Category: Growing

Top Tips For Setting Up A Commercial Grow Room For Cannabis

It’s no secret that the cannabis industry is thriving, with markets like Washington state seeing total sales of up to $2 billion since recreational cannabis was legalized in 2014.  At the backbone of this industry is cannabis cultivation, where you need to get your figures right when establishing your commercial grow setup. 

Indoor cannabis farming is a prominent part of the cultivation industry. This type of cultivation has major advantages as well as challenges in setting up and running. 

A key factor to ensuring the smooth running cannabis indoor grow op is having your commercial grow setup meticulously planned.

Lighting, HVAC, irrigation, and cultivation systems are part of your commercial grow setup. Also, consider your floor space and the plant varieties you want to grow. All these elements contribute to your indoor grow setup, and strategically implementing them puts you on the road to success.

So, how do you design a profitable cannabis commercial grow setup?

5 Expert Tips For Profitable Cannabis Grow Room Setup

What do you need for the perfect cannabis grow setup?

1. Purchase The Right Vertical Equipment For Your Cannabis Grow Setup

You can’t say you are starting a cannabis commercial indoor grow room without having uprights in your space. 

Uprights, also known as vertical growing systems, are vertically stacked layers where you can grow and manage your cannabis canopies. They are available in various forms, such as vertical grow racks and mobile carriages.

Vertical grow racks are important for your commercial grow setup as they allow you to utilize the overhead space, increasing your acreage over every square foot of your repurposed warehouse, skyscraper, or even a shipping container.

Vertical systems come in various materials such as wood and steel. They both serve the purpose, but steel structures are preferred due to their sturdiness, ability to withstand damage and lower likelihood of harboring diseases and pests.

Another key advantage of using vertical systems is that they help save on water, utilizing 95% less water than traditional cultivation systems. 

On the other hand, mobile carriages add versatility to your commercial grow setup because they not only hold more cannabis canopies but also help maximize your floor space. They aid in the elimination of static aisles. If you want to access a system, you only need to create an aisle and tend to the plants.  

2. Choose The Right Seeds/ Strain For Your Cannabis Grow Setup

Every commercial grow setup may demand a different type of strain. 

For example, suppose you are doing vertical farming. In that case, you may need a short cannabis strain to facilitate the multiple layers and allow spacing between the lighting and canopies for each tier. 

However, because there is plenty of headroom in horizontal farms, you have more freedom to grow tall varieties.

Furthermore, auto-flowering seed varieties are recommended when starting an indoor commercial grow operation. These seeds have a quick turnover, fewer complications with managing light cycles, can fit in small spaces while remaining robust and resilient, and are an excellent choice for easily developing high-quality weed.

However, for more experienced growers, photoperiod feminized seeds are a suitable choice. These seed types demand the farmer to have basic cultivation knowledge and specialized grow equipment. 

Regardless, they have various perks, including the ability to control the size and shape of the plants as well as their vegetative cycle. This means you can save on energy costs as they require less light than auto-flowering varieties during bloom.

It’s important to note that only female cannabis plants can produce potent bud-rich produce. Therefore it’s crucial to prevent pollen contamination and avoid having male seedlings in your grow space. Pollination compromises the bud quality of the female plants as they tend to form seeds affecting your yields. 

3. Choose Good Lighting For Your Cannabis Grow Setup

In a cannabis commercial grow room, there are three primary types of grow lights: LED, HID, and Fluorescent grow lights.

Each grow light has its advantages and disadvantages, as well as a distinct purpose based on your needs.

High-intensity discharge (HID) lights have long been used in indoor growing. However, their popularity waned over time due to their excessive energy consumption and proclivity for scorching plants. They’re best, though, if your grow-op specializes in auto-flowering seed varieties.

Autoflowering cannabis plants have a fast growth cycle. Because of their high light intensity/potency, HIDs can handle their quick cycle. As a result, the potency of this grow light provides the necessary parameters for these plants during their brief existence.

On the other hand, we have LEDs. The low-emmiting diode (LED) grow lights bring in the dynamic slow-growing feminized seeds need. LEDs have grown in popularity due to their low energy consumption despite a high price point.

Feminized seeds take a longer time to get to the flowering stage; hence a grow light that can remain sustainable in the long growth cycle is key to a good commercial grow room setup design. LEDs, in this case, have low energy waste and won’t scorch your plants. 

Fluorescent lights are not common in grow spaces. But they can be useful in supplementing other types of grow lights. Also, they can be used in small spaces like tabletop caster units, and due to their low heat, they can be positioned near the cannabis canopies.

