Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is becoming the future of profitability and sustainability for farmers across the globe. CEA has many vital benefits, including decreased water usage and the ability to grow various crops year-round. CEA is also impervious to many destructive impacts of climate change, like flooding, drought, and wildfires. Greenhouse structures can take your CEA operation to the next level and provide the ideal environmental structure for more efficient gardening and extended cultivation options. Whether you’re a beginner in the greenhouse or a seasoned veteran, we’ve got the ultimate tips to optimize your operations and prevent you from making these common mistakes.
These essential greenhouse growing tips include:
Start With Quality Tools & Equipment
Mastering Greenhouse Sunlight
Crop Diversification
Greenhouse Maintenance Strategy
A successful greenhouse is best maintained with quality gardening tools and equipment. Much of the gardening industry relies heavily on deadlines, and any down equipment or kinks in tools could mean your crops miss the mark – resulting in large amounts of waste and revenue loss. From greenhouse coverings to hydroponic systems, investing early in highly rated tools will offer big dividends in the future. Investing in additions to your greenhouse structure, like luminescent film, can take advantage of natural sunlight’s best and most freely available resource.
UbiGro can tailor the spectrum of light that your crops are receiving without supplemental lighting. This gives off-grid growers a spectrum-control option and alternatively allows on-grid growers to rid themselves of expensive and unsustainable artificial lighting options. Greenhouse films can also work alongside existing truss infrastructure or other current lighting methods.
The amount of sunlight can vastly differ depending on where your greenhouse is located and the time of year. This relative photosynthetic efficiency is dependent on the wavelength of light, with wavelengths between 600-650nm being the most efficient for photosynthesis. A more uniform distribution of sunlight throughout the greenhouse canopy will increase overall photosynthesis and production. Diffuse scattering of sunlight is an effective way to achieve a more uniform distribution.
However, modern greenhouses have given growers control over the light spectrum as opposed to industrial field-based agriculture. Luminescent greenhouse coverings like the film from UbiGro can change UV and blue to orange and red light, which shifts the sun’s spectrum towards the maximum photosynthetic potential in plants, improving crop yields.
Diversifying your crops is different from diversifying your stocks (get it?) Greenhouses can produce 20-50 times more yield per acre than conventional field agriculture and enable year-round crop production even during off-season months. As the industry continues to expand, farmers are expanding their repertoire to keep up with the ever-growing demand for organic and sustainable crops. From growing lettuce and cucumbers to strawberries and flowers, greenhouses offer the possibility of producing various crops year-round. This is due to the fact that environmental factors like light, humidity, temperature and more can be easily manipulated and steered toward a specific outcome.
Cultivating a variety of crops not only can result in financial gain but can also spark inspiration and innovation in potential new gardening interests. Find out how much more you could be growing under luminescent greenhouse film:
Greenhouses can be a paradise for unwanted pests and diseases without routine maintenance. This is often due to the high levels of humidity that can harbor pathogens. Fortunately, the closed nature of greenhouses reduces the risk of soil-borne diseases.
Moreover, implementing greenhouse sanitation and the disinfecting plan is essential for every greenhouse, and will ultimately result in decreased crop loss and higher revenue. So what are some tips to keep your indoor farm clean and tidy?
How often you perform these tasks depends entirely on how many plants you have, when you harvest, and the number of employees. However, implementing some routines is progressive and leaves room for adjustments in the future.
Controlled environment agriculture provides cultivators across the world the ability to grow a variety of crops year-round. Greenhouse growing is also one of the most sustainable options as it uses significantly less water and electricity and less land: keeping surrounding areas undisturbed and preserving wildlife and ecosystems. Following these simple tips allows growers to improve their operations and adjust for situations as unique as their cultivar.
Greenhouse agriculture also protects crops against severe weather and volatile changes in weather patterns. UbiGro is proud to provide an advanced lighting option with a luminescent greenhouse that is easily accessible to greenhouses of all sizes.
To get started with a custom quote, contact us today [email protected].
