Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
OASIS Grower Solutions Moves Florida Manufacturing
This new facility gives the company 30% more space, providing for anticipated growth in the southern region of the country, as well as for additional capacity and warehousing
To gear up for what's anticipated to be an exciting year for OASIS® Grower Solutions in 2020, it has moved its Florida offices and manufacturing from Mt. Dora to a much larger and more modern facility at 5454 Foliage Way, in Apopka, Florida. This new facility gives the company 30% more space, providing for anticipated growth in the southern region of the country, as well as for additional capacity and warehousing. www.oasisgrowersolutions.com
Shenandoah Growers Opens Next Generation USDA Certified Indoor Biofarms In Virginia
The new BioFarms will solve persistent problems in the fresh product supply chain – delivering peak freshness, longer shelf life, enhanced food safety, reduced food miles, and year-round organic supply.
ROCKINGHAM, Va. — Shenandoah Growers, Inc., the US leader in indoor USDA certified organic agriculture, has begun harvests at its next generation BioFarm facilities in Rockingham and Elkwood, Virginia. The company will now grow, pack and ship locally grown, premium quality organic produce from its sustainable indoor farms to its customers in the Mid-Atlantic region 365 days a year.
Shenandoah Growers BioFarm Basil Plants
The new BioFarms will solve persistent problems in the fresh product supply chain – delivering peak freshness, longer shelf life, enhanced food safety, reduced food miles, and year-round organic supply. Shenandoah’s sustainable growing technology uses bioactive soil and fresh water, just like in nature, producing healthy organic plants and delivering on the company’s mission to reduce its carbon footprint and lead in environmental stewardship.
The Rockingham BioFarm will supply 100% of Shenandoah’s basil in the Mid-Atlantic region, marking the transition away from traditional field production. Basil is not only the best-selling herb, but it is also the most difficult to grow and ship nationally due to its vulnerability to weather volatility, disease and temperature damage. The Elkwood BioFarm will supply the company’s new line of local organic lettuces to Mid-Atlantic customers.
“Being able to grow the totality of our basil demand inside our pack house and not fly or truck hundreds or thousands of miles from the field was inconceivable when I entered the business over 20 years ago,” says Tim Heydon, CEO.
While Shenandoah Growers are pioneers in indoor organic agriculture, they are quick to emphasize that the company has been farming and operating in the industry for over 30 years. Chief Customer Officer Steven Wright intoned, “It’s one thing to be able to grow indoors, it’s quite another to harvest, pack and deliver with consistent quality 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year while meeting demand during peak seasons.”
The company points out that its indoor production units, many of which have been in operation for over 4 years, are proven efficient. According to company President, Phillip Karp, “Fundamentally we are about the democratization of sustainably grown organic produce, and for the promise of indoor agriculture to truly unlock its great potential, it must achieve cost parity with traditional farming. Anything we launch from our indoor farms will be scalable and profitable for us and our customers and affordable for the shopper.”
The company is in the process of accelerating its indoor farming capacity with a clearly defined plan to deploy additional next generation USDA certified organic Biofarms across its entire national platform of operating locations.
About Shenandoah Growers, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Shenandoah Growers is the leading grower and marketer of fresh organic culinary herbs in the United States, providing sustainable, USDA certified organic, regionally grown produce to retailers coast-to-coast. The Rockingham, Virginia-based company has developed the nation’s largest commercial indoor organic growing systems and continues to redefine how to bring fresh, organic, and sustainably farmed produce to market—operating across a nationally integrated platform of farms, production, and logistics facilities. For more information, please visit www.shenandoahgrowers.com.
Under the THAT’S TASTY® BRAND, Shenandoah Growers provides USDA organic, non-GMO, regionally grown, and sustainably farmed fresh culinary herbs and greens. Launched in 2017, the THAT’S TASTY BRAND offers consumers ways to add Pure Organic Flavor™ to their everyday cooking by offering a full line of products including living organic herb plants, fresh cut herbs, herb purees, lettuces and microgreens. www.thatstasty.com
Grow A Farm Right Inside Your Kitchen In UAE
For those who have dreamt of growing their own vegetables and herbs - but are limited by the fact that they don't have a garden - a solution is being presented at Gitex Technology Week in Dubai. And it's aptly called 'Kitchen Garden'
Rohma Sadaqat /Dubai
(KT/ M sajjad)
October 10, 2019
Seeds come in a 'seedpod' and are all non-GMO and certified organic.
For those who have dreamt of growing their own vegetables and herbs - but are limited by the fact that they don't have a garden - a solution is being presented at Gitex Technology Week in Dubai. And it's aptly called 'Kitchen Garden'.
Kitchen Garden, developed by Natufia Labs, is a fully automated indoor garden system, which allows chefs to grow anything from basil to lemongrass or a seed packet of nutrient-rich microgreens.
Seeds come in a 'seedpod' and are all non-GMO and certified organic.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Lauri Kapp, co-founder of Natufia Labs, shared details on the technology and how it is relevant to a region such as the UAE.
"This indoor growing technology gives the power back to the consumer. Restaurants and households can now grow fresh products without worrying about seasons or pesticides and chemicals in their greens.
"This is critical for countries like the UAE that rely mostly on imports," he said.
Kitchen Garden is equipped with 32 ceramic pots, a number that can be increased to 64.
Alternatively, it can be easily fitted with 128 microgreen plates.
It was designed to allow for the full flexibility of a mix between ceramic pots and microgreen plates to suit the user's preferences.
Currently, over 100 seeds of different herbs and plants have been tested and can be grown in the indoor garden.
The technology builds upon the use of hydroponics, but requires less maintenance and less space and offers much more variety in the plants that can be grown.
This garden is just a little bigger than the average single-door fridge and can easily be installed in a home kitchen or a small professional one.
Selma Abualia, project manager at Madar Farms, the local distributor for Natufia in the UAE, revealed that the technology has already found a home in the country, with many different parties expressing their interest.
Currently, one Kitchen Garden is already installed and operational at Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek Hotel.
HOW IT WORKS
. Get your seeds that come in 'seedpods'
. Place your seeds into a 'nursery tray', which provides the necessary light for the plants to grow
. Transfer your seedlings into cups. The system's two pull-out racks hold 32 handmade ceramic cups and a total of 165 microgreen plates, or a combination of both
. Don't worry about watering them - it's fully automated
. Monitor your plants' growth and adjust the controls via an app
. Harvest for mealtime
rohma@khaleejtimes.com
Rohma Sadaqat
I am a reporter and sub-editor on the Business desk at Khaleej Times. I mainly cover and write articles on the UAE's retail, hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors. Originally from Lahore, I have been living in the UAE for more than 20 years. I graduated with a BA in Mass Communication, with a concentration in Journalism, and a double minor in History and International Studies from the American University of Sharjah. If you see me out and about on assignment in Dubai, feel free to stop me, say hello, and we can chat about the latest kitten videos on YouTube.
The Epstein-Funded MIT Lab Has An Ambitious Project That Purports To Revolutionize Agriculture. Insiders Say It's Mostly Smoke And Mirrors
An ambitious project that purported to turn anyone into a farmer with a single tool is scraping by with smoke-and-mirror tactics, employees told Business Insider
September 7, 2019
Insiders told Business Insider that MIT Media Lab faked key elements of its "personal food computer" project, which aimed to grow plants without soil.
An ambitious MIT project that purported to turn anyone into a farmer with a single tool is scraping by with smoke-and-mirror tactics, employees told Business Insider.
Ahead of big demonstrations with MIT Media Lab funders, staff were told to place plants grown elsewhere into the devices, the insiders said.
In other instances, devices delivered to local schools simply didn't work.
"It's fair to say that of the 30-ish food computers we sent out, at most two grew a plant," one person said.
MIT didn't provide a comment. The original version of this story misidentified an MIT Media Lab manager who allegedly instructed staffers to place store-bought plants in the devices. It has been corrected.
An ambitious project that purported to turn anyone into a farmer with a single tool is scraping by with smoke-and-mirror tactics, employees told Business Insider.
The "personal food computer," a device that MIT Media Lab senior researcher Caleb Harper presented as helping thousands of people across the globe grow custom, local food, simply doesn't work, according to two employees and multiple internal documents that Business Insider viewed. One person asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.
Harper is the director of MIT's Open Agriculture Initiative and leads a group of seven people who work on transforming the food system by studying better methods of growing crops.
The food computers are plastic boxes outfitted with advanced sensors and LED lights and were designed to make it possible for anyone, anywhere to grow food, even without soil, Harper has said. Instead of soil, the boxes use hydroponics, or a system of farming that involves dissolving nutrients in water and feeding them to the plant that way.
"We design CO2, temperature, humidity, light spectrum, light intensity, and the minerality of the water, and the oxygen of the water," Harper said.
On Saturday, Joi Ito, the director of the MIT Media Lab, resigned following a lengthy expose in the New Yorker about the Media Lab's financial ties with late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein died by suicide while in jail and faced sex-trafficking charges.
Staff placed food grown elsewhere into the devices for demos and photoshoots, they say
Ahead of big demonstrations of the devices with MIT Media Lab funders, staff were told to place plants grown elsewhere into the devices, the employees told Business Insider.
In another instance, one employee was asked to purchase herbs at a nearby flower market, dust off the dirt in which they were grown, and place them in the boxes for a photoshoot, she said.
Harper forwarded an email requesting comment on this story to an MIT spokesperson. The spokesperson didn't provide a comment.
The aim was to make it look like the devices lived up to Harper's claims, the employees said. Those claims, which included assertions that the devices could grow foods like broccoli four times faster than traditional methods, landed Harper and his team articles in outlets ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Wired and National Geographic.
Harper's vision for the personal food computer is bold: "You think Star Trek or Willy Wonka, that's exactly what we're going for," he said in a March 2019 YouTube video produced by the news site Seeker.
