How to Temporarily Shut Down your Flex Farm for School Holidays

Updated

Use this checklist to prepare your Flex Farm for long weekends, school breaks, and summer. It covers breaks of up to six days and breaks longer than 2 weeks.

General Flex Farm Care Routine Recommendations:

  • Flex Farms should be maintained and checked at least once every 5-6 days.
  • Fork Farms does not recommend leaving your Flex Farm without supervision for more than 5-6 days at a time.
  • Be sure to review water levels, pH, TDS, general growth, drip lines, cleanliness, etc.
  • Do not let tank water stand still (pump off) for more than 3 days.

How do I prep my Flex Farm for long weekends or up to six days away?

  • 2 days before leaving for your 3-6 day break:
    • Complete your weekly maintenance routine.
      • Fill to the Max line on the water level tool (if you have one), otherwise, turn the pump off for a few minutes to equalize the water levels. Add water until they are close to about 3/4ths full.
      • Check and adjust your nutrients and pH (get the pH down below 6.0, closer to 5.5).
      • Check and remove any debris you see in the tanks.
  • 1 day before the 3-6 day break:
    • Recheck your pH levels on the last day (adjust if necessary).
    • Double-check that the light tower timer is set and works properly.
    • Do a thorough look-over to make sure water is flowing properly (Improving Water Flow Guide).
  • First day back from the 3-6 day break:
    • Check water levels and the health of the plants (Unhealthy Looking Plants Guide).
    • Check and adjust your nutrients and pH; resume your regular weekly maintenance routine.

How do I prep my Flex Farm for breaks longer than 2 weeks?

If you are leaving your Flex Farm for 2+ weeks, we recommend using that time to perform a deep clean. Follow our best practices for deep cleaning with our Deep Cleaning and Shut Down article.

If you are in the middle of a growth cycle, please check on your farm(s) at least once every 5-6 days to perform your weekly maintenance (water, nutrients, pH). If your break is 14+ days, please go in and check your farm at least 3-4 times during your break. If you do not have easy access to the Flex Farm, please be proactive and coordinate to borrow keys or meet with someone who does have keys.

Once your growth cycle and harvest are complete, you can shut down your farm with the instructions linked above.

If you're approaching summer break and you are not going to be running your farm(s) over the summer, please deep clean and store the Flex Farm before the break begins. When storing your Flex Farm, ensure the farm is completely dry and stored in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight and away from direct contact with vents/heaters, as this could impact the integrity of the Flex Farm.

If you have any questions about the deep cleaning or shutdown process, reach out to us at 877.886.7736, support@forkfarms.com, or by using the web chat feature in the bottom right of our website www.forkfarms.com.