What Does an Effective Substrate Look Like in the Future of CEA?

Despite the recent and projected growth of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) significant capital costs, high energy consumption, strict regulations, labor costs, and other challenges have created major profitability hurdles for operators of CEA businesses.

In order for the industry to succeed today and into the future–suppliers who serve producers of tomatoes, leafy greens, strawberries, cucumbers, and other controlled environment crops must evolve to support growers’ needs.

In particular, growing media that addresses these major challenges will play a pivotal role in advancing CEA production. Here are three ways in which growing media needs to continue to improve to help usher growers into a new era of CEA:

1. Automation

As growers continue to automate their operations to reduce labor needs and other costs, growing media must become more compatible with automated systems.

One of those elements of compatibility with automated equipment is customization. Rather than conforming their horticultural practices to the growing media, growers will need growing media customization that works for their unique operations in the following areas:

Substrate Type – Whether it’s peat, coconut coir, wood fiber, or an inert or other material, growers need to have options of substrate types that will work best for their specific crop, environment, and equipment.

Physical and Chemical Properties – The fine-tuning of elements like pH, EC, water holding capacity, and porosity are important considerations for performance and to help growers achieve peak efficiency.

Shape and Size – Being able to conform a plug’s shape and size to the growers’ machinery is critical, customizing things like dibbling, final cavity space, and other elements to improve germination and the start of plant development.

Transplantable – With all of the customization involved, substrate products must still be transplantable in order to be successful. Therefore, understanding which options will help move a crop from propagation to production while preventing things like media integrity loss and debris in a system are top of mind for growing media producers.

For example, if hydroponic growers are looking for bound media, the Jiffy Preforma would be an ideal fit. For alternative bound media , growers can turn to Jiffy Pellets. And for containerized production, Jiffy Pots are a go-to option.

2. Food Safety

The topic of food safety is ever-important to keep consumers healthy and keep growers compliant.

When we think of food safety and how it intersects with growing media, there is an opportunity to harness substrates to boost overall plant health. We anticipate that with the advancement of the industry, new blends and new materials will come forward that will reduce the overall pathogen risk.

In the meantime, we are carefully following these areas for advancement as it relates to improving food safety:

Substrate Selection – The selection of substrate types can influence microbial diversity. Peat, for example, has a much more diverse microbiome than coconut coir or wood fiber, and this should be carefully considered by each grower.

Biocontrol – Biocontrols can add specific microbial components to growing media to prevent pathogens. We are still learning about how best to use those products to improve crop quality.

Sterilization – The conversation around sterilization is growing; however, the industry has yet to come to a consensus about how to use this option, and whether it might reduce the integrity of growing media and enable pathogens to outcompete. Therefore, we see an opportunity to explore this subject area further.

Sensor Technology – CEA has evolved significantly in recent years with the development and use of sensors that measure environmental factors, irrigation, and crop development. But sensor technology is not yet being widely used to better understand root zone dynamics. We expect this to advance over time.

3. Sustainability

As we advance the methods of food production for our future, it is also important for us to be good stewards of our environment. When we talk about sustainability as an industry, this is a fairly broad topic, so we’d like to narrow our focus to two major areas:

Reduced Plastics – We’re working toward going plastic free for containers, and using post consumer recycled (PCR) materials for bags or eliminating plastic altogether. We’re already seeing growers move toward reusable injection molded trays to cut down on their single-use plastic, and expect this practice to continue and gain traction where feasible.

Biodegradability and Compostability – When something is biodegradable, it is naturally broken down into base elements within enough time. If that material is compostable, on the other hand, it is reduced down to nutrient-rich components to feed back into nature. Our goal is to work toward developing products that return material components back to the soil without negative environmental impacts.

If we are able to reduce plastics while improving biodegradability and compostability, we will contribute to a reduced footprint and create a more circular economy.

When we look toward the future of CEA and substrate solutions–they must be suited for automation, they must be foodsafe, and they must be sustainable. Our team at Jiffy is at the forefront of discovering how we can improve each of these areas over time to provide growers with what they need to succeed so we can work toward a more profitable and resilient industry for all.

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!


Kyle Freedman

Segment Manager CEA

You can call me on
919-240-3359

or send me an e-mail

All-in-one high yield solution

The Jiffy Growblock is the number one choice for all cut-flower and vegetable growers using hydroponic systems, greenhouses or other nursery applications. And thanks to air-pruning, better temperature control, and versatility, Jiffy Growblocks create healthier, stronger plants.

Peat-free solution

The Jiffy Growbag has unbeatable rooting characteristics. Made of 100% RHP Foundation Certified coco substrates our bags fit every crop. Together with our coco growblocks they deliver a sustainable all-in-one high yield solution.

The compostable classic

Jiffy Pots Original are 100% “home-compostable and approved for organic production. No chemicals are used during the manufacture of Jiffy Pots, which makes them the number-one choice for food crops.