Micro Cultivation Facility Planning

How to design a micro that gets licensed and produces consistently

After 20+ years working alongside cultivators and building cannabis facilities, one thing is always true: the planning stage decides whether your operation becomes smooth and profitable, or expensive and stressful.

Micro cultivation, also called craft cultivation, continues to grow in popularity because it allows operators to stay closer to the crop and protect quality. But the rules and expectations around micro class licensing have evolved, and planning needs to reflect today’s reality.

The biggest Health Canada update: micro limits increased

As of March 12, 2025, Health Canada increased micro class thresholds, which changed what is possible under a micro licence:

• Micro cultivation: up to 800 m² grow surface area Canada

• Nursery: up to 200 m² grow surface area for flowering and budding plants, plus up to 20 kg of harvested flowering heads at any time Canada

• Micro processing: up to 2,400 kg of dried cannabis equivalent per calendar year Canada

This is a massive shift from the old framework, and it affects how you design your canopy, staging, workflow, and long term expansion plan.

What Health Canada means by “grow surface area”

Health Canada’s current guidance clarifies that grow surface area can include horizontally and vertically arranged surfaces and can be calculated using plant surface, equipment surface, or general grow areas. It also emphasizes that you must include overhanging leaves and branches, and you need to provide your calculation method in your site evidence package. Canada

This matters a lot for:

• multi tier and vertical racking

• tray based systems

• dense canopy styles where plants overhang tables

• seasonal indoor outdoor strategies

If you plan it right, you can scale within micro class without accidental overages.

Planning the facility

Layout, flow, and compliance first

A micro facility still has to run like a professional operation. The strongest plans start with flow.

You want a layout that supports:

• clean and dirty separation

• controlled access and logical movement of people and product

• sanitation and changeover points that are easy to follow

• efficient harvesting, drying, and packaging paths

• proper storage for inputs, finished goods, and waste

This is not just for inspections. It is for daily efficiency and repeatable quality.

Physical security and site evidence still matter

Health Canada’s licensing pages note that what you submit for micro applications is similar to standard in many areas, but the site evidence package and physical security requirements are a key difference. Canada+1

Also, part of the March 12, 2025 streamlining removed the requirement to have a security cleared person on site at all times during cannabis activities. Canada
That said, you still need to design security correctly. Planning should always include security early, not as an afterthought.

Equipment planning

Build the room around the crop, not around guesses

Your equipment needs to be planned as a system:

• lighting layout and canopy targets

• HVAC and dehumidification sized for real latent load

• irrigation and fertigation designed around your medium and strategy

• environmental monitoring and control points

• electrical planning and serviceability

• drying capacity and post harvest environment

• security systems integrated cleanly into the layout

When these are coordinated from the start, the facility runs stable and costs less to operate.

New additions that matter more now

Think like a micro that can scale

Because the micro ceiling is higher now, you can design with a real growth plan:

• start within micro class limits, with a layout that can expand in phases

• plan mechanical rooms, electrical, and drainage to support future load

• choose workflows that scale with staffing and scheduling

• build a harvest rhythm that matches market demand

Health Canada also notes that licence holders and applicants can request changes between standard and micro subclasses if they meet requirements. Canada
That can be relevant if you are optimizing fees and scope.

Reporting got lighter in a few areas

The streamlining changes also reduced some reporting burden, including changes to monthly Cannabis Tracking System reporting related to cultivation waste and seed measurement changes. Canada
Operationally, this is a small win, but it still needs to be reflected in SOPs and internal tracking.

What a 4trees planning package includes

Our micro planning packages are built to take you from concept to build ready, with the operational detail contractors and regulators need:

• construction ready floor plans

• HVAC mechanical drawings

• fertigation and grow system mechanical drawings

• lighting layout and canopy strategy

• workflow and GPP aligned planning approach

• SOP package support

• detailed equipment list built around your budget

• facility overview documentation for stakeholders

Wrap up

Micro cultivation is not just a smaller facility. It is a tighter system. When you plan correctly, you can pass inspections smoothly, run clean operations, and produce consistent results with a facility that feels professional every single day.