Future farm: a sunless, rainless room indoors

This is another example of "vertical farming".

This makes it possible to cut down trips between farms and where things are consumed. Under carefully controlled conditions, these things take on charactoristics of factories, with similar efficiency gains.

The outgrowth if this is that the reduction in water useage means that dry places can grow more crops and more diverse crops.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/...unless_farming

By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Arthur Max, Associated Press – Mon Apr 11, 9:05 am ET
DEN BOSCH, Netherlands – Farming is moving indoors, where the sun never shines, where rainfall is irrelevant and where the climate is always right.

The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with meticulously controlled light, temperature, humidity, air quality and nutrition. It could be in a New York high-rise, a Siberian bunker, or a sprawling complex in the Saudi desert.

Advocates say this, or something like it, may be an answer to the world's food problems.

"In order to keep a planet that's worth living on, we have to change our methods," says Gertjan Meeuws, of PlantLab, a private research company.

The world already is having trouble feeding itself. Half the people on Earth live in cities, and nearly half of those — about 3 billion — are hungry or malnourished. Food prices, currently soaring, are buffeted by droughts, floods and the cost of energy required to plant, fertilize, harvest and transport it.

And prices will only get more unstable. Climate change makes long-term crop planning uncertain. Farmers in many parts of the world already are draining available water resources to the last drop. And the world is getting more crowded: by mid-century, the global population will grow from 6.8 billion to 9 billion, the U.N. predicts.

To feed so many people may require expanding farmland at the expense of forests and wilderness, or finding ways to radically increase crop yields.

Meeuws and three other Dutch bioengineers have taken the concept of a greenhouse a step further, growing vegetables, herbs and house plants in enclosed and regulated environments where even natural light is excluded.

In their research station, strawberries, yellow peppers, basil and banana plants take on an eerie pink glow under red and blue bulbs of Light-Emitting Diodes, or LEDs. Water trickles into the pans when needed and all excess is recycled, and the temperature is kept constant. Lights go on and off, simulating day and night, but according to the rhythm of the plant — which may be better at shorter cycles than 24 hours — rather than the rotation of the Earth.

In a larger "climate chamber" a few miles away, a nursery is nurturing cuttings of fittonia, a colorful house plant, in two layers of 70 square meters (750 sq. feet) each. Blasts of mist keep the room humid, and the temperature is similar to the plants' native South America. After the cuttings take root — the most sensitive stage in the growing process — they are wheeled into a greenhouse and the chamber is again used for rooting. The process cuts the required time to grow a mature plant to six weeks from 12 or more.

The Dutch researchers say they plan to build a commercial-sized building in the Netherlands of 1,300 square meters (14,000 sq. feet), with four separate levels of vegetation by the end of this year. After that, they envision growing vegetables next to shopping malls, supermarkets or other food retailers.

Meeuws says a building of 100 sq meters (1,075 sq. feet) and 14 layers of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams (7 ounces) of fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea is not to grow foods that require much space, like corn or potatoes. "We are looking at the top of the pyramid where we have high value and low volume," he said.

Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful, says Meeuws. Plants need only specific wavelengths of light to grow, but in nature they must adapt to the full range of light as a matter of survival. When light and other natural elements are manipulated, the plants become more efficient, using less energy to grow.

"Nature is good, but too much nature is killing," said Meeuws, standing in a steaming cubicle amid racks of what he called "happy plants."

For more than a decade the four researchers have been tinkering with combinations of light, soil and temperature on a variety of plants, and now say their growth rate is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use no pesticides, and about 90 percent less water than outdoors agriculture. While LED bulbs are expensive, the cost is steadily dropping.

Olaf van Kooten, a professor of horticulture at Wageningen University who has observed the project but has no stake in it, says a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes grown in Israeli fields needs 60 liters (16 gallons) of water, while those grown in a Dutch greenhouse require one-quarter of that. "With this system it is possible in principle to produce a kilo of tomatoes with a little over one liter of water," he said.

The notion of multistory greenhouses has been around for a while. Dickson Despommier, a retired Columbia University professor of environmental health and author of the 2010 book "The Vertical Farm," began working on indoor farming as a classroom project in 1999, and the idea has spread to several startup projects across the U.S.

"Over the last five year urban farming has really gained traction," Despommier said in a telephone interview.

Despommier argues that city farming means producing food near the consumer, eliminating the need to transport it long distances at great costs of fuel and spoilage and with little dependency on the immediate climate.

