The Future of Farming Is Up In The Air

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David Thorpe | 14 February 2019

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Food that’s grown in the air instead of soil could soon appear on plates in Britain and other parts of the world.

A new investment deal worth $1.8 million to build indoor farms uses technologies developed by a company called LettUs Grow, a Bristol, UK-based startup that designs irrigation and control technology for vertical farms.

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The startup will partner with ECH Engineering, which manufactures controlled environment technology, traditionally in refrigeration, and urban agriculture experts from Grow Bristol. Bristol has made a name for itself as Britain’s greenest city.

The company is one of a number of startups in the fast-expanding area of indoor growing who are supplying farm management software, crop analysis and testing services, through to full indoor farm design and build.

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A glimpse of the pilot aeroponics project in Bristol showing a variety of produce being tested using the system.

Following earlier seed funding, if you’ll pardon the expression, it’s now scaling up operations to produce its aeroponic system, which suspends plants in the air and feeds the roots via a nutrient-dense mist. This technique results in faster growth rates than conventional hydroponics.

“The nutrients we use are made with mineral salts, not chemicals,” co-founder and managing director of LettUs Grow Charlie Guy told The Fifth Estate.

“They’re formulated for the vegetative stage of growth in hydroponics and aeroponic systems and precisely balanced and manufactured for great results.

“In our system we reclaim and recycle most of our water and any nutrients not absorbed by the plants.  Due to this recapture and reuse, we use about 95 per cent less water than traditional field-based agriculture and 30 per cent less than typical hydroponics with our unique aeroponic technology.”

Since the plants are indoors, pest control is possible without pesticides and fungicides, making the production process organic. Previous trials have seen crop yield increases of over 70 per cent compared to conventional techniques for leafy greens, salads and herbs.

Yields and crop cycle times vary from crop to crop. The shortest is just five days for certain microgreens, to just over 30 days for head lettuce from seed.

A pilot project involving Grow Bristol involved an indoor hydroponic vertical farm that produced 100 kilograms of nutrient dense leafy greens every month without the use of pesticides and with minimal environmental impact. It tested over 50 crop varieties and sold the products to over 60 customers.

Having tested over 40 different varieties LettUs Grow’s core crops are: coriander (micro), fennel (micro), leek (micro), kale, pea shoots, sunflower shoots, radish, red cabbage, lettuce (many varieties), coriander, watercress, basil, and pak choi. “They’re our main crops, but we’re also growing rooting and fruit crops too (strawberries, spring onions and carrots, for example),” Guy says.

“We are expanding this facility in 2019 by over 10 times, to allow the testing of more and more crops and to expand our work into strawberries and root crops,” he adds.

Government funding

The $718,810 government funding is derived from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, and will be matched by $157,918 from other sources and research grants.

The grants came hot on the heels of the disruptive startup’s most recent investment round, where they raised $835,179 from ClearlySo, Europe’s leading impact investment bank, which has an extensive network of high-net-worth individual and institutional investors.

“Our investors see the value, both in terms of financial and environmental/social returns from tackling this systemic global problem. That’s why they got involved in LettUs Grow. LettUs Grow provides the technological innovation piece to the vertical smart farming movement that is currently trending rapidly in the urban context,” investment manager at ClearlySo Matias Wibowo says.

The company has ambitions to supply a rapidly growing global market for efficient and sustainable farming technology.

By 2050, humanity has to increase food production by 70 per cent to feed over 9 billion people without breaking the planet’s life-support systems, which would happen if present agricultural and food industry logistics trends continue. Aeroponics can help to address the colossal degree of waste that presently exists throughout the supply chain.

“The global agri-tech industry is very exciting right now, all stemming from the necessity to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of food production. We are fielding enquiries from all around the world from food producers and farmers who want to experience the benefits of our technology across a growing range of crops,” Charlie Guy says.

The environmental footprint

The Fifth Estate asked Charlie Guy about the environmental footprint of the technology and the energy used in a given system, compared to a soil based or hydroponic system.

He says that it depends on a number of factors, including choice of crop, choice of technology, retail route, geography, climate and season. “One of the key benefits of indoor growing, over traditional methods, is the massively reduced supply chain length. This cuts the carbon footprint of produce substantially.”

LettUs Grow are working on integrating indoor and vertical growing with renewable energy technologies to further reduce energy costs and the carbon footprint.

“Indoor, vertical growing generally acts as a substitute for imported produce,” Guy says, quoting studies claiming that CO2 reductions of up to 90 per cent are achievable by growing produce at its point of consumption using hydroponics, compared to the carbon cost of importing the same product from Europe.

He also refers to independent, academic studies into the startup’s technology that have shown that its patent-pending aeroponic technology can reduce the carbon cost of production against traditional hydroponic vertical farms by between 60 and 90 per cent.

But can the operation scale up? “Scale of operation is one of these determining factors and the vertical growing industry is still some way off the scale currently reached in glasshouse growing,” Guy says.

“The productivity increases demonstrated by LettUs Grow’s aeroponic technology represent another step-change in economic viability of farms. This enables smaller farms to deliver a return on investment up to 50 per cent faster than traditional hydroponic indoor farms.

“Energy and labour are two of the greatest operational costs of running an indoor farm and LettUs Grow are working on solutions to bring these two costs down substantially. LED lighting continues to fall in price and increase in efficiency and advanced automation processes are reducing labour costs further still.”

However, Guy says his system is “lighting agnostic”. “Anyone can use our system with any lighting. In fact, you can use our aeroponic technology without any lights, such as in glasshouses.”

To reduce costs, the company is investigating automation, not dissimilar to that found in giant Amazon warehouses. “We have designed our own automated farm management system called Ostara. It is breaking down barriers to entry for indoor farming and aeroponics. Aeroponic technology has historically been seen as complex and difficult to implement. Ostara makes aeroponics easy.”

The company plans to license its technology in the future. Watch out for indoor farms springing up near you in the not too distant future.

David Thorpe is the author of the book The One Planet Life and the forthcoming book One Planet Cities.

Tags: energy, farming, food, technology

US, Illinois - Hydroponics Bill Introduced In House

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by Kyla Asbury | Feb 12, 2019

Rep. Stephanie A. Kifoweit (D-Aurora) introduced a bill created to drive business for hydroponics on Feb. 1 to the House of Representatives.

The bill's first reading was Feb. 1 and it was then referred to the Rules Committee.

House Bill 1636 amends the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act and provides that businesses that intend to establish a newly qualified hydroponics facility or expand their current qualified facilities to include hydroponics will be considered "high-impact businesses."

High-impact businesses can lose their designation if they fail to comply with a set of terms and conditions in the bill. High-impact businesses are those intending to make a minimum investment of $12 million and plan to create 500 full-time jobs involving hydroponics, according to the bill.

The bill doesn't state what "high-impact" businesses actually mean, other than the amount of money they make or employees they will have. The bill doesn't state why it is needed.

High-impact businesses will receive tax credits, according to the bill. Hydroponics is the method of growing plants and produce using only water with mineral nutrients and without soil.

The bill, if passed, is effective immediately.

Meet The People Running A Farm In The Middle Of Andheri – Herbivore Farms

By Mallika Dabke January 15, 2019  

The minds behind Herbivore Farms

There’s no doubt that the awareness of eating clean food is growing by the day, but for most of us, it’s an ongoing struggle to make that lifestyle shift. Most of us are grossly unaware about where our produce comes from, and the authenticity of organic products is often left as an unanswered question at the back of our minds. Bringing clarity to our kitchens, is Herbivore Farms, which is an actual farm in the middle of Andheri, set up by duo Sakina Rajkotwala and Joshua Lewis. The young guns from Mumbai set themselves up on a mission to directly provide the citizens with vegetables through their hyperlocal, hydroponic farm, a first for the city. I spoke to Sakina and Joshua to know more about them and their work, read on to see what we spoke about!

Give us a quick introduction to Herbivore Farms.

Herbivore Farms is Mumbai’s first hyper local farm located in Andheri East. We grow the super healthy varieties of leafy green veggies like Swiss Chard, Kale, Rocket and Lettuce using hydroponic methods of cultivation. 

Our produce is delivered to customer’s homes a few hours post-harvest, so it’s always at its peak of freshness, nutrition and flavour. Our indoor farm enables to grow in a clean, sterile environment and we use absolutely 0 pesticides so it’s 100% safe. We also use up to 80% less water to grow our produce using a recirculating irrigation system. 

Talk us through your story – what inspired you, how you started, and the journey so far. 

The journey that led us to start this project began in 2017 when we both quit our jobs – Sakina worked at an NGO called Magic Bus and Joshua was working with an ad company called Directi. While our jobs seemed to be working out well for us, we were missing a sense of purpose and were on a mission to find it. So, we decided to pack our bags and go live in Auroville for three months and work on a farm. We wanted to get our hands dirty and also reconnect with ourselves and nature. 

We worked as farm labor for three months at Solitude Farm. The farm also had a cafe where lunch was served and made from ingredients that were harvested fresh off the farm the same morning. We ate meals post work there every day and food had never tasted better. It was always basic and simple food but it changed everything for us in terms of our energy levels, our mood and in general, our overall health. We felt happy and well. 

This was the starting point of our inspiration. We wanted to create a way for people to enjoy fresh, healthy local produce. We also wanted people to revive their relationship with their food – understand where it comes from, who grows it, how it’s grown, why it’s good for you. We wanted people to be able to feel as good as we did. And that’s how Herbivore Farms was born. 

Through extensive research we discovered how we could build a farm within the city and grow indoors. Hydroponics appealed to us because it saves two of the most precious urban resources – space and water. After a year of trial and error and lots of research, we built our small indoor farm. The two of us handle everything right from the farm tasks (planting, monitoring, harvesting) to deliveries, sales and marketing. 

We believe that the food we eat is one of the most important factors in determining our health and more and more people are starting to realise it too. What we put in our bodies three times a day can impact just about everything in our lives and we are on a mission to get everyone to start valuing good food and make good choices. We also wanted to build a chain of supply that is completely transparent so people can trust what’s on their plate as opposed to the way our markets currently work. 

