Vertical gardening can be implemented indoors as well as outdoors. Many a times, vertical spaces are left in the traditional method of gardening. Let’s take an example of a vegetable garden where wide spaces are left between the vegetable rows. These spaces can be used to plant crops or other vegetables by following vertical gardening.

Tips for Vertical Gardening

While opting for vertical gardening, the first and foremost step is to select a proper location. The location should be such, that it does not shade out other plants. There should be optimum sunlight for the plants in the vertical garden. Hence, considering these factors, you should orient the vertical support in a proper direction.

For long-term use, always opt for a metallic frame or support. Vertical gardening requires more water than the traditional way of gardening. In order to reduce moisture evaporation and retain water in the soil, it is always advisable to practice mulching. Mulching also helps in supplying additional plant nutrients.

Another basic tip for vertical gardening is to train the plants, otherwise there are chances of the plants spreading in an unmanageable manner. If necessary, you can trim the plants without disturbing the root system. While doing so, also make sure that the overall growth of the plants is not affected.

In order to have an easy access to all plants in the vertical garden, you can make use of a ladder. This will help you in maintaining the plants and pruning (if necessary). When the plants achieve full growth, you can fasten them to the support or structure to prevent falling. Twine is a good option for tying the plants in a vertical garden. Few vegetables that can be grown successfully via vertical gardening are tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers. For decoration purposes, you can consider planting ivy plants.

Advantages of Vertical Gardening

One of the major advantages of vertical gardening is harvesting maximum products in a minimum space. Following are some of the benefits of vertical gardening

• Some of the highly spreading plants (e.g. vining winter squash) can be grown effectively in a vertical garden.
• Vertical gardening is best suited for plants that require maximum sunlight.
• Plants grown in a vertical garden are less accessible to diseases and pests.
• Easy access to ripe fruits and vegetables; hence crop harvesting or cultivation is easier.
• Vertical gardening provides adequate aeration to the plants.
• Vertical gardening increases the beauty of the garden.

In addition, vertical gardening can be used to create privacy screen and to cover an unattractive structure. People who are disabled can opt for vertical gardening, as it requires minimum bending. Overall, the yield of vertical gardening is higher than traditional plantation methods.

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Information and tips about low maintenance gardens

Low Maintenance Garden
The best way to start off with low maintenance gardening is choosing right kind of plants. Native plants are the best choice for such gardens. There are many more things to consider and the low maintenance garden design ideas provided below would prove to be helpful.

Low Maintenance Garden Ideas
The following ideas would help in developing a beautiful yet low maintenance garden.

• Choosing meadow grasses which are native to your place should be the first choice. This is because, one need not mow these grasses frequently; the effort required in maintaining such lawns is reduced to a great extent.
• The herbs to be planted in gardens should be slow-growing in nature. These plants do not need much trimming. One can plant annual or biennials for the time being; it helps in keeping the garden green.
• Digging out perennial plants and weeds before planting anything is very important. Maintenance of gardens thus, becomes easy in the long run.
• Using organic manures is a practice followed in organic gardening and is a smart way to cut down on the expenses and frequency of applying fertilizers.
• Organic fertilizers are truly ‘organic’ in the way they nourish plants and fulfill most of their nutrient requirements.
• In the patches/places of gardens where sun light hardly reaches the surface, use of moss is highly recommended.
• One should think about using ground cover plants that the deers won’t eat. Some of the deer-resistant plants which can be used are Northern sea oats, Allegheny spurge, Bugleweed, Liriope, Blue oat grass, Deadnettle, Creeping myrtle, Sweet woodruff, etc.
• Mulching is one of the important features of low maintenance gardens. The problems associated with weeds and moisture conservation can be tackled with this practice. The portion of garden or area covered by mulches prevents weeds from flourishing. Moisture too is retained in the soil, if the surface is covered by mulches.
• If one doesn’t want to use mulches, non-invasive ground cover is an effective alternative to it. One can remove weeds quite easily with the help of low maintenance garden plants such as sweet woodruff, lamium, ajuga, thyme, pachysandra, etc.
• Xeriscaping plants have attained importance in gardening like never before. The practice of xeriscaping involves landscaping a ground by covering it with ‘xeric’ or drought-resistant plants. One can incorporate drought-resistant plants in low-maintenance gardens, due to the fact that they require less water.
• Automated irrigation systems can be used for lawns in order to reduce efforts in watering them.

Low Maintenance Garden Plans
The plans for low maintenance gardens can be devised by using the ideas mentioned above. One should always think of designs which would prove to be useful in long term. Open bedding areas of the garden should be reduced. One should use low maintenance plants and try to minimize the area of annuals and biennials which require maintenance on a regular basis. If you are starting from scratch, the garden area should be properly dug i.e. one should dig as deep as possible. It helps in removing weeds by their roots. The problem of weed infestation is thus, greatly reduced.

