Grow Tour: DogHouse Farms (Detroit) - In the DogHouse
By Gas & Middies
Today’s article is a first for Gas & Middies, a grow tour!
About a week ago, I got the honor of taking a tour through DogHouse Farm’s Detroit grow facility.
I was able to see first hand their process, from the starting clones all the way up to the product you see on the shelf at your local dispensary.
I wanted to give you guys a little ‘virtual tour’ of what I saw.
Below you’ll find:
- A brief history of the brand.
- Pictures & stats of the different stages in their grow process.
- Some of their strains.
- An interview with DogHouse.
DogHouse Farms
DogHouse is a brand coming from the West Coast in Washington state and started in 2005. They come to the Midwest with a bunch of award winning strains and tried-and-true genetics.
DogHouse is available currently in three states: Oregon, Washington, & Michigan. They will be coming soon to the Florida market.
You have have heard DogHouse Supreme as well, which appears to be fading to their newer DogHouse Farms branding.
Here is more of their history from their 2023 Strain Guide:
HANDS IN THE SOIL, EYES ON THE STARS
We are growers, pheno hunters and legacy cultivators. We took root in the heart of West Coast cannabis culture and were raised by it’s legendary OG cultivators and breeders. We are perfectionists, obsessed with coasing the richest flavors and most vivid colors native to each strain. Our community extends across the globe to friends who create with their hearts and hands, digging into their own creative soil to grow exceptional experiences.
STARS, DOGS + CANNABIS
Our connection to dogs goes way back, 2000 years before our founder Jon ‘HoundDog’Hudnall got his nickname.
As it turns out, the word cannabis is named after a dog. The legend tells us that in 300 BCE the Greek explorer Herodotus met the Dogon Tribe, in Mali, West Africa. During one of their Cannabis-fueld celebrations the tribe pointed to the brightest star in the winter sky and called it the “Two-Dog Star” which referred to the binary star system in the dog constellation, Sirius. According to this story, the star was home to the “Two-Dog Plant” - or “Cannabis” - and was brought to earth as a gift by a goddess for the tribe’s use.
Naturally a dog became the icon and totem of our brand. Specifically a dog inspired by this legend and, as a nod to medieval heraldry with his tonue extended to represent our passion for discovering the full expression of flavor from our plants. - DogHouse Farms Strain Guide (Winter 2023)
Grow Stats
- Entered Michigan 2020.
- Detroit’s first recreational license.
- 25,000 sq ft facility.
- About 40 staff (either garden techs, trimmers, or packagers).
- 5000 plants.
- 20(ish) strains.
Tour
My tour started at a nondescript warehouse district in the middle of Detroit.
You would never know this building housed thousands of plants, at differing stages…
Until you approach the front door and get hit with the skunk trail, like Pepé Le Pew 🦨.
Germination/Seedling
The first destination on our tour was the clone room.
Grows can choose between using seeds or going the clone route, DogHouse does the latter:
No seeds, only clones. - DogHouse Farms
Another important choice is what substance to grow your plants in. Soil is a common choice. Hydroponic (using water) is another popular method. DogHouse goes with coconut fiber 🥥:
We don’t use soil anymore, only Coco Coir which is ground up coconut husk. It works better for our watering methods and schedule. - DogHouse Farms
Vegetation
The next room in our tour was the vegetation room, where our clones get to grow their little hearts out under the bright, artificial sun!
This step is one of the most time consuming in the grow process:
At any time we have around 1,500 plants in Veg across 15-20 different strains. - DogHouse Farms
Flowering
The next room, was the flowering room, where the time in the sun is decreased, to turn the big green clones into the flowery buds, we know and love.
DogHouse has many flowering rooms, which allows for a hefty amount of plants (and coinciding electric bill 😂):
We have 9 flower rooms, 40-50 lights in each room and about 300 plants in each room. - DogHouse Farms
Not pictured, DogHouse also has an LED flowering room for more experimental strains.
This is their playground to test strains that may not have the mass appeal or high yields of typical consumer strains.
An “America’s Test Kitchen” of strains. This little room is where all the innovation is happening.
