Month: November 2022

Indoor Cannabis Farming: Indica vs. Sativa vs. Hybrid

Indoor cannabis farming is booming as the preferable way of cannabis cultivation. A good grasp of what makes everything tick within an indoor grow system is key to profitable indoor cannabis farming. But is there any difference in growing sativa vs indica vs hybrid?

Then again, with good apprehension of the indoor system, you need to know the various cannabis strain as they will heavily influence your choice of indoor grow systems. The commonly compared cannabis strains include Indica vs. Sativa vs. Hybrid.

Each strain hails from a different region bringing with them different physical attributes, environmental requirements, and growing and flowering patterns, all of which influence the design of your indoor grow system.

Therefore, how unique are these cannabis strains, and how will each strain affect your indoor vertical grow systems? Here are a few things to consider.

Growing Indica Strain Indoors

Indica is a cannabis strain associated with full-body effects like alleviating insomnia and increasing deep relaxation. These attributes from this strain originating from the Hindu Kush Mountains have made it a hit with growers and users alike.

The strain, with respect to its place of origin, gives it its short structure and bushy appearance. The cold environment also has made the plant adapt to a short growing cycle.

Its short stature of about 3-4 feet makes it a good plant for indoor growing. Moreover, it has a compact canopy allowing you to incorporate multiple tiers when leveraging vertical systems, hence more gains for your indoor grow.

The leaves are dark green and broad, with their buds growing in clumps. Notably, the dense buds of the Indica plants can make them vulnerable to pests and diseases. Hence good ventilation will be necessary to ensure humidity levels are at a low, as high humidity can prove disastrous for your yields.

The Indica provides a fast turnover as they flower by about eight weeks, and by about the 12th week, they are ready for harvest.

These unique characteristics of the Indica plant make it a favorite for indoor vertical farming growers. This is because multiple-tier systems like vertical grow racks can be incorporated, and with the opportunity to grow all year, you can grow more hence an increased bottom line year over year.

In a nutshell, here’s what to note on Indica vs. Sativa vs. Hybrid cannabis 

• Short flowering time
• Short and bushy 
• Dense buds
• Vulnerable to pests and molds when exposed to excessive humidity

Growing Sativa Indoors

Sativa is a cannabis strain known for its “head high,” energizing effects and helps reduce stress or anxiety while enhancing creativity and focus. All thanks to its high THC-to-CBD ratio.

This unique strain traces its origin to the hot, dry climates of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. 

Compared to the Indica, Sativa is tall, reaching 12 – 20 feet hence a longer maturity cycle. The plants are also thin with finger-like leaves.

Due to the plant’s height, you may have to use fewer tiers when growing the strain indoors. This may lower your production rate, but that shouldn’t demoralize you from growing the plant, as there’s a significant demand for the plant’s buds and sativa-dominant products. 

To help you get the most out of your Indica indoor grow, have a business plan incorporating a market survey of the most in-demand products where your indoor system is set up.

Also, note that the Sativa strain requires more light to grow; hence incorporating LED grow lights can help manage production costs. LED lights give good light intensity at low energy costs.

One key advantage of Sativa plants is that they need less fertilizer.

Pure Sativa can take about six months to grow, with flowering taking up to 16 weeks before you can harvest.

Common characteristics of Sativa vs. Indica vs. Hybrid cannabis 

• Thin, light green leaves
• Lengthy flowering time
• Low yields
• Less vulnerable to mold

Growing Hybrid Strains Indoors

Hybrid cannabis strains are new and unique strains produced by combining different Indica or Sativa parent plants. The aim is to extract specific favorable characteristics from the parent plants.

Their texture, height, and appearance mainly depend on the parent plants.

These types provide indoor farmers with the best each strain has to offer—for example, the mold resistance of Sativa and the short growth cycle and dense buds of Indica.

All things considered, hybrids are indoor growers’ favorite as there’s more variety for the consumers, such as the Indica’s body relaxing effect and the enhanced cerebral effects of the Sativa.

Moreover, with their short flowering period of about 8-10 weeks, there are more yields for the grower over a year. Indoor cannabis growing on vertical systems protects your plants from pests and mold hence better quality yields. 

In addition, the reduced pollen contamination within indoor systems ensures the female buds aren’t fertilized; hence, potent yields that can fetch you grow-op higher gains.

