Ttystikk's vertical goodness
- Thread starter tystikk
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Seanf610
Active Member
What type of different result do you get vertically? Or also how can I grow vertically
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ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Good to see you, my brother! I know you did a couple of vertical runs back in the day; what did you think? Compared to flatlander style, would you say the approach is worthwhile? Why?
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
After the years I've spent working with the tech, the first thing I have to do is separate the two basic categories of "vertical" grows:
1. Stacked trays- this is the most common setup I've seen and it's pretty straightforward; you have a great on the ground with plants and a few feet above it you have the lights. Just above those lights, you have another tray and more lights above that. You go up as many levels as you have ceiling space in your warehouse or guts to travel up LOL A lot of big facilities have scissor lifts and people manage stuff up high from those.
2. Vertical plane- this is the other kind, where plants are stacked in cubbyholes on a pole or grown on a trellis. This is the approach I've taken. I feel the advantages include accessibility, productivity and the ability to make use of normal human scale ceilings of less than ten feet. If you want to go higher, just build a racking system with a second floor.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I have found that growing in a vertical plane does not by itself save energy because plants need a given amount of light pressure. It DOES maximize the utility of your floor space because it's possible to get as much as three times the canopy in a given room vertically as you can flat. For example; in a 12x14' bedroom, you need aisles for access and so you'll be doing well to get two rows of 4' wide tables. The math is; 4x12' = 48ft² x 2 rows = 96ft².
For my vertical system, I've got 4' wide x 6' tall panels that I can count twice because I can use the front and back. Twelve feet gives me three panels, so 48ft² x 3 = 144... And in that same room I can also do two rows for a total of 288ft²!
That's three times the canopy space and accessibility for working on the plants is MUCH easier.
MedicinalMyA$$
Well-Known Member
I was vert for years until I started tinkering with LED's and DIY. Still revert to vert during the colder months once a year. And every year I think of going back to vert completely because it's so simple to setup, access, and maintain. A bare bulb hanging down, a fan pointed straight up underneath the bulb, and some ladies in a circle around it.
Vert Donut Scrog/Sog I don't think there is an overall more efficient method than that especially when stacking bulbs.
Vert Donut Scrog/Sog I don't think there is an overall more efficient method than that especially when stacking bulbs.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I've gone away from HID completely in favor of LED lights and so I was able to do flat panel trellis. That gives a lot more room for both the plants and for me to work on them.
It's all part of the process of continuing to iterate and develop the approach.
OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
Do you have any links to other places on the internet where Vert Grows are exploding?
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I wish... I'm not sure why it doesn't get more attention because the big new grow facilities (for herbs, greens, etc) are all vertical over way or another.
Drop That Sound
Well-Known Member
Wish I could figure out a way to grow hydroponic microgreens vertically.. literally, not racks... on food grade plastic screen with no medium to fall out, as the roots grow into the screen. Without losing any of the water. Maybe at a slight angle, so the water simply runs down the screen right over a panel, like an NFT wall type system..
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Vertical slot grows in square section extruded plastic. You'll need some kind of material for the inside, along the lines of strips of the plastic batting for swamp coolers. Then place your seedlings in the slot, stand it up, drizzle nutrient water from the top. Done!
Drop That Sound
Well-Known Member
I got a big 100ft roll of food grade PP mesh screen (FDA approved for cannabis drying racks) just like the screen used in these pics. Can be used over and over indefinitely.
I'll probably have to germinate horizontally as normal, at least for the first day or 2, but it would be cool if I could just hang\stretch the screens vertically after that (with a sheet of plastic close as possible to block the roots on the other side, or right up against a sloped panel like a vertical NFT), and let water trickle right down it and keep recirculating. My roll is 40 something inches wide, So I could maybe even hang whole sheets up, instead of cutting 10x20 squares and using my mesh bottom trays.. and grow big green rugs in no time!
Not only do I never have to buy medium (like 99.99999% of micro green growers), but you can hold them upside down to wash seed hulls off without worry, and even harvest that way like the pic above, possibly with a homemade conveyor like contraption that sucks the whole screen through quickly.