Harvest
Next up, the harvest room. After the girls are fully flowered and at peak potency, they are cut down and hung out to dry.
This is to remove any excess moisture before the flower is ready to be packaged for the consumer.
For DogHouse, harvesting is a multi-day affair:
Harvest once a week, takes about half a day then a whole day of room clean and reset. - DogHouse Farms
Product/Packaging
Exit at the gift shop!
After the flower is harvested and dried, it is sent out for testing.
DogHouse Farms uses Reassure, Inc. for testing currently.
After successfully passing testing, the product is ready to be packaged and put on shelves.
Doghouse Farms offers flower in deli style, mylar, and in jar form.
They mentioned that most of their orders are for deli style. They offer jars, but they tend to have less demand and often sit on shelves in dispensaries.
Mentioning their minimalistic graphics and branding, DogHouse stays away from more “flashy” cartoon & anime branding and sticks to a more simplistic approach, with their bags being used for all products, regardless of strains (outside of the specially branded “CRUD” by Sheefy Mcfly).
Marketing
The final stop was where DogHouse markets their products.
Above you can see their camera setup for taking professional quality flower shots (goals!).
They had a room dedicated to swag and dispensary product displays.
Strains
DogHouse Farms has over 20 strains in rotation!
Here are some of the ones I got to check out:
Red Cab
- THC: 27%-30%
- Genetics: Scooby Snacks x Ice Cream Cake
- Strain Characteristics: Fat, dense buds spiked with beautiful maroon accents and flavors of red wine, cranberries, and lemon zest.
- Experience: Social and relaxed
Scooby Cakes
- THC: 26%-30%
- Genetics: Scooby Snacks x Ice Cream Cake
- Strain Characteristics: Large, dense bright green buds with pops of purple and a frosty layover of trichomes. A fan favorite - heads swoon over her balanced berry and gas notes with potent, euphoric punch. Rut-Roh Shaggy, she’s a winner.
- Experience: Euphoric and creative
Sherb Cake
- THC: 27%-29%
- Genetics: Sunset Sherbet x Wedding Cake
- Strain Characteristics: Mouthwatering shades of purple accented with a heavy dose of white trichomes. Fruity berries and notes of vanilla are offset by pepper, earth and pine for this delicious late day favorite.
- Experience: Happy and relaxed
Time Out
- THC: 23%-27%
- Genetics: Scooby Snacks x Ice Cream Cake
- Strain Characteristics: Dense, trichome crusted flower featuring deep pruple and magenta hues that peek out from under a thick blanket of icy crystals. Nose and flavor are redolent of dark red berries, but careful this beauty packs a potent punch.
- Experience: Euphoric and creative
Interview
I wanted to dig a little deeper into the brand and what makes DogHouse different than other growers.
They graciously answered my questions:
Gas & Middies: What is DogHouse’s most renown strain?
Doghouse Farms: Most renown strain is probably Garlato (GMO x Gelato), beautiful dark nugs with heavy trichs and an intense garlic aroma.
Gas & Middies: What about best selling?
Doghouse Farms: Best selling is Scooby Cakes, also cus it yields very high so we get more of it than other strains with the same amount of plants.
Gas & Middies: What makes DogHouse different?
Doghouse Farms: Doghouse is different cus we’re focused on flower and little else. We do collabs for rosins and vapes, etc. but our bread and butter will always be big, dank, dark buds.
Gas & Middies: What current trends do you see in the Michigan market?
Doghouse Farms: Michigan is definitely into sweet candy flavor strains right now. We have a couple in this flavor profile, but we’re better known more for our gassy or skunky strains. So we like to stick to our strengths for the most part.
Gas & Middies: What up and coming strains should we look out for?
Doghouse Farms: New strains coming out now: Streetwalker, Apes in Space, and Augmented OG. All fire!
Outro
That’s a wrap on the tour!
I’d like to make a huge shoutout to DogHouse Farms for inviting me out to their grow.
They showed great hospitality and were very generous with their time.
I’m hoping everyone enjoyed the virtual tour and maybe even learned a little something along the way.
Stay 😶🌫️