Sustainable solutions

Photos courtesy of Jiffy

After almost 75 years on the market, Jiffy Pots continue to offer growers a sustainable replacement for plastic pots. The Jiffy Pot is made of natural and recyclable materials that are both organic and biodegradable. Since their inception, the pots have been enhanced for increased performance to maintain their strength, to absorb water easily, to be customized in different shapes, sizes, drainage hole options and rim designs, and to be efficiently used in automation systems.

“What I find amazing is that this was surely a wild and innovative idea at that time,” says Kyle Freedman, market segment manager for CEA at Jiffy. “And customers continue to switch to Jiffy Pots for the same reasons of reducing plastic waste and increasing sustainability. Similar competitor products have followed suit as the Jiffy Pot gained popularity, but our formulation to give it strength while being able to absorb water and biodegrade has been unparalleled.”

While the Jiffy Pot historically has been a staple in ornamentals, Freedman has seen more adoption in hydroponics — specifically leafy greens, herbs and small fruits — including use in systems like nutrient film technique (NFT) and deep-water culture (DWC).

“In a hydroponic system, many growers look for products that will easily take up water while not contaminating their water system, which is often recirculated. Finding a way to minimize any substrate from getting into the system is key,” he says. “Hydroponic food crop systems today are highly automated to help increase labor savings and economies of scale, and many of the global manufacturers of such systems to fill pots, seed, transplant and harvest have been optimized specifically for the Jiffy Pot.”

Freedman says the Jiffy Pot provides growers with more options because it’s “a living, breathing material” that can absorb water, dry down and help growers manipulate their production practices.

“It retains moisture and lets roots grow through the pot down into the water and provides growers with good germination rates and good root development,” he adds.

To complement the pots, Jiffy also created quick soil mixes (QSM), which are lightweight, dry, compressed discs. Once hydrated, they expand to fill the volume of the pot. QSM products are available in peat, coconut coir or a mixture, and Jiffy is working on incorporating new sustainable fibers that can provide additional options, he says. QSMs are food safe, making them ideal for the CEA market.

QSM was designed to replace loose fill substrates, which require hand labor or machines to fill pots and often comes with waste.

“QSMs increase the volume of overall product when shipped, maximizing a grower’s dollar. They can be easily stored and for longer periods without risk of fungal growth,” Freedman says. “In addition, they work well with automation to fill containers and be hydrated as a plug-and-play option.”

Jiffy’s online tool allows customers to select their pot size, and it provides matching QSM options and the number of discs needed.

“Our goal is to increase performance, sustainability and enable CEA growers and other production systems to effectively use our products in highly automated systems, as the industry is evolving this way,” Freedman explains.

For more: jiffygroup.com