http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/26/8112889/vertical-farm-wyoming-hydroponics-grow-food
Vertical Harvest places plants on carousels that keep them moving the length of the greenhouse, giving them equal time in natural light, and also allowing workers to pick and transfer the crops. Using hydroponics, Vertical Harvest will be capable of producing over 37,000 pounds of greens, 4,400 pounds of herbs, and 44,000 pounds of tomatoes. Its founders say that Vertical Harvest's 30 foot by 150 foot plot of land offers the same growing areas as 23 acres of traditional farmland, and has a fraction of the environmental impact, using 90 percent less water and 100 percent fewer pesticides than traditional farming.
This project is a very important experiment. It may or may not turn out to be profitable. But, with drought going on in many parts of the country, new ways of growing produce with less water, fertilizers and other chemicals may be our only salvation. So, don’t be to quick to write this off. As far as heating this greenhouse is concerned, they will probably need to use some kind of gas heater. But the brick building makes and excellent tromb wall that absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night. So, it should be more efficient than a regular greenhouse. I hope they succeed.
I lived at the Scott Amundsen South Pole station in Antarctica for a summer/winter and another summer. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s a US research station that is located at the geographic south pole, atop a 2-mile thick sheet of ice. The average winter temps were around -90 F, with a -150 F windchill. The sun is up for 6 months of the year and gone for the other six months, separated by weeks of one long sunrise and one long sunset. The station is completely isolated for 9 months of the year due to temperatures, no flights in or out, no way to make fresh produce last for 9 months. So they have a hydroponic greenhouse. It’s relatively small in terms of space required but it was insane the volume of leafy greens, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, edible flowers and fresh herbs that it produced on an extremely limited water supply. To have a big, colorful salad four months into the dark, frozen winter, will make even anti-salad people reconsider their position.
Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2056017617/vertical-harvest-of-jh-a-growing-system-for-change?ref=video
Singapore
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/12/28/t-bg-vertical-farms.cnnmoney/index.html?iid=GM
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