The different ideas and information about developing a low maintenance garden are presented in the article above. Those who don’t have much time to care for a garden should benefit from the advice given above.

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Conditions Approved for Use of Medical Marijuana in California

• AIDS
• Anorexia
• Arthritis
• Cachexia
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Glaucoma
• Migraine

Persistent muscle spasms, including spasms associated with multiple sclerosis

• Seizures, including seizures associated with epilepsy
• Severe nausea

· Other chronic or persistent medical symptoms

Cannabis Quantities Allowed

• Possession: patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana and/or six mature cannabis plants. Twelve immature cannabis plants are allowed in place of the six mature ones.
• Senate Bill 420 allows patients to possess larger amounts of marijuana when recommended by a physician.
• This legislation also allows councils and municipalities to approve and/or maintain local ordinances permitting patients to possess larger quantities of medicinal weed than allowed under the new state guidelines.

SB 420 also grants implied legal protection to the state’s medicinal marijuana dispensaries, stating, “Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients … who associate within the state of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions.”

In summary you need to consider the following when opening a dispensary:

Which medical marijuana dispensary software do I want to to purchase for my business? It is essential to invest in dispensary software which helps you to comply with state laws and manage stock.
Do I want to accept credit cards at my dispensary? While it is not necessary to have credit card facilities, it usually increase sales for most dispensaries. Not everyone has cash on them all the time.
If you are strongly considering setting up a dispensary it is worth whil speaking with a lawyer in your state and or purchasing this guide on how to open a medical marijuana dispensary. Not only does it tell you how to set up a new dispensary it also shows you practical ways to make your marijuana dispensary a huge success.
There is a specific guide for the following legal medical marijuana states:

Arizona – How to Start a marijuana dispensary in Arizona.

California – Even though there are many dispensaries already in California, there are still terrific opportunities to open new marijuana dispensaries in California.

Delaware – Open a dispensary in Delaware the 16 legalized medical marijuana state. June 2011 there are no dispensaries in Delaware.

Maine – Opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Maine.

Michigan – How to open a marijuana dispensary in Michigan.

Nevada – How to open a dispensary in Nevada.

New Jersey – Open a medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey. Do a community service by being one of the first to open a dispensary in New Jersey.

New Mexico – Running a marijuana dispensary in New Mexico.

Oregon – Opening a marijuana dispensary in Oregon.

Washington – Starting a marijuana dispensary in Washington.

You can even find out what you need to do to open a marijuana dispensary before the state has fully legalized medical marijuana.

The way things are going, cultivating and supplying legal marijuana has got to be a growth industry in more ways than one; in fact, it has been labelled the green rush. If you’re wondering how to get in on this burgeoning health care sector you are not alone.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is easy money, though. Opening a medical marijuana dispensary is by no means straight-forward; neither is running one because, as far as federal law is concerned, marijuana – medical or not – is illegal, period.

In this article we give you some points to steer you in the right direction.

1. Create A Business Plan

2. Get Funding

Be realistic, you will need at least $30,000 to set up; this figure includes the following essentials:

• Rent
• Security deposit
• Marijuana Dispensary Software
• Security guard
• Computer system
• Merchant Facilities for accepting credit cards
• Security system
• Display cases
• Legal Advice
• Guide to opening a medical marijuana dispensary
• Furnishings
• Phone line
• Office equipment

It does not include:

• medication,
• pipes,
• water-pipes,
• papers
• vaporizers
• clones
• related merchandise

3. Form a Corporation

Just as with any other start up business, you need to create a business plan. Most medical marijuana lawyers recommend that you form a corporation for maximum protection. The type of corporation will depend on the law in your particular state; one thing is certain, you cannot open a Federal 501(c) (3) corporation because as far as the Federal Law is concerned, marijuana is illegal, period. Instead you need to open a C-corporation:

1. Choose an available business name that complies with your state’s corporation rules
2. Appoint the initial directors of your corporation
3. File formal paperwork, usually called “articles of incorporation,” and pay a filing fee that ranges from $100 to $800, depending on the state where you are incorporating
4. Create corporate “bylaws,” which lay out the operating rules for your corporation
5. Hold the first meeting of your board of directors;
6. Issue stock certificates to the initial owners (shareholders) of the corporation
7. Obtain city and county business licenses, which will involve:

• Meetings with relevant city and county officials
• Meetings with relevant city and county government agencies

8. Find your premises, which will involve:

• Discussing the current laws and possible liabilities with the potential landlord

9. Design your dispensary floor plan and security procedures
10. Design your record keeping system – this is vital
11. Design your inventory control
12. Design your forms :

• Patient registration and record cards
• Staff timesheets
• Daily stationery

As already stated, much of what you do will be governed by medical marijuana state-laws and, before you go any further, we strongly suggest you make yourself familiar with the laws for the state where you propose to open your marijuana dispensary.

