Greetings GN,
Anyone have experience using aeroponics to cultivate their crop? Was it even worth the effort and expenses? Any important pieces of information for anyone looking to make the transition from traditional cultivation to aeroponics?
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The most frequent aero application I see in cultivation facilities is in the propagation stage (see photo). When dialed in properly, aeroponics can lead to massive growth, but there is very little forgiveness in the system (ie little fluctuations in temp or pH can result in massive crop failure in a very short time period). When done properly, aeroponics can cut down on rooting time versus traditional cloning methods and can lead to some seriously explosive growth.
Are you thinking about making a switch to growing aero, @zen? What is your growing experience?
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I’ve got no aeroponic experience but wanted to say hi and welcome! Looks like @Growernick, had you covered.
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I’m not sure what kinda scale your growing on @zen but at the hobbyist/homegrower level you can do it where it’s not all that much work and not very expensive
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You bring such great, helpful videos!
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I have personally avoided aeroponics because I’m concerned about having too many possible failure points in my systems. That’s also the reason I decided to not pursue an under current style RDWC system. But me being me, I expect I’ll give it a shot some day. Hard to change when I just pulled 26 ounces and change out of my ebb and flow tray.
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@zen
I have actually have purchased all of the necessary parts and pieces for an high pressure aeroponics set up.
The problem that I’ve come across is there’s almost no information about growing cannabis but lots of info on vegetables in this form.
I have not tested this system out, but I’m in the process of assembling it, and trying one plant in it. I don’t want to have everything ride on an experimental project, but I’m sure I can get it to succeed. If it goes well, I have enough parts I’m capable of expanding.
You’ll need a diaphragm pump that is capable of 80PSI or higher to produce the fine mist of 20-30 microns which is what the roots like according to a NASA study. Hydroponic friendly nutrients are necessary, as well as a filter to rid of large contaminates that may clog the misters. If you need a parts list to get started let me know. I purchased everything from Amazon. The pump was the most expensive piece of equipment.
There was only one other grower that I know that did grow in this form, but since has disappeared from the forum due to health issues.
What got me started into high pressure aeroponics was I wanted hydro, but with the use of less water. Aeroponics does have the same rapid growth rate that you see in hydroponic deep water culture, but the roots get more oxygen with out the use of a bubbler. So pumps aren’t running 24/7 and the energy efficiency is higher. Let’s face it growing isn’t something we really keep track of expenses but chances are, it’s still cheaper than a dispensary.
I hope you’ve found some of this information helpful. Have any questions I’ll do my best.
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Thanks for the details, @Zen. Mind if I pass your request on to a couple people I know, and if one of them bites, I’ll get you their contact info?
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I don’t think that the concept of aeroponics is dramatically different than how I handle flowering plants via ebb and flow. Are you 100% set on aeroponics for this commercial operation?
Some questions I have for you.
- How big is the overall growing space?
- How is that space going to be segmented for plant stages (seed/clone, veg, flower, drying/curing)?
- How many plants do you expect to run in each segment at any given time?
- Do you want to run aeroponics for all segments? If not, what other growing methods are you considering?
- What will the schedule be like for moving plants through each segment? I.e. once clones are rooted, how long will you veg them before putting them in flower? (i.e. how big will the plants get)
In a commercial grow - or any grow where the grower is relying on the outcome for income - I would be super hesitant to grow in any manner that puts “all my eggs in one basket.” In the event of a system failure I’d like to keep the damage controlled.
If I were going bigger I’d probably run multiple large ebb and flow trays or an NFT style system - some method that allows me to easily move plants around. If I were going warehouse sized, I’d have to do some serious thinking on my strategies with an eye to my monthly opex and risk management.
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This sounds like quite the endeavor! I’d love to see pics of your space and buildout
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I signed a cute little non-disclosure agreement with this company, but since I’m already sort of an outlaw I’ll take some pics and share some with yall on here, so long as you all can keep a secret… hehehe
I head there tomorrow, so I can get pics prolly pretty darn soon.
I’m supposed to head out to the facility space in the agricultural hub of Blythe, CA, bordering CA and Arizona. That’s a 3 hr drive for me tho… ugh.
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Maybe avoid posting publicly so as not to violate your NDA.
I know Blythe well having driven from Too Stoned, AZ to La La Land my whole life lol. Have fun on that trip!
