Batches and Plants
Use this page to create plant batches, move them through the grow phases, and record plant losses.
Quick steps
To move a batch to its next phase:
- Go to Cultivation → Batches and click the batch.
- In the Advance Phase box, pick the New Phase. If the plants are moving rooms, pick the new Room (or leave Keep Current).
- Change Plant Count if you culled any at the move, then click Advance Phase.
To record plants that died or were pulled:
- Open the batch and find Record Plant Loss.
- Enter the Quantity, pick a Reason and the Date, and click Record Loss.
To start a batch by hand (most batches come from Promote to Veg on a clone batch):
- Go to Cultivation → Batches and click New Plant Batch.
- Pick the Strain and Room, type the Plant Count and Start Date, and click Create Plant Batch.
Record the harvest while the batch is in Flower or Harvest — a new harvest can't be started once the batch has moved on to Dry.
Common questions
The phase I want isn't in the list. Batches move forward one step at a time: Clone → Veg → Flower → Harvest → Dry → Cure → Done. Dry can skip straight to Done.
Can I change the phase with Edit? No. Use Advance Phase.
Why won't a batch delete? It already has a harvest recorded.
How do I run the same strain again? Once a batch is Harvested, click Duplicate to start a new one with the same strain, room and plant count.
More detail: the phases
A plant batch is a group of plants of one strain that move through the grow together. The batch is where most of the day-to-day record lives: its phase, its room, how many plants are left, what it's been fed, and eventually what it yielded.
The Phases
Every batch moves through the same phases, in order:
| Phase | What's happening | Can move to |
|---|---|---|
| Clone | Rooted cuttings, not yet vegging. Every new batch starts here. | Veg |
| Veg | Vegetative growth. | Flower |
| Flower | Flowering. | Harvest |
| Harvest | Being cut down. | Dry |
| Dry | Hanging to dry. | Cure, or straight to Done |
| Cure | Curing. | Done |
| Done | Finished. The batch is marked Harvested. | — |
You can only move forward one step at a time (the one shortcut is Dry straight to Done if you don't cure). Brother POS records the date each phase started and ended, so you always know how long a batch spent in veg and in flower.
More detail: creating a batch and the batch list
Creating a Batch
Most batches come from Promote to Veg on a clone batch (see Strains, Mothers and Clones). To create one by hand — for plants you already had before you started using Cultivation, say — go to Cultivation → Batches and click New Plant Batch.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Strain | Required. Only active strains are listed. |
| Room | Where the plants are now. |
| Table (optional) | The table they're on. |
| Clone Batch (optional) | The rooted clone batch they came from, if any. |
| Plant Count | Required. How many plants you're starting with. |
| Current Plant Count | Leave blank on a new batch — it starts equal to Plant Count. |
| Start Date | Required. Defaults to today. |
| Expected Harvest Date | Optional. If you leave it blank, Brother POS works it out from the start date plus the strain's typical veg and flower days. |
| Notes | Grow medium, environment settings, anything else. |
The batch gets a code like PB-20260930-001 (the start date plus a running number) and starts in the Clone phase. If your plants are already vegging, use Advance Phase straight away.
The batch's first phase is recorded in its room from the Start Date, so it picks up that room's daily electricity and labour cost from day one. (Batches created before this changed only started counting room costs at their first Advance Phase.)
The Batch List
Cultivation → Batches (titled Plant Batches) shows active batches by default, newest first. Filter by Phase, Strain, Room and Status (Active, Harvested, Archived or All).
Each row shows the batch code, strain, room, phase, plant count, start date, days since start, expected harvest and Last Feed — how many days since an input was logged against it, so a batch that's been missed stands out.
More detail: inside a batch — advancing, losses, duplicating and deleting
Inside a Batch
Click a batch to open it. Across the top:
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Current Phase | Where the batch is now. |
| Plant Count | Plants still alive in the batch. |
| Days in Phase | Days since the current phase started. |
| Total Input Cost | The cost of every input logged against the batch. |
| Days Since Start | Days since the start date. |
| Days Since Feed | Days since the last input was logged. |
Below that: a Phase Timeline, the Advance Phase box, the batch details, plant losses, individual plants, grow notes, the input log, any harvests, and a Grow Journal that puts all of it — phase changes, inputs (with pH readings when recorded), losses, notes and harvests — in one dated timeline.
