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The Art Of Growing Plants Without Soil – Aeroponics, And Hydroponic
Historically, humans have grown crops in soil and they could not think of growing them in the air or a liquid but the advent of modern science and technology has made it possible
Jenna Walter
July 12, 2021
The post-apocalyptic scenario depicted in Wall-E shows that the planet earth had turned into a barren wasteland, although the movie shows a seedling growing out of a shoe, a possible solution would have been the use of aeroponics and hydroponics. These processes of growing plants without soil as a medium are mind-boggling for many.
Historically, humans have grown crops in soil and they could not think of growing them in the air or a liquid but the advent of modern science and technology has made it possible.
Hydroponics:
Hydroponics requires an aqueous solvent to grow a plant. The hydroponic system will control the environmental conditions of the plant. These conditions include the temperature and the pH balance. Simultaneously it also maximizes plants’ exposure to nutrients and water.
Hydroponics has a simple philosophy that is to provide the exact things the plant needs to grow. The administration of nutrient solutions is tailored to the needs of the particular plant being grown. The system will let the researchers control the exact amount of sunlight needed and for how long it is needed. These conditions are customized and controlled to accelerate the growth of the plant. The controlling of these factors helps reduce the chances of diseases or stunted plant growth.
On the contrary, plants that are grown in conventional conditions are more susceptible to growth issues. The soil of these plants can have fungus which can spread to the plants. Conventional plantations are also vulnerable to wildlife. Locusts attacks are also common on crops. They are known to consume whole fields in a day.
The hydroponics system can end the uncertainty that comes with growing plants outdoors. The soil only acts as a barrier for the seed while a hydroponic system allows a plant to grow vigorously.
If you are into trying out hydroponics you can buy a hydroponic garden kit. It will help you grow your favorite plants within your home.
Aeroponics:
Aeroponic systems will use the nutrient-laden mist to provide the plant necessary nourishment. It is based on the above-mentioned hydroponics systems in which the roots are submerged in a soilless growing medium.
The aeroponic eliminates the growing medium, the roots are left mid-air hanging from the pieces of foam stuffed into tiny pots. The roots are sprayed with nutrient-rich mist from time to time using specially designed devices that let you control the amount of mist, its pressure, and direction.
The seeds are planted in the foam stuffed tiny pots. On one side of the seed is light and on the other side is the mist. The foam helps to hold the plant as it grows over time.
The Use Of This Technology In Future
In the future use of these technologies will only increase. Climate change and global warming are making it difficult to grow crops using conventional methods. The earth is becoming barren due to aggressive farming practices.
The only solution left would be to use hydroponics and aeroponics. They offer more control over the growth of the plant. They can help increase crop production and they are safer because they do not use pesticides or insecticides.
What Is Aeroponics?
Aeroponics is an advanced variation of hydroponics where plants are suspended in the air; their roots dangle down and are periodically misted with water from a timed sprinkler system connected to the main nutrient reservoir
How Aeroponics Works,
Types, And Pros, And Cons
June 14, 2021
Aeroponics is an advanced variation of hydroponics where plants are suspended in the air; their roots dangle down and are periodically misted with water from a timed sprinkler system connected to the main nutrient reservoir. This soilless growing method is best for plants that need more oxygenation since aeroponic roots aren’t hampered by dense soil or thick growing mediums. Depending on the plant and specific type of aeroponics system, the grower typically uses little to no growing media at all.
In aeroponics, a specially designed pump and spray system is submerged into the nutrient-water solution and timed to release short mists of water to the plants’ roots throughout the day. Because roots will have more access to oxygen and humidity in an aeroponics system, they often grow two to three times larger and yield far bigger numbers than traditional farming methods. Generally, it also uses less water over time since excess water not absorbed by the roots is drained back into the nutrient tank, and the mist allows for higher concentrations of nutrients with less liquid.
Most of the plants that work with hydroponics will thrive in an aeroponics system, from leafy greens and herbs to tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries, but with additional perks. Because of the exposed root qualities of aeroponics systems, root vegetables like potatoes that would otherwise be ill-suited for hydroponics systems will flourish as they’ll have more room to grow and be easier to harvest.
Neznam / Getty Images
Aeroponics in Space
NASA began experimenting with aeroponics as early as 1997, planting adzuki beans and seedlings aboard the Mir space station in zero gravity and comparing them to controlled aeroponic gardens on Earth treated with the same nutrients. Amazingly, the zero gravity plants grew more than the plants on Earth. Aeroponics can not only provide long-mission deep-space NASA crews with fresh food, but it also has the potential to provide them with fresh water and oxygen.
How Does Aeroponics Work?
The seeds are planted somewhere they’ll stay in place, such as pieces of foam, pipes, or foam rings, which are then wedged into small pots or a perforated panel with a tank full of nutrient solution below. The panel elevates the plants so they’ll be exposed to the natural (or artificial) light and circulating air, providing light on the top and nutrient mist on the bottom, and an enclosure around the roots helps keep the moisture in. A timed pump rests inside the tank or reservoir, pumping solution up and through spray nozzles that mist the roots, with excess liquid draining straight down through an outflow chamber back into the reservoir. At the next timed interval, the entire cycle starts again.
