The need to provide food to an expanding global population and meet agricultural requirements for producers worldwide has driven the use of new cultivation techniques. Hydroponic systems and strategies represent clear examples, as they facilitate strong results in greenhouses and indoor grows, as well as outdoors.
The incorporation of sustainable solutions, such as the Jiffy Growblock, has transformed horticultural practice. As with other paradigm-shifting offerings from Jiffy, the Growblock is innovative, efficient, and sustainable.
The use of Growblocks in combination with Jiffy Growbagshas gained ground as an effective strategy to improve results in hydroponic crop production, such as plant weight and business earnings. This pairing also offers sustainability, reducing the use of water and offering biodegradability.
In this article, we will explore how Growblocks have fundamentally improved producers’ operations and how growers can use them together with Growbags for additional benefits.
What is a Growblock?
Jiffy's Growblocks are compact blocks of substrate specially formulated to provide plants with an optimal growth environment. The entire structure is composed of 100% coconut fiber substrate, fostering the production of organic and sustainable—not to mention healthy—crops.
Growblocks have a dry plate inside a polylactic acid (PLA) mesh, making them fully biodegradable. This structure keeps the substrate inside, supports the root system, allows proper water retention, and offers high aeration capacity.
To accommodate different types of producers, Growblocks are available in two sizes, 10cm x 10cm and 5cm x 5cm. When growers add water to growblocks and the substrates reach their maximum hydration, they can have a volume of up to 60%.
However, our Growblocks offer producers much more than just a medium for growing plants. For example, using these solutions, you can count on air-pruning for healthy root development and better temperature control.
Using Jiffy Growblocks with Jiffy Growbags
Although both solutions are alternatives for substrate supply, combining Jiffy Growblocks with our Growbags creates a highly efficient and versatile system. You can propagate your plants using Jiffy Growblocks and simply move their production to Jiffy Growbags.
Growbags are flexible and larger containers commonly used in high-density agriculture, nurseries, hydroponic systems, and nurseries to keep your plants healthy and growing under optimal conditions.
The way these solutions work together is simple but effective. First, growers insert their plants into growblocks. Then, once the Growblocks have reached their maximum expansion with hydration, growers transfer their Growblocks into their Growbags.
This allows growers to benefit from both solutions, which together provide compact and controlled growth media for plants. This is especially beneficial for container crops, as Jiffy Growblock and Growbag solutions allow efficient use of space and better control of growing conditions.
Key benefits of using Jiffy Growblocks with Jiffy Growbags
Combining Jiffy Growblocks with Growbags offers many crucial benefits.
Moisture control: Growers achieve optimal water retention, which is essential for the healthy growth of plants. The high-quality substrates of Jiffy Growbags and Growblocks provide a perfect balance of moisture.
Aeration and drainage: Together, these solutions allow excellent aeration and drainage of the substrate, preventing waterlogging and providing a constant supply of oxygen to the roots.
Versatility: This combined system can be adapted to a variety of crops and conditions, both in outdoor and indoor cultivation.
Waste reduction: Both solutions are environmentally friendly, reducing the need for disposable plastic containers. They also help keep the cultivation area clean.
Success stories and practical applications
Plant producers around the world, from greenhouse leafy vegetable producers to ornamental plant propagators, are enthusiastically innovating by combining Jiffy Growblocks and Growbags.
With diverse practical applications, these solutions stand out as magnificent media for hydroponic crops such as peppers, strawberries, melons, and gherkins, and for ornamental species like roses.
Germán Cuitiño Christin, an agricultural researcher at Argentinian growers’ cooperative and Jiffy distributor Tecnoflor, tested the production of various crops using Growblocks and Growbags.
Germán explains that one of the biggest tomato growers in the region has three hectares (7.4 acres) of cherry tomatoes. He ran trials of 200 plants of each of the grower’s varieties, growing all of the seedlings in Jiffy Growblocks and transplanting them.
Using Growblocks, the grower ended up harvesting 18% more in plant weight. His earnings even increased 25% because he could harvest earlier in the season, when prices are higher.
Let’s work together
Jiffy is a leading global supplier of premium growing media and solution thinking. We aim to serve you, our customers in plant propagation and cultivation, to achieve better results with fewer worries. We do this by continually improving, innovating, and working toward our common goals, based on scientific research, teamwork, and decades of experience. Let’s develop sustainable plant growing solutions together: Let’s start today!