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Marijuana was introduced into India from China and from there it spread to North Africa and Europe as early as A.D. 500. The Spanish introduced it to the New World in 1545. The English settlers at Jamestown (1611) used hemp produced from the marijuana plant’s fibers to make clothes. The hemp industry started in Kentucky in 1775 (in 1860, 40,000 tons were produced). The Harrison Narcotics Act became law in 1914 and aimed at controlling the sale of narcotics. Utah became the first state to pass an anti-marijuana law in 1915, and by 1931 twenty-nine states had criminalized the non-medical use of marijuana. Congress then passed the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act which prohibited its non-medical use while requiring the people producing, distributing, and using it for medical reasons to register and to pay a tax. In 1942, marijuana was removed from the American Pharmacopoeia because of its addictive qualities, and side effects such as anxiety, sleeplessness, paranoia, and altered time perception.

Evaluations of marijuana and its effects vary radically. In the 1950s the beatniks praised it (as would the hippies of the 1960s) as a gesture of protest against materialistic society and as a possible means of attaining enlightenment, though this assumption was later declared mistaken by such a counter-cultural figure as Allen Ginsberg. The 1970 Controlled Substances Act classified it as extremely dangerous and harmful. Until the 1970s marijuana came mostly from Mexico. By 1975 Colombian marijuana had inundated the American market. Because of drastic measures adopted under the Reagan and Bush administrations, such as the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, marijuana consumption and imports dropped sharply. Some Americans, young and old, however, continued to cultivate it at home, mainly in California and Hawaii. In 1992, the National Institute of Drug Abuse estimated that 67 million Americans—about one out of three—had smoked marijuana at least once in their lives. In 1996 California adopted Proposition 215, which allowed seriously ill people to obtain and consume marijuana for medical purposes. Connecticut, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin adopted such laws in 1998. Hawaii became the first state to decriminalize marijuana in June 2000. On 14 May 2001 the Supreme Court ruled eight to zero against authorizing the medicinal use marijuana under federal law.

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First off, no, it’s not a tomato…Very simply, if a plant (or crop) is grown without using soil and fed with a complete nutrient fertilizer, that’s hydroponics! It can be as basic as growing a plant in a pot of sand or cube of rockwool, or as complex as re-circulating deep water culture and aeroponic systems.

“Don’t plants NEED soil to grow?”

No, soil is NOT essential to plant growth. In fact, plants need 17 elements to sustain life and growth, and soil is not one of them; here’s why… Researchers in the 18th century found that plants absorb minerals from nutrients as inorganic ions in water. Soil contains composting materials that are constantly being consumed by worms, bacteria and other micro-organisms. This process creates ions (inorganic elements) that are dissolved in water. In hydroponics, nutrient minerals are applied directly to the water supply, completely eliminating the need for soil and soil organisms.

LED grow light are ideals for hydro, it’s time to have a try.

“Doesn’t organic soil-grown produce smell and taste better?”

The short answer to that is no, not necessarily. The general question of ‘organic vs. hydro’ is a Pandora’s box in the gardening world, with many gardeners firmly (and sometimes angrily) choosing sides. I can make valid points for both, but that argument is best saved for a different day, different article…

“Why should I go hydro? Mother Nature seems to be doing very well with soil…”

There are many good reasons to grow in a hydroponic system. One of the main reasons to go hydro is simply not having to deal with soil. That stuff is heavy, and not to mention dirty. Because it comes from the outdoors, soil can also introduce unwanted pests, like thrips and spider mites, to your grow room. Aside from that, the benefits of hydroponics are numerous. Nutrients are given to plants directly and at very precise levels. When done right, this results in growth rates and yields that are much higher than what soil/organic methods can achieve. Because of this, hydroponics have become a staple in the horticulture and agronomy industries.

“Sounds easy. I think I’ll go with hydro for sure!”

Not so fast my friend. Plants grown in a hydroponic system can have definite advantages over their soil grown counter-parts, but I never said it was easy. Hydro systems require that the PH and TDS of the nutrient solution be checked frequently, if not daily. Doing this ensures your plants are receiving the proper amount of minerals in the correct PH range. Also, because hydroponic nutrient solutions are made so readily available to plants, over-feeding is common. It can take multiple grows with the same variety of plant to successfully “dial-in” your feeding levels and schedule for maximum results.