Jim Gideon is an UbiGro Sales Manager, with over 25 years of greenhouse industry sales experience covering all of North America. Previously Jim has worked for Green Tek, Plazit-Polygal, Texel, Cherry Creek, and Nexus. He is based in Montgomery, AL, and Jim believes that “light is everything to the grower.”
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Hunter McDaniel, PhD
Founder & CEO
Hunter earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, before joining Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Chemistry Division. Ultimately the value proposition of UbiGro is about boosting crop yields and quality without the cost or energy impact of lighting. Hunter has more than fifty publications and patents, and more than 2000 total citations, h-index: 20. Hunter fundamentally believes that novel materials underpin every significant technology advancement, and he is focused on leveraging new materials to have a lasting and sustainable impact.
Damon Hebert, PhD
Director of Agriculture
Damon brings a wide range of experience in agriculture, materials science, spectroscopy, and small business. During his time in Prof. Angus Rockett’s research group at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Hebert authored a doctoral thesis and multiple papers on the materials science of CIGS semiconductor materials, which is closely related to the materials developed at UbiQD. He also served as a consultant to Nanosolar, a CIGS nanocrystal solar cell manufacturing company. Hebert has industry experience having co-founded Dr. Jolly’s, a leading cultivation and distribution operation in Bend, OR.
Tania Lafaille
Sales Representative
Tania is a UbiGro Sales Representative, with over 7 years of experience in product sales (specifically berries and avocados) covering all of North America and parts of South America. While in agriculture, Tania has cultivated strong relationships with growers and distributors, granting her a unique insight into both perspectives. That understanding, paired with her fierce dedication to results, drives her fun and fiery commitment to her craft. Tania is based in Gilroy, CA.
Tyler Veyna
Sales Representative​
Tyler brings 15 years of experience in Greenhouse production and facility management of a wide range of crops in multiple states to the UbiGro team. Based in Salinas, California. “Being a fourth-generation farmer, I look to improve and empower the grower, and with UbiGro, we can do just that.”
Jim Gideon
Sales Manager
Jim Gideon is an UbiGro Sales Manager, with over 25 years of greenhouse industry sales experience covering all of North America. Previously Jim has worked for Green Tek, Plazit-Polygal, Texel, Cherry Creek, and Nexus. He is based in Montgomery, AL, and Jim believes that “light is everything to the grower.”
Eric Moody
Director of Sales
Eric Moody is UbiQD’s Director of UbiGro Sales. Eric has more than 6 years of experience in horticulture lighting industry, building relationships with greenhouse growers of all sizes and crops on optimal lighting for their growing operation, and most recently managed a North American sales team for PL Light Systems. Overall, Eric has been in sales leadership positions for more than 13 years. Eric brings with him a great understanding of the market and available technologies for growers, greenhouse facilities, and sales leadership. Reach Eric by phone at 541-490-6421 or by email at [email protected].
Mike Burrows, PhD
Dr. Michael Burrows is UbiQd’s Vice President of Business Development. His educational background includes a Materials Science doctorate from the University of Delaware and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. His career has specialized in the commercialization of novel electronic materials in venture-run programs for different industries including solar, biosensors, and the automotive industry. In both start-up and corporate environments, he has extensive experience in global market development, foraging supply chain partnerships, productization, and brand building. He is currently leading UbiQD’s partnership efforts in luminescent greenhouse technology, smart windows, and security ventures.
Matt Bergern, PhD
Cheif Product Officer
As Chief Product Officer at UbiQD, Dr. Matt Bergren leads the company’s product development efforts, sales, and product manufacturing, including the company’s first commercial agriculture product, UbiGro. He plays a critical role in continuing the company’s path of technology development and vision of powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security.
He serves as the principal investigator for UbiQD’s contract with NASA, focused on tailoring the solar spectrum for enhanced crop production for space missions. Dr. Bergren’s leadership experience includes serving on the board of directors for the New Mexico Energy Manufacturing Institute, focused on job creation in New Mexico’s energy, and related manufacturing community.