AUTOFLOWER VERTICAL OUTDOOR GROWING

PRODUCING HIGH MARIJUANA YIELDS IN EXTENDED NORTHERN ZONES

Let’s start with the last headline and a common phrase about things to come, or ‘ON THE HORIZON’. Any one living in northern zones is familiar with the sun appearing to travel low on the southern horizon. Likewise, solar panels are vertical and face south for a reason. And for now, at least, the sun is free. The only other consideration I want you to think about as you bare with me, is, if the small start-up gets pushed aside by the big corporations, what happens to American entrepreneurship and innovation? Better yet, what about competition? We don’t really have a healthy economy without it. Having said that, it will be interesting to see if all the major publications on the subject, who have big dollar advertising customers, will run with this article, as they will be receiving it.

Having mentioned competition, lets talk about niche. I am going to draw on another controlled substance that has been with us since we learned about fermentation. As you know, it runs from a low alcohol beer to a ‘kick your ass’ moonshine and everything in between. However, a lot of people can relate to having a cold one or two with a friend and still be able to drive home legally. Likewise, there is a market for a counterpart cannabis. Not everyone wants to get completely hammered every time. Not to mention how big pharma targeted areas already using cannabis for pain management with their opiate death stars, OR anti anxiety meds. Don’t get me started.

HIGH YIELDS IN EXTENDED NORTHERN SEASONS

These bush beans are producing and blossoming in Northern Michigan in November. Notice the bare tree branches in the background. The leaves have long since turned color and fallen. That’s why we call it the Fall Season. If you’re from up here, you know the season starts with a heavy frost. Most everything on the ground gets frozen unless it is a frost tolerant plant like broccoli or a Northern Ruderalis strain, if you will. These beans survived because they were off the ground and in a Vertical Eco Garden facing south like a solar panel. A green house works even better and is available.

Granted, bush beans are a small plant, and most Autoflower strains are about 3 ft on average. So let’s look at the smaller end of that average. The two I am most excited about are Low Rider Autoflower Feminized by cropkingseeds.com ( they have an 80% guarantee on germination if you follow their suggestions that apply only if your state laws allow it) and Auto Caramelicious by marjuana-seeds.nl (MSNL Seed Bank). Hopefully there are more, or more will be developed. Both are dwarfed compact hardy bush strains that are easy to grow and offer assurance of a bountiful bloom without all the complications and cost of an indoor grow. Having said that, we do realize, being able to grow indoors does have benefits. The benefit we are focused on is protection from freezing. By providing a mobile garden stand, your growing season can start earlier in the spring and grow longer into the fall season. If frost is forecast, just roll the gardens into a building or garage or cover them with plastic. A greenhouse space could be better utilized. With quick turn around of Autoflower bud production, your yield can easily compete with the big operations if your a producer, or provide you with an affordable alternative if you are growing for your personal needs.

It is not complicated to grow a weed. According to a recent article in Maximum Yield, all the essential nutrients needed for a successful grow are listed in this organic plant food. And most plant foods will also have the secondary nutrients but may not list them.

Having given up on the Urban Garden Gorillas, or head honcho at your local community garden, I am adapting a Vertical Eco Garden design to other types of plants besides bush vegetables. Hopefully, this new market is less of an identity.

Here is how it works. Notice the roots must penetratingly grow through a layer of material to gain access to the rooting chamber. Heavy soil is not needed for plant stability. A more non compacting aerated thus bio-intensive growing medium can be used. If your growing organically or not, aeration is key to healthy roots along with phosphorus and root growth hormone production. If your a gardener, you know that the bush bean is a legume variety and does not need a rich soil. Cannabis requires a soil a little richer and better drainage than most vegetable plants, except for these Fairy Tail Egg Plants. They also like frequent hydration, below middle pH in an aerated medium. I provided a picture for your comparison to any vegetable seed catalogs you might have laying around. See if they have a comparable yield growing on a plant. I have not yet found one. The point being, If I can get this yield from my Vertical Eco Garden with a vegetable having similar needs as an Autoflower Strain, what will it do when I grow an Autoflower Strain?

