According to urbandictionary.com, if you flip something you make a profit out if it. The same could be said in our industry for the term flip. There are a several good reasons to operate your grow on a “flip.” This basically means to never run all your grow rooms on the same schedule. Why is this important? To understand this, we must understand peak energy times.
Hydroponic systems are becoming increasingly popular in the industry as they’ve been shown to produce greater yields with less pest and fungal issues. We’ve been talking with many cultivators recently who are using hydroponics and need a nutrient cooling solution but are uncertain about how to go about it; so we’ve decided to share what we think are the best practices to grow big, healthy plants in a hydroponic system.
The temperature of a cultivation room plays a large role in determining how plants grow and the quality of the final yield. For this reason, it is important to have a reliable climate control system and frequently check the temperature of each cultivation room. However, it is very easy to incorrectly check the temperatures of these rooms.
In a commercial cultivation facility, the ultimate goal is to produce the most of the best quality crop possible for the lowest cost. There are numerous elements that factor into each part of this goal and when trying to improve yield or reduce costs, it can be necessary to take a second look at every element of the facility. Including the growing medium.
The biosecurity of a cultivation facility is just as important as the physical security of the facility. The physical security includes measures such as locks, cameras, fences, lighting and more and is often, at least in part, required by law. Biosecurity includes measures such as air sanitation, dehumidification, cleaning procedures and more and is often not directly required, though can become an indirect requirement due to product testing and purity requirements.
Once the decision has been made to start a cultivation center, the next big question is: What growing method will be used – outdoor, greenhouse or indoor? Each of these methods has upsides and downsides, that need to be fully understood before making a decision.
Nutrients are essential for plant growth, but they are expensive, making it important to get the most out of the ones you use.
The Surna Reflector includes a glass lens, as do most reflectors designed for indoor cultivation. Before you decide to remove that lens let’s look at the reasons why, in this case, the glass is actually a good thing, creating a number of benefits for your grow.
Liquid cooling involves transferring heat in the air to liquid running through the system. As a closed loop system, liquid-cooled climate control can also provide dehumidification in addition to cooling. Pipes run liquid through the building and into air handlers located in the room. From there, the warm air is blown over cold pipes that absorb the heat in the air, resulting in cold air and warmer water leaving the air handler. For more information, read up on Chilled-Water Cooling Basics.
As discussed previously, it is important to make sure the correct measurement is being considered when choosing a bulb or reflector. Lumens measure brightness as seen by humans, but PPFD measures light density as seen by plants.