Harper's coworkers told Business Insider a different story. They said the devices are basic hydroponic setups and do not offer the capabilities Harper outlines. In addition, they simply don't work, they said.
MIT Media Lab's Caleb Harper speaks at TEDGlobal Geneva. James Duncan Davidson/TED
'They were always looking for funding'
Paula Cerqueira, a researcher and dietitian who worked as a project manager at the Open Agriculture Initiative for two years, told Business Insider that the personal food computers she worked with were "glorified grow boxes."
Cerqueira was part of a team that, on several occasions, delivered the personal food computers to schools. She also helped demonstrate the boxes to big-name MIT Media Lab investors.
During the organization's "Members Weeks" — once-a-semester events that drew donors including Google, Salesforce, Citigroup, and 21st Century Fox — Cerqueira and her coworkers would show investors how the technology worked.
On one occasion, Cerqueira said, her coworkers were told to fetch basil grown from a nearby location and place it into the personal food computers to make it look like it had been grown inside the boxes.
"They wanted the best looking plants in there," Cerqueira told Business Insider. "They were always looking for funding."
Cerqueira said in another instance, she was told by another MIT Media Labs manager to buy edible lavender plants from a nearby flower's market and place them in the boxes for a photoshoot, she said. Before any photos were taken, she carefully dusted off the tell-tale soil on the plants' roots.
The boxes simply didn't work, one employee told Business Insider
The central problem with the personal food computer was that it simply didn't work, Cerqueira and another person with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider.
"It's essentially a grow box with some sensors for collecting data," Cerqueira, a dietitian who worked as a project manager at the Open Agriculture Initiative for two years, told Business Insider. Cerqueira left her post after becoming increasingly frustrated with working conditions at the Media Lab, she said.
The boxes were not air-tight, so staff couldn't control variables like the levels of carbon dioxide and even basic environmental factors like temperature and humidity, Cerqueira and the other person said.
Other team members were aware of these issues, according to several internal emails that Business Insider viewed.
One email, on which Harper is copied, also said that team members weren't given the chance to test the devices' functionality for themselves. Another person with knowledge of the matter also described these issues to Business Insider.
'Of the 30-ish food computers we sent out, at most two grew a plant'
In the Spring of 2017, Cerqueira was part of a pilot program that delivered three of Harper's devices to local schools in the Boston area. Initially, the idea was for the students to put the devices together themselves. But Cerqueira said that didn't work — the devices were too complex for the students to construct on their own.
"They weren't able to build them," Cerqueira said.
In response, Cerqueira's team sent three MIT Media Lab staff to set up the computers for them. Of the three devices the staff members tried to setup, only one was able to grow plants, she said. That one stopped working after a few days, however.
When Cerqueira and her coworkers would visit the school, students would joke that the plants they were growing in plastic cups were growing better than the ones in the personal food computers, she said. The pilot ended shortly thereafter.
On another occasion, her team sent two dozen of the devices to classrooms across greater Boston as part of a curriculum being designed by one of MIT Media Lab's education partners.
"It's fair to say that of the 30-ish food computers we sent out, at most two grew a plant," Cerqueira said.
No one knew exactly what was wrong, but in general, the team was aware that the devices weren't functioning as they should be. In a last-ditch attempt to make the devices deliver, Cerqueira's team sent new packages of fresh seedlings to the school. When that didn't work, they tried it again. No matter what, the plants just kept dying, according to Cerqueira.
At one point, a representative from the Bezos Family Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation cofounded by Jackie and Mike Bezos, stopped by the school for a visit, Cerqueira said. Harper had been hoping to entice the group to help fund a new foundation that he was just getting off the ground. Even then, the devices wouldn't work.
"It was super embarrassing," said Cerqueira.
Correction, September 9, 2019: This story initially reported that Cerqueira said Caleb Harper instructed her to place store-bought lavender plants in a food computer for a photo shoot. It has been updated to reflect the fact that Cerqueira says another MIT Media Lab manager, and not Harper, issued the instruction. Business Insider regrets the error.
Want to tell us about your experience with MIT Media Lab? Email the author at ebrodwin@businessinsider.com.
Lead photo: Shutterstock
Choosing Your First Hydroponic System
For growers trying out hydroponics for the first time, choosing the best system can be a daunting task. Are you up for the challenge? Take our quiz to find out, then read on to learn about several low-maintenance hydro systems and determine which one is right for you.
Lacey Macri | August 13, 2019
Takeaway: For growers trying out hydroponics for the first time, choosing the best system can be a daunting task. Are you up for the challenge? Take our quiz to find out, then read on to learn about several low-maintenance hydro systems and determine which one is right for you.
As laws and climates change and mentalities shift towards living more sustainably, an increasing number of people are joining the grow revolution and bringing things indoors so they can grow year-round. Selecting your first indoor garden set-up can be difficult with all the options available, each with its own set of pros and cons.
Depending on your unique set of circumstances, certain set-ups may be more valuable to you than others. Take this short quiz to find out if you’re ready for hydroponics, then read on to dial in the specifics.
1) Do you have limited start-up cash?
a) Yes
b) Not necessarily
2) Do you see this as a long-term hobby or just temporary?
a) Temporary
b) Long-term hobby
3) Do you have plenty of time available to spend on this each day?
a) Yes
b) No
4) Do you live in a region with frequent power outages?
a) Yes
b) No
5) Do you want to grow organically or in a sterile environment?
a) Organic
b) Sterile
6) Are you eager to get started right away?
a) Yes
b) No rush
7) Will the growroom be in a rural area subject to many pest infestations?
a) Not sure
b) Yes
8) Is it important to you to keep your growroom as clean as possible at all times?
a) Not a factor
b) Definitely
Results
Tally up the number of answers you responded to with A versus B. If you answered more questions with A, you might be better off with a traditional, soil-based system. If you answered more questions with B, hydroponics may be for you. Even if your answers were mixed, there might be a hydro system listed here that fits your bill perfectly.
Read also: Hydroponics: Pros and Cons of Hydroponic Gardening
Ebb & Flow
Ebb and flow systems have long been recognized as classic hydroponic systems. An ebb and flow system consists of a shallow table with a centralized flood and drain system that is hooked up to timers to control the feed schedule. An overflow valve is also installed to control the height of the water that is flooded onto the tray that holds the plants.
Once the plant tray is flooded for a set amount of time, the water drains back into the reservoir, which is usually placed beneath the table. There are many benefits to choosing this type of system, including the ability to move plants around if they become crowded, and how easy it is to set up and customize your system based on spatial and financial limitations.
Drawbacks include a few slightly higher risk factors than other methods. If you live in a region with frequent power outages, this might be the least desirable option for you, as plants rely solely on the pump delivering the nutrient-rich water to them on a strict time schedule.
If you are out and about and are unable to get to your growroom in a timely manner, plants can die in a matter of hours. However, many plants are resilient, so if you open up your tent to see wilted, sad-looking plants, it is worth trying to resuscitate them by watering them immediately, as you may be pleasantly surprised.
Water Culture
Some water culture systems are visually similar to ebb and flow systems, but they operate somewhat differently. A traditional water culture system consists of a vessel that is flooded but never drained.
The plants may float around in the water in Styrofoam rafts, or they might be held in net pots positioned directly above the water with their roots suspended indefinitely in the water below, which is usually referred to as deep water culture. Plants are exposed to a nutrient-enriched water source at all times. To avoid suffocating plants, the water must be properly oxygenated with air pumps and air stones.
One benefit to water culture is being able to run your nutrient solution at a lower concentration, since the food source is ever-present and plants are free to feed as they need. One of the most serious drawbacks is the threat of diseases.
Because roots are constantly exposed to the solution, whatever is in that solution—good or bad—will propagate quickly. Some common, serious threats include fusarium, root rot and pythium. You can use products like hypochlorous acid, or H2O2, to help prevent the development of water-borne pathogens.
Aeroponics
Similar to water culture, the roots of plants in aeroponic systems are also suspended, but instead of being immersed in the water, they are hanging in the air. The nutrient-rich solution is then misted periodically from a reservoir onto roots. Plants are often held up by flexible, firm neoprene collars instead of grow media.
Aeroponics is one of the cleanest, most sterile ways to grow. Without grow media, there aren’t as many locations for bacteria to hide. The absence of grow media also allows the plants to grow as quickly as possible without any limits to the span of their root mass. These conditions make aeroponics one of the most preferred cloning options available, as fresh cuttings are highly susceptible to various diseases and prone to failure.
One limitation is that many plants will eventually outgrow their original system, so they will have to be transplanted. Unless you’re growing lettuce or basil, you will have to have something lined up for when that happens. While it is possible to grow mature plants in an aeroponic system, some plant strains may have higher demands for water and nutrients than the misting environment can viably deliver.
Nutrient Film Technique
Most hydroponic systems are hybrids, and nutrient film technique (NFT) systems are no different. This set-up may require a bit more experience than the rest, but its results are typically superior. Every system has its shortcomings, which usually evolve from a lack of one of three things: air, water or nutrients. The beauty of NFT is that all three of these essentials are abundantly available at all times.
Typically, people think of NFT as a hollowed-out, cylindrical tube on a downward slope that houses the channels that carry nutrients and water. Plants are spaced proportionally and placed in the holes on the upper surface of the tube. Grow media is not necessary and like aeroponics, growers may use neoprene collars or something similar to hold plants in place.
Nutrient-rich solution is pumped from a reservoir, usually located at the base of the channel and then directed up to the highest part of the channels and allowed to flow continuously downstream through the roots. The unused water may then drain directly back into the reservoir for recirculation. When NFT is done right, it can be the best in its class. However, dialing in all the details is something that only comes from experience.
