PEAT MOSS IS THE PERFECT GROWING MEDIUM FOR CANNABIS
​by Francis Cassidy

Great ideas for increasing sales in your Garden Center during 2020 "Quarantine Spring" sales 

  • Set up a wireless outdoor register.
  • If you can make or find hand sanitizer, have it placed around your business for customers to use.
  • Place benches outside with plenty of space between them (like an outdoor sidewalk sale).
  • Have a sign posted with paper and pencils.  Customers can stroll around and write down what they want. It can be pulled for them later.  Call
    when it’s ready for curbside pickup. Charge card can be taken over the phone.  
  • Customer fills their cart and places it aside. Same as above, when it’s all sorted and priced, call them for curbside pickup.
  • Keep in mind your customers are wondering if you’re going to be open and selling. Make sure you post on your Facebook/website.
  • Do you have email contacts from your customers? Let them know.
  • Offer to pot up containers for customers if they drop them off. They can pick up curbside.
  • Set up a dozen or two skus in the form of plant bundles. Don’t mess around with trying to code hundreds (or thousands) of plants in a website you’re scrambling to build. Make it EASY for your customers to choose and make it easy for your employees to pick out the plants.
 
Plant Bundle ideas:

  • Italian veggie garden: tomatoes great for canning/sauces, basil, thyme, oregano, onion/garlic seed, etc
  • Mexican veggie garden: slicing tomatoes, bell peppers, 1 hot pepper, cilantro seed, onion/garlic seed, etc
  • Perfect container garden (vary by size): include 1 spill, 1 thrill (double or triple if needed by container size)
  • Perfect Pollinators flower bed: include your best plants that butterflies and bees love, and tell them 1 bundle will fill 10x10 space (or however big you decide – and then they know how many bundles they need to buy)
  • Stay-Home Chef Ultimate Garden: bundle your most popular veggies with a few fun ones and zinnias (great cut flowers for a centerpiece!)
  • Garden-In-Place Bundle: variety of flowers with a few “bonus” flowers (don’t specify type, so you can change according to inventory)
  • Purple Paradise: your best flowers by color!
  • Stuck Indoors Succulents: best indoor plants in a bundle (maybe a succulent or two, one tropical that does well in low-light and one that needs bright indirect light)
  • My First Garden: include easy-to-grow flowers/veggies and everything someone needs for their child’s first container garden (kids gloves, fertilizer, containers, etc)
  • Shade-lovers Special: do a package each for sun-loving and shade-loving plants so they can get a bundle of pretty options that will work for their space
Thanks to Douglas Grant from BFG Supply for sharing! 
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April 2020

PRO-MIX ORGANIK Products For Organic Crops: Advantages and Properties

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 | Ed Bloodnick
​Did you know we have high-quality organic substrates in our product offer? Oh yes we do!  And there are numerous advantages of using them. MP BIOFUNGICIDE + MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK and PG ORGANIK, blends contain all the ingredients you need to get your organic plants the best growing environment, while meeting the requirements for certified organic growers. 
Mixing your own growing medium for organic crop culture can be quite a challenge. First, you must find all organic approved ingredients and then blend these ingredients uniformly to make a homogenous, consistent growing medium. This growing medium should be tested for pH and EC to make sure lime and fertilizer rates are acceptable.

​The other choice is to buy pre-blended organic growing media for your organic crops. The makers of PRO-MIX have developed two formulations for the culture of organic crops; PRO-MIX PG ORGANIK for seed starting and PRO-MIX MP BIOFUNGICIDE+MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK for growing plants in cell packs and containers. These products are made with some of the same high-quality ingredients found in our PRO-MIX professional products, however these products comply with organic standards and are listed with the Organic Material Review Institute (OMRI™).

