Business was almost going too well for Randy Strode and his son Ty of Agri-Starts in Apopka, Florida. Product was in high demand and they knew they were going to need more plant volume while maintaining the already incredible quality and uniformity their customers had come to expect. Expansion was the answer; but expansion not just for the sake of more square footage... the expansion that they decided upon would be one that required exacting specifications and they choose TrueLeaf to design and install the heating design.

TrueLeaf’s DuoFin

Agri-Starts may be a tissue culture-to-plug production business, but their needs are not much different than any demanding growing facilities would be. If anything separates this type of production with a finishing greenhouse’s, it’s that heat is even more important as used as a growing tool (and not just as a cold weather crop protection). Taking the tissue culture from the lab and sticking it in soil media, and getting it to root without disease, and on time requires precision heat. Good roots are king.

The under bench DuoFin that TrueLeaf installed pulls the roots of the baby plug down, strengthening them and creating the required turgidity... and most importantly doing all of this when the grower wants it to happen. TrueLeaf’s Finned heat and pipe’s low water volume not only mean high efficiency, but also quick responses to changes in soil temperatures, helping maintain that all important “flat line” result.


TrueLeaf designed the boiler room with two fan-assisted, low mass boilers and the ability to expand the system to five total boilers when they build the next 50,000 square feet. The TrueLeaf Boiler Systems run the gamut from tiny to large. All offer huge efficiency advantages and expandability. What’s more, TrueLeaf designs each of them individually for you... the commercial greenhouse operator. We consider these important questions every time we work on a design:

• Is this retrofit of new construction?
• What is the current heatload?
• What is the possibility of expansion in the future?
• Do other loads need to be considered?
Irrigation preheating? Germination chambers? Floor heating for your head house?

The beauty of a TrueLeaf Boiler System is that it has so many economic justifications! We believe that the investment you make must pay for itself. If you consider things like seasonal fuel efficiency, ease of expansion, low annual service requirements, compliance with all contemplated environmental emissions, and initial cost... TrueLeaf’s boiler is a clear winner.

Call TrueLeaf now to see how an Integrated System can make your life easier and add money to your company’s bottom line.