Drip System
Drip systems are one of the most popular hydroponic methods. Similar to NFT, plants on a drip system may be placed on a slanted table to direct nutrient solution overflow into a recovery or non-recovery system. In recovery drip systems, the solution not absorbed by plants will ultimately drain directly back into the original reservoir, while the water that drains into a non-recovery system is considered wastewater.
The dripline is controlled by a submersible pump that supplies nutrient solution around the base of each plant directly onto the grow media. Common grow media used in this technique include stonewool, clay pebbles and coco. Stonewool and coco allow growers to irrigate less frequently, as they tend to hold enough moisture to keep plants adequately hydrated in between drip cycles. Clay pebbles make nutrient management easier in situations where the drip is more constant.
Drip systems are popular for their easy and affordable set-ups, and high level of control over how plants are fed. On the other hand, drip systems are more prone to fluctuations in pH and EC, as these levels are less stable in recirculating systems.
One of the goals of hydroponics is running a fully automated system. With all the plug-and-play systems available, there is bound to be something for everyone. When selecting a system, keep in mind it isn’t always about which method is best overall, but rather which method will work best for you. Don’t be afraid to try something new.
Written by Lacey Macri
Lacey Macri works as head of sales at CleanGrow, focusing her time on business development within the company. She received a bachelor’s degree in communications and psychology from the University of California, Davis, in 2011, where she worked at the California Aggie student newspaper on campus. Full Bio
Hexagro Urban Farming Biomimicry Insight
Following the biomimicry guiding principles, our Living Farming Tree is the first modular indoor garden that is completely developed for providing everyone their own customized solution for growing what they want, how much they want
When we first started to develop our products we asked ourselves how could we design a system that was not just another farming machine. We didn't want an ugly but functional PVC hydroponic system. One of those that are very complex to install, require above-average DIY skills but produce large quantities of produce. However, we didn't want one of those very beautiful small and unproductive gadgets that we now see in many homes either.
We did want to develop a system that could have the best of both products and then go even beyond.
Nature came to help and we started learning more and more about a new design approach called biomimicry. Through the study of natural patterns and existing well performing structures created by different billions of living creatures on Earth, we were able to get the right inspiration for the development of a product that was as compact as possible, had the right technical requirement for growing healthy and high-quality herbs and, at the same time, was modular and scalable.
B
eing able to leverage this knowledge of space optimization and adaptability, we then adopted different cutting-edge technologies for manufacturing and IoT to create a system that was not only able to adapt to any indoor environment, in terms of space and products farmed. But that could also start sensing what's around it and react and adjust cultivation cycles depending on the different environmental conditions where it was installed.
Following the biomimicry guiding principles, our Living Farming Tree is the first modular indoor garden that is completely developed for providing everyone their own customized solution for growing what they want, how much they want. Thanks to the different modules indeed, you can upgrade and downgrade your production based on your own taste and will. Different modules will be also available depending on the type of crop you want to produce. What basil needs for growing efficiently, is very different from what arugula does, and our agronomists know it. This is why for each type of crop, you will be able to set up different lighting conditions, irrigation cycles, and nutrient contents. And no worries! Everything will be fully automated and easy to monitor through our App and guiding tools!
If you want to know even more about the Living Farming Tree, you can also visit our FAQ page where we keep posting detailed techs&specs about our products.
Hexagro Team
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They might like it as well!
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Build Your Own Aquaponics System
How does an aquaponics system work, and how can you make your own? Our friends at Crop King Seeds bring us this handy, introductory guide
JP Wood
Presented by: Crop King Seeds
Takeaway: How does an aquaponics system work, and how can you make your own? Our friends at Crop King Seeds bring us this handy, introductory guide.
Aquaponics is what we call a combination of fish farming and hydroponics. It also happens to be one of the best ways to grow a high quality cannabis crop. In marijuana circles, aquaponics are known to produce especially the same kinds of pleasing tastes and smells usually attributed to organically grown plants and fruits.
How to Build an Aquaponics System
When you’re looking to start your own aquaponics system, you have two options: You can go out and purchase an aquaponics system kit, or you can choose to build your own. If you decide to go with the latter, it’s important to remember that you need something called a “flood and drain” system to properly nurture your marijuana. Just make sure your pump works on a timer. It’ll save you a ton of headache.
1. First, you need to drill two holes in the row bed that will be able to fit two bulkheads. These two holes will function as a drain and fill. The next thing that you need to do is to connect the bulkheads to the pump where the holes are. Once the connection is in place, turn on the pump and keep it on for 15 minutes and off for 45 minutes. This process suggests a far more frequent flood cycle than is used in hydroponics. This more frequent flooding provides enough filtration to keep your fish healthy while your plants are growing.r
2. Now it's time for you to put your grow bed on top of your fish tank and fill it with your selected medium. If you're looking for something that will last, then clay is probably your best option. It is ideal to have at least 12 inches of depth on the grow media.
3. Before adding your fish, make sure to cycle your system beforehand. This will help to establish the colony of bacteria that is responsible for the nitrogen in your aquaponics system. Once you have done this, and the fish first begin to create waste, the bacteria will be able to grow and begin to produce the nitrogen that your plants will need. If you don’t cycle properly before you start your plants, you’re not going to have the bacteria levels that you need. This means that your plants will also fewer nutrients than what they require, and your crop will be disappointing. Testing the nitrogen levels, starting with ammonia on the water, will help you determine if the cycle is enough. Always remember that you need to use pure ammonia. This will help you to eventually bring the ammonia levels from starting levels of 2ppm to around 4ppm. Starting higher than 2ppm too soon risks destroying the valuable bacteria.
4. After the next spike in nitrogen levels, you should start seeing nitrite.That spike is caused by the bacteria converting ammonia into nitrite. These nitrites will be consumed and will eventually turn into nitrate. This is the kind of nitrogen that is well suited for plant growth. When the ammonia and nitrite levels read 0 ppm, most of the nitrogen has been converted into nitrate, marking the end of the cycle.
5. Now that the system has finished cycling, it is time to add your plants and fish into the grow medium. Even when you're finished, you're going to need to keep an eye on things to make sure that you reach the proper balance between the plants, fish and bacteria.
Understanding the Dual Root System
In a traditional aquaponics system, you can’t rely solely on the nutrients created by the fish and microbes within the system. While their contributions are valuable, you may still find yourself low on phosphate and potassium. That’s why the Dual Root System was developed as one of the keys to a successful aquaponics cannabis crop.
Use burlap, or any other root permeable material, to separate whatever traditional clay media you may have. Add a soil layer on top of that, and you have your dual root zone. The outer layer of soil gives terrestrial microbes a place to live whole the aquatic layer provides. You can adjust your setup to taste, but this particular arrangement gives you more than enough nutrients and has the added bonus of increased gas exchange between your water and your plants.
By using both biomes of microbes, you can maximize the natural nutrients that your plants are consuming.
Using the dual root system you’re going to: need to use fewer fertilizers on your plants, be able to save a little bit of money, and avoid the hassle of flushing your plants before the flowering phase.
Overall, this method should provide you with a harvest that has a much smoother smoke, and a richer flavor.
The Urban Farm Concept
Urban farming is becoming increasingly popular and is now at the heart of a growing number of business models that want to address the needs of fast-growing urban markets looking to source fresh local produce
Urban farming is becoming increasingly popular and is now at the heart of a growing number of business models that want to address the needs of fast-growing urban markets looking to source fresh local produce.
While it may be true that the costs of developing new facilities will increase the cost of production, the reduction in the costs associated with transporting produce to an end market, both economically and environmentally, more than offset this.
In the UK, for example, Ocado is investing £17m in a high-tech vertical farm which is to run alongside its robot-run distribution centres, and the company said that it plans to roll this concept out around the world.
The vertical farm, Jones Food, currently grows around 420 tonnes of basil, parsley and coriander a year in stacked trays using LED lights to encourage growth.
Ocado will be looking to use its experience and expertise in robotics and AI to help make the Jones Food operation more efficient.
According to senior management at Ocado, the company is also forming a joint venture – Infinite Acres – with a US-based vertical farming business 80 Acres and Priva, a Dutch horticultural technology provider. 80 Acres currently grows tomatoes and courgettes as well as leafy salads and herbs, without using pesticides.
The concept of vertical or urban farming is becoming more popular and at its heart it looks to help retailers to better address fundamental consumer concerns such as seasonal availability, freshness and sustainability.
Unlike traditional farms, urban farms look to control every aspect of a plant’s growth - but that can prove very expensive to enable.
“When we talk about urban farming it’s about getting the farm closer to the end market. Today, much of what we think of as fresh has had to travel miles before getting to a store,” explains Bruno D’Amico, Design and Product Manager at Current, part of GE. He continues, “It means that by the time you eat it, it could be months old. Take apples or onions, for example, these are products that if stored correctly can have a very long storage life.
“The idea of being fresh depends on where it was sourced. The urban farm is about how you can get the farm nearer to urban centres and produce food locally.
“New technologies are helping to revolutionise the way in which we can access fresh produce,” D’Amico suggests.
Industrial scale food production
Current offers horticultural LED lighting systems that have been designed to maximise the potential of urban farms and to support industrial scale levels of food production.
“We provide data to help better understand what is happening in the local environment. So, we’ll look at occupancy rates and temperature, for example, and that data is then made available to the customer to better support the specific outcome they’re looking for.”
Light is obviously one of the most crucial elements when it comes to plant growth, yet while the sun’s light spans a broad spectrum – from UV through to infrared wavelengths – the available light spectrum can be affected by things like geography, the weather and the changing seasons.
“Different plants have different light needs and today it is possible to vary the light ‘recipe’ to some extent, enabling greater control over how plants grow,” explains D’Amico. “However, when you talk about urban farms a lot will depend on the buildings and facilities that are used.
“These farms can be located in a warehouse or in a tower block. If you look at a lot of entry level farms, many have started in an apartment before moving to a larger space.