Organic Standards in The Industry

What are the requirements for products to be ‘’approved for’’ or ‘’listed’’ as suitable for organic agriculture/horticulture use? Independent authorities from non-profit organizations that are mandated by the USDA and the Canadian Organic Regime to review industry produce and products. For growing media, the ingredients and manufacturing methods are reviewed by organizations, such as OMRI™ (US-NOP and Canada-COR) and Québec Vrai (Canada), to be sure all materials and products comply with organic standards. These non-profit organizations have been operating for over 20 years and have high credibility in the industry.
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PRO-MIX MP BIOFUNGICIDE+MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK is a multi-purpose growing medium that is formulated for vegetable crops. This product is unique in that it contains BIOFUNGICIDE, a natural bacterium that is added to suppress the root disease organisms Alternaria, Fusarium, Pythium and Rhizoctonia. MYCORRHIZAE is added to play the important role in accessing nutrients for plant roots by extending the root absorption area. This is very important in organic production because organic nutrients are not readily available or easily absorbed by plants compared to traditional plant culture that uses synthetic water-soluble fertilizers.
All components used in formulating PRO-MIX MP BIOFUNGICIDE+MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK are approved for organic use and organic farming to produce organic herbs, vegetable and flowers. Compared to standard PRO-MIX products, plants grown with any organic growing medium may have slower initial growth, which is typical for organic culture. However, plants will catch up according the grower provides adequate fertility during the crop cycle.
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PRO-MIX PG ORGANIK is an organic approved germination mix designed for starting seeds in small cells.  This growing media is suitable for a wide variety of organic herbs, vegetables and flowers, especially in plugs and small cell culture with automated filling machines. PRO-MIX PG ORGANIK is designed to hold a high amount of water to keep necessary moisture near the seeds to encourage germination. Once seeds germinate, it is best to reduce watering frequency so the growing medium surface dries between waterings. This will help encourage root development, reduce root disease and minimize the formation of surface algae that can occur from excessive water applications.

​Advantages of Using PRO-MIX ORGANIK Products for Certified Organic Plants

  • Compost is great in soil, but when added to growing media, it can reduce air space, cause the growing medium to dry out too slowly and lead to uneven growth. PRO-MIX ORGANIK products are ‘’compost-free’’ and provide consistent initial growth with the basic fertility derived from the food industry, without manure and risk of pathogens (ie: E. Coli).
  • Some growers mix their own media, because they may believe that organic products are generally not of good quality. PRO-MIX ORGANIK products have the same qualities and high standards as other PRO-MIX products. They are superior in composition and performance compared to homemade mixes and other commercial organic growing media.
  • Reducing root diseases: The BIOFUNGICIDE, Bacillus pumilus in PRO-MIX MP BIOFUNGICIDE+MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK is an EPA registered, natural bacterium that suppresses the root disease pathogens Alternaria, Fusarium, Pythium and Rhizoctonia.
  • Controlling cultural stresses and fertility: MYCORRHIZAE in PRO-MIX MP BIOFUNGICIDE+MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK is a natural, beneficial endomycorrhizal fungus that enhances plant nutrient absorption, enhances plant resistance to certain root diseases and reduces the effects of cultural stresses on plants.

​Product Use

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For optimal performance and wettability, we recommend using these products within 3-4 months after the manufacturing date for proper water absorption. Once in use, begin fertilization after the emergence of the first true leaves in seedlings grown in PRO-MIX PG ORGANIK or 2 weeks after transplanting into PRO-MIX MP BIOFUNGICIDE+MYCORRHIZAE ORGANIK and then maintain an ongoing fertility program throughout the rest of the crop cycle.

​Keep in mind that most organic fertilizers may need an active population of microorganisms in the growing medium to break down organic fertilizers, so they can be taken up by the plant. In this case, organic fertilizer may need to be applied sooner, so microorganism populations can build up to convert and “release” nutrients for plant uptake.

MYKE® ONLINE TRAINING

Spring is here and it is time to refresh your MYKE® knowledge and train your new staff members on the benefits of of using MYKE®!​Use the link below to access the 5 short videos.  The trainings are easy, informative, and very helpful!
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All crops have specific light requirements. By knowing minimum and optimum levels of light for our crop we can manage our environment to improve crop performance. When the ambient light exposure is below the minimum requirements we need to apply supplemental lighting in order to maintain our crop production at a healthy and consistent pace.