This isn’t to say that growing in soil is easy either. Truly mastering either method requires knowledge and experience, and sometimes a lot of patience.

“OK, I think I’ll still give hydro a shot. So how much $ am I looking at spending?”

That depends. As I mentioned above, hydroponic gardening can be as simple as growing a plant in a pot full of sand. Add a crude siphon fed drip line to that, and you have a hydro system for under $5. If you decide on a more advanced system, your costs will range from around $50 for a top feed bucket to over $1000 for large multi-site systems. Other items to consider when purchasing a hydro system include water testing meters and kits, water chillers/heaters, and even water purifiers.

“What are the different ‘systems’ you keep referring to? And which one should I use?”

The question of which system to use really comes down to a matter of personal preference and which one best fits your needs. Each system has its advantages, and each has its limitations. When trying to choose one, the first thing you should consider is the size of your grow space. A 60 site Aeroflo won’t do you much good in a 2′x4′ space, while something like a Microgarden or Turbogarden would fit that space nicely. There are other things to consider besides size; so let’s take a closer look at some hydroponic systems and methods, and examine what makes them unique.

Static Culture

In a static culture system, plants are grown in containers of nutrient solution. The container can be anything from tubs, jars, or plastic buckets. The solution is usually aerated but does not have to be. If left with no aeration, the solution level is kept low enough that the roots are above the solution so they get plenty of dissolved oxygen. A hole is cut out of the lid of the container to accommodate one or more plants. An increase in container size may be necessary as the plants grow. If a high solution level is maintained, aeration must be used to provide oxygen to the plants roots. This is typically done with an aquarium or commercial air pump attached to air hoses and an air stone/diffuser. Clear containers must be completely blacked out as so no light gets to the solution. Light leaks to the water solution will cause algae to grow. The nutrient solution is changed on a controlled schedule. A float valve can be added to maintain water level with adding premixed nutrient solution. This way the solution will never drop below the required level.

Continuous Flow Culture, or NFT (Nutrient Film Technique)

In this technique the flow of nutrient solution is always (or “continuously”) being passing through the roots. This system is a little easier to automate than the static solution culture because taking readings and adjusting your nutrient concentrates happens in a larger storage tank (reservoir). The most widely used variation to this method is the NFT(nutrient film technique), whereby a very shallow stream of water containing all the dissolved nutrients is re-circulated past the bare roots of plants in a watertight thick root mat, which develops in the bottom of the channel. an abundant supply of oxygen is provided to the roots of the plants as well. NFT’s are designed to have the correct slope and channel length.

Gravity Fed Systems

This system brings nutrient solutions to the plants without the use of electricity, and instead using gravity. The solution is placed over a series of hydroponic pots. Each pot has a check valve to ensure an adequate amount of nutrients to the pot. Capillary action draws it up into the roots of the plant. This system is like a large constant feeding dog dish.

Aeroponics

Aeroponics is a design that continuously keeps a very saturated environment by spraying or misting the root systems. These systems are set on timers to periodically spray the roots with the mineral nutrient solution. This also allows for excellent aeration of the nutrients. The advantage of aeroponics is that suspended plants receive 100% of the available oxygen and carbon dioxide to the roots zone, stems, and leaves,[11] thus accelerating biomass growth and reducing rooting times.

Passive Sub-Irrigation, or Wick System

This is also known as passive hydroponics or semi hydroponics, Where in this method plants are grown is a porous medium that transports the nutrients to the roots using capillary action. The pots sit in a shallow pool of solution and the plants draw the nutes up. There are alot of different mediums used in this technique. An advantage of passive hydroponics is the reduction of root rot due to less humidity.

Ebb and Flow or Flood and Drain Sub-Irrigaton.

In its most standard form, this method consists of a tray above a reservoir of nutrient solution. Either the tray is itself, or individual containers are filled with a medium. At regular intervals, a timer causes a submerged pump to fill the upper tray with nutrient solution. Once the upper tray fills past the high water drain, the solution begins re-circulating until the pump is turned off. When the pump no longer on, the water in the upper tray drains back into the reservoir. This flood and drain action keeps the medium regularly flushed with nutrients and air.

Deep Water Culture (DWC) and Re-circulating (RDWC)

In this method a plant is suspended above an aerated and oxygenated nutrient solution. This traditionally favors the use of 5 gal buckets or large containers. Plumbing these buckets together and connection them to a reservoir and pump will create a re-circulating deep water culture or RDWC. The keys to these systems is good solution movement and lots of aeration. The bigger the air pumps you supply, the better as you can never have enough good dissolved oxygen. An additional way to run this system is called bubbleponics. This method adds a top feed system to the deep water culture bucket.