Neznam / Getty Images
Nutrients for aeroponics systems, like hydroponics, come packaged in both dry and liquid forms. Depending on the plant and growth stage, primary nutrients may include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, while secondary nutrients can range from calcium and magnesium to sulfur. It is also important to consider micro-nutrients, such as iron, zinc, molybdenum, manganese, boron, copper, cobalt, and chlorine.
In aeroponics systems where the nutrient solution is continuously recycled, the pH measurements need to be taken regularly to ensure that enough nutrients are getting absorbed into the plants.
Natural Aeroponics
Aeroponics occurs in nature, specifically in more humid and wet regions like the tropical islands of Hawaii. Near waterfalls, for example, plants will grow vertically on the rocks with their roots openly hanging in the air, the spray from the waterfall moistening the roots under the right conditions.
Types of Aeroponics
There are two types of commonly used aeroponics: low pressure and high pressure. Low pressure is the most used by home growers since it is low cost, easy to set up, and its components are easier to find. However, this type of aeroponics often uses a plastic spray nozzle and a typical fountain pump to deliver nutrients, so the droplet sizes are not exact and can sometimes waste more water.
High-pressure aeroponics, on the other hand, distributes nutrients through a highly pressurized nozzle that can deliver smaller water droplets to create more oxygen in the root zone than low-pressure techniques. It is more efficient, but much more costly to set up, so it tends to be reserved for commercial production rather than hobbyists.
High-pressure systems typically mist for 15 seconds every 3 to 5 minutes, while low-pressure systems may spray for 5 minutes straight every 12 minutes. Experienced growers will adjust the spraying interval according to the time of day, watering more frequently at night when the plants are less focused on photosynthesis and more focused on taking up nutrients. With both types, the reservoir solution is kept at a temperature range between 60 F and 70 F in order to maximize the absorption rate of the plant. If the water becomes too hot, it is more susceptible to algae and bacteria growth, but if it gets too cold, the plants may start to shut down and not take as many nutrients as they would at a more optimal temperature.
Aeroponics at Home
While some growers choose to use horizontal aeroponic systems similar to traditional soil farming, vertical systems can save more space. These vertical systems come in all shapes and sizes, even small enough to be used on a back porch, balcony, or even inside an apartment with the appropriate lighting setup. In these smaller systems, misting devices are placed on top, allowing gravity to evenly distribute the nutrient solution as it spreads downward.
Neznam / Getty Images
Aeroponics kits are available to make the setup process easier for beginners, but it is also possible to design and build your own system at home, similar to hydroponics, with tools found at most local gardening stores. Due to the complicated and expensive nature of high-pressure aeroponics, it is always prudent for beginners to start off with a low-pressure system before working their way up to more technical operations.
Fun Fact
The first recorded use of aeroponics happened in 1922 when B.T.P. Barker developed a primitive air plant-growing system and used it to research plant root structure in a laboratory setting. By 1940, researchers were frequently using aeroponics in plant root studies, as the dangling roots and lack of soil made it much easier to observe changes.
Pros and Cons
One of the most significant advantages of aeroponics systems is the fast and high crop yield and the fact that it uses the least amount of water over time compared to hydroponics and aquaponics. Roots are exposed to more oxygen, helping them absorb more nutrients and grow faster, healthier, and larger. Also, the lack of soil and growing medium means that there are fewer threats of root zone diseases.
On the flip side, aeroponic system chambers are constantly being sprayed with mist, keeping them wet and prone to bacteria and fungi; this can be remedied by cleaning and sterilizing misters and chambers regularly.
Affordability Factor
Studies show that the cost of growing a tuber (such as potatoes, jicama, and yams) using aeroponics is about one-quarter less than the cost of a conventionally grown tuber.
Due to the circular nature of the watering system and the higher nutrient absorption rate, aeroponics uses considerably less water than similar farming systems. Aeroponic equipment is also easier to move and requires much less space (nurseries can even be stacked on top of each other like a modular system). In a study comparing lettuce growth aeroponics, hydroponics, and substrate culture, results showed that aeroponics significantly improved root growth with greater root biomass, root-shoot ratio, length, area, and volume. The study concluded that aeroponics systems may be better for higher-valued crops.
surabky / Getty Images
Because the plants aren’t submerged in water, aeroponics is completely dependent on the misting system. If anything malfunctions (or in the event of power outages), then the plants will quickly dry up and die without water or nutrients. Seasoned growers will think ahead and have some sort of backup power and misting system waiting in storage in case the primary one fails. The system’s pH and nutrient density ratio is sensitive, and will require plenty of hands-on experience to understand how to properly balance them; as there is no soil or media to absorb the excess nutrients, proper knowledge about the perfect amount of nutrients is essential to aeroponics systems.
Lead photo: surabky / Getty Images
Vertical Farming Startup Oishii Raises $50m In Series A Funding
“We aim to be the largest strawberry producer in the world, and this capital allows us to bring the best-tasting, healthiest berry to everyone.”
By Sian Yates
03/11/2021
Oishii, a vertical farming startup based in New Jersey, has raised $50 million during a Series A funding round led by Sparx Group’s Mirai Creation Fund II.
