Hello, my name is Josephine Johnson. I am one of 5 founders of Rippled Leaf Farms. I have always been passionate for art and design, so I found my roots in social media and marketing, but during the grow season I am found in the field or greenhouses tending to our ladies. The three other founders/farmers that live on our farm are Justin, Harry, and Ryne. Our fifth founder is a supportive investor who helps teach us the backbones of business. Justin handles the big picture and product sales, while Harry and Ryne team up on plant care and our mechanical needs. Even though these are our roles, we all find ourselves tending to the plants 90% of the day.  

What makes our farm so unique is our dedication to sustainability and transparency. These two fundamental values are the foundation of all of our actions and decisions. We want to create a product that aligns with our values instead of sacrificing them for profit. Everything we use, from the nutrients to the packaging, even the tape for our boxes, aligns with our values. We chose these values because we understand the power of each and every dollar. With the help of educated consumers who grasp the power of each purchase, we hope to help guide the industry toward a precedent of sustainability. 

The importance of education is why transparency is our second value. We believe our actions define us. It is easy to claim to be sustainable, but when it comes down to margins, many companies cut corners. Showcasing that companies can be successful and fully sustainable is what brings us so much passion for our work. This passion to help lead the way to a sustainable future is what makes our company so special. 

We produce smokable hemp products such as pre-rolls, leaf-rolls, and three sizes of loose flower. We are also working hard to develop new products including a hemp lotion and tea as well. 

What makes greenhouse cultivation special is the personal aspect. The plants that we kept in our greenhouse were so much more than just plants. With constant, prolonged exposure to them, you start seeing and feeling the life in them. That feeling is what makes greenhouse cultivation so unique. I remember the day when we saw our first sprouts pop up from the soil. It was a mix of pure joy and blind fear of the unknown. We cared so much for those little sprouts, and we did all we could to make them happy, no matter how silly it may appear. As they grew, they would experience live ukulele performances and singalongs to the Grateful Dead’s best albums. It was these moments of bliss in our sunny green tunnel that made greenhouse growing unforgettable. 

We are incredibly excited about getting some foggers! Foggers are so helpful in applying nutrients to foliage and pest management. 

We also love our drip line. The drip line was put in halfway through the summer, and not having to hand-water every plant was so, so lovely. It was also nice not to have to be up close and personal with fermented fish fertilizer.  

One of the first obstacles we faced was an entirely self-inflicted rooting problem. With the seedlings growing happily in their pots, we were shocked when we picked one up to move it to harden off. Little did we know our seedlings rooted through the bottom of their pots and down into the dirt floor below! (I know, how did we not put something down?!) Now having to transport the plants to harden off, we were faced with a tough decision of pulling up all the plants and damaging their roots, or not hardening them off. In our heavy winds and direct sun, that was not an option. We came up with a solution that the next morning at 5 am, we would turn on the hose in the greenhouse full blast! After a few hours had passed, we had successfully flooded the greenhouse. The water seeped into the hard dirt, turning it to mud. With a slow, delicate hand we massaged the roots up from the soil. It was slow-going, muddy work, but we managed to pull up all 10,000 seedlings without harming the roots, letting them harden off properly. 

Our advice would be to expect a stiff learning curve for your first year. Research and hard work can make up for a lot of experience if you are willing to do things repeatedly until they are correct, but be ready to laugh at those mistakes that just make you shake your head. 

Second, make friends in your community! We were so lucky to have a community that supported us and helped teach us the lessons we missed. I can remember Justin getting a lesson from our neighbor on the correct patterns of disking and plowing the field before he went out to break ground. That lesson saved us a lot of trouble and time. It's this type of chore that seems simple when observed that you need to be wary of. Nothing is as simple as it looks so take a breath and smile in the face of failure. A strong bond with your community also helps take the stigma off hemp, making for even more open minds and loyal customers. 

I am optimistic about the opportunity of the industry. It worries me that there are so many HUGE farms trying to control the market. It is up to us and the hundreds of small farms like us to keep the novelty and essence of hemp alive. Hemp provides such a beautiful opportunity for so many farms/small businesses if the industry turns out well. It makes me sad to think of a time when all the hemp may be produced by large commercial farms funneling money into only a few pockets when the collective opportunity is so great. That is why we are here. Despite all the farms out there looking to take the whole hemp pie for themselves, there are still small farms like ours and many others willing to share and support each other. 

We would like to shout out Tim and Jake Johnson (My dad and brother). They have helped us through all of the severe challenges like hand planting all 10,000 seedlings, trimming, harvesting, and teaching us the basics of how to live in northern Minnesota in a 120-year-old farmhouse. The support from the whole Johnson clan has saved us time and time again. We would also like to shout out to Heather and Tucker (Justin’s parents) for trimming with us and giving us Tucker for a week of work. We love all of you so much. Your support has kept us alive and full of THC- free fire!