Growlink Smart Farm Blog

When Cody Spurgeon and Shane Brockwell started Happy Camp Farms in 2018, Cody was still grieving his beloved wife Suzy's loss. Her untimely departure inspired them to help cancer patients by growing the best quality, organic cannabis on the market. By creating HCF, they're ensuring that Suzy's legacy will live on, like the fire they started when they buried her that still exists. The team regularly meets around the fire to keep her flame alive and provide a place for healing. That fire reminds them of their commitment to helping others. But don't take our word for it; check out the video to see their whole story.

Indoor farming has existed in greenhouses for centuries, but indoor farming has amassed new interest and popularity in recent years. Advanced analytics to improve yields and deal with variables is pushing the agriculture analytics market. Big data is making a notable impact on every industry, and now indoor growers can streamline their operations by adopting smart farm methods and techniques. Let's look at why big data is changing how we grow. 

Fossil fuels provide roughly 80% of the energy required to power our modern world. But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Coal, gas, and oil have a limited supply. Due to the increasing demand for energy worldwide, supplies are predicted to run out within the next half-century. Along with this, the mining, drilling, and burning of fossil fuels are harming the environment — and our health. We must embrace a clean energy future and find sustainable fuel sources to solve the fuel problem. Research suggests that biofuel, more specifically, hemp biofuel, could be the answer.

As technology changes, improves and enhances every aspect of our lives, it's no surprise that it's also changing how and where we grow crops and other commercially grown plants. With climate change altering weather patterns, taking crops indoors is becoming a viable and profitable option. Let's take a look at how vertical farming is changing how we grow. 

New York Legalizes Recreation Cannabis, with Sales Expected to Start in 2022

After years of failed attempts, New York has become the latest state to legalize recreational cannabis use, bringing the total to 16 states, plus Washington, D.C. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into effect on March 31, allowing adults 21 and over to possess up to three ounces of dry flower or 24 grams of concentrate. People will also be able to store up to five pounds at home. 

Dan Wade, Cultivation Director at Arbuckle Farms, is a bit of a rebel, even by James Dean's standards. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, his father moved the blended family to Oklahoma City to start a snow cone business, not something you hear often! Dan had his first encounter with cannabis in the sooner state, a relationship that would grow into his future career. But back then, it got him in trouble.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing every aspect of our life, from home automation, logistics and automotive, to industrial IoT. And it doesn't stop there; agricultural technology has made significant advances in the last 20 years, and it's changing how we grow food, and IoT is a big part of it. Smart farms are an emerging agricultural phenomenon that promises to improve yields and save money on resources and labor. Let's see what all the hype is about. 

Part Two: Environmental Conditions

In Part Two of this blog, we examine how to apply crop steering techniques using environmental conditions. As we mentioned in Part One of this blog, irrigation impacts how plants grow and can also be used as a steering tool. You can access it here in case you missed it. But let's dig into how changing environmental conditions can impact plant growth.

Cannabis extraction is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the industry. Used in vape pens, edibles, drinks, dabs, tinctures, and patches, just to name a few, cannabis concentrates are a huge business. It's estimated that over 50 percent of cannabis sales are attributed to concentrates or infused products. Let's take a look at the process of procuring cannabis concentrates.

If you're a horticulturist, then you're already familiar with what glandular trichomes (GT's) are and how they work to protect plants. But for the rest of us, it's a mysterious and complex science. 

All flowering plants have thousands of tiny hairs that appear to be crystalized dots covering the surface area. Some people mistake trichomes for terpenes, but terpenes are manufactured in the secretory cells inside glandular trichomes. Somewhere along the way, people dropped the 'glandular' part of the name and referred to them as trichomes. Let's look closer at what they're all about.