The funds will enable Oishii to open vertical strawberry farms in new markets, expand its flagship farm outside of Manhattan, and accelerate its investment in R&D.
“Our mission is to change the way we grow food. We set out to deliver exceptionally delicious and sustainable produce,” said Oishii CEO Hiroki Koga. “We started with the strawberry – a fruit that routinely tops the dirty dozen of most pesticide-riddled crops – as it has long been considered the ‘holy grail’ of vertical farming.”
“We aim to be the largest strawberry producer in the world, and this capital allows us to bring the best-tasting, healthiest berry to everyone. From there, we’ll quickly expand into new fruits and produce,” he added.
Oishii is already known for its innovative farming techniques that have enabled the company to “perfect the strawberry,” while its proprietary and first-of-its-kind pollination method is conducted naturally with bees.
The company’s vertical farms feature zero pesticides and produce ripe fruit all year round, using less water and land than traditional agricultural methods.
“Oishii is the farm of the future,” said Sparx Group president and Group CEO Shuhei Abe. “The cultivation and pollination techniques the company has developed set them well apart from the industry, positioning Oishii to quickly revolutionise agriculture as we know it.”
The company has raised a total of $55 million since its founding in 2016.
Little Leaf Farms Raises $90M to Grow Its Greenhouse Network
Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.
by Jennifer Marston
Image from: Little Leaf Farms
Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.
Little Leaf Farms says the capital is “earmarked” to build new greenhouse sites along the East Coast, where its lettuce is currently available in about 2,500 stores.
The company already operates one 10-acre greenhouse in Devins, Massachusetts. Its facility grows leafy greens using hydroponics and a mixture of sunlight supplemented by LED-powered grow lights. Rainwater captured from the facility’s roof provides most of the water used on the farm.
According to a press release, Little Leaf Farms has doubled its retail sales to $38 million since 2019. And last year, the company bought180 acres of land in Pennsylvania on which to build an additional facility. Still another greenhouse, slated for North Carolina, will serve the Southeast region of the U.S.
Little Leaf Farms joins the likes of Revol Greens, Gotham Greens, AppHarvest, and others in bringing local(ish) greens to a greater percentage of the population. These facilities generally pack and ship their greens on the day of or day after harvesting, and only supply retailers within a certain radius. Little Leaf Farms, for example, currently servers only parts of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
The list of regions the company serves will no doubt lengthen as the company builds up its greenhouse network in the coming months.
Living Greens Farm Adds Former Senator To Advisory Board
Living Greens Farm (LGF), the largest vertical, indoor aeroponic farm in the US that provides year-round fresh salads, salad kits, microgreens, and herbs, has announced that Joe Donnelly, former Congressman and Senator from Indiana has joined their Advisory Board, effective January 2021
February 16, 2021
FARIBAULT, MN (February 2021) Living Greens Farm (LGF), the largest vertical, indoor aeroponic farm in the US that provides year-round fresh salads, salad kits, microgreens, and herbs, has announced that Joe Donnelly, former Congressman and Senator from Indiana has joined their Advisory Board, effective January 2021.
In his new position, Senator Donnelly will be providing LGF’s leadership critical insights related to their planned national rollout, which is scheduled to begin later this year. Senator Donnelly served on several committees during his tenure in Congress, including the Federal Agriculture committee, so he is an enthusiastic supporter of sustainable controlled environment agriculture.
“Living Greens Farm’s business model has a lot going for it,” says Senator Donnelly. “It is a huge step forward for the environment, great for the retailer, and provides incredibly fresh, premium quality products for the consumer. It helps bring us into the future of farming.”
LGF has been successfully serving customers in the upper Midwest for the past two years. Their growth in this area has led to expansion plans to other parts of the country.
“Adding Senator Donnelly to our Advisory Board serves our expansion plans well,” said George Pastrana, President, and CEO of Living Greens Farm. “He will serve as a key partner as LGF promotes its vision and commercial know-how through the various markets we will serve.”
For more information on why Living Greens Farm products are the cleanest, freshest, and healthiest farm salads and greens available, go to www.livinggreensfarm.com.
About Living Greens Farm
Headquartered in Minnesota, Living Greens Farm is the world’s largest vertical plane aeroponic farm. Living Greens Farm produce requires 95% less water and 99% less land to grow year-round and all products are grown without pesticides or GMOs. Living Greens Farm has a full product line that includes salads, microgreens, and herbs available throughout the Midwest. For more information, please visit Living Greens Farm
Bowery’s Founder, Irving Fain, On The Future of Vertical Farming
At one point in the not-so-distant past, vertical farming’s role in our future agricultural system was far from certain. Growing leafy greens in warehouse-like environments controlled by tech seemed like a compelling business, but one that had yet to prove itself either economically or as an important source of food for a growing world population
Image from: The Spoon
At one point in the not-so-distant past, vertical farming’s role in our future agricultural system was far from certain. Growing leafy greens in warehouse-like environments controlled by tech seemed like a compelling business, but one that had yet to prove itself either economically or as an important source of food for a growing world population.