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There are some big indoor aeroponic vegetable farms. I wonder if branching out to non-cannabis growers would be useful for figuring this out:
Their growing methodology works for herbs and lettuces because they don’t grow like cannabis plants do (so they can do vertical towers). Cannabis has height requirements that would prevent that kind of configuration, I think…
You got me thinking on this and now I want to build a small aero system and try it out. Maybe I’ll replace my bubbler cloner for starters.
@dbrn32 Otto’s ebb and flow table had sprayers, right?
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Yes, it was actually more of an aeroponic table than ebb & flow.
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Hey Zen what’s up. You and tour co. are on the right track. A little about myself. I have been growing weed for over 40 years. Indoors for the last 10 years. The first 3 years indoors I did cost analyst on every way someone can grow. When I got to Aeroponics I purchased everything for a Hpa system. Right at the get go int. cost was to high. So I never even tried it. I even still have everything and that was 7 years ago.
So what I did was I went with lpa. Start up cost was a 1/8 compared to hpa. At the start with the lpa it took me a while to work out some bugs. But man this was so easy. I have been growing this way for 5 years. My set now is a 3x3 tray with 50 grow sites in the sog… I avg. 25 to 30 grams per plant ( dry weight) . Due the math , that’s a pretty good yield for a 3x3 area. Plus all the colas are main tops, No popcorn B.S.
But right at the start of the lpa I noticed that the droplet size was to big and it was effecting the growth of the plant some. Not much but some. Once I got to a oz per plant (dry) I was happy for awhile. But I couldn’t get the yield any higher and I new I could. Plus I want to.
So for the last 2 years I have been trying to find a way to lower the droplet size without increasing the start up cost. I think I found it. In fact I know I found it.
My dream for the last few years is to go big with this. I have spent 100 of hours drawing up plans to go big. But I have no one to invest in this. I really have not looked for anyone. Cause everyone I ever talked to couldn’t grasp this concept. They were all into soil growing once I mentioned aero. they just turned their noses up to it. So I didn’t even go into it and walked out.
I will tell you Zen I don’t no how these growers are making any money growing in soil. I bet 90% of them are not getting the yield per s/ft I am. And I have a way to triple my s/ft yield but I don’t have the space.
I did all my cost analyst per s/ft. Cause that’s what counts. Screw all that per watt B.S.
I have many years growing and lots have good money saving ideas. For example, my mother and clone room is all run on solar power. Start up cost was nothing and it paid for itself in less than a year.
I live in central cal. but I was born and raised in So. Cal. I would love to sit down with you and talk.
Thanks and take care. ASSOG ( AreoSystemSeaOfGreen).
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You are where I am trying to get. Glad to see you here on the forum.
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Hey what’s up Bogleg ? Go for it, man. You won’t be disappointed. It’s the cheapest , easiest and fastest way to grow. Also I’m talking about lpa ( low pressure areo. ) not hpa ( high pressure areo. ). There is NOTHING hard about this. The only that take me a little time was getting the on/off time for the sprayers at the sweet spot. Just remember a little is better. What happens is if you spray the roots to much all the little hair roots collapse to the tap roots and it effects nute uptake.
Even with little bit the roots get sprayed, I got to a good yield per unit. But I could not get it to increase. Because of the droplet size. So I have been trying some other way to del. the nutes to the roots. And I found something that is working, but I want to get it dialed in before I say something and then it does not work and I look like a dork. But it has increased my yield by 10%. Which does not seem like much, but it really is. My problem is I’m pushing for at least a 40% increase. I just have to find the sweet spot. It might take me a little time but I will find it.
Sorry for going on so long. I just love growing and trying different things.
Anyway bro give it a try you will like it. Like I said it is so easy. Good luck on what ever you do. LATER…
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Hi,
I am about to start my second round of aeroponics.
The results of my first go were very encouraging.
I encountered many pitfalls but persevered.
Clogging of misting heads/filtration was my main issue.
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are you starting from clone? I get some clones set-up and we can compare if you’d like
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I’m awaiting some clones and have started some seeds so i’m gonna have a combo.Once I get it up and running i’ll send pics. I now understand why they ad a pressuried tank to the system. Pump switching on and off.
My system runs at about 102 psi.
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