To stay competitive, commercial cannabis growers should take every opportunity to maximize the performance of their growing and harvesting endeavors. Improving your growing operations begins with developing and designing your grow room or greenhouse so that your space is efficient in terms of energy and resource consumption. To increase your crop yield, optimize the temperature of your indoor environments, and boost the profitability of your efforts, you should consider installing rolling benches for growing.
If you’re looking for professional design and installation services for your greenhouse or grow room, MJM Install is here to help. Our team brings more than ten years of experience to every project, along with a background in horticulture and an industry-leading approach to upgrading your operations. We offer customized design solutions and support to ensure that everything from your lighting to epoxy flooring is industrial-grade quality.
In this article, we’ll review the key benefits of rolling benches and discuss how to maximize the value of your growing space. The best benches for your indoor growing rooms integrate your existing tools and methods, from overhead lighting to drainage and water control systems.
Building a Grow Space With Rolling Benches
MJM’s commercial grow room and greenhouse projects integrate systems that standardize day-to-day crop maintenance while cutting a significant portion of overall costs. Our project managers can help you select the right bench size, height, and materials for your arrangements, allowing you to set up the foundation for your industry-leading operation.
1. Space Efficiency
If your grow room or greenhouse uses fixed benches or tables, rolling benches will significantly increase the number of plants you can fit within your space. Fixed benches are set up in either a longitudinal or peninsular layout, which means that there are aisles between each platform. In most grow room operations, this is an inefficient use of greenhouse space. With rolling benches, you can simply move the platforms apart to create a single lane for crop maintenance, upgrading your growing capacity by up to 40%.
Rolling benches are lightweight, allowing the grower to move them with a simple push or pull. The increase in available growing space alone is usually enough to justify the use of the rolling system. With a higher plant volume, you’ll have higher profits. However, there are a handful of other benefits that you may also want to consider before purchasing and installing.
2. Improved Airflow
Using benches or grow tables ensures that all of your crops receive optimal airflow, which can help to increase plant health while reducing the likelihood of mildew or disease affecting your yield. The airflow beneath your rolling benches also provides an even distribution of warmth for the plant’s roots, minimizing the impact of any temperature fluctuations within your space. For commercial operations, growing at ground level simply doesn’t cut it anymore.
3. Alignment With Lighting
In arrangements with stationary grow tables, it can sometimes be tricky to align your lighting grid with your plants. A longitudinal or peninsular layout often requires you to build a lighting grid that bridges the gap between aisles, which is considerably less efficient than it could be with rolling benches. The movability of your plants beneath a uniform grid ensures that each plant receives an equal opportunity to flourish. When you need to perform lighting maintenance, you can simply move the benches apart to create a lane directly below the light so you don’t have to reach over the grow table.
4. Integration With Irrigation Systems
Rolling benches come in various sizes and designs, ensuring integration with your existing irrigation systems is a breeze. Ebb and flow systems help reduce the impact of excess water, ensuring that dehumidifying systems don’t need to operate overtime shifts. Depending on the configuration, you can easily collect the excess water or drainage on the sides or end of the bench. Most bench frames also feature unobtrusive slots for adding trellises and drip irrigation without interfering with your aisles or other nearby growing platforms.
5. Easy Cleaning and Maintenance
Rolling benches make cleaning your grow room or greenhouse a straightforward process. Instead of cleaning beneath your fixed grow benches, you can simply move your plants out of the way. If you’re upgrading to rolling benches after growing plants at ground level, you’ll find that managing floor irrigation and cleaning up excess moisture is significantly easier. The railing or sidewalls of the bench can also help ensure that there are no leaks or spills.
6. Scalability and Configuration
Rolling benches make configuring your grow room or greenhouse a straightforward and cost-effective process. Most bench systems allow the grower to change the height of the plants, improving the efficiency of your lighting grid and drainage systems. Multiple tray widths and drainage slope angles are also advantageous features that help to optimize your operations. The length of the bench is also configurable, allowing you to open up the maximum amount of space possible for new plants relative to the size of your grow room or greenhouse.
As your operation continues to grow, your greenhouse rolling benches can scale upwards to allow for more plants without additional expensive investments. While rolling benches might seem like a minor component in the construction and design of your growing space, they are essential for improving crop yields and profitability regardless of the size of your commercial efforts.
Durability in Design
The design of your grow room’s infrastructure should always be built to last, which means your rolling benches are no different. It’s essential to invest in materials that can withstand the humidity within the room, the weight of your plants, and any shifts in temperature. High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) and steel are two of the most common frame materials for rolling benches, though the latter is usually a preferable option for commercial growing. If possible, check the arrangement of the rollers beneath the bench to make sure they won’t come into contact with each other.
Commercial Cannabis Grow Room and Greenhouse Construction
Rolling benches are just one piece of the puzzle when you begin creating a customized grow room or greenhouse. Rolling benches allow you to maximize your space and improve the performance of your operations. MJM Install offers modular construction and design services for growers seeking to create a reliable, cost-effective indoor growing environment. Our experience, project management skills, and unrivaled professionalism ensure your new space allows you to increase crop yield, resource efficiency, and overall profitability.
Coordinate with our team of design and horticultural experts who understand what it takes to succeed in the cannabis industry. Contact us today for a free consultation.