Preferred Gardens built its reputation around the belief that exceptional cannabis does not have to come exclusively from indoor cultivation. Founder David Polley developed his growing experience through California's legacy market before building a large mixed-light operation that prioritized freshness, terpene expression and carefully selected genetics. The original nuggnotes account follows the company's development from 99 outdoor plants in Northern California to a multi-state cultivation and collaboration network.
2005: David Polley's Cultivation Beginnings
According to the original account, he started growing in 2005.
Before developing the Preferred Gardens operation, he cultivated 99 outdoor plants in Northern California.
2015: Building Preferred Gardens Under Proposition 215
The original account describes the company as developing through the legacy market rather than being created as a corporate cannabis venture.
Mixed-Light Mastery: 50,000 Square Feet of Greenhouses
The original account identifies:
50,000 square feet of mixed-light greenhouses.
The company also operates:
6,000 square feet of indoor cultivation space in Sacramento.
The mixed-light facilities combine greenhouse cultivation with supplemental lighting.
According to the caption, Polley uses the operation to demonstrate that greenhouse-grown flower can compete with the best indoor cannabis.
The company's approach emphasizes:
Terpene profiles.
Sustainability.
Freshness.
An Independent, Family-Operated Business
The original account identifies the people responsible for different parts of the business.
David Polley: Oversees cultivation.
@healwithnicki: Manages licensing and logistics.
@likemikerolls: Leads strain development.
Alexander Shahi: Handles business operations.
Uncle Tony: Preserves organizational integrity.
The caption emphasizes that the company operates without outside investors.
The family structure allows the business to maintain direct control over cultivation, genetics and operations.
Its stated priorities are:
Quality, culture and consistency.
A Private Library of 260+ In-House Strains
According to the original account, the company prioritizes unique genetics over mainstream clones.
Permanent Zangria.
Banger Znacks.
OG Marker.
The caption specifically identifies OG Marker as having a:
4% terpene profile.
These cultivars reflect the company's emphasis on genetic selection, terpene expression and potency.
Craft Quality Without Luxury Pricing
The original account describes the company as delivering craft-quality cannabis at fair prices.
Its approach challenges the idea that premium cultivation must automatically result in inaccessible retail pricing.
The company seeks to maintain the standards associated with small-batch craft cannabis while reaching a broader consumer base.
Florida: Collaboration With The Flowery
The original account specifically identifies:
The Flowery (@floweryflorida) in Florida.
The collaboration produced:
Bubblegum Marker.
The partnership represented a strategic expansion into another major cannabis market.
Rather than entering new states without local partners, Preferred Gardens focused on working with operators that matched its cultivation philosophy.
New York: A 30,000-Square-Foot Indoor Facility
The original account identifies plans for a 30,000-square-foot indoor facility in New York — no opened source documents such a facility; the documented record shows Preferred entering New York through licensing partnerships, and by April 2025 it was already listed as operating in New York and Arizona.
This represented another stage in the company's multi-state expansion.
The caption also identifies an Arizona entry as underway.
Nu-Resin Carts and Jeeter's Red Label
Preferred Gardens supplied elite flower for other cannabis products.
The original account identifies:
Friendly Brand California (@friendlybrandcalifornia) and its Nu-Resin carts.
The company also supplied material for:
Jeeter's Red Label.
These relationships expanded the use of Preferred Gardens flower beyond traditional packaged flower products.
Collaborations With Doja Pak, Green Dawg, Alien Labs and Connected
The original account names several additional collaborations:
Doja Pak (@doja.pak).
Green Dawg (@greendawgca).
Alien Labs (@AlienLabs2069).
Connected (@connected.california).
These partnerships connected Preferred Gardens with established brands known for premium cannabis.
The collaborations reinforced the company's reputation for cultivation quality and genetic selection.
Proving Mixed-Light Can Rival Top Indoor
Preferred Gardens' development began with David Polley's 2005 cultivation experience and his early work growing 99 outdoor plants in Northern California.
