What would you say is the biggest benefit of supplemental
lighting in greenhouse growing?
For me, the use of supplemental lighting in greenhouse
growing has its largest impact concerning carbon footprints.
“
By keeping production costs down through
greenhouse growing, we can offer fresher
and healthier food and medicine.”
Using the greatest light source in the world (the sun) for the
heavy lifting and just supplementing a few hours a day when
sunlight intensity is low is a much greener way of producing
crops than with straight indoor growing. Also, with this
method, you can produce quality crops all year round with
lower production costs.
Is the use of supplemental lighting more prominent with growers
in certain regions of the United States than others? If so, why?
That’s a great question and one that is often overlooked. Yes,
at first-glance some regions are better suited for greenhouse
growing than others. Any geographies with extreme weather
conditions (a.k.a. cold, wind, snow, etc.) are perfect for green-
houses; they offer environmental protections for crops while
utilizing sunlight. Grows in those regions without consistent
sun also benefit the most from supplemental lighting.
However, with a little thought and ingenuity, you can do well
with greenhouse cultivation just about anywhere on Earth.
Many see automated greenhouse growing as the “future of the
industry” because it utilizes controlled environment agriculture
with the added perk of sunlight. What are your thoughts on this?
I couldn’t agree more with that statement. Whether it’s medical
crops or food production, people want healthier choices that
are also cost effective. By keeping production costs down
through greenhouse growing, we can offer fresher and health-
ier food and medicine. To me, that’s an obvious no-brainer.
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Maximum Yield
Modern greenhouse cultivation with the bonus of supplemental
lighting truly diversifies horticultural applications outdoors.
Plus, as Strath mentioned, this form of growing is also econom-
ically viable and more environmentally friendly. With this sort
of best practice, technological advancements have allowed
greenhouse growers to devise cultivation methods that can
realistically sustain the industry well into the future. Finally,
novice and expert growers alike can use supplemental lighting
to produce fresh medicines and crops all year round.