Cannabis Flower Room Using Mobile Vertical Grow Racks

7 Myths About Vertical Farming: Uncovering the Facts

Vertical farming has changed how we think about indoor cannabis cultivation. A multi-tiered grow room has many advantages. However, this method draws skeptics who are wary of making the switch. 

Below we’ll separate vertical farming facts from misconceptions and explore ways to rectify common challenges in the field. 

Myth #1: Vertical Farming Is Too Complex

One of the biggest myths about vertical farming is that accessing second, third, or even fourth tiers of the canopy is quite difficult. The truth is that employees can easily reach plants with the right equipment. 

Operating a scissor lift or rolling ladder can be hazardous, tiring, and time-consuming. For multiple people to service higher levels at once, cultivators need a safe solution. Pipp Horticulture was driven to solve this concern and created our patented ELEVATE® Platform System.

ELEVATE®is a modular walking and working aisle platform that allows cultivators to effectively monitor and tend to upper-level plants. This system is lightweight, offers adjustable mourning options, and is easily managed by one person. So, while indoor vertical farming may appear cumbersome at first glance, it is actually more efficient than traditional cultivation methods in practice. 

Myth #2: Vertical Farming Is Too Expensive

Building a multi-tier facility will have a higher initial cost than a single-tier build. However, the cost per canopy square foot is lower than you may expect. While construction, electrical, plumbing, and HVACD expenses increase as you build upward, the sum of these projects is not twice that of a single-tier build—even though you gain twice the canopy. Thus the cost per canopy square foot to construct and facility is lowest in a multitier design.

Additionally, multi-tier facilities offer the lowest cost of production per pound and the most efficient use of space. This enables cultivation businesses to achieve a faster return on investment and increase their valuation per square foot.

Myth #3: Vertical Farming Doesn’t Allow for Proper Airflow

Another myth about vertical farming is that effectively controlling airflow is impossible. The additional canopy brings added HVACD needs—delivering CO2-rich and conditioned air is paramount. Choosing appropriate locations for supply and return air dampers, creating enough aisle and tier space, and providing supplemental fan placement/performance can be challenging to synchronize.

However, equipment like Vertical Air Solutions® patented In-Rack Airflow Systems combines EC fans, a proprietary transition, and purpose-built ducting. VAS 2.0 delivers the highest air velocity and the most control in the industry, empowering cultivators to use airflow to optimize their systems and plants.

Myth #4: Vertical Farming Means Poor Drainage

Whether growing in a single or multi-tier system, drainage is key for healthy root zone management, dryback control, and ensuring plant vitality. Multi-tier facilities require proper drainage to prevent overflow and allow for proper water throughput, just like a single tier. The main difference is that in multitier, the drain is usually above your head, so you need to know it works. 

Pipp racks and tables are designed to provide a simple, reliable, and scalable solution. Some of these elements include a 3/4-inch slope that leads to one large drain opening per table, providing consistent and controllable water flow. Drains can be connected to flexible or rigid piping, leading to a french drain, sump pump, or other water treatment room. These innovations simplify maintenance and offer an excellent opportunity to test runoff and make fertigation adjustments if necessary.

Myth #5: Vertical Racks Are Difficult to Maneuver

Growers can easily fall for the myth that vertical farming systems are hard to navigate, but it is true that without proper mechanical solutions, serious muscle is required to position and lock rows correctly.

Pipp Horticulture’s Mobile Carriages solve these problems and keep labor to a minimum. Our systems are equipped with a mechanical assist, making them incredibly easy to move with one person, even with three or four tiers! There is no need to worry about operating an indoor vertical farm; we can make the switch seamless and frustration-free.

Myth #6: Vertical Farming Isn’t Profitable

Upfront investments and higher perceived operational costs are quickly offset by effective multi-tier designs, like smaller footprints and better room utilization metrics. This increase in production per square foot impacts top-line revenue and margins.

For example, let’s assume you have 300 f2 of canopy on a single tier but want to add a second tier to optimize the space.

What is the value of this additional canopy space?

Let’s assume you yield 65 g/f2 , harvest 5.5 times per year, and sell flower for $1,200 per pound. Now, calculate 300 f2 x 65 g / 454 (convert to lbs) x 5.5 runs a year. That equals 236 lbs x $1,200 provides a gain of $283,480 per room! With that math, the value of every single square foot is around $1,000. That is why every square foot counts in a cultivation facility, they add up quickly.

Many cannabis cultivators learned to grow commercially in simple single-tier, HID environments. Based on this foundation, the pressures of increased demand and the need for efficiency, new technology, and purpose-built solutions are fueling the transition to modern commercial multitier. LED-lit multitier gardens are more efficient, consistent, and more profitable than ever before.

Myth #7: Vertical Farming Does Not Produce High-Quality Flower

Phenotypic expression is 50% genetics and 50% environment. Getting the most from each cultivar takes an investment in mechanical solutions, time to refine your cultivation process, and a deep understanding of the capabilities and tolerances of your plants. At Pipp, we have seen incredible results from multiple facilities, not just in person but also on paper.