That my friends is hydroponics, the basics. We’ll be covering some of the systems above in more detail, and also debate the ‘organic vs. hydro’ issue in future articles. But, that’s it for now. Remember to have fun, love your garden, and grow BIG flowers!

The word Hydroponics is big, and reeks of fancy, expensive tech — but this isn’t usually case: as such, the hydroponics supply needed for maintaining a small hydroponics garden can be gotten for around a hundred dollars, initially, with the price scaling at pace with the complexity.

Whatever style of hydroponics garden you rear, you must take the care intensiveness of your project to heart. While an obvious benefit of a personal hydroponics garden versus the traditional soil garden is the less labor intensive aspect, it doesn’t mean that the plants won’t require considerable care and a watchful eye. You must keep your hydroponics supply in stock! Stay consistent with whichever brand of nutrient supplement you’re purchasing, and keep enough of it around to last the season. If you’re using artificial lighting, keep enough light bulbs around so that you’re plants won’t starve for light it one of them pops or dims out.

If you can, find a local hydroponics supply store–that way if you find that you need something, or have run out, you won’t have to pay for a rush delivery from an online store. An interruption in the flow of your nutrient water could easily affect the quality of your plants, and a failed could kill them altogether.

Hydroponics gardening is not for the lazy; keep up with your hydroponics supply, or keep away. Plant fatalities aren’t pleasant.

Hydroponics is usually regarded as either a product of the 20th century or a product of ancient civilizations. So which is true? Neither, actually. There is evidence that both the Aztecs and the Babylonians may have used hydroponic growing systems, but there is no evidence that either of these systems was culturally-borrowed or passed on to successive generations. Rather, it appears that knowledge of the hydroponics system faded away until it was rediscovered in the early 1900s by scientists looking to make farming more efficient.

Today, creating a hydroponics growing system entails implementing a high degree of controllability – using hydroponics gardening, hydroponics light, and hydroponics equipment, rather than natural systems, which are eminently harder to control.

Hydroponic gardening today usually requires that a farmer purchase wholesale hydroponics nutrients and hydroponics equipment – and then assemble them in a system with a considerable amount of moving parts in a “hydroponics green house.” Some systems will include large trays with spongy material to soak up water. Seeds will then be placed on the sponge, prompting the roots to move through a hole in the sponge to soak up the water.

While hydroponics cannot gain as high returns to scale as traditional tractor farming, since harvesting can’t feasibly be done mechanically – and since growing requires massive structures and electrical inputs – hydroponics farmers can still reduce costs by purchasing discount hydroponics products in bulk. They can get at least some increased returns to scale, as the price of all building materials (as well as electricity use) is generally decreased for larger purchases.

Although hydroponic growing was created by the ancients, the science driving better techniques is still in its infancy when compared to large-scale outdoor farming techniques. Perhaps better technology and cheaper inputs will further reduce hydroponic growing in the future.

Figure 2 depicts annual average temperatures for the globe. If a location’s annual average temperature is lower than the ideal temperature band for a specific plant, the primary focus of the greenhouse operation at that location will be to heat up the inside of the house. If the annual average temperature for a location is the same or higher than the ideal band, the primary focus will shift towards ventilation and cooling to remove heat and cool the inside down.

Figure 2: Average annual temperatures.

Figure 3 depicts the total annual solar radiation energy received for the globe. Solar radiation received at the surface of the air is a function of latitude and the composition of the earth’s atmosphere above the surface. The further away (North or South) a location is from the equator, the less radiation it will receive. The higher the moisture content and cloud cover, the less radiation a location will receive. Looking only at latitude, one would expect the tropical regions to receive the most radiation. But because of the high moisture content and cloud cover in the tropics, the dry regions just North and South of the tropics receive the most solar radiation. Greenhouses situated at locations, which receive a high amount of solar radiation, would require a lot of ventilation during summer to remove all the excess heat that is streaming into the house. Greenhouses situated at locations that do not receive such high amounts of solar radiation would require much lower ventilation rates during the summer, because the heat build up in the house is not so much.

Figure 3: Total solar radiation received.

An ideal climate is required inside the greenhouse throughout the year. Therefore, one shouldn’t only look at average values, but also at seasonal variations and extremes. When all the variables are considered, four climatic regions can be identified as far as greenhouse production is concerned. They are cold, temperate, dry and tropical regions. A description of the typical climatic conditions for each of the regions is given in Table 3. The latitudes where each of the regions can typically be found is also included in the table. It is however possible to get locations outside the specified latitudes that will fit the description.

