Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production

Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production

Professor DeBacco


Determining if Plants Need Water By…
Lift the containers to gauge the “water weight”
Simply lifting is better than using meters.
Meters can be used as a back-up but getting a literally feel for your self is the “best” method.



When To Fertilize?
Fertilized water should be added each time you water your plants.
Goal is to have a low dose fertilizer and feed each and every day to allow plants to maintain a consistent growth.



Irrigation Defined as…
Irrigation is the process of applying controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals.
How the water is delivered is up to the grower.
Ideally, the plants performance will not differ among different irrigation systems if performed correctly.
However, each method as its own set of advantages and disadvantages which is why growers need to select the “best fit” for their operation.



Hydroponic Growing
Advantages
Can allow for maximum yields
Disadvantages
Smaller margin of error compared to buffered substates

Hand Watering
Advantages
Allows for plant specific care
Disadvantages
Time consuming
Plants can be missed



Flood and Drain (Ebb and Flow)
Advantages
Even watering
Allows for aeration of root zone
Disadvantages
Initial cost and set-up of equipment



Indoor Drip Irrigation
Advantages
Easy to automate
Plant specific watering
Disadvantages
Initial cost and set-up of equipment
Checking to ensure all tubing/fitters are working properly



Aeroponics
Advantages
Efficient at delivering nutrients to roots
Allows for easy visual inspection of root structure
Disadvantages
Requires electricity

Can become less effective when dense roots are formed




Link to Lecture Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vGMv...

*Due to the description character limit the full work cited for "Indoor Irrigation Options for Cannabis Production" can be viewed at... https://drive.google.com/file/d/10dtg...