Give us an overview of the set up and functioning of Herbivore Farms. 

We have converted an old industrial warehouse in Andheri East into a climate controlled greenhouse. We’ve built vertical hydroponics systems that enable us to grow 10 times more in the same square footage. Our recirculating irrigation system also enables us to use 75% less water as compared to traditional agriculture. We’ve put in place processes that allow us to harvest on a daily basis, and each morning’s harvest is delivered to the customer’s homes a few hours later. 

Up until a month ago it was the two of us managing absolutely everything, we personally went to people’s doors to hand them their produce. It was exhausting but extremely rewarding, and the motive was to dive into the depth of every little detail to put into place effective farm processes which we have been able to do now, and we’re still learning every day. A few weeks ago, we hired our first employee. He is learning quickly and developing into the role of Primary Farm Manager. 

How has the feedback been? What are some of the things that customers are saying about you?

The response from customers who tried our free samples was phenomenal. About 90% of the people who took a sample home wrote back to us saying they loved how fresh and flavourful the leaves were and how they wanted to know how soon they can start buying. Some even said that we had changed their perception on leafy greens – what they previously associated with tasting “bitter” or “bland” and didn’t enjoy eating but would force themselves to, to try and be healthy. A lot of people we met at events told us were happy to finally have some transparency as to where their veggies are grown and where they come from, as they were skeptical of eating raw greens because of the fear of pesticides, unhygienic growing conditions, and not knowing who has handled the produce. 

How does one place an order at the farm and what all do you currently grow to offer?  

A Herbivore Harvest Box (Monthly Subscription) is INR 1500 (extra delivery charges for South Mumbai) for one month. One subscription = total four deliveries (one per week) on a fixed day depending on where the subscriber lives. Each week the subscriber will receive one box at their chosen address which will contain two to three varieties of leafy greens harvested that morning. 

Our range of leafy greens – seven types of lettuce (lollo rosso, oakleaf, French romaine, summercrisp, butterhead), three types of Swiss chard (red, yellow, mangold), two types of rocket (wild and cultivated) and we are working on four kale varieties that will be part of our box soon! 

Pick from a range of leafy greens!

Lastly, what’s next for Herbivore Farms? 

We can’t wait to upgrade to a much larger facility and cater to a larger population of our city. We want to be more than just a farm. We want to teach kids how to grow their own food “kindly”, for that is the most essential foundation of a community of the future. Herbivore Farms aims to create jobs with meaning, and bring people closer together.

Convert Your Hydroponic System To An Aquaponic System

Contributed by | GoblinHydro

01/08/19, 08:48 AM

For those of you who are seasoned growers, aquaponics might be an investment worth while. Aquaponics is all about your water and nutrients in your solution tank, so your not really "converting" as much as you are "adding." it doesn't matter how you choose to deliver water and nutrients to your plant, as long as it comes from the tank inhabited by the fish. Everything you have set up, however it is laid out, you're just a couple steps away from converting your hydroponic or aeroponic system to a aquaponic system.

Aside from the many benefits you will read below, teachers have been turning to hands on education using small aquaponic systems in the classroom.

Why convert?

Yes, it may require a little bit of extra capital, but the benefits far exceed the cost. Organic matter contained in fish feces and feed are used for the conversion of fish generated ammonia to nitrate. Bacteria breaks down the fish waste and converts it to plant food and nutrients. This is a huge cut in your nutrient upkeep. Instead, you will be supplying your fish with food and letting them take care of the plants.

Water is constantly being recycled instead of disposed of, which will give you a huge break when paying your hydro bill. Since the water is recycled, the only loss of water comes from evaporation and transpiration.

PH balance is very important to keep an eye on, in aquaponics or any other method. While you will still need to keep that eye on it, bacteria breaking down the fish waste should adjust the PH balance on its own.

Vegetation and fish happen to be healthiest choice in food, and your farming both! Once a fish has matured (depending on species,) you can remove and enjoy a healthy organic dinner while enjoying the freedom of being self sufficient.

Will my yield increase or decrease?

Many cultivators are reporting a rate of 400% - 500% faster crop turns. Not only that but crop density has been heavily increased for many. Every plant responds to aquaponics differently and certain fish seem to partner with plants just a little bit better.

Many different species of fish can be used. Which kind you select will depend on not only your plant species but tank size.

If this is a home project you might want to use ornamental fish like guppies, fancy goldfish, angelfish or even a swordfish. Some have even created environments for turtles, crayfish and even shrimp. If the purpose is not decorative, but still home based, pacu, koi and catfish get along with many different plants. Larger commercial operations use larger fish including larger mouth bass, salmon burramundi, this is to maximize nutrients per fish and to provide a cheaper upkeep solution.

Time to add in your aquaponics tank

Choose your tank - As mentioned above, the size of the tank will be dependent on your grow area and fish species you plan to manage.

Choose your fish - This should have already been decided at the time your obtained your tank. Proper research should be done on the species and the habitat required. Search for studies and/or personal experiences through blogs, forums and research papers on what fish people recommend for your specific plant.

Transfer your pump - Remove the pump from your nutrient tank and place it into your fish tank. The minute delay of water to your plants should not cause any stress. Make sure the pump is safe from any holes or crevices your fish can wedge itself into.

Maintenance - Now that the hard part is complete, a close eye will be needed to ensure your fish accept their new home and produce the bacteria required to detoxify the water. Fish feeding should start off gently so you don't overfeed the fish. Leaving traces of leftover food particles can contaminate the water and throw off the bacteria process causing a buildup of ammonia and nitrate.

The best solution to measuring the amount of food required by your fish is to start with a predetermined amount wait 10 minutes while the fish take their fill. Up to 10% can be left in while more should be added if less than 5%.

Oxygen must be dissolved, if the oxygen falls below 2 mg/l, denitrification can occur. For optimum fish performance, keep the oxygen above 5 mg/l but below 10 mg/l. PH should be kept about 6.0, just add potassium for a boost when needed. tools such as API or Tetra kits for measuring nitrate and ammonia are readily available and relatively inexpensive.

As we rush towards a greener tomorrow, techniques that have been given to us by mother nature are being revived with modern methods. Aquaponics has a long way to go but both economically and environmentally speaking, this path with have many rewards.

How Does Hydroponics Work? (A Beginner's Guide)

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Look: 

If you're interested in agriculture at all, you likely have heard of "hydroponics". 

Yet you may still be wondering: 

"What is hydroponic growing, and how does it work?" 

Or Maybe: 

"What are the main differences between hydroponic farming and normal farming?" 

Or Maybe Even: 

"Can I do it on a small scale myself?"

Well:

All of these answers and more are discussed in this Beginner's Guide To How Hydroponics Works. 

But here's the most important part: 

At the end of this article, you should have enough knowledge to start planning your own, personal hydroponic mini-farm. 

So let's get started...

What is hydroponic farming? 

Many people think that hydroponic farming is sticking seeds in water and letting them grow. 

But these people have it all wrong. 

Let me explain: 

The definition of hydroponic growing is: 

"The method of growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent."

What does this mean, in plain english?

Hydroponics does not just mean plants growing in a container of water. 

Now, here's the key:
 
The water continually circulates, instead of forming a stagnant pool. 

Also, only the roots are exposed. 

This is often accomplished by using a tank and a pump (image below).

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An example of Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) Hydroponic System: Source

Now: 

This likely isn't exactly what you originally had in mind when you heard about hydroponics.

Hydroponic growing systems can be complicated to design and operate. 

So if you are trying to truly understand hydroponics, where do you start? 

To truly understand hydroponics, let's start at the very beginning. 

Then we will cover: 

- Pros and Cons
- Real Life Examples 
- A More Detailed Breakdown of Hydroponic System Design 

Keep on reading below!

What is the history of hydroponic farming? 

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The first hydroponic growing techniques were developed by the ancient Mesopotamians around 600 BCE (source)

Now,

You may be shocked to hear this, but: 

The precursors of hydroponic farms date back to prehistoric ages.

How long ago? 

Before the common era. Like, 600 BCE. 

Yes...seriously.

Now, what's the back story on this? 

King Nebuchadnezzar built the "hanging gardens" of Babylon for queen, Amyitis. 

According to legend, she grew up in a mountainous area and so the King wanted to expose Amyitis to the beauty of agriculture.

How did this system actually work? 

Technically the water was carried in buckets by slaves instead of with a pump. 

Plus, one other technicality to keep in mind: 

The system did use irrigated soil so was not technically hydroponic.

But, despite this fact: 

Agricultural historians conclude it is the earliest known example of a precursor to true hydroponic techniques.

Now...

We've covered so far: 
1) the definition of hydroponics 
2) the history of hydroponics 

But you're also likely curious: 

"What are the pro's and con's of hydroponic farming?"

Or:

"What are current examples of large scale hydroponic farms?"

Or: 

"How does hydroponic farming actually work (step-by-step)?"

Well you're in luck.

Why? 

We are covering all of those parts next...

Pro's and Con's of Hydroponic Farming

Now, here's the skinny: 

Many experts have actually highlighted the disadvantages of hydroponics. 

But: 

If you can do it the right way, you can grow some serious vegetable volume...

So let's walk through the upside and downside, step-by-step: 

Here are common criticisms, according to The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS): 

Cons: 

- High Upfront Cost: Hydroponics are expensive to set up compared to conventional farming style. 

- Restricted Growing Options:  Some types of produce are not ideal for hydroponics, particularly heavy plants with tall stalks. 

For example: you won't be able to grow large hedges or trees hydroponically! 

- Nutrient Solution "Links" All Plants: In a soil-based system, soil can act as a temporary buffer between plants. If one plant is diseased, the others have the soil to separate plants. 

This isn't the case with hydroponics. If the nutrient content in a hydroponic solution is not correct or a disease enters the solution, the entire crop could be destroyed. 