Table 3: Description of the typical climatic conditions by region.

When the information from Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3 is combined it can be seen that distinct climate control systems are required to obtain effective and economical climate control in greenhouses exposed to different outside climatic conditions.

Cold region greenhouses

During the long winters, temperatures are too low while the RH is just about right. During the short summers, temperatures and RH are both just about right. This means for the bigger part of the year climate control will be done according to the cold scenario, and for the remainder of the year climate control will be done according to the moderate scenario. The climate control system would need to provide lots of heat and low to moderate ventilation rates, to extract the excess moisture from the house.

Moderate region greenhouse

Winter temperatures are too low and humidity is just about right. Summer temperatures are slightly on the high side while RH is still right. Climate control for more than half the year will be done according to the cold scenario, for a small part of the year according to the hot scenario, and the remainder of the year according to the moderate scenario. The climate control system would need to provide heat and moderate ventilation to high ventilation rates to cope with excess heat and humidity.

Hot region greenhouse

During the short winter, temperatures and RH are too low. Summer temperatures are way too high and RH way too low. Climate control for a short part of the year will be done according to the cold scenario and another short part according to the moderate scenario. For the predominant part of the year it will be done according to the hot scenario. The climate control system would need to provide heat, lots of ventilation and humidity.

Tropical region greenhouse

Year-round conditions are more or less ideal for plants. The only requirement would be some sort of shielding from pests, solar radiation and rain. There will be a heat and moisture build-up in such a house, which would require a moderate to high ventilation rate.

The equipment required for heating a greenhouse does not influence the structural design of the greenhouse. The equipment required for ventilation does influence the structural design of the greenhouse.

The first method of ventilation is natural ventilation where there is some sort of opening in the house, which can be opened and closed to allow air exchange between inside and outside. The second method is forced ventilation where extraction fans are used to force air exchange between the inside and outside. The method of ventilation influences the type of evaporative cooling to be used.

Evaporative cooling is used to humidify and cool air. The first type of evaporative cooling is fogging systems, which are ideal for naturally ventilated systems. The second type is cooling pads, which can only function with forced ventilation systems. The effectiveness of evaporative cooling is determined by the RH of the outside air and the ventilation rate of the greenhouse. As outside RH levels become higher the cooling and humidification effect will become smaller. Evaporative cooling is only effective if a constant supply of fresh air is available. If air is re-circulated the RH will increase and the cooling effect will decrease. Figure 4 displays the importance of the various actions in the various regions along with the most suitable structure for each combination.

Figure 4: The importance of heating, ventilation and evaporative cooling for greenhouses in the four climate regions. Also shown is the type of house design that will serve the purpose best.

Pad and fan

The reason why a pad and fan greenhouse is so effective in hot and dry regions is as follow. When it is hot, a lot of heat accumulates in the greenhouse, therefore a large ventilation rate is required. A small to medium ventilation rate in a greenhouse will take away the excess moisture from transpiration, keep RH levels within their ideal. However, a large ventilation rate will take away all moisture produced by the plant and the RH around the plant will become the same as the RH outside the house. If the RH outside the house is lower than the ideal for the plant, the RH inside the house will become too low and put the plant under stress. In such a situation, all air coming into the house needs to be humidified by evaporative cooling. This also cools the air, which helps to drive the temperature down. It has been proved numerous times in practice that with outside air conditions of 40°C and 20% RH, the inside of a pad and fan greenhouse can be kept at below 27°C and the RH at about 55% to 60%. This simply isn’t possible in a naturally ventilated house with a fogging system.

Another aspect to consider is carbon dioxide concentration in the house. Plants start photosynthesising when it is exposed to sunlight, which is at dawn. As mentioned earlier, carbon dioxide is a scarce resource and can easily be depleted by plants if there is not a constant supply. There are two options available to prevent carbon dioxide from being depleted. The first is to enrich the air with carbon dioxide. But as explained before, once ventilation rates increase, this becomes uneconomical. The second option is to try and maintain carbon dioxide levels at outside levels. This can only be done by ventilating the house. Just after dawn there is usually little wind and temperatures are mild. This takes away the driving forces for natural ventilation of the greenhouse. The only solution therefore is forced ventilation, which can be turned on at this time of day and maintain carbon dioxide levels in the greenhouse at outside levels. If this is not done, plants will sit idle until ventilation is started and new carbon dioxide is introduced to the house. In this way several hours of growing time can be lost per day.

