Vertical Farming: One Tree with multiple Branches

Drive just outside any city, and before long, you will most likely find yourself in the midst of sprawling fields filled with a variety of different crops. These idealistic country settings are typically what come to mind when you think about farming. Now imagine a downtown skyscraper. On each floor are rooms filled with LED lights used to grow leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and even watermelons year round.

Sound like a scene out of a science fiction movie? This isn’t, it is today’s agriculture. It is Vertical Farming.

What is Vertical farming?

Vertical farming is the practice of growing produce in vertically stacked layers. In these types of farms, food is grown indoors, usually in buildings or skyscrapers. Most vertical farms use enclosed structures similar to greenhouses that stack vertically, either directly above each other or staggered for better natural light exposure. The modern ideas of vertical farming use indoor farming techniques where all environmental factors can be controlled. These facilities utilize artificial control of light, environmental control etc.

But why switching to this odd way of farming when we could beautifully grow our food on soil? What problems are these technologies trying to solve?

Feeding urban populations is especially challenging in a linear system. Farming is limited by the amount of space that there is for planting crops. The size of the field where the crops will be grown determines exactly how much you can grow. This can limit the overall output of a farm, making it difficult to expand and produce more food. Unfortunately, more than 80 percent of the world’s land that is suitable to grow those crops is already being used. That is precisely where vertical farming steps in.

Vertical farming since are done in indoors it also nullifies the chances of environmental damages like weather, pests and diseases. Software can ensure that all the plants get the same amount of light, water and nutrients. Proper managements mean that no herbicides or pesticides are required.

We also need to grow food as close as we can to the people who need it. Instead of transporting foods from every corner of the earth, we need to grow food directly in the cities and create more local economies based on necessity. Carbon emissions might be reduced with these practices.

Now if we say you can do farming without soil, sunlight even without water, well almost without water. Confusing enough? That is what vertical farming does.

Vertical farms come in different shapes and sizes. But all vertical farms use one of three soil-free systems for providing nutrients to plants — hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic.

Before we go down into these, let’s go down to our 3rd grade, how do plants grow?

Well by 3rd grade standard we know plants grow through a process called photosynthesis, in which they use sunlight and a chemical inside their leaves called chlorophyll to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. So where does ‘soil’ stand in the equation, probably nowhere. That concludes for the fact that our age old concept of proper soil is not actually about soil, it’s about the nutrients that are available in the soil, if we can give that to our plants then they can grow without soil.

This is what hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics is all about.

Hydroponics by definition is a method of growing plants in water based nutrient rich solution. The basic premise behind hydroponics is to allow the plant roots to come in direct contact with the nutrient solution, while also having access to oxygen. As a result, root systems are smaller and plant growth is more abundant. It uses 70% less water than open-field agriculture. The biggest advantage is that it can be stacked up anywhere and everywhere. One of the best practices of Urban Agriculture. In the world of rapid urbanization, hydroponic systems can be integrated into any space.

Aeroponics is another process to grow plants requiring minimal water. The plants’ roots are suspended in the air, and nutrients are sprayed directly to the root structures in a fine mist. This process uses 70% less water than hydroponics, saving even more water. This practice is best for arid areas where there is a huge scarcity of water. Desert areas of Africa, arid lands of Arizona and water scarred interlocked countries can benefit alot from practicing Aeroponics. In the future, when there is a scarcity of water, these practices will lead us to food security.

Now, where does the no sunlight part fit the bill?

A light-emitting diode (LED), which is a light source that is compact, energy-efficient, and can be designed to emit a particular wavelength, is used as an alternative source of sunlight.

But why designed to emit a particular wavelength?

Plants do not use the entire spectrum of light. Research has shown that plants mainly absorb only portions of the light spectrum. Chlorophyll absorbs peak wavelengths around 450 nanometers and 650 nanometers (blue and red color, respectively). LEDs can be designed to emit only these wavelengths, so giving plants only the light they need.

An Aquaponic system takes the hydroponic system one step further, combining plants and fish in the same ecosystem. Fish are grown in indoor ponds, producing nutrient-rich waste that is used as a feed source for the plants in the vertical farm. The plants, in turn, filter and purify the wastewater, which is recycled to the fish ponds. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrifying bacteria initially into nitrites and subsequently into nitrates that are utilized by the plants as nutrients. The water is then recirculated back to the system.

Had enough already? But we have more.

That day when you were thinking of putting a swing, and a few chairs along with some potted flowers on your rooftop, had you given a thought that your rooftop is more capable than that? Well if you haven’t then think about it now because green rooftop construction has become an indispensable part of vertical farming.

Green Roof constitutes a vegetated landscape built up from a series of layers that are installed on a roof surface as ‘loose laid’ or modular installed layer by layer on the roof or as prepared layers in trays. Rooftop farming takes urban farming to next level, along with delivering fresh food to the community it silently balances our daily life hustle with its calm and serenity. And what’s better than swinging amidst of fresh green plants?

Shipping-container vertical farms are a completely turnkey agricultural system without worries about the weather, pests, heating prices or water. They grow the equivalent of an acre of field grown crops in a 40-foot shipping container, normally in service carrying goods around the world. These self-contained units have computer controlled growth management systems that allow users to monitor all systems remotely from a smartphone or computer.

Farming enthusiasts say, “The problem is the solution.” How we grow, what we grow, and where we grow will be shaped by the innovators of today. Challenges are there and shall always remain but churning out a new thing is always worth a try. Food is what brings us together and the best way to celebrate it is by having it equally. We at Farmatronix believe in the saying ‘The best way to predict the future is to design it’. And we are committed to design it with you, come forward and let’s make this world a better place. A place where everyone is equally capable of celebrating food.