Emerald Coast Growers expands greenhouse space

In order to meet an increasing customer demand and increase efficiency, Emerald Coast Growers has expanded its Milton, Fla., greenhouse operation.

 

“This space will increase our capacity and allow us to add new varieties while increasing availability on current varieties,” says Josiah Raymer, general manager.

 

Improvements to the Florida Panhandle growing space will deliver in increased energy efficiency, reduced labor and increased flexibility in growing conditions for different crops.

 

Completed in early 2016, the new Atlas gutter-connected double-poly range is 36,864 sq. ft., bringing Emerald Coast Growers’ total growing area under cover to more than 500,000 sq. ft., in addition to more than 75,000 sq. ft. of outside space. The new facility will be used primarily for tender grass production such as Rubrum and holds more than 19,000 trays.

 

“As is the case with all of our greenhouse in Florida, we utilize natural ventilation to deal with heat load for a large part of the year while using poly tops exclusively for covering to facilitate removal when necessary as part of our hurricane preparation plan,” says Raymer.

 

It is equipped with separate interval mist and irrigation systems throughout; LED lighting, which draws approximately 10 percent of the power when compared to HPS lighting of similar light intensity; and Hired Hand propane heaters installed as two separate systems for redundancy in case of failure.