That, at least, was a common sentiment Irving Fain, CEO and founder of Bowery, met with when he started his vertical farming company five years ago. “There was a bit of skepticism around it,” he told me over a call recently, suggesting that five years ago, there were a lot more “ifs” than “whens” in terms of vertical farming’s future.
Fain, Bowery, and the entire vertical farming industry get a much warmer reception nowadays. Investment dollars are pouring into the space. Around the world, companies, scientists, and food producers are using the method to not just supply upscale grocery stores with greens but experiment with breeds of produce, feed underserved populations, and grow food in non-arable regions. As Fain suggested when we spoke, the last 12 months seem to have turned those “ifs” into definite “whens.”
Bowery’s last 12 months also illustrate this change. Fain said that Bowery went from under 100 retail locations about a year ago to nearly 700 right now, and will be in more than 1,000 “in the coming months.” Its produce is in a number of food retailers around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including Whole Foods Market, Giant Food, Stop & Shop, Walmart, and Weis Markets. And in 2020, the company experienced “more than 4x growth” with e-commerce partners.
While the pandemic is responsible for some of this popularity, Fain insists it is not the only reason for the eventful year. “It’s definitely bigger than the pandemic,” he said. “What you’re seeing is a food system that’s evolving and [people have a desire] to see transparency and traceability in the food system.” These, he says, are issues the traditional food supply chain isn’t really able to address right now, hence the opportunity for companies like Bowery, which effectively cut multiple steps out of the supply chain.
Bowery grows its greens (lettuces, herbs, and some custom blends) inside industrial spaces where crops are stacked vertically in trays and fed nutrients and water via a hydroponic system. Technology controls all elements of the farm, from the temperature inside to how much light each plants get. The company currently operates two farms, one in New Jersey and the other in Maryland. A third is planned for Pennsylvania.
Technology, in particular, is something Bowery has big plans for. On top of a retail expansion, Bowery also added some notable personnel to its staff, including Injong Rhee, formerly the Internet of Things VP at Google as well a chief technologist at Samsung. Having such technology chops onboard will be vital in order for Bowery to realize many of its ambitions around advanced automation, which has the potential to optimize many parts of the seed-to-store process for vertically grown greens.
For example, Bowery’s farms are equipped with sensors and cameras that are constantly collecting data — “billions” of points, according to the company — that can be used to not just observe the current state of plant health but also predict the most optimal growing conditions for each crop. Elements like temperature, humidity levels, nutrient levels, and light intensity can all be adjusted, via the BoweryOS software, to create those optimal conditions. The end result is more consistent crop production, better yields, more flavorful food, and, ideally, a better nutritional profile for the greens compared to what conventional produce offers.
The system can also, through automation and AI, detect problems with plants. In a recent interview with Venture Beat, Bowery Chief Science Officer Henry Sztul used the example of butterhead lettuce yellowing at the edges during growth. Bowery’s system is technologically advanced enough at this point that it is starting to understand the conditions that create those yellowing edges. That foreknowledge, in turn, will allow growers to adjust the crop “recipe” (see above mixture of lights, temperature, etc.) to avoid the problem.
It took Bowery years to get to this point in terms of what its technology is capable of doing. “The system [for] indoor farming that you choose has a direct impact on the crops you’ll be able to grow, on the margins you’ll be able to generate, and on the return profile of the business itself,” said Fain. “And so being incredibly intentional and thoughtful about what technology you use is something we spent a lot of time on because it has an extraordinarily important economic impact.”
On a less technically complex note, controlled ag from Bowery and others also goes some way towards reinventing the supply food chain. Rather than greens being harvested in, say, Mexico and shipped via a complex distribution process all the way to Baltimore, they are packaged up at the farm and distributed to nearby retailers, usually those within a day’s drive “It is much more sustainable. It is much more efficient, and it’s more reliable, and those things have been important to consumers long before COVID,” said Fain.
Bowery will continue to innovate on both the technology and supply side of its business, as well as with the food itself. The company just launched a new specialty product line that will experiment with different flavors of greens and change frequently.
In terms of tech, Bowery’s latest farm, currently being built in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will incorporate even more automation than the company’s two existing farms. That location is slated to open later in 2021. When it does, Bowery will be capable of serving nearly 50 million people within a 200-mile radius.
The company hopes to expand its geographic reach much wider some day, building farms near most major U.S. cities and beyond. Given the increased confidence in the vertical farming sector as a whole, now looks to be the optimal time to move towards those ambitions.
by Jennifer Marston, The Spoon
Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture
Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.
Image from: Wired
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture.
Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.
“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”
The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.
Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem.
In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".
Image from: Madar Farms
Global Challenges, Local Solutions
Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.
“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”
Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.
“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”
Image from: Agritecture
Nurturing Next-Generation Talent
To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.
Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence.
“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says.
Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.
“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”
Agritecture Partners With Harvest Returns Crowdfunding Platform To Modernize Urban Agriculture Financing
The two companies will work together to accelerate the urban farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry across the country by offering new entrepreneurs a more accessible way to raise capital. This type of farming can reduce the environmental impact of the food system and increase local food security
Image from: Harvest Returns
Fort Worth, Texas – Agritecture, LLC, an urban farming consulting and digital services firm, announced it has partnered with Harvest Returns, an agriculture investing platform.
