SBCC horticultural students take field trip to cannabis farm

Students in Michael Gonella’s Plant Propagation course visited Ever-Bloom Nursery for an educational tour on March 21. As part of their Santa Barbara City College course, students learned from owner Ivan Van Wingerden about the operation of a single-crop production facility, mass-cloning of an annual plant, using beneficial insects, closed-loop irrigation and odor control. Until a few years ago, Gonella’s class had been touring Carpinteria cut flower nurseries for about 10 years. This was the first class trip to a cannabis farm. “It was interesting to see the change, and to have (Van Wingerden) describe the cut-flower industry and economics that necessitated a crop change,” Gonella said. He said the main difference was that cannabis is consumed, as opposed to cut flowers, so students were able to learn about the tightening of regulations for chemical application, among other things, related to the new crop.