On the other hand when our ambient light levels are optimal we can regulate light to influence other aspects of our environment such as air temperature and humidity by applying specific products to reduce heat exposure in our greenhouse. 
Light management will always be a key factor in our crop performance. As our series continues we will discuss specific products to manage light and heat within your greenhouse. Let’s take a look at some crop specific light requirements and how they affect our crop performance. DLI or Daily Light Integral refers to the number photons received by a plant that provide photosynthetic activation.

Lettuce and Herbs – Minimum 12 DLI, Optimum 17 DLILettuce and herbs are crops that can be grown in both greenhouse and indoor vertical farming. Maintaining DLI below 17 for an indoor vertical farming system is recommended in order to mitigate environmental conditions which can affect calcium uptake and cause tip burn in your crop. 
Lettuce and some herbs are extremely sensitive to high temperatures. Therefore, proper DLI management inside a greenhouse reduces the chances of accumulating excess heat that could promote bolting of your crop and the proliferation of both mildew and pest. Thus, because of its influence on temperature, light management is very important to maintain optimum environmental conditions to achieve the product quality required for the market.

Tomatoes (Minimum 20 DLI), Cucumbers (Minimum 15 DLI) and Peppers (Minimum 20 DLI) – Optimum 30 DLITomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are crops with higher DLI requirements than their leafy green cousins. They also enjoy a higher temperature. One major challenge when growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers vertically inside a greenhouse is how to achieve a uniform distribution of DLI for stable consistent fruit generation. Tall crops tend to shade each other, creating an environment where optimal DLI levels are only achieved in the upper canopy. To counteract this effect when relying heavily on ambient light diffusion creating products, such as shade paints, must be employed to scatter the light in different directions to reach every level of the canopy. 
Properly designed supplemental lighting can also be employed to reach all levels of the plant canopy and maintain balanced DLI levels when ambient light is insufficient. Too much direct light can cause stress in young leaves and also can cause sunburn issues in fruit. Remember to always use the right products to maintain proper DLI levels and control how light is entering your greenhouse.

Hemp – Minimum 20 DLI, Optimum 30 DLIHemp is a crop that loves light, and can be grown under conditions similar to tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. However, when cultivating hemp, maintaining the proper photoperiod is just as important to production as optimizing DLI. Previous research demonstrated short days promote flowering in this crop, and has also concluded that environmental factors such as temperature and photoperiod, can greatly influence the reproductive cycles of Hemp. 
There are three distinct phases in Hemp cultivation: propagation, vegetative and flowering. Recent research regarding light application for high yield production purposes recommend the use of long photoperiods (18 hours) for the propagation and vegetative phases and short photoperiods (12 hours) for the flowering phase when using artificial lighting.

Strawberry – Minimum 17 DLI, Optimum 20 DLIStrawberries enjoy a much lower light requirement than vine crops. Due to plant anatomy diffuse lighting is also recommended to enhance photosynthetic activity in strawberries and avoid leaf shading within the plant. Strawberry cultivars have a strong response to both photoperiod and temperature. We can find short-day, long-day and day-neutral cultivars in strawberries. 
Previous research demonstrated that the most common type of cultivar on the market, day-neutral, can also exhibit an accelerated flowering response under long-day conditions. Therefore, by the use of supplemental lighting, it is possible to promote more abundant flowering earlier in strawberries and have your crop ready for the market in less time. Lower temperatures during non-photosynthetic activation periods have been shown to improve flavor.

Microgreens – Minimum 10 DLI, Optimum 12 DLIMicrogreens are young plants with low light requirements grown in vertical farming systems using artificial lighting and harvested before ever reaching maturity. Because these crops have such a fast rate of growth it is important to monitor and maintain proper DLI levels to avoid over-stretching due to low light or burning due to excess light. Usually light-burn can be triggered when plants are too close to lamps. 
An important aspect to get perfect size, texture and color microgreens is to work with good light quality. Most often the correct balance of red and blue lighting can achieve great quality in microgreens. 

Click the button below to learn more about our L1000 Grow Light System.