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Hemp is usually grown in mass quantities outdoors for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, fuel, construction and biodegradable plastics, but as more people are recognizing the health benefits of hemp and CBD, more hemp cultivators are choosing to grow their crops in greenhouses. There are cases to be made for both outdoor and greenhouse hemp production, but which option is best? The following is a look at the differences between outdoor and greenhouse hemp cultivation:

Environment:

As we head into October, the cooler days signify that heating season is here. Heating your greenhouse is a necessary reality for commercial growers to maintain an ideal climate for their crops, but with energy prices on the rise, warming the greenhouse can be a costly endeavor. Growers must ensure they're getting the most out of their heating system and often maintaining efficiency involved simple maintenance. Here is quick checklist to maximize the efficiency of your greenhouse heating system:

With a crop as profitable and heavily regulated as cannabis, growers must ensure that they will get the most out of their grow facility in order to produce high quality yields while meeting regulations. The following are common mistakes that should be avoided when setting up a commercial marijuana operation:

As we enter into September, it’s inevitable that colder weather and shorter days are not far behind. For areas that experience significantly colder weather and snow during the fall and winter seasons, it’s important to prepare your greenhouses so your crops are protected. Here are a few things to consider when preparing your commercial greenhouse operation for the fall and winter:

Choosing a greenhouse covering is an important decision for a grower and depends on a number of factors including durability, climate, light transmission and cost-efficiency. The most common materials used to cover greenhouses include glass, acrylic, poly film and polycarbonate, all of which come with varying advantages depending on what a grower is looking to get out of their covering.

Hemp is once again being paid its due as an important and incredibly versatile crop thanks to the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. As a result, more growers are seeing the benefit to growing hemp in greenhouses for more control and higher quality yields. While the benefits to growing hemp in a greenhouse are many, they are accompanied by a lot of considerations as well.

Summer is once again coming to a close, and as much as we try to savor the long days that accompany the warmest season of the year, the beginning of August signals that shorter, cooler days are not far behind. Growers need to prepare their greenhouses for colder weather which means they also need to prepare for the high energy costs associated with operating a commercial greenhouse through the winter.

More commercial cannabis growers are opting to grow their plants in greenhouses rather than in warehouse environments thanks to many of the efficiencies a greenhouse environment will provide. Energy costs are greatly reduced in both heating and lighting thanks to the natural light allowed in through the greenhouse which is a major benefit in an industry that requires growers to become more efficient.

One of the biggest challenges faced by growers is finding and developing an efficient integrated pest management (IPM) program that works for their operation. Once a disease spreads or pests infest a crop, it can be incredibly arduous to fix and can cost thousands of dollars in damaged products. It’s critical that a holistic approach to managing pests and diseases is implemented to avoid costly infestations.

The demand for cannabis is increasing exponentially but unfortunately the same cannot be said for the research to accompany that demand. As acceptance increases and more people turn to cannabis to treat a variety of medical symptoms, it seems there is more confusion than ever which is largely due to a lack of resources and government funding to provide quality research that provides information beyond mere anecdotal evidence.