Simple Aeroponics System
Strings of red and blue LED lights dangle inside Freight Farms’ container at Stony Brook University, Long Island, New York.
The trend toward increasing population growth, coupled with less arable land, has increased global interest in hydroponics, as well as other indoor methods of delivering water to plants such as aeroponics and aquaponics. Aeroponics is a system of growing plants in an air / mist environment in which roots are misted with nutrient-rich water every few minutes. Medicinals made from plant roots, such as coneflowers( Echinacea spp.) are easily and more quickly grown in an aeroponic system, because unlike a soil-based plant, a portion of the root can be regularly harvested without destroying the plant. Aquaponic systems include fish, such as tilapia, whose waste fertilizes plants. In turn, the plants filter and clean the water.
SMALL FARM IN A BOX The World Bank estimates that we will need to produce at least 50 percent more food by 2050 to feed a projected population of more than 9.5 billion. Companies looking at future food needs have started manufacturing prefabricated modular systems or retrofitting used shipping containers with built-in hydroponic systems.
Freight Farms, based in Boston, Massachusetts, builds hydroponic growing systems inside 40 x 8 x 9.5-foot shipping containers. Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York, has one of these containers placed outside its Roth Quad cafeteria. The farm, known as the Leafy Green Machine, is run by students and all greens grown are served in the cafeteria.
Within the container, high efficiency red and blue LED light strips hang near the vertical growing towers. The dangling strips can be placed close to the plants because they do not cause leaf burn. All the interior conditions, such as lighting, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels, can be controlled remotely with a smartphone application. Perry Tucciarone, operations manager for Roth and overseer of the Freight Farm said,“ It runs on minimal electricity of about 160 kWh and uses under 10 gallons of water a day.” Each shipping container can hold up to 4,500 plants.
STILL A BALANCING ACT There are some limits to these newer systems. Growing grain crops, such as wheat, sorghum and corn, is not yet feasible with these types of hydroponic systems. Large commercial operations have very high startup costs. Extra training in engineering and computer control systems is also costly for growers. And since electricity is of utmost importance, a power failure without a back-up generator could quickly ruin crops.
Yet, there’ s huge potential for these modern systems to cut food waste, help drought-stricken areas( especially in Africa and the Middle East) and provide growing urban populations with pesticide-free, locally grown fresh produce all year round.
RESOURCES
Simply Hydroponic www. simplyhydro. com / whatis
USDA www. nal. usda. gov / afsic / hydroponics
The Water Network https:// thewaternetwork. com
Infinite Harvest www. infinite-harvest. com
Freight Farms www. freightfarms. com
Dency Kane is a garden photographer for books, magazines and advertising, as well as a volunteer Climate Reality Leader trained by former Vice President Al Gore. You can reach her at dencykane @ photographer. net or 631-423-3479.
15