The common characteristics of Hybrid vs. Indica vs. Sativa cannabis 

• Higher yields
• Improved resistance to mold
• Reduced flowering time 
• Indoor growing friendly 

How To Grow Indica vs. Sativa vs. Hybrid Cannabis Indoors

Whether growing the Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid cannabis strain, you need to have some well-thought-out basics in preparation to grow indoors.

Here are a few things you should consider for your indoor cannabis grow op

• Lighting System. Each strain will have its unique lighting requirements. Moreover, the longer the growth cycle, the bigger the budget to consider with the strain. 

For example, the Indica needs less lighting, while the Sativa needs more lighting. Either way incorporating LED lights can help lower utility costs. Other lighting systems include HPS lights and fluorescent lights.

• Vertical Farming Systems. With indoor growing, up is the way to go. Vertical systems are multitiered shelvings that help exploit often underused overhead space in warehouses and skyscraper indoor gardens. 

Using various systems, such as mobile carriages and vertical grow racks, you can comfortably grow any cannabis strain in your indoor space. The length of the strains may heavily determine the number of tiers you can put up. Tall varieties will lower the number of tiers and vice versa.

• Ventilation. Good airflow ensures stale air is expelled, maintaining favorable conditions for the healthy growth of your plants. Ventilation equipment such as CO2 burners, ACs, Fans, humidifiers, and dehumidifiers ensure ideal humidity levels preventing the build-up of molds and pest infestation. 

• Indoor Grow Trays. You’ll need to find the right growing pot for your cannabis plants. Our 1020 trays, also known as hydroponic trays, provide the ideal home for your plant’s root system. 

The trays, in combination with our vertical systems, provide adequate drainage channels for your crops while protecting equipment on lower tiers. Good drainage helps protect plants from root rot that may lower your bud quality.

Grow Your Cannabis Sativa vs. Hybrid vs. Indica with MMI Agriculture

Whether you are growing Hybrid vs. Indica vs. Sativa cannabis, you need to know their unique characteristics to help you get the ideal indoor growing system. Moreover, you can maximize your indoor growing profits by growing your cannabis vertically.

Partnering with the right vertical systems installer is key to having an indoor system that maximizes your indoor space. Be it vertical grow racks or mobile carriages for your commercial enterprise or tabletop caster units for your home grow, MMI Agriculture has the experience and equipment you need for a successful grow.

Moreover, if you need capacity evaluations and floor plans for your indoor grow space, we have an experienced team of experts to cater to your needs. What are you waiting for? Contact us today for a quote.

What Are the Megatrends Shaping Indoor Farming?

Is cannabis indoor farming the future?

Increased food demand with decreasing arable land and unpredictable weather patterns has elicited a demand for changes within the agricultural sector.

Consequently, various stakeholders have devised innovative strategies, such as indoor farming, to combat these challenges.

Indoor farming is a cultivation method being leveraged to combat issues such as global warming, which is characterized by rising temperatures and frequent droughts that disrupt healthy plant growth. 

Moreover, the practice has succeeded in mitigating upcoming disasters, such as the Covid-19 pandemic involving quarantine and border closures, affecting the food supply chain.

With this in mind, the agriculture sector needs to transform to use less water and chemicals while protecting crops from climate change to produce reliable yields sustainably.

Indoor farming plays into this solution as its an enclosed artificial controlled growing environment created to mimic outside conditions.

The practice utilizes Controlled environment agriculture to provide the right environment for plants to grow with less water and fertilizers and as an enclosed system protecting them from harsh weather conditions.

With the tall order on indoor farming as a modern agricultural solution, key innovations have emerged to establish it as a “future-proof” cultivation method.

Top 5 Emerging Trends Shaping Indoor Farming

1. Custom Plants

Indoor farming is at the epicenter of research on crops and their growth under optimized and simulated conditions. The approach of indoor farming has facilitated the growth of hybrid plants, hence even more refined cannabis plants.

The simulated conditions allow growers to try out new strains, providing consumers with even more variety and benefits.

Moreover, the controlled conditions of an indoor garden, such as lighting growers, can influence the potency and taste of crops to provide the desired results. 

Indoor farms help produce the quality needed; for example, a new Zealand startup has devised a way to leverage UV light to imbue flavor profiles in plants.

2. A Variety of Crops

Indoor growing has traditionally focused on growing leafy greens like kale, lettuce, and spinach, as they are considered easy to grow in indoor vertical systems.

However, as the growing technology has improved, farmers have sought to find more profitable niches like vertical cannabis growing. 

Indoor farming provides the opportunity to grow crops even during harsh weather, as the closed system helps protect delicate crops.