Now: 

there's also tons of benefits to hydroponic growing, namely (also via IFAS): 

Pros:

- More efficient harvesting: Although this is more important with increasing scale, harvesting in a hydroponic system is typically less expensive than harvesting conventionally 

- Less Pests: Growing crops off the ground results in a cleaner crop with less pests. 

- Space: Less space is required for growing. 

- Water: Less water is required. 

Now: 

We've covered the pros and cons. 

So let's move onto current examples of hydroponic farms...

A Current Example of a Hydroponic Farm

Clearwater Organic Farms

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Clearwater Organic Farms Hydroponic Aerial Overview Source

Clearwater Organic Farms in Rochester, New York, USA is a brand new, still under-construction, state of the art 15-acre hydroponic farm.

According to part-owner of Clearwater Organic, Alex Wasilov, (via this Rocherfirst.com article): 

"Clearwater Organic Farms has created a controlled environment organic hydroponic greenhouse system that grows baby leaf vegetables,"

The farm will employ over 100 people upon completion in 2017/2018. Over 92 million consumers will be within a 4 hour truck drive of Clearwater.

"We plan to grow baby leaf vegetables here in Rochester. Our facility phase one will be about 15 acres, under glass, and we hope to double that size within the next three to five years."

Still interested to learn more about Clearwater? 

Check out the YouTube overview from the designers of their facility below.

Now: 

After all this info, you're probably at least a little interested (or dying to know) exactly how a hydroponic farm functions. 

In other words: 

"What are the actual components of a hydroponic farm?"

Well: 

We cover a simple, step-by-step walk through of the components of a hydroponic farm below...

How Hydroponic Farming Works (Specifically) 

The bottom line: 

There are four key areas to analyze the function of urban farming:

(1) physical layout
(2) lighting
(3) growing medium
(4) sustainability features 

We can use the following example and break down the key characteristics and functions of a hydroponic farm: 

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Source: The 6 main hydroponic techniques

First things first: 

(1) Physical Layout 

There are actually 6 main "techniques" for uban farming: 

1. Wick Technique
2. Ebb and Flow Technique
3. NFT Technique
4. Water Culture Technique
5. Drip Technique 
6. Aeroponic 

Each of these techniques have a different layout. 

There will almost always be a reservoir of nutrient solution, a pump, a structure to hold plants, "plugs" that hold the plants in place, and drains. 

The most common component for building hydroponic infrastructure is plastic. 

(2) Lighting if indoors, is often accomplished with LED lighting. 

Hydroponic The first hydroponic growing techniques were developed by the ancient Mesopotamians around 600 BCE(source)farming can also occur outdoors in some climates. 

(3) Hyrdoponic farming never uses soil. If a growing medium is used, it will be soil-less.
 

(4) As previously noted, hydroponics are incredibly efficient with water. This is perhaps their most sustainable feature. 

Additionally, hydroponic systems are efficient with nutrients, because nutrient solution can be recycled.

Source: The 6 main hydroponic techniques

Did you like this article?

You now know the basic background information relating to hydroponic farming. 

Why is that important?

Here's your real takeaway (if you forget everything else):

Hydroponic farming is here to stay! 

Getting to know the background of hydroponic farming, is just the start of your urban farming journey. 

If you liked this article....

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Seeking Fresh Produce, Mumbai Duo Quits Jobs To Grow Over 1,000 Plants Soil-Less!

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by Jovita Aranha January 23, 2019

When Joshua and Sakina decided to quit their well-paying jobs and switch to farming, everyone, including their parents, thought they were wasting their time and efforts with a dead project.

“Who in their right frame of mind decides to leave a comfortable job in a city like Mumbai and get their hands dirty with farming?” naysayers asked.

Today, amid the chaos of the city, the duo is successfully running, what they call, Mumbai’s first hyperlocal farm!

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Herbivore Farm in Andheri East

In a room less than 1,000 sq ft, with over 1,000 plants, they grow seven varieties of lettuce (lollo rosso, oakleaf, French romaine, summer crisp, butterhead), three varieties of Swiss chard (red, yellow and white), two types of rocket (wild and cultivated) and four varieties of kale.

All using hydroponic farming!

Operating from a warehouse in an old industrial estate that they transformed into an indoor farm in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai, the duo is growing pesticide-free, healthy and flavourful leafy greens, and delivering them at the doorsteps of their customers mere hours after harvest.

The Better India got in touch with the urban farmer duo to document their journey.

This journey towards growing their own food has its roots in a trip they took to Auroville in June 2017.

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Joshua Lewis and Sakina Rajkotwala

“Our jobs were good. The money was flowing in, but there was no greater meaning to what we were doing. We wanted to do more with our time. We had goals, but didn’t know what to start with,” confesses Joshua.

He continues, “Besides, it felt like each day was passing by in a monotonous routine. It was a never-ending loop where we were neither living to the fullest nor giving enough. And so, on a whim, we decided to pack our backs and travel to Auroville in Puducherry. We spent three months there working at a natural farm and getting our hands dirty.”

This is the same Solitude Farm run by musician and organic farmer Krishna McKenzie, who moved to Auroville from the UK 25 years ago. Over 140 varieties of plants, ranging from wild greens, flowers, fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, cereals, grains, grams, and pulses, are grown across six acres of land. Read more about it here.

“The farm had a beautiful concept where the lunch for a particular day would be prepared using veggies harvested the same morning and served at the cafe. We would work at the farm in the morning and relish a heavy lunch cooked with the fresh veggies we harvested ourselves,” says Joshua.

Not only were these veggies at their maximum level of nutrition when consumed fresh but they gave them the energy to continue working in the farm without getting tired.

“We realised how food back home in Mumbai was sedative, doused with pesticides. Besides, the vegetables we consumed were off the shelf and at the very least, a week old, considering the harvest-to-transportation time,” says Sakina.

“When I ate lunch at the office, I felt sleepy at my work desk. Back in Auroville, we could work tirelessly even after lunch. This highlighted the crucial need for fresh food,” Joshua agrees.

After their return to Mumbai, the duo could hardly find anyone around them who grew and delivered fresh leafy green veggies.

And so, they decided to start growing their own leafy greens.

Joshua continues, “We are big-time lovers of salads. But we could hardly find any suppliers of clean, pesticide-free, leafy greens which could be consumed raw. Even the ones we consumed lacked flavour, often alternating between bland and bitter. And so, we decided to test hydroponic farming on Sakina’s terrace.”

The idea behind hydroponics was to avoid moving to the outskirts in search of land suitable for organic farming.

The goal was set. They wanted to grow fresh leafy greens in the middle of the chaotic city and consume them fresh.

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Varieties of Swiss Chard

The classic trial-and-error method ensued for months. Whoever they sought guidance from had nothing more to share apart from the basic principles of hydroponics.

But the duo did not give up. They conducted extensive researched and kept trying. This was coupled with the pressure from home about trudging down an unconventional road.

Once they succeeded in growing three varieties, they invited their parents for a tasting session. Although their labour was appreciated, the parental units were unsure how the youth would be consistent.

But they decided to support the youngsters and gave them initial capital to kickstart their indoor commercial farm in Andheri East.  

“I still remember how we made a 16-slide presentation to convince them to invest in our project. I don’t think they were convinced, but they had no option than to agree,” she laughs.

“With the customer base we have gathered and the farm that we have set up, they are now convinced we did not make the wrong choice,” says Joshua.

Christened Herbivore Farms, the concept behind the initiative is to make freshly harvested leafy greens available to their customers.

You May Also Like: Exclusive: UP’s Award-Winning Banana King Earns Rs 48 Lakh/Year, Becomes Idol For Farmers!

How is it beneficial?

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Hydroponic farming is water-efficient

The climate within the greenhouse is artificially controlled, so the crops are protected against the weather outside.

Hydroponics is soil-less farming, where macro and micronutrients dissolved within a water solution directly facilitate plant growth. The system uses 75-85 per cent less water than conventional farming!

Growing plants in a vertical system allows them to grow five times more. The only challenge currently is that since the food is delivered within hours of harvest, the locations they cater to are limited.

When I ask them how their venture stands apart from their competitors, Sakina quips, “We consider our USP to be that our produce is delivered to the customer’s home a few hours post-harvest. So it is always at its peak of freshness, nutrition, and flavour. Our indoor farm enables a clean, sterile environment, which has zero pesticides, so it’s 100 per cent safe. We use 80 per cent less water to grow our produce with a recirculating irrigation system.”

To market their produce, the duo also gave away free samples which received an amazing response.

Every week, they harvest 350 plant heads which cater to 150 customers who have a monthly subscription.

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Lettuce

A Herbivore Harvest Box (Monthly Subscription) costs Rs 1,500 (with extra delivery charges for South Mumbai) for one month. The deliveries are staggered over four weeks–one per week on a decided day–depending on the location of the subscriber.

Every week, this subscriber gets one box containing two to three varieties of leafy greens harvested the same morning.

“Most people who tried our produce conveyed how fresh and flavourful the leafy greens were, how different their texture was. Many of them subscribed to us soon after. It helped change their age-old perception of leafy veggies being ‘bitter’ or ‘bland’. And that was certainly morale-boosting for us. To be honest, I myself wasn’t such a big fan of greens until we started growing them ourselves,” signs off Sakina.

Also Read: Heights of Hydroponics: Meet the Chennai Man Who Grows 6,000 Plants in 80 Sq Ft Space!

To all the aspiring urban farmers who want to grow their own food, but often find excuses not to, Joshua has a message.

“Every time you wake up in the morning, you often have things on your bucket-list that you want to achieve before you die. You might often overthink about how much time you’d be wasting in pursuing those goals. In the process, you do not land up doing anything about them. So our message simply is–if you are passionate about what you want to do and know that you will enjoy it, just do it. The universe will conspire to remove all the obstacles in your path and everything will fall in place.”  

