Horticulture

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:

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.

With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill last year, the United States gave the green light for farmers to begin cultivating hemp by removing it from the list of Schedule I Controlled Substances. Hemp has been grown for hundreds of years all over the world due to its versatility as a textile and for its health benefits, but because of its similarity to marijuana, hemp was made illegal in 1937 under provisions in the Marihuana Tax Act. The 2018 Farm Bill allows hemp to be treated as the agricultural commodity it has always been.

Discover the benefits of industrial hemp and learn why growing hemp seeds in a greenhouse can boost CBD production. Explore greenhouse CBD cultivation tips.

From semi-automatic control systems, to fully automatic control systems, more and more growers are seeing the benefits that automation brings to their growing environments.

Here are a few of the reasons to consider automating the environmental controls in your commercial greenhouse:

From semi-automatic control systems, to fully automatic control systems, more and more growers are seeing the benefits that automation brings to their growing environments.

Here are a few of the reasons to consider automating the environmental controls in your commercial greenhouse: