Vertical Farming, the New Trend in Marijuana Cultivation

By Alice, ILoveGrowingMarijuana.com

With its ability to increase yields in limited spaces, vertical farming has become the newest trend in marijuana growing.

With many states across the United States moving to legalize the use of marijuana in some form, new entrepreneurs and investors in the marijuana industry are searching for ways to increase yields in less space. The solution may have been found with the use of vertical growing techniques, which has shown some promising results in traditional farming. According to experts; the same results can be imitated in marijuana operations as well, with the right backing and support by the government of course.

One of the major problems that marijuana growers face in some states, (apart from it being illegal) is that better yields require ample amount of sunlight. But, in order to get uniform sunlight the plants need to be spread out, increasing not only the amount of light the plants receive, but also the space that is required by the growers; this leads to a higher consumption of electricity as well. As more and more states in the US are pushing for the legalization of marijuana; the increase in competition is leading growers to find out new and more efficient ways to run their operations.

When it comes to growing marijuana; warehouses have always been the preferred choice because of state zoning laws and obvious security concerns. But, the growing trend of legalizing marijuana has led to an increase in demand, which in turn, has made it difficult for growers to obtain loans to build new structures to help keep up with their competitors. According to research; the cost of leasing warehouse space in many states across the US where marijuana has been legalized as quadrupled during the past three years.

To put things in perspective, the average price of industrial space is a place like Denver Colorado has gone from $4 per square foot to $18 per square foot, which has only added to the other expenses that go into the cultivation of the marijuana plant.

(Photo: Time.com)

A vertical farming system could be just what the doctor ordered for all those who are new to the marijuana farming business or those who are looking to create additional space within their existing warehouses.

Certain vertical applications such as the ActivRAC mobile racking system has been proven to do wonders for growing facilities.

The mobile vertical growing system makes good use of the height of the warehouse space; this allows growers to utilize more space and increase their yields. A good example of the success of vertical racking systems can be given of OpenVape and Conte’s Clone Bar and Disensary in Colorado. Owners Jeremy Heidl and his founding team updated their warehouse layout by adding new vertical racks to utilize large amounts of wasted space, which was leading to additional expenses. Taking a leaf out of the simple filing cabinet, Heidl came up with the plan to use industrial shelving which could help save space and cost. Not long after, Heidl reached out to Spacesaver, a company which specializes in mobile storage like the ActivRAC mobile racking system.

The increase in yield and lowered cost of production created by the ActivRAC mobile racking system has helped Heidl to expand production capacity and efficiency. Keeping that in mind, vertical farming could be next big thing in the marijuana industry, since many US states are pushing for the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. According to pundits, if marijuana use is legalized in all 50 states, marijuana industry could grow to become even bigger than the organic foods industry.