Large Scale Indoor Organics

[Spliffster]

So I've been thinking. With all this talk of warehouse grows in the Bay Area and Colorado, precious little thought has been given to what, exactly, these operations are going to feed their plants. That's because most of them just run GH 3-part, AN Sensi A/B, or something similar. Here's my question: is it feasible to run a warehouse-style organic grow? How would you do it? Add a room for soil mixing, cooking, and recycling? Go soilless or coco drip with a paint-by-numbers bottled recipe? Put a worker guy in charge of brewing massive quantities of tea? If you had 80 lights, what would you do?

I'm not planning on starting a warehouse anytime soon, but I'm in a position where I come into contact with people who are. I'd love to have something to pitch them on so the unwashed masses get fewer chemical salts in their medicine.

 

[Pangea]

Take some time look around, most of what is happening in here can be scaled.

Perhaps the largest grow log on the net is organic, Humboldt Local's. Which brings up the big question, how organic is growing in a warehouse?

 

[Spliffster]

Humboldtlocal's is outdoor/1 season greenhouse. I know how to scale organics outdoor—that's easy. It's just when you put it in a warehouse in the middle of a city that I'm not so sure about.

And for the record, Pangea, growing in a warehouse is never going to be environmentally friendly. Give it 10 years, and I'd be willing to bet that most commercial cannabis is cultivated in blacked out greenhouses with supplemental lighting (a la Forever Flowering). But until then, people seem to like this warehouse model.

 

[GIS]

I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. If I were doing it, I would probably opt for some really big trees in organic soil or coco, fed with hydro organics. But if you are set up like a business, with investors, and people to answer to, I think they are probably looking for the most efficient method rather than whether it's organic or not. Personally I am more concerned about what gets sprayed on a plant, than the fertilizer used to feed it. There are plenty of organic sprays that I wouldn't want to smoke. With something that big, I'd want to keep it simple so a forest of 10 gallon trees would work well I think. But then again if you are going that big, perhaps you have the benefit of employees. It's an interesting question, that's for sure.

 

[mad librettist]

I've got no experience, so this is straight from my ass - but - I doubt it's as easy to have a stealthy large scale indoor organic operation as it is to have a grow based on chemicals and specialised media. There's a reason hydro of all types caught on with large scale producers.

If you are out of the way, and you can demonstrate a use for tons of compost other than growing your indoor crop, ok, but if this is a warehouse grow for cash in a densely populated area, you are going to have a hard time staying organic and stealthy. I suppose a way around this would be to use one property for making compost (and growing food), and the other for growing. Or work in teams. I know I would be happy to trade compost for smoke, especially if you buy me a farm, let me live there, and supply me with equipment (and I want a real tractor, not one pulled by chickens)..

just my 2 cents.

 

[kal el]

We are building 3 grow rooms each with five 4x8 tables 12 inches deep. Soil will be organic as well as nutes until we get the compost bins going full steam with the worm ranch. Going to be fun, fun, fun.

 

[Microbeman]

We ran 24 one thousand W lights organic with stacked bins for a vertical configuration. Each 'room' had 3 vertically oriented non-hooded lights surrounded by the stacked bins. Soil was kept live and never dumped or mixed over a 5/6 year period. Composting worms, pro-active predatory insects, AEM and ACT were key. Plants vegged with 18/6 lighting; to 10to12 inches, cuttings taken; grown back up to 8to10 inches; flipped to 12/12 light; harvest in 49to55 days. It was cheap.

 

[Glodenglow1]

plus, you can throw your pH pen away, or at least use it for other activities

 

[supermanlives]

get a cement mixer . its way to much work to mix soil buy hand

 

[milehimedi]

I have seen one facility that is MOSTLY organic soil. They use a few amendments that aren't organic. However, it is the largest scale operation I've seen using dirt (Roots Organics).

There is a soil mixing/transplanting area. Two decent sized veg areas, a clone room and a mom room, all feeding to bloom rooms of about 30k. They are working on building another bloom room too.

I think the key to it working, which it has been, is cleanliness. They have a dude who works full time cleaning that puppy. Sweeping, mopping with bleach, cleaning fans, cleaning pots, washing walls, etc, etc.

Overall, I think the labor has got to be way more. Some sort of hydro seems like it would be more efficient, but to each his own.

 

[heady blunts]

i was wondering this myself. if there's demand for walmart to get organic produce, eventually the demand for organic buds will reach the large medical operations.

i was imagining 10'x20' raised beds.

MM- i've heard you talk about your vert grow in stacked bins but i had no idea it was so huge! very cool.

 

[HorseMouth]

Milehimedi,

You hit the nail on the head. I agree with everything you said in your post, and in the large scale Organics I've seen, (2nd floor barn budding, 1st floor Vegs) in both cases cleanliness was the common key.

From your title I'll take you are in CO. Denver? I love how advanced the laws are in CO. and how those Med's are pushing it right now.

Peace

 

[guest2012y]

I knew a feller who grew in a school bus,40 ft. cargo container,15 x 25 room,and another 20 x 30 room all at the same time...all organic soil mix. He had one hired hand,but got it done. Plus a sizable outdoor the same year.
It can be done..probably depends on location quite a bit eh.

 

[3gunpete]

You don't have to grow tlo style to use organics. The more you want to complicate things like soil structure and the like, it will inherently cause more preperation and storage issues. As well as being harder to covertly import all the amendments etc. You can simply use products like gh's bio line and/or stick to omri listed bottle feeds to make up for the difference. More liquid supp. but you can use as top feed, drip iragation, flood, drain ,drip or just about any other style of delivery method that all the big ops are running.

 

[wisco61]

I've seen the opposite on the big medical grow threads I've read. Some of them are hydro, usually DWC, but otherwise they were organic soil, usually trees grown amongst vertical bare bulbs.

 

[Dkgrower]

why dirt is easy and every where, but indoor organic is organic light

real organics is done in soil with the help off the BIG HPS, use forceflowering if you dont have the season with you.

Thats what i do, push it as indoor organic

I dont see any real problem with using soil in a big setup, done it many times and i think it was some off the best, soil gives you alot off room to make mistakes in, but yeild can be low if temp and other parameters are not in check, i have around 1g pr w in some off my big soil grows.

Now i try only to do greenhouse crops the work load, expenses is 100000times
less and it is just so much more fun and i really like the idea off not using tons off oile-coal based power.

Bom Shiva

 

[milehimedi]

HorseMouth,

Yea man, I'm in CO. Shit's blowin up, I'm talkin big business with plenty of bureaucratic hoops to jump through. It can be a bitch, but it is the future of this industry.And our meds can compete with anyone's...

My buddy who cleans that place is a fuckin animal. Sometimes he'll sweep and mop the same areas twice a day. The hallways/entryways are key, 'cause you can't have any shit that might be living in there migrating between rooms.

Dk- props to ya, most don't like working that hard

 

[Space Case]

Soil beds or coco automated feed