Freight Farms - Ramp Down Checklist
This procedure must be followed before transportation of the container
___ Remove any remaining plants growing in the columns
___ Remove all supplies, tables, trash cans, containers, etc.
___ Remove any additional shelving or hooks, if necessary
___ Remove any mats from the farm, exposing the floor grates
___ Remove & dispose of floor fan tubes
___ Vacuum, mop & rinse, or wipe down the farm floor
If the farm is draining properly (you’ve never had any water buildup in the floor grates), you may consider pressure washing the floor. If you have had water buildup on the floor you can still pressure wash you will just have to shop vac up a considerable amount of water after washing.
___ Empty delivery tanks & clean:
___ Pull tubing off the bottom of the tank and drain into the container
___ Using scrub brushes and sanitizer remove debris from the tanks inside walls
___ Flush tanks with sanitizer solution, draining into the container, until the tank is completely clear
___ Reattach delivery lines and fill tanks a third of the way with sanitizer solution
___ Turn dosing pumps ON, flush sanitizer solution through dosing lines and doser panel manifold
___ Scrub and wipe down gutters, rinse by running irrigation lines, then & sanitize
___ Scrub and wipe down the seedling trough & sanitize, rinse with a hose or by running the seedling pump
___ Remove all saturation strips from the growing medium:
___ Let dry and brush off all excess debris
___ Wash in hot water in the washing machine with no detergent
___ Hang or tumble dry low
___ Wipe down all columns & spray with sanitizer
___ Spray walls with sanitizer solution
___ Clean both re-circulator pumps’ outer sponge filters, be sure to remove all debris and rinse thoroughly
___ Clean both water tanks thoroughly:
___ Drain tanks completely
___ Scrub any buildup with a stiff-bristled brush & detergent solution:
___ Rinse thoroughly and drain completely
___ Clean & sanitize spin-down filter
___ Drain RO filter & bladder tank (if you have one)
___ Cleanse irrigation lines & recirculation lines:
___ Refill cleaned and sanitized Main Tank and add sanitizer to both tanks - 103mL in the main tank & 30mL in the seedling tank
___ Turn the Main Pump ON to flush irrigation lines for at least an hour
___ Be sure all emitters are clean and functioning properly
___ Turn both Seed and Main Recirculator Pumps ON for at least an hour
___ Fill and drain seedling trough 2 to 3 times to cleanse seedling send and return lines
___ Drain and dry both water tanks (no standing water should remain)
___ Wipe down & sanitize seedling trays
___ Clean AC fins & wipe down plastic cover
___ Remove AC fan blade & store in the farm - don’t lose the bolt!
___ Clean or replace dehumidifier air filter
___ Replace dehumidifier water filters, if necessary
___ Wipe down vortex and floor fans of all dust and debris
___ Be sure to unplug fans from the power source before doing this
___ Remove & wipe up any remaining debris or algae from all surfaces of the farm
___ Sanitize all remaining surfaces of the container (walls, ceiling, table, hangers, harvest track, etc) You may consider hiring a cleaning service to help with this process, research your options if you think the help is necessary.
___ Disconnect farm from electricity
___ Remove the propane tank
___ Place all farm-related resources, all component manuals & spare parts in the storage cabinet
___ If the container will be moved:
___ Secure the propane line with bubble wrap and tape
___ Secure Farmhand Hub inside the electrical box with tape
___ Secure seedling table with ratchet straps
___ Secure seedling lights with table and bubble wrap
___ Use bubble wrap and tape to secure all pumps
___ Secure columns to pallets or secure in the bottom of the farm depending on the shipping journey
___ Secure rolling tower racks
___ Secure lids of tanks with tape and straps
___ Secure storage cabinet
