Starbird Spotlight : Pudding Hill Farm

The grower and the goat girls!

    In Massachusetts, it’s starting to feel like dispensaries are popping up as often as gas stations along the highway. There are so many brands and products on the shelves, but how often do we actually know who's behind them? Sometimes it feels like the weed we’re smoking was grown and packaged by phantoms. The faces, the stories, the missions? They are often completely missing.

At Starbird, we do things differently. We care deeply about uplifting smaller grow teams, spotlighting specialty products and the story behind them. We make it a priority to platform niche, underrepresented cultivators, not just to boost their visibility, but because our guests deserve to experience the passion and craft behind incredible cannabis.

We’re here to connect people with good weed and the good folks who grow it.

Pudding Hill rewrites the entire narrative. Their team consists of two hard working gentlemen who do everything themselves, Tom and Scott. They are the smallest cannabis grow operation in Massachusetts. Every container is hand labelled, including details like “1 of 14 Plants”. They are dedicated to quality, legacy and love. Each time we pick up a jar of Pudding Hill flower, we can feel the good energy radiating from the bud! More than just cannabis growers, but actual farmers who incorporate weed into their lifestyle. Let’s dive into detail about one of our favorite growers, and what makes them so exceptional.

 What is Pudding Hill Farm?

  Pudding Hill Farm may be the smallest cannabis grow operation in Massachusetts, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in heart. Tucked away in the town of Blandford, this charming little farm is run by a married gay couple,one of whom is a proud military veteran!

Their entire grow takes place inside a classic big red barn, where cannabis cultivation blends seamlessly with the rhythms of everyday farm life. It’s not just about plants here, it's about animals, too. Every morning begins with Tom and Scott feeding their goats and chickens, followed by tending to their vibrant cannabis crop. It’s a true ecosystem, where every part of the farm supports the other. They even have two barncats that overlook the property. 

Cannabis isn’t a product at Pudding Hill Farm, it’s part of their lifestyle. They label their weed as, “homegrown,” reflecting their passion for small-batch, independent cultivation and the hands-on care that non-commercial growers can offer. 

At Pudding Hill, they focus on a smaller grow of about 40 plants at a time. Every bud is grown with intention, integrity, and love just the way nature and the farmers wanted it to be. 

What Strains Does Pudding Hill Grow?

  Pudding Hill does season releases, each with three strains. In the past year, we’ve seen strains from them such as Jack Herer, Durban Poison, Acapulco Gold, and Panama Haze. These growers definitely know how to harness the unique aspects of each strain, with beautiful buds full of personality and flavor. 

These hardworking growers focus on landrace strains. Since landraces are indigenous cannabis strains that are from specific regions of the world, they can be somewhat difficult to grow. Marrying strains together to create hybrids strengthens the genetics to help with stability. Landraces need gentle care, time and understanding. 

Although they may take more diligence, these growers are happy to do that. They are supporting a plant that has thousands of years of history, and are furthering that legacy by bringing it into the modern age. Pudding Hill Farm is preserving the heritage of these strains, which is vital as so much cannabis has been lost to time and anti drug campaigns. It is most important to give the plant the care it needs to grow strong. Each strain represents a different part of the world, so they have particular traits that will be unique to them.

They may be a bit more demanding than other strains, but they are extremely rewarding. There’s a saturation of strains on the market like Garlic Cookies, Lemon Cherry Sherbert, or Wedding Cake. But when people see strains like Malawi, Lamb’s Breath and Maui Wowie, their eyes light up! And when you smoke these legacy strains, you understand why people search for them specifically. You aren’t just lighting up, you are tapping into ancient cannabis cultivars that people have smoked long before the Summer of Love. 

   Pudding Hill doesn’t only do landrace strains! They also have many iconic hybrids they’ve made just as delicious and impactful. Their fabulous Moby Dick is a satisfying crossbreed of the famous Haze and White Widow. It is the perfect strain to wake and bake with on a day off, and flip some pancakes while listening to some tunes. Next time you visit Starbird, look for the cute white jar with the adorable goat on the front if you want to try some amazing landrace strains. 

A Close Up of Some Gorgeous Buds

 What Makes Pudding Hill’s Flower Special?