To know more about Herbivore Farms, contact them on 89280 94239. Check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts. To sign up for a monthly subscription of their produce, click here.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

Like this story? Or have something to share?
Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com
Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Written by Jovita Aranha

A lover of people, cats, food, music, books & films. In that order. Binge-watcher of The Office & several other shows. A storyteller on her journey to document extraordinary stories of ordinary people.

Grow Strong: African Farmers, Entrepreneurs Revamp Agriculture Norms Through Purdue Partnership

January 28, 2019

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Scott Massey, founder of hydroponics startup Heliponix, discusses agricultural innovations with Togonese students as a part of his first Mandela Washington Fellowship. In 2019, Massey will workshop at Cameroonian universities, empowering students interested in agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship. (Photo provided) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Many farmers in the Republic of Cameroon usually grow just enough food to feed their families due to limited fertilizer and high-yield seeds, coupled with poor soil quality and lack of irrigation.

Scott Massey, a Purdue University graduate and founder of Heliponix, a company that makes an appliance that fits under a kitchen counter and grows produce year-round, is hoping to change that by bringing sustainable agriculture methods in Cameroon.

Massey has been selected for a second Mandela Washington Fellowship to lead educational workshops at Cameroonian universities this month. Approximately 200 million hectares of suitable land remains unfarmed across Africa, causing many observers to wonder how African nations can unlock their full agricultural potential.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship seeks to promote agricultural development through the academic and entrepreneurial empowerment of African peoples.

“African entrepreneurs have immeasurable economic opportunities to market solutions using new agricultural technologies,” Massey said. “Our overall goal is to provide these resilient people the means to their own production and permanently break the cycle of dependency on foreign aid.”

Massey has used his extensive knowledge in hydroponic systems and agricultural engineering to develop GroPod, an in-home appliance that grows produce year-round. His background also gives him the unique expertise to teach innovative and sustainable farming techniques in Cameroon.

“In these workshops, we are implementing a new vertical farming technique that utilizes an adaption of the proprietary vertical farming technology also used in GroPod,” Massey said. “Not only will we be teaching the students about these advanced technologies that they can use to start their own businesses, but we will also be building model farms that they can incorporate into their curriculums to grow clean food.”

On this trip, Massey will travel with Daliwa Joseph Bainamndi, another Mandela Washington fellow, to give Cameroonian farmers vital information on developing and incorporating innovative farming practices into their work. The pair will lead lectures on hydroponic farming, entrepreneurship, 3D printing and computer-assisted design at the University of Ngaoundéré, University of Ngoa-ékélé and the agriculture school of Institut Superieur des Sciences et Techniques de Yaounde.

In general, African farmers struggle against nonexistent agricultural infrastructure and poor farming conditions, making subsistence farming the most advantageous practice. However, Massey and Bainamndi’s work could empower Cameroonian students and farmers to expand operations sustainably and successfully through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Massey’s work aligns with Purdue's Giant Leaps celebration of the university’s global advancements made in health, space, artificial intelligence and sustainability as part of Purdue’s 150th anniversary. Those are the four themes of the yearlong celebration’s Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.

Massey received his first Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2018 when he traveled to Togo, Africa, to teach farmers there about the farming usages of hydroponics systems. Read more about his first trip here.

“This diplomatic humanitarian mission will fight the war against hunger on its front line and expand the addressable technology market to maximize global impact,” he said. “I look forward to the day that Africa becomes an environmentally and economically sustainable farming model.”

About Purdue Foundry

The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. Managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, the Purdue Foundry was co-named a top recipient at the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Designation and Awards Program by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

Writer: Kelsey Henry, 765-588-3342, kehenry@prf.org

Purdue Research Foundation Contact: Tom Coyne, 765-558-1044, tjcoyne@prf.org

Source: Scott Massey, scott@heliponix.com

Hydroponic Nutrient Management: What Every Grower Should Know

Monica Mansfield | December 10, 2018

Takeaway: When you choose to grow hydroponically, it becomes your responsibility to ensure your plants are receiving what they need to be healthy and productive. Follow Monica Mansfield’s tips and your plants will think Mother Nature is working her magic.

One of the keys to a successful hydroponic garden is having a solid nutrient management plan. Plants grown hydroponically are much more sensitive to the nutrients you give them simply because they don’t have the soil to buffer any mistakes you may make. You are taking on nature’s role and are responsible for putting together the correct nutrients, in the right amounts, with the right pH, at the right time. You must also manage your water’s quality more strictly and be aware of any chemical incompatibilities that could hurt your plants.

Essential Hydroponic Nutrients

First things first, you must understand the importance of the nutrients you are feeding your plants. They can be broken down into three categories: primary, secondary, and micronutrients. In hydroponics, instead of receiving these nutrients from the soil, plants get these nutrients from the nutrient solution they grow in.

Primary nutrients include nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. These are needed in large quantities for plants to thrive. The secondary nutrients are calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. They are needed in smaller quantities than the primary nutrients, but in much larger amounts than the micronutrients. Micronutrients include iron, molybdenum, boron, copper, manganese, sodium, zinc, nickel, chlorine, cobalt, aluminum, silicon, vanadium, and selenium. Plants also need carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, however, they receive these from the air and water.

If a plant takes in too much or too little of these nutrients, they will suffer from deficiencies or toxicities. Plants will show signs to help you figure out what they need. For example, a nitrogen deficiency will cause yellowing of the older leaves and slowed growth. Too much nitrogen can cause extremely green leaves, excessive vegetative growth, and reduced fruiting.

Understanding Hydroponic Ratios and Formulas

When you go into a hydroponic shop, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the hundreds of fertilizers lining the shelves. There are many different formulas and ratios to choose from.

There will be three numbers on the front of the fertilizer bottles. This is the NPK, which stands for nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, respectively. These numbers represent the percentage of each nutrient in the bottle. A 7-9-5 fertilizer will have seven percent nitrogen, nine percent phosphorous, and five percent potassium in that bottle. The back label will tell you the percentage of other nutrients in the fertilizer.

These ratios will vary a little by brand, what kind of formula it is, and what stage of growth it is meant for. Fertilizers formulated for the growth stage of plant development will have more nitrogen, while the bloom stage formulas will have less nitrogen and more phosphorous.

You will also see one-part, two-part, and three-part formulas. One-part formulas have one bottle for the growth stage and one bottle for the bloom stage of growth. While they contain all the nutrients needed, they likely have smaller amounts of calcium to keep the formula stable and will need to be supplemented. One-part formulas are ideal for beginners who don’t yet understand how to adjust recipes for their plant’s specific needs.

Two-part formulas have an A and B formula for growth, and an A and B formula for bloom. By separating some of the chemicals, the manufacturer has created a more stable and complete formula that can be mixed at different rates throughout the growth cycle. Specifically, higher amounts of calcium and phosphorous can be included in the base nutrients by separating them instead of putting them together in one bottle.

Three-part formulas include a separate grow, bloom, and micro formula that will be mixed together at different ratios throughout a plant’s life. This allows for much more flexibility so that the grower can tailor nutrient recipes to their plant’s specific needs and fix deficiencies more quickly.

Water

One of the most important things to consider in a hydroponic nutrient management program is your water. It is essential to test your water before designing your program. You will want to test for alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), and contaminants.

Alkalinity is measured from near zero to more than 300 parts per million (PPM). If your water’s alkalinity is high, then the pH will tend to rise in your nutrient solution. Ideally, you want your alkalinity as close to zero as possible, as it is in reverse osmosis treated water. It is important to note that alkalinity is not the same as pH. While pH can be measured at a certain point in time, alkalinity is a measure of your water’s longer-lasting pH effect. Knowing your water’s alkalinity can help you choose the proper fertilizer program. For example, you may want to use a fertilizer with greater amounts of acidic nitrogen to counter the pH rise.

Your water's EC can be a rough measurement of your water’s purity. Electrical conductivity measures the total dissolved salts in your water. If your EC is high, then you will want to use a drain-to-waste hydroponic system. Electrical conductivity should be low, ideally less than 0.25 mS/cm for closed systems. You can also filter your water using reverse osmosis if you would like to use a closed system but have a high EC.

Your lab analysis should tell you what other elements or contaminants are already present in your water. This is helpful when designing your fertilizer program. For example, if your water already has calcium or magnesium then you will not have to add as much to your nutrient solution. If your water has high levels of sodium or chloride, you know that you may need to purify your water or flush your soil more often to prevent salt build-up.

pH

Monitoring and maintaining a proper pH is crucial in a hydroponics nutrient management system. The solution’s pH measures how acidic or basic it is. The scale ranges from zero to 14, with 7.0 being neutral. Different nutrients are available at different pH levels. In general, nutrient solutions for hydroponics should have a pH between 5.0 and 6.0, which will create a pH in the root environment of between 6.0 and 6.5. In this range, more nutrients are readily available to plants.

You can measure pH with either pH strips or a pH meter. If you use a meter, be sure to calibrate it on a regular basis, about once every week or two.

Depending on your hydroponic system and your plant’s stage of growth, you may need to adjust your pH often. A drain-to-waste system does not reuse water, so you will adjust your pH when you mix it initially. However, recirculating systems will need more frequent adjustments. As roots respire, the pH will decrease as carbon dioxide reacts with water to create carbonic acid. This will happen much more towards harvest when roots are their largest.

To adjust your pH, you will add acids and bases to your nutrient solution. Add a little at a time and measure with your meter as you go. Common acids used to decrease pH include sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, citric acid, and nitric acid. To increase your pH, potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide are commonly used. It is important to consider which acids and bases you use to adjust your pH, as they will add nutrients to your solution. For example, nitric acid will add nitrogen and phosphoric acid will add phosphorous.

PPM/EC

When mixing your nutrient solution, you have the option of creating your own program from scratch or following a pre-designed program from a fertilizer company. Commercial operations usually design their program from scratch so that they can adjust their solution as needed. To save money, many commercial operations use recirculating systems and lab-test their nutrient solution regularly so they can add only the elements that have been depleted. For the hobby grower, however, it is much easier to follow a feeding plan that has been designed by a fertilizer company. Most companies have feeding schedules available to go with their products.

