The Grow-Off logo

Est. 2016 ยท Colorado, USA

The same genetics, different growers.

The Grow-Off is the original data-driven cannabis cultivation competition. Every competitor receives a clone of the same mystery strain. No biased judges, no popularity contests. A laboratory decides the winners.

See past champions Our story

The concept

It’s not what you grow. It’s how you grow it.

This simple concept launched our first competition in 2016. Instead of the hottest strain winning every year, we give growers the same mystery clone. Instead of biased judges, winners take home championship belts based on the highest cannabinoid and terpene content, measured by independent labs. It just makes sense.

From commercial cultivators to home growers with a few lights, everyone is welcome at The Grow-Off. We called it the Iron Chef of weed: everybody gets the same mystery ingredient, and the question is what you can do with it.

2016
First competition, Colorado
9
US states hosted a Grow-Off
3
Lab-tested categories: potency, terpenes, yield
50
States in the National Hemp Grow-Off
Watch: What is The Grow-Off? Watch: What is The Grow-Off? Grow-Off competitors at the first competition in 2016

How it worked

One clone. Six months. Lab results decide.

1. The mystery clone

Every grower in a state received a cut from the same mother plant. Nobody was told the strain or its origin.

2. The grow

Competitors had roughly six months to grow and harvest using any legal technique: soil, hydro, indoor, sun grown.

3. The lab

Independent partner labs tested every sample. Champions were crowned for potency, terpenes, and in early years, yield.

The final season

2023 state competitions

Oklahoma 2023

Genetics: Nerds Genetics

Lab testing by Highgrade Labs

Michigan 2023

Genetics: Tang Farms

Lab testing by Cambium Analytica

Colorado 2023

Genetics: Dark Horse Genetics

Lab testing by The Good Lab and Kaycha Labs

Maine 2023

Genetics: Skunkfoot Farms

Lab testing by NOVA

Massachusetts 2023

Genetics: Fat Cat Select Seeds & Stidacks Genetics

Lab testing by MCR Labs

California 2023

Genetics: HENDRX Farm, Phinest Cannabis

Hawaii 2023

Genetics: 808 Genetics

2023 also introduced two firsts: the National Hemp Grow-Off, the first time a single cultivar was grown and tested across all 50 US states, and the Skunk Grow-Off, a 50-grower Humboldt exclusive built around the legendary Skunk #1.

Press

In the headlines

Leafly

“2021 cannabis competition winners and where to buy them”

Forbes

“5 Deep Questions With Samantha Taylor, CEO/Founder Of The Grow Off”

Weedmaps

“5 weed products The Grow-Off creator Samantha Taylor can’t live without”

Also covered by Westword, Marijuana Venture, Growers Network, and the Georgia Straight.