COVERSTORY
by Eric Hopper
Forever Flowering Greenhouses
Licensed Producer Greenhouse
L
ight deprivation has become a popular grow-
ing technique used by many greenhouse
horticulturists. Light deprivation, also known
as “light dep”, is an agricultural growing tech-
nique that uses shade cloth or black out material to
control how much light the plants receive and also
how often the plants receive the light. The darkness
created by the blackout material “tricks” the plants
into responding to the changes in the photoperiod.
By using a light deprivation technique and, therefore,
having complete control over the photoperiod, a hor-
ticulturist can mimic seasonal changes. For example, a
grower with a light deprivation greenhouse could ini-
tiate fruiting or flowering in the plants long before the
plants would naturally go through this process. Light
deprivation allows horticulturists to reduce the time
it takes a crop to reach maturity and this equates to
multiple harvests per year (compared with one harvest
per year when relying solely on Mother Nature). One
company has propelled itself ahead of the rest as the
leader of light deprivation. That company is Forever
Flowering Greenhouses, or FFG.
Forever Flowering Greenhouses (FFG)
Forever Flowering Greenhouses, founded in 2006
by Jonathan Valdman, is a leader in both light depri-
vation products and techniques. Since its inception,
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FFG has focused on sustainability and the reduction of
horticulturist’s carbon footprints. It supplies only the
highest quality products that are designed to lower
a grower’s monthly overhead costs, while ensuring
large yields of flowers, vegetables, and herbs. Perhaps
most importantly, Forever Flowering Greenhouses is
a company founded on experience. This is a company
started by farmers to best serve other farmers. Two
decades worth of experience in the fields spawned the
product ideas that would benefit others. Each growing
season provided a deeper understanding of the plants,
the plant’s needs, and the techniques that worked
best.
All in all, experience is what allowed Forever
Flowering Greenhouses to create a growing environ-
ment that requires less daily input and reduces the
overall margin of error. As experienced light depriva-
tion growers, the folks at FFG came to understand
the ins-and-outs of light deprivation and how to cre-
ate greenhouses that best served the needs of light
deprivation growers. It’s not just the growers at FFG
that have experience in their field. Forever Flowering
Greenhouses’ engineering department is backed by
over 40 years of experience. FFG offers multiple pro-
fessional grade greenhouses, all of which meet strict
NGMA greenhouse standards. The latest line of pre-
fabricated greenhouses, known as the Licensed Pro-
www.GardenandGreenhouse.net
November 2018