Kush Mountain Co-Founder: Tyson Wall
Tyson Wall, co-founder and master grower of micro-cultivation and processing facility Kush Mountain, found his passion in cannabis early in life. He grew up accustomed to seeing the plants, and later started cultivating within the medical framework. As the regulations continued to evolve, he knew he needed to be part of the adult-use market.
“Some people really get addicted to seeing growth and seeing results every day,” he says. “It’s a lifestyle now.”
A millwright by trade, Wall tailored several grow rooms during the medical days. So, when it came time to build his own facility, he already had the blueprints.
The core Kush Mountain team, consisting of his wife and best friend, built redundancy into their plans.
“(We have) extra ACs in case we have a failure. Extra dehumidifiers, backup power – just doing everything we can to ensure the consistency that we’re after,” Wall explains.
While foresight in redundancy addresses inevitable mechanical failures, helping to meet those quality marks along the way, the path to market requires more than formidable precision tech. It requires the raw materials that are the essence of the plant’s expression.
Why CANNA Works
With 20 years of growing experience, Wall encountered CANNA products long before legalization.
“When we came into the facility, going from legacy into the legal market, there’s a lot more that needs to be tracked and traced,” he says. “CANNA makes it easy (…) You can go to their portal and pull all the COAs; every batch of coco has a lot number. We can trace it in-house. What I love about CANNA Coco Flex is that it has a batch number right on it.”
In addition to substrate, Kush Mountain runs CANNA A&B nutrients, as well as PK.
“We’re having great success with it,” he says, “so there’s no need to go in and complicate things.”
From there, Tyson Wall tracks his grow with changes to the environment and irrigation strategies.
Markets and Cultivars
Currently, Kush Mountain grows Rainbow Pavé and Strawberry Froyo. Their team consists of 13 part-time staff members and one full-time assistant grower. Naturally, in-house R&D and phenohunting are top priorities. The team has four more key strains they’re getting ready to release – then they’ll have to see which market they fit.
Because international market characteristics vary, Wall begins by working directly with the client. Approximately 90% of their product is distributed overseas, while 10% feeds BC Direct Delivery, which is used strategically for limited drops. Wall finds Direct Delivery helps build local relationships, while trialling to see which products move faster.
“I like to feel confident and say I know exactly what’s going to work in a market, say in Europe or the UK, but the truth is they have completely different tastes than us,” he says. “So, it’s up to the buyer at that point to find something that really speaks to them.”
Fortunately for all of us, new buyers are finally catching on to the 25-27% THC strains with a higher terpene profile.
“26% with big terpene numbers often perform better than a 33% that’s flat,” he says.
To date, they’ve had international success with more classic strains, like the OG Kushes and Hazes. The BC system is great for maintaining local connections while tracking price points, SKUs, and velocity.
Keeping the Fire Alive
The cannabis industry is tough, and everyone has their days, including Tyson Wall.
“I think for me, all the days where I struggle – where the workload becomes a lot – I walk into my rooms and I feel like the plants have always lifted me up and given me that energy to keep going; I’m addicted to the growth of it all,” he says.
That constant push-and-pull between challenge and reward keeps Wall dialed in. While Kush Mountain operates at 30% of its cultivation footprint, its growth is planned and intentional. Rather than getting tangled in policy or politics, Wall keeps his head down and his hands in the grow.
“I think you can spend all this time lobbying and focusing and trying to talk to the people. Or, you can just find something that works.”
That mindset carries through to how he manages his team and the plants themselves. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how many procedures are in place; the best safeguard against chaos is the expertise that comes with decades of growing.
“You can catch things before they happen.”
No Nutrient Guesswork for Tyson Wall
For Wall, using CANNA helps keep his instincts sharp, so when problems arise, CANNA’s reliability eliminates the nutrient guesswork.
“Typically, if I’m seeing something, I can look in other directions just because I have the trust and the consistency that they provide.”
Years of experience have taught the Kush Mountain team about the value of adaptability and diversification. Retailer relationships are another key component of operations, and brand recognition is driven by quality rather than marketing. For new growers, Wall says, “stay in your lane, master what you do, and build your buyer list before you grow.”
At the end of the day, there will always be a place for the fire craft cannabis Canadians produce. It’s this knowing that keeps the fire alive. Wall spells it out for Seed to Success: Lean into it, because even when the days are long, the plants have a knack for giving that energy back.
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