“We are growing a wellness-focused product that we would smoke ourselves, plain and simple.”
-CEO/Co-Founder Jason Kabbes
Meet Panda Farms/GSCC
We’ve got seriously good vibes and weed for you, Jersey! We’re thrilled to welcome Panda Farms to the Pure Blossom family. These Grateful Dead-loving, craft cannabis wizards have been perfecting their small-batch since the late 1990s and continue to put the same love and attention into their grow in Oxford, just an hour north of Pure Blossom.
The deets:
- Panda Farms/Bridge City Collective started in 2009 in Oregon and has since expanded to New Jersey and Illinois.
- Unlike most multi-state operators (MSOs), they run each program as a single-state operation by involving locals. Before taking on any local capital investors, Jason met local community members and pledged equity stakes. The idea was, “If this company becomes profitable, I want the owners to be local and I want that money to be recycled in the local economies,” say Jason.
- They’ve been part of NJ’s medical market since 2019, and early this year, they expanded their operations to adult use.
- The entire NJ operations team is made up of NJ and PA natives.
We sat down with the dream team behind Panda Farms to talk about what real craft cannabis looks like. So get comfortable, pack a bowl and get to know the buds behind this wonderful grow.
What Craft Cannabis Really Means
“Craft cannabis” gets tossed around a lot these days. But how do you know if a brand is really craft cannabis? What does it actually mean? Is it just a buzzword or can you really taste and feel the difference?
For the team, craft cannabis isn’t just a label. It’s a commitment. It shows up in the way they care for every single plant, their patience they give each harvest and the choices they make to prioritize quality over yield. True craft cannabis is about slowing down.
According to Jason, “If you’re machine-trimming, that’s not craft. If you’re quick-drying, it’s not craft. The most important part of craft is the size of the garden and the quality of the inputs you’re using. If you have a small, 100-light garden but you’re just feeding it chemical fertilizers, that’s not craft cannabis. A small garden doesn’t automatically mean craft quality.”
For Panda Farms, craft is less about chasing THC percentages and more about delivering flower with flavor, smooth smoke and real efficacy. That comes from using organic nutrients, allowing strong terpene development and letting the plant fully finish.
Jason’s Advice: “Don’t chase THC, but we’re still trying to get people on the West Coast to understand it.”
Craft Cannabis in Oxford
“We’re trying to automate as little as possible. No machines. We’re the machine.”
-Michelle
So, what does that look like at the farm? Everything is done by hand and they take their time! With just 1,500 square feet flowering canopy (two flower rooms), every plant is cared for. Marco Shipman, their Master Cultivator, even has the team hand-water daily and lifting each pot to check how much water it needs.
“A lot of people will push shorter harvests, which leads to less trichome development and less amount of terpenes. In fact, a lot of terpenes get made at the later stages of the plant’s life. So we don’t ever push, we go over 64 days and let the plants decide when they’re finished.”
-Marco
All plants are fed with an organic and bio-mineralized nutrient base and when it’s close to harvest time, they flush the plants over two weeks. Flushing is the time where their plants are getting a organic blackstrap molasses mix for the first two days and a nutrient-free water for two weeks. This forces the plant to use up all its nutrients and set it up for a better cure.
Once harvested, the buds are still not rushed to market. Instead, they’re slow-cured in a 60-degree room for up to a month. During this process, the delicate trichomes and terpenes are lock in which extends shelf life and ultimately a more noticeably smoother smoke.
Meet the Team
Jason Kabbes – CEO/Co-Founder
“I come from the legacy market days, so being on the internet about weed is something that I’m still figuring out, but I want to be out there more.”
-Jason
Jason has been involved in cannabis since, when was a college freshman, he served as President of For a Better Ohio, Ohio’s first medical marijuana and industrial hemp ballot initiative effort. Coming from an earth sciences background, he naturally got into cultivation and moved to the West Coast, getting his first legal license in 2010. After years of honing his craft, Jason brought Panda Farms and Bridge City Collective to Oregon, New Jersey and Illinois. He currently teaches at Stockton University’s cannabis program once a quarter.
Marco Shipman – Master Cultivator & Facility Manager
”Our staple definitely is the Super Boof. That’s one of the best plants that I’ve seen in the 10 years I’ve been growing.”
-Marco
A Jersey native, Marco spent seven years in Colorado honing his craft in large cultivation facilities before returning home when New Jersey legalized. Today, he leads the day-to-day at Panda Farms, hand-mixing nutrients and making sure every single plant gets the care it needs.
Michelle Tran Vo – Director of Quality Assurance and Packaging & Brian McGown – Cultivator
Michelle, Brian and Jason have been long time friends, all come from the same Grateful Dead community that continues to inspire the spirit of Panda Farms today.
Outside of Panda Farms, Michelle and Brian run Grateful Garden Healers, a microgreens farm and horticultural service, and Mama Vo’s Kitchen, where they serve up farm-to-table Vietnamese American comfort food, both in East Greenville.
Select Strains & Pre-Rolls At PB!
Right now, you will not find these strains and pre-rolls anywhere else in Pennington. For us, stocking in a brand is never just about having something new on the shelf or filling space. It’s about finding growers who care as much about wellness, quality of true craft cannabis and people as we do.
Shop: Panda Farms
Sun Extracts Collab On The Way ☀️
Stay tuned for a fire partnership with Panda Farms and our friends in Hamilton, SUN Extractions. Coming from in the same Grateful Dead community, SUN’s head extractor, Noel Liese, and Jason reconnected in Atlantic City and it only made sense to join forces. Expect some special drops coming soon!
Community Shoutouts 💚
“I’d like to shout out my friend, Leon Rainbow, who runs Jersey Fresh Jam. He’s a local graffiti artist who’s done murals at many dispensaries and puts a lot of energy back into the community. On Sundays, he hosts a little camp where kids can come and spray paint alongside old-school graffiti artists who guide them and teach techniques. It’s a safe, creative space at TerraCycle in Trenton where the walls get painted white each week. Everyone can come express themselves freely without worry about getting arrested or getting in trouble. We’re also opening a dispensary in Somerset, relatively soon, where Rain x Busta painted two insanely good murals for us.”
-Michelle
”I also would love to shout out Professor Rob Meija at Stockton University. He’s a huge advocate.”
-Jason
Visit Pure Blossom for Cannabis and Other Essentials
Pure Blossom is a woman-owned and -operated, licensed dispensary. Founded on the values of education, destigmatization and community, Pure Blossom is creating a truly welcoming cannabis retail experience with a curated menu of New Jersey’s worthy cannabis products, an emphasis on increasing customer knowledge and a holistic approach to wellbeing.
Whether you’re doing the old Google thing, searching for a dispensary near me or nearby dispensaries in New Jersey, Pure Blossom is a short, scenic, calming drive away, and our friendly guide-connoisseurs are excited to take you through the best Jersey-Grown greens (and other essentials). We’ll see you there!