 The intention, love and care that these two dedicated growers have for their plants is rare in the industry. They view their plants not as products, but as their babies! They lovingly refer to their plants as “the girls” or “the green girls” since the animals on their farm are also female. They recognize that cannabis flower comes from the female plant, which is refreshing when so many popular strains are named after men. 

  “The plants are attended to every moment of their life.” Says Scott. They are touched, hand watered, hand fed and each plant is getting the individual care it needs. The growers know exactly what the plants need, because they’ve fostered a connection to each one. Their cured and trimmed flower doesn’t look like a compact rock like most of the cannabis of the market, but a bushel full of richness and spirit. 

 All the gorgeous cannabis plants jam out to classical Baroque music all day, which pleases the plants and helps them grow. Plants feed off of energy just like humans, and the vibrations boost the plants' livelihood immensely. The way our moods change and shift based on music is very similar to plants, and they are much too interesting to grow in silence. 

Pudding Hill’s mission aligns perfectly with ours at Starbird: quality and care will always come before chasing high THC numbers. Many people simply ask for the highest THC, but that has never been our first concern. We're thrilled to smoke beautifully cured, hand-trimmed buds like these.

One of our staff members hadn’t come across a true, solid Durban Poison in years. For them, it wasn’t about the test results, it was about reuniting with a favorite strain. Like stumbling across a perfect piece of sea glass on the shoreline, it was a moment of nostalgia and joy. It tasted the way they remembered, had vibrant vermillion pistils, and delivered the blissful euphoria they were seeking for years. 

We believe that connecting with rare, well-loved, and thoughtfully grown strains is far more meaningful than constantly chasing lab stats. That said, when it does come to numbers, the terpene profiles from Pudding Hill always deliver. Their buds taste classic and clean, with those old-school funky citrus notes shining through in every puff. Smoking Pudding Hill is like tasting cannabis the way it’s supposed to be, pure, purposeful, and delicious.

Pudding Hill also values more than just what ends up in the jar, they care about the story behind it. They’ve told us how much they appreciate working with partners who don’t just let their flower sit on a shelf, but take the time to educate guests on history, breeding, and the bigger picture of cannabis across the globe. When we receive their flower, they always provide a detailed synopsis of each strain. For us, that connection is as important as the products themselves. It’s not so different from knowing the source of your food: people want transparency about what they’re consuming, and in our eyes, that should be the bare minimum.

Tom once compared their approach to sharing tomatoes from your own garden with your neighbors. Grown with care, handed over with pride. That sentiment is exactly why our partnership feels so natural. Just like food grown honestly, Pudding Hill’s flower carries intention, integrity, and a sense of place. By telling their story and connecting customers to the people and philosophies behind the buds, we’re able to honor that care and give the cannabis the context it deserves.

One of Tom and Scott’s goat girls sporting their Necann Cup placement!

Why Support Small Cannabis Growers?

Over the past few years, many of us have come to understand just how important it is to support small businesses. Every time you shop at Starbird, you’re supporting a locally owned, woman-owned dispensary, and we carry that same energy into the products we choose to highlight on our shelves.

Sure, sometimes that means spending a little more than you would with a corporate giant. When you know your money is going toward real people, real passion, and real purpose, it hits differently. Your purchase isn’t just a transaction, it’s a contribution to someone’s dream.

That’s why we believe the model Pudding Hill is practicing has the potential to reshape the industry. If more growers had the ability to operate small, intentional, almost homestead-like grows, we’d see a shift. Cannabis could return to its roots: tiny batches, lovingly cultivated, and accessible to more farmers who want to enter the market. Instead of a landscape dominated by corporations, we’d see a thriving ecosystem of growers, each with their own story, flavors, and care woven into every harvest.

At the end of the day, all cannabis starts the same way, as seeds. And honestly, so do businesses. With love, care, and intention, those seeds grow. They flourish. They bloom into something bigger. At Starbird, we believe in nurturing that growth, whether it’s through platforming a small farm like Pudding Hill or helping our guests discover cannabis that feels truly meaningful. Because when small growers succeed, the whole industry gets better, and so does your experience.

Fly High!