Some of the highest testing COAs for THC and terpenes come from indoor multitier farms, as do some of the highest prices per pound. Objectively, multitier farms produce fantastic cannabis but airflow and PPFD management can be limiting factors. Making sure you are selecting the best tier spacing for your genetics, lights, and cultivation style will help you produce top-quality cannabis on every tier. 

Making The Switch to Vertical Farming

In conclusion, many myths plague the vertical farming industry. Some cannabis cultivators are misled by these misconceptions, creating a level of distrust between them and equipment providers. 

However, multi-level can significantly maximize production and revenue. Of course, you should evaluate your facility’s scalability to determine if vertical farming is the right approach for your current and future goals. 

Pipp Horticulture’s team of in-house professional engineers, CAD designers, and experienced cannabis operators provides unparalleled support before, during, and after equipment installation. Discover groundbreaking vertical farming technologies with Pipp Horticulture—contact us today! Contact us today!

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Drip-To-Dray Cannabis Grow Trays

How to Properly Cure and Dry Commercial Cannabis

Cannabis production strategies may differ from one facility to another, but most facilities share a common goal: to produce the highest quality product at the lowest cost. One area of the cultivation cycle that is often overlooked but has great potential for optimization is the cannabis drying and curing process.

Common Drying & Curing Processes

For many cultivators, a common drying and curing process looks like this:

  1. Harvest, weigh, and transfer cannabis to the drying room. This is usually done with the use of bins or totes.
  2. Then, one by one, manually hang the plants on wire, pipe, hangers, hooks and/or racking.
  3. Once the plants have been dried, manually remove each plant and place them back into the bins or totes.
  4. The plants are then transferred to trimmers to process the cannabis into the finished product.

Each transfer event has significant labor costs, but more importantly, they can reduce the quality of the cannabis by degrading trichomes, associated cannabinoids, and terpene content.

 

For many, LEAN farming and manufacturing is a goal and driver for the production process, but many can fall short due to the process above. Why?

It’s cost-intensive and it can reduce the quality and value of the product.

First Things First: Ditch The Bins

Many commercial growers use plastic bins or totes to help them harvest. A cheap and simple solution, binning plants have been a common method amongst growers. Unfortunately, it greatly increases labor requirements due to the many staff and non-value-adding touchpoints with the plants. These touchpoints also negatively impact the final quality of the product as the terpenes and trichomes are disturbed each time.

Bins or totes also present additional and unnecessary cross-contamination, workflow, and labor challenges. They need to be cleaned and sanitized after each batch or during daily use. Many facilities are not set up or staffed appropriately to properly clean and sanitize bins and totes regularly. In addition, bins and totes take up a tremendous amount of space, which is often not taken into consideration during the facility design process. Often stacked, if these bins are not cleaned or have been on the floor, operators risk contaminating their cannabis plants and dried flowers that come in contact with the inside of the bins.

Labor is the biggest cost for a cultivation operation. And as it so happens, the harvest and the post-harvest team is often the largest department by headcount.

By introducing equipment, such as drying carts or racks, operators can decrease their labor costs while increasing product quality, all without the use of bins or totes.

Optimize Your Drying Process

An easy way to tell them apart is to remember this: dying carts bring work to the workers while cannabis drying racks bring workers to the work.

DRYING CARTS ARE MOBILE BY DESIGN. Staff roll the drying carts without the need for hangers or hooks. The drying carts are then transferred to the drying room. Once the plants have dried, the carts are then rolled into the trimming room. The product moves efficiently around the facility with little to no touching of the actual plants.

DRYING RACKS differ in that staff must still bring plants to the racks where they manually hang from the rack. A mobile drying cart can still be used for the transfer to eliminate the use of bins or totes. However, what sets these drying racks apart from common drying setups is that the racks can span the full height of the room, taking advantage of not only total available square feet but cubic feet as well. There are pros and cons to both options. Ultimately, your operation’s capacity, efficiency, and labor demands will be the deciding factor.

Vertical Drying Racks
Cannabis drying and curing made simple with commercial drying equipment

Space Requirements

The carts must be stored when not in use, and you’ll also need adequate space in your flower room for the carts to roll through the aisles. We recommend a minimum of 28” width aisles. If you’re already tight on space in the drying rooms and are using a trellis or cable wire, installing mobile drying racks will greatly optimize your room’s plant-drying capacity. Drying racks can help transform a tight, restricted space into an efficient one that supports your scaling business. To get an idea of how much space is required for either racks or carts, we crunched some numbers for you.

Here, you can see how much square footage of drying space is required for each equipment option. For this example, let’s consider 1,000 harvested cannabis plants. The following space is required in your drying area for each solution (the range accounts for plant size and density):

• PIPP 2-tier drying carts: 300-600 sq. ft.
• PIPP 3-tier drying carts: 200-400 sq. ft.
• PIPP mobile drying racks (4-tiers): 200-400 sq. ft.

You can see that the available space in the facility is the main consideration here.

If space is not an issue, the ideal choice is drying carts for the points mentioned above: lower labor costs and higher quality product.

In Conclusion

Now that you’ve made it this far, you’re probably getting a good idea of which option (drying racks or carts) might work best for your grow space. For assistance in selecting the best drying solution for your operation, download our latest e-book or contact the team at PIPP Horticulture today!

 

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