tips & tricks
“ THERE IS A misconception
that starting a farm business is 90 per cent growing and 10 per cent selling . In our experience , it ’ s just about the opposite .”
Why focus on mistakes ? Let ’ s face it : we learn a lot more through our mistakes and failures than we do through our successes . From working with new farmers through the years , we ’ ve noticed that the most successful farmers see mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve their farms . As you begin to navigate the world of hydroponics , learn from these mistakes and keep them in mind when starting or scaling your own system . Doing so will save you a lot of heartache and possibly financial despair associated with these seven mistakes .
Mistake # 1
Growers design unusable or hard-to-use farms
Designing an unusable farm is a mistake of inexperience more than anything else . Many growers haven ’ t grown before ( at least not on a large scale ), so they don ’ t think about factors like workflow and efficiency . This results in farms that :
• Don ’ t use space efficiently
• Are hard to harvest
• Require lots of transplanting and tending
• Aren ’ t conducive to pest control
• Don ’ t allow easy access to important components
Since labor is often the largest variable cost on farms , labor-efficient design is important . The cure for this mistake is to think carefully from the start about how you will use your system . Consider all your variables , from growing needs ( light , water , nutrients , pests ) to user needs ( access , convenience , automation , redundancy ) from the start , and only begin to design your system after you ’ ve seriously considered these variables . Talking to established growers and touring their system designs can be a great help as well . Be sure to ask questions and find out what they would do differently if designing their systems today .
Mistake # 2
Growers underestimate production and system costs
Most growers starting out in farming fail to completely understand their costs . They get started , invest in large facilities , expensive utilities , and equipment , but never get the chance to fully utilize them because the budget is consumed by unanticipated costs . Some commonly forgotten costs are :
• Packaging
• Pest controls
• Insurance
• Labor
• Printed marketing materials
• Ongoing maintenance
• Heat removal
• Equipment replacement These are major costs that add up . The cardinal sin is that most beginning growers vastly underestimate the cost of labor — whether it ’ s their own or someone they ’ ve hired . Raft production is an example of a common , labor-intensive , hydroponic production technique .
100 grow cycle