Grower Stories #118: AJ Ortenstone

Co-Owner of Truly Oreganic Tells Us About Their Unique Brand and Products

The AskGrowers team talks with AJ Ortenstone from Truly Oreganic to ask him about the company’s unique cultivation techniques. AJ Ortenstone speaks about how the brand is the only ocean-grown cannabis producer around and how everything in their cultivation process is from Oregon. He also talks about personal tips for people choosing cannabis products and tells which strain he enjoys the most himself. He shares ideas for the brand’s expansion as well, while also talking about the cannabis industry’s trends. #growerstories

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I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I grew up in a state and time where just having any kind of cannabis residuals could get you a felony. Experiencing that earlier in life has given me the drive and appreciation I have today to work with cannabis. Besides my family, it’s the thing I love most in this world and now that I can share my cannabis work with others makes it a dream come true.

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Tia (AskGrowers) : Tell us how you started Truly Oreganic?

AJ Ortenstone : I did not start Truly Oreganic but did help start our Dispensary Truly OG. Charles Johnson started Truly Oreganic in the early days of legalization in Oregon. I joined a few years later and eventually bought into the company when I found our current dispensary on the market.

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Tia : How does your brand differ from others similar to yours?

AJ : Unless one has popped up that I am unaware of, we are the only ocean-grown cannabis producer in the world. I do not know of another cannabis farm that only uses natural amendments and harvested rainwater. We use absolutely zero synthetics or pesticides of any kind and are located next to the Pacific Ocean. Plenty of farms grow sustainably and use no synthetics, but our geographic location lets us boast true ocean-grown cannabis.

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Tia : What was the first strain you’ve grown with Truly Oreganic?

AJ : I believe the first strain I grew with Truly Oreganic was my pheno of Rainmaker from Ethos Genetics (Critical Skunk x Mandarian Sunset).

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Tia : How do you cultivate cannabis? Any specific approaches you’re using?

AJ : We mix our soil using 100% natural dry amendments from Down to Earth, which is located in Eugene. We then water that with 100% harvested rainwater from the Oregon sky. Everything that touches our plants is from Oregon. Even some of our light is Oregonian as we have a light-assisted facility to let us bring in the sun whenever needed.

In saying that, most of our gardening practices can be found in The Revs True Living Oreganics. We have even posted our soil recipe to our website to be completely transparent with our customers.

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Tia : Where should the consumer keep your products to keep them fresh and valid?

AJ : While the plastic pop-tops that you get from a dispensary are fine for short time storage, we would recommend a glass jar with an airtight seal. Preferably stored in a dark, cool place.

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Tia : Do you plan to cultivate new strains?

AJ : Absolutely. I have been breeding since 2017 and am on track to have Truly Oreganic growing 100% exclusive strains that I’ve created, by the end of this year. My breeding work is done under my alias, The Plant Stable. You can find pictures and information on Instagram via @theplantstable.

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Tia : What’s the secret to growing the perfect strain?

AJ : The short answer would be love and attention. The long answer goes more into environmental factors, nutrient uptake, watering routines, beneficial control, and a lot more factors that take a lot more explaining.

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Tia : What do you think defines the success of the strain?

AJ : I would say a successful strain would be one that multiple breeders have decided is so good that they start using it in their breeding work. Obviously, the customer makes a strain truly successful when it’s selling off the shelves but the customers will rarely ever experience a “successful” strain until multiple breeders have already cleared it as “successful” and then work it into their own creations.

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Tia : What things should the person pay attention to, when choosing the brand/product?

AJ : I’m a flower guy so all I can say is the nose knows. I know a lot of people don’t have the luxury of smelling their cannabis before they buy so I’d ask questions about the cultivation methods or extraction methods used on each product.

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Tia : Are there any brands in your state you appreciate and follow? And in the USA in general?

AJ : Yes, there are many. We appreciate too many brands to just name a few. But I will say that in my opinion, Oregon has the best recreational cannabis in the country by a long shot.

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Tia : What is your personal cannabis consumption routine? Does it affect your work/ life?

AJ : As Snoop Dogg so eloquently put it, “smoke weed every day!”

As funny as it sounds, it would definitely affect my work if I wasn’t trying products regularly.

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Tia : Your top strains to smoke? Why?

AJ : Right now I’m really digging my Tickle Fight during the day which is a cross between White Sunshine and Serious Happiness. For nighttime relaxation, I’m turning toward my Gumdrop Buttonz which is a cross of Forbidden Terpz and Zeaside Taffy.

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Tia : What are the 3 main trends in the cannabis industry in 2021 for you now?

AJ : The 3 trends we have experienced the most this year can be generalized by these three questions:

“Do you have anything with runtz?”

“What is the highest THC you have?”

“Was this grown indoors?”

We do a lot to try and educate our customers that there is more to cannabis than just THC numbers and if the plant was grown indoors. Obviously, we appreciate anyone who knows what they're looking for, but in our experience, the market is turning into a THC numbers game which is forcing some farms to not grow their best plants, but only the ones with the highest THC percentages.

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Tia : If you could have a chance to smoke with anyone on this planet, who’d that be and why?

AJ : [tooltip title="Kim Jong-un" content="North Korean dictator and leader of the WPK."]Kim Jong-un[/tooltip]. What do you think he and [tooltip title="Dennis Keith Rodman" content="Former US professional basketball player."]Dennis Rodman[/tooltip] were doing that whole time?

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Tia : Do you plan to expand your brand with time? If yes, what do you plan to add to your product line?

AJ : Yes, we plan to expand in every way possible. In March of last year, we acquired our dispensary, Truly OG. It is located at 4936 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97217. We plan to sell exclusive seeds and clones as well as many other products. Since we also recently acquired our processing and wholesale licenses, we plan to create multiple new products and offer them at affordable prices from our store.

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Tia : What are your predictions on the cannabis industry for the next 5-10 years?

AJ : I’m hopeful for legalization but won’t be holding my breath for it.

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Thank you so much, Truly Oreganic team, for taking the time to do the interview. To learn more about them, head on over to their website.