Farmer Tech: Springtime Is Here : Vertical Farm

By Kate Gammon , published on April 20, 2009 at 1:30 PM
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It’s a skyscraper–no, it’s an orchard–no, wait, it’s both! The idea behind vertical farms is that by the year 2050, some 80% of human population will reside in urban centers, so the increased population will need an area of land greater than the size of Brazil just to feed them. Making farms that resemble high-rise buildings both brings vegetables closer to where people live and conserves land for growing crops. Indoor growing has other benefits: one acre indoors grows as much food as three to four acres outdoors and crops aren’t susceptible to common problems like droughts, floods, and pests. Plus, say proponents, growing food indoors is a necessity for future space exploration (we can’t go to Mars without knowing how to grow food in tiny spaces). And it’s not just vegetables–designers and scientists are finding way to blend chicken and fish farming in tiny spaces.

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Comments
sublifer 04/20/2009 10:39 PM
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Nifty stuff. Its nice to see how modern tech is making its way into the different fields such as agriculture. (no pun intended)

Anonymous 04/21/2009 10:06 PM
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14 : watermill is just a de-humidifier.. nothing special been around for YEARS... got one in my basement i use every spring to help dry up after rain & flood season. Can create probably a gallon of water...

hustler539 04/21/2009 11:02 PM
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LOL at the donkey wagon....The Plant sensor, however, seems like a good idea for beginner gardeners.

average joe 04/21/2009 11:13 PM
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I didn't understand the Donkey Wagon at all. Why can't you just use the solar panels to charge the cell phone. It's a wagon with a solar panel. Is it lighter than other wagons or anything? It looks like it has nice tires.

ProDigit80 04/22/2009 5:08 PM
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openair: Better use a white bedsheet!

ProDigit80 04/22/2009 5:18 PM
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Electricity storage: What if the tank explodes? About 30MWatts of compressed air can cause devastating destruction!

hellwig 04/30/2009 10:38 PM
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ProDigit80 :
Electricity storage: What if the tank explodes? About 30MWatts of compressed air can cause devastating destruction!


They aren't using a tank, they're using an underground aqueduct (or some other natural structure). Since it will be a few hundred (or thousand) feet below the surface, they'd have to build up some extreme pressure to do more than blow a vent hole (maybe Iowa will soon have its own Old Faithful?). I also don't think its going to be a high-pressure system, probably only a few PSI at best.

hellwig 04/30/2009 10:39 PM
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Anonymous :
14 : watermill is just a de-humidifier.. nothing special been around for YEARS... got one in my basement i use every spring to help dry up after rain & flood season. Can create probably a gallon of water...


Agreed. I was raised in the SW desert, so when I visited the east coast the concept of de-humidifying something was completely foerign to me, but yeah, they've been around forever.

Anonymous 05/18/2009 1:01 PM
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I am currently working on making a virtuel hortibot simulator, using MS Robotic Developer Studio :) Check it out if you like

www.youtube.com/CornIsKing

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