Protecting cannabis from heat with indoor vertical farming solutions
No matter where they work, cannabis growers have always had to consider the seasons and the weather when managing their crops, but climate change and extreme temperatures have pushed the global agricultural industry to the brink.
It’s no longer about changing operations according to the seasons, or to account for minor fluctuations in precipitation or temperature. June 2021 was the hottest month in North American history, and the fourth-hottest in world history. And scientists say the worst is yet to come.
As global temperatures rise and marijuana farmers rush to adapt, what troubling operational challenges do cannabusinesses face but that indoor farming solutions can overcome?
Preventing weeds during drought conditions
Summer-grown weeds create competition for water—it’s them against your crop. And if you aren’t diligent about weed prevention and removal, they are always going to win. Weeds always find a way to prosper. That’s what they’re best at.
For context, one study of the North American corn industry alone found that, when averaged over the course of seven years, weeds accounted for $26.7 billion of losses annually.
Everchanging irrigation schedules
It stands to reason that even ordinary summers necessitate irrigation schedules different from spring, but hot summers throw a wrench into things: How do you plan for the unprecedented, including rising air temperatures and ancillary effects of climate change?
A sudden heat wave could drive cannabis farmers to water their plants earlier or more often, but depending on the weather at hand, there likely isn’t as precise a playbook as these farmers would like. And imprecision introduces risk and potentially compromises the quality of the crop no matter how quick the farmer is to respond.
Protecting farm workers
Whether you farm indoors or out, farming is hard work. You’re on your feet all day, lifting equipment and crop, leaning over, leaning down, and performing repetitive movements.
Add high heat and humidity to the mix and your workers are in serious danger of conditions like wet bulb, where extreme heat and humidity make it impossible for human bodies to cool themselves through the evaporation of sweat.
Heat-related deaths are on the rise, and given traditional working conditions, outdoor farming professionals are more vulnerable now than ever before, even if all the proper safety precautions are in place.
Beat the heat with vertical indoor grow systems for cannabis
In response to these and other difficulties, cannabis growers are making the switch to indoor farming, with help from mobile growing solutions like high-density single- or double-tier mobile benches and multi-tier mobile grow racks.
Designed with insight from our in-house cannabis grow experts, Montel vertical grow systems not only bring farming out of the heat. They also allow farmers of cannabis, herbs, leafy greens, and more to grow and cultivate crops intelligently, utilizing the space they have while maximizing yield and quality.
