How Redwood Remedies’ Derek Gambrel Works: Cannabis Workspace

Indoor, outdoor, greenhouse or a combination: Combination of all three, but primarily a greenhouse grower

Can you share a bit of your background and how you and your company got to the present day?

I was born and raised in Indiana. I attended Purdue University and majored in Horticulture Production and Marketing, graduating in 2004. While attending school, I worked for the Purdue Horticulture Research Facility as part of the grow team, watering, spraying and maintaining the crops. Out of school, I moved to the Willamette Valley in Oregon to work for a forestry seedling producer. There, I was a grower managing 40 acres of greenhouses and growing 13 million trees annually. After spending three years there, I decided to take the plunge and move to Mendocino County in 2007 and embark on a professional cannabis growing career. Mind you, all the while, through the years, I’ve been growing in basements and closets since the age of 19. After moving to Mendo, I honed and perfected my techniques through larger-scale grows, mostly indoor as that had been my experience until that point.

In 2011, I founded Redwood Remedies. From there, I participated in all of the cultivation programs through the sheriff’s department and the county that were offered over the years. I knew the day would come when California legalization would eventually happen. I’ve been preparing and remained poised to strike when the opportunity arose. Now, here we are!

What tool or software in your cultivation space can you not live without?

Can’t live without my watering hose and wand. The majority of all our watering is by hand—something I learned early on. The farmer’s shadow is the best fertilizer.

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your business in the last six months?

Canva, a software program that has allowed us to design our own packaging labels, menus and promotional materials.

What cultivation technique are you most interested in right now, and what are you actively studying (the most)?

Currently, I’ve been working on perfecting no-till, biologically inoculated and amended soils. Also, the use of biologicals as foliars for pest/pathogen management.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?

When buying my first larger piece of property, the relator failed to properly inform my partner and me of the correct boundaries of the piece. We decided to build a large shop for a grow thereafter. Upon completion of the build, our neighbor informed us that we had built the structure on his land. Fortunately, we were able to work out a deal, but it proved to be a very costly mistake, essentially doubling the cost of the building. The lesson learned here is to do your homework, due diligence, and not take anyone’s word for it when making major business moves or decisions.

What advice would you give to a smart, driven grower about to enter the legal, regulated industry? What advice should they ignore?

Start small. Hone your skills, practices and principles before scaling. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Cannabis is a highly intensive crop. Careful care and attention must go into every step of the process if you are aspiring to grow quality cannabis. This industry is constantly changing and evolving at a rapid pace. Any major mistakes made right now could be highly detrimental to your career or business.

In this emerging industry, everyone has something to sell you or make your business/grow better. At the root, this is farming. Keep it simple—don’t overthink the process. Through the years, I’ve been actively decreasing the farming inputs, getting better results and increasing profitability.

How do you deal with burnout?

I deal with burnout by working out at the gym often. This helps to deal with stress and blowing off steam. Also, periodic vacations help with gaining perspective and maintaining sanity.

How do you motivate your employees/team?

I motivate my employees by working alongside of them, leading by example and doing the day-to-day work. I actively try to show my appreciation for them by having community meals, taking them out to dinner or going to concerts.

What keeps you awake at night?

The huge risks that I incur from running a small business in a highly tumultuous industry keeps me up at night. I feel the immense gravity of performing for my employees and customers, as to not let them down.

What helps you sleep at night?

Heavy indicas and sheer exhaustion help me sleep at night.

Photos: © CannaPics