The two companies will work together to accelerate the urban farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry across the country by offering new entrepreneurs a more accessible way to raise capital. This type of farming can reduce the environmental impact of the food system and increase local food security.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of centralized food production,” said Chris Rawley, CEO of Harvest Returns. “Developing additional indoor farms will distribute growing operations closer to where food is consumed, creating a more resilient food system.”
In 2020, the USDA offered the availability of only $3M in grants for urban agriculture and innovative production. Agritecture notes that the average CapEx, or startup cost, for controlled environment farms modeled via their Agritecture Designer digital platform is $512,000, and nearly one-third are over $1M.
Image from: Urban Ag News
“Since our founding in 2014, we’ve seen sustained, year-over-year growth in interest toward urban agriculture, especially amongst industry newcomers,” said Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder and CEO of Agritecture. This growth has only accelerated since the onset of the pandemic, according to the team at Agritecture, which reported nearly a 2x increase in website traffic since Q1 of 2020.
“Despite this increasing interest and the record levels of funding for the handful of indoor mega farms, financing continues to be one of the primary challenges for small and medium-scale CEA businesses,” Gordon-Smith notes. “Yet, we know these farms can achieve profitability with competitive payback periods, while still serving their local markets and communities.”
Gordon-Smith cites Agritecture’s 2019 and 2020 Global CEA Census Reports, produced alongside agtech solutions provider Autogrow, which show that nearly half of all CEA facilities are being started by those with no previous farming experience.
Furthermore, per their recent census, 78 percent of CEA business founders who attempted to raise money were unsuccessful in doing so through traditional financing sources, such as banks.
“By teaming up with Harvest Returns and their innovative financing platform, we can now deliver a direct link from our planning services and digital platform, Agritecture Designer, to funding opportunities for these smaller-scale facilities,” added Gordon-Smith.
Is AppHarvest the Future of Farming?
In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.
Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are red-hot right now, with investors clamoring to get into promising young companies.
In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.
Nick Sciple: One last company I wanted to talk about, Lou, and this is one I think it's -- you pay attention to, but not one I'm super excited to run in and buy. It was a company called AppHarvest. It's coming public via a [SPAC] this year. This vertical farming space. We talked about Gladstone Land buying traditional farmland. AppHarvest is taking a very different approach, trying to lean into some of the ESG-type movements.
Lou Whiteman: Yeah. Let's look at this. It probably wouldn't surprise you that the U.S. is the biggest global farm exporter as we said, but it might surprise you that the Netherlands, the tiny little country, is No. 2. The way they do that is tech: Greenhouse farm structure. AppHarvest has taken that model and brought it to the U.S. They have, I believe, three farms in Appalachia. The pitches can produce 30x the yields using 90% less water. Right now, it's mostly tomatoes and it is early-stage. I don't own this stock either. I love this idea. There's some reasons that I'm not buying in right now that we can get into. But this is fascinating to me. We talked about making the world a better place. This is the company that we need to be successful to make the world a better place. The warning on it is that it is a SPAC. So it's not public yet. Right now, I believe N-O-V-S. That deal should close soon. [Editor's note: The deal has since closed.] I'm not the only one excited about it. I tend not to like to buy IPOs and new companies anyway. I think the caution around buying into the excitement applies here. There is a Martha Stewart video on their website talking up the company, which I love Martha Stewart, but that's a hype level that makes me want to just watch and see what they produce. This is just three little farms in Appalachia right now and a great idea. This was all over my watchlist. I would imagine I would love to hold it at some point, but just be careful because this is, as we saw SPACs last year in other areas, people are very excited about this.
Sciple: Yeah. I think, like we've said, for a lot of these companies, the prospects are great. I think when you look at the reduced water usage, better, environmentally friendly, all those sorts of things. I like that they are in Appalachia. As someone who is from the South, I like it when more rural areas get some people actually investing money there. But again, there's a lot of execution between now and really getting to a place where this is the future of farming and they're going to reach scale and all those sorts of things. But this is a company I'm definitely going to have my radar on and pay attention to as they continue to report earnings. Because you can tell yourself a story about how this type of vertical farming, indoor farming disrupts this traditional model, can be more efficient, cleaner, etc. Something to continue paying attention to as we have more information, because this company, like you said, Lou, isn't all the way public yet. We still got to have this SPAC deal finalized and then we get all our fun SEC filings and quarterly calls and all those sorts of things. Once we have that, I will be very much looking forward to seeing what the company has to say.
Whiteman: Right. Just to finish up along too, the interesting thing here is that it is a proven concept because it has worked elsewhere. The downside of that is that it needed to work there. Netherlands just doesn't have -- and this is an expensive proposition to get started, to get going. There's potential there, but in a country blessed with almost seemingly unlimited farmland for now, for long term it makes sense. But in the short term, it could be a hard thing to really get up and running. I think you're right, just one to watch.
PODCAST: Season 2 Episode 22
In this episode, Harry and Kyle discuss the varying facets of ponics, from deep water culture and NFTs to vertical farming and aquaponics
Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show founder of Ponic Jobs and co-host of the CropTalk Podcast, Kyle Barnett. Kyle is currently serving as Account Manager in the horticulture division at WestRock, focusing on helping growers create superior packaging, labels, and merchandising solutions.
