Floriculture

Commercial greenhouse growers, for the most part, have had a good 2021.  With everyone still hesitant to change their tendencies of staying close to home, spring plant sales were good. Potted crops and other floral crops have moved well.

Energy cost increases, supply chain delays, labor shortages and significant jumps in most input and shipping costs are potential issues affecting the industry.

Pipp Horticulture (a division of Pipp Mobile Storage Systems, Inc.) (“Pipp”), the leading provider of space-saving, multi-level mobile cultivation systems, announced today that it has acquired the GGS Group of Companies (“GGS”). Based in Vineland Station, Ontario, GGS is one of the most recognized names in the Horticulture industry. They have been the leading manufacturer of top-quality greenhouses and turnkey greenhouse growing solutions including traditional rolling benches, heating and ventilation systems, and curtain systems.

In every commercial greenhouse, upgrades are an inevitable reality in order to remain competitive. Updating your greenhouse is a great way to become more efficient and save on costs, but for growers with older greenhouses or dated equipment, it can be difficult to know where to start.

Year-round commercial greenhouse operations require reliable structures and heating systems that will ensure optimal growing conditions through the winter season. To accommodate the amount of energy that’s required to operate a greenhouse in the cold season, it’s important that your heating system is running as efficiently as possible. If you don’t, an inefficient heating system in your greenhouse will result in wasted energy that will negatively impact your bottom line. You can maintain and increase efficiency in your greenhouse by following the recommendations below:

For greenhouse growers that are ready to expand their business, often one of the first thoughts is to build more or expand on existing greenhouses. While there certainly does come a time where it does makes sense for a grower to expand their operation, it may not be the best option for everyone.

Managing all of the environmental factors in a commercial greenhouse is a lot to take care of when you’re trying to grow continuously high quality crops. This is why more growers are choosing an integrated environmental computer system that controls all of their environmental factors cohesively. An integrated system eases a lot of the burden and challenges growers face trying to manage all of these factors by keeping your system attuned to the needs of your crop without the need for constant monitoring and adjustment. A fully integrated system will help to build consistent and predictable cycles that will maintain an ideal growing environment.

As we head into October, the cooler days signify that heating season is here. Heating your greenhouse is a necessary reality for commercial growers to maintain an ideal climate for their crops, but with energy prices on the rise, warming the greenhouse can be a costly endeavor. Growers must ensure they're getting the most out of their heating system and often maintaining efficiency involved simple maintenance. Here is quick checklist to maximize the efficiency of your greenhouse heating system:

Choosing a greenhouse covering is an important decision for a grower and depends on a number of factors including durability, climate, light transmission and cost-efficiency. The most common materials used to cover greenhouses include glass, acrylic, poly film and polycarbonate, all of which come with varying advantages depending on what a grower is looking to get out of their covering.

Summer is once again coming to a close, and as much as we try to savor the long days that accompany the warmest season of the year, the beginning of August signals that shorter, cooler days are not far behind. Growers need to prepare their greenhouses for colder weather which means they also need to prepare for the high energy costs associated with operating a commercial greenhouse through the winter.

One of the biggest challenges faced by growers is finding and developing an efficient integrated pest management (IPM) program that works for their operation. Once a disease spreads or pests infest a crop, it can be incredibly arduous to fix and can cost thousands of dollars in damaged products. It’s critical that a holistic approach to managing pests and diseases is implemented to avoid costly infestations.