4. Save On Your Cannabis Grow Setup Energy Costs

Energy bills are responsible for the high production cost associated with cannabis indoor cultivation. The first step toward lowering your energy bills is to conduct an energy audit. This audit will help you figure out where you’re bleeding and what you need to do about it.

Incorporating an integrated climate control system that manages your HVAC, lighting, CO2, and irrigation is key to lowering energy costs. 

Most growers have equipment run by separate controls; this introduces a great inefficiency as the different commercial indoor grow systems don’t communicate.

You can resolve these inefficiencies through automation. Automation helps stagger your equipment avoiding energy spikes. Equipment staggering means having your commercial grow systems like HVAC and humidifiers turn on at different times. 

For example, if you have five units, instead of having all of them on simultaneously (causing an energy spike that can peak your energy bill), turn them on one at a time to lower the grow room temperature gradually.

Insulating your grow room also allows you to keep the temperature stable for longer periods without having to use your air conditioning.

The foundation of good ventilation is making sure the commercial indoor grow systems are in optimal working condition. This is as ascertained by good maintenance of your commercial indoor growing systems.

5. Partner With A Good Commercial Indoor Grow Systems Installation Company

Experts are needed to construct the best commercial grow setup, whether it’s for your HVAC, lighting, vertical system, or irrigation system.

When it comes to vertical farming systems, MMI Agriculture has the experience and equipment to get you started or transition into vertical farming systems.

We get you started with a free floor plan/drawing that ensures you get the most of your grow room space. 

Furthermore, if you require a capacity assessment to provide a mental picture that streamlines your expectations for predicted yields with vertical systems, please contact us.

Finally, we provide and install our unique vertical systems, designed to be functional and long-lasting.

Get Started On Creating The Ideal Cannabis Grow Room Setup

When creating the ideal cannabis grow room setup, you need to know the right equipment to purchase and have a monitoring system that ensures you keep costs low and profits high.

At MMI Agriculture, we provide you with reliable and durable vertical farming equipment backed with a 10-year warranty on the systems and installation service.

Contact us today for a quote.

Don’t Just Start! 5 Must-Haves in Your Cannabis Commercial Grow Facility Design Checklist

An efficient commercial grow facility design is essential for a successful cannabis cultivation business. You may have the best cannabis seeds available, but if their environment is deplorable, it will lead to low yields, negatively impacting your bottom line.

Equipping your commercial grow facility with the right indoor gardening technologies could be the game-changer your operation needs to thrive.

For example, incorporating commercial vertical grow systems into your commercial facility helps you utilize otherwise wasted overhead space and increase acreage by over 200%. In other words, you can get 4-6 acres worth of produce from a single acre which translates to higher yields and returns.

You can do much more to ensure you get the best of your available grow space. Creating the ideal commercial grow facility design is a necessary step toward running a successful cannabis operation.

5 Tips for a Successful Commercial Facility Design

What do you need well-thought-out before launching your cannabis commercial grow facility?

1. Develop a Business Plan

A business plan is the foundation of a successful cannabis operation. It provides a road map for structuring, running, and growing your business.

Every business, including a cannabis grow facility, has both the administrative and operational sides which need to be bridged to ensure a smooth operation.

Having unrealistic production methods can create a disconnect between the above factors resulting in systematic failures or inefficiency that result in heavy losses. The failures and inefficiencies would demand costly redesigns during operation, upsetting the harmony of your cannabis operation.

At this stage, you can decide whether to opt for vertical grow racks or horizontal shelving, each of which has different complications and benefits depending on the available grow space.

For example, one may go for horizontal shelving to grow their cannabis canopies in a warehouse considering available capital. On the other hand, assuming similar financial muscle, another may choose to have their commercial grow facility designed for vertical grow systems and equip it gradually.

Upon reflection, the former may switch to vertical systems, which would be a costly endeavor. While the other will smoothly transition into industrial operation with a minimum redesign of production procedures and management of the facility.

A successful cannabis commercial facility design begins with defining clear business goals, laying down an actionable production process, and then harmonizing the two.

2. Architecture

Many architectural preliminary activities need to be done before getting your vertical systems and grow equipment installed.

A sound installation company should have these done to ensure your commercial grow facility design is optimized for maximum yields

• Site Survey

This is where the installation company visits the site to assess and measure the area. Then, the installation company should work collaboratively with your team to design a setup that optimizes your space vertically and horizontally for maximum canopy cover.