“If you look beyond these kind of ‘start-ups’, increasing numbers of serious investors are looking for an optimum growing space and will consider building suitable facilities – all of which will require the collection of environmental data.”
Whatever the facility lighting, while vital, is just one of the things that need to be considered. Air flow will be crucial along with water circulation and applying the right amount of nutrients.
“Air flow management is critical, especially in vertical farms,” D’Amico explains. “There are certainly some basics that need to be addressed, but a lot will depend on where you are growing and the type of building that you are using – it means that a lot will need to be managed.”
The use of LEDs and their ability to process light generation, extraction and re-absorbance and the fact that they can run indefinitely, means that they can offer farmers much greater control over their crops - whether that is to promote leaf coverage, fruit generation, plant or leaf mass.
“Light can also prove critical when it comes to the management of pests, bacteria and fungal pathogens and can be used to create ‘traps’ that prevent threats spreading across crops,” explains D’Amico.
According to D’Amico, the urban farm sector is benefitting from two big trends – a growing urban population and worries about the environment.
“We are seeing large investors looking at issues around the environmental impact of farming and whether it is sustainable, and how technology can then be used to address these problems at the top level.
“When it comes to urban farming we are seeing the development of both mega urban farms, with large buildings and a large footprint, as well as strong growth in much smaller farms too. These farms look to support local grocery stores and restaurants, for example. It’s hard to say which is gaining the most traction, but both are growing.”
Lighting solutions
Current is involved with a number of projects that are using its lighting solutions, but it is also supporting job training and education in a bid to help develop more local food systems and a greener approach to farming.
Current has installed 12km of its Arize LED solution in a new facility owned by Jones Food, which is now working closely with Ocado. The equipment is housed in a state of the art facility which has been designed to enable crops to be grown in isolation away from external contamination.
“Lighting is the life blood of the facility,” said the company’s CEO James Lloyd-Jones, “and Current was able to provide the right lighting set up and spectrum.”
“We’ve developed Arize Lynck LED Growlights that by isolating and combining different light wavelengths are able to replicate and accelerate natural photosynthesis and thereby reduce growth cycles,” explains D’Amico.
“Plants are sensitive to blue and red light spectrums and by varying those spectrums – we can offer seven variations – we are able to encourage different growth patterns.
“We approach our customers with a spectrum, look to understand the outcome they are looking for and work with them to give them the right light to support their needs.
“We don’t just focus on the lighting perspective but try to better understand the entire environment.”
According to D’Amico the benefits of the LEDs come in the form of ease of installation, a reduction in operational costs and much greater levels of reliability.
But the issue, D’Amico suggests, is not only about sourcing fresh food locally, but also providing access to food where accessibility can be a real problem.
“Can an urban farm be relocated to remote areas to source food locally food?
“A good example of this is how our LED lighting solution has been used by the Big Tex Urban Farm to grow crops. Partly an innovation lab as well as a production facility, it has used our LED solutions to grow food for isolated desert communities.”
The farm originally comprised of just 100 raised garden boxes but after significant investment Big Tex was able to produce 11,000 pounds of food in 2018, which translates into 140,000 servings, using the Arize LED lighting system to provide optimal light spectrums to drive plant growth.
The red spectrum encourages flowering and fruit generation, while the blue produces much thicker leaves. A combined red-to-blue mix has helped to encourage much greater overall growth.
“Critically, these LEDs have been able to produce better crops, quicker. But they are longer life, require less maintenance and less heat than more traditional forms of lighting,” says D’Amico.
Urban agriculture can happen anywhere and the technology being used is making it more viable economically, providing an incredible opportunity for growers everywhere.
KropTek Announces Angel Capital Raise of £3 Million
At the recent opening ceremony of KropTek’s new production facility in Shenzhen (China), Wissam Farah, Director and Managing Partner announced KropTek’s capital raise milestone.
KropTek Ltd, one of the UK’s leading LED grow light and grow system providers, has successfully completed its £3 million angel investment round. “The initial target set in Q4 2018 was £2 million. KropTek’s growing activity during the past 6 months allowed the company to adjust the business plan projections and increase the capital raise to meet significant investor appetite at this early stage,” shared Wissam.
The investment included high net worth private angel investors from 13 different countries, highlighting KropTek’s global appeal. The equity raise is eligible for the UK Enterprise Investment Scheme, an HMRC tax incentive for private equity investment in early stage for companies.
On the 4th April 2019, the company held a prestigious Inauguration Ceremony in Shenzhen (China) for its new LED grow light production facility, attended by clients and investors visiting from around the world. KropTek currently supplies LED grow lighting and container farming systems to major clients in North America, Canada, UK, Europe, and Asia.
KropTek’s high-spec container farms, offer a unique environment for the growing of quality plant material in any global location and are proving successful with a number of plant and fruit growers in the UK and Europe. KropTek is developing its container farm range and investing in greater production capabilities to meet the exponentially growing demand in this sector, as well as providing turnkey systems for indoor farms.
“With KropTek’s leading technology, I believe in the business strategy and mission of the company. Over the next few years, indoor farming is going to release enormous market growth in the economy. KropTek’s LED Grow Lights and Container Farm solution has the opportunity to bring more affordable, cleaner and safer food to millions of people around the world”, added Jim Cowles, Non-Executive Director, designate.
To fulfil its global ambitions KropTek’s management team will use the new investment to actively pursue an aggressive growth strategy to meet consumer demand.
Hydroponic Farming Systems: Try Before You Buy
NexTech AR Solutions has signed a deal with Just Vertical, a hydroponic farming technology company, to provide augmented reality solutions to enhance the online shopping experience. Just Vertical will utilize NexTech’s ARitize eCommerce platform to create true 3D AR models of its AEVA hydroponic farming system, enabling consumers to ‘place’ it in their home before purchase to assure correct sizing and aesthetic appeal.
“Traditional agriculture is in dire need of disruption, as the current solutions on the market are not cutting it for consumers. We believe we’re on the path to changing that – our AEVA system has already helped to save more than two million liters of water, grown more than 10,000 pounds of fresh local food, and eliminated more than 100 million miles of food transport,” said Kevin Jakiela, co-founder of Just Vertical. “We chose NexTech to ARitize our AEVA system because we know it will provide a better level of education for our product and empower the consumer’s path to purchase as they shop on our website. We’re excited to provide our consumers an AR shopping experience like no other in the agricultural industry.”
Just Vertical’s customers will be able to view the AEVA farming system in high fidelity 3D, with full 360-degree rotation, as if they were walking directly around the item themselves.
“For retailers selling larger-sized items, like Just Vertical’s AEVA farming system, utilizing AR technologies to showcase the product online provides an edge that can push consumers toward purchase. Many are hesitant to purchase a large item online without seeing it first in their living space. Our ARitize eCommerce platform enables them to do just that,” said Evan Gappelberg, CEO of NexTech.
For more information:
www.nextechar.com
www.justvertical.com
Publication date: 5/6/2019
The Best Crops For Vertical Farming
Written by Chris Michael | January 17, 2017
A vital question: "What are the best crops for vertical farming?"
"Vertical farming is not about how much production you can possibly cram into a space. It’s about growing better food closer to market and maximizing your production as a function of the resources you invest, such as capital, light, water, energy, and labor." - Chris Michael, Bright Agrotech
Vertical farming with ZipGrow is one of the most efficient type of growing in modern farms, but one question that people get hung up on is:
What can you actually grow on vertical planes?
It's a vital question! Anyone considering a vertical farm should be planning out their crops as part of the process. As a farmer, you have to make sure that you can actually sell what you grow and that your production costs won't be too high.
Part of that is good crop choices.
Although choosing crops should be part of a whole feasibility study for your farm, we thought a guide on some of the best vertical crops for vertical farming would be helpful to people in the middle of the planning process.
What can you grow vs. What should you grow
With the right set-up, you can grow almost anything in a vertical farm.
Just because you can, however, doesn't mean that you should. Here are several factors to choosing an appropriate crop for your vertical farm.
1) Economic viability
Even if a crop is biologically viable (you can grow it) it might not be economically viable (you can't make money on it!).
If you can't make money on a crop, there could be several reasons:
Lack of demand (no profit)
Inappropriate technique (high production costs)
Climate (high heating, cooling, light costs)
Of course, each of those factors require a little balancing to master. "High" cost is relative to the margin that you're getting on the output.
Once you understand your demand, budget, and climate requirements, there are a few other factors to consider with your crops:
2) Timing and liability
A "turn" is the time it takes from the seedling going into the system to the mature plant coming out and going to market.
Focusing on crops with really fast turns (lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens, basil, mint) allows you to minimize your liability by never being more than six weeks or so away from production.
Slow-turn crops (like herbs and fruiting crops) are typically a bit trickier but can have higher margins than greens, depending on your local markets. We typically recommend a high greens-to-herbs ratio. For example, a new farmer could start with 80% of his space planted with greens and 20% planted with herbs.
(You can play with percentages and yield in our free Production Calculator.)
When you know what you do and don't want, you can start browsing through crop lists and seed catalogues! Here are some of ours and our farmers' favorites:
Lettuces (Romaine, Butterhead, Red Leaf, etc.)
Lettuces have fairly consistent demand across much of the world and throughout the year. There are dozens of varieties of lettuce, making it fun to grow and offer to customers. One of our favorites is Amish Deertongue Lettuce (pictured in the photo above).
Kales (Tuscan, Winterboar, and Dinosaur)
Kales are fairly easy to grow, although the crop requires extra care when harvesting if farmers are to get the highest yield. Each type of kale has its own variation on the rich taste and dark colors. The Tuscan kale above is one of the most popular varieties.
Chard & collard greens
Collard greens are like a thicker, deeper version of spinach. They can get quite large in the proper conditions; in the picture above, Sam gets ready to chomp down on a foot-wide collard green leaf!