Planned to go SWC hydro, with 4 tier racks with multiple 10x20" reserviors or botanicare rack trays.. but if the trickle down vertical NFT type system works, I could do whole walls with way more sq ft of space than using the racks. I'm working with a 45' dry van, and just putting racks along the walls sounds good, but I know there is a better way..
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
The system that you're showing in the pics looks pretty awesome grown level like that and I would hesitate to suggest you try to turn things vertical. For tons of seedlings it's hard to beat stacked trays and so doing that would be my recommendation.
Drop That Sound
Well-Known Member
Yeah your probably right. It would make more sense to go fully vertical in channels like that with leafier greens, or anything past the micro/seedling stage anyway. I got a nice stash of 4x4 vinyl fence sleeves I been saving just for a vert lettuce growing system too, and should probably worry more about improving on that instead.
I still might play around and experiment with a larger vertical screened frame of some sorts for growing micros, just for fun. See what I can come up with.
DWC micro greens on screens is where its at though IMO! Hardly anyone doing it for some reason, even though everyone and their mom wants to start a MG business... Only a few people that buy kits from the guy that started doing it first. You don't have to go in and water constantly, or do any of the multiple other steps that are necessary when growing on a medium in the trays, other than maybe res change with some dirty seeds like sunnies.. Its way to easy. The bubbles keep misting the root mat perfectly if you keep the water level in check (I'll have floats in my new systems), which in my case will be really long shallow rdwc like systems.. 5-6 teirs of them on long rack shelves running the walls for about 35 ft on each side of the isle way in the main grow room of the dry van trailer. As automated as possible. Still toying around with multiple types of trays and low rise containers to use.
Huge yeilds because you can double or even triple the amount of seed spread across the mesh screens, compared to sprinkling them over coco or soil, with much less chance of rotting them out or growing molds. Over a pound of most varieties per 1020 tray (usually about 20 trays per 5 teir metal rack, 4 on each shelf), in few days less time than normal!
I still might play around and experiment with a larger vertical screened frame of some sorts for growing micros, just for fun. See what I can come up with.
DWC micro greens on screens is where its at though IMO! Hardly anyone doing it for some reason, even though everyone and their mom wants to start a MG business... Only a few people that buy kits from the guy that started doing it first. You don't have to go in and water constantly, or do any of the multiple other steps that are necessary when growing on a medium in the trays, other than maybe res change with some dirty seeds like sunnies.. Its way to easy. The bubbles keep misting the root mat perfectly if you keep the water level in check (I'll have floats in my new systems), which in my case will be really long shallow rdwc like systems.. 5-6 teirs of them on long rack shelves running the walls for about 35 ft on each side of the isle way in the main grow room of the dry van trailer. As automated as possible. Still toying around with multiple types of trays and low rise containers to use.
Huge yeilds because you can double or even triple the amount of seed spread across the mesh screens, compared to sprinkling them over coco or soil, with much less chance of rotting them out or growing molds. Over a pound of most varieties per 1020 tray (usually about 20 trays per 5 teir metal rack, 4 on each shelf), in few days less time than normal!
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Brilliant! And yes, bigger stuff can go vertical plane.
Drop That Sound
Well-Known Member
I have a bigger DWC mother plant that I'm gonna throw outside in my little cattle panel hoop greenhouse I just cleared out, with an extension cord to run power, and hopefully still finish off in time. This is when normal OD flower here anyway. I'll do something different for a change, and vert the scrog net. I'll even make an arched one to match the hoop shape on the end wall, right above the insulated res.. Keep the plant like a thin wall so I have room for other veggies, which can also hide it away in the back from curious eyes that wanna see dads secret plants! I didn't know where I was gonna put her, but I think going vert can solve my problem! Been awhile since I tried that.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
If the back wall of the hoop house is transparent that's ideal. Otherwise it will need to be against the north wall so it gets enough light. Don't forget to leave at least 6" or so for an air gap between the plant and the wall for ventilation.
OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
On an unrelated not - can you believe Hydro-Gardens went belly up? 
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
I think the owners got old and gave it up. It's a very sad thing. There's another place selling similar nutrients in Utah, called PowerGrow;On an unrelated not - can you believe Hydro-Gardens went belly up?
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