• Capacity Evaluation

Once the vertical farming solutions company gets the measurements, they can help you evaluate the capacity for your operation. This helps you align your business plan’s expectations with the projected canopy coverage, helping you make more refined/ realistic goals.

• Floor Plans and Drawings

An experienced vertical farming systems provider understands how to manage a given space. As a result, hiring an installation company to create floor plans and customized drawings for your commercial grow room is a sure way to maximize your available indoor grow space.

At MMI Agriculture, we offer the above services to ensure a sustainable transition or start with vertical grow systems.

The good architectural design of the space will ensure the essentials for the plants’ well-being, such as good airflow (managed by HVAC systems), grow lights, and irrigation systems, are intelligently installed. Such considerations ensure maximum output while lowering production costs in energy bills for a given space.

A successful commercial grow facility design relies on good architecture to make the most of available space and energy resources.

3. Vertical Farming Systems in Commercial Grow Facility Design

Vertical farming systems, such as vertical grow racks, and mobile carriages, are a great way to start a commercial cannabis indoor grow room.

Vertical grow racks are a commercial indoor growing system vital in helping utilize overhead space that would otherwise be wasted with horizontal shelving.

Vertical shelving allows you to increase output per acreage of your warehouse or skyscraper as you can have multiple tiers of shelving filled with cannabis canopies.

Moreover, unlike fixed systems where you have static aisles consuming valuable space, you can install mobile carriages that help save on space by only creating one aisle in your grow room. Hence, if you need to access the plants, you only create an aisle for that row. 

The design of the vertical systems needs to be handy and versatile. The vertical grow racks should be sturdy enough to carry the weight of crops, lighting, and irrigation systems.

They also need to be resistant to agricultural chemicals and humid conditions in the grow room.

A suitable vertical farming system complements your commercial grow facility design. They are an expensive investment; hence should be durable and reliable, ensuring a good return on your real estate.

4. Safety in Commercial Grow Facility Design

As with every industry scale operation, accidents can be quite common, leading to significant losses in lost skilled labor and even reduced productivity from injured workers.

Water spills, falling shelving and trip hazards from equipment are among the most common causes of accidents in grow room setups.

You can prevent water spills by having hydroponic grow trays with proper drainage features.

Purchasing vertical shelving with anti-tip features is crucial in preventing accidents in seismically active areas. Anti-tip features keep shelving from falling over, reducing losses from the damage to commercial indoor grow systems and preventing injuries.

Moreover, with key innovations like the retractable mezzanine walkway, workers can be secure when reaching crops in higher-up shelving. Consequently, there’s enhanced workflow and hence increased productivity.

Also, ramps installed on railings that carry mobile carriages can help eliminate trip hazards enhancing overall worker safety.

The safety of workers is vital when considering your commercial grow room facility design, as their productivity rate sustains the output of your cannabis indoor grow operation.

5. Temperature, Grow Light, and Ventilation Considerations in Commercial Grow Facility Design

Apart from equipment, one of the high costs incurred by a cannabis indoor cultivator is energy costs.

It would be best to consider the energy used by various equipment such as lighting systems, temperature controls, dehumidifiers, and exhaust fans. All these are crucial elements of a grow room. Hence you need to have a design that ensures they are used efficiently.

Vertical systems can help maximize the utilization of key resources like exhaust fans, ACs, and lighting. A single source can serve a broader range of canopies spread vertically and horizontally in vertical growing systems.

Moreover, your commercial grow facility design should ensure good airflow, which is essential for removing stale air hence keeping optimum humidity levels for healthy plant growth.

The type of grow lights you choose also affects your energy consumption and the health of your plants.

For example, if you consider using LED lights for your cannabis canopies, the lights are initially expensive. However, energy costs are reduced because they consume low wattage while being gentle on crops because they do not easily scorch them.

When planning your commercial grow room facility design, consider how the climatic conditioning equipment affects production costs. Avoid buying equipment that will need to be replaced because it does not produce the output required to ensure proper airflow in your space.

You Can Nail Your Commercial Grow Facility Design on the Get-Go

You can do your commercial grow facility design the right way by creating a good plan. First, have your business plan simple and realistic, then get a handle on the various types of commercial indoor growing systems.

Finally, partner with the right installer of vertical grow systems. At MMI Agriculture, we not only install vertical systems but walk with you in the design phase to ensure you have the maximum cannabis canopies for your grow space.

Moreover, we back our products and services with a 10-year warranty to give you the peace of mind you need when transitioning and starting with a vertical farming system.

Contact us today for a quote.

The Tested Way to Cultivate Cannabis Profits Using Indoor Vertical Farming

Here’s everything you need to know about how vertical farming can elevate your indoor cannabis commercial grow room.

