Best Place to Grow: Humboldt, Oakland, Sebastopol, Santa Cruz or Redding?

New medical grower here, currently living in a 6 mature / 12 immature area. I'm trying to figure out who has the best local and / or county laws and I've narrowed it down to several choices each with some pros and cons. Hoping I can get some suggestions, including if I've missed someplace that's good. I'll have myself and 2 other patients for up to a 300 sq ft / 297 plant grow in certain areas.

1) Humboldt: has 99 plant / 100 sq ft canopy per patient limit and it seems by far the biggest % of the population is growing here, which to me means the chances of any one grower having attention focused on themselves is minimal and perhaps Humboldt is the safest place of all?

2) Oakland: "only" 72 plant limit per patient (but smaller canopy size) but seems to be ground zero for the entire movement and the growers, dispensaries, edibles businesses etc. here seem to have the backing of the city government more so than anywhere else. Although their idea for Monsanto / Walmart sized grow operations makes me wonder if they will be less supportive of the small grower than elsewhere.

3) Sebastopol: 100 sq ft per patient limit on canopy with NO plant limit is mighty appealing. I like the town a lot as well.

4) Santa Cruz: 99 plant per patient limit, and I flat out have always loved Santa Cruz anyway and think I'd really enjoy living there. I believe I read that the City of Santa Cruz has even better rules / support than Santa Cruz County? Any benefit to the city or is the whole county just as good?

5) Redding: Apparently up to 100 sq ft canopy now, or 10% of your home's square footage, whichever is greater. I assume no plant limits in the 100 sq ft. I couldn't figure out whether or not that is 100 sq ft PER PATIENT though. I think patients might actually have to live in the residence / grow location for that to be valid in Redding though. Redding would be nice because rents are about HALF what they are in the Bay Area.

6) I know Mendocino, Sonoma and Trinity also have tons of growing going on but if I move to the Emerald triangle, Humboldt seems to be the much safer choice unless I'm missing something.

Being in a 6 / 12 area is just not going to cut it so I'm definitely moving and any advice / ideas as to where would be best (and why) helps.

Hey Dude, I am right there with ya. Planning on moving too, but the rent prices just kill you. Thks for posting the information, keep posting what you find I will be reading. I have some friends in oakland right now and am trying to get more information about it. I am liken redding or humboldt. Wondering what job sit is like there.

zoom5760 said:

Hey Dude, I am right there with ya. Planning on moving too, but the rent prices just kill you. Thks for posting the information, keep posting what you find I will be reading. I have some friends in oakland right now and am trying to get more information about it. I am liken redding or humboldt. Wondering what job sit is like there.

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In Humboldt everybody works but no one has a job. Most legit jobs up there are either as a tree butcher or in food service. Food service jobs there are hard to get and pay like shit.

san jose a no quantity limit. I had my realtor come in and FREAK out, called the cops and the cops laughed. It wasn't anything too big and i have a medical card so i wasn't breaking any law

Dude I have friends in Humboldt, CA and we visit about once a year from the midwest. Let me tell you, fuck Oakland. Humboldt is, always has been, and always will be the epicenter of the Cali movement. Chances are if your in Cali half the weed you smoke is from Humboldt County. Everyone grows there. Its virtually legal. Just be discreet.

xivex said:

Dude I have friends in Humboldt, CA and we visit about once a year from the midwest. Let me tell you, fuck Oakland. Humboldt is, always has been, and always will be the epicenter of the Cali movement. Chances are if your in Cali half the weed you smoke is from Humboldt County. Everyone grows there. Its virtually legal. Just be discreet.

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In terms of bay area bud, the idea that Oakland is the grow capital is lol. Oakland grows just as much bud and it's just as good as every other bay town/city. Oakland as the weed epicenter of bay area is just a marketing gimmick. 10x more bud is sold in San Francisco than Oakland.

When you talk about Humboldt bud and bay area bud you're talking about two different things entirely. Most Humboldt bud is outdoor organics. Most bay area bud is hydro. Good and bad bud come from both places.

I spend a lot of time up in Humboldt and in the bay area. At one time Humboldt had a significant quality advantage, but now not so much. All the old Humboldt strains are now all over northern California. On the average I think bay area bud is actually slightly better, but humboldt buds are way cheaper.

The one thing humboldt does have is really good indoor organics, but that's a very small % of the bud coming from there. The problem with humboldt outdoor is they get a lot of rain around harvest time and unless their shit is in a greenhouse all that outdoor bud gets mold if they don't harvest early.

Basically, humboldt had a significant advantage due to superior genetics for a long time, but that advantage has pretty much evaporated. Since most bay area weed is just humboldt genetics grown in an indoor climate controlled environment, it usually ends up better than most of the weather dependent humboldt bud.

On the average, I'll take bay area bud over humboldt bud any day.

Dan you seem to have a lot of knowledge, ty for sharing.

SB Garlic said:

Dan you seem to have a lot of knowledge, ty for sharing.

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Well that's just my opinion, it's not a fact. A lot of people would say I'm full of shit for saying that.

If you ask most people in the bay they'll tell you there shit is best, if you ask anyone from humboldt they'll tell you their shit is better. It's more a matter of which type of bud you prefer. But as someone who splits their time between humboldt and the bay area I think I'm reasonably non-biased on the subject.

The only reason I give the edge to the bay area bud is because most of it is grown indoors and most humboldt bud is grown outdoors. climate controlled environments 4tw. But it has nothing to do with the skills of humboldt growers or bay area growers. At this point, both are equally skilled at their different types of growing.

Oh, and to answer the OPs original question;

Best Place to Grow: Humboldt, Oakland, Sebastopol, Santa Cruz or Redding?

