Top-shelf substrate

Flexistart, according to Jiffy substrate manager John Bonin, came out of Jiffy’s R&D department around a year ago. Released and trialed in the U.S. across a variety of crops, it was then released to growers worldwide.

“It’s a media that has some natural components to it that give growers using a loose fill a sticky growing media that sets up into their trays,” Bonin says. “It creates more of a stabilized media in form. What it does is increase material handling efficiencies for in-line systems for CEA growers.” He adds that Flexistart is produced in the Netherlands at Jiffy’s state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2016.

The thought process behind Flexistart, Bonin says, was to create a media that growers can have on-site and on-demand that fits any seeding system and also gives growers more features and benefits vs. traditional loose fill media.

“In growing, the physical and chemical properties create a more beneficial growing environment for the root structure,” Bonin says. “And it can be used in all types of propagation and growing trays depending on what a grower has set up or what type of system they have set up.” In using a substrate like Flexistart, Bonin says that it works with a wide range of crops and it can be used in small, slit tray production or larger nutrient film technique (NFT) systems. It also works in all types of automation systems.

He adds that, once it’s in the trays, it allows for great seed placement and for the seeds to not become buried and stay where it can be given maximum germination. And because Flexistart can also be used in different crops — leafy greens, herbs, spinach, etc. — it saves growers growing multiple crops time in planting. It also results in less fracturing of growing media at harvest.

To get growers started, Bonin says they work with growers on-site in order to make sure growers are following some of the key indicators that the product is performing accurately.

“Because it’s a soilless media and shipping in a large number of bales, it’s able to be worked in small areas of seedling production, but also requires very little manipulation versus traditional soilless mixes,” Bonin says. “It’s key that growers understand that. This gives them a more versatile product in their operation.

“Flexistart can increase a grower’s ability to turn over their facility,” he says. “It adds up to reduced crop time based on grower conditions and operation efficiencies in a crop growing cycle.”