Potentially getting hired as Head Grower for small legal micro-grow. Need advice/clarification on some stuff.

skitownsnucka

Well-Known Member
Quick rundown: 150-300 plants total. Two flowering rooms, one veg/mother room. Not sure of their plans for lighting as of yet but i'm familiar with LED/HPS/CMH and would assume they'll end up with a combination of them all. They are trying to maximize yield given their small allotment (in comparison to the bigger liscenses) of plants allowed. I am very well experienced in growing RDWC using House and Garden Aqua Flakes, Hydroguard (because i'm on well water and REALLY need preventative measures) Big Bud wk 2-5 Flower then switch to Shooting powder (or MOAB), Sugaree, and Bud XL (H&G) the last weeks of flower. I had an interview at a place where the guy mentioned they don't use bloom boosters, and i forget why, either because of not passing for heavy metals or because of yeast/mold/bacteria testing failures.

The facility will be on city water so I think i can cancel the Hydroguard and maybe instead use Cultured Solutions UC ROOTS (or calcium hypochlorite if its all the same). My biggest concern for this place is passing testing and still keeping terpenes as high as possible while still growing using hydroponic methods. They mentioned they plan to grow in rockwool but i don't think they know much about RDWC, but they are open to trying stuff out. I've been able to get 3-5 lbs off a plant in rdwc with the proper strain and with vertical bulbs on the four corners of the plant. Could something like that be achieved without doing RDWC but instead filling a 20 gallon pot (because i need these things to get big fast) with rockwool chunks and just feeding like I normally would with my H&G Aqua Flakes? I'm hesitant to suggest RDWC because of all the extra equipment required and initial investment, in addition to having ~200gallons of bubbling water in the system and that creating extra humidity thus creating the potential for molds/yeasts/bacteria growths.

This place is looking to craft quality flower to help stand out against other places popping up. I love growing in the undercurrent/rdwc a lot but always feel it's lacking terps compared to my organic super soil grown flower. Was even thinking of suggesting to do one flower room organic super soil and the other room either RDWC or a 20-30gallon rockwool so that at least half the stuff is STELLAR in the flavor department.

Too Long Didn't Read?

1. Looking to grow big plants to be able to compete (a little bit at least) with the bigger license holders.
2. Need to make sure i'm passing testing (molds/yeasts/bacterias/heavy metals) Need to know what products are ok and what ones to stay away from.
3. Need to make sure terps are high and preserved (keep leaf surface temperature low? Stay away from phosphorus or potassium boosters? Keep EC low? (have heard a lot of people have good success with just Aqua Flakes all the way to the end but haven't tried it yet. Have read mixed stuff on flushing hydro and it reducing terps and it only being necessary if you've overfed a bunch.

If you have worked for, or know someone who has worked for a commercial facility that has to pass testing, I want to hear from you. Also, looking for recommendations from people that have experience with Jacks 321 and how the end product compares with terps from other bottled nutrients. Any and all suggestions/clarifications/advice are welcome and I thank anyone in advance for taking the time to help me. At the end of the day, i'm trying to keep things as simple as possible using the least amount of inputs while still putting out high terp flowers.
 

skitownsnucka

Well-Known Member
I think they should hire someone else. You seem like a one trick pony, not a master grower.
I live in an area where there aren't a lot of options for people to hire with degrees in plant sciences. They need someone with experience with cannabis, which I have.
Ive had success growing with no-till organics, organic super soil mixes, as well as growing in just plain hugo blocks in addition to 8 years non-stop of current culture.
Whats your definition of a "master grower"?
 

myke

Well-Known Member
What about all the other Ops that are struggling to make ends meet?Price of product is so low that Ops cant even make money.

Cant see people wanting to invest in this.
 

DrOgkush

Well-Known Member
They already have a set plan and you wanna change it? Lol. I think you might be in over your head a tad.
 

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
To avoid failing heavy metal testing, you need to see reliable 3rd party tests on every single nutrient/supplement you use, including media. Here is one such place to look https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/fertilizerproducts/. You need to follow your state guidelines when you set up a grow, most of the time you'll have to pass a state inspection. To avoid failing microbe tests, you need to keep a clean room, not clean like "sweep up the hair off the floor" but more like wear tyvek suit/mask, have proper air filtration and machine trim. States make it as hard as possible for small growers to be able to set up in such a way they can pass these tests simply due to the great expense involved, but some states are much more lenient than others.
 

skitownsnucka

Well-Known Member
They already have a set plan and you wanna change it? Lol. I think you might be in over your head a tad.
No they don't have a set plan. They're open to new ideas. They just see everyone else in town putting 21 plants in a 4x8 tray and think that's what they should do.
 

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
Whats your definition of a "master grower"?
At a minimum, a person who has knowledge in all aspects of horticulture, and has vast production experience.

Hey, maybe you can pull it off, maybe not. If you end up failing at a 300-plant grow, what will the recourse of your employer be?

I would think a new start up like that would hire an outside consultant, and maybe fly them in.
 

DrOgkush

Well-Known Member
No they don't have a set plan. They're open to new ideas. They just see everyone else in town putting 21 plants in a 4x8 tray and think that's what they should do.
And you think a 300 plant rdwc system is better? That’s a heavy investment. Not to mention environmental control.
 

skitownsnucka

Well-Known Member
What about all the other Ops that are struggling to make ends meet?Price of product is so low that Ops cant even make money.

Cant see people wanting to invest in this.
This isn't a very flooded market where i'm at just yet. People are very much into "craft" products where i'm at so the idea that you're supporting a smaller local venture here is appealing to the consumers.
 

skitownsnucka

Well-Known Member
And you think a 300 plant rdwc system is better? That’s a heavy investment. Not to mention environmental control.
no, the system would be a 25-30ish site rdwc system in a 1,000sqft flower room. The total allowed plant count for the entire facility would be 300 tops (if it gets approved) but for sure 150. So 30 plants in rdwc flowering, 30ish in veg, then the rest (approx 90 plants) would be maybe 40 super soil plants in flowering room 2, with another 40 in veg and maybe 10 mother plants. Again, they are open to suggestions.
 

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
My 2c is that I do believe that in order to stand out the company has to do something different!

The obv problem with soil is it is slower, and so logically that is why they dont plan to go that way.

However as a supersoil grower who does water only I do believe that it is something few people ask about because in general people know it is grown fast in hydro form...or just don't know. The terps from an organic soil grow are killer.

Since you have expertise in soil and PJ is questioning your confidence in RDWC...what if you floated the idea to the team that in order to stand out, you want to run 25% organic supersoil to see if you can create a market for it. What price the market would offer is not well known.

But imo, that is the one thing I dont see offerred. And in todays very green world with lots of people wanting organic...it is just a matter then of acquiring the right clones to run.

Maybe DrOGKush from Cali can comment...is there known organic cultivators separating themselves from the standard market and charging for it? (Anybody with knowledge is welcome to answer)
 

skitownsnucka

Well-Known Member
To avoid failing heavy metal testing, you need to see reliable 3rd party tests on every single nutrient/supplement you use, including media. Here is one such place to look https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/fertilizerproducts/. You need to follow your state guidelines when you set up a grow, most of the time you'll have to pass a state inspection. To avoid failing microbe tests, you need to keep a clean room, not clean like "sweep up the hair off the floor" but more like wear tyvek suit/mask, have proper air filtration and machine trim. States make it as hard as possible for small growers to be able to set up in such a way they can pass these tests simply due to the great expense involved, but some states are much more lenient than others.
Appreciate the input. It will be getting an inspection before I even start and for sure tyvek suits/masks will definitely be standard.
 
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