How many greenhouse operations are concerned with energy savings? I will bet almost every one of them at one time or another! Energy costs are at the top of the grower’s expenses and yet there are many operations that do not spend enough time investigating how to lower their energy use.
If you could go back and re-design your existing greenhouse, how many changes would you make? How many of those changes would be minor ones and how many would involve major structural, heating or other mechanical changes? Avoiding this in your future expansion is easy; have a checklist of things you should have in your greenhouse now and incorporate them into the next build.
Growing hydroponically in a greenhouse is not a recent innovation but for some growers it represents a change from the comfort of growing in soil. If one was to poll greenhouse vegetable and flower growers you would find that the majority in fact are growing hydroponically, and those who are growing in soil are hesitant to change from what they are confident in.
Structure maintenance and planning involves more than just new construction projects and a focus on expansion. Often the best dollar value for a grower is in retrofitting and modernizing existing greenhouse structures.
Many years ago I was in the retail business managing a staff of 30 plus people. The grocery chain that I worked for had just been bought by a larger company and things were drastically changing. I had been considering a career change anyway and since I was still fairly young, I decided that it was time. Not knowing what direction I wanted my career to go I answered a newspaper ad for “Greenhouse Labourers”. I thought it would be a nice change while I sorted out my next career move...
Marijuana Business Daily posted last week’s chart of the week, showing statistics from their Marijuana Business Factbook 2015. Cannabis cultivation in the US is still dominated by indoor marijuana growing facilities. Perhaps what is even more surprising than the domination of indoor grow ops over greenhouse marijuana growers, is that outdoor marijuana production is also six times greater than the marijuana production in greenhouses.
Before you start your next building project with a greenhouse manufacturer, make sure they are ETWW (Easy to Work With). They should be flexible enough to accommodate customizations, reduce the amount of work/hassle for the grower, and stand behind their work after the job is done.
There are many things to think about when managing a greenhouse construction project. Your business relies on factors such as crop deadlines and financing – make sure your project stays on course and you are making the proper considerations. You can always hire expert project managers like GGS if you don’t want to be involved in all the details, but if you decide to be your own General Contractor here are some tips to help you through the process.
In order to reduce the high temperatures in greenhouses, chalk and shading paints can be applied. But what many growers do not know is that it is also possible to reduce the temperature inside the greenhouse with advanced polyfilms that reduce the temperature inside without influencing the light levels. This can be of interest for growers in areas with too much light.
In the past we've talked about retrofitting your greenhouse. When retrofitting your greenhouse is not the answer a new construction expansion may be more what you need. Planning a construction project from the ground up involves a lot of details that you may not deal with on a regular basis. Don’t hesitate to use your greenhouse manufacturer and greenhouse construction company to help you with the planning process. GGS is here to help..