Well, this spring we will find out. I will be growing both of the Autoflower Strians mentioned. Currently, the Vertical Eco Garden has 5 vertical rooting chambers ea having five vertical pockets to plant, for a total of 25. This will probably be ok for the Low Rider. Each root chamber feeds 5 plants. It works like hydroponics, without having to recycle a solution. For the bigger bushier Auto Caramelicious, I will fabricate a 4 root chamber design having 3 pockets each for 12 plants. I can do this because in addition to being the inventor, I am also the manufacturer. I do have a patent, but only to protect the market from ‘look alikes’ that will not incorporate the right geotextile having correct water flow engineering specification in a drain application less compressive values, or some shit from China if that’s OK to say. The picture is of 25 sweet Italian pepper plants. If you want to see a video of the yield, go to facebook.com/TheVerticalEcoGarden

LOW START-UP COST AND LOW OVERHEAD

Each Garden below utilizes only 7-8 cu ft of a coir base potting soil. The bottom of each rooting chamber opens for recycling and amending of the growing medium. This process can be automated for commercial growing.

If you want to compete with the sun with an indoor grow, start by picking a location in Seattle. A high end low utility light fixture per ea 4 sq ft of floor space cost aprox. $1,800. Having said that, when all the other utilities of dehumidifying, ventilation and heat control add up, your still looking at giving 40% of your freedom to the utility company.

Thank you for your time,

Joe

Commercial Indoor Urban Garden Farming profits will have to keep up with rising utility costs. Air Freight Shipping FRESH non seasonal cost will also increase. The only non inflationary energy source is the sun. Facilitating growing  specialty produce / product  Outdoors in Midwest to Northern zones has potential. So, sweet Italian frying peppers cost 3,00 ea in the Big city. One garden can produce over 100 peppers. Midwest outdoor gardening starts in June, goes to Sept. that season is extended by 3 months moving plants indoors for frost protection. The Vertical Eco Gardens can be utilized to tap into this non inflammatory energy source and extended outdoor growing time by its gardens being moved on mobile stands indoors. For commercial growers, who grow cannabis for instance, this could mean lowering costs significantly for these three extra months of natural light and conditions. Everyone has to compete in the market, and lower overhead means a reduction in product cost or an increase in profit margins. Using the sun produces better product at a lower cost.

Check out the details in our patent!  US9210846

Lets start with the latter. A business plan for any venture will want to establish your Niche, Right? Your market research should reveal who is growing what, and selling to who, and at what price. Based on this formula, I would not consider doing research on another urban lettuce farm, unless I could compete in price and quality. I am not an expert. However, my first thoughts for indoor growing would be cost of utility as a major overhead. Again, I am not an expert, but I also would be hard to convince that lights could do better than the sun. Not to mention the cost of facilitating an indoor grow. Will your projections serve that amount of debt? How about the cost of leasing, renting or the long term liability of buying? Industry has left for foreign soil, abandoning industrial sites, so finding a facility might not be too bad, unless the facility was much newer and had all the modern amenities. Niche in a crowded field requires looking at every station, from overhead cost, what to grow and who to sell to, to get the biggest return.

For example, If I had an Italian restaurant with a fussy chef, I would want to find a supplier who could deliver the tastiest fresher Italian Pasta or Stuffing Pepper for my customers. The cost might not be their main concern. And if I wanted to save on utilities, I might want to use the sun and a facility that cost less. Being able to Garden in Northern Zones might not be as difficult nor have as short of a growing season. By facing the Vertical Eco Garden south, it functions like a solar panel. Sun that is lower on the horizon compensates by hitting the vertical garden more directly. The Northern and Midwest gardening season can start earlier and grow later into the autumn. If frost is in the forecast, the Vertical Eco Garden mounted on mobile stands can be moved indoors, where the stored solar heat could keep them from freezing saving utility cost thru the night. I imagine they could be linked like kiddie train cars at the zoo. One more advantage, the potting soil amending and exchange can be automated.