In this episode, Harry and Kyle discuss the varying facets of ponics, from deep water culture and NFTs to vertical farming and aquaponics. They talk about the vital role distribution plays in the AgTech industry, what inspired Kyle to create the Ponic Jobs website, as well as his collaboration with CropTalk Media. His podcast segment, Kyle Talks AgTech, focuses on CEA, vertical farms, greenhouse technology as well as industry leaders.
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American Indian Architect Leads Aeroponics Farm Plan For Iron Range To Meda Finals
Pieratos, who is now 62, and three other Chippewa women are co-owners of Harvest Nation, which is leading a promising effort to build an indoor aeroponics farm that would serve hundreds of customers with fresh produce year-round from the reservation, near Tower and Lake Vermilion
JANUARY 24, 2021
“The recruiting sergeant looked at me like, ‘What is this Indian woman doing?’ I scored so highly on the entrance test that he showed me a lot of jobs.” Denise Pieratos, an MIT-trained architect and founder of Harvest Nation, started by four women who are members of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa in northeastern Minnesota.
Denise Pieratos, who grew up on the Bois Forte Chippewa reservation in northeastern Minnesota, started her career after Tower-Soudan High School as an iron miner.
Recession cost Pieratos her job in 1982 at the former U.S. Steel mine near Virginia. She enlisted in the Army for the G.I. Bill in order to finance the college education that always had seemed a distant dream.
"The recruiting sergeant looked at me like, 'What is this Indian woman doing?' " Pieratos recalled. "I scored so highly on the entrance test that he showed me a lot of jobs."
Pieratos became a Russian-language specialist in Army intelligence and rose to sergeant. And that wasn't the last time Pieratos surprised those who underestimated her.
She was a double-major honors student at the University of Minnesota in the early 1990s, in fine art and graphics design.
Her mentor during an internship at Walt Disney Co. recommended architecture school. Pieratos won a scholarship to MIT in Boston. She earned a master's degree in 1998.
That led to a 12-year design career at architecture firms in Minneapolis and in New York City.
Pieratos, then a divorced mother of two, moved back to the reservation from New York in 2010 to care for her father, who was dying of heart disease and diabetes.
Pieratos attributed that to bad diet.
Pieratos, who is now 62, and three other Chippewa women are co-owners of Harvest Nation, which is leading a promising effort to build an indoor aeroponics farm that would serve hundreds of customers with fresh produce year-round from the reservation, near Tower and Lake Vermilion.
These entrepreneurs also were seeded in 2019 with a $35,000 feasibility grant by Blandin Foundation.
CEO Tuleah Palmer, president of Grand Rapids-based Blandin, praised Pieratos and noted that less than 5% of such investment lands in rural Minnesota and less than 1% with tribes.
"As I admire the work Ms. Pieratos has advanced, her ingenuity and determination, I wonder how many more people like her are out in Minnesota's small towns and villages without access to capital,'' Palmer said.
"Scarcity is a dangerous narrative; it is long overdue that that changes."
Harvest Nation, a semifinalist in the 2019 Minnesota Cup entrepreneur sweepstakes, has been working with a business-development mentor and is one of the 13 finalists this week in the third-annual Meda Million Dollar Challenge for minority-led firms.
The national competition, the largest such entrepreneurs-of-color competition in America, has resulted in $3 million invested in 12 minority businesses since 2019.
Other finalists have attracted post-competition growth capital.
"We're like 'Shark Tank' without the teeth," quipped Meda CEO Alfredo Martel. "2020 has been a tough year for most and to see these exciting companies persist is inspiring. We are excited to see the results of their hard work."
Dani Pieratos, 32, Denise's daughter and the sales and marketing director for Harvest Nation, said the four founders are encouraged by hundreds of reservation, commercial-and-residential Iron Rangers who have expressed interest in becoming fresh-produce customers.
"Our traditional, native-food economy was wrecked and we started eating all those mass-produced processed foods," said Dani Pieratos, who also works full time in food distribution for the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency.
"Investing in healthy bodies and minds is the best 'asset-management' strategy for any community."
Pieratos said Harvest Nation is talking to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources about siting a demonstration project of around $1 million, of a full-sized production farm inside the old Lake Vermilion-Soudan iron mine that would cost up to $4 million. The mine is managed as a state park by the DNR. The temperature is a near-constant 55 degrees.
Harvest members would pay about $50 per week for a big box of fresh vegetables weekly.
Aeroponics may be best demonstrated in Minnesota by "Living Greens" of Faribault. The company has raised millions of dollars to build a 7,000-square foot building in the middle of farm country. It combines technology, agriculture and science to produce tons of year-round fresh salads, microgreens and herbs on 60,000 square feet of space, mostly elevated.
Aeroponics, a growing trend, uses misting and "dosing" systems to grow year-round crops that need 98% less land and 95% less water than traditional farming with no herbicides or pesticides.
The Harvest Nation founders want to generate green economic growth and better health on the range, to supplant some of what must be trucked in most of the year.
They also are seeking investors for their long-odds aeroponics farm.