Although you can simply follow the measurements on the bottle, your solution will be more precise if you mix it using a PPM or EC meter. Parts per million and EC both measure the total dissolved salts in your solution. While this measurement will not tell you exactly how much nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium is in your solution, it will give you an idea of the overall nutrient concentration. You can use this number to add nutrients to a recirculating system in between reservoir changes. Most feeding schedules will tell you what the PPM or EC should be at each week’s stage of growth.

If you are a hydro grower, follow these principles to create an effective nutrient management plan for a successful harvest.

(For more on plant nutrients, check out The Essential Plant Nutrients.)

Digestate As Alternative Substrate For Soil-Less Lettuce Farming

The consumption of ready-to-eat salad has been growing over the last 20 years in the European market. The annual growth rate is at 4%. That's why this food category is renowned as one of the most profitable horticultural segments.

As a result of a growing trend, the lettuce and chicory are farmed over a 1.2 million hectares surface globally. The global production is of 27 million tons, almost.

Italy occupies the fourth place in the world, with 38.542 hectares farmed with lettuce and chicory (31.7% in the north, 10% in the Centre, and 58,3% in the South) for a total production of 8.1 million tons. Additionally, greenhouse production is important as well, for a total surface of 4.549 hectares (37.3% in the North, 31.9% in the Centre and 30.8 in the South).

Leafy produce is considered to be one of the most exposed to microbiological risks. The ready-to-eat lettuce is often connected to food poisoning. The Escherichia Coli O157: H7 has been often associated with lettuce.

Researchers from Modena University and Reggio Emilia University – in collaboration with the Foggia’s CRA – evaluated the digestate as an alternative and sustainable substrate for farming and as a nutritive solution in the hydroponic farming of lettuce. In three different experiments, nine hydroponic combinations of substrate and fertilization (agriperlite + standard solution, agri-perlite + liquid digestate, solid digestate + standard solution, solid digestate + liquid digestate, soil + standard solution, peat + standard solution, peat + liquid digestate, digested pelleted + standard solution and digested pelleted + liquid digestate) were tested and compared for the cultivation of baby leaf lettuce.

During crop cycles, the yield and other agronomic and microbiological parameters have been studied. In all the experiments, the combination of agri-perlite + liquid digestate, solid digestate + standard solution and pelleted digestate + standard solution improved the plant growth by influencing roots (+ 32%), buds (+ 40%), total dry weight (+ 29%) and SPAD parameters (+ 17%).

As the results illustrate, the digestate represents a nutritive sustainable solution and an alternative for the soilless baby leaf lettuce farming.

Source: Domenico Ronga, Leonardo Setti, Chiara Salvarani, Riccardo De Leo, Elisa Bedin, Andrea Pulvirenti, Justyna Milc, Nicola Pecchioni, Enrico Francia, 'Effects of solid and liquid digestate for hydroponic baby leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivation', 2019, Scientia Horticulturae, Vol. 244, pag. 172-181. 

Publication date : 12/12/2018 

AmHydro Travels to Russia And India

The AmHydro Team was busy in December and early January with two international trips to countries eager to join the controlled environment agricultural movement. As the population continues to rise and resources become more limited, hydroponic farming is gaining huge momentum around the world. 

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Attendees at the Agro Greenhouse Complexes Russia Forum and Exhibition look on as speakers from various countries discuss and present to a full room about self-sustaining food technologies for the modern world.

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An early December night is lit up by the Kremlin Main Tower in Moscow, Russia. With Russia's interest in sustainable ways to feed their population, could there soon be hydroponic growing systems beyond those walls?

AmHydro's Vice President Joe Swartz and CEO/President Jenny Harris both spoke on behalf of North America's contribution to the hydroponic industry. They focused on appropriate agricultural technologies for Russia, a country where average winter temperatures are in the 20s or below. They highlighted the successes of farmers around the world who have embraced hydroponics and specifically, AmHydro systems to feed their local communities.  

Next in January, two of our production experts traveled all the way to Bangalor, India to help install a 1.5 acre hydroponic system that will house both leafy greens and vine crops. India is an agrarian country that, in modern times, is very interested in adopting a drought tolerant, consistent and safe way of producing food. 

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Now, that is a lot of NFT channels!

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Bato buckets as far as the eye can see!

If you missed the webinar about Winterizing your Hydroponic Business, check it out on our YouTube page! 

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Why Choosing Automated Dosing Systems Is A Profitable Investment

by Mia Godfrey | Technology, Materials & Equipment

Automated dosing systems can be expensive, which means they’re often an intimidating investment for small farmers. However, many growers note that their upfront investment pays off once they start saving on time and labor costs, especially if they’re beginning to scale their farm or hire employees.

If you’re a hydroponic or aquaponic farmer, you are likely familiar with the time-intensive process of manually testing and dosing nutrients and pH adjustments in your system. As business owners, we know that time is money, and if there’s any way to save on both, we’re likely to jump on it.

We’ll discuss what automated dosing systems are, how they work, and how they can benefit your farm and business. This information will help you decide whether or not you’d like to take the leap and purchase one.

What do automated dosing systems do?

At a high level, automated systems reduce the manual workload of managing your nutrients: measuring, dosing, and testing pH, EC, and temperature*. When done by hand, these tasks can take up a sizeable portion of your highly valuable time, or that of an employee, increasing your labor costs. These systems can also help you reduce human error: you’ll cut down on over- or under-dosing and shocking your plants by accidentally adding an incorrect amount of nutrient.

Now, you might be thinking “I have an aquaponic system, so I don’t need to manage nutrients in the same way, and therefore, I don’t need an automated dosing system.” Don’t be too hasty. These automated systems can benefit aquaponic growers just as much as they benefit others. While aquaponic systems do not require the same inputs, it is often—if not always—the case that you’ll consistently be supplementing chelated iron. You can use automated dosing systems to monitor and adjust pH and iron in aquaponics the same way you would in hydroponics!

*It is important to note, however, that while automated dosing systems will measure the amount of nutrient in your reservoir, they will not measure and mix your nutrients for you. Learn more about this in the next sections.

How does it work?

Depending on the type of automated dosing system you’re looking at, it’ll come with a number ofsensors or probes. These measure water chemistry parameters like pH, EC, and temperature. Some more advanced systems include environmental sensors that will monitor conditions like air temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration.

These sensors and probes work the same way that your handheld meters do, only they’re all connected to one computing system. Since the system is automated, it allows the user to set determined parameters which the computer will compare to the real-time measurements it’s taking from the reservoir.

In response to those measurements, the computer makes adjustments by operating a series of pumps. These pumps are connected to lines that are placed in buckets, which contain nutrient mixes and pH adjusters. 

In our system, we had a series of 3 5-gallon buckets for the nutrient mixes:

• part A (N-P-K + CaNO3),

• part B (magnesium sulfate),

• and a pH adjuster (pH down)

Pay attention to whether your system trends upward or downward in pH—you may want to switch to pH up if there is a consistent downward trend. Read more about pH here.

In small intervals, the system pulls solution from the appropriate bucket into the nutrient water until the readings on the meter meet the programmed target parameters.

Systems like the IntelliDose allow the user to set alarms for when something goes awry and include a host of other useful features. Some auto-dosing systems allow growers to set different parameters for different systems within the same farm.

How much can I save with an auto-dosing system?

Most growers can save upward of 15–30 minutes a day by using an auto dosing system. Multiply that by the wage that you’re paying a system manager, add it all up to the lifetime of the auto-doser, and you’ll see your savings potential.

However, the benefits of an automated dosing system stretch beyond “minutes saved.” Auto-dosing systems can help prevent costly events like crop loss due to human error, and can even lead to more beneficial results, such as increased yield.

Growers have several options for auto-dosing systems. Aquaponic growers may use only pH and iron dosers, for example. Small-scale growers may decide that a monitoring unit serves their purposes just as well as a full auto-dosing system. Whichever direction you decide to go, always balance the price of labor and time against the price of an auto-dosing system.

Monitoring-only units will typically cost between $250 and $400. For instance, an all-in-one handheld meter may run at $280. When you add dosing and remote login capabilities, the price runs closer to $2,000. Systems like Growlink can be customized for your farm, but they’ll likely run you a pretty penny. 

Using automated dosing systems

In ZipGrow systems, the sump tank acts as a “collect-all” for system water before it is redirected to the mixing tank and sent to irrigate the towers again.

Here, the tank is equipped with an IntelliDose system. Like most auto-dosing systems, it consists of a controller where the user programs their desired parameters. The EC and pH probes are placed in a small basket-like contraption inside of the reservoir. At the bottom of the reservoir, there is a pump that keeps the water moving so that the probes are always taking an accurate reading. If the water is too still, it is possible for the nutrients to settle along the bottom of the tank. As you can imagine, probes at the top of the tank, in this case, would read differently than if they were at the bottom. It is ideal to have aconsistent concentration of nutrients throughout the reservoir.

We like to hang the IntelliDose controller, pumps, nutrient buckets, and a small electronics box to hold cords on the side of our mixing tank (we use an IBC). This allows us to remove and replace nutrient buckets quickly as well as keep the floor clear for cleaning. The electronics box keeps cords out of the tripping and dripping zones to avoid accidents and improves the safety of the farm.

While this may seem like a “set-it-and-forget-it” type of system, we would like to discourage you from thinking that way. As a part of your daily or weekly farm maintenance, you should take a few moments to ensure that everything is working as it should. Additionally, you will need to calibrate the probesabout once a week and occasionally check the water manually.

Ready to get an auto dosing system?

If you’re ready to take the plunge into auto-dosing, we recommend systems from Hydrofarm, BlueLab, and Autogrow. Begin your exploration with a needs assessment to determine exactly what you need before you purchase a system so you get one that fits your operation.

We chose the IntelliDose System from Autogrow because it is well-made and comes with great customer support.

