Greenhouse Happenings: How We Water

Because water is so important to plants, it is so important that how we water our plants at the Wild Interiors greenhouses is effective, sustainable, and environmentally responsible. When you have 100 acres of indoor growing space, there are A LOT of plants to keep happy and hydrated. Watering that many plants takes A LOT of water and special greenhouse watering methods. Read on to see how we water at the Wild Interiors greenhouses.

Water Supply

Retention ponds and holding tanks surrounding our facilities collect and filter rainwater in a 100% sustainable irrigation system for all of our plants. These ponds collect about 1.5 million gallons for every one inch of rainfall! That is the equivalent of filling 2.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The average amount of water at any given time in our retention ponds is about 28 million gallons, which would fill The Georgia Aquarium, the largest US aquarium, three times.

The water supply at Wild Interiors is not only 100% sustainable but also completely self-contained. After rainwater is collected and distributed for watering plants, it is returned back to holding tanks where it can be filtered and reused. This ensures that significant amounts of wastewater do not enter the local water supply and negatively affect natural habitat.

Greenhouse Watering Methods

There are two main categories of greenhouse watering methods used at the Wild Interiors greenhouses, sub-irrigation and overhead irrigation. 

Sub-irrigation is also referred to as seepage irrigation. This method of irrigation is where water is delivered to the plant root zone. At Wild Interiors, we use Ebb and Flood Benches and Ebb and Flood Floors for sub-irrigation.

Ebb and Flood Watering

Ebb and Flood Benches consist of a table with an inner surface on a gradient that fills and holds water for 20-30 minutes. They fill for 15 minutes and then drain for 15 minutes—using the gradient to drain. The main reason for their use is to irrigate plants that can’t have wet foliage in production (like ferns for example). It prevents leaf and crown rot that would normally be caused by overhead watering and prolonged leaf wetness. 

Ebb and Flood Floors follow the same process as the benches but are much larger. They take up whole sections of the greenhouses and consist of flooring that is sloped downward to contain water. These whole sloped areas are slowly filled with water and then drained. Fun fact—several of our plants in ebb and flood have to be in special trays that prevent plants from floating away!

Overhead Booms

Overhead irrigation booms are the most widely used method of watering at Wild Interiors and they take many forms. The booms range from simple to super sophisticated. They all have in common that they can be programmed to run manually or automatically at set times. The automatic feature is super helpful in propagation when plants need to be kept moist through warm sunny days or when plants need to be watered before growers get into the greenhouses early in the morning. Boom watering can occur without growers present to supervise.

We take greenhouse watering seriously at Wild Interiors and sustainable practices are a top priority for us in our efforts to bring consciously grown plants to your home! Now that you know how we water your plant before it gets to you, check out our blog on When to Water Plants for tips on how to hydrate your plant at home.