How to Grow Wheatgrass Largescale Commercially?
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 12:13 am
Hello! I have been growing wheatgrass and juicing for a few years for myself. I got approached by someone who just got a Government grant to start a wheatgrass juice company and needs a commercial supplier for their needs. I hae decided to transform my 2 car detached garage into my operation. I live in Canada and have harsh winters. I wish to outlay my plans and a few obsticals I hope to overcome. Here it is.
Garage has no power and not insulated. I will begin by running a power connector to a fuze box to the garage and layering it with insulation. There is also no running water or drainage.
I plan to grow wheat grass in a vertical shelving system. I have a seed, soil and tray supplier. Cost to grow a tray will be approx $2.50.
I have shelves that are approx 4 feet across so I can fit 4 trays on each shelf. I do need lighting advice!
Water: Since I don't have any drainage, I am thinking the best system would be to have buckets below each stack of wheat grass trays and have a small water pump, pump water to the top and then it can drip downward through the bottom of the holes to the following trays cycling around and around. Should I be concerned about mould?
Heat: I will purchase a electric heater to heat the garage in the winter. I believe optimal temp for wheat grass is approx 19.5 degrees Celsius.
CO2: Should I use a co2 fan to pump cold air in, or a CO2 generator? How do they work?
Fans: Should I purchase a few ceiling fans to circulate air? or what would be the best system?
Lights: I feel I should for sure go with LED due to the cost savings. I feel the best would be to get a LED tube to cover each set of 4 trays. I'm looking for some suggestions. I found this option on Ebay. What do you guys think?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/25Pack-4Ft-pink ... RK:MESE:IT
25 of them for about $300 usd seems pretty reasonable but is this a good option?
Anything else I need to consider?
Thanks so much in advance for reading and I hope you can help me with what I need.
Garage has no power and not insulated. I will begin by running a power connector to a fuze box to the garage and layering it with insulation. There is also no running water or drainage.
I plan to grow wheat grass in a vertical shelving system. I have a seed, soil and tray supplier. Cost to grow a tray will be approx $2.50.
I have shelves that are approx 4 feet across so I can fit 4 trays on each shelf. I do need lighting advice!
Water: Since I don't have any drainage, I am thinking the best system would be to have buckets below each stack of wheat grass trays and have a small water pump, pump water to the top and then it can drip downward through the bottom of the holes to the following trays cycling around and around. Should I be concerned about mould?
Heat: I will purchase a electric heater to heat the garage in the winter. I believe optimal temp for wheat grass is approx 19.5 degrees Celsius.
CO2: Should I use a co2 fan to pump cold air in, or a CO2 generator? How do they work?
Fans: Should I purchase a few ceiling fans to circulate air? or what would be the best system?
Lights: I feel I should for sure go with LED due to the cost savings. I feel the best would be to get a LED tube to cover each set of 4 trays. I'm looking for some suggestions. I found this option on Ebay. What do you guys think?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/25Pack-4Ft-pink ... RK:MESE:IT
25 of them for about $300 usd seems pretty reasonable but is this a good option?
Anything else I need to consider?
Thanks so much in advance for reading and I hope you can help me with what I need.