“I work with four different production facilities, and so I can save quite a bit of time. But that is not the reason I went with an IntelliDose system. I went with IntelliDose out of necessity. I want everything to be done right, and to remove the human error from the system.” -Mark Germino

Learn more about hydroponic farming

Anyone can run a profitable local farm, and at Upstart University, we’re dedicated to unlocking that possibility. At Upstart University, aspiring farmers can learn the tricks of the trade from building a business plan and securing funding, to managing a hydroponic or aquaponic system and achieving high crop yields.

Get started today!

How Sustainable Farming Stacks Up

Published:  December 04, 2018 14:38 Suparna Dutt D’ Cunha, Special to GN Focus

Emirates Flight Catering’s 130,000-sq-ft facility will harvest 2,700kg of herbicide- and pesticide-free leafy greens a day at full production.Image Credit: Supplied

In a country where it’s common to find apples from South Africa, potatoes from India and carrots from Australia — all marked at a price to cover the import costs — in supermarkets, some farming initiatives in recent years are bringing to reality a new breed of green agriculture that seeks to produce more crops in less space and water, and is efficient, easier and kinder on the natural environment.

It is hard not to be dazzled by the current pace of technological change in agriculture in the country. An ambitious manifestation of agricultural technology is coming to fruition next year. Emirates Flight Catering and US-based Crop One Holdings are building what they say will be the world’s largest vertical farm, producing 2,700kg of pesticide-free leafy greens daily, in Dubai.

The greens will be manufactured using hydroponics, a technique in which crops are grown in vertical stacks of plant beds, without soil, sunlight or pesticides. Above each bed of greens will be columns of LED lights, which when plants photosynthesise will convert light of certain wavelengths into chemical energy and store it for future use.

Proponents of new-age farming tout the potential of such technology to address the country’s largely hostile desert landscapes, its reliance on the global food trade, importing more than 80 per cent of its food needs, and food shortages as the population continues to grow.

“It is encouraging to see the initiatives that are underway, including some of the larger scale projects, using highly advanced technologies,” says Nicholas Lodge, Managing Partner at Abu Dhabi-based agriculture consultancy Clarity. “Developing sustainable farming with smart use of water will not only provide improved supplies for the local market but also potentially create viable businesses for export to neighbouring countries. Furthermore, technology and an ecological approach will contribute to food diversity and security as it will enhance crop production and lower its cost.”

For Omar Al Jundi, Founder and CEO of Badia Farms, the Middle East’s first commercial vertical farm in Dubai, sustainable farming is a solution for more pressing and concrete concerns such as land — less than 5 per cent of the total land area being arable in the UAE — and water shortages, meeting the demand for locally grown greens, and climate change. Growing and selling locally means emissions associated with transportation are reduced.

“The only solution is to grow smart. Sustainable farming is the future. It is time for the country and the region to become food producers rather than just consumers, since ensuring food security will be challenging in the future due to impacts of climate change.”

Using hydroponics technology on an 800-square-metre plot of land in Dubai, Badia Farms grows gourmet leafy greens for sale 365 days of the year.

Hydroponics brings some important benefits, explains Amjad Omar, Farm Manager at Emirates Hydroponics Farms (EHF). “Because crops are grown in a controlled environment there is no need for chemicals; it allows farming without soil. Most importantly, [hydroponics] uses 90 per cent less water than traditional open-field farming, although the tech uses water as a medium to grow plants, and the yield is six times more from the same amount of land.”

Situated halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, EHF has adapted modern technology to grow lettuce and other herb crops year-round as well. The produce, which it sells both online and offline, is not only cheaper than imported goods but fresher too, adds Omar.

Meanwhile, to grow tomatoes, Abu Dhabi-based Pure Harvest Smart is using a fully climate-controlled high-tech, water-efficient greenhouse, which is yielding ten times more food per metre using one-seventh the water.

As the movement continues to evolve, some are experimenting with novel ways to make local agriculture an integral part of urban life. At this year’s World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, Maha Al Muhairi displayed her innovative energy-efficient automated system, FreshFridge, which lets you grow a wide range of herbs and microgreens in your kitchen. “The FreshFridge allows users to grow more than 50 varieties of microgreens in 10-15 days. People can grow whatever they want in any season,” says Al Muhairi.

Technology is fundamental to the future of agricultural production in the region, says Lodge. “Whether in the form of vertical farm, or through the research and development work of organisations such as the the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai. The region will not enjoy an increase in water availability in our lifetime, so we must use what we have carefully and intelligently.”

But growing crops sustainably isn’t always easy. “Steep costs of acquiring cutting-edge technologies and unavailability of raw materials locally for production are among the challenges,” says Omar.

While according to Al Jundi, the concept of vertical farming is still in its infancy in the region. “Governments and the private sector need to invest heavily to accelerate learning and development in this sector,” he says.

Although these new-age farming initiatives will not change the UAE’s reliance on food imports drastically, it certainly represents a better way of growing produce and a future of continually increasing food supplies in ever more sophisticated manipulation of agro-ecosystems.

Why Hydroponics Are The Hottest Thing In Vertical Gardening

By Michelle Ullman

Why Hydroponics Are The Hottest Thing In Vertical Gardening

Some say that hydroponic gardening is the future of gardening and farming. Save space and increase your crop yield by learning how to build a hydroponic garden yourself.

Ditch the dirt and try hydroponic gardening, or the growing of plants without soil. There are two methods of hydroponic gardening: Either roots are submerged directly in nutrient-enriched water, or the plant is grown in a container filled with a soilless mixture of perlite, sand, and/or coconut fiber. This container is then submerged into or suspended above a water-filled reservoir. While just about any type of plant can be grown hydroponically, the technique is most often used for growing vegetables or herbs. Benefits of hydroponics include larger harvests, faster growth, and less trouble with pests, disease, or outdoor growing conditions.

If you’d like to try this soilless method of gardening, you can purchase one of the many hydroponic kits for home use or create one yourself. Here are the basics of hydroponic gardening.

Types of Hydroponic Water Systems

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There are three basic types of hydroponic grow systems. The simplest type of hydroponic garden is a wick system. In this very basic hydroponic water system, a wick connects the planting container and the water reservoir, providing a steady source of nutrient-rich water to the plants’ roots. This is an easy system to DIY but is only suitable for small plants such as microgreens or herbs.

Learn more about growing microgreens.

Flood and drain hydroponic systems require a submersible pump but are still fairly simple to create. The plant containers sit in a shallow tray or grow tube suspended over a reservoir filled with hydroponic nutrients. Periodically, the tray is flooded with water from the reservoir, thus allowing the plants to soak in nutrients through the drain holes in the bottoms of the containers. After a set period, the water drains back into the reservoir. This prevents root rot caused by excessive moisture. Usually, the system floods and drains two to four times each day.

In a water culture hydroponic system, the plants’ roots are continuously in the nutrient-rich water of the hydroponic tank. Planted containers float on a “raft” in the reservoir or are suspended directly overhead so the roots extend down into the water. A small bubbler—such as those used in fish tanks—aerates the water and prevents it from becoming stagnant. This is one of the easiest DIY hydroponic grow systems and works well for lettuce, herbs, and other lightweight crops.

Caring for Your Hydroponic Garden

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Once you’ve set up your hydroponic kit or built your own grow system, installed your lights, and planted your crops, it’s time for basic maintenance.

• Add hydroponic nutrients to the water reservoir, following the directions on your particular brand. There are many available in both liquid and powder form.

• Fill the water reservoir with filtered—not tap—water. Tap water often contains fluoride and other elements that might harm your plants.

• The ideal water temperature for your hydroponic garden is 65 to 75 degrees F, with a pH level between 5.7 and 6.3.

• Keep the water moving in the reservoir with a bubbler or pump to prevent stagnant water and bacterial growth.

• Empty, clean, and refill your hydroponic nutrient reservoir every two weeks.

Clean the entire hydroponic system after harvesting crops.

Choosing Your Crops for Hydroponic Gardening

If you’re a newbie to the world of hydroponic gardening or only have enough space for a very small system, it’s best to start with the plants that are easiest to grow in this method. As a general rule, plants with shallow root systems do very well in hydroponic grow systems. Consider a hydroponic herb garden of dill, basil, oregano, cilantro, and/or parsley. Leafy greens are also great choices: lettuce of all types, kale, chard, watercress, and spinach are all healthy, tasty, and easy to grow.

If you have a large growing area or want to experiment with slightly larger and more challenging crops, consider tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, celery, or bok choy.

Using Grow Lights

As hydroponic systems are usually indoors, one of the most basic requirements is light. For almost all hydroponic gardeners, grow lights are necessary for maintaining a healthy garden.

There are several different types of bulbs used as hydroponic grow lights, but for the beginner with a relatively small budget, fluorescent tubes are a great choice. For a large garden, you’ll want full-length fluorescent grow lights in the 6500K range. For smaller gardens, however, or if you aim to save money, compact fluorescent bulbs provide lots of light and are easy to use. You’ll need to direct the light towards your hydroponic seedlings with a plastic or metal grow light reflector or shield.

Serious hydroponic gardeners with large setups and big budgets typically choose LED grow lights or high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, but these are considerably more expensive than fluorescent bulbs.

As a general rule, your grow lights should be on for 15 to 20 hours each day.

Take A Look At America’s First Robotic Farm

Siobhan Walsh

December 30, 2018

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Source: Iron Ox

America’s first robotic farm claims to use less energy than other modern forms of farming. The hydroponics system uses 90% less water than traditional farming and this is while producing 30 times more crops/ac.

The farm, which is just 8,000ft² in size, is said to take a human-led, robotics first approach. This, it says, allows plants to be grown at their best from seed to harvest.

By using the hydroponics system, the farm provides the same products all year round; which are not affected by seasonality.

What is hydroponics?

Instead of soil, plants are grown using a mineral nutrient solution and misting methods. LED lights are often used as the light source.

However, hydroponic farms require a lot of labour, such as transferring individual plants at different growth stages.

