Grow science: how light, harvest and curing shape what's in the jar

What a grower does shows up later on a lab report. Genetics set the range a plant can reach. Light, temperature, nutrients, harvest timing, drying and curing decide where in that range it lands. Terpenes are especially sensitive, since many fade with heat and time.

This section covers that plant science for readers inside Michigan's licensed system: budtenders who want to explain why two batches of the same strain smell different, cultivators and processors comparing notes, and consumers curious about why freshness matters.

We write about what research and licensed growers can show, and we're careful about the limits. We don't publish instructions for unlicensed production, and we don't treat a grower's marketing as data.

Coming up: a starting point for readers new to cultivation science, and the post-harvest steps that do the most damage to a terpene profile.