After founding the company in 2015 under Proposition 215, he built an operation featuring 50,000 square feet of mixed-light greenhouse space and a 6,000-square-foot indoor facility in Sacramento.
The company's private library of more than 260 in-house strains includes Permanent Zangria, Banger Znacks and OG Marker, which the caption identifies with a 4% terpene profile.
Expansion into Florida through The Flowery, a New York entry the documented record shows happening through licensing partnerships, and an Arizona entry extended the company's reach.
Collaborations with Friendly Brand California, Jeeter, Doja Pak, Green Dawg, Alien Labs and Connected further expanded its work.
The original account presents Preferred Gardens as an independent California operation challenging traditional assumptions about greenhouse cannabis and demonstrating that mixed-light cultivation can rival top indoor flower.
Sources
Nugg Notes. "Preferred Gardens: Mastering Mixed-Light to Rival Top Indoor." Instagram, April 26, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DI6opN6gIjs/
The original Instagram post behind this article.
MMJ Daily. "'The technology works around the clock to keep our crop protected.'" MMJ Daily, February 2024. https://www.mmjdaily.com/article/9601022/the-technology-works-around-the-clock-to-keep-our-crop-protected/
Verifies Preferred Gardens was founded by David Polley in 2015 and that he has been cultivating since 2005; that in California the company operates a 50,000 sq. ft. mixed light facility and a 6,000 sq. ft. indoor facility (its Sacramento facility is the one profiled); that it is "family-owned and operated with absolutely no investors"; and that the Preferred Library "houses over 260 strains that have not been purchased from nurseries" but were bred or pheno-hunted from seed in-house.
First Smoke of the Day. "Preferred Gardens: Built Not Bought, MSO Grit, Culture Over Clout, Mixed-Light Future." Acast, April 28, 2025. https://shows.acast.com/first-smoke-of-the-day/episodes/preferred-gardens-built-not-bought-mso-grit-culture-over-clo
Verifies Polley founded Preferred Gardens in 2015 in Sacramento, that it cultivates over 260 unique strains including Sherbanger, Lazer Gun and Znackz, that it was initially prominent in the medical market and by April 2025 operated in California, Florida, Arizona and New York; that his core team is Alex, Mike, Blaine and Nikki — Dave's wife, described as the team's accounting, programming and back-of-house lead — and that Preferred keeps crops with The Flowery in Florida.
High Times. "Preferred Gardens Doubles Down." High Times, July 31, 2023. https://www.hightimesmagazine.net/2023/07/preferred-gardens-doubles-down.html
Verifies the family-run structure: founder David Polley and his wife Nicki do much of the work, backed by a small cultivation team helping in California, Florida and Michigan; that Polley runs an indoor facility in Sacramento and greenhouses in Yolo County; that the partnership deal with The Flowery in Florida "has proven fruitful"; and that Polley has turned down outside money deals as big as $40 million, consistent with the no-outside-investors claim.
Honeysuckle Magazine. "From Cali to NYC: California Cannabis Brands Launching in New York." Honeysuckle Magazine, September 9, 2025. https://honeysucklemag.com/california-cannabis-brands-new-york-launch/
Verifies Preferred Gardens' New York entry is through licensing partnerships — Polley: "Preferred Gardens is about growing with consistency and quality, no matter the state" — with no mention of a company-owned New York facility.
Honeysuckle Magazine. "Preferred in Full Bloom: David Polley's Relentless Hunt for the Next Unicorn." Honeysuckle Magazine, February 10, 2026. https://honeysucklemag.com/david-polley-preferred-gardens-cover-story/
Verifies Polley's start was hands-on and outdoors in Northern California — after closet grows, "real cultivation came later — outdoors in Yuba County with his boy Tony" — during the medical-paperwork era of raids and fines, though it gives no starting plant count.
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