret who came and plowed our long driveway (over 2 miles) with his giant bulldozer so we could finally slip away for supplies.
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No complaints. This is winter as it should be, and they say we are now officially out of drought! As farmers, this is fantastic news! We have been gathering our seeds for the next season and while we can't start on April 1st as predicted (it's just too cold), we have a delicious line-up selected.
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Our friends at Blimburn Seeds have sent some tasty cultivars as has Nat Pennington at Humboldt Seed Company, Daniel Morford of Heartrock Mountain Farm, Mark Greyshock of Greenshock Farms and Shara Bloomfield of MTG Seeds. The seeds sit on the lap of Ganja Ma awaiting the start of the season.
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Swami and Nat Pennington of the Humboldt Seed Company
selecting cultivars for the 2023 season
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One reason we had to hire the bulldozer to get us out of here was that there was no way we'd miss the Orange Turbo hash washing and pressing day at Heritage Mendocino in Ukiah!
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We were proud to grow this beautiful cultivar last season, in honor of Django Broomfield, founder and breeder at MTG seeds. Django passed away a while ago but he lives on through his amazing cultivar creations. The Orange Turbo, which Frenchy Cannoli found in our garden many years ago and turned into his favorite hashish, produces huge buds with excellent trichomes for hash making, Frenchy style.
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And so we honor both Django and Frenchy with this hashish and flower. The opportunity to watch Frenchy's protegé Belle and her incredible team transform the flowers into gorgeous temple balls was amazing!
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Also not to be missed was the first day of Judging flowers for The Emerald Cup. Twenty Judges from all across California gathered at Mercy Wellness in Cotati to begin the process. We were greeted with nearly 300 different jars of fine flowers divided into the categories of Licensed Sungrown, Licensed Indoor, 3rd Party Certified Sungrown and Greenhouse, Mixed Light and Personal - and then also broken down into their respective terpene categories.
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This is our 19th year of Judging and the team is the best yet. After smelling every jar, taking notes, and discussing and smoking the ones that really stood out, we were sent home with our samples to get to serious work.
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So here we are, surrounded by jars of great weed and notepads, pens and eager lungs and taste buds ready to dive in! We have five weeks to Judge, in anticipation of the awards on May 13th at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. While we Judge, we will be planning out the garden for the new season and praying the snow stops and spring finally comes to our little valley in the hills of Mendocino. The first shoot of a daffodil has emerged at the Ganesh statue, so we know spring is out there!
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Peace and love to you all,
Swami & Nikki
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Three new cultivars are on shelves now, so be sure to taste them all! Magic Melon returns for yet another year, proving its prowess, and is currently joined by super-potent versions of Sphinx OG and Sour Afghan.
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These high-quality Swami Beanies are selling fast! Pair one with a Swami Hoodie or a Swami Tee - or both - and show your support for our small farm with premium Swami merch.
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Written by Nikki Lastreto
Cannabis Now Magazine | February 28th, 2023
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Emerald Triangle legends Nikki and Swami look back on the days of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
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Join host Marcus aka Bubbleman of Hash Church with Kimberly aka Madame Cannoli along with Nikki & Swami and friends to honor the life and legacy of Frenchy Cannoli and discuss the impact that his story is having through the film 'Frenchy Dreams of Hashish'
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You can find all of the details about these upcoming in-store appearances on the Events Page of our website - thank you for your support, even if it is another click or two away :)
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Swami Select In-Store at 7 Stars HHC on 4/20
WHEN:
April 20th, 2023
Noon - 5pm
WHERE:
7 Stars HHC
3219 Pierce Street
Richmond, CA
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We HIGHly recommend that you make plans to join Swami and Nikki of Swami Select, along with some of our fellow farmers from the Emerald Triangle, on Thursday, April 20th - 4/20! - from noon until 5:00pm at 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center located at 3219 Pierce Street in Richmond, California!
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Enjoy great food, music, prizes, and more... plus if you are one of the first 420 guests to spend $100 or more, 7 Stars has stuffed some goodie bags with products totaling ANOTHER $100 that can be yours for just an additional $3.00!
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We hope to see you on 4/20 at 4:20 and who knows, maybe Swami will pass one your way!
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WHEN:
Saturday, June 17th, 2023
RSVP TODAY
WHERE:
The Brambles in Philo, CA (Mendocino County).
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Silent and Live Auction featuring donations from local craftspeople and farmers, farm tours, exotic vacations, fine art, and much more! Generous donors should not be surprised if their generosity is matched by growers who want to share from their Private Reserve.
Join us June 17th, 2023 at 5:00pm for the 2nd Annual Mendocino Craft Farmers Auction. This very special event will again be held at the lovely Brambles in Anderson Valley in southern Mendocino County.
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The Mendocino Craft Farmers Auction is a private event but you can visit mendocinocfa.com to request ticket info and an invitation.
Please spread the word and tell all of your buds!
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If you have awesome items or experiences that you would like to donate for the auction, you can find that link as well on the new website & we hope to see you on June 17th!
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Tahoe Wellness Center was founded in 2009 and has served the medical cannabis patients of South Lake Tahoe as a compassionate cannabis dispensary, and is now available to serve anyone over the age of 21 in-store, or for delivery or curbside pickup.
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Our mission is to show that cannabis is a positive part of a community, and when embraced by society, it creates far more good than harm – proving what is a decades long failed policy of criminalizing cannabis.
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Tahoe Wellness Collective
3445 Lake Tahoe Boulevard
South Lake Tahoe, CA
www.tahoewellness.com
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Regenerative farming is hard work but oh so worth it!
www.SwamiSelect.com
Sun, Moon & Star Grown™
🌞🌙✨💛
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