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TrolMaster Hydro-X Pro (HCS-2) Firmware Update 101.63.34 Now Available

Trolmaster has released its newest version of the Hydro-X Pro Control System (HCS-2) firmware that has addressed previously reported problems as well as to add some great new features.

New Features

  1. Add individual setpoints for ALL device modules. Previously the plug-in style of control modules could not have separate setpoints assigned for each module forcing the controller to use the system settings only. The new firmware allows the user to select separate setpoints for ALL device control modules. When you go into the settings for a particular device, you will now see a small asterisk/setting icon within the Temperature, Humidity and CO2 settings section. Click that icon to access individual or system settings for that device module.
  2. TrolMaster has added some new control modules called the TSH-1 and VFD-1 to control analog 0-10v and VFDmotor controllers.
  3. Created a new “spray” mode for people who need to spray their plants. Spray mode allows the user to dim their lights and activate/deactivate certain equipment while spraying.
  4. Added a user setting to select the current time zone in UTC. By entering the unit’s correct UTC timezone, the controller will be able to automatically correct / synchronize the timeclock when connected to the internet. 

How To Update Your Firmware

  1. Go to https://www.trolmaster.com/Products/FirwareUpdate?class=Support 
  2. Download the HCS-2 firmware version 101.63.34 on a USB drive with less than 32GB capacity. 
  3. Insert the USB memory stick into the HCS-2. 
  4. Go to Settings – Import / Export, select Import / Export all settings. 
  5. In the bottom window, select a file name for the settings to be saved as. 
  6. Save the file on the USB drive. 
  7. When save is complete, go back to Settings – System Reset – Firmware Update 
  8. Select the USB drive to update the firmware. 
  9. When the update is complete, go to Settings – System reset – Factory reset 
  10. When the factory reset is complete, go to Settings – Import / Export and select to Import all Settings. Find the file with the saved settings and select Open – Import. 
  11. When the import function is complete, your HCS-2 has been updated and all previous settings will be restored. 

Please contact your GreenPlanet Sales Representative for information on sales and product details.

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Enhance Cannabis Quantity and Quality with CenturionPro’s Elite Harvesting Solutions

Cannabis sales in Canada have climbed steadily throughout 2020, to reach record highs of over $230 million. The surge has been driven by a rise in retail stores improving product accessibility, combined with edibles, extracts, and topicals enticing untapped audiences. The new product formats were predicted to attract over three million new consumers, which could help Canada’s recreational industry finally realize its true potential.

With an annual market value of $2.7 billion, the new product categories present lucrative opportunities for the nation’s producers. To benefit from an expanded portfolio, growers need to scale harvests to meet unprecedented demand without sacrificing quality. To do this cost-effectively requires producers to analyze operations from top to bottom, identifying which processes can be streamlined and deploying solutions that safeguard standards.

Streamlining Strategically

Automation can enhance the quantity of cannabis produced, but when adopted strategically can also enhance the quality. When streamlining operations growers should look for the early big wins, automating the most labour-intensive and expensive tasks first. For many this is the crucial, but tedious, harvesting process, which can make or break the value of the crop.

De-stemming hundreds of pounds of cannabis can be a momentous and monotonous task, which can take many weeks if done manually. Every time there is contact with flower, there is a risk of trichrome degradation that diminishes the value of the crop. As a result, many rely on bucking machines to carefully remove buds from plants quickly. Leading harvesting solutions ensure that large flowers and top colas are kept intact, with little to no damage to trichome structure.

Buckers instead of hand de-stemming protects large flowers and top colas.

To enhance the appearance, quality and value of cannabis, growers of all sizes are also increasingly investing in automated trimming machines. While hand-trimming flowers is often romanticized, it is rarely practical in a commercial environment. On average, a micro-cultivator will yield 174 lbs of flower in a 2,000 sq. ft. grow room, which would typically take 25 employees seven days to trim. With an experienced trimming crew charging $200 per lb, a single harvest could cost $34,800. This illustrates how inefficient and expensive hand trimming cannabis can be for even the smallest operation. By contrast, a top-of-the-line machine will trim 174l bs in under five hours-for a one-off investment of significantly less.

An example of automated trimming at it’s finest.

Hiring a trimming crew can be problematic as well as expensive. Employees require motivation to provide top-quality product constantly, with the entire cultivation process reliant on their actions and availability. Pinning hopes on individuals for such a pivotal process can leave companies vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances, such as the lockdowns enacted to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Consistency is King

Due to industry pressures, it is essential cultivators can guarantee their harvesting capacity, which can be difficult to do with a manual workforce. Trimming delays can cause costly bottlenecks and downtime, which prevents producers from filling delivery windows. This is especially true in today’s market, with growers often required to achieve perpetual harvests to satisfy demand.

