Labor 5 min read
Build or buy is the wrong question
Your team can probably build it. The better question is which part only your operation can build, and which part you would rather not maintain forever.
Field notes
Irrigation, written down.
What we learn running connected irrigation in container nurseries: crop health, labor, inputs, and the numbers behind them.
Earlier posts
Irrigation 5 min read
The industry engineered itself to tolerate overwatering
Fast-draining bark, recapture ponds, top-dress fertilizer, someone chasing valves. All rational fixes for one unmanaged root cause: overwatering in nurseries.
Irrigation 4 min read
Irrigation is just another task
A clock, a PLC, an IoT box or a person with a hose can open a valve. The hard part was never the valve. It is deciding how much, when and what else has to wait.
Crop health 3 min read
Irrigation and crop health: connecting the dots
How irrigation shapes crop health in a container nursery, and why getting water right boosts growth, cuts costs, and reduces the inputs you buy to compensate.
Economics 3 min read
Increase nursery profits with smart irrigation strategies
How automated irrigation and tighter resource management change the margin math for container nurseries: lower costs, healthier crops, less waste.
Inputs 2 min read
Cut fertilizer and fungicide with smart irrigation schedules
An optimized irrigation schedule keeps nutrients in the pot and foliage dry before nightfall, so you apply less fertilizer and fungicide without giving up crop health.
Labor 2 min read
Reducing labor with automated irrigation systems
Where the hours go in managing water across a yard, and which of them an automated, weather-based system removes.
Irrigation 3 min read
Enhancing irrigation efficiency with weather-based systems
What happens when real-time weather data sets irrigation runtimes instead of a fixed schedule: less water, lower costs, and no loss in plant growth.
Crop health 2 min read
Understanding leaching fraction testing: a beginner's guide
Leaching fraction is the simplest measure of whether you are overwatering. Here is how to run the test with a scale, a clipboard, and a sleeve pot.