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The correct answer to that question is Sebastopol or Santa Cruz.

What about mendo?

SB Garlic said:

What about mendo?

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Mendo is in the same boat as humboldt for the most part. A little less rainy depending on where (mendo is a big place), but it's more or less the same as humboldt. Lots of outdoor, a little bit of fantastic indoor organics, and basically no hydro what so ever.

Why move just veg longer grow bigger with 6 plants see for yourself

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/357800-blue-dream-grand-daddy-purple.html

Dan Kone said:

Oh, and to answer the OPs original question;

"Best Place to Grow: Humboldt, Oakland, Sebastopol, Santa Cruz or Redding?"

The correct answer to that question is Sebastopol or Santa Cruz.

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Thanks Dan - is this based on plant limits and favorable local and county guidelines? I love Santa Cruz, but the rents there are so bloody expensive. Redding you can rent a nice house for less than half, maybe even a third of what it would cost in Santa Cruz. But it would be worth it to be able to grow more plants.

Purple Smurf said:

Thanks Dan - is this based on plant limits and favorable local and county guidelines? .

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Yes, but also climate too. Less rain around harvest time, but doesn't really get above 90 more than once or twice a year so your shit doesn't get fucked up. But yes, I believe they are both 100sq feet no plant limit counties.

I love Santa Cruz, but the rents there are so bloody expensive. Redding you can rent a nice house for less than half, maybe even a third of what it would cost in Santa Cruz. But it would be worth it to be able to grow more plants.

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Santa Cruz is more expensive because it's not in Redding

Yeah, Santa Cruz is expensive, but Santa Cruz mountain towns not so much. I suggest looking at Boulder Creek, Felton, Correlitos, etc... That's kinda the optimal place to grow there anyways. No one gives a fuck what you do out there.

Dan Kone said:

Yes, but also climate too. Less rain around harvest time, but doesn't really get above 90 more than once or twice a year so your shit doesn't get fucked up. But yes, I believe they are both 100sq feet no plant limit counties.

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Hey thanks again Dan. I'm planning on growing 100% indoors, considering that do you still think Santa Cruz and Sebastopol are the way to go? The 100 sf with no plant limit certainly lends itself well to aeroponics.

Purple Smurf said:

Hey thanks again Dan. I'm planning on growing 100% indoors, considering that do you still think Santa Cruz and Sebastopol are the way to go? The 100 sf with no plant limit certainly lends itself well to aeroponics.

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Well that certainly makes climate less important. But there is no market for hydro/aero north of Marin county. You'd have to drive to the bay to get rid of it. People up north are all about their organics.

Too be honest man it definitely depends on what type of bud you want, and what type of culture you want to live in. Oakland is the epicenter of purples, not bud, in the bay area, cause "the town loves the grapes." If you want some of the best purples you will ever smoke, and intend on marketing towards others who share your purple enthusiasm then Oakland is the place for you (ABSOLUTELY DO NOT move into anywhere but the Oakland Hills, or a very very tall apartment in downtown if you intend on growing, you will get robbed if you try). If you are racist or people other than white people make you squeamish do not move to the bay area. San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley are very ethnically diverse, and pride themselves on being so. If you cross the bridge to San Francisco you'll find that the market changes to anything hydro, which would be an amazing change of pace to anyone who is not used to street weed being good (same goes for Oakland). San Francisco has high rents, unless you live in the ghetto, but the minimum wage is $10, so if you grow your own bud and you have a job, you could make some very good money come harvest. The nightlife is also worth the cost of living, you will always find something to do at night, and during the day you could hang out in Dolores park and get hammered with other locals enjoying their weekend. Other places in the Bay Area are nice places to live, but outside of SF, Oakland, and Berkeley, growing becomes slightly risky. If I were you, and I was intending on moving to the bay area, I would save some money and move to San Francisco.

Humboldt, Trinity, Shasta, Mendo, and any other NorCal county is pretty much the same as far as bud goes. The whole emerald triangle and the rest of NorCal produces good quality bud, but it is outdoor. It's still better than any other state's bud I've been to, excluding Oregon, and it tastes very good. But most growers grow for bulk, not quality, because the business has become so lucrative. You will find a good amount of growers, but the cops are not as relaxed as they are in San Francisco. You can't just smoke a joint while walking downtown, and if you get raided, you will probably need a lawyer to get you out of jail (the north is super conservative). You're also sacrificing a nightlife of any sort because you're out in the boonies. All the negativity aside, the bud there is great and as opposed to paying 220 a zip for hydro you get your nice healthy ounce of outdoor for 100-150 (Depending on county).

Santa Cruz is a case of it's own. It's close enough to the bay area to have a good amount of indoor hydro, but it is far enough away to also have great outdoor (some will argue better than Humboldt). This being the case, you can find both cheap and expensive bud that people are still willing to buy, just make sure the quality is good. The cops are also very relaxed in Santa Cruz with respect to bud, which is always a plus. Santa Cruz also has one of the best, and weirdest, day and night cultures you'll ever find. So if you want a radical change from where you live, I would choose SC.

In short:
SF-> best bay area city, and best place to go if you want to buy/sell a good variety of Hydro
Northern Cali-> best place for some good healthy outdoor
Santa Cruz-> A very nice in between of NorCal and SF, and still very close to SF, so you get all the bay area perks.

Trinity, humboldt, and mendoceno counties in california form the emrald triangle. With in the triangle marijuana is said to grow better than anywhere on earth. Shasta county resident since 1979 redding use to be the central drop spot for the triangle because of the i5 access. From there you could go anywhere in the country easier. Redding does produce good budz. I know I have a half pound right now for sale to any medical patients. I can meet anywhere in ca.

We have grows going allovertheplace in Shasta Co.