As the world’s population grows, the supply of fruits and vegetables is falling 22% short of global nutritional needs. The expanding population outpaces the ability to feed itself, necessitating further innovation such as controlled environment agriculture (CEA) or vertical farming.

Modern cultivation problems include water shortage, land scarcity, and an ageing farming population. CEA is a solution working to address all of these issues and more.

Indoor commercial vertical growth has been found to boost crop yields by increasing arable space vertically per square foot and circumventing the land area limitation. 

Humans have improved agricultural practices over time, and vertical farming is redefining urban agriculture to secure adequate, high-quality food for everybody.

What Is Indoor Vertical Farming In A Commercial Grow Room?

Vertical farming is growing crops vertically in stacked layers in a closed and controlled environment. 

CEA controlled environment agriculture is a technology-based approach to food production that incorporates indoor agriculture and vertical farming. CEA protects crops from harsh external factors and ensures that they grow under ideal conditions throughout their life cycle.

Everything plants require at various phases of development is artificially provided in CEA or vertical farming. Your commercial grow room will need water, temperature, humidity levels, ventilation, lights, and CO2 available to your plants.

Indoor commercial cannabis cultivation necessitates purchasing LED grow lights, irrigation pumps and hydroponic systems to provide nutrients and water. Moreover, you’ll need fans, an exhaust system, dehumidifiers, and CO2 burners for your ventilation system and proper airflow.  

Using vertical farming in your professional grow room eliminates the heavy use of herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides which can be pricey and impair the quality of cannabis crops. Moreover, you can produce crops with 70 – 95 less water than in conventional cultivation, depending on the growing system. Vertical farming also proves superior to greenhouses in the yield produced per litre of water for a square metre of land.

Indoor vertical growing systems include;

• Hydroponics – Hydroponics is a vertical growing technology widely employed in vertical farms that involve growing plants in a nutrient solution.
• Aeroponics – Aeroponics is a vertical growing technique in which plants are grown in an air/ mist environment.
• Aquaponics – It’s a type of farming that involves a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants. Fish create nutrient-rich excrement for crops, and the crops purify the fish’s water.
• Soil – Even though vertical farming removes the need for soil, it remains a suitable medium for growing crops. Moreover, you can sterilize soil using hydrogen peroxide for indoor commercial cultivation, and there are natural alternatives to soil like coconut husks.

As cannabis legalization spreads, vertical farming proves as the preferable method for growing cannabis. CEA equips your commercial grow room with the technology it needs to achieve cannabis growing regulations such as seed-to-sale tracking. 

This means that vertical farming allows for greater control (by automation) over the practicality and profitability of cannabis production.

Pros and Cons of Vertical Farming for Your Commercial Grow Room

Vertical farming technology has much to offer for a cannabis commercial grow room operation. Then again, some setbacks come with the technology. Here are a few things to consider when deciding to grow up.

Advantages of Vertical Farming for Your Commercial Grow Room

1. Customization

Vertical farming helps create a professional grow room as the systems can be configured to fit the available grow space. A vertical system can be easily adapted for your commercial grow space, whether in a shipping container, warehouse or skyscraper. 

Most vertical systems providers bring in designers and advisors to assist in developing the ideal custom industrial size solution for your cannabis operation.

2. Automation

Vertical farming allows growers to automate cultivation equipment, resulting in higher-quality yields. Whether you need partial or complete automation, there are a variety of solutions to help control the irrigation, lighting, humidity, ventilation and fertigation for your crops. 

This helps save on labor costs and time by eliminating repetitive processes and allowing your employees to focus on the critical tasks.

3. Maximizing Energy Utilization

Where you’ve previously invested in quality growing equipment but employed horizontal racks,  switching to vertical grow racks will allow you to get more out of your equipment. 

Vertical growing systems allow for good airflow while increasing output per square foot, resulting in healthier, more nutritious plants with better yields.

4. Plant Year-Round

Since you are planting indoors and in a controlled environment, whether it’s summer or winter outside, the inside environment is ideal for plant growth. Severe weather conditions can’t affect your plants, allowing consistent harvests throughout the year, improving profitability.

5. High-Quality Crops and More Yields

With the elimination of soil as the only grow medium, the plants are cleaner and easier to process. Crops are also kept free from pesticides, herbicides and most other chemicals, helping meet cannabis cultivation standards. 

On the other hand, the stacked layers allow for space utilization both vertically and horizontally. This means you can have 4-6 acres in a single indoor acre and increase yield by over 200% for a particular space.