The science behind LED lighting in agriculture "is quite rigorous and well known," he said, and the costs are dropping dramatically. The next development, organic light-emitting diodes or OLEDs, which can be packed onto thin film and wrapped around a plant, will be even more efficiently tuned to its needs.

One of the more dramatic applications of plant-growing chambers under LED lights was by NASA, which installed them in the space Shuttle and the space station Mir in the 1990s as part of its experiment with microgravity.

"This system is a first clear step that has to grow," Van Kooten says, but more research is needed and people need to get used to the idea of sunless, landless agriculture.

"But it's clear to me a system like this is necessary."

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

"Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful"

What risible bullshit. Probably a position paid for by dermatologists. Lack of sunlight (Vit D3) causes more cancer of all types than it prevents cases of melanoma.

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Originally Posted by CosmicCowboy

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

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:lmao

"But it's clear to me a system like this is necessary."

I figure this clown has stock in LED/OLED companies.

WTF is wrong with using free sunlight? Plants have evolved to use it. LEDs are better?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

"Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful"

What risible bullshit. Probably a position paid for by dermatologists. Lack of sunlight (Vit D3) causes more cancer of all types than it prevents cases of melanoma.

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He's probably just trying to expedite our species' evolutionary split into Morlocks and Eloi.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

"Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful"

What risible bullshit. Probably a position paid for by dermatologists. Lack of sunlight (Vit D3) causes more cancer of all types than it prevents cases of melanoma.

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Do you find it... risible when I say....

Biggus...

Dickus?

Grow plants indoors with artificial light. Then power the light bulbs with solar panels. Heck you could even collect rainwater off the roof of the building and use it on the plants underneath the roof. Seems like it would be a pretty green approach.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

"Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful"

What risible bullshit. Probably a position paid for by dermatologists. Lack of sunlight (Vit D3) causes more cancer of all types than it prevents cases of melanoma.

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Ever hear of a Vitamin D3 supplement? Try again.

Plants have evolved to respond to sunlight, not LED light. A very different spectrum.

Why make unnatural what occurs naturally?

Amazingly, I agree with Boutons on this one...this might be feasible in an area where space is at a premium, but for most of the US just regular greenhouses or in the ground planting makes more sense...

speaking of in the ground, my grapes are kicking some serious ass...

[IMG]http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2548/41111006.jpg Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/2...gielove006.jpg Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

Plants have evolved to respond to sunlight, not LED light. A very different spectrum.

Why make unnatural what occurs naturally?

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Yes, but the difference doesn't correspond to the absorption peaks of chlorophyll though. Hence, they grow in either environment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CosmicCowboy

Amazingly, I agree with Boutons on this one...this might be feasible in an area where space is at a premium, but for most of the US just regular greenhouses or in the ground planting makes more sense...

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Yes, this is a technology geared to areas which aren't self sufficient. This would be great for areas prone to droughts. The article mentioned growing a kilo of tomatoes with one liter of water. Impressive.

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Originally Posted by Agloco

Yes, but the difference doesn't correspond to the absorption peaks of chlorophyll though. Hence, they grow in either environment.



Yes, this is a technology geared to areas which aren't self sufficient. This would be great for areas prone to droughts. The article mentioned growing a kilo of tomatoes with one liter of water. Impressive.

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We are going to have to do something as billions of people start eating an occasional chicken or cow, when before they have subsisted on rice/beans.

Demand for grains on the part of cattlemen for feed will be directly competing with that of food for humans.

The thing is though, that the best arable farmland is generally already farmland.

Up until now, one can't just whip up "new" farmland.

I think the gentleman from the OP has a good point for these reasons.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CosmicCowboy

Amazingly, I agree with Boutons on this one...this might be feasible in an area where space is at a premium, but for most of the US just regular greenhouses or in the ground planting makes more sense...

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I do too. What amazes me is i think he is unwittingly repeating something i said a few times in these forums.

Supplements are good, but not the same as the metabolic action of the sunlight converting cholesterol to a form that the liver changes to Vitamin D. I have seen studies that show people who tan have less internal cancers.

Nice grapes cosmic cowboy. Growing them yourself or paying people to do it? My dream is to have a plot of productive farmland...

I used to live in La Provence in the south of France, I miss the beautiful vineyards.

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Originally Posted by Quasar

Nice grapes cosmic cowboy. Growing them yourself or paying people to do it? My dream is to have a plot of productive farmland...

I used to live in La Provence in the south of France, I miss the beautiful vineyards.

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Not sure what you mean about growing them myself...We have one employee that does general labor on the place but I pretty well take care of the grapes myself...assuming I make a crop this year I'm gonna be trying my hand at wine making...

