Deep in south Jersey in Vineland, Garden Greens launched the state’s first independent adult-use indoor cultivation facility. Born from the minds of one of the longest-standing produce providers in New Jersey, Garden Greens’ journey is a testament to its team’s dedication and passion for cultivating true cannabis excellence.
Get to know more about Garden Greens, what makes their flower so unique, and why they pivoted from the world of produce to a very different kind of green.
The genesis of Garden Greens
The genesis of Garden Green traces back to the rich legacy of the Dandrea family, prominent figures in the New Jersey produce business since 1917. Led by Jana Dandrea, Garden Greens has emerged as a testament to the family’s century-long dedication to agriculture.
“Dandrea Produce is very well known for lettuce and citrus, and they do it on a large scale,” explained Garden Greens General Manager Joshua Krane, noting that you’ve probably bought their products from a local grocery store like Shoprite or Wegmans. “When licenses became available, I couldn’t imagine anyone else getting one of the Vineland cultivation licenses. The Dandreas have been contributing to this community for more than 100 years. It was a natural fit with the city.”
Crafting quality cannabis
Founded on the principles of professionalism, integrity, and high productivity standards, Garden Greens began its endeavor fueled by a deep-rooted love for cannabis.
Among the brand’s visionary architects was Krane, an integral member of the superstar team tasked with designing, constructing, and overseeing the cannabis facility. Transforming the Dandrea family’s old co-packaging facility in Vineland into Garden Green’s cultivation facility, Krane is one of the forces behind what he described as a growth system and culture centered on a genuine love for the plant.
“We’ve got a state-of-the-art grow system, an amazing cultivation team with decades of experience, and really great people at all levels of the operation,” he said.
Focused cultivation methods
At the core of Garden Greens’ ethos lies an uncompromising dedication to quality.
“We love this plant,” Krane explained. “We love growing it, we love smoking it, we love the events that go on around it… we really just want to grow weed that we love and put out a product that we can be proud of.”
As far as product growth is concerned, Garden Green has a lot to be excited about.
“There are thousands of cultivars out right now; we’re picking the ones we love to grow and love to smoke,” said Krane.
And with the increasing demand for cannabis in New Jersey, he says, “there is no time to be wasted on things that we don’t love to grow or smoke.”
So far, Garden Greens has released a handful of strains, with several more to come. You can expect to find classics like Cereal Milk and Sunset Sherbert alongside newcomers like Obama Runtz on High Street’s shelves.
“We are growing a lot of experiments, but we’re quick to decide what they do and don’t like,” Krane added.
Of course, producing the best product possible comes with its challenges.
“The biggest challenge we had was amassing our genetics and getting to the right library that we felt would be competitive and differentiated in the state,” Krane explained. “It’s an ongoing process, but it was the first real challenge we had to hurdle.”
Building a passionate community in New Jersey
More than anything else, Garden Greens takes pride in its staff of talented and experienced individuals dedicated to cultivating excellence in every aspect of their work.
“We’ve been so fortunate to assemble such a talented, experienced team here in New Jersey,” Krane said. “These are amazing humans who really love the plant. We think we have very happy plants, and we think it’s a direct correlation to the happiness of the team that shows up every day to tend to them.”
As the first indoor, independent cultivators in the state, Krane and the Garden Greens team put a lot of thought into where they would stock their products.
“We approached independent dispensaries like High Street first to ensure they got a chance to stock our brand and our strains,” Krane said. “We did it… to help differentiate the independent retailers throughout the state.”
Krane said that Garden Greens sought out shops that understood the importance of craft-grown flower in the New Jersey cannabis market. “We’re very passionate about the plant and the culture that goes around the plant,” Krane noted. “We were looking for shops that really understood that culture and the local customer base.”
Discover Garden Greens at High Street Dispensary
Krane says the experience of launching this brand has been “fantastic.”
“New Jersey has an amazing cannabis culture and amazing cannabis fans,” he said. “We set our sights on putting out the best quality product that we could, and the response has been an overwhelming but really beautiful thing to watch.”
As Garden Greens continues to flourish, we invite you to experience their products firsthand at High Street Dispensary in Hackettstown. With a diverse selection of strains, why wait? Check out the menu online, or swing by and experience the Garden Greens legacy for yourself.