6. Sustainable and Environment-Friendly

Indoor vertical farming is primarily done in urban setups. The proximity to the consumer eliminates the cost of transportation of produce. Moreover, the products are within easy reach of consumers, increasing product freshness and allowing growers to make more money from their products.

Disadvantages of Vertical Farming for Your Commercial Grow Room

1. Not Sustainable for Small-Scale Farming

Vertical farming systems are great for all operation sizes; however commercial grow rooms benefit the most from this innovation. All the same, there is vertical growing equipment like tabletop caster units that can comfortably accommodate vertical growing for a household grow. 

A professional grow room entails massive spaces that can support multiple tiers resulting in increased yields associated with vertical grow systems.

2. High Initial Cost

The purchase of vertical growing and environment control equipment can prove expensive. However, vertical farming has a good return on investment, making it beneficial in the long run.

3. It’s an Emerging Technology

There’s a demand to improve various aspects of vertical farming. For example, the multiple tiers can make it cumbersome to reach the plants; therefore, solutions like the mezzanine walkway are needed. 

Notably, many other problems may arise, affecting the effective use of the cultivation method. Fortunately, companies like MMI Agriculture are investing in the field and developing solutions to streamline the industry.

What are the various solutions/ equipment available for commercial vertical farming?

Indoor Vertical Farming Equipment for Sale for Your Indoor Commercial Grow Room

Not all vertical farming equipment is the same. You need to source yours from the best providers. Some of the vertical equipment you can use to equip your room include;

1. Vertical Grow Racks For Your Indoor Commercial Grow Room

These are stacked shelving ideal for a commercial grow room. They are made of 16 gauge steel braced with steel cross and diagonal beams, making them among the strongest uprights in the market.

2. Mobile Carriages

These are vertical farming solutions that help maximize space by removing static aisles, and increasing productivity and available grow space.

3. Elevated Decking

This vertical farming solution specific to MMI Agriculture allows for easier access to plants located on higher elevations.

4. ABS Grow Trays

These are hydroponic trays made with strong and durable ABS plastic that allow you to plant crops on your vertical shelving with ease. These trays have a drainage grid that keeps water and nutrients flowing.

5. Tabletop Caster Units

These tables help take advantage of and utilize space that would be too small for a mobile system. They are customizable and mobile, making them perfect for a medium-sized operation.

Partner With the Right Installer for a Money-Saving Vertical System for Your Commercial Grow Room

Vertical farming systems are the best fit for a commercial grow room. It may be a developing technology, but it has proved effective in increasing yield for a particular grow space.

MMI Agriculture is a seasoned vertical system installer with a reputation for innovation and unmatched customer service. 

We have the industry’s most sought-after vertical equipment, which comes with a 10-year warranty. We take pleasure in providing excellent service and vertical system installation knowledge.

Request a quote and enjoy a smooth transition into vertical farming.

Scale Cannabis Cultivation Profits With Vertical Grow Racks

The use of vertical grow racks is a new cultivation trend that aims to increase production in indoor cultivation facilities. The system allows you to maximize unused vertical grow space by multiplying the yields per square foot. A successful indoor operation is not a guessing game; you must know what to buy, what it will solve, and how it will provide a return on investment.

Here are some of the essential vertical farming tools and services that the ideal cannabis grow room needs to get started.

1. High-Density Vertical Grow Racks

Vertical grow racks house your cannabis plants. They must be strong enough to support the weight of all the components of a cultivation system, which include, but are not limited to plants, lighting, drainage, and an air filtration system.

Vertical grow racks also help increase your grow space, allowing you to maximize your production. Notably, they help utilize overhead space that would otherwise go unused with horizontal farms.

MMI Agriculture manufactures multi-level vertical grow racks to help you maximize your horizontal and vertical space. We build them with cross and diagonal beams to provide the necessary strength to support your plants. Furthermore, they are made to last and are resistant to corrosion from the humid environment.

One important consideration in using uprights is the development of microclimates with the increased canopy cover, which will necessitate an automated and efficient ventilation system.

2. A Qualified Design Team

Because each grow space is unique, a layout designed to organize your grow space is required for maximum utilization of available resources.

When installing your grow racks, you’ll need a team to assess the space and create drawings that maximize the available capacity. Because no two grow space is the same, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to acquiring a vertical system for your operation.

We walk with you in the design phase, using the latest CAD and drafting technology to ensure that your grow operation is getting the most out of your available space.

A good design helps you create a reasonable budget for the vertical systems you’ll need to install. Our 3D models give clarity eliminating the possibility of costly rearrangements. 

