Choosing the Right Strains for Your Grow Space with Tyler Wejrowski of Wojo Wax

It’s a question that new growers often ask and it’s a good one: “How do I know which cannabis strains are right for my grow space?” So, we asked Tyler Wejrowski of Wojo Wax—top grower and multiple medal winner in the GGG Organic Cup, Hash Bash Organic Cup, and High Times Cannabis Cup—about what he thinks are the key considerations in choosing the right strains.

What’s the first thing a grower should consider when choosing strains for their grow space?

“Begin by looking at the parents of the genetics that youre looking to run. Because thats the easiest way to kind of gauge what youre going to get out of those plants. The way I like to explain it, plant genetics are really no different than people genetics.”

What traits should a grower look for in a plant’s parents?

“They will tell you how that plants going to grow. Is it going to be a small, short, bushy plant or is it going to be a really tall, vigorous, stretchy plant? So, that would be one thing I would definitely recommend for a new grower looking to get started with their own genetics versus sourcing clones.

Wojo Wax grows primarily for hash. So thats a whole different realm of genetics because were looking for plants that arent just visually appealing. Were looking for plants that produce massive amounts of resin and want to release that resin through the process.”

What other considerations does a grower need to make when considering strains?

“I would say the biggest decision youre going to make is whether or not youre going to harvest the plant for flower or concentrates. Those are the two primary forms—if you’re just doing it for dry flower or if youre going to prep it. If youre making edibles, youre not growing to grow a plant, youre growing it for the oil thats then going into the edible.”

What about indoor growing vs. outdoor growing?

“We have grown outdoor and we dont anymore. And Ill tell you the number one reason we dont is because we cant put Anden [dehumidifiers] outside. We cant put air conditioners outside. We want to be able to control that environment down to the humidity percentage and down to the temperature degree.

Thats why you can’t compare outdoor flower or concentrates with indoor flower or concentrates, because its not even close to the same environment. Theres a reason why dehumidifiers and air conditioners are such an important investment for us.”

Are there pros and cons to growing multiple strains indoors?

“A veteran grower can definitely run different amounts. For somebody new starting out, I would just run one.

The reason why is because different strains have different needs throughout the grow cycle. Some might grow taller. Some might be bushy, shrub plants. Some might want a gallon of water every day. Others, only half a gallon of water a day. We’re tailored to that and using the correct equipment is a huge part of our success.

We do it at Wojo Wax because people dont want just one strain. They want a lot of variety. They want to go to Baskin-Robbins. They want to be able to have 32 different flavors. And thats what weve always tried to do.”

How does the size of your grow room affect terpene production?

“What we have found with terpenes is mostly that theyre extremely temperature sensitive. So our last two weeks of flower, we keep lower temps than most people and our humidity at 60% too. We try to keep our room at 75 degrees or under with the lights on. And then with the lights off, were at 60 degrees. What that does is it ices out that room and really preserves the terpenes. So as far as the size of the room goes, I wouldnt say that matters. I would say keeping your environment perfect in every area of that room is what matters.

For example, we made the mistake once of putting our CO₂ generator above the canopy. Those plants right underneath the generator did not yield near as well as the other ones on hash. And Im crediting that to it just being warmer there and it burning off those terpenes because heat is definitely your worst enemy with terpene production.”

Any other words of growing advice you have?

Something I think is important for everyone in the industry to remember is to not stay complacent. Keep trying new things, making improvements, reinvesting, and not acting like you know everything. Theres always room to grow.

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