• Nat Pennington, owner of Humboldt Seed Co.

In prohibition days, the seed-to-sack journey was intentionally mysterious. Post-legalization, hipsters haven't wasted any time asking, "Is it local?" While plants might be harvested at grandma's farm, what about their source? Pragmatism and profit have pushed many cultivators toward clones, allowing a jump on harvest and low- to no-cost starts. But if untraceable pesticides/fungicides can show up in the final product, it doesn't fly in the regulated marketplace.

Enter the Humboldt Seed Co., which readers deemed the seeds of royalty in 2018. All products are Clean-Green certified and guaranteed to germinate and grow. Along with original strains like Royal Kush and Humboldt Sour Diesel, the company works closely with bioscience researchers, developing new strains with optimal characteristics and verified origin. Says founder and CEO Nat Pennington, "Our isolated breeding chambers make it so the seeds produce very consistent plants. So the snozberries really smell like snozberries."