3. Hydroponic Grow Trays

Grow trays serve as a home for your marijuana plants. It is the platform where your plants will receive nutrients and water as they grow. The proper trays ensure proper root growth and thus higher yields.

You can grow your plants in a variety of trays, including reservoir trays with holes, reservoir trays without holes, and mesh trays.  

Trays with holes and mesh trays are ideal for ‘automated’ water drainage for your plants. However, they can be risky when there’s lighting equipment attached to lower shelves in your grow racks. You need to monitor your drainage with these types.  

On the other hand, trays without holes help reduce the chances of water leaking the floor and affecting equipment attached to your racks. They have deep bottom channels to prevent overwatering your plants.

Please read our article on Everything You Need to Know About 1020 Trays to learn more about hydroponic trays.

4. Tabletop Units On Caster Wheels

For a midsized operation, our tabletop caster units are the ideal solution for your operation. These types of uprights allow you to move your crops in between rooms. 

They are designed for spaces where vertical rack systems aren’t feasible. Consider our tabletop caster units if you think of repurposing that guest room or extra apartment space to grow marijuana.

Thanks to their caster wheels, these units can be easily moved.. If you’ve decided on a location for your plants, you can lock the caster wheels to prevent them from moving.

Moreover, our units can house multiple tiers to accommodate as much canopy as possible. The caster units are easy to use when turning in tight spots or spaces, and they make your plants easily accessible.

Also, if you have a commercial operation, tabletop units are ideal for growing seedlings. The uprights’ mobility allows you to move the plants to a location where they can be transplanted to your shelving.

5. Mezzanine Walkway

Have trouble reaching for crops on the higher levels of your vertical systems? Our retractable mezzanine walkway is a piece of equipment built to solve this problem. 

The mezzanine walkway is a patent-pending solution developed so that employees can safely and efficiently tend to plants located on higher elevations. The mezzanine is a heavy-duty fiberglass grate that is permanently installed with the system. When an aisle is created, the mezzanine extends out and locks into place, creating a safe aisle for employees to use. The mezzanine then slides back under its adjacent grow tray and lays dormant until the aisle is opened up again.

The retractable walkway improves worker safety and efficiency by providing a stable and sturdy platform to work while tending to the plants. They are made of fiberglass grating that supports continuous traffic up and down levels of the vertical systems.

The convenience of our retractable elevated decking and the time it saves employees makes it a worthwhile investment.

6. Air Filtration System

Air quality is often overlooked in indoor cultivation. Ventilation systems are designed to remove stale air from the grow space and replace it with fresh air from outside.

Most mold and fungi that can lower your marijuana yields are transmitted through the air. Moreover, poor-quality air can harbor harmful bacteria and unwanted pollen, all of which can impact the quality of your canopies.

Then again, cannabis plants are known to emit a strong odor, which isn’t harmful but can be bothersome to neighbors. These odors released by the plants or fertilizer are known as VOCs (Volatile organic compounds).

Air purification is the most effective way to remove odors and harmful plant pathogens. Popular equipment used in the air purification of a grow room include:

• Intake filters– They clean the air taken into the grow room from outside.
• Stand-alone filters– They filter and recirculate air within the grow space.
• HEPA purifiers– They are small-scale air purifiers used on small grow room systems, for example, closets and cabinets.
• Photocatalytic purifiers- These use specialized catalysts that create powerful oxidizers which can destroy molds and bacteria, ensuring clean air in your grow room

We’ve delved more into ventilation systems here in Ventilation for Your Grow Room: The Beginners Guide

7. LED Lighting

When establishing a grow room, you must create the ideal artificial environment for your plants to thrive. Lighting in the grow space mimics the effect of sunlight on your plants.

There are various types of grow lights like HIDs, fluorescent, and LED lights. LED grow lights are preferred as they save on electricity. Also, they emit a lower temperature compared to HIDs and fluorescent grow lights. The low temperature prevents the scorching of your crops and reduces the workload on your ventilation system.

Moreover, LED grow lights have the ideal color spectrum and light intensity. These lights provide a broad light spectrum that can aid in the transition of your cannabis plants from growth to flowering. 

They are outfitted with diodes, allowing you to generate any light spectrum. As a result, LED lights provide a consistent environment for plants to grow naturally without the color of the light changing abruptly.

ION lighting is a leading LED grow light manufacturer specializing in designing the best LED lights for your canopies.

8. Mobile Components

Moving vertical racks loaded with canopies on wheels can be a difficult task. Unless you want to hire the Hulk, you’ll need solutions to lighten your employees’ workload. 

