3 Top Vertical Farming Equipment And How To Use Them
This is a comprehensive guide to help you purchase the best vertical farming equipment for your indoor cannabis farm.
The Farm Bill was passed in 2018, making it legal to grow, sell, and use cannabis and hemp in the United States. In just one year, hemp farming in the country quadrupled.
Cannabis is a resilient crop that can be planted both indoors and outdoors. Indoor production is preferred by many farmers, mainly because it allows you to provide the optimal conditions your plants need for healthy growth, thus maximizing yields.
If you’re an indoor cannabis or hemp farmer, you’ve probably heard about vertical farming equipment. These are systems that enable farmers to use the vertical space in their indoor grow rooms.
Before we look at some of the most efficient vertical farming cannabis equipment, let’s go through some of the basics of vertical farming.
Grow Your Cannabis In Multiple Tiers Using Vertical Farming Equipment
Vertical farming is a method of growing crops using vertically inclined platforms. The vertical farming equipment allows you to grow your cannabis in multiple tiers. This translates to more yields than you’d receive from planting a single level of cannabis.
Using vertical farming equipment for an indoor grow operation is an efficient and effective way of making the most of your grow space. If you’re using a garage, greenhouse, or repurposed warehouse to grow your cannabis, this equipment may help you maximize your yields by up to three times.
Three Advantages Of Vertical Farming Equipment Every Cannabis Farmer Should Know
Vertical farming has become the preferred method for many indoor cultivators looking to combat both the limited space they are faced with, as well as the seasonal changes that make growing outdoors year-round difficult, if not impossible. The American vertical farming market is expected to be worth around $3 B by 2024, with an annual growth rate of 24% between 2018 and 2024. This farming technology has many advantages.
1. It Allows You To Scale Up
Whether you have a CBD company or are growing cannabis to sell its flowers in retail, you will need to scale up at some point. As you keep growing your brand, demand for your products is bound to increase. For your business to continue expanding, you will need to match this demand.
Installing vertical farming equipment in your indoor grow room will allow you to maximize output without leasing more space.
2. Grow Cannabis All Year Round
Cannabis does well in warm, breezy regions with fertile, loamy soil. This explains why it does so well in California and other places with similar weather. If you live somewhere with extremely cold winters, the climate may affect the health of your crops. Remember, temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit have been found to decrease THC potency and stunt overall growth.
Vertical farming racks have space for lighting, fans, watering trays, and more. This makes it possible for you to provide your crops with all they need to thrive. Therefore, investing in indoor farming equipment enables you to produce cannabis all year long, despite the seasonal changes.
3. It Minimizes The Use Of Chemical Herbicides And Pesticides
Indoor farming makes it difficult for pests to get into the controlled environment you create for your plants. Mold and other fungal diseases also find it hard to survive in such conditions since the humidity levels are controlled. This eliminates the need for chemical pesticides and herbicides, ultimately yielding healthy, organic plants.
What Is Vertical Farming Cannabis Equipment?
Vertical farming equipment is special multi-tiered racks onto which plants can be stacked into multiple tiers. When cultivating cannabis, every square and cubic inch of canopy matters, and a vertical farming system allows you to maximize your grow space.
When setting up an indoor vertical farm, you will need necessities such as mobile carriages, vertical grow racks, mobile carriages, grow trays, lighting, airflow, and air conditioning. Let’s examine some of the products in our catalog.
1. Vertical Grow Racks
In order to go vertical, you will need vertical racks. These racks are manufactured using 14-gauge steel to ensure they are strong enough to support all your plants and equipment. They also have an 8-bend system, made using diagonal and horizontal beams, that helps provide extra strength and support.
MMI Agriculture is a vertical farming equipment supplier that offers customizable farm technology to ensure that each farmer gets the most out of their equipment. For example, although our vertical grow racks come with top bars to hang your lights from, you could choose to leave the tops empty if you plan to use ceiling lighting.
Depending on the size of your grow operation, we have the capacity to go as high as 21 feet.
2. Mobile Carriages
These are special vertical indoor farming equipment designed to eliminate wasted space in your grow room. These carriages will provide exceptional value for your money. They have a mechanical assist gearbox with a single-spoke handle which makes moving the racks smooth and effortless.
Our mobile carriages sit atop a bar track that allows for smooth movement, access, and mobility. If you’re looking to turn the aisles in your grow room into a working and productive space, the mobile carriages from MMI Agriculture will make that happen.
3. Retractable Elevated Decking
When running an indoor cannabis grow room, space is essential. It’s crucial that you and your staff have access to all your plants, as you might need to prune them or even reposition them to receive more lighting. That is why we designed our retractable mezzanine walkway.
This walkway makes it easier to access all the plants located on higher tiers. It’s made using fiberglass grating and is therefore strong enough to support up to 300 lbs. Our retractable elevated decking will save you and your staff from having to go up and down a ladder each time you need to access the higher tiers in your indoor grow room.
3 Tips That Will Help You Pick The Most Suitable Indoor Farming System
Indoor farming equipment is a huge investment; doing your due diligence before purchasing will ensure you get the products that will most suit your indoor grow space.
When buying vertical growing systems, there are several important factors that need to be considered.
1. Quality
Strong and durable grow racks will allow you to make the most out of your indoor space without worrying about constant repairs and upgrades.
At MMI Agriculture, we are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality products in the market. All our products are backed with a 10-year warranty on labor and parts- a guarantee that they will help extend your grow operation well into the future.
2. Additional Services
If you’ve never used vertical farming equipment before, it may be overwhelming to put it all together by yourself. Before buying such equipment, consider the after-sale services a company offers to help make the process easier for you.
We understand that the world of commercial vertical hydroponic systems is quite technical. This is why we offer a free consultation where we assess the utility of the customer’s grow space. We also offer free design and floor plan services with each purchase to ensure all clients are optimizing their grow rooms.
3. What’s Your Budget?
At MMI Agriculture, we take pride in providing the highest quality products at the most affordable price in the market. Our mission is to maximize farmers’ potential by connecting as many people as possible to vertical farming technology, and our competitive price points make that possible.
Grow More, Save More!
Setting up an indoor vertical system allows you to grow more plants and harvest more cannabis flower and hemp. Indoor grow rooms are costly to maintain- the lights, fans, and air ventilation systems run for 18 to 24 hours each day.
Using vertical farming equipment to increase your yields will make it easier to offset these costs and still make great profits.
Grow more, save more. Trust us with your grow operation.
