HydraFiber Heroes: Fernando Hernandez, Colorpoint LLC, Illinois
Fernando Hernandez, operations manager at Colorpoint, LLC in Illinois, discusses how easy it was to transition to HydraFiber and the benefits of less dust and improved storage.
Fernando Hernandez, operations manager at Colorpoint, LLC in Illinois, discusses how easy it was to transition to HydraFiber and the benefits of less dust and improved storage.
"We are using the 365WB HydraFiber material in our mix. The moisture content is about 55%, and the mix holds together like a loose snowball to give us the best 'loft' during filling. It rolls through the mixing line well and fill the pots nicely. Handling the new mix is a little different…but it's working!"
"After 30-plus years in the greenhouse industry, I’ve made the biggest changes in my substrate mixers with HydraFiber. After lots of trialing and tweaking, we’re at 55% peat, 25% coir, 25% HydraFiber and it’s working very well. We’re really getting a great, great root system that is going through that substrate, all the way down to the bottom of the pot. In all the years that I’ve mixed soil, I’ve never seen the root systems just permeate the soil ball like they are now. Get a good root system and the plant will come."
“When we switched to HydraFiber, we shaved 5 hours of labor off every zone each week due to plants needing less water. That’s a 5 to 10% labor savings for us. And on some crops, we have been seeing faster rooting, with white roots all the way to the bottom in 9 days on crops that typically take longer.”
"We trialed HydraFiber for over a year, in different seasons and tried every crop in it, before we switched over. Get a hold of the HydraFiber guys – they'll mix you a small batch, a big batch, anything you want, run it through its paces, try multiple crops in it. Once we went through the whole process and saw the results, it was an easy decision to switch."
“Our basil crop finished five days earlier when we trialed in a blend with 30% HydraFiber Ultra 160WB in place of perlite. We’re working closely with their team now to make the full switch to HydraFiber by Fall 2020.”
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