There are many factors to consider when setting up a growing operation, from choosing the correct greenhouse for your property and needs, to what equipment and climate control options you choose to maintain an ideal environment. Whether you’re planning a budget medical marijuana greenhouse, or a large commercial greenhouse, these are the essential factors to focus on. 

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1. DESIGN AND STRUCTURE STRENGTH

While the majority of US greenhouse Cannabis cultivation practices began in California, it does not mean those same principles and greenhouse designs will work in other states like Oklahoma or the northern states. In fact, we often hear of the california style hoop houses caving in and or otherwise flying away in storms. Choosing a cannabis greenhouse that is engineered for your property and specific climate conditions should be the first thing you do.

• Do you need an engineered structure? All states differ in building code regulations and permitting requirements. Some states will have a number of counties that will allow farmers to build greenhouses without additional permitting if their property falls within an agricultural exemption, while many other states will have strict  requirements for permitting your greenhouse. Understanding this is critical for Cannabis growers in order to avoid fines and wasted time for putting up a non-permissible structure. At Fullbloom we have AG exempt greenhouse options, and structures that can handle extreme wind and snow loads with engineer-stamped plans available.
• Does it have enough room for your plants? Cannabis needs room to grow vertically, and sometimes horizontally depending on the strain and your growing preference. Many successful greenhouse cannabis growers want to use grow lights or elevate their plants onto benches and raised beds. If the greenhouse you buy has an interior curtain or peak height that is 9’-10’ft off the ground, you will not be able to use high strength grow lights during the winter or veg periods without burning your plants. Unfortunately many of the greenhouses on the market right now are designed for small fruiting plants and the sidewalls, curtain height, and engineering are not intended for Cannabis. At Fullbloom, we currently have the highest ground to curtain clearance and sidewall options available.

2. AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

Removing the risk of human error goes a long way towards having a successful cannabis harvest. There’s a lot of equipment that functions best when automated to work together, and there are some things that will still need the touch of a grower’s green thumb.

• Climate Control Systems:  Cannabis will produce a higher quality product if the plant doesn’t have to fight against big swings in temperature. An ideal growing environment maintains a temperature around low to mid 70℉ with a variance of no more than 20° in either direction. Additionally, too much humidity build up can cause powdery mildew to form and break out. Thus, every good cannabis greenhouse should have an automation control computer and components to help maintain a uniform and ideal environment. The right automation suite will communicate between all of the equipment in your greenhouse to make sure it’s all working together to keep your plants healthy, and alert you if something goes wrong.
• Proper Ventilation: Heat and humidity build up is going to happen in every greenhouse, no matter your climate. It’s important to properly size your ventilation equipment to ensure a full air exchange at least once a minute. By using an adequate active exhaust fan on one end of the greenhouse and motorized louvers for passive air intake on the other end, you will create an active air exchange by bringing fresh air in to replace the exhausted hot and humid air. This creates a nice breeze for the plants and will actively cool the inside of the structure provided the outside is agreeable. This equipment can be automated through both temperature and humidity control points.
• Passive Air Removal:  One of the best methods to remove hot air and humidity, without running up your energy bill, is via automated ridge vents. An automated ridge vent will open up a section of your roof that runs the length of your greenhouse and allow hot and humid air (that rises) to escape out of the roof. Used in conjunction with sidewall roll ups, you can bring fresh air into your structure while the hot air is released. If the heat and/or humidity set points still climb too high, your ridge vent will close and the ventilation and any other methods you have for cooling will kick on until the ideal environmental setpoints are reached. Most standard greenhouses don’t have the option for ridge vents, at Fullbloom we have ridge vents available in any of our engineered series.

Greenhouse Heating & Insulation:

Heating your Cannabis greenhouse is one of the easier things to do as greenhouses naturally retain heat during the day. However, at night time a standard greenhouse will not retain almost any heat as greenhouses typically do not come standard with insulation. At Fullbloom we like to insulate our Cannabis greenhouses by adding a second layer of poly and inflating the roof (and sometimes the sidewalls) to retain energy. Additionally, especially in severely  cold climates, we include a foam board barrier that is installed 6-12″ into the ground to break the frost line and create a thermal barrier and further raise the insulation value. Almost every cannabis grower in the mainland US will need dry burning propane or natural gas heaters to heat up the air zone, but there are additional options like hydronic and geothermal heating, which can increase the efficiency of where the heat goes.