The best trimming machines are as versatile as a human trimmer, but capable of infinitely greater efficiency and uniformity. With the ability to trim wet or dry cannabis to replicate hand-trimmed flower, adjustable machines produce the same cut every time. In contrast, hand-trimmed product can vary person-to-person and batch-to-batch. The consistency provided by trimming machines enables growers to maintain standards as they scale to meet unprecedented demand.

Adopting automated solutions for automation’s sake, without first identifying how they improve operations, will result in expenses that fail to enhance your grow. However, strategically identifying where costs can be saved and implementing specialist solutions improves both quantity and quality. This enables growers to attract new cannabis audiences now, with the capacity and consistency to satisfy and retain these customers in the future.

So which trimming system is the one for you?

Need help finding the right harvesting solution for your garden? The Centurion product selector can identify your ideal machine; simply select the size of your indoor, outdoor or greenhouse grow to get started! For all other inquires about the reliable harvesting hardware from the innovators at CenturionPro, contact your GreenPlanet Wholesale representative for sales or product information.

This blog was written and provided in partnership with CenturionPro Solutions.

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CenturionPro Solutions: Elite Cannabis and Hemp Harvesting Solutions

From the home of B.C. bud, CenturionPro creates elite harvesting solutions for the world’s best cannabis and hemp producers. With unrivalled performance, the CenturionPro trimmers and buckers empower growers to benefit from emerging markets globally, delivering flower comparable to hand-trimmed product quickly, without sacrificing quality. By accelerating the crucial and labour-intensive harvesting process, CenturionPro’s industry-leading machines streamline operations for enhanced profitability.

Expertise Through Experience

CenturionPro’s illustrious legacy spans four decades, with the original tumbler trimmer debuted in 1999. A game-changer for the industry, the seminal machine was the first to produce a trim similar to that done by hand – a feat previously considered impossible. Building on this prestige, the company has continuously innovated alongside the cannabis community, solving industry challenges as they arise.

Dual-purpose hybrid tumblers were designed to trim both wet and dry cannabis in the same machine, while non-stick coatings were adopted to ensure 40% greater trichome preservation. Every standard trimmer is supplied with an extra set of tumblers to reduce downtime and ensure continued performance. CenturionPro strives to be a leader of innovation in the cannabis industry. Their latest industrial-scale harvester, for instance, is able to process a staggering 3000 lbs of wet cannabis (600 lbs dry) per hour.

Superior Harvesting Solutions

With a commitment to creating superior trimmers and buckers, CenturionPro’s machines are built to the highest specifications at the company’s headquarters in British Columbia. Harnessing the best brand name components sourced from across North America, such as Baldor motors, Toro cutting reels and Timken bearings, CenturionPro’s cannabis trimmers and buckers deliver exceptional power and precision.

Built for industrial operations and to exceed industry standards, CenturionPro’s machines are composed entirely of anodized aluminum and stainless steel. Rigorously tested for robustness in real-life conditions, CenturionPro is so confident in the construction of its machines that the company offers ten-year warranties on its trimmers, in addition to five-year warranties on its buckers.

Tried, Tested and Trusted

As a result of CenturionPro’s legacy, expertise and build quality, the company’s machines are consistently cited as the market’s finest trimmers and buckers. TrimLeaf.com and RightBud.com, for example, listed CenturionPro’s trimmers as the best solutions for small, medium and large operations in their 2020 buyers’ guides. In addition, TrimLeaf.com selected CenturionPro’s products as both the winner and runner up in its commercial-scale category.

From the best bud trimmers for small and medium-scale cultivators to the most economical solutions for commercial operations, CenturionPro provides industry-leading trimming and bucking machines for all grow sizes. With a history of ground-breaking innovation, underpinned by unparalleled support and extensive warranties, the company looks to the future of the cannabis industry with revolutionary harvesting solutions.

Check out a powerhouse in a small package!

Need help finding the right harvesting solution for your garden? The Centurion product selector can identify your ideal machine; simply select the size of your indoor, outdoor or greenhouse grow to get started! For all other inquires about the reliable harvesting hardware from the innovators at CenturionPro, contact your GreenPlanet Wholesale representative for sales or product information.

This blog was written and provided in partnership with CenturionPro Solutions.