By integrating mobile capabilities with our bulk racking, our heavy-duty systems are easily moved back and forth, helping to create an aisle so you can access your plants. MMI Agriculture provides three types of equipment to assist you in moving your carriages:

• Tracks – We offer tracks with anti-tip capabilities with an optional ADA ramp to eliminate tripping hazards.
• Stainless steel wheels with precision bearings – Our carriages roll on stainless steel wheels fitted with precision bearings to keep them held on the tracks
• Drives and handles – The stainless steel drive shafts in our carriages are resistant to rust and corrosion. You have three handle options. Our standard option is a single-spoke mechanical assist handle.

You can move entire loads with MMI Agriculture mobile components smoothly and effortlessly. We make the mobile carriages even more user-friendly by including three gear ratios.

9. Vertical Grow Racks Installation Service

After you’ve purchased your equipment, it’s imperative that you get it installed correctly. What should you look for in a good installation service?

• Insurance and licensing – Is the company licensed to install uprights? Are they also insured to cover any damages that may occur?
• Experience– MMI Agriculture has a long history of installing vertical systems. An experienced installer can handle any problems that arise during installation.
• Knowledgeable – The company should be able to address your concerns and put you at ease.
• Reliable – A reliable company stands behind the products and services it provides. For example, MMI Agriculture provides a 10-year warranty on products and labor after installation.
• Trustworthy – You will most likely be allowing installers into your home or warehouse and even giving them your hard-earned money. You need to know they have a good reputation, so you don’t have to be looking over your shoulder

Partner With the Right Vertical Grow Racks Installation Company

MMI Agriculture is an experienced, dependable, trustworthy, and knowledgeable provider and installer of vertical farming systems and equipment. 

We collaborate with commercial cannabis farmers to design seamless indoor farms that make the most of every inch of available grow space. We have the best uprights on the market, whether you need a tabletop caster unit for your apartment grow space or vertical grow racks for your warehouse grow room.

Contact us if you need advice or assistance placing an order.

Vertical Farming Trends That Will Cultivate The Future Of Indoor Cannabis Farming

Are you aware of these four vertical farming trends that are revolutionizing the cannabis sector?

By 2050, the global human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion. Two-thirds of that population is expected to be in cities. This migration creates a need for innovation to improve sustainable food production to feed the world’s growing population. The problem, however, is a scarcity of arable land and natural resources in urban areas. 

Vertical farming is one emerging agricultural trend that is helping to bridge the food demand gap in urban areas. 

Cannabis indoor farmers are adopting vertical farming to help double or even triple their yields. 

Vertical farming increases crop yields using 99 percent less land and 98 percent less water than conventional farming. 

Vertical farming is managed by CEA (controlled environment agriculture) technology, which can be done almost everywhere, from skyscrapers to warehouses, or shipping containers. This progression is because indoor farms are stacked vertically rather than running horizontally on a plot of land. 

Furthermore, the market for vertical farming is expected to grow from $3.1 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion by 2026. 

Notably, four vertical farming trends are influencing this innovative farming method and the agricultural scene as a whole. 

1. Vertical Farming Operations Are Embracing Multi-Tier Grows Instead of the Standard Single Tier

Vertical farming equipment is essential for effective commercial indoor farming. These structures serve as farms, with plants stacked in trays on shelves. 

A multi-tier rack system makes better use of unused cubic feet in overhead space. Going up means you won’t need to buy more land to grow more. 

The racks are custom made and built with up to multiple tiers depending on state regulations, effectively doubling or tripling your available grow space. 

MMI Agriculture is a market leader in multi-tier grow rack systems that are long-lasting and dependable. The mobile systems are custom designed to meet the client’s needs, providing flexibility and cost savings based on available space and size of the operation. 

The vertical systems made with multiple tiers filled with plants to capacity can become cumbersome to move when installed on wheels. 

MMI Agriculture mitigates this problem with a rolling bar system that holds your shelving in place and allows you to single-handedly move the racks. The mobile carriage will enable you to create or close aisles as needed.

Furthermore, as hydroponics takes center stage in the cannabis vertical farming space, MMI Agriculture has built vertical systems that accommodate these resource-saving cultivation methods, ensuring an efficient indoor farm. 

Vertical farming, like any other solution, presents a challenge. Vertical farming must account for the emergence of microclimates. More tiers create various environments for each plant at various heights. 

This problem introduces us to our second trend in vertical farming, artificial intelligence, which allows for microclimate management. 