Advancing a phase
In the Advance Phase box:
- New Phase — only the next valid phase is offered.
- Room — leave on Keep Current, or pick the room the plants are moving into (e.g. from the veg room to the flower room).
- Plant Count — how many plants are moving on. Change it if you culled some at the move.
- Notes — optional.
- Click Advance Phase.
The move is recorded on the timeline with the date, room and plant count. The room matters for cost: from that day on, the batch picks up the new room's daily electricity and labour cost (see Facilities, Rooms and Environment).
A new harvest can only be recorded against a batch in the Flower or Harvest phase, so enter it before moving the batch on. You can keep editing it afterwards — its batch stays selectable on the Edit form whatever phase the batch has reached. See Harvests.
Recording plant losses
When plants die or get pulled, use Record Plant Loss on the batch:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Quantity | How many plants. |
| Reason | Hermie, Pest, Disease, Deficiency, Mechanical, Environmental or Unknown. |
| Date | When it happened. |
| Notes | Optional. |
Click Record Loss. The batch's plant count drops by that number, the loss is listed under Plant Losses with who logged it and a running Total lost, and it appears on the Grow Journal. Plant losses are also written to your Activity Logs and flagged for review, because plant counts matter for compliance.
If the batch tracks individual plants, you can instead mark a specific plant Dead — the batch's plant count is recounted from the plants still alive.
Duplicating a finished batch
Once a batch is Harvested, a Duplicate button appears. It creates a new batch with the same strain, room, table and plant count, starting today — handy when you run the same strain in the same room cycle after cycle.
Editing and deleting
Edit lets you correct the strain, room, table, counts, dates and notes. You can't change the phase from Edit — use Advance Phase.
A batch that already has a harvest recorded can't be deleted. If you try, you'll see This batch has harvests, so it can't be deleted. and the batch stays as it is.
More detail: individual plants and the Plants tab
Individual Plants
When you take cuttings as a clone batch, every cutting gets its own tag (PLT-0001, PLT-0002…). Those plants follow the batch through Promote to Veg, so you can track each one.
Individual plants are only created from clone batches. A batch you create directly on the Batches tab is tracked by count only.
The Plants tab
Cultivation → Plants (titled Individual Plants) lists live plants by default with their tag, status, table, position, clone batch, plant batch, strain and planted date. Filter by Status (Alive, Dead, Harvested, All) and Table.
Moving a group of plants: tick the plants you want (or tick the header box to select the page), pick a table in Move selected to, and click Bulk Move. Brother POS places them in the next free spots on that table.
A single plant
Click a plant's tag to open it. You'll see its details and location, and you can:
- Move Plant — pick a Table, Row and Column and click Move. Brother POS won't let you put a plant outside the table's grid or on a spot another live plant already occupies.
- Mark Dead — the plant is marked dead and the counts on its clone batch and plant batch are updated. This is also written to your activity log.
More detail: troubleshooting and good habits
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| No Advance Phase box | The batch isn't active, or it's already Done. |
| The phase I want isn't in the list | Phases can only move forward one step. Advance through each one in turn. |
| Batch not offered on New Harvest | It's not in Flower or Harvest. |
| Days in Phase shows 0 on a new batch | It counts from the day the current phase started, so a batch started today shows 0. (Batches created before room costs started on the Start Date only begin counting at their first Advance Phase.) |
| "Position … is already occupied" when moving a plant | Another live plant is in that spot. Pick a different row or column. |
| No Duplicate button | Only shown once a batch is Harvested (advanced to Done). |
| Batch has no individual plants | It was created by hand rather than from a clone batch. |
Best Practices
- Advance phases on the day they happen. Phase dates drive days-to-harvest, overhead cost and your strain scorecards.
- Move the room when the plants move. Picking the new room in Advance Phase is what makes room running costs land on the right batch.
- Log every loss with a reason. A spike in "Pest" losses in one room is worth knowing about early.
What's Next?
- Harvests — weigh the batch and send it to inventory.
- Tasks, Inputs and Feed Recipes — log feeds against your batches.
- Cultivation Reports — see how each strain performed.