Since the cannabis industry is particularly high-tech, it has been advancing the whole horticultural sector when it comes to especially technologically advanced solutions. This is exactly where Roto-gro falls under. “RotoGro is a manufacturer of patented, hydroponic rotational gardens,” Jordan Carlin with RotoGro explains. “The first prototype was designed in the early 2000s. Over time, and with legalization on the horizon, we have fine-tuned it and optimized the RotoGro for large scale cannabis production.”
Rotational garden
According to Jordan, the concept of a rotational garden is not necessarily ‘new’, but the system by RotoGro is one of the only systems that has specifically been optimized for growing cannabis. “Depending on the footprint of a facility, you can only do so many growing cycles, with the cultivation space you have” Jordan observes. “Rotational gardens came into being exactly because we want to maximize the available footprint and allow growers to carry out more cycles throughout the year.”
Jordan Carlin and Christina Montgomery with RotoGro
Indeed, the Roto-gro system is equipped with a variety of patented attributes that ensure higher and better yields. “For instance, the RotoGro rotational garden has a CO2 delivery system that exposes the plant canopy to equal and precise levels of CO2 and a heat management system that removes up to 40% of the heat from the lighting tube. The Roto-gro rotational garden also has an automated feed system that ensures that plants get the precise right amount of nutrients. These systems are able to deliver the precise amount of everything that the plants need to grow strong and healthy."
Shorter cultivation cycles
All of these unique attributes allow for way shorter cultivation cycles than traditional cannabis . “Our cycle is 60 days, with little to no veg time, basically straight to 12/12 once the clones are in the garden” Jordan points out. “In traditional cannabis cultivation, the cycle is typically 90-120 days with up to ½ that time dedicated to vegetation. Because of our short life cycle, the benefit is that there is little to no crop management. The ability to produce such high yields within a short life cycle is aided by the positive effects of Gravitropism, which is the plant’s reaction to changing gravity. Thanks to this, there is a positive response at the harmonal / cellular level, which provides an accelerated growth and a strong, well-developed root base.”
“With this system, plants are particularly consistent in shape, size and cannabinoid profile as throughout the cultivation cycle they specifically receive the precise amount of everything that they need. Thus, they are not fighting for nutrient or light exposure. Because of the production level the system can yield, each unit can produce 7 - 9 pounds. It is a perfect system for large-scale producers that need a repeatable and constant supply of high quality cannabis.”
Consistency
Considering the struggles licenced producers go through when it comes to a consistent production, Jordan states that the RotoGro system can protect them in that way. “Growing systems are responsible for the revenue of the facility; therefore, it is crucial to rely on something that delivers in a very consistent manner.” In order to achieve this, RotoGro assists growers with the designing of the facility and the outlining of the SOPs, but not only that. “In our R&D facility, we also carry out strain optimization,” Jordan says. “While a grower’s facility is being built out, we can optimize the strain they want to grow. Then, when they will get our rotational garden, it will be already optimized and fine-tuned exactly for that specific operation. Nutrients, lighting, fertigation system, everything would be set up to achieve consistency and high quality.”
RotoGro space optimization
According to Jordan, RotoGro is primarily for cultivation, “at the same time, there are some clients that make use of the system’s unique attributes to carry out something different. For instance, one grower is looking to use it to harden clones coming out of tissue culture.”
In an ever-evolving cannabis industry where the race to the bottom is still ongoing, companies are asked to be extremely efficient to be successful. “In a race to the bottom, you are looking to scale-up your operation without interfering and incurring a mass amount of expenses,” Jordan says. “The best way to do it is to look at your production space and see if you can scale that up. The RotoGro system is particularly suitable for such a thing. For instance, just by using our system, per 32 sq.ft. footprint, you can potentially triple your production. The concept of a rotational garden is entirely based on numbers as it gives the opportunity for the highest amount of cultivation space relative to its footprint. We believe that rotational gardens will be the dominant systems in the cannabis industry of the future.”
For more information:
RotoGro
[email protected]
rotogro.com