Les Serres Frank Zyromski, producers of 8 to 10 million cuttings annually, have found a way to maintain soil temperatures and reduce production time – even while temperatures dip as low as -34° C.
“We save time with our crop – almost two weeks,” says Frank Zyromski, owner of the Rivière-Rouge, Canada-based greenhouse. “We use a bottom heat solution that you roll out, fit on the headers and install the plumbing. It is very easy, not very complicated.”
Zyromski utilizes Roll’N Grow, a product which comes in rolls much like a carpet – and also rolls out in a similar way. “Even when it is -30° C outside, I can keep the soil at 22° C,” he says. “The air is much colder, but the media is really warm.”
In Québec, where Les Serres Frank Zyromski is located, snow arrives early and in large quantities, starting in November and staying through the long winter. This makes it essential for the greenhouse, regarded as a young plant pioneer in Canada, to quickly and easily provide the warmth their plants’ tender roots need to thrive.
“BioTherm supplies the layout plan for Roll’N Grow,” Zyromski explains. “It’s very quick to install. In fact, 100% of the greenhouses have BioTherm product.”
Click here for more information on the Roll’N Grow.
A specially designed machine produces Roll’N Grow by bonding heating tubes to black or white weed barrier for floor applications or to open mesh for bench applications. Master rolls are 3 meters wide, but the product can be customized to any floor or bench width. A grower simply rolls out the mat, then connects the manifolds and supply/return lines to a hot water source and pump. A soil probe thermostat controls the system based on media temperature.
Les Serres Frank Zyromski utilizes the product in both bench and floor applications. “We use it in one house where we have 58,000 square feet of ebb and flood, and in the free-standing houses, we just roll it out,” says Zyromski. “Every year, we build new houses, and we order new Roll’N Grow.”
The product makes it easier than ever before to provide root zone heating to all of their crops, Zyromski says. “I have to admit that BioTherm provides a very efficient process. It is very efficient and very easy to install, much simpler than standard plumbing. We have opened in January with no additional heat.”
For more information:
BioTherm
www.biothermsolutions.com