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Originally Posted by CosmicCowboy

Not sure what you mean about growing them myself...We have one employee that does general labor on the place but I pretty well take care of the grapes myself...assuming I make a crop this year I'm gonna be trying my hand at wine making...

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That's exactly what I was asking, if you had any hand in the planting/cultivation or if it was totally outsourced. You must be living the dream, living in harmony with the land. What do you do for a living that you can live in a rural retreat? I mean, don't you need to go to the office or something similar? I intend to have a rural retreat but am stuck in my IT job in the CBD (I enjoy my job nevertheless)...

I heard picking the grapes is back-breaking work - in France, they pay students and also bring in cheap labour from North Africa for the harvest season.

Wow Cowboy, you have a lot of diverse interests... Weren't you the one with the rad BBQ setup too?

I work and live in the city (San Antonio) and the place where the grapes/garden is is about 45 minutes away south of town.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Quasar

Nice grapes cosmic cowboy. Growing them yourself or paying people to do it? My dream is to have a plot of productive farmland...

I used to live in La Provence in the south of France, I miss the beautiful vineyards.

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As do I. :depressed

Lets get one thing straight, sunlight is not magic. Its energy at certain wavelenghts and there is absolutely no reason that isn't something we can reproduce exactly as it occurs in nature if not now than in the future.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

Plants have evolved to respond to sunlight, not LED light. A very different spectrum.

Why make unnatural what occurs naturally?

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if there's a benefit from doing it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MannyIsGod

Lets get one thing straight, sunlight is not magic. Its energy at certain wavelenghts and there is absolutely no reason that isn't something we can reproduce exactly as it occurs in nature if not now than in the future.

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The point is, why go to the trouble and expense to artificially reproduce something that is free?

In order to double the amount of time you're able to grow things, for one. Also, when growing things you're limited to growing on one level - the ground. Being able to build a vertical farm would have a lot of benefits and the article lists them.

I'm not saying it needs to replace regular farming, but its got potential to help.

Holland is very far north (about same as Montreal), has very short summers, and is VERY densely populated. 2900 person per sq mile. Netherlands have 1000s of green houses and grow billions of flowers they ship around the world hourly.

What make sense for Holland makes very little sense for less populous countries farther south, even France, and esp not the USA.

Using LEDs as electrically powered articificial suns in USA? insane.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CosmicCowboy

The point is, why go to the trouble and expense to artificially reproduce something that is free?

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What if Yellowstone blew it's top? I could see this being applied to help with food shortages during natural disasters.

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

Using LEDs as electrically powered articificial suns in USA? insane.

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I didn't get that idea that this would be a mainstay for the US. More like a supplement to what's already being produced and a big help for drought stricken regions.

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Originally Posted by RandomGuy

Do you find it... risible when I say....

Biggus...

Dickus?

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Intercontinental buttkus..

:lmao

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Quasar

Nice grapes cosmic cowboy. Growing them yourself or paying people to do it? My dream is to have a plot of productive farmland...

I used to live in La Provence in the south of France, I miss the beautiful vineyards.

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Originally Posted by Agloco

As do I. :depressed

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If you're ever in Oregon, check out the countrysides around Dundee.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MannyIsGod

Lets get one thing straight, sunlight is not magic. Its energy at certain wavelenghts and there is absolutely no reason that isn't something we can reproduce exactly as it occurs in nature if not now than in the future.

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tell that to lamp mfrs.

Have to figure out to build sun-light-equivalent LEDs, then you have to produce Bs of them to radiate the light energy per unit area of the sun.

And then you have to cool these high-energy LEDs and produce the electricity to run them all.

And plants respond to the whole spectrum, not just the visible spectrum. LEDs gonna put out UVA, UVB, etc?

etc, etc, etc.

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Originally Posted by boutons_deux

And plants respond to the whole spectrum, not just the visible spectrum. LEDs gonna put out UVA, UVA, etc?

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Yes as a matter of fact:

http://www.s-et.com/?gclid=CLWCvOrMmagCFcxj2god7jykCQ

Those products get you all the way down to FUV, at about 200 nm.

I would venture to guess that full spectrum isn't as important as suggested. As long as we have spectra that activates all the chenical necessities in plants, I don't think it matters much.

Just an educated guess though. Can anyone show me wrong?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Agloco

Yes as a matter of fact:

http://www.s-et.com/?gclid=CLWCvOrMmagCFcxj2god7jykCQ

Those products get you all the way down to FUV, at about 200 nm.

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Those would make awesome replacements for lamps in the semiconductor industry, keeping deionized water clean.