This article originally appeared in the September/October print edition of Cannabis Business Times. To subscribe, click here.
Bigger, better, faster. For many cannabis operations, commercial cultivation meant scaling up small-scale practices, but expansion introduces possibilities for new technologies and a competitive edge.
Advances in growing containers and bench container systems, and production-tested tools from traditional horticulture cultivators provide opportunities for the cannabis industry to enhance productivity and profits.
Ryan Bradley, founding partner at cannabis consulting and facility build-out specialists Performagrow LLC, says many growers are considering alternatives that capitalize on a natural plant response called “air pruning.” Non-solid, aerated pots allow oxygen flow through container walls. As roots contact high oxygen levels at the pot’s wall and bottom, tips dehydrate. Roots initiate dense, fibrous, lateral growth instead. “Aeration containers are really catching on,” Bradley says.
To read the full article in Cannabis Business Times' September/October edition, click here.
Bigger, better, faster. For many cannabis operations, commercial cultivation meant scaling up small-scale practices, but expansion introduces possibilities for new technologies and a competitive edge.
Advances in growing containers and bench container systems, and production-tested tools from traditional horticulture cultivators provide opportunities for the cannabis industry to enhance productivity and profits.
Nontraditional Growing Containers
Solid plastic nursery pots are containers of choice for many growers. They’re readily available, inexpensive, easily sterilized and reusable, but they have challenges. Solid plastic can limit oxygen flow in growing media, amplify over-watering and encourage circling roots when growing tips hit plastic walls.Ryan Bradley, founding partner at cannabis consulting and facility build-out specialists Performagrow LLC, says many growers are considering alternatives that capitalize on a natural plant response called “air pruning.” Non-solid, aerated pots allow oxygen flow through container walls. As roots contact high oxygen levels at the pot’s wall and bottom, tips dehydrate. Roots initiate dense, fibrous, lateral growth instead. “Aeration containers are really catching on,” Bradley says.
To read the full article in Cannabis Business Times' September/October edition, click here.
