Think of your grow like a restaurant kitchen.
If you were at a restaurant and saw the cook in the kitchen picking up raw chicken with his bare hands and the grill looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months, would you want to eat the food?
While the answer to this question is obvious, it's an issue that is too often overlooked by growers. Keeping the grow clean.
How your grow gets dirty
When it comes to what makes your grow dirty, there's pretty much two categories:
The stuff you can see, and the stuff you can't.
The dirt, grime and other things you can see will always be the easiest to deal with because you know where it is, and can usually clean it up pretty quick with the right gear.
But when it comes to the stuff you can't see, it's always better to be prepared than to find out something is wrong too late. And one of the most common ways that harmful germs and bacteria can get into your grow is from hitching a ride on you or other grow workers.
Preventing the spread
There's a ton of options for preventing the spread or tracking in of germs and bacteria. It really depends on how serious you are about staying on top of it and how much you want to spend.
The simplest way to prevent any contaminants being brought in to a room is with gloves. You spend all day messing around with plants with your hands, and if you're wearing gloves it's as easy as putting on a new pair every time you enter a new room.
If you can bring in germs and bacteria with your hands, then it's just as likely you can bring them in with your feet. Now gloves are one thing, but who wants to have to change sanitary booties every time they leave a room?
Luckily there's a simple solution in the form of sanitation pads. A sanitation pad will absorb your cleaning solution and act as a cleaning mat for anybody who steps on it. Simply put in the doorway of each room and anyone who enters or leaves can quickly sanitize their shoes.
With hands and feet covered, you can take out a lot of the human element that can prevent you from keeping your grow clean. However there's also the natural buildup of germs and bacteria due to environmental conditions and everyday movement and activity in the grow.
Keeping the grow room clean
Plant trimmings, water and nutrient puddles, spilled soil; these are all simple things that can lead to a dirty grow over time. It might seem like a no-brainer to pick up the trimmings and soil and soak up the puddles.
But let's be real, when you're growing on a large scale you don't have the time to individually clean up every plant and make sure the area around it is clean. Especially when you have thousands of plants to take care of in a day.
This is why it's essential to establish a Standard Operating Procedure (S.O.P.) for cleaning your grow on a daily or weekly basis. It's always easier with a team because you can designate a specific job to each person.
Whether it's picking up all the trimmings at the end of the day or giving the floors a sweep in between plants a couple times a week to keep the floor dry and clear of debris, there's typically something everybody can do to help.
Now is the time to put some extra effort into keeping your grow clean, and Cultivate has the gear and support you need to get it done. You can always send us an email through our contact page, or send us a message on Instagram or Facebook.