The gentler version of collard greens, chard is a French green that cooks like spinach. Like kale or collard greens, chard can be harvested multiple times (taking only 30% of the plant each time) and grows back for larger yields later on.
Chives and mint
Chives and mint are some of the best crops for beginners. Although categorized with herbs, both chives and mint have a quick turn and grow densely like a grass. It is also easy to harvest. Here, Dr. Nate prepares to harvest chives by cutting all the way down the face of the ZipGrow Tower.
Basil (Sweet, Lemon, Cinnamon, etc.)
Basil is possibly the most loved ZipGrow crop. It grows better in the ZipGrow Towers than any other technique in the world, and creates demand almost everywhere it goes. While a bit trickier to grow, harvest, and store, many farmers include basil in their crop offering. Some farmers even specialize in the popular crop.
Small woody herbs
Small woody herbs like rosemary and it's kin, thyme and oregano, represent a rather picky group of crops. As woody herbs, they prefer "dry feet", and have a relatively slow growing cycle. Since the shrubby herbs are so potent and unique, many farmers still find the traction to sell them in their markets.
Learn more about crops
Want to learn more about individual crops? Learn more at Upstart University:
Here’s What You Need to Know About Growing Bok Choy in Hydroponics
Best Conditions & Methods for Growing Parsley in Hydroponics
Everything You Need to Know About Growing Chard Without Soil
OR see which crops farmers like you are growing all over the world through their own pictures and posts.
Get help building your crop list
The Best Crops for Hydroponics introduces the best crops for hydroponics so that growers can be experts on their produce.
Start learning:
Ideal conditions (EC, pH, temp., and more)
Plant lifecycle from seed to harvest
Common pests and diseases
Typical pricing
Unique considerations
How to Have a Hydroponic Farm In A Closet-Sized Apartment
At one point vertical farming as a solution would have been an outlandish solution, but it’s a growing industry, and more than one company now offers setups that the average person can fit into their home and operate without any assistance from an agriculture expert
I’ve long wanted to grow my own produce, even if it’s just lettuce. But since I live in a third-floor walkup the size of a Macy’s fitting room (and that includes the fire escape), outdoor gardening is out of the question.
At one point vertical farming as a solution would have been an outlandish solution, but it’s a growing industry, and more than one company now offers setups that the average person can fit into their home and operate without any assistance from an agriculture expert. Armed with that encouragement, I’ve been shopping for an indoor farm that will a) fit into my tiny apartment and b) compensate for the fact that I’m such a bad gardener that I once killed a cactus.
Here’s what I found:
CityCrop
CityCrop‘s farm has automated much of the science behind plant care, so that a user just buys the device and downloads an app, drops seeds into the farm’s base, then lets the system do the rest. Via notifications to the app, the software will tell you how to adjust the temperature so it’s ideal for your crops and when to water, and will even give plant care tips based on snapshots of your plants.
The farm is also small, which means it easily fits into tiny living spaces. Predictably, leafy greens are the most common crops, though the UK-based company also says you can grow things like edible flowers and strawberries. If the point is access to fresh greens even when you’re a city dweller with no time to grow, this makes sense as a solution — though it doesn’t come cheap. CityCrop is shipping in Q1 of 2019, for £999 (about $1300 USD) excluding shipping and VAT fees. As with any product that has yet to ship, proceed with a grain of caution as there’s no guarantee as to when it’ll actually hit the market.
Ponix Systems
Ponix promises on its website that “you neither need a balcony nor water to grow your vertical farm at home.” The company’s hydroponic farm, named Herbert, is a wall-like slab with shelves mounted to it where the plants grow accompanied by overhead LEDs.
To use Herbert, you place seeds into the pods, which then fit into the shelves. Add water every one to two weeks, and fertilizer every three to four weeks. The system does the rest of the work in terms of helping you maintain healthy plants, adjust light settings, and perform other maintenance tasks. Herbert can grow up to 15 plants at a time.
Because it lives on a wall-mounted panel, Herbert definitely takes up the least amount of space of any farm on this list. Right now it’s selling for €490.00 (~$553 USD) not including shipping. From a cost-point and a space perspective, I’d say Herbert is probably most appropriate for a dressing-room-sized apartment.
SproutsIO
Smart Kitchen Summit alum SproutsIO has a smart microgarden lets you grow up about 36 servings of leafy greens in the span of one month, and on your coffee table. The actual “farm” is basically a smart device in a potted plant, and at a mere 12 inches wide, is a self-contained farm that would fit on your coffee table with no problems.
The microgarden uses a proprietary combination of wavelength-tuned LEDs, sensors (for light, temperature, etc.), and an onboard camera, and connects to your smartphone via the SproutsIO app. The base of the device, meanwhile, can includes and electronic mister, to circulate water, and can expand as plant roots get larger. And it’s dishwasher safe.
The product is expected to ship in Q3 of 2019, for $799. As of right now, SproutsIO is for U.S. orders only.
Ava Byte
Ava Byte also uses a combination of hardware, software, AI, sensors, and a smartphone app to bring intelligent gardening to your tabletop. One thing about this grow system that’s different from others is that Ava Technologies developed lights that adapt to different types of plants, rather than the standard “on/off” timer used with most systems. A time-lapse camera lets you monitor plant growth remotely, and Ava claims its plants can grow three times faster than those farmed with traditional methods.
Ava Technologies, who raised a $2.6 million seed round last year, is another SKS alumni, and you can see company Valerie Song pitch the product in this video to get a good idea of how it works. Byte is by far the cheapest on this list, at $299. Throw in an extra $99 for a year’s worth of seeds.
Opcom
Opcom’s farm is a little bit bigger but will still fit in larger houses. The five-foot GrowWall2 grows up to 80 plants at once, which means you could supply the family with fresh greens every day and still have enough to moonlight as a farmer’s market retailer if you wanted. Opcom also makes a smaller GrowFrame, which fits on a wall. Its smallest, most affordable offering is the GrowBox.
GrowBox is a tabletop, automated hydroponic system that manages its own lighting and water circulation. Each GrowBox is shipped with seeds, and the device itself is super portable, despite its 50-plant capacity. It’s $599, though Opcom sells a ton of different products, and there are even smaller, cheaper options. But if you’re looking to get familiar with vertical farming or just want better greens in your life, this is a good route to travel.
As of this writing, I’m leaning towards Ponix Systems’ Herbert as the best option for indoor farming in a tiny space, as it only requires a wall, not floor or table space. However, this is not an exhaustive list of at-home vertical farms, so if there are others that merit mention, drop ’em in the comments. And stay tuned for further adventures in urban farming.
Related
Meet Farmlab.One, The Latest Indoor Farming Experiment From Germany's Largest RetailerAugust 14, 2017In "Future of Grocery"
Why Vertical Farming Won't Grow Without More DataJanuary 3, 2019In "Data Insights"
What Bowery's Latest Funding Round Says About Indoor FarmingDecember 13, 2018In "Ag Tech"
TAGS
Jennifer (Jenn) is a writer, editor, and ghostwriter based in NYC. At The Spoon she covers agtech, sustainable food issues, and restaurant tech. She is obsessed with IKEA.
CubicFarm® Systems Corp. Provides Update On Corporate Operations
NEWS PROVIDED BY CubicFarm Systems Corp.
February 7, 2019,
CubicFarms has received a $10.0m equity investment, purchase order, and deposit from a strategic investor, increased the deposit at one of its locations, and announces the addition of 12 machines to its total operating network.
VANCOUVER, Feb. 7, 2019 /CNW/ - CubicFarm® Systems Corp. ("CubicFarms") is pleased to announce the following updates regarding the business.
12 Machines Brought Online in Edmonton, Alberta
CubicFarms is glad to announce that the installation of 12 machines at Swiss Leaf Farms in Edmonton, Alberta has begun operation and is currently selling produce. CubicFarms has a 50% equity interest in this operation. This addition results in 23 total CubicFarms machines in operation.
Received $10.0m Investment, Purchase Order, and Deposit from a Strategic Investor
CubicFarms is excited to announce that it has received a $10.0m investment from a strategy venture. As a component of the investment agreement, CubicFarms and the strategic investor will pursue a joint venture to take the CubicFarms Systems technology to China. The strategic investor has also submitted an order for seven CubicFarms machines, one irrigation system, and one 1/8th scale demonstration machine, and has made a deposit in addition to their $10.0m investment.
Increase in Deposit for Richmond, British Columbia CubicFarms System
CubicFarms is pleased to announce that our third-party partner in Richmond, British Columbia has increased their deposit, resulting in an increase in the certainty of shipment. This will be the fifth CubicFarms facility in Canada, adding 12 machines to the operating network once in production. It is expected to be installed in the second calendar quarter.
"The investment of $10.0m from our strategic investor has further energized all of us at CubicFarms and we are excited and eager for the future," said Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer of CubicFarms. "This additional capital combined with a strong pipeline of deposits for system installations shows that the future is bright for our technology to bring fresh, local, sustainably grown product to market and for CubicFarms to continue to be a leader in the controlled environment agriculture space."
The previously announced reverse-take over of Bevo Agro Inc. ("Bevo") by Sun Pharm Investments Ltd. and the distribution of shares of CubicFarms to Bevo shareholders by way of plan of arrangement successfully closed on January 8th, 2019.
About CubicFarms
CubicFarm® Systems Corp. is an Agriculture Tech and Vertical Farming technology company that utilizes revolutionary, patented technology to cultivate high-quality produce. Founded in 2015, the company's mission is to provide farmers around the world with efficient growing systems capable of producing predictable crop yields. Using its unique undulating growing system, CubicFarms® solves the two main challenges within the indoor farming industry: high electricity and labour costs. Currently, CubicFarms® cultivates living lettuce, living basil and microgreens at its own facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia and is partnering with other farmers to establish facilities around the world.
Related Links
SOURCE CubicFarm Systems Corp.