To see the robots in action, take a look at the video below.

Quality Produce

Iron Ox – the company behind the robotic farm – states on its website that: “Quality shouldn’t be a luxury or compromise.”

The company claims that it is “using robotics and intelligence to grow better food for less. In a way that uses less; less of what we can’t get back or can’t afford to waste.”

The farm plans to provide a secure food supply and access to premium produce for everyone.

According to reports, the farm plans to grow 26,000 heads of lettuce, greens and herbs. Restaurants will be the first port of call for the produce, which is set to hit the market soon.

Hydroponics System Compared Side-By-Side

by Urban Leaf Team | Dec 3, 2018 | Getting Started, How to Keep Plants Alive |

Today we’re talking about an experiment which we ran to compare four of the most popular hydroponic techniques. Since these techniques are used in dozens of commercially available units, we decided to test them out for ourselves directly side-by-side to determine which is the most effective form of indoor gardening. If you’re new to hydroponics and want to learn a little bit more about the science behind the systems discussed here or how they work, check out our YouTube video which goes through each of them in detail.

THE EXPERIMENT

The test included five different systems: four hydroponics and one control sample. We ran this experiment for three months on a bench in a basement with grow lamps situated to shine directly onto the plants. Each of the five systems contained three different plants including: cherry tomatoes (a model for flowering fruity plants), lettuce (a model for leafy greens), and beets (to represent root crops). All of the containers were solid opaque plastic to keep the light out of the water reservoirs and reduce the amount of aloe growth.

Check out some time lapse videos on YouTube. This post will focus on the data of the plant sizes, fruit yield, quantity of water usage, and temperature of each of the different systems.

#1: The Drip System: First, we have a drip system. The drip system uses clay pebbles to anchor the plant and delivers the water through an HTPE gardening irrigation system with three emitters. This system delivers water three times per day for 15 minutes each time.

#2: The Deep-Water Culture (DWC): Next, is the Deep-Water Culture. In this trial, the water is aerated with bubbles delivered by an aquarium tube and air stone.

#3: Aeroponics: The third system contains one ultrasonic fogger. These foggers were purchased from a specialty supplier for around $30 each.

#4: The Kratky: The fourth set-up is the Kratky: basically just distilled water and nutrients.

#5: Control Sample: Lastly, basic soil. Miracle Grow potting mix was placed into three free-draining containers (aka water bottles with holes in them) to use as the control. This was watered by hand, but truthfully, some waterings were missed and it got too dry every once in awhile.

ISSUES WITH THE EXPERIMENT:

There were some limitations and problems which might skew the results, including:

(1) The plants in the DWC with the bubbles died early. This wasn’t intentional, but (as we learned) the system goes through water extremely rapidly.

(2) Some of the plants were not given enough time to reach their full potential. For example, the tomato plant in the drip system grew very large but was slower to flower. Unfortunately, the experiment ended before it was given enough time for all of its flowers to fully produce fruit.

(3) Finally, there was an element of human error. Life happens and occasionally the control system wasn’t watered as a result.

EXPERIMENT RESULTS

What did we learn from our experiment? The most consistent and comparable data ended up being for the tomato plants, so that is the data which will be compared here.

Plant weight: The drip system grew the biggest plant, by far, but was much slower to flower. Unfortunately, because it ran out of water the Deep-Water Culture tomato plant didn’t make it to the end.

Yield: The aeroponic fog-based system produced both the largest and greatest quantity of fruit. The most surprising result was that the Kratky was the second best in terms of fruit yield. Given the simplicity and low cost of a Kratky set-up, it punches well above its weight.

Temperature: (Remember that these were all sitting in the same room, side-by-side.) You’ll notice from the graph that the aeroponic system was very warm. This is due to the heat emitted by the electronic fogger. Meanwhile, the DWC system with the bubbler was by far the coolest because the constant evaporation of water forced by the system is an endothermic reaction which absorbs heat.

Water use: The major differences in these systems was how they related to water use. The DWC with the bubbler by far consumed the most water. The Kratky consumed the least because it’s a passive system which doesn’t really force the air out. With the aeroponics, which was quite close to the Kratky in water usage, the vaporized water is able to condense back into the system so it recirculates rather than constantly intaking new water.

WHICH SYSTEM WAS THE OVERALL BEST?

If overall cost and maintenance are not a constraint, you’re likely to get the best results from an aeroponic-based system. However, in terms of bang for your buck, ease of set-up and use, and the fact that there are no moving parts, the Krafty system is hard to beat.

Hopefully, this has been a useful overview. Don’t forget to head on over and check out our video explaining the science behind each of these four hydroponic systems.

To learn more about hydroponics, gardening, or growing your own food, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, sign up for future emails from Urban Leaf, or leave a question in the comments below.

"Every Time We Are Surprised By The Ideas Of Our Clients"

Avner Shohet, TAPkit:

Why would you build a greenhouse on a roof in the middle of the city, with all the compromises and investments you have to make? Why not get out of the city, only 10 or 20 kilometers, to have a simple greenhouse with a smaller investment, and it gives the same solution.”

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Indoor farming
With the TAP kit, Israeli company Teshuva Agricultural Projects Ltd. enables small farmers who cannot afford to invest one or two million dollars in a big greenhouse. They see themselves as a competitor of indoor farming. “We want to enable people to get into sophisticated farming without getting into big investments, so we are aiming to keep the price low”, says CEO Avner Shohet.

“Containers and other indoor farming ideas are nice, but we believe in a low cost greenhouse, just outside the city will be more efficient. Also, indoor farms like containers needs artificial light which costs energy. Our partner on lighting is the sun. It is providing us with very good conditions, not charging us at all. It seems the produce here is stronger and better than growing in a container, because of the natural light.”

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Rapid expansion
Avner shows the greenhouse of one of his clients in Israel, who is growing a mix of lettuce and herbs. “He first started selling to his neighbors, then came the restaurants. They like the fact that they know the grower of the food they serve. They visit him regularly. In this 500 m2 greenhouse he produces 150-200kg a week. He grows by demand, which is the dream of every farmer.”

Currently the grower is supplying to seven restaurants. He supplies them every week so gradually planning is needed. A new unit is planned. “Only two months after the greenhouse was put in production, he came to me saying his clients wanted more production. Some of them are actually willing to support his investment of the second unit, in order for them to secure his supply.”

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Climate system
To keep a constant climate in the greenhouse, a system of Roots is being used. “The temperature underground is stable and the average of summer and winter. They drill a hole in which they put two pipes, 6 meters deep. In summer we get cold, chilled water to cool down, and in winter it is a little bit warm. It is the perfect temperature year-round.” This climate system is not a must for every client of the TAP kit. “It is a valuable addition for places that have big difference between summer and winter. This month we started building two installations in South Korea. There we use the same system. They have even more extreme temperatures. In summer they reach 40 degrees Celsius, in winter below -15 degrees.”

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Profitable solution
In a unit of 500 m2 the production of lettuce is 12 tons a year, or in case of herbs, 6 tons a year. This grower is mixing crops, so his production will be 8 tons a year. His turnover should be around 100- 120,000 euros per year. The cost of the unit, including a small plant nursery and packing equipment, is around 55,000 euros. The preparations for the unit will add another 10,000 – 15,000 euros. The return on investment is 1.5 years. This makes it a profitable solution for growers.”

Three modules
Depending on the climate, TAP provides three different modules. The one that is being used in Israel is suitable for sub-tropical countries. There is also one for tropical areas that has more ventilation. For cold countries double plastic is being used. “This unit will cost 80,000 Euros, because it has a different structure. Every three or four years the plastic has to be replaced, which costs a few hundred Euros. This is still a small investment in comparison to containers with automation and artificial lighting.”

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Surprised by clients
When we started, we focused mainly on Africa and South America, thinking: ‘these people don’t have much money and with support of the World Bank they are able to grow in our self-assemble hydroponic greenhouse. But very soon we discovered our market was much bigger than that.

“Our first clients were from South Korea. There is one in the Philippines and 2 units are on the way to a resort in Mauritius. I think here in Israel we can sell a few dozen of them. There is also interest from USA, France, Ecuador, Mozambique and even from Gaza.” Most clients will have one or two TAP kits and they can supply the products to the supermarkets, restaurants and vegetable sellers in their neighborhood. “This way they really answer the need of local produce.” A small part of the greenhouse is usually for propagation.

“A client from Miami is to buy 3 to 5 units, which he aims lease to several people”, says Avner. “Another client from New York wants to put a TAP kit in a home for the  elderly. There will be food for the kitchen and occupation for the people living there. It’s not a hard job. People don’t have to bend down. These are uses that we have never thought of before. Every time we are surprised by the ideas of our clients.”

For more information:

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Teshuva Agricultural Projects
60 Nof Harim St., Olesh, 42855 Israel
+972-9-8940507
+972-50-7922579
+1-201-5803003
office@taprojects.com
www.taprojects.com

Publication date : 12/12/2018 
Author: Jobke den Hertog 
© FreshPlaza.com

US (MA): Lettuce Grower Decreases Crop Cycle by 30%

Fresh Roots Greenhouse is a hydroponic lettuce, herb and leafy greens grower based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. After 40 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Fresh Roots’ owner Bill Evans wanted to give back to his community during his retirement years. He found himself drawn to how cooperative-run greenhouses like Evergreen Cooperatives and WellSpring Cooperative created jobs for underserved members in addition to providing local produce, which inspired him to build Fresh Roots Greenhouse. Fresh Roots’ state-of-the-art Harnois greenhouse uses an AmHydro Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system to grow arugula, kale, basil, and several varieties of lettuce.

