With so many conditions to measure in a climate-controlled greenhouse or indoor grow, it can become overwhelming. Each condition has a potential impact on how your plants grow and the level of their health and ability to deliver a consistent crop. Whether you're growing tomatoes or cannabis, let's examine the importance of monitoring VPD, vapor pressure deficit.
Dr. Robert Flannery is the first Ph.D. in the United States with certified technical expertise in growing commercial cannabis. He earned his doctorate from UC Davis in Plant Biology with an emphasis in Environmental Horticulture with specific expertise in hydroponic crop optimization for cut-flower production. While working on his doctorate, Dr. Flannery began advising Cannabis cultivators throughout Northern California on modern horticulture practices. As Production Director at SPARC in San Francisco, Dr. Flannery managed the company's largest department and supervised every segment of cannabis cultivation, packaging, & delivery of the final product to retail. An overachiever for sure!
Changing seasons means it's time to reassess your lighting and watering goals for the Fall. As you know, greenhouse energy costs account for a significant share of a grow operation costs. Using available energy sources can affect your ability to harvest the predetermined crop quality and yields you forecast. And as the colder weather approaches, doing some maintenance can also save you some cold cash this winter.
What is a greenhouse?
A greenhouse is a building with walls and roof made primarily of transparent material, in which plants are grown. The interior of a greenhouse exposed to sunlight is significantly warmer than the external temperature, protecting its plants from extreme conditions.
Automation is essential to indoor farming systems to ensure all crops receive the proper light, water, and nutrients. Automating lighting, fertilization, and irrigation is a sensible and practical solution to managing your indoor growing operation.
What is vertical farming?
According to Wikipedia, vertical farming is "the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics."
What are environmental control systems?
As any expert will tell you, a growing environment is more than just the air temperature. It's a potent combination of multiple factors that impact plant growth in a greenhouse. Typically, the main four are heat, humidity, light levels, and ventilation. But it can also be more than that.
Past, Present and Future
Hydroponics has enjoyed a resurgence lately. Popularized in the 1940s, and solidified in growing culture by the 2000s, hydroponics actually began much further back in our ancient history. Let's explore a brief history of hydroponics.
Choosing the right automation technology.
The modern greenhouse utilizes technology to automate many daily tasks associated with a bustling grow operation. It can be confusing and overwhelming to decide on which system is right for your specific needs and goals. Whether you need to replace an older automation system that can no longer provide the dependability you need, or you're interested in new technological advancements of fully cloud-based automatic grow systems, here are the basics.
Increase yields and save valuable resources
Automated grow systems have been used for many years to keep labor costs down. Whether it's lighting, vents, or artificial intelligence, automation, and technology are capable of repeatable and predictable results. This allows growers to streamline previously time-consuming processes quickly and efficiently. Most automated greenhouse systems allow users to control their cultivation environment via an app on their smart devices.