For further information: info@cubicfarms.com, 1-888-280-9076.
"Clean Growing Solutions For Hospitals And Research Laboratories"
Seedo, a high-tech company providing fully automated and controlled indoor growing machines for the cannabis and agriculture markets, has signed a memorandum of understanding for mutual research and development with SYS Technologies, a company specializing in the development and manufacture of innovative indoor and portable clean environment technologies, to deploy next-generation containerized clean growing solutions for commercial use. The systems will be applied to technology used in hospitals and research laboratories, resulting in high-quality yield of both medical cannabis and vegetables.
SYS Technologies will provide Seedo's commercial indoor growing machines with positive air pressure clean environment technologies, resulting in pressurized growing containers that have more filtered air then the surrounding space outside the containers. The protected containers will be bacteria-free with zero environmental influence, allowing commercial operators to cost-effectively generate high yields of lab-grade, pesticide-free product. Even in the harshest environments or with limited space, cultivators can use Seedo's intelligent systems and cloud-enabled app for secure remote monitoring and controlling to harvest the leading-edge of precision agriculture.
"We're honored to be working in alignment with Seedo to design the future of commercial indoor growing technologies," said Mr. Yossi Zur, CEO of SYS Technologies. "With quality standards and environmental stressors rising in cannabis and agricultural markets, our mission to provide the cleanest and highest yield of product for commercial growers is well on track in our partnership with Seedo."
SYS Technologies offers a variety of innovative solutions and breakthrough technology in the field of indoor clean environment systems as well as portable solutions. Its clean air environment systems allow the creation of a defined space that is free of contaminants such as particles, bacteria, microbes, and more. These systems have broad applications, both in the medical field such as operating rooms and isolation facilities, and in the high-tech industry such as cleanrooms that have a variety of purposes.
"We are looking forward to the successful development and deployment of our future containerized clean growing solutions for commercial use," said Zohar Levy, CEO of Seedo. "By adopting cutting edge technology that is already in use by governments, non-profits, hospitals and research institutes all over the world, we will meet the highest quality standards and comply with international health regulations."
For more information:
Seedo
+972-546-642-228
info@seedolab.com
www.seedolab.com
Masdar City Unveils Sustainable Smart Home Farming
Exhibition at Eco-Villa highlights Masdar’s support of the UAE’s National Food Security
Published: January 17, 2019 Staff Report
Abu Dhabi: Masdar City in Abu Dhabi has unveiled a Smart Home Farming Showcase called ‘Bustani’ at its Eco-Villa prototype to demonstrate emerging farming solutions that will help UAE residents produce their own food at home.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public throughout 2019, will demonstrate more than 15 innovative home solutions, around food production, water and waste recycling, said a press release issued on Thursday. These solutions, which Masdar sourced from local and international suppliers before being installed at the Masdar City Eco-Villa earlier this month, will be tested throughout the year.
The showcase is a collaboration between Masdar and the UAE-based agri-tech specialists Madar Farms, and is one of the outcomes of a partnership between the UAE Office for Food Security and Masdar.
The objective of the showcase is to highlight how progress in technology has allowed the emergence of solutions to increase food security at the home level, as well as raise awareness of the broader global challenges of sustainably and nutritiously feeding a growing population.
Mariam Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Food Security, officially opened the showcase in the presence of Mohammad Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar; Yousuf Baselaib, Executive Director, Sustainable Real Estate at Masdar; and Abdul Aziz Al Mulla, CEO and Founder from Madar Farms.
Mariam commented that Smart Home Farming as showcased in Masdar City encourages self-sufficiency and reduces the burden on commercial food producers and suppliers by enabling villa-dwellers to produce food from facilities on their own premises. Smart Home Farming turns consumers into ‘prosumers’ and if initiated on a wide enough scale, could result in a new paradigm of food security for the nation, she said.
Al Ramahi, Masdar CEO, said: “Global food systems are faced with the challenge of sustainably feeding more than nine billion people by 2050. Today’s food systems are falling short of these objectives and remain both unsustainable for the environment and unable to adequately nourish a major part of the global population.” He said the smart home farming showcase demonstrates Masdar’s commitment to exploring innovative and sustainable approaches to farming.
Masdar is supporting start-up companies and entrepreneurs to develop an innovation ecosystem focused on improving food and water security for the region. One of Masdar City’s key themes for 2019 is sustainable agriculture.
Al Mulla, founder Madar Farms, said: “By showcasing innovative smart farming solutions from all over the world, we hope to raise awareness of the exciting change that is currently taking place in the ag-tech landscape.”
Launched during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017, the Eco-Villa pilot project at Masdar City incorporates various water and energy saving technologies. The 405 square-metre residential property is the first villa to achieve a 4-Pearl rating under the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System (PBRS), introduced by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities.
It uses around 72 percent less energy and 35 per cent less water than a typical Abu Dhabi property of the same size, while displacing an estimated 63 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, said the press release.
Transforming The Way Cannabis Is Grown
30% increase in yield and 8 week grow cycles
Pittsburgh, PA: New technology enables growers to significantly increase profit and yield, GrowQuick Systems patented technology will provide product 52 weeks a year. It is the fastest and most efficient system in the world. Proven to work it’s built with innovative features that will change the way cannabis, hemp and food are grown across the world.
Environmentally friendly while increasing profit due to lower energy use
30% Higher Yields
No Plant Loss Due To Mites or Bugs
The minimal maintenance required is a huge positive for growing in remote locations
7-8 Weeks From Clone to Crop
Less Than 24 Hour Turnaround From Crop to Clone
4-6 Inches Of Growth Per Day On Average
“This cutting edge technology will usher in a new age for cannabis grow systems similar to what the jet engine did for the airline industry”
-Ray Mays
Inventor/CEO
Each GrowQuick System is custom designed for each facility and customer. Featuring custom Full Spectrum LED lighting for fast growth and energy savings, with patented proprietary continuous disinfecting lighting. Allows remote monitoring of 120 control points with smart phone or tablet. Built to last with aluminum and powder coated racking.
GrowQuick Systems is technology for complete builds out of cannabis grow facilities. .
Evansville, A Home For Business
Back text: “E — Scenic View of Ohio River, V — Reitz Memorial High School, A — Vandenburgh County Courthouse, N — Adm. Bldg., Evansville College, S — Evansville National Guard Armory, V — Dade Park Race Track, I — Electric Fountain, Garvin Park, L — Greyhound Bus Station, L — Lions Den, Mesker Park Zoo, E — Dress Plaza”
After graduating from Purdue University in May 2017, I continued to rent co-work space on campus in West Lafayette working for Heliponix full-time until my apartment lease ended at August 2017. At the time, I was hyper focused on the engineering design tasks at hand for Heliponix to debut a new prototype GroPod™ at the Forbes AgTech Summit. After the summit ended, I brought all of my possessions back to Evansville. It occurred to me I was once again living in Evansville only after I had moved back home. Upon moving back, I was asked to speak at Evansville’s Tech on Tap weekly entrepreneurial meetup where I was asked why I came back. I answered, “Evansville is home, and I can continue working on my company without paying myself by living with my parents.” This seemingly obvious answer spurred a new found sense of urgency that if I were to scale a technology company, than I must leave southern Indiana for greener pastures. I then began to look for every possible reason why I should move away from Evansville for the benefit of Heliponix. I identified the following four reasons why I could not headquarter Heliponix in Evansville, Indiana.
Early adopter customers for new technologies do not live in the midwest.
Tech companies need investors. Evansville did not have venture funds.
Tech companies need top tier software engineering talent. Evansville did not have individuals with this skill set on hand.
Hardware companies such as Heliponix need to manufacture overseas to be cost competitive in the marketplace.
Customers
Heliponix (formerly Hydro Grow) team picture after winning first place at the Schurz Innovation Prize at Purdue University. Left to Right: Scott Massey (CEO), Jimmy Carlson (Software Engineering Intern), Ivan Ball (CTO)
Starting a company without experience or the money needed is comparable to charging into a battle unarmed and unaware of the terrain with dangers ahead. I was acutely aware of my limitations, and spent my senior year at Purdue University delivering newspapers at night for about $9/hour, and competing in business plan competitions between classes for cash awards. Although we were very lucky to have successfully secured over $80k over the course my senior year and a little under $100k from competitions post graduation, the money was the second most valuable aspect of winning these pitch competitions. For every competition we won, at least two or three articles from local media publications would cover the story with our name on the front title. We jumped at every opportunity to showcase our prototypes at schools, STEM career fairs, and also leveraged my position as the lowly delivery boy to publish articles in the Exponent to grasp as much publicity as possible for an early stage company.
Scott Massey giving a STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and math) career talk about indoor agriculture to middle and high school students Our Lady of Providence School in New Albany, Indiana.
For every article and interview that was published, I received an email from random Indiana residents interested in purchasing a GroPod when it became available for purchase. I kept a running list of these potential customers, and reached out to collect a $500 pre-order deposit when we had finally landed on a GroPod design that worked reliably. We had definitively proven that a pre-revenue startup company could launch an expensive product in Indiana if they are able to achieve enough publicity to convert impressions into executed sales. Although there are many more wealthy individuals in major cities who could buy an early stage product; we did not yet have the production capabilities to meet this demand, and still had product development to refine before we would be ready for a massive user base.
Funding
Inside Indiana Business interview with Dr. K and Gerry Dick
Although we had been veryfortunate to secure some funding from business plan competitions for patents and prototype development, we had reached the ceiling of competition funding available in Indiana for an idea not yet generating revenue. My Co-Founder, Ivan Ball accepted a full-time, electrical controls engineering job offer upon graduation to pay off student loans at GPC (Grain Processing Corporation, an ethanol and grain alcohol processing plant in Washington, Indiana) after interning and co-oping as a student for several years prior. Together we worked exhausting hours for a full year to refine the GroPod design until we created a functional product able to generate revenue in Ivan’s garage.