2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) For Vertical Farming

Other vertical farming trends to check out for in 2023 is the use of AI.

Incorporating artificial intelligence into vertical farming can increase productivity by 400%. Plenty, a San Francisco-based Ag-tech company, has used artificial intelligence to boost production and productivity. 

Although the farm is only 2 acres, it produces 720 acres worth of fruit and vegetables. Vertical farming and production management with robots and artificial intelligence have made this possible. 

The AI monitors light, temperature, and the environment of the plants. As a result, you can grow high-quality crops faster. 

Furthermore, AI in agriculture is designed to help address labor shortages by incorporating smart irrigation and farming systems and other AI-based robots and technology. It reduces the need for personnel in a grow room. AI tools are also more accurate and faster. 

The AI-powered robots are self-sufficient and can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This results in a better workforce to meet rising cannabis demand. 

AI is also being used in farming to assist with data analytics. The tool can provide insights in real-time. 

This action assists farmers in determining how to control pesticide application, indoor weather, irrigation, and fertilization. They can also accurately determine excess or missing nutrients in your growing medium. 

This analysis is due to the AI’s ability to receive data from IoT (Internet of things) sensors that monitor climatic, environmental, and visual information from crop grow medium. The data is then used to train deep learning models, which predict the likelihood of disease occurrence. 

The data also helps in predictive analytics. By analyzing market demand, farmers can forecast prices and determine the best time to plant and harvest their cannabis plants. This means that farmers can manage crop failure and business process risks. The data contributes to a new trend known as precision farming. 

3. Precision Farming

The average American farm increased from 140 acres in 1935 to 434 acres by 2012. And the acreage continues to increase with modern farms of today. 

Farmers use heavy machinery to cultivate large tracts of land. This situation presents a problem because they treat every acre of land the same. This type of farming is known as industrial agriculture. Although it boosts productivity, it comes at the expense of environmental devastation due to excessive tillage and input application. 

Precision farming helps solve this problem. At the heart of precision farming is digital technology like IoT, GPS, cloud computing, automation, robotics, and sensors. 

Precision agriculture uses digital technology to achieve optimal agricultural efficiency by measuring and adapting the variations in a crop’s environment. 

The agricultural method brings in an information-based decision-making approach to farm management. This allows you to accomplish more with less. 

The farming method has been critical to the expansion of vertical farming. The technology assists in analyzing the requirements of individual canopies, then it provides the best climatic conditions for their development. 

Blockchain technology is also coming into the picture; the technology helps increase transparency in the supply chain. Consumers can understand the quality and origins of the products they purchase. 

Blockchain tech complements precision agriculture as the consumers can appreciate the technology and build trust with the products. Knowledge of a commodity’s history also promotes best farming practices, which leads to environmental protection. 

The key advantages blockchain technology bring to vertical farming are:

•     Transparency– Products are tracked from the farm to the retail shelf.
•     Security– Food safety has improved, and counterfeit items have been eliminated.
•     Streamlined Operations– You can easily keep up with regulations present in the cannabis industry.
•     Analytics– Intelligent market data is available to help with decision-making.
•     Customer Engagement– Through feedback, the farmer can better understand what consumers want. 

4. Safety In Vertical Farming

The towering nature of vertical farming systems introduces the need for safety measures to be taken in their construction and use. There’s a push to enhance worker safety when tending to crops and remaining OSHA-compliant. The vertical equipment also needs to stay durable in a consistently damp and corrosive environment. 

For regions with seismic activity, vertical farms are fitted with anti-tip systems that keep the rolling vertical grow racks from falling over. 

MMI Agricultures takes the lead in worker safety by including the above features with more innovations like our patent-pending retractable mezzanine walkway. 

The walkway is a lightweight, portable deck that allows your staff to access upper levels of MMI Agriculture’s high-density vertical rack systems. It eliminates the risk of climbing ladders to reach shelving higher up. 

The retractable platform integrates seamlessly with the rack system for optimum productivity and safety. When done, it neatly tucks it into the racking system out of view and out of the way. 

In addition, whether you have any of our new or existing racks, the mezzanine walkway fits perfectly. 

Get Started On Vertical Farming

Vertical farming is the key to sustainable commercial cannabis farming, particularly in urban centers. Partnering with a reputable vertical systems provider will put you on the path to a profitable indoor operation. 

MMI Agriculture is a vertical systems provider that works with you throughout the design and installation process to ensure your satisfaction. 

We have cutting-edge vertical equipment and a nationwide installation team ready to build your dream cannabis vertical indoor grow room.

Contact us today for a quote.