Minneapolis-based Meda, a nonprofit adviser, and financier, was founded in 1971 by business leaders to foster minority-business expansion. It has grown in recent years to serve businesses with total revenue of $1 billion and 6,000 employees.
More information is at meda.net and harvestn.ationinc.com
What Can You Grow In Aeroponics?
There are many different types of crops that you can grow in an aeroponic system and many of these make a good business case, as well as boasting impressive environmental benefits
15-01-2021 | LettUsGROW
Aeroponics is a method of growing that doesn’t use soil. Instead, plant roots are irrigated with a nutrient-dense mist. This allows for access to greater oxygen levels and prevents water logging - resulting in higher yields and faster growth rates.
There are many different types of crops that you can grow in an aeroponic system and many of these make a good business case, as well as boasting impressive environmental benefits. Here are some of the crops you can grow in an aeroponic system:
Microgreens
These are greens that are popular in high-end restaurants as garnishes or in salad mixes. It is possible to grow large amounts of microgreens very quickly in an aeroponic system. In our systems, varieties such as micro radish and micro broccoli needed only 3-5 days in grow beds after germination.
The nutritional value of a crop will vary depending on what stage in its development it is at. Microgreens are in the stage when they are at their most nutritious, other than when they are a seed. However, the nutrients aren’t as easily digested by us in this form, so a plant is most nourishing when it’s a microgreen. This means you don’t need to eat a lot of them to receive a high dose of nutrition.
Leafy greens, herbs & salads
Perhaps the most common crops you’ll find growing in an aeroponic system are leafy greens and salads, which benefit from year-round growing. They are often used in pre-made salad boxes, sandwiches or in restaurants. Salads have a short shelf life, so growing them as close to the consumer as possible prevents food waste. It also allows you to grow for maximum taste, rather than to ensure crops survive a long journey to the supermarket. Popular crops include basil, lettuce and pea shoots.
Fruiting crops
Offering fruiting crops in the winter months not only benefits consumers, but allows fruit farmers a more consistent annual turnover and workload. Strawberries are a great choice of crop to grow in an aeroponic system because they can have a very limited growing season.
Tomatoes can also be grown aeroponically. They see the same benefits of year round growth and not requiring soil. This makes the growing process simpler, as there is no need to repot young crops. However, tomato plants require more space than leafy greens and microgreens, which impacts the ability to grow vertically. Therefore, aeroponic tomatoes may be better suited to greenhouse systems. This does not mean vertically farmed tomatoes are ruled out, as there are some dwarf tomato varieties that are smaller but still yield fruits.
Tree whips
Nurseries offer a stable, optimised environment for trees to be propagated and grown to a desired size, and it is possible for growth at this stage to be completed in an aeroponic system. Successfully propagating depends greatly on the quality of the seedling stock. It’s also important to establish a healthy root system, as survival after planting depends heavily on the plant’s ability to uptake water.
Aeroponics produces large and healthy root bodies, which may aid establishment and increase the success of forestry projects. One challenge of growing tree whips, whether in soil, water or mist, includes the possibility of transplant shock - strong root stock is key to mitigating this. We are planning to undertake further research to understand how aeroponics may interact with other factors surrounding tree propagation.
Rooting crops
Aeroponics can be used to grow various rooting crops, for example there has been much research into growing potatoes aeroponically, showing several advantages of the systems. At LettUs Grow we have grown both baby carrots and radishes. As the growth of this type of crop is very different to leafy greens, systems are required to focus more on the growth within the root chamber. Greater space, support and access to the roots is needed, therefore system redesigns would likely be required to consistently grow commercially viable rooting crops.
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Photo created by freepic.diller - freepik
VIDEO: What's The Difference? Aeroponics Vs. Hydroponics
With a large portion of the world’s farmland shrinking, and food shortages affecting countries all over the world, newer farming methods like aeroponics and hydroponics allow crops to be grown where traditional farming cannot
Nate Klingler | January 11, 2021
With a large portion of the world’s farmland shrinking, and food shortages affecting countries all over the world, newer farming methods like aeroponics and hydroponics allow crops to be grown where traditional farming cannot. As these alternative farming systems increase in popularity, more misconceptions arise about the design, environmental impact, and the overall health of the plants grown using aeroponics and hydroponics.
This list will compare and contrast the differences between the two methods, and show how aeroponic and hydroponic farming technology can be used to grow some of the tastiest, healthiest, and greatest greens on the planet!
Aero Vs Hydro
Many people often confuse aeroponic farming with hydroponics, another form of farming that has gained plenty of popularity over recent years. While both methods are similar in that they don’t require soil, the way nutrients are delivered to plants is much different. In hydroponics, plants may be suspended in water full-time or fed by an intermittent flow of water. Aeroponic plants are never placed into water, instead being given nutrients from a mist that’s sprayed onto their roots.
This key difference is what gives each method their unique name. The term ‘Aeroponics’ stems from the Greek word aero, meaning air, and ponos, meaning work. Hydroponics, on the other hand, uses the Greek term hydro, meaning water, and is translated to the term ‘‘working water’!
The Method
Another major distinction between Aeroponics and Hydroponics lies in the design and methodology of the farming setup.
