Growers and Growing

David Hodes has written for many cannabis publications, and organized or moderated sessions at national and international cannabis trade shows. He was voted the 2018 Journalist of the Year by Americans for Safe Access, the world’s largest medical cannabis advocacy organization.

Articles

Better seed genetics, power-free tunable lighting, and other new scientific discoveries are making headway in what has become an ag-tech leading industry.

Cultivation Breakthroughs  for a More Uniform Plant Are Coming

Gretchen Schimelpfenig, PE, is the Technical Director of RII and manages the organization’s Technical Advisory Council. She is an LED-lit home cultivator. While serving Burlington Electric Department customers, she incentivized horticultural LED lighting equipment through energy efficiency programs, and has commissioned LED lighting designs and installed systems in commercial and industrial buildings, including greenhouses used for academic research on hemp and other cultivars. She authored the RII 

Best Practices Guides on HVAC and LED Lighting for Cannabis Cultivation and Controlled Environment Agriculture.

 She has a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. She is a licensed Civil Professional Engineer in California and Vermont. 

Learn about the value of monitoring environmental conditions, how software platforms can analyze data and offer insights, and the ways growers can use data to optimize plant health and vitality.


Make Data Work for You: Environmental Monitoring for Optimal Outcomes

In this piece, we touch on the benefits and challenges associated with autoflowering genetics, and provide justification for why these unique varietals may be the catalyst for making cannabis medicine more accessible and approachable for the general population. 

Autoflowering Genetics Present Unique Opportunities

Part III of this series explores the impact of light spectrum on plant growth and the equipment needed for indoor cultivation.

Does Light Spectrum  Alter Plant Transpiration Rates?

Learn about the four major steps of integrated pest management (IPM) programs: setting action thresholds; monitoring and identification, prevention, and control; the various control methodologies; and how climate control systems both enable indoor cannabis cultivation and can manage pests like mold and mildew.

Integrated Pest Management for Cannabis Cultivation Monitoring, Identifying, Preventing, and Controlling Pests with HVAC Solutions

Isolated CBD, full-spectrum oil, and even smokable hemp are all being diluted down by a draconian regulatory framework that needs to be changed to facilitate growth, innovation, and prosperity throughout the industry.

Hemp Regulations and the Restrictions on Innovation

This article outlines types of cooling equipment that contribute to sustainability and energy-efficiency; how to develop a customized cooling strategy that meets growers’ sustainability goals; and steps growers can take to simultaneously improve energy efficiency and operating costs.

Is Carbon-Neutral Cannabis Possible?

In this interview, Michael Salaman, co-founder and president of GrowGeneration, talks about the trends in cannabis during the COVID-19 pandemic and more.

Hydroponic and Organic Growing in Cannabis Cultivation

Learn about the major choices of substrate, their benefits and disadvantages, the ways watering volume and frequency are affected by substrate choice, and more.

Rooting for Recapture and Reuse Impact of Substrate Choices on Irrigation Approach, Watering Rates, and Recirculation Activities

Learn more about vapor pressure deficit and how it is a critical measurement of air conditions that impact the health and vitality of your plants.