At the beginning of December, the team of irrigation specialist Growficient was expanded with Tom de Vreugd. Tom has over 10 years of cannabis cultivation experience. He joins Growficient's team as Grower Success Manager. Tom: "I am looking forward to learn together with cannabis growers about the optimal irrigation strategy, especially in coco/peat mixtures and more sustainable substrates.”
Tom first encountered cannabis cultivation while working at a cannabis expertise center, where he did research on cannabis cultivation, culture and medicinal applications. After a follow-up job as a cultivator at the Dutch branch of the listed cannabis company Aurora, Tom now joins Growficient.
Growficient was no stranger to Tom. He says: "In my previous job I already worked with Growficient sensors. Of course I worked a lot with crop steering and it was valuable that the sensors not only collected data on water but also EC-values, substrate temperature and ambient temperature. Especially since these data are essential in growing cannabis. In addition, I found the Growboard very user-friendly, which made the system pleasant to work with."
Making cannabis cultivation more sustainable
At Growficient, Tom will help other growers to optimize and gradually automate their cultivation using sensors. Tom continues: "Regulated cannabis cultivation is a relatively young industry. Many growers are therefore searching for the optimal strategy suited to their specific cultivars, substrate, technical setup and planning. In that search, irrigation obviously plays a fundamental role. But then you need to understand how the plant responds and what the plant needs. It is therefore valuable to supplement your own observations with sensor data. This allows you to draw objective conclusions and improve your strategy with each cultivation round. Because we all know that every round is slightly different."
A personal mission Tom shares with Growficient is about making cannabis cultivation more sustainable. "In the cannabis industry, we see a lot of drain-to-waste and excessive run-off. Sometimes without reusing the water, because that's not always the situation. With accurate sensors, you can greatly reduce this water waste. After all, you're really going to give what the plant needs."
In addition, it helps in the choice of a sustainable substrate to have good data. "Growficient's sensors do not only give good readings in rockwool, they are also particularly accurate in coco and peat substrates. This is especially important in organic fertigation or living soil principles."
Growing worldwide
Dirk Jan Mulder, CEO and co-founder of Growficient, sees Tom as an asset to the team. He says: "Growficient has grown tremendously in the cannabis sector the past year. With Tom on board, we are ready to grow further. Our sensors already helped many growers to optimize their cultivation strategy, especially in North America. My ambition is to start doing this globally."
Tom hopes that cannabis growers know where to find him if they want to talk about their irrigation strategy. He concludes, "I find it incredibly interesting to hear from others how they approach their cultivation. That's why I like to invite them to contact me. Send an email to [email protected], and we can share our enthusiasm and learn from each other's experiences."
For more information:
Growficient
[email protected]
www.growficient.com
instagram.com/growficient