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Trying to start a small scale to learn big scale.

Davidr2118

New member
I have about a year to learn how to grow commercially, which I won't get into. To gain some experience I will be helping out at a commercial site, but also doing a home grow. I need to decide which type of grow I want to do so I can do a smaller version at home right now.

Currently I am leaning towards, having a room for mothers and cloning. Going straight from clones to the flowering room (skipping the veg time) and doing a SOG grow on a lot of 4x8 ebb and flow tables. Is there anything wrong with doing this type of grow for a commercial sized grow, or should I look into a different type of layout?
 
I would suggest starting clones in RW cubes then move them to air-pots with coco coir and drippers then scrog em super efficient and you won't need any bigger than 3 gallon pots.
 
X

xavier7995

You should probably look to using something like raw salts or jacks (veg+bloom maybe)for fertilizer. Get used to using less forgiving stuff than canna specific nutes.

Drippers into rockwool cubes or coco for your growing medium.

I don't see a lot of large commercial ops doing sogs or trying to max a per plant yield. It takes too much work to scale up, better to just do a bunch of medium sized plants.
 

mushroombrew

Active member
Veteran
If you are going commercial in a year you need to grow as inexpensively as possible. Wholesale is way down. And will keep going down.

So my advice is focus on efficiency in everything you do. Or you won't be able to compete.

Check out my show. 4x8 tables. 1 plant per sqft. Hydro.

I have a design for a 10,000 sqft SOG. Working on funding.

It's easy for me to scale up.

My setup is a small R&D version.

My big show will harvest 864 plants per week(27 4x8 trays)

Commercial hydro SOG is the best yield per sqft/week. And we have been able to generate 1000 clones per week in much less space than you think! Will need that many to select 864 healthy ones!

So a bit like you I had to setup small. And prove my theories and calculate costs/man hours.
Have also come up with some innovations. You just have to get at it and figure it out. Better to do that small right?

Best of luck to you!
 

MrBungle

Active member
is coco really a better choice than sphagnum peat moss?

if I was going large scale I'd choose peat over coco...
 

Davidr2118

New member
You're about 10 years too late.

I figure if you're not a well seasoned grower by now there is no place for you unless you want to a real growers pruning or carry their water bucket.

I've got 10 years in the biz myself and I feel at this point it's barely profitable to run an indoor grow show anymore. Between the operating costs and people's constant bitchyness about a respectable price for respectable herb it's just not what it used to be.

Now back when people were willing to pay 4 hundo a zip, now those were the fucking days.

We have to option for get a 20 acre greenhouse grow going also, do you think it would be better to skip the hydro and attempt the greenhouse first?
 

Drewsif

Member
We have to option for get a 20 acre greenhouse grow going also, do you think it would be better to skip the hydro and attempt the greenhouse first?

Ask yourself : whats going to set your farm apart from the well-established ones?
 
Study biology, learn about plumbing, electric, spreadsheets and general troubleshooting. Being a good growers is all about controlling your environment and paying attention to details. Be neat and organized. Dont be clutterblind.
 

Lester Beans

Frequent Flyer
Veteran
20 ACRE greenhouse? And you don't know how to grow? This is going to be good...

Best advice, grow top quality smoke for yourself and leave the hay farming to the pros
 

Crooked8

Well-known member
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
This thread is from 2017. Guy predicting the market sure was wrong. ;)
 

Vandenberg

Active member
And then reality interjected itself.

And then reality interjected itself.

:wave:
I've seen some horrendously designed commercial greenhouses setups by very well financed people jumping into the recreational pot game, problem is they usually have much more money than brains, without fail the guy that designed the facility is long gone, it sure looked easy when farmer Green upscaled his operation down the block.
10s of millions of dollars is/was being spent on setup of some of these canna-corporations facilities to grow a weed.
Welcome to the future.:)
Before the recent huge wildfires in California (still burning) this summer (2020) the wholesale price were down to 1 dollar a gram, $450 a unit/lb..tough times for the local ma and pa farmers compared to the $4,000 plus a lb. one could get back In the illegal eighties while getting chased around by helicopters while you did it.
In fact many dreams of hoping to get by to next year are gone up in smoke literally.
California Cannabis has taken a major hit and much of what didn't burn has sustained major smoke damage and if, when dried will probably taste and smell foul like an old beer soaked ashtray full of butts.
There is/ will be a widespread California Cannabis crop failure fall 2020.
2020 sucks.

Vandenberg :)
 
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