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The Growth Enhancing Properties of Fish Sh!t

In ancient Egypt, the flooding of the Nile River was of such importance that the year was divided into three seasons: Akhet (Inundation), Peret (Growth), and Shemu (Harvest). The Egyptians believed the Nile overflowed with tears their Goddess, Isis, would shed for her slain husband, King Osiris. Little did they know that the yearly flood coincided with the monsoon season in early spring. In this period, capillary springs and rivers would fill with water and overflow into the great Nile, subsequently irrigating the surrounding plains of Egypt.  

History and mythology aside, the annual flooding of the Nile is arguably responsible for sustaining one of the world’s greatest and most powerful ancient civilizations. At its height of influence, ancient Egypt could feed up to two million people a season, as the water which flooded the fields of farmers carried with it a rich and valuable resource – fertilizer. The aquatic diversity of the Nile River is rivalled only by a few other freshwater sources in the world; in this exotic ecosystem, fish produce waste which can benefit plants in amazing ways. In the case of ancient Egypt, access to this natural ecological resource did more than subside hunger, it even helped build an empire. Of all the products available in the industry of gardening today, there is only one bottled supplement which attempts to emulate the growth-enhancing properties of the Nile River – you guessed it, Fish Sh!t. 

What Fish Sh!t Can Do For Your Garden: 

Lucky for us, the same technology utilized by the ancient Egyptians exists today in a bottle. Cultivated at Fish Head Farms by providing selected tilapia with a nutrient-rich blend of food, Fish Sh!t is a root enhancing product which provides your chosen medium with a specially formulated microbial profile. By including Fish Sh!t as a supplement in your general feeding program, you can expect the following benefits: 

Increase in Yield 

Fish Head Farms states that using Fish Sh!t can result in an expected twenty percent increase in yield. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying, “the bigger the roots, the bigger the fruit”; with a larger root system due to the inclusion of Fish Sh!t, gardeners can be sure to expect larger flowers at harvest time.

People who use Fish Sh!t can expect up to a 20% increase in yield.

Tom Fox,Co-Founder of Fish Head Farms

Increase in Flavour and Aroma

The addition of an organic supplement, especially one as rich in natural material as Fish Sh!t can be instrumental in procuring a high-quality end product. Based on control tests conducted by Fish Head Farms, researchers found that plants enhanced with Fish Sh!t exhibited higher percentages of overall cannabinoids and a larger split between the most aromatic and flavourful terpenes. 

Increase in Nutrient Uptake 

The beneficial properties of Fish Sh!t can help to break down heavy salts, micro and macronutrients, faster and with greater efficacy in the root zone, therefore leading to an increase in cumulative nutrient uptake. Fish Sh!t can even be utilized during a plant’s flushing period to increase the uptake of heavy macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium before harvest. 

I was able to see immediate results in my own plants after just a week. I ran a full vegetative and flowering cycle, applying Fish Sh!t to only a few of the plants to get a fair comparison. FishSh!t exceeded my expectations, Jason explains. I ran the same strains, from the same three mother plants for a year, through multiple cycles. I can honestly say that there was a noticeable improvement between my earlier harvests and with every harvest, since I started using Fish Sh!t, the flavor and yield have definitely improved.”

My numbers show an 8-10% higher yield on average, with dense buds that have heavy trichome coverage and stronger terpenes.

Jason Gideon

Highly Satisfied Customer

OMRI Listed for Organic Use

Fish Sh!t is OMRI listed for organic use and University tested. It provides a complex Microbial profile that includes thousands of different species of bacteria, fungi and protozoa. This profile is closer to a natural ecosystem than anything you will find on the market. It is a piece of nature in a bottle. Fish Sh!t makes fruits, herbs and vegetables healthier, taste and smell better and it improves plant health, growth and production. Fish sh!t will make your plants smile and your garden thrive.

Whatever your motivations for using Fish Sh!t may be, the well-rounded, plant enhancing properties of this supplement are evident. To access the rich and diverse compounds of Fish Sh!t, contact a member of the GreenPlanet sales team, or your local garden supply store for samples, product information and purchase inquiries. 

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4 Types of Growers Who Should Use GreenPlanet Nutrients Dual Fuel

Committing to a brand of plant food is perhaps one of the most important decisions to be made in the garden. Choosing a specific fertilizer, whether it be organic, mineral-based, soluble or slow-release, will determine several different and varying outcomes throughout the growing periods of a plant’s lifecycle, and at harvest time. For example, if…

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