urban-gro

Microclimate and drainage solutions in vertical cultivation systems

Vertical farming, utilizing racking systems to increase available canopy area, has taken a foothold in the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry for both cannabis and food crops. While this unique solution to space constraints delivers numerous benefits, it also comes with unique issues. One…

VerticalFarmDaily.com

Vertically cultivated mushrooms are blossoming in Brussels’ cellars

“Once the summer break is over, our 10 growing rooms, consisting of 1000m2 in total, will be fully occupied and deliver 1000kg of mushrooms a month in total for 4000kg coffee grounds recycled,” says Julie Jacqmain, Production- and communication manager at Permafungi. “About four rooms are in use now, as…

Intelligent Growth Solutions

UK: New crop entrants reveal lots of potential in vertical farming

“What has been fantastic in the past few months is to work with our customers on nutrition and being able to broaden the range of crops we currently have,” said David Farquhar, CEO of Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) Limited, a Scotland-based vertical farming technique supplier. Produce R&D…

UK: Vertical farming system developed to meet growing demand

A vertical farming system is being developed by scientists at Nottingham Trent University in partnership with Henley Associates Ltd. Two vertical farming units will be created, one about the size of a shipping container and the other about half that size. Experts say that they will act as an initial…

Katie Thoresen / WXPR

US (WI): Man creates aquaponic farm by himself

Nestled in the forest off Highway 8 east of Laona sits Wild River Harvests farm. A newly built pole building and greenhouse catch your eye as you come up the driveway, but inside is not what you’d likely expect. “I think it looked like I was a mad scientist in the backyard building a rocket ship. They…

This "glass tree" vertical farm could solve urban food deserts

Creative agency Framlab is tackling the problem of 'urban food deserts' with their conceptual Glasir project. This group of modular vertical farms provides low-income neighborhoods with access to fresh produce. The greenhouse-like cubes were designed to be built anywhere in the city where there is room…

Iron Ox

Bill Gates' tech fund invests heavily in in autonomous growing company

Someone famous is knocking on the doors of autonomous growing. Hybrid robotic greenhouse company Iron Ox has closed a $53 million funding round, led by Bill Gates' tech fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures.  Artificial intellegenceIron Ox, which launched its farming system in 2018, grows produce in proprietary…

Illuminating Singapore’s journey to greater food security

Being a small city-state with limited resources, Singapore imports about 90% of its food. Such a high dependency, in a world where climate change and pandemic outbreaks could easily disrupt food supplies, could have massive ramifications on the country’s food security. To abate the reliance on food…

Vertical farming on the rise throughout Brazil

"Vertical farming companies have arisen in all of the main Brazilian metropolises," says Italo Guedes, a crop and soil scientist at Embrapa. Embrapa is the main agricultural research agency in Brazil, where Dr. Guedes has been researching mineral nutrition management for hydroponically grown vegetables,…

Canadian company provides high-tech growers with plant-based packaging

The North American provider of earth-friendly plant-based products, good Natured Products,  continues to grow its market traction with food producers who are taking a fresh approach to supplying plant-based, nutritional foods to communities across North America.  Heron Farms product in good natured® packaging (CNW…

Providing energy savings by matching light pulses to photosynthetic mechanisms

“Unlike other companies, Laava Tech works according to the light and dark phases of photosynthesis, which differs between plants and throughout the life cycle,” says Tatsiana Zaretskaya, CEO of Laava Tech, an Estonian provider of horticultural lighting solutions. Laava Tech offers complete horticultural…

Fertilizer calculator helps growers reduce environmental impact

On September 28th, 2021, the Innovation Award will be presented during the GreenTech fair at the RAI in Amsterdam. This is one of the leading horticultural fairs in the world. Biota Nutri is a Dutch company that develops and produces liquid organic fertilizers for growers worldwide. They are competing…

US: Lettuce fosters agriculture in Pulaski County

Pulaski County is a field of agricultural opportunity that is progressively changing toward diversified growth. The Pulaski County Community Development Commission has been working for the past several years to cultivate the county's potential by supporting farm diversification projects that are becoming…

Gardening passion drives man to leave job for vertical farming startup

In the past several years, Michael Hostad has gone from a gardening novice to a self-proclaimed "farming nerd." Since planting his first backyard salsa garden after landscapers installed a raised bed, Hostad has become somewhat of a tomato connoisseur — he grew 22 varieties last year and tests heirloom…

Growtainer grow pod at Riverview High School helps students learn life skills

When Riverview High School adopted a small hydroponics unit for inside a classroom, students were fascinated. So when the chance came in 2019 to apply for a USDA grant for $100,000 that would allow them to install a full hydroponic grow pod system right outside the school, district officials jumped at…

Modernization as a service, for new builds and retrofits alike

“We’re implementing solutions to make whole facilities smarter,” says Lisa Causarano, international account manager at Schneider Electric. As a global powerhouse in energy management and automation, Schneider's equipment is found throughout facilities around the world. However, the company began building…

Image credit: NASA

Space chilies are blooming marvellous

Over our heads, on the International Space Station, chili peppers are blooming and being hand-pollinated by astronauts. There are four pepper plants growing in the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). NASA astronaut Megan McArthur posted pictures of them starting to flower. Plant researchers at NASA’s Kennedy…

Eloise Bihar / University of Colorado

"Cheap sensors for smarter farmers" help farmers make better decisions

Many of the technologies showcased in this year's ARPA-E Summit were in the farming sector. Here are two that caught this writer's eyes. First up is a 3D-printed, biodegradable soil sensor that checks moisture and nitrogen levels. One of the benefits of using print electronics is being able to…

"Our foam substrate is competitive with cost savings"

"There is plenty of money available to invest in vertical farming at the moment, but once this has been done, the cultivation must also be profitable. At the moment, that is exactly where the problem lies. That is why we are currently looking at cost savings with growers who use Growfoam foam…

The challenge to change: the future of Asia’s fresh produce business

The fresh produce business is changing rapidly – not only in Asia but also worldwide – and the coronavirus outbreak has further accelerated the changes. On 28 September, Jan Doldersum, Chain and Retail Manager at Rijk Zwaan, will participate in a panel discussion with two other experts. They will talk…

GrowitGreens

Photo credit: Brick Street Farms

US: Urban farm community hub to kick off in October

This October, container farming manufacturer Brick Street Farms will break ground on its first large-scale, direct-to-consumer, urban farm community ‘hub’. This model aims to bypass traditional agriculture supply chains and distribution channels for a direct-to-consumer experiential retail model.…