Many growers make the mistake of not evaluating all the costs when a climate control system is chosen. It is very easy to calculate capital and operating costs. But the cost of lost production due to underperforming plants is often ignored. When this is done the cost of operating fans are often seen as a major expense. But as illustrated earlier, more profits can be derived in certain regions by operating a pad and fan greenhouse versus operating a naturally ventilated house.

The purpose of a commercial greenhouse operation is after all to turn a profit. This leaves the grower to answer one question. Which will be the better investment; having a capital intensive production system with low operating costs that produce inconsistent quantities of variable quality produce that generates a income that covers only costs; or, having a capital intensive production system with higher operating costs that produce consistent high quality produce that generate an income, which exceeds costs?

Commercial greenhouse tips: LED grow lamp emits much less heat than other light sources, your plants will need less water. Wait for your soil to dry a little bit before watering or at least make sure your plants really need to be watered.

Effective climate control is a very important step towards producing produce that meet consumer demands. The design of a climate control system would need to be able to modify the outside climate in order to create the ideal inside climate. Ventilation of a greenhouse is the factor that has the single biggest influence on effective climate control within a greenhouse. To fully understand this point, it is necessary to investigate the role of airflow around a plant.

The first role of airflow is to ensure a constant supply of carbon dioxide and oxygen to the plant. The rate of the two physiological processes, photosynthesis and respiration, can be limited if there is insufficient quantities of carbon dioxide and oxygen respectively. The atmosphere consists of 20.9% oxygen and 0.035% (or 350 parts per million, ppm) carbon dioxide. There is 597 times more oxygen than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, making carbon dioxide one of the biggest limiting factors for plant growth. Airflow around a plant will help to maintain the level of carbon dioxide to around 350ppm. If there is no airflow, the concentration will drop and plant growth will be affected negatively.

The second role is to help regulate the air temperature around the plant. As the radiation energy from the sun heats the surface of the earth, the surface in return heats the air closest to it. As the air heats up, it rises into the atmosphere and gets replaced by colder air from higher in the atmosphere. Thus the whole volume of the atmosphere is utilised to absorb the radiation energy. This process is called natural convection. In a greenhouse, the volume of air available to absorb the radiation heat is limited by the height of the house, meaning the temperature of the air inside the greenhouse will rise faster than the temperature of the air outside. This is enclosed convection. (Another excellent example of this is the rate at which a car’s interior becomes hot when the windows are closed and the car is standing in the sun on a hot summer’s day.) In essence it can be said that a greenhouse is very efficient at capturing the heat radiated from the sun and making it available at plant level.

The third role is to regulate the water vapour (humidity) content of the air around the plant. During the plant’s physiological processes, water vapour is produced, which creates an air exchange between the plant and atmosphere. The rate of this air exchange is determined by the difference in the pressure of water vapour inside the plant and pressure of the water vapour outside the plant (Water Pressure Difference – VPD). As the physiological processes of the plant progress, the concentration of water vapour around the plant will increase (RH increase, VPD decrease). This will start to slow the physiological processes of the plant (low VPD), and increase the risk of a disease outbreak (high RH). Therefore, airflow is required to remove the excess water vapour from the plant. On the other hand, if the air is dry or the airflow rate around the plant is too high, the water vapour concentration around the plant will be low (high VPD, low RH). This will lead to excessive transpiration from the plant (high VPD) and increase the risk of disease outbreak (low RH).

When there is no ventilation of a greenhouse, the air condition inside will become different from the outside atmospheric air condition, primarily with respect to temperature, RH and carbon dioxide concentration. Once the greenhouse is ventilated, some of the inside air is replaced with outside air, which means the air condition inside will start to change towards the outside air condition. Effective climate control will therefore be striking a balance between providing plants the required airflow and maintaining the ideal climate inside.

It is a very well-known fact that plant production is very much influenced by temperature through complex physiological processes. For each plant species there are specific day and night temperatures that will result in optimum production (the production of a high quantity of high quality produce). While the plant is exposed to temperatures within these limits, life is easy and there is a lot of energy and nutrients available to the fruits. Under such conditions the profitability of the operations should be at its highest. Once the plant is exposed to temperatures several degrees outside the ideal band, production will be decreased. Life for the plant will not be so easy anymore. Some of its energy and nutrients will now be withheld from the fruit while the plant starts moving into day-to-day survival mode. Under these conditions the profitability of the operation will be compromised because the input costs will basically be the same as with optimum production, but production (quality and quantity) will be lower. If the plant is exposed to temperatures even further away from the ideal band, production will decrease dramatically and eventually seize. Life will now be very difficult for the plant and all its energy and nutrient will be spent on day-to-day survival, leaving none for the fruits. Under such conditions the operation will become unprofitable. This principle is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: When plants are exposed to narrow temperature bands around their ideal, a high quantity of high quality produce can be produced. As the temperature band becomes larger, the quantity and quality of the produce produced will decrease.

