Best Cultivator & Best Local Cannabis Farm

Jason Gellman, Ridgeline Farms

Jason Gellman had no idea his Ridgeline Farms had won Best Local Cannabis Farm, or that he'd won Best Cultivator. Not only did he not campaign for the honors, but he didn't even know Ridgeline was a finalist until the Journal called.

Nonetheless, he thinks it's pretty cool — not because it's a recognition his cannabis flowers are top shelf (they are, and he's got multiple Emerald Cup trophies to prove it) — but because it's a recognition that the dream is attainable, that the small, family cannabis farm can be viable even as markets crash, and that Humboldt County continues to produce the best cannabis in the world.

"I'm doing this to represent Humboldt. I've been raised here. I raised my kids here. And this is where I will live forever," Gellman says. "I'm not the best at all. I'm surrounded by the best, and I'm just one of them. We're from a community of amazing cultivators."

Gellman is frank about the economic challenges. "So many of my family and friends are hurting so bad right now," he says. "If you drive through Garberville, it's a ghost town."

Ridgeline survives, he says, because it's lean. "Yeah, my jars are selling, my bags are selling and I have some clothing that sells — but most of all, I don't have workers. ... It's me, my wife, our kids ... it's mostly us working our asses off on a small farm." He says he cultivates 9,600 square feet — les than a quarter-acre — of the farm where they live, which allows him to seek out prime genetics from seed, through trials and eventually to scale — and also see each plant through to harvest.

"I'm hands on," he says. "I look at every individual plant. I've been doing this for 30-plus years. It's attention to detail and actual pride and love for what I'm doing. It makes all the difference in the world."

Thadeus Greenson

Cannabis

Budtender

Rafael at Proper Wellness 517 Fifth St., Eureka (707) 683-0009 116 Wildwood Ave., Rio Dell (707) 506-5020 properwellnesscenter.com

Cannabis Innovation

Space Gem 1551 Nursery Way Suite B, McKinleyville spacegemcandy.com

Cannabis Manufacturer

ArcataX (831) 419-0520 arcatax.com

Cannabis Nursery

Highline Nursery 604 State Route 36, Fortuna (707) 617-2505 highlinenursery.com

Cannabis Processor/Trimming Services

Humboldt Trim Co. 230 Fourth St., Eureka (855) 707-8746 humtrim.com

Cultivator

Jason Gellman, Ridgeline Farms ridgelinefarms.com

Dispensary

The Humboldt County Collective (THCC) 1662 Myrtle Ave. Suite A, Eureka (707) 442-2420 Find us on leafly.com

Local Cannabis Delivery

Proper Wellness 517 Fifth St., Eureka (707) 683-0009 116 Wildwood Ave., Rio Dell (707) 506-5020 properwellnesscenter.com

Local Cannabis Farm

Ridgeline Farms ridgelinefarms.com

Local Cannabis Product

Space Gem 1551 Nursery Way Suite B, McKinleyville spacegemcandy.com

Seeds

Humboldt Seed Co. humboldtseedcompany.com