Essay Example on Vertical Farming: Growing Produce in Stacked Layers

Vertical farming entails the practice of growing produce in vertically stacked layers (Benke, 2017). This type of farming can use soil, aeroponic or hydroponic methods of growing. Therefore it incorporates high-tech grow houses that inhabit urban area buildings. The growing of products is mainly grown in stacks where, in many instances, there is an absence of sunlight or even soil. This is usually done for local consumption. In vertical farming, climate control, artificial lighting, as well as hydroponics, is utilized (Benke, 2017). More often, efficient and safe means of recycling water wastes from sewage systems and organic wastes recycling is implemented in this case. The method is applicable in deserts and cities, mountainside towns where different types of fruits and vegetables by the use of skyscraper-like designs as well as precision methods of agriculture.

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As a result of the limited access of land for farming, there is a necessity for the sustenance of the tasks associated with farming to pave the way for adding to the food demands globally. Many cases press on the food processing as well as industry such as population growth and its related growing needs, reduced natural sources as a result of earth erosions, growing cities, contamination forms, biofuel advent, the restrictions which have been imposed on the techniques of food production affected by the rule providers as well as customers demanding better quality, less use of chemicals together with many other useful environmental attempts. Thus, this has resulted in more interest in the provision of healthy food and incorporating it in the sustainable projects of development. Vertical farming is known to combine both the building designs and farms all together in a high-rise.

There are various reasons as to why vertical farming is done. In approximation, in many years to come nearly most of the earth's population will be residing in the urban centres. Therefore applying the most conservative estimates to the current demographic trends, the population of the world is projected to increase by about three billion people. An expected 109 hectares of new land will be expected to develop enough nourishment to sustain them if conventional cultivating practices proceed as they are rehearsed today. At present, all through the world, over 80% of the land that is appropriate for bringing harvests is up in use. Generally, some 15% of that has been devastated by poor administration rehearses.

Vertical farming mainly uses a mix of artificial and natural light. It has been noted that lighting is the key issue in vertical farming. In the management of the line of production, whether the vertical farm is planned to be using only the artificial light or both natural and artificial light. In vertical farming, there are two main options of light available, i.e. the light-emitting diode (LED) or high-pressure sodium (HPS). The light intensity range required for enhancing the vegetation growth is mainly contingent on the setting and time, product, heat and also carbon dioxide of the air around plants. In vertical farming, the light required in the closed space for the growth of vegetation is about 18 hours per day. For the maximization of the time light enters, light shelves are used.

For the use of the natural light, the building design is such that it absorbs as much light as possible. The roof design can be made to get the maximum amount of light in all seasons is places faced with moderate whether. In vertical farming, any reduction in the density of stacking within the building is accompanied by increased building cubature. The vertical farming idea can be deployed to various places and types of weather with the divergent amounts of light. Since this idea is very adaptable, it, as a rule, prompts particular development plans and uses various thoughts in design. It too exploits various facade modules that coordinate thoughts that guide lighting. Unmistakably, staying sun powered boards over one another has not been proposed by anybody previously. Likewise, layers of plants can't be stacked over one another if there is definitely not a sensible swap for the light required. At the point when stacked over one another in any event, when the ranch has straightforward dividers and lets the most light in, there isn't sufficient light arriving at all layers, particularly those underneath. During the day, the measure of light entering numerous windows of a room may hurt our eyes; however, this sum isn't indeed, even a piece of what a plant needs to develop.

In vertical farming, there is also a high demand for artificial light, as described earlier. This can be achieved through the use of LEDs. The use of LEDs is chosen because of its higher projected lifespan and also low priced. Other means can aid in the provision of day extension (DE) or the night interruption (NI), but the LEDs are mainly used as a light source for the plants. In vertical farming, the use of LEDs as a source of light has some of the advantages which include; higher energy efficiency, long life, the capability of targeting particular wavelengths of light for the better management of the photoperiod (Al-Chalabi, 2015). Realization of this can be achieved by the use of LED lamps consisting of several diodes having a divergent color spectrum (Al-Chalabi, 2015). Another advantage offered by the LED in vertical farming is that they are involved in the regulation of the red color proportion and far-red in a bid to attain the best answers from the plants.

