How to perform a Daily Walkaround at your farm
The second best part of growing the food outside of experiencing the nourishment it is providing is taking a step back and absorbing with all your senses the fresh food production machine in front of you. Smelling the fresh air, feeling the air in motion, hearing the trickling of the nutrient water, and seeing the rich dark green living plants. There is no better way to start the morning! Perform this the moment you walk into the farm, and you will notice the transition from farm operations being a science to becoming an art.
Steps to perform during your Daily Walkaround
Smell and feel the air, similar to how you can tell it's good compost when it smells good; the same goes for the farm. The air shouldn't be heavy or thick (too high humidity), and the air should smell fresh, there should be some motion to the air.
If this is not the case, check your fans and ventilation (dehumidifier if you have one) and ensure all the equipment is working properly. An ambient air temp and humidity sensor are helpful to ensure you are within the universal setpoints.
Hear the trickling of the unique water flow dynamics in the Flex Farms and the flooding of the trays in the Sprout Tower, check the ground for any water, listening to the flowing of the pump. Check your Flex Farm tank's water level and remove any debris and/or extra-long roots. If anything sounds or looks amiss, check to make sure no water flow is obstructed, and water is getting to the pump. If there is a leak, identify the source, and depending on the severity, either place a towel in the spot of the leak or turn off the pump. To troubleshoot further call our phone line, we are here to help!
Check the lights to ensure they turn on when they should be and off when they should be.
Inspect the plants for their health; if any plants look sickly (stunted growth, yellowing, overall discoloration, etc.), first ensure they are receiving water and light, then check the nutrient and pH levels to ensure you have proper water health. If all of these variables are being maintained, then we recommend checking your ambient air and humidity levels.
If you run into anything that is stumping you, please give us a call, as we have probably experienced it and can help troubleshoot!
Example Weekly Maintenance Schedule
We always say, “Whatever works best for your farm operation,” use this example weekly maintenance schedule to plan out your resources accordingly based on what works best for your schedule and resources. The cadence with the tasks listed below is our minimum recommendation; in other words, feel free to increase the number of times you add water to the system twice a week or how often you check nutrient and pH levels!
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Daily Walkaround | Daily Walkaround | Daily Walkaround | Daily Walkaround | Daily Walkaround | Off Day | Off Day |
Monitor & Adjust Nutrient/pH | Harvesting Rotation A | Prep/Portioning Rotation A | Add Water | Monitor & Adjust Nutrient/pH |
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| Light Clean Rotation A Flex Farms |
| Remove humidity dome & turn on light Rotation C | Clean & Flush all Drip Lines |
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| Transplant Rotation A |
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| Seeding Rotation C |
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Once a Month | Every 4 Month |
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Clean Drip Line Holes | Stagged Deep Clean your Rotations |
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| Refresh all water |
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Protocols to be Followed
Water Maintenance: Ensure all Flex Farm tanks in operation remain above ¼ full
Water Flow Maintenance: At least once a month fully clean out every dripline hole and flush every dripline.
Water Flow Maintenance: When plants are in the Flex Farm, the Flex Connect pump should be running all the time, your vertical irrigation line ball valves should all be 100% open (unless otherwise stated), and your Flex Farm drainage valves should be 100% open.
Pump Backup Emergency: If your pump fails and there is not a backup pump immediately available, follow this procedure: Unplug the pump, shut all Flex Farm drainage valves, remove the vertical irrigation line from the Supply Line, and place and attach independent Flex Farm pumps in each Flex Farm to run each Flex Farms individually.
Sprout Tower: Whenever seeds are not being germinated in a flat, turn the light above the flat off using the switch on the side of the light panel.
Sprout Tower: Stagger the pumps 15 mins "ON" times so no two pumps run simultaneously.
When Transplanting: Each rockwool plug should be flush with the planting space and every planting space should always either have a plant or a Panel Plug when the pump is on.
After Transplanting: check the Flex Farm tanks and remove any rockwool, leaves and/or roots that may have fallen into the tank.
During Harvest: Close the ball valve on the vertical irrigation line to the Flex Farm you are harvesting. Move the light tower to the side of the Flex Farm.
After Harvesting: check the tanks and remove any rockwool, leaves, and/or roots that may have fallen into the tank.