"We see just the right amount of water go exactly where it is needed"

In 2013, Control Dekk was founded on the simple idea that automated hanging basket irrigation could be simple and effective. Seven years later, greenhouses across the United States and now in Canada are recognizing the value of Control Dekk’s proven OASIS technology that saves growers time and conserves resources.

Solving Challenges
Len Logsdon, Control Dekk Greenhouse Automation Engineer, shares, “Growers look to OASIS to solve a variety of issues from conserving labor to increasing crop uniformity and consistency. We’re happy to work with a variety of customer challenges and issues and to show growers how OASIS can solve them.”

Jeremy DeGroot, owner and grower of Homegrown Market in Michigan, explains, “For many years we were seeking a solution to ‘even-out’ our hanging baskets. We are a ‘dry-grower’ and believe that growing dry promotes healthier plants and requires less PGRs. We found ourselves spot-watering on our hanging basket systems by placing an employee on a ladder and having them watch the entirety of the crop go past and adding some water to the driest baskets. The alternative was to just give the whole line more water, but then the baskets that were already wet, would get saturated.

“The OASIS system has been exceptional as a solution to keep our baskets even and allows us to grow dry. We see just the right amount of water go exactly where it is needed—water resources are not wasted, and a grower can spend valuable time focusing on other issues.”

Consistency & Reliability
Brad Wolf, CEO of Green Valley Greenhouse in Minnesota, was initially intrigued by the OASIS system as a solution to improve watering accuracy and simplify the mechanical side of automatic hanging basket irrigation. After trialing the system on four lines, Green Valley has since installed OASIS on a total of 86 hanging basket lines with the intention to do more.

“One benefit we’ve seen is really consistent growing results. Instead of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to watering everything the same, we have greater control of how we water the crop. It’s given us a lot more options on the growing end. And it’s a labor-saver because we can set it up to run on certain time frames, letting us minimize staff on the weekends, for example,” Brad explains.

He continues, “Sometimes growers don’t appreciate robust and reliable technology because we’re always looking for ways to spend the least amount of money. But once you see and use all the features you didn’t think you needed at first, you wonder how you ever did without it. We’ve liked the reduced maintenance of the system compared to what we had before, as well as the flexibility in setting up the system to work for our specific needs.”

A Valuable Grower Resource
Jeremy shares a similar experience, “A ‘one size fits all’ mentality does not work in an age where box stores are requiring that plants meet specs for height, width, and bloom counts. OASIS customizes the resources given to each hanging basket in its care. In a world where moving toward automation is king, the OASIS system is actually one of the most affordable and valuable resources available.”

With 10,000 baskets being watered by the OASIS system, Jeremy also can’t say enough about the quality of the OASIS system, “The quality is 10 out of 10. The components used are locally sourced but nationally supplied and industrial grade. The user interface is intuitive so that anyone can do basic operations but also customizable so that growers are given exceptional control. The scheduling feature is great.”

Ease of use and flexibility is something Control Dekk is proud to offer in the OASIS system. As Brad puts it, “OASIS has been easy to use and intuitive, and the customer support along the way has made all the difference. You can use it virtually straight from the box, and I’m not getting calls all day about how to operate the system. It’s a top-notch system we vetted extensively, and two years after our first trial run of OASIS, we’re eager to keep implementing it in our greenhouse.”