CBD Store at the Hemp Farm in Wicklow

INTRODUCTION

On one of the evenings when checking my email and scrolling through, I noticed one from Hempture with unusual title in it - "visit one of Ireland's largest hemp farm in Wicklow this Sunday". I must admit that it really caught my attention, so I went to check for more details and booked the trip shortly after. On the event page it said:

“Hemp & Cannabis Sativa Farm tours IRELAND

The feeling you get from walking into vast field of Cannabis Sativa and Hemp plants is one you must experience at least once in your life! Spectacular is putting it lightly..

We take you to secret Cannabis Sativa & Hemp farms in Ireland”

The trip was supposed to start in Dublin, so as we are based in Newbridge, we decided to drive to Wicklow and meet the tour bus in Kiltegan.

TRIP

On the day of the trip as planned we went directly to Kiltegan to meet the bus in the town and then proceeded to the hemp farm. I must admit that the number of participants was actually quite high, with many also travelling by car – I bet people thought we were going to a wedding when saw all the cars following the coach! The farm itself was located just outside the town with an easy access.

Upon arrival we received a really nice goodie bag from Hempture (thank you!) and then were greeted by Ed and his family. It was my first time to see a hemp farm and I must admit it did look very impressive! The plants (Cannabis Sativa) were really tall, I would say about 3m tall. There was no signature smell as we walked on the farm, but once you went closer to the plant that did change straight away.

After greeting us all, Ed gave us a very throughout overview of his farm, hemp, seeds, but also current legislation and the struggles he’s facing with the lack of specialised equipment to harvest and process hemp in Ireland. The field was about 3 acres in size, fully organic and currently filled with 3 different hemp varieties – Futura 75, Zuzana and Dora. The first strain is of a French origin and the other two Hungarian. Ed explained that he is still experimenting with different strains as the Irish weather makes it very challenging to grow hemp – in general the climate in Ireland is too wet, therefore it is difficult to keep the seed mould free. He proceeded than to explain on different applications for hemp:

• Biofuels – very economical and environment friendly
• Textiles –very durable, versatile, easy to produce and biodegradable
• Food – contains many, many valuable nutrients (high levels of proteins, Omega acids, fiber, iron, potassium etc.)
• Building materials – cheap to produce, lightweight, durable and fire/water proof
• Medicine – contains high amount of CBD (cannabidiol)

...and much more!

He then also covered the topic of hemp farm legality in Ireland and general legislation concerning cannabis. As he stated, general process for obtaining a license to grow hemp in Ireland is quite straight forward, however the regulations are that you have to have a receiver for your product on the license application, before you can actually get one! You are than obliged to sell only to that party.

After that part of the tour all participants had a chance to come over and speak to Ed directly, take pictures of the farm and hemp, try some hemp tea, hemp milk, some hemp food and also hemp butter. We were also able to take a small sample of hemp with us, but had to harvest it ourselves! J

It is only a brief overview of all topics covered by Ed as his knowledge about cannabis/hemp was really impressive.

I really recommend to look out for another trip organised by Hempture & uHemp team as these are soon to be announced!