Cooling Systems:

Actively cooling a cannabis greenhouse is essential in almost any climate, when outside temps push past 90 even a well ventilated greenhouse with ridge vents can get too hot. If you’re in a hot/arid climate evaporative cooling systems (wet walls) can be crucial to dropping temperatures. We’ve achieved temperature drops from 120 degrees to 70 at one of our Arizona facilities with the use of a proper sized wet wall and ventilation package. High pressure fogging, shade cloth, and geothermal options can make a large difference as well. Understanding your humidity and heat range is crucial to determining what cooling systems to use, as you want to avoid raising humidity if you already live in a hot and humid climate.

Light Deprivation: Commonly referred to as light dep or blackout

Controlling the photoperiod is something nearly every cannabis grower does. In a fast growing industry, it’s important to harvest multiple times a year to stay competitive.

• Roll-to-peak (external) light dep systems are a budget friendly way to control the photoperiod on small cannabis greenhouses that are in moderate climates with low wind exposure. At Fullbloom we have spent years of R&D developing a unique  roll-to-peak system customizable to almost any structure. Used in conjunction with our light diffusing poly, allows any grower to use an affordable system without sacrificing light exposure to their canopy.
• Internal Light Dep is intended for use on large scale, heavy duty  greenhouses . Using an internal light dep curtain system is essential in high wind and snow areas as the curtains are protected by the structure. The internal curtain can act as a thermal barrier when temperatures drop at night, maintaining that ideal climate.

Fertigation and watering:

Here is the only often debatable subject for automation controls. Many cannabis greenhouse growers prefer to hand water their plants so they can get hands on with each plant and check it for bugs or disease before those things have time to spread. With that in mind, you can still have automated irrigation systems in place or some growers choose to use full fertigation systems that literally mix and deliver the nutrients right to your plants based on your plants current needs.

3. PEST, POLLEN, & PESTICIDE MITIGATION

As both commercial and personal Cannabis and Hemp grows are spreading throughout the US, so comes the added risk of your plants receiving some of these undesirable problems. As they say, an ounce of prevention and prevent a pound of pain (or something like that).

Pollen:

Male hemp and cannabis pollen is NOT something you want ruining your hard earned work. Having a greenhouse in general gives you leaps and bounds more protection then outdoor growers. However, since pollen can travel for many many miles, extra precaution should be taken if you’re at all concerned about your neighbors.  During the risky times of year (when male pollen would normally spread) it is essential to run the cannabis greenhouse as a sealed environment (doing so while keeping temperature and humidity under control is the hard part). Using an evaporative cooling wall and/or fogging system will actually trap and make pollen inert before it has time to get to your plants and has thus far been the best method we’ve seen available for the industry. Specialized pollen intake filters can also help in areas that need extra protection. As long as your intake air comes in clean, and there is no other source of air coming into the greenhouse – you will be safe from pollen.

Pests:

Pests and insects will often come in through your intakes, fans, and open sidewalls. Unlike pollen, you will need to protect your plants from pests year round . Using an anti-insect netting on your intakes and sidewalls will give you a big boost in keeping your cannabis greenhouse bug free, especially from larger pests, but even leaf miners and aphids can be blocked with a tight mesh. However, spider mites and other bugs can still be tracked into your greenhouse, sot is essential to have regular preventative pest spraying routines in place. This can be done with OMRI/Organic options via an automated overhead fogging system.

Pesticides:

Any cannabis greenhouse gower that cares about their buyers (hopefully all of y’all), and/or wants to sell their product to a licensed dispensary,will need to protect their plants from pesticides.  Outdoor growers are in the worst position of any growing method as pesticides from neighboring farms can easily cross contaminate yours.  Ensure you get to know your neighbors and when they spray, and ensure your greenhouse is prepared to run as a sealed environment during those times.

