For years and years the cultivation of marijuana has been a very private affair, often taking place in large warehouses, using LED lights and lots of energy to grow even a moderate sized crop. With the advances in legalization in areas such as Colorado the energy consumption has become too much.
Rather than continuing to waste electricity to grow a plant that thrives on sunlight, growers are now being given the opportunity to transfer their warehouse nurseries to a state-of-the-art greenhouse.
The benefits of moving to a greenhouse are endless, but the three most important factors to consider are energy efficiency, quality of the plants and the sheer amount of which needs to be produced.
Energy Efficiency
The most important factor by far is the amount of energy that is required to keep up nursery which is indoors. Since the plants will never see true sunlight they must be provided with an artificial substitute often in the form of LED lights. Running the number of lamps needed for an entire warehouse nursery is a very expensive task. Colorado quickly realized something needed to be done after the first full year of their legalization and greenhouses are the answer!
Quality of Plants
You may think that plants can thrive perfectly fine in an indoor environment so long as they are provided with the right lighting and ample water. The thing is, nothing can truly replace sunlight – plants that grow outdoors or in greenhouses which amplify sunlight not only grow faster, but also stronger and healthier. Once the flower has started to be grown in greenhouses people are bound to be able to tell the difference both in look, taste and effectiveness.
Amount of Marijuana in Demand
With the amount of marijuana in demand in states like Colorado, Washington and Alaska it is almost surprising greenhouses were not considered sooner. Growing indoors you can only provide so much artificial sunlight and attempt to create the right atmosphere for the plants. When switching to a greenhouse the plants will grow stronger and quicker too – which will have a large impact on being able to keep up with supply and demand in a way that is safer for the environment.
Greenhouses are the future of growing cannabis – and it is going to benefit the environment in far more ways than just these three. Plants are all the same in that they require few basic things – and due to the federal ban marijuana has hardly seen true sunlight in decades if not longer. This is a long overdue advancement in the cultivation of marijuana.