The potential to direct plant growth
Since Bill’s goal is to run his greenhouse year-round, he needed the most energy-efficient lighting system possible. His experiences growing with HPS and fluorescent lights at other facilities had been suboptimal. While the fixtures grew plants, Bill could tell that the plants were not growing as quickly and that the red varieties were not coloring up as expected. Bill felt that LEDs were the most practical financial choice – while LEDs cost a bit more up front, they would save him money on electricity and labor in the long run. After Bill learned about spectrum and LumiGrow through Melanie Yelton, Vice President of LumiGrow Research, at a hydroponic tomato growing course at the University of Arizona, he was eager to learn more and stayed in touch. He was impressed with LumiGrow Research’s depth of knowledge and hands-on approach to helping customers implement the latest lighting strategy research. As a result, LumiGrow was top of mind for Bill when he began to search for the right LED lighting system for Fresh Roots Greenhouse.

“I really believe in the promise of spectral science,” says Bill, “From the time I met Melanie [at University of Arizona] and learned about LED lighting’s potential to direct plant growth, I’ve wanted to work with LumiGrow.”

Extending photoperiod to maximize growth
Bill implemented LumiGrow fixtures across the Fresh Roots entire greenhouse. He uses them for all NFT stages of plant growth. Bill was eager to start growing and immediately began using the lights to extend his plants’ photoperiod to 21 hours.

“Keeping the light on for 21 hours keeps the plants awake,” explains Bill, “If they’re kept awake, we maximize their growth period.”

Fresh Roots lettuce varieties reach harvest size about 30% faster than their typical light exposure seen in soil farming. The seed manufacturer reports a typical harvest after 50-55 days, whereas the LumiGrow-lit lettuce is ready after about 35-40 days. Bill has had success growing a wide variety of lettuces, from green butterhead to green leaf to romaine. Depending on the variety, the finished lettuce heads weigh between 7-10 oz. Each variety grows a bit differently under the LumiGrow lights.

Bill has also successfully reduced his basil’s crop cycle by over 35-40%. The basil plants reach harvest size in 35-42 days – unlit greenhouse-grown basil can take up to 56-68 days as reported by the seed manufacturer.

Additional savings using smartPAR Light Sensors
Bill has moved past simple daylight extension and is using LumiGrow fixtures to automate his lighting strategy to improve production. Bill is using LumiGrow smartPAR Light Sensors to constantly monitor the light levels inside the greenhouse and adjust the fixture intensity to achieve a daily light integral (DLI) of 17 μmol·m−2·s−1 over the course of each 21-hour photoperiod. Once the target DLI is reached, the LumiGrow smartPAR Wireless Control System turns down the fixtures’ light intensity to minimize electricity use while keeping the plants awake for the full photoperiod. Bill is happy to see that his plants are thriving under the LumiGrow fixtures.

Bill was even happier to discover that in addition to consistently reaching his lighting goals, the smartPAR Light Sensors are maximizing his LumiGrow fixtures’ energy efficiency. After Fresh Roots’ smartPAR Light Sensors were installed, Bill noticed that his electricity bill was significantly lower than when he was simply turning the fixtures on at the end of the day to extend photoperiod. Bill can rest easy knowing that he can rely on his smart lighting to deliver the appropriate amount of light every day while saving him money each month.

Bill also appreciates the flexibility that LumiGrow adjustable spectrum offers. While Bill prefers to use his LumiGrow smartPAR Light Sensors to automate his greenhouse’s lighting, he likes that the LumiGrow smartPAR Wireless Control System also gives him the option to adjust each spectral channel to create custom spectral strategies. His LumiGrow fixtures’ versatility and user-friendly software make it simple to fine-tune his spectral programs as leafy greens research continues to develop. Bill likes that smartPAR enables him to easily create new lighting zones, which opens the possibility of growing new varieties of leafy greens under different ratios of light spectrum

In the meantime, Bill will continue to provide high-quality, locally-grown leafy greens to the local community in Massachusetts and share his passion for LumiGrow technology.

“I love sharing the many properties of these lights with people, particularly the science and engineering behind them,” says Bill, “Year-round supplemental lighting is not something a lot of greenhouses in this area have yet.”

For more information:
LumiGrow
800-514-0487
info@lumigrow.com
www.lumigrow.com

Growing Underground: The Hydroponic Farm Hidden 33 Metres Below London

By SOPHIA EPSTEIN

Thursday 13 April 2017

Forget everything you were taught in biology – plants don't need sunlight to grow. Growing Underground is a farm 33 metres below Clapham, south London, swapping sunlight for LEDs. "Over the past three to five years, LED development has reached the stage where we can grow without any natural light whatsoever," says Steven Dring, who founded the project with fellow Bristolian Richard Ballard. "You can even change the light spectrum to cater to the different plants that you're growing."

Growing Underground's focus is on the leafier vegetables, from microherbs to baby leaf salad. They grow quickly and need little space. "What's new about the latest lights is that you can stack them very close to the crops, 25cm away, if not closer," says Dring, "so you can layer products and lights on top of products and lights." This means that spaces such as car parks, warehouses and Growing Underground's second world war tunnels are all commercially viable spaces.

Presently, Dring and Ballard are using a 550-square-metre area fitted with hydroponics that will produce about 20,000kg of greens every year. As the business grows, so will the farm – they have 20,000 square metres to expand into. And their produce will be exclusively for those within the M25. "We'll be cutting it at four in the afternoon and people will be eating it at the next lunch time," he says. "And there's a desire to do this in other cities."

Moving production underground frees up more space on the surface for bulkier crops or livestock. "We have a growing population and a finite amount of land," says Dring. "We've got to find other spaces to grow in."

This article was originally published in March 2016.

IKEA and Tom Dixon Announce Urban Farming Collection

Gunseli Yalcinkaya | 29 November 2018  4 comments

IKEA has teamed up with British designer Tom Dixon to launch an urban farming project that encourages city-dwellers to grow food locally.

Dixon and the homeware brand are developing a series of gardening products and tools that can be used by individuals in cities to grow their own food and medicinal plants at home, available in IKEA stores globally in 2021.

Collaboration aims to encourage growing food at home

The project aims to motivate and enable a healthier and sustainable lifestyle for people in cities by making "homes the new farmland".

It also aims to build awareness of where food comes from and show the ways in which growing produce can be introduced into the home. "Food is a crucial part of everyday life, and IKEA wants to inspire and enable a healthier and more sustainable life," said IKEA.

Renders of the two planned levels at the Tom Dixon and IKEA RHS Chelsea Flower Show installation in May 2019

"If more greens were to be grown in homes, it would have a positive impact on the planet with fewer transports, lower water usage and less food waste."

Presentation at Chelsea Flower Show will demonstrate possibilities

An experimental model for growing plants in urban environments will be presented in May 2019 at the annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show in Chelsea in London.

It will feature a garden that is divided into two levels. The base garden will include a "horticultural laboratory" where hydroponic technology will be used to grow "hyper-natural" plants.

The raised level – described as a "botanical oasis" – will have a canopy-like ecosystem of trees and plants chosen for their medicinal, health and environmental properties.

The installation aims to explore the difference between natural and technology-driven approaches to farming. "Gardening is unique in its universal appeal and its transformational power," said Dixon.

"Although we are not traditional garden designers, we think we can demonstrate ways that anybody could make a small difference and broadcast not only the beauty but also the functional importance of horticulture through both traditional knowledge and the latest in growing innovation," he explained.

IKEA builds on previous urban gardening products

This is not the first time IKEA has branched into urban farming products. In 2016, the Swedish brand launched an indoor gardening product, intended to bring home hydroponics to a larger market.

"For IKEA, this collaboration is about challenging the way society looks at growing in general and addressing that it’s both possible and rewarding to have a place to grow your own plants in the city," said James Futcher, creative leader at IKEA Range and Supply.

"Food is key to humanity and design can support with better solutions. Because at the end of the day we need people to feel inspired to grow and harvest their own edibles within their homes and communities."

IKEA and Tom Dixon's previous project together was a bed that launched earlier this year with a distinctive furry cover and modular elements that allowed customers to modify the product for their own needs.

How-To: Microgreen Growing

November 15, 2018
Nick Greens

Hydroponics

Photo courtesy of CropKing

Are you interested in growing microgreens indoor year round, or for the winter months? This post will help you make the right decisions while growing healthy and nutritional microgreens. Microgreens are most commonly harvested from leafy greens such as kale, arugula, radish greens and herbs. The taste of microgreens depends on the original vegetable. Microgreens have a very strong and concentrated taste of the original vegetable. This means that cilantro microgreens will still taste of cilantro, but with a stronger taste and condensed format.

Here are your instructions:

1. Get a 10 x 20 tray or container. 10 x 20 trays are the best, but my personal favorite are those clear plastic salad containers with a lid. It’s a little harder to harvest, and you may not get ideal air flow, but the lids are nice for keeping the seeds moist while in the germination stage.

2. Get a growing medium such as bio strate, burlap or soil. Pre-moisten your growing medium by soaking in a 5 gallon bucket or a big bowl. Keep the medium soaking for a couple of hours.

3. Place the growing medium in the tray and make sure to flatten the medium with your hands.

4. Sprinkle seeds over the top of the medium. Don’t worry about spacing. You’ll be harvesting so soon that a nice little carpet is what you’re going for. For best results use a spice shaker to spread the seeds evenly.

5. Spray your seeds with a spray bottle or water lightly and then spray the inside of your humidity dome. Cover your tray with the humidity dome and place in a dark location. Covering the tray helps keeps in the moisture, and the darkness helps the seeds to germinate.

6. Remove cover after seeds sprout, which should take a few days. Remove the cover and place in front of a sunny window sill.

7. Carefully water your microgreens. The best option is to bottom water, which is setting your tray with drainage holes in a sink of water and letting the microgreens soak it up. If you top water, be careful not to flatten the tiny greens.

8. Cut your microgreens with a sharp knife, most are delicious after they develop their second set of leaves, and are about 2 inches tall.

9. Eat your microgreens! You can eat them on sandwiches, in stir fry, on pizza, in green smoothies, in salads, or as a garnish or other ingredient.

These are simple and easy instructions for growing microgreens year-round. Microgreens can be a refreshing addition to your food in winter months when fresh produce isn’t always as available as it might be in the summer. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out.