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One aspect of farming that is often overlooked is the quality of source water being used for crop production. For many greenhouse growers, winter provides a break to clean up and analyze data after a long growing season. Having a sample of your source water analyzed from time to time provides important information for realizing patterns and planning for the next growing season.

Results from a water analysis provide the following information:

When the hail started falling in Grinnell, Kansas, there were plenty of disappointed people looking toward Dan and Carol Buck’s 4B Farms. That’s because their CropKing greenhouse wasn’t just standing — it was unpierced, none of the ice shards came close to cutting into his facility.

“I had a lot of big farmers watching me, thinking that first hail storm would be the end of my greenhouse,” Dan said.

Are you interested in growing microgreens indoor year round, or for the winter months? Today’s blog will help you make the right decisions while growing healthy and nutritional microgreens. Microgreens are most commonly harvested from leafy greens such as kale, arugula, radish greens and herbs. The taste of microgreens depends on the original vegetable. Microgreens have a very strong and concentrated taste of the original vegetable. This means that cilantro microgreens will still taste of cilantro, but with a stronger taste and condensed format.

For the second part in this this three-part series we will be discussing the major elements that are typically used in large quantities – calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Some people consider these macro elements and will usually put nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus also in this category.

Previously on the blog we talked about rapid relative humidity increases and how plant tissue is affected. Today, we’re talking about part 2 – rapid relative humidity decreases. If you missed part one, check it out here!

One of the benefits to controlled environment growing is the ability to grow year-round if desired. While fall typically signals the end of a growing season for many field crop farms, backyard gardens and nurseries, many hydroponic farmers growing in a controlled environment are still going strong. These operations monitor the outdoor environment and adjust their growing environments accordingly to maintain optimal growing conditions with light, humidity, temperature, etc.

Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus are crucial for plant health. As the seasons, and nutrient demands, of various crops change, I figured to start a three-part series highlighting the elements that are needed by most crops. To prevent these blog posts from becoming too large, I will be breaking them up to discuss the big three, the mighty macro’s, and the much-needed micros. I am not putting them in order of importance since all plants need all of these nutrients in one formula or another.

Social media is an important marketing tool to help get you in front of your potential customers. Whether you’re promoting products or services, educating your audience about why you’re the best, or simply sharing what you’re up to, social media platforms are a great outlet to help customers engage with your brand. With Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and more, we’re talking about some of our best tips and tricks to help you decide what might work best for you.

Make a Plan

After hours of seeding, moving hundreds of transplants, mixing fresh batches of nutrients and managing a plant-friendly environment, you hopefully have produced a bountiful, disease-free crop that is ready for harvest. The next critical step in fresh-market hydroponic production is to follow proper harvest and storage practices to ensure that your customers receive produce of the highest quality. It is important that you don't overlook post-harvest care, since this could determine taste, texture, nutrition, safety and overall salability of your produce.