Greenhouse Cannabis Cultivation
Where indoor meets outdoor: the perfect marriage of quality and sustainability, in greenhouses, growers can nearly replicate the level of environmental controls achieved during indoor growing, while allowing the plants all the benefits of natural sunlight.
In the current Cannabis Industry, the push for legalization has also pushed a premium level of bud quality that consumers have come to expect, that can no longer be found from hemp grown in a field. The dilemma is that typical indoor operations require a considerable amount of energy and materials that are not always sustainable or recycle friendly. Looking to the future, legalization will not be practical or sustainable if a significant portion of the nation's energy bill going to the production of indoor grow rooms to fuel the medical and recreational cannabis demand, it just won't be practical.
At its origin, the cannabis plant itself has unlimited possibilities such as; fuel, plastics, energy, textiles, reverse global warming, and soil remediation, including many natural healing benefits. With that said, cultivation in a highly controlled light greenhouse environment can produce near-indoor quality while honoring the sustainability that this plant represents.
The Question: "How do we merge the natural, sustainable processes of an outdoor farm with the potency and indoor quality?".
The Answer: Greenhouses!
Using the sun for the vast majority of our light needs means using less energy to grow the same plant. Thanks to a mix of living soils and house-blended organic nutrient system, cultivators create a near-perfect environment in greenhouses for cultivars to thrive and produce what's close to indoor-quality results. Implementing these methods means year-round consistency and quality with far fewer materials and energy than an indoor operation.
Greenhouses take full advantage of sunlight, but by employing highly efficient lighting and light deprivation technology, growers can keep plants in their growing cycle no matter the season. Plants are nourished by water, brewed with a unique 'Compost Tea' formula made in-house of exclusively OMRI certified inputs, focusing on locally and sustainably sourced. These house-blended nutrient programs help produce truly unique and full potential characteristics in the plant, and allow us to regenerate and re-use our living soil.
When it comes to pest and pathogen prevention, organic cultivation partners use bio-fungicide and bio-insecticide. 'Bio' means that instead of any chemical-based products, they inoculate all surfaces of the plant with an array of beneficial fungi that are harmless to humans, but ultimately prevent harmful insects.
Simultaneously, growers inoculate with multiple beneficial bacteria species that prevent the presence of harmful mold and fungi. Introducing select strains of beneficial nematodes from our good friends at Appalachian Scientific. These are microscopic critters that guard against soil-dwelling pests such as fungus gnats and root mites. By creating this network of bio-defenses, we let nature balance nature.
Ultimately, the goal is to continue improving extensive greenhouse cannabis growing methods and invest in on-site material production, eventually moving to "closed-loop farming." This means that we use sustainable and regenerative practices on-site to produce all of our inputs and recycle all of our outputs.
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