One of many harvests from the fourth generation GroPod™. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HELIPONIX©
Ivan Ball at his electrical work station in an unheated garage assembling the fourth generation GroPod™. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HELIPONIX©
This marked a major turning point for the company after three generations of failed prototypes. When asked if we both worked on Heliponix full-time to this point, I would honestly say yes. Our individual hours spanned 50–70 hours weekly even though Ivan had a full-time day job that took 40–45 hours per week. At this time, we had spent almost all competition award winnings on patents, prototyping, travel for events, or other business expenses. We simply did not have the capital needed to cover materials to assemble the first GroPod betas. I then approached Eric Steele, my Entrepreneur in Residence with Elevate Ventures (Indiana’s state venture fund) seeking capital needed to fund inventory. Eric referred us to the ISBDC (Indiana Small Business Development Center) who advised the Vectren Foundation Grow Local loan program for small businesses. After working with Douglas Claybourn and Kim Howard, we sent an application to the Vectren Foundation board to build the first GroPods. After waiting patiently, we were approved for a loan needed to build these GroPods with very favorable terms for any company, let alone a startup with zero cash flow history. We used the loan to buy all the parts needed, and collected the remaining $1,500 left on each GroPod order with early adopters to sell out of the beta models assembled by hand. We 3D-printed all parts, wrote our own code, soldered our boards, assembled every aspect of the product Ivan and I had designed entirely by ourselves, and delivered each GroPod in person to the early adopters. There was so many GroPod parts laying around Ivan’s home, I had to deflate my air mattress to make more room, and slept on his couch for months.
Ivan Ball installing a camera on the fifth generation GroPod™. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HELIPONIX©
GroPod™ assemblies consuming every square foot of Ivan Ball’s home in Washington, Indiana. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HELIPONIX©
Ivan Ball (Left), Scott Massey (Right) with first functional GroPod. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HELIPONIX©
At this point Ivan quit his job at GPC, to work solely at Heliponix, and sold his house in Washington, Indiana to be fully committed to the company. Today, I am pleased to announce that the risk the Vectren Foundation took on us for funding the loan is being paid back in full plus interest. This market validation thrusted us into the long sought after post-revenue status, which did not go unnoticed by local and regional angel investors; however, this is a story for another day. Despite the undeniable fact that the largest investment funds are in major cities, very few early stage hardware companies receive those investments due to the amount of competitors who rarely manufacture products within these cities, let alone the state. It is much better to refine the product and user experience until a sizable MRR (monthly recurring revenue) is established before approaching these funds which are beginning to invest outside of their states to leverage the capital efficiency of a midwest startup.
Talent
Delivering the first GroPods was just the beginning of a long troubleshooting learning curve with paying customers… Internet connectivity with a connected, IoT (Internet of Things) device will come with many software bugs as well as faulty sensor failures when buying in low quantities from Chinese suppliers. The problems that you are both unaware of, and unable to solve are the hardest any startup will encounter. It is incredibly important to find these problems by getting your product in the hands of early adopters as soon as possible to identify and solve. The dilemma of an underfunded hardware startup company is that you will more than likely need to sell a product that doesn’t yet have all the features needed to make it “perfect” in order to stay cash flow positive. The reality is that no garage startup will be fully ready, and you will certainly find excuses to not be ready if you look for them. This is called the MVP (minimum viable product). Then something amazing happened, customers began to complain less each day as we solved problems one after another, until I began to hear feedback that their GroPods were growing more food than they could consume! This major milestone was met with interest from angel investors who provided the capital needed to hire a full-time software development lead. Unfortunately, there is not a plethora of software developers in Evansville at this time, so we needed to look for a remote employee. After interviewing several developers, Ivan and I decided to hire Bryan Lemon, a PhD computer scientist from West Virginia University living in South Carolina. Bryan’s experience with IoT device companies translated very well into solving problems, creating new features that kept customers happy, and attributed to our zero-percent churn rate. Despite never meeting Bryan in person, we were quickly able to determine his technical ability by first hiring him as an independent contractor for an agreed upon milestone. I strongly encourage that early stage technology companies consider remote software developers to save cost, expand your professional network, and reach a wider pool of candidates to only hire top talent. You do not need to go to the bay area or other major cities to find top talent, and the operational cost of your business will increase by multiples if you move to a larger city.
Manufacturing
Whirlpool Refrigeration Plant on Highway 41. Source: Courier and Press
I remember all too well the day that the Whirlpool plant in Evansville shut down for the last time, a major manufacturing hub for appliances that employed several thousand people. At a very young age, this instilled the idea that hardware manufacturing companies must leave the United States in order to find competitive manufacturing prices. That is why I took a flight to Shenzhen, China to tour contract manufacturing plants. This massive manufacturing city is often called the hardware capital of the world based upon its speed, competitive labor, and material rates. After returning and considering the cost of manufacturing overseas, I began to factor in the not-so-obvious costs of building products outside of Evansville. The language barriers requires a translator to be present, and often leads to misunderstandings that can be very costly mistakes. The logistical challenges, uncertain trade relationship, and intellectual property theft quickly amounted to a cost that far exceeded that of domestic contract manufacturers. Most startup companies fail by aimlessly pursuing random goals without strategy as capital dwindles.
I have discovered that the resources I need to prototype and manufacture are widely available within the Midwest ecosystem. We then began to look locally for contract manufacturers within the Evansville-Cincinnati-Louisville trifecta that had worked at GE and Whirlpool appliance manufacturing plants and engineering design centers. Without disclosing trade secrets, we can confirm that the midwest has manufacturing capabilities that are very competitive with international rates. In our case, we were able to source almost all parts needed in manufacturing from Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. In addition to Evansville and Louisville being the former appliance manufacturing capitals of the world; we have been able to find top tier talent and industry partners with relative ease. Eventually, most hardware companies manufacture overseas when they exceed 1,000–10,000 units per year, but automation is the equalizer in a world where labor can be bought for a few dollars per hour, or be subsidized by a country in the process of industrialization. Indiana is uniquely positioned to be an entrepreneurial hotbed with several investment groups, and countless angel investors in one of the top manufacturing states in total manufacturing GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
Conclusion
After speaking to countless successful and not-so-successful entrepreneurs; I believe that starting a company requires two things.
The drive to achieve your goals
The means to achieve your goals
This has led to a new revelation about Evansville; it is not a good place to start a company… it’s a great place to start a company. It is uniquely large enough to have the means to fund a startup company, but not so large that the means become unobtainable to newer companies. The cost of living combined with these resources will triple to quintuple how far your dollar will go as opposed to a startup in a major city.
I now proudly say that Heliponix is based in Evansville, and we intend to stay here for the foreseeable future. We will continue to directly and indirectly create new jobs as operations expand. This only leaves one question from me to you, “Why not stay in Evansville?”.
Indiana entrepreneurial resource map, courtesy of Drew Peyronnin.
Indiana entrepreneurial resource map, courtesy of Drew Peyronnin.
The infographic above shows just some of the many resources available for startups in Indiana that has helped Heliponix many times in the past, present, and future. Purdue Foundry, Elevate Ventures, Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Blue Sky Capital, CoWork Evansville, APPCOM/BIZCOM, SVBIG, Certificate Entrepreneurship and Innovation — Purdue University, Burton D Morgan Business Plan Competition, Foundry@WestGate, GAGE, Agrinovus, Centric, IU IP Clinic, E is for Everyone, SouthWest Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Innovation Connector, TedxWabashCollege, Schurz Innovation Prize, Center for Entrepreneurship — PNW, Vectren Foundation, iGrow.news, and prospectively the MakerStation which conveniently holds many of these resources in one building; Innovation Pointe.
Scott Massey
Founder and CEO of Heliponix™. Purdue University, class of 2017. Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni.
Start-Up Develops Hydroponic Garden For Your Living Room
20th November 2018, London
Home growing kit supposedly allows for crops to be grown faster, with greater yield and less water required than for a conventional garden
The Hope Eden Garden
Photo: Hope Innovations
A Canandian start-up is looking for donors so it can launch a “plug-and-play” indoor garden allowing consumers to grow their own fresh produce hydroponically at home all year round.
Designed by Hope Innovations in Edson, Canada, the Hope Eden Garden uses a simple hydroponics system and aims to make growing convenient, affordable and environmentally friendly for home gardeners.
The company, which is trying to raise CA$10,000 on Kickstarter to fund the project, claims that compared to conventional gardening methods, the system allows for crops to be grown 40 percent faster, with three times the yield and 20 times less water required.
Users place seeds in a ‘growth cup’, add water and nutrients, plug in the lighting strips provided (or rely on natural light), and watch their plants grow.
Hydoponic production (growing directly in water) uses less space than a conventional garden and is up to 40 per cent more efficient than growing in soil, according to the company, which claims the growing kit will pay for itself in less than a year through the money saved on buying groceries.
The company is also keen to stress the flexibility of its product, claiming that it works with any kind of nutrient and any type of seed.
According to Hope, a range of fresh produce grows faster than would be possible in a conventional garden, including kale, spinach, tomato, lettuce and basil.
How To Improve Plant Growth With Micro-organisms
For indoor growers, beneficial micro-organisms are one of the keys to unlocking a garden’s full potential.
Eric Hopper | 2018
Presented by Sponsor: BluePlanet Labs
Takeaway: The advantages of beneficial micro-organisms in the garden are multifaceted, and experts believe their use will continue to expand throughout the horticulture industry. For indoor growers, beneficial micro-organisms are one of the keys to unlocking a garden’s full potential. The most common types of beneficial micro-organisms used by indoor growers can be broken down into three categories: beneficial bacteria, trichoderma and mycorrhizae.
Soil is so much more than just dirt. It is packed full of biological activity, and many growers consider it to be a living thing. In the last 10 years, researchers have started to understand just how important the biological activity in soil really is. Long-term use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides has caused significant damage to the network of micro-organisms naturally found in soil.