We hope you found this blog helpful. Feel free to reach out to us for any questions on your Cannabis greenhouse needs. At Fullbloom, we pride ourselves in providing our customers the best opportunity for a healthy and profitable grow. Our goal is your success and to grow with you every year.

The post Greenhouses For Growing Cannabis: 3 Must Have Considerations appeared first on Full Bloom Light Deprivation.

Nearly every hemp farm will be using large amounts of acreage to mass produce and harvest their plants. One of the most expensive aspects of hemp cultivation is the initial and ongoing expenses for seed stock. With feminized seeds costing upwards of 1-3 dollars each, many farms spend hundreds of thousands (or millions) on seeds alone.  

Additionally, there is large demand for top quality CBD flower for direct consumption by the public. Outdoor cultivation provides a lower quality flower compared to the indoor quality that can be achieved inside a light deprivation greenhouse.

As such, many cultivators are using greenhouses with auto blackout systems to propagate, grow seed, and get starts planted before the outdoor season begins. An automated light deprivation greenhouse with full environmental controls provides an opportunity for farms to significantly reduce costs and produce a variety of additional income streams:

How a Light Deprivation Greenhouse Lends to Cultivating Hemp & CBD

1. Grow and test different phenotypes of your seed stock to find the best CBD ratio and to ensure THC is not above content limits.
2. Protect your crop from pollination from other farms by growing and flowering in a sealed greenhouse.
3. Harvest 3-5 times per year by using the light deprivation system to control photoperiods.
4. Grow your own seed stock in a sealed greenhouse without risking pollination of your own outdoor farm (or your neighbors farm).
5. Use the light deprivation greenhouse for flowering top quality strains for additional harvests and diversified income streams.
6. Create your starts early inside a light deprivation greenhouse and push out larger plants for a larger overall harvest.
7. Harvest early and sell your product before the market is glutted once every other farm has harvested.

Fullbloom provides greenhouses specifically tailored for all your hemp growing needs. Whether you’re planning on propagation, flowering, or growing seed stock, we have a greenhouse package that will suit your needs. Click the contact button above or call us M-F 9am-5pm PST at 888-725-4769.

The post 7 Benefits of Cultivating Hemp & CBD in an Automated Light Deprivation Greenhouse appeared first on Full Bloom Light Deprivation.

Both marijuana and hemp are cannabis plants, but over many years, they have been selectively bred for different characteristics.

Hemp is a cannabis plant that contains only trace amounts of THC – less than 0.3%. It won’t get you high. Hemp plants are bred to grow taller, and are typically used for food products, clothing fibers, and construction materials.

As the benefits of hemp are becoming more well known, demand for products is increasing. Light deprivation greenhouses are an ideal solution for farmers looking to grow hemp year-round or to mass propagate seedlings and then transplant outdoors.

Fullbloom’s light deprivation greenhouses allow you to harvest your hemp more often, get seedlings off to a strong start, and spend less overall on initial investments and customizations.

The simplest option for protecting your seedlings from frost and rain while still allowing natural ventilation and sunlight is a rain cover or “bikini top” greenhouse. Clear poly covers the top of the greenhouse, but the sides are left open. For more protection, choose from a 20′ wide quonset-style greenhouse or a 30′ wide semi-gable greenhouse. Lengths up to 95′ are available. Both the quonset-style and the semi-gable style greenhouses can accommodate Fullbloom’s blackout light deprivation systems.

Our automated blackout setups are incredibly intuitive and user-friendly. Control all of your greenhouse systems from one touchscreen control panel. Key metrics, including indoor and outdoor temperatures, humidity, and CO2 levels, are easy to monitor at a glance. See daily, weekly, or monthly reports and easily refine your growth results. If you’re interested in seeing how light deprivation greenhouses can improve your hemp farm, we welcome you to stop by our Southern Oregon facility for a tour. Our knowledgeable on-site sales representatives are available by phone at 888-725-4769. Call us to get a free, same-day quote on a hemp greenhouse or for more information.

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The post Advances in Light Deprivation Greenhouses for Healthy Hemp Crops appeared first on Full Bloom Light Deprivation.