Aeroponic farms are completely controlled and enclosed environments, with crops growing suspended in air. The plants are contained in a humid atmosphere where frequent misting delivers a nutrient-rich solution right to the roots, keeping the crop from drying out. Because the entire process is enclosed, the mist is able to remain around the plants for longer, helping them grow much quicker than in a traditional outdoor farm.
Hydroponic farming also utilizes nutrient-rich water, but the process of delivering these nutrients is different. Instead of spraying the solution onto the roots, the plants are either grown in containers of nutrient solution, or the solution is circulated past the roots.
Plant Growth and Health
As far as the overall health of the plant goes, aeroponics takes a slight advantage. These crops grow in a completely sealed and protected environment, meaning there is a very small chance that the roots will be exposed to foreign objects and bacteria. Hydroponic plants on the other hand, are at a much greater risk of bacterial exposure, due to the high humidity levels in their growing environment.
Another important aspect that contributes to a plant’s health is the aeration or the amount of oxygen the plant receives while growing. During aeroponic growing the plant’s roots are completely suspended for the entire growing process, allowing them to take in air at a much greater rate. In hydroponics, the roots are submerged and do not receive nearly as much oxygen, contributing to a generally smaller plant and crop yield.
The Environmental Impact
Both aeroponics and hydroponics are regarded to be less harsh on the earth than traditional ‘geoponic’ farming, with neither requiring the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. However, there are some differences in the number of resources used between both systems. Hydroponics requires much larger quantities of water to operate, as well as four times the amount of nutrients needed to grow a plant using the aeroponics method.
Because of this, aeroponics has been developed to compete with the problems that arise from climate change, diminishing farmland, and the building of large housing and urban centers. It uses 98% less land than traditional farming methods, 95% less water, and is 100% controlled, allowing for crops to be grown year-round using fewer resources.
Living Greens Farm & The Future of Aeroponics
Living Greens Farms started with a simple goal to build a sustainable, next-generation farm, and has now expanded into the largest vertical-plane, indoor aeroponic farm in the world! Follow our journey as we look to expand into other areas of the country, where we can make a difference in communities that have little access to fresh produce. Changing the world for the better starts with one person, one bite, and one Living Greens salad at a time.
How Vertical Farms Could Be Ready To Take-Off
A new interdisciplinary study combining biology and engineering sets down steps towards accelerating the growth of vertical farming, including the use of aeroponics which uses nutrient-enriched aerosols in place of soil, reports Science Daily
24 Jul 2020
Study identifies future research areas needed to accelerate growth of vertical farming using aeroponics.
A new interdisciplinary study combining biology and engineering sets down steps towards accelerating the growth of vertical farming, including the use of aeroponics which uses nutrient-enriched aerosols in place of soil, reports Science Daily.
Accelerate sustainable growth of vertical farming
The study was carried out by the John Innes Centre, the University of Bristol, and the aeroponic technology provider LettUs Grow. It identifies future research areas needed to accelerate the sustainable growth of vertical farming using aeroponic systems.
Dr. Antony Dodd, a group leader at the John Innes Centre and senior author of the study, says: “By bringing fundamental biological insights into the context of the physics of growing plants in an aerosol, we can help the vertical farming business become more productive more quickly while producing healthier food with less environmental impact.”
Vertical farming is a type of indoor agriculture where crops are cultivated in stacked systems with water, lighting, and nutrient sources carefully controlled.
Seven areas of future research
The study, which appears in the journal New Phytologist and is called Getting to the Roots of Aeroponic Indoor Farming, lays out seven steps – strategic areas of future research needed to underpin increased productivity and sustainability of aeroponic vertical farms.
These seek to understand:
Why aeroponic cultivation can be more productive than hydroponic or soil cultivation.
The relationship between aeroponic cultivation and 24-hour circadian rhythms of plants.
Root development of a range of crops in aeroponic conditions.
The relationship between aerosol droplet size and deposition and plant performance.
How we can establish frameworks for comparing vertical farming technologies for a range of crops.
How aeroponic methods affect microbial interactions with plant roots.
The nature of recycling of root exudates (fluids secreted by the roots of plants) within the nutrient solutions of closed aeroponic systems.
The report argues that a driver of technological innovation in vertical farms is minimizing operation costs whilst maximizing productivity – and that investment in fundamental biological research has a significant role.
Genetically tune crops to grow in vertical farms
John Innes Centre researchers have bred a line of broccoli adapted to grow indoors for a major supermarket and one of the aims of research will be to test how we can genetically tune more crops to grow in the controlled space of vertical farms.
Bethany Eldridge, a researcher at the University of Bristol studying root-environment interactions and first author of the study adds: “Given that 80% of agricultural land worldwide is reported to have moderate or severe erosion, the ability to grow crops in a soilless system with minimal fertilizers and pesticides is advantageous because it provides an opportunity to grow crops in areas facing soil erosion or other environmental issues such as algal blooms in local water bodies that may have been driven by traditional, soil-based, agriculture.”
Aeroponics is associated with very little water, automation, and high tech systems. But what is the current potential of aeroponics technology to grow food or cannabis crops economically?
Hugo Claver
Web editor for Future Farming
Lead Photo: - Photo: ThisIsEngineering