We are starting to understand that without a healthy, living soil, sustainable horticulture is impossible, and as we continue to learn more about the intricate roles micro-organisms play in the soil, we see more methods, techniques and products aimed at maintaining the soil’s biological activity.
The reason indoor growers are getting so revved up about soil micro-organisms is because they help produce healthier growth and more abundant yields. To enjoy the benefits of beneficial microbes immediately, indoor growers can purchase soils or grow mediums inoculated with beneficial micro-organisms.
If the soil has not been inoculated, or if growers want to supercharge the biological activity of their soils, they can add beneficial micro-organisms either to the soil or to their feeding program. The types of beneficial micro-organisms commonly used by indoor growers can be broken down into three categories: beneficial bacteria, trichoderma and mycorrhizae.
Beneficial Bacteria in the Garden
There are many different types of beneficial bacteria indoor growers can use in the garden, the most common being soil-borne beneficial bacteria. There are many different strains of bacteria that live underground and provide benefits to plants. Depending on their strain, these bacteria help break down organic matter, add to soil composition, facilitate nutrient uptake and help protect plants and their roots from pathogens.
Adding beneficial bacteria to the soil or grow medium gives bacteria a chance to colonize and multiply quickly. A large population of colonizing beneficial bacteria equates to a faster breakdown of organic matter. This breakdown converts the organic matter into soluble compounds, which become readily available to plants. A healthy population of beneficial bacteria increases a plant’s ability to feed, which accelerates growth.
Aside from being inoculated into a medium, there are other ways beneficial bacteria are being put to use in an indoor garden. Many organic pesticides and fungicides contain strains of beneficial bacteria. Certain bacteria feed on pathogenic fungi, such as powdery mildew, and can be used as an effective treatment against such pathogens. Bacillus subtilis are a great example of beneficial bacteria used to treat powdery mildew. These bacteria are administered via foliar spray and are only effective where they make direct contact with the powdery mildew.
Beneficial bacteria have also made their mark as pesticides, especially for indoor plants. The bacterial species Saccharopolyspora spinosa is used as an effective, general-purpose insecticide due to its ability to affect the way an insect digests its food and the way it molts. Basically, the bacteria break the insect’s life cycle so it cannot continue to reproduce. Another bacterium commonly used as an insecticide is bacillus thuringiensis. Commonly referred to as BT, this beneficial bacterium is effective at controlling soft-bodied insect populations. In general, bacteria-based insecticides are much less toxic than their chemical counterparts.
(Special organic services for large scale agricultural grows are available from AquaClean)
Trichoderma in Horticulture
In an indoor garden, trichoderma are most commonly used as a preventative defense against pathogenic fungi. Trichoderma are specialized fungi that feed on other fungi, but it is actually the enzymes released by the trichoderma that give these microscopic, defensive all-stars their power.
Trichoderma release chitinase enzymes that break down chitin—the primary material that makes up the cell walls of pathogenic fungi. The chitinase enzymes released by trichoderma microbes eat away at the pathogenic fungi and, in turn, protect roots from being attacked.
Trichoderma have gained a reputation among indoor growers as being soil pathogen preventers. In fact, when a large population of pathogenic fungi exists in the soil, trichoderma increase chitinase production and feed almost exclusively on the pathogens.
Trichoderma also release another enzyme beneficial to indoor growers: cellulase. Cellulase are beneficial to the garden in two ways. First, cellulase aid in the breakdown of organic material in the soil, turning it into readily available nutrients for the plant. Second, cellulase can penetrate root cells. How can penetrating the cell walls of roots be beneficial?
It turns out that when the cellulase penetrate the root cells, they automatically trigger the plant’s natural defense system. The plant’s metabolism is stimulated, but no real harm is caused to the plant. In this regard, trichoderma has a synergistic relationship with plants. Trichoderma feed on sugars secreted by roots, while the plants develop a heightened resistance against pests and pathogens.
Mycorrhizae in Horticulture
The beneficial micro-organisms most commonly supplemented by indoor growers are mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are naturally occurring fungi that form symbiotic relationships with more than 90% of the world’s plant species, so their presence in the soil is imperative. Many soil companies are now incorporating mycorrhizae into their soils. You may even find that your favorite soil or medium is now being sold with added mycorrhizae, and even some lawn-care products now contain mycorrhizae.
There are a couple ways to supplement mycorrhizae in an indoor garden. Powder and liquid concentrates of mycorrhizae are available, which allow you to inoculate any type of medium or hydroponic system. The symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae and roots may be the most important relationship in organic horticulture.
Essentially, mycorrhizal fungi become an extension of the root system and further their reach into the depths of the soil. This extension broadens the plant’s access to vital nutrients. As mentioned before, mycorrhizae have synergistic relationships with plant roots. The extending web of mycorrhizal fungi assimilate nutrients for the plant and the plant’s roots secrete sugars or carbon for the fungi to feed on.
Like with trichoderma, it is the enzymes produced by mycorrhizal fungi that make these microbes such an asset to plants. The enzymes released by mycorrhizae dissolve otherwise hard-to-capture nutrients such as organic nitrogen, phosphorus and iron. Although many mycorrhizal formulations contain both types of mycorrhizae and are sold as general mycorrhizal supplements, there are actually two types of mycorrhizal fungi commonly used by growers: endomycorrhiza and ectomycorrhiza.
Endomycorrhiza are mycorrhizal fungi whose hyphae (long, branching filamentous structures of the fungus) penetrate the plant cells. Instead of penetrating the interior of the cell, the hyphae manipulate the cell membrane, turning it inside out, which increases the contact surface area between the hyphae and the cytoplasm. This helps facilitate the transfer of nutrients between them while requiring less energy than would otherwise be needed by the plant to do so. This specialized relationship increases the efficiency of nutrient uptake.
Ectomycorrhiza are a group of fungi that have a structure surrounding the root tip. Ectomycorrhiza essentially surround the outer layer of the root mass. In nature, vast networks of ectomycorrhiza extend between plants, even if they are of different varieties, and allow plants to transfer nutrients to one another. The ectomycorrhiza act as a super highway for the transfer of nutrients.
When sourcing mycorrhizal products, you’ll notice that formulations contain both types of mycorrhizae. These two types can also be purchased individually. A closer look at the product label reveals the percentage of each type of mycorrhizae it contains. The label of any mycorrhizal product should also have an expiration date.
Although supplements in powdered form generally have a longer shelf life, micro-organisms are living creatures and their effectiveness dwindles as they age and die out. Liquid formulations tend to have a shorter shelf life, so you should plan on using these formulas more quickly.
As scientists learn more about the complex world of micro-organisms and how they affect horticulture, we get closer to creating the ultimate indoor growing environment. Organic growers are paying close attention to the development of beneficial micro-organism products.
Beneficial micro-organisms in the soil or grow medium boost nutrient uptake, aid in the breakdown of organic matter and increase a plant’s natural defense mechanisms. Whether they are used to treat powdery mildew or combat a pathogenic insect, certain micro-organisms get the job done without the environmental impact associated with harsh chemical treatments.
Hydroponics Gives Local Veg Production Further Boost
It is learnt that hydroponics systems, a technology suitable for Qatar’s environment even during the summer, can grow watermelons extremely well, producing big and sweet varieties.
September 28 2018 08:18 PM
Prominent Qatari agriculturist Nasser Ahmed al-Khalaf showing the watermelons in his farm near Al Khor.
Qatar’s aim for self-sufficiency in food production has got a major fillip as a local farm succeeded in growing and improving the quality of certain types of vegetables and fruits with hydroponics system.
Prominent Qatari agriculturist Nasser Ahmed al-Khalaf told Gulf Times that his farm will harvest in the coming weeks melons and water melons, grown for the first time in the country using hydroponics.
"We have as well increased the (production of various types of) herbs,” disclosed al-Khalaf, who is also the owner and managing director of Agrico.
A private Qatari agricultural development company established in 2011, Agrico produces organic vegetables and fruits year-round in Al Khor using hydroponics systems and aims to help Qatar achieve food security.
Al-Khalaf said that they will be harvesting between 800kg and 1,000kg of watermelons per week from next week while melons would take 30-45 days more. These types of fruits are grown separately in two greenhouses.
Agrico now produces large-size watermelons with hydroponics system
It is learnt that hydroponics systems, a technology suitable for Qatar’s environment even during the summer, can grow watermelons extremely well, producing big and sweet varieties.
While some local farms also produce melons, al-Khalaf pointed out that Agrico uses hydroponic system and aims to grow vegetables and fruits year-round.
“Any new item we introduce we try to make it sustainable in order to supply the market on a daily basis,” he stressed.
In the mushroom family, the company now added shiitake and oyster mushrooms in its production. By next year, it will also grow some hard vegetables such as carrots and beetroots.
Agrico also plans to experiment with growing bananas by the end of this year, apart from organic papayas and other fruits such as lemon and pomegranate.
Al-Khalaf noted that Agrico’s operations expanded substantially in the previous season to further increase its production and meet the growing demand for fresh produce. It is now exporting various vegetable items to Kuwait and Oman.
After proving it can produce year-round in the past years, even during the summer, he pointed out that they developed other greenhouse systems in a much economical price.
“Our aim in 2018 was to focus more in developing our agriculture system in other farms, which we did by developing over 20,000sqm of greenhouses under our own operation,” al-Khalaf said.
“Besides Agrico, we are also keen in developing other farms using our technology and transferring this know-how to improve the farms in Qatar to make production sustainable,” he observed.
Around 300 of the 1,400 farms are continuously increasing their production of various vegetables since last year and this number is also growing, according to al-Khalaf.
"Qatar residents will also see a huge difference in the quality of existing items this season, especially in tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, and eggplant," the agriculturist added.