Going to a hydro store or seeing the multiple options that a distributor has, can be an overwhelming experience when having to choose between a wide variety of products to make plants grow (growing medium, nutrients, active ingredients, lights, containers, irrigation systems, etc.). Containers, whether varied sizes or gallon pots for transplants, are always a necessary purchase.

A grower’s choice of container varies depending on space, water retention needs, desired root development, material (plastic, fabric), as well as different watering methods. These choices play a key role in the development of plants and their root system.

Pairing the right container with the right growing media plays a crucial role in having a successful grow. The combination of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics helps define the root zone, provides the plant with bulk fiber, and determines the water holding capacity as well as air exchange and porosity necessary for healthy roots.

Once you have the right combination of container and soil, the real work begins: filling the containers, placing them in the right spot, cleaning, and storing extra growing medium. When reusing containers, add cleaning and sanitising to the already lengthy list of things to do!

Growers from the cannabis community are always looking for better technologies that will give them an edge in yield, quality, sustainability, and overall results. Therefore, providing the plants with the best growing conditions and improving nutrient intake while reducing the overall labor only makes sense.

The research

Taking in consideration the growers’ needs for a cleaner environment and to help them save in time and costs, Premier Tech Growers & Consumers developed a grow bag system. The end goal was using the technology behind PRO-MIX® HP® growing medium, combining its beneficial microorganism such as Mycorrhizal and Bacillus technology, and delivering it in an easy to use, cleaner format.

The solution

In 2022, Premier Tech, under their PRO-MIX® brand, introduced a tailored solution for their PRO-MIX® HP®: the all-new PRO-MIX® HP® MYCORRHIZAE™ Open Top Grow Bag (USA) and PRO-MIX® HP MYCORRHIZAE™ + BIOSTIMULANT Open Top Grow Bag (Canada).

As of April 2024, this solution will now be available in France, Spain and Germany, in a format of 17L (0.5cft) under the name of PRO-MIX® HP MYCORRHIZAE™ + BACILLUS Open Top Grow Bag.

Advantages for the cannabis community

The Open Top Grow Bag solution was designed with multiple characteristics to ensure ease of use: eight pre-made drip holes, an easy tear-off opening method that requires no tools, 0.5cft of loose-fill growing medium, as well as multiple openings for aeration and equal air distribution in the root zone to promote root development.

This system is perfectly adapted to the cannabis grower’s needs. It is a labor-effective solution for an improved workflow, and it requires truly little clean-up, resulting in valuable savings, both in time and money.

PRO-MIX® Open Top Grow Bag solution helps growers keep a cleaner growing environment. Key steps to reduce contamination and plant disease such as grow room sanitizing, disinfecting, and sterilizing are simplified thanks to a quicker, cleaner set up with reduced manipulation. Keep in mind that for each extra step you currently take to properly care for your containers, you will save more time and money by switching to PRO-MIX® Open Top Grow Bag.

“By using the HP grow bag, we are saving around 25-50% in transplant labor and from a planning and time savings standpoint. As the grow bag is already filled with growing media, it reduces handling, making the transplanting process cleaner, and we get the same consistency as with the HP+ product itself.” Purplefarm Genetics, Cannabis Producer in Canada.

More than a Growing Medium

The formulation inside the bag is a key component of the technology.

In order to deliver adapted solutions for the industry, Premier Tech develops and uses active ingredients/beneficial microorganisms, adding value to a well-balanced growing media. The addition of active ingredients gives growers the return on investment they seek in crops and yields, along with the opportunity to save cost and time, which have always been key for PRO-MIX®.

To increase crop yield and quality, the active ingredients included in the grow bags are carefully chosen for their growth-enhancing or disease-suppressing properties:

• Mycorrhizae are the beneficial associations between a mycorrhizal fungus and roots, which boost the plant’s water and nutrient uptake. This increases the plant’s resistance to environmental stresses such as drought, compaction, salinity, low fertility, and transplant shock.
• Bacillus are gram-positive bacteria with high motility that colonize plant roots. They form a biofilm around the root system, improving rooting environment and plant establishment while increasing plant vigor and performance.

Take Aways

Designed to prevent plant problems and to ensure quality and sustainability to every facility or growing environment in a renewed integrated growing solution these grow bags bring:

✔Less labor

✔Quicker set-up

✔Easier handling

✔Pre-made drain holes

✔Easy tear-off

✔No need for cleaning or sterilization

✔Decreased risk of handling contamination

✔No containers required

✔Quick post-harvest room turnover

And we are not done! In the near future, Premier Tech plans to introduce new product sizes and different container materials to increase the sustainability of this delivery system, all the while focusing on what the growers want and need.

For more information about 

• European grow bags: contact us 
• North American grow bags: visit our dedicated page 
• Entire PRO-MIX portfolio: visit our website