Re-Nuble’s Indoor Ag-Con Reveal: Introducing an Innovative Shift in Substrate Composition
After receiving tremendous interest in our crustacean waste-based form of ReNu Terra while exhibiting at Greentech Amsterdam, we felt it was necessary to reveal our progress and introduce several new form factors at Indoor Ag-Con. The Re-Nuble team spent the last eight months strictly testing the combination of materials and the attributes of most concern to growers that have been shared with us based on market demand. Now that we can offer a solution that is more sustainable than current alternatives, while guaranteeing lower pricing and a secured supply, now is the time to share how we were able to reach this milestone. Below are the tenants we felt that we need to be comparable or better at in order to truly make something innovative that currently resolves a meaningful grower problem.
SUSTAINABILITY
Compostability
It’s no secret that sustainability is very high on our list of priorities here at Re-Nuble, and we have kept it in focus with the development of ReNu Terra, our fully compostable grow media.
What happens to grow media once farms are done with it is just as important as where it originates. With the exception of rockwool and biochar, most grow media are manufactured using natural or synthetic materials that are organic in nature and therefore degrade over time under the right conditions. While most of these are compostable, many require an industrial composting process to break down completely within a reasonable amount of time. At Re-Nuble, our ReNu Terra line has been designed to be composted in any standard residential or commercial compost within a few months. The same goes for the packaging it comes in. This way, we help indoor farms become closed-loop, while the waste is turned into value simply and quickly. At the end of it, our grow media and its packaging can be put to use and recirculated into the food system that much sooner.
Logistics
Another product development focus was to format ReNu Terra sheets and case sizes to achieve maximum growing impact with minimum carbon footprint. From a transportation perspective, we’ve designed it whereby each of our cases, containing 4000 plugs each (1” plugs), stack to fill pallets completely. By doing so, this allows us to stack two-high in semi trailers. For indoor farms, this means that when a truckload of ReNu Terra is ordered, there is no wasted space in the trailer and farms are getting the most out of the fuel, minimizing GHG emissions resulting from logistics. In addition, because our dimensions allow us to stack pallets and completely fill trailers, this means that logistics companies don’t need to unload our cargo in transit to reconfigure their loads. This saves time and fuel. From the procurement of our raw materials, to the production of our products, to the delivery to your doorstep, we take pride in ensuring that our carbon footprint and ecological impact are minimal without reducing shelf-life stability.
PERFORMANCE
Durability
ReNu Terra is organic, light, durable and clean. We also thought about the experience for a farm from the minute they touch our grow media. We have made it as easy as possible to remove that first sheet of ReNu Terra from the case through a special design, leading to zero abrasion or damage to the product and no dust or fiberglass whatsoever. With our ReNu Terra line of grow media, we have worked diligently to provide all of the advantages that the best alternatives provide without any of the disadvantages associated with each of them. This is a result of years of experience that our team has accumulated growing as many types of crops in as many ways as possible, making us very familiar with the upsides and downsides that come with grow media. We want to ensure that farms don’t have to deal with grow media durability or design issues ever again.
Sourced from Transparent and Natural Raw Materials
ReNu Terra is made from natural and sustainable organic fibers specially formulated for the task of pampering an indoor farm’s seedlings and plants. The range of options, from plugs, to blocks, to slabs, are all wrapped in an organic bio-polymer that prevents any and all loose fibers and particulates from making a mess in your grow space or creating an issue in your cultivation systems.
VERSATILITY
Clean
We have formulated the ReNu Terra line of products to provide a clean start, the perfect balance of air and moisture, and to maintain their ideal physical properties as long as they are in use. Any indoor grower will tell you that great grow media needs to be pathogen and pest free. It also needs to be able to provide ideal conditions for healthy root growth in a stable manner for as long as an indoor farm’s crop cycle lasts. Compared to the alternatives, our grow media creates the conditions that support optimal germination and root development, while avoiding holding too much moisture at the stem where wet rot and opportunistic microorganisms are a concern.
Fits All Growing Systems
ReNu Terra grow media and substrates are designed to provide optimal performance regardless of whether they are used in NFT, DFT, Aeroponic, SAEF, drip systems or any other method. The nature of the fibers, the way the internal matrix is structured, and the density of the materials all ensure that the balance between air and moisture will be maintained and that undesirable microorganisms and insects will be prevented from gaining a foothold. We know that the indoor farms we serve have many ways of doing what they do, growing crops using various cultivation systems and techniques. But one factor remains the same: all of them need grow media that consistently works well in all scenarios. We test our products in various locations, simulating scenarios that apply to diverse growers and settings, to ensure that we have perfected our approach and can confidently offer the high performance solutions that we would want to use ourselves.