There are few things more iconic in the cannabis industry than the DIY grow room: converted garages, repurposed sheds, and, for the truly intrepid, retrofitted shipping containers with lights dangling from the ceiling and a portable AC unit stuck on the back.
Cory Drippon knows that world well. He's been growing in California for 20 years, mostly in off-grid setups where creativity was less a luxury than a survival skill. "You were forced to get creative, either build a nice shed or get a container and throw lights and HVAC in," he says. But his current project, Drop 'n Grow, aims a lot higher than a clever workaround. "I like to consider my setup the evolution of all that."
Drop 'n Grow is, at its core, a modular cannabis cultivation system housed in shipping containers. But unlike the scrappy DIY jobs of the past, these are built from scratch to meet pharmaceutical standards. Fully insulated, ISO-compliant, and outfitted with automation, these grow modules are Control Union-audited and GACP-compliant straight out of the box. No makeshift hacks, no piecemeal installations, "Just plug in water and power, and you're ready to grow," he points out.
From consulting to containers
The idea was born almost by accident. After landing in Thailand and casually giving advice to local growers, Cory found himself in the consulting business: fixing lighting and HVAC issues, helping operators optimize their facilities, and putting out metaphorical (and sometimes literal) mold-related fires.
"It was always the same problems over and over," he explains. "Too much heat from lighting, not enough cooling or dehumidification, and mold everywhere because of the constant humidity. People were cutting corners with cheap equipment and paid the price." Rather than keep repeating himself, Cory figured: why not just build the perfect grow room himself?
High end container
Each Drop 'n Grow unit is designed to minimize human error and maximize standardization. "It's not just a shipping container that happens to grow weed," he says. "It's a precision-engineered cultivation room that just happens to be inside a container."
The container design is also practical: it allows for global shipping without compromising compliance. "If you bolt anything on the outside, you lose ISO compliance. You can't just put it on a boat anymore," he explains. That's why the HVAC is built into the interior of the container. "One of the most difficult engineering feats in the whole project, but essential to keeping the modules truly mobile."
Inside, everything is optimized. 16 Lumatek lights per container, custom racking, Growlink automation, and an integrated fertigation system that Cory describes as "dummy-proof." QR codes are placed throughout the container, linking to a knowledge base he personally created to walk growers through equipment use, light positioning, cleaning procedures, and more. Even the light frames move up and down to accommodate tight spaces. "The collaboration with Lumatek has been instrumental throughout the realization of this project. We have actively worked together to find the best equipment to grow cannabis so that growers don't have to."
Standardizing cultivation
Each flowering module can hold 360 plants, 16 per light, and is optimized for consistency. "The great thing is that every container works exactly the same. If you've perfected your parameters for a specific strain, you can store the profile and repeat it without re-dialing anything in." This level of uniformity is also what makes Drop 'n Grow appealing to commercial producers., says Cory. "You don't need an architect who knows cannabis. We've already solved all the cannabis-specific problems." For operators in developing cannabis markets like Thailand, that's a big deal. "There aren't a lot of reliable clone facilities," Drippon notes. "So we're solving that too."
Cloning at scale
Alongside the flowering module, Cory is finalizing a new container called the RTF Generator: a clone production unit capable of pushing out up to 9,000 ready-to-flower plants every two months.
This container includes a lower rack for tissue culture or clone babies, fully automated and sensor-monitored with no humidity domes necessary. Once rooted, up to 3,000 clones can be transferred into stonewool cubes. "One RTF Generator can supply up to 15 flowering containers. And since we're working directly with tissue culture labs, we don't even need mother plants."
For those who want to go full Lego-mode, Cory envisions an entire modular facility built from containers: tissue culture, cloning, flowering, and even drying and processing. The central chamber of the container can even be customized. "You want to dry in there? Store gear? Brew tea? Go wild. It's clean enough to do anything."
Competing with traditional grows
Drop 'n Grow isn't trying to compete with other container grows. Instead, his competition is the traditional indoor grow, "Minus the architect, the consultant, and the six months of renovation."
Each unit currently costs around $75-80K and is manufactured in China using Lumatek fixtures and Growlink systems. Replacement parts are modular and easily swappable, with
magnet-mounted lights, waterproof connections, and optional spare-parts containers for large-scale facilities. "If a part breaks, we just send you a new one. That's the idea: remove the guesswork, reduce downtime, and let growers focus on growing."
For more information:
Drop 'n Grow
[email protected]
dropngrowsystems.com