On Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, across the Puget Sound from the lights of Seattle, sits the small agricultural town of Chimicum. The quiet, hard-working community has relied on farming for generations. TreeHawk Farms is keeping with that tradition, but also giving new life to a once sleepy dairy farm nestled between the evergreen trees. What’s growing there now is opportunity and a symbol of the American Dream.
TreeHawk Farms owner Jason Olsen is continuing the legacy his family has built over many generations, only now instead of milk cows, his farm is producing beautiful small-batch cannabis. TreeHawk’s multidimensional approach to growing cannabis ensures that they’re able to sustain a small family farm year-round through a mix of small-batch indoor, full-term outdoor in the summer, and flower throughout the year in an automated greenhouse.
Leafly’s Will Hyde and TreeHawk Farms CEO Jason Olsen talk during Hyde’s “What Are You Smoking?” podcast in Chimacum, Washington, on March 12, 2019. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
TreeHawk Farms’ automated greenhouse starting to bloom. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
TreeHawk Farms CEO Jason Olsen shows off the farm’s drying room. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Inspecting the strain Magnum PI as it hang dries (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Besides maintaining and advancing the family farming traditions, TreeHawk is taking advantage of another opportunity that leans on the legacy of previous generations. Through traditional hashmaking techniques, Treehawk is bringing complex, full-spectrum, full melt hash and solventless hash oil (SHO) to Western Washington.
Recently, Jason invited me out to the farm to see firsthand how they are making the hash and to dab some of their finest. I brought photographer Grant Hindsley with me to capture some of the action, and Jason sat down with me to discuss how his team is building off the traditions of hashmaking icon Frenchy Cannoli to create their own vision of full-spectrum hash, and how to introduce this rich medicine to the latest generation of dabbers and concentrate enthusiasts.
Candyland Cookies spins as it’s washed through an ice water bath. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Trichomes from Candyland Cookies drain out of the washer into the next round of filtering. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
A second rinsing for Candyland Cookies. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Resin glands of Candyland Cookies getting collected after the wash. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
A patty of hash being prepared before it’s frozen and sieved. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Freshly sieved, full-spectrum Candyland Cookies hash ready for drying. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Candyland Cookies hash freshly pressed using Frenchy Cannoli’s bottle method to decarboxylate and prepare it for the curing and aging process. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
A freshly rolled Temple Ball of Candyland Cookies full melt hash. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Freshly pressed Candyland Cookies solventless hash oil (SHO) oozing from a rosin press (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
Skywalker OG SHO melting on a warm quartz banger. (Grant Hindsley for Leafly)
TreeHawk Farms Founder Jason Olsen poses for a portrait. (Grant Hindsley/Leafly)
Will Hyde
Will is a cannabis expert and co-host of Leafly's "What Are you Smoking" podcast. He's a cultivator and former budtender who loves complex hybrids with piney and gassy terpene profiles. Follow him on Instagram at @the.avid.dabber
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