Moreover, various farms have sought to grow anything in vertical farms, from strawberries to barley. Notably, using vertical farming systems allows for a lucrative business as by “growing up,” you can have more yields for every square foot of space.

As cannabis has continued to be legalized, this has opened up a profitable channel in the indoor growing space.

Cannabis plants have a variety, such as Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid strains which all have different growing requirements bringing about various challenges and benefits.

For example, Indicas are short; hence you can incorporate multiple tiers of vertical systems; however, they are prone to molds. 

On the other hand, Sativas are tall plants hence reduced tiers but are mold resistant. Finally, we have the hybrid strains they are the best of both worlds (Sativa vs. Indica) and easy to get flavorful produce while tweaking the lighting systems, among other conditions.

3. Automation In IndoorFarming

Automation is a crucial factor in vertical farming. It is used in irrigation systems to control the amount of water plants receive. 

Its also used in nutrient delivery to quickly and sufficiently distribute nutrients to the plants as needed. 

Moreover, you can control the lighting and ventilation systems.

Automation is necessary for vertical farms due to the scale of work involved for every indoor farming system. You get to plant on a grand scale; hence automation reduces the labor needs, boosting productivity with lowered risks of human error.

Automation also allows for less use of pesticides and herbicides while increasing yields due to complete control over the growing process.

Some of the key ways automation is used in vertical farming include

• AI and digital monitoring to mimic nature indoors by manipulating factors like climate, temperature, and nutrients
• Using IoT sensors and AI cloud systems to optimize and manage crop growth 
• Automated arms and elevators for harvesting plants
• Seed-to-sale tracking of cannabis plants as required by various legislation 

4. Big Data

Access to credible information can tip the scales on any major decision, be it on the war front or, in our case, building the ideal indoor farm.

Installing sensors within an indoor farm is helpful as you can collect data from various touchpoints in your grow room. The data collected can then be loaded into an operating system that analyses it and creates actionable intel.

The data analyzed can give insights into handling various critical aspects of the grow room, such as ventilation, CO2 levels, light intensity, and humidity levels.

Big data helps create the specific conditions needed to grow your crops.  Hence you can grow a plant typically found in tropical regions indoors. As a result, saving time and preserving freshness hence better margins. 

Moreover, with data, you can leverage fewer resources while producing high-quality plants.

The data is stored in cloud-based storage solutions where rules engines (machine learning/artificial intelligence) learn, predict, and adapt.

5. Vertical Growing Systems

Indoor farming is also experiencing shifts in how growers are cultivating their crops. Growers are now using vertical growing systems to plant more crops, increasing their output per square foot.

Vertical growing systems are multiple shelvings or racks that help indoor farmers utilize their overhead space, whether in a skyscraper or warehouse. These systems include mobile carriages, vertical grow racks, and tabletop caster units.

These systems each bring a unique function within a grow space providing more variety for the grower:

• Mobile Carriages. These high-density steel shelvings sit on flange wheels, giving them mobility. Their mobility not only helps you utilize overhead space but also eliminates static aisles. By eliminating static aisles, you save 50% extra space as you create aisles.
• Vertical Grow Racks. This bulk racking made of 14 gauge steel allows farmers to extend their grow space horizontally and vertically. These sturdy grow racks are engineered to help you integrate your irrigation, lighting, and ventilation systems. 
• Tabletop Caster Units. These multiple-tier units incorporate caster wheels, making it easy for you to transition between rooms. They are a resourceful product for growing seedlings. Moreover, they are the perfect fit for a homegrow or small-scale indoor farms.

In addition, there has been a development in the vertical systems space with key innovations like the Mezzanine walkway.

The walkway is a retractable decking design that eliminates the challenge of accessing plants at higher elevations. The walkway simply integrates with your vertical systems, and when in use, it’s pulled out, and you can easily tend to the crops at higher elevations.

Shift Into Indoor Growing Vertical Systems With MMI Agriculture

The indoor growing space is an emerging agricultural tend with so much untapped potential. It is an industry that is leading various innovations and facilitating new perspectives on advanced technologies like AI and machine learning, which are already shaping the modern world.

MMI Agriculture is committed to being a part of the solutions that shape indoor farming. We are dedicated to providing advanced and dependable vertical farming systems for the average indoor farmer.

Our vertical farming solutions include mobile carriages, vertical grow racks, and tabletop caster units. In addition, we offer bespoke vertical systems installation services to transition you quickly into indoor vertical farming. Contact us today for a quote.