Commercial cannabis cultivation is on the rise due to the growing popularity and demand for cannabis products. In line with the increasing demand for cannabis, growers are looking for new technology and methods to keep up and stay consistent. There are numerous factors at play in commercial cultivation and many areas that influence the outcome of harvest making consistency a challenge. Here are ways to overcome this challenge:
1. Invest In Intelligent Automation
Automation is a great way of maintaining consistency in large-scale cannabis cultivation. Businesses who invest in automated systems for lighting, feeding and data collection attest to their efficiency and cost-effectiveness accompanied by the reduction in labor costs and human error. A fertigation system, for example, reduces labor costs and is generally more accurate, efficient and sustainable. In addition, automation will greatly influence lighting efficiency and energy costs, a key aspect of indoor farming.
2. Test And Get To Know Your Strain
An interesting recommendation is to find one strain that you like, learn everything about its growth, and stick with it. Growing and experimenting with a single strain helps you to learn the ins and outs of the plant. You’ll begin to understand on a deep level the unique growth recipe for the plant; it’s preferred temperature, humidity, nutrient mix, dry and cure time. This will certainly help you to produce consistent yields and also learn trust from buyers and consumers. Once you’re satisfied with the knowledge you’ve gained you can move on to R&D with another strain. Although it’s advisable to test on a small scale before moving to larger scale cultivation.
3. Monitor The Growth Cycles
Monitoring growth cycles are important in commercial cultivation, not just for compliance purposes, but to learn about your plants and growing processes and discover ways to either improve upon them or replicate them. It’s advisable to track and analyze plant data digitally, so you can gain insights and identify trends that influence quality and yield. Beyond data tracking and analysis, it’s essential to do regular visual inspections of plants to ensure they’re healthy and not stressed by extreme temperatures, water scarcity, nutrient deficiency, or a pest attack.
4. Use Environmental Controllers In Your Farming System
The environment is one of the key factors that influence the quality and volume of your cannabis yield. However, maintaining an ideal environment for your plants can be challenging with heat-emitting lights running 12 hours a day and doors opening and closing periodically. Most commercial growers have installed environmental controllers to overcome this challenge and there are many great options for controllers on the market. The beauty of environmental controllers is that you simply set the timer for the appropriate duration and range and let the controller do the rest. The device will consistently provide optimum conditions and often these systems are paired with a mobile app and alerts for convenience.
5. Use Of Software For Team Management and Growth Tracking
Large-scale cannabis cultivation requires a skilled team and as a result, labor makes up nearly half of cannabis production costs. It’s important to ensure that your team is well trained, organized, and efficient. A great way to do this is by upgrading your management tools. Ditch whiteboards and scattered text messages for a software platform that will help you to schedule tasks, track daily activities and employee productivity. This will help keep everyone aligned and productive and also provides a record of all activates that took place in the facility.
In order to effectively record and follow up the cultivation of cannabis, from planting to harvesting, farmers need to invest in cannabis farm management software. The software helps you to manage your batch by tracking all fieldwork from tilling to harvesting accompanied by a complete report of energy use, environmental conditions, costs, and tasks involved.
6. Hire Experienced Workers
In order to grow quality cannabis, you need to hire skilled people and train them well. Cannabis farming requires a strong team to support the growing, maintenance, harvesting and processing of the plant. At its core, farming is hard work. Take the time to make smart hiring decisions and train each new hire in every process relevant to their position. Hiring talented people and giving them the tools they need to be successful can take your business to the next level.
Over the past few years, the demand for cannabis products, both recreational and medical, has grown significantly. There is a great opportunity for businesses to rise up and meet the demand while also overcoming the challenges of widespread legalization and commercialization. Experimenting with your processes, striving for efficiency, using smart software, and keeping your environment consistent and optimal, will help you achieve success.
Featured image via CNN.