A greenhouse is essentially a poorly insulated structure that creates an artificial climate on its inside by isolating the air from the outside. Since the structure is so poorly insulated, the inside temperature is very responsive to changes in the outside temperature. Therefore, an effective climate control system would need to be able to control four variables namely temperature, RH, carbon dioxide levels and solar radiation intensity. There are various interrelationships between the four variables, which constantly leads to situations where trade-offs have to be made. How these trade-offs are approached is usually dependent on how temperature control is approached.

Optimum plant growth occurs within the broad boundaries specified in Table 1.

Table 1: Broad limits for optimum plant growth.

Plant growth is increased as light intensity is increased. However some plants are injured if they are exposed to intense light. The maximum intensity of light a plant can tolerate is very much species dependent and there is no broad guidelines.

Upon studying Figure 1, three possible scenarios for controlling temperature come to mind.

Cold scenario
Outside temperatures are lower than the ideal band and the house needs to be heated. Ideally there should be no ventilation of the house, as this will exhaust hot air from the house and introduce more cold air, which would increase the heating requirement. But at the same time there will be a humidity build-up in the house due to the transpiration of plants. In this case the best trade-off is to have a small ventilation rate to remove the humidity from the house, but heat the air as it enters the house. The air passing through the house will absorb the humidity and exhaust it as the air is exhausted.

In this scenario it is economically feasible to enrich the air with carbon dioxide to concentrations above ambient levels (350ppm).

Moderate scenario
The outside temperature is now within the ideal band of the plant. But the temperature inside the greenhouse will be higher than outside, because heat will accumulate in the greenhouse. If the house is ventilated at a moderate rate, the accumulated heat and excess humidity will be removed, creating the ideal conditions for plants inside. Enriching the air with carbon dioxide might still be economically feasible. But a lot more carbon dioxide will have to be added to the house, because a lot of it will be exhausted.

Hot scenario
When the outside temperature exceeds the ideal for the plant, ventilation alone is no longer sufficient. Firstly, there would need to be a very high ventilation rate of the house in order to remove all the accumulated heat. At best, this will bring the inside temperature down to the outside temperature. To get the temperature down to within the ideal band, the incoming air would need to be cooled as well. Using an evaporative cooling system will cool the air as it enters the house. In this scenario it would no longer be economically feasible to enrich the air with carbon dioxide due to the massive volume of air that will pass through the house. Limiting the radiation energy entering the house by means of a reflective screen will help to keep the temperature down.

A summary of the actions required to maintain ideal conditions in the house for the various scenarios is given in Table 2. It should be obvious that there is a vast difference in the approach to handle the three scenarios. When a climate control system is chosen, one of the most important questions to answer will be which of the three scenarios will be prevalent for what duration of the year. But to be more accurate, RH and solar radiation also need to be considered.

Growing tips: With 600w 3w LED grow light, your plants may need fewer nutrients.

To be continued

VooDoo Juice: This is included in the bundle as it promotes faster and healthier growth in the root zone to support the demands of high yielding plants by increasing the nutrient intake. It is not a chemical nutrient but a proprietary blend of laboratory bred super bacteria that improve the health of the root zone by colonizing and multiplying.

B-52: This formulation helps in negating the effects of environmental stress with the help of a full spectrum of B vitamins, and other growth cofactors. B vitamins help the plant to synthesize water and nutrient for growth without exhausting the plant. B52 helps in stimulating overall growth of the plant along with the roots.

Big Bud: This formulation helps in improving not only the weight and density of the plant but also quality of the flowers and fruits. This formulation is used throughout the flowering phase, has the correct ratio of phosphorus to potassium that ensures that the buds and the flowers bloom to its full size.

Overdrive: It supplies plants with the proper nutritional balance of phosphates, potassium, vitamins and other important cofactors. Primarily used in the later flowering phase, this formula not only ensures that the plant gains maximum weight during maturity but also improves the color, fragrances, flavors and essential oil content in fruits and flowers.

Advanced Nutrient has revolutionized the way in which traditionally other companies offer nutrients. It has simplified the way in which nutrients can be used by creating bundles. Specially designed for use with all hydroponics, soil and sphagnum growing medium any and all hydroponics, aeroponics, drip irrigation, NFT or flood and drain growing systems.

Lighting: the best sellers 600w led grow lights for hydroponics is extremely energy efficient, paying for itself many times over annually in electricity savings. It saves 80% to 90% in energy consumption compared to fluorescent tubes, HPS or MHS.