Vertical farms normally come in different forms and sizes, from the wall-mounted or two-level systems to larger warehouses with several stories tall. However, all the vertical farms are involved in the use of the three soil-free systems to avail nutrients to the plants? These systems include; aeroponic, hydroponic and aquaponic (Al-Chalabi, 2015). For the aeroponic, The National Aeronautical Space Administration is responsible for the development of the innovation. In several decades, NASA has tried to come up with the efficient ways of growing plants in spaces and hence termed this as aeroponic, which involved the growing of plants in mist/air environment with very little water and without soil. This kind of systems is by far the most efficient plant-growing system for vertical farming since it uses less water than even the most efficient hydroponic system (Daniel, 2014).

On the other hand, vertical hydroponic farming involves growing of plants in the solution of nutrients that are free of soil. The roots of the plants are submerged in the solution which is under frequent monitoring and also circulated to ensure the maintenance of correct chemical composition. Unlike in hydroponic, the aquaponic systems take the hydroponic system one step further, combining fish as well as plants in the same ecosystem (Kalantari, 2017). There is rearing of fish in indoor ponds producing wastes which are rich in nutrients that are applied as a feed source for plants in the vertical farm. The plants, on the other hand, are involved in purification and filtration of the wastewater which is then recycled to the fish ponds. Most of the commercial vertical farm systems focus on the production of only vegetables which are fast-growing and does not include components of aquaponics. This results in simplification of the production as well as economic issues and hence led to maximum efficiency (Kalantari, 2017). The building-based vertical farms are usually housed in abandoned buildings in various cities.

There are quite a number of social as well as environmental benefits associated with vertical farming. These benefits are; elimination of pesticides and herbicides, continuous crop production, protection from the weather-related crop production variation and Water conservation and recycling. Also, vertical farming is climate-friendly and also people-friendly. The developing controlled conditions in this type of farming permit a decrease or on the other hand, all-out deserting of the utilization of substance pesticides (Al-Kodmany, 2018). Some of the farming's activities use ladybugs and other organic controls when expected to tackle with any form of pest's infestation. This type of farming reserves water. This is because the techniques of hydroponic growing used in vertical farms use about 70% less water in comparison to normal agriculture (Despommier, 2009). Besides, the aquaponic techniques which incorporate plant's roots misting even use much less water. Since the crops are in vertical farming are grown under a controlled environment, they are safe for the extreme water occurrences such as droughts, floods and hails.

Besides, growing of the crops indoors eliminates the need for using farm implements like a tractor as well as other large farm equipment commonly used on the outdoor farms. This reduces the burning of fossil fuels. "According to Despommier, deploying vertical farms on a large scale could result in a significant reduction in air pollution and CO2 emissions" (Despommier, 2009). Additionally, conventional farming is one of the most hazardous activities in the U.S. Therefore some of the common risks avoided in vertical farming are accidents in the operation of large and dangerous equipment as well as exposure to poisonous chemicals.

Despite the above advantages of vertical farms, there are also some of the perceived limitations that are associated with vertical farming. These could include; energy use, high costs of land and building, a limited number of crop species and finally the need for proper pollination (Despommier, 2009). Even though the costs of transport may be much less than in the conventional agriculture, the consumption of energy for the artificial lighting and the control of the climate in the vertical farms can significantly add to the operation cost. Urban areas for vertical farming can be very Costly. Some current vertical homesteads are situated in surrendered stockrooms, neglected regions, or Superfund destinations, which can be increasingly conservative for development.

Conclusion

In conclusion, vertical farming in urban areas have been a new farming technique, but the approach's interests are gradually growing, and the number of vertical farms is expanding annually in many cities. There are other several variations of vertical farms being tested throughout the world and new technology as well as innovations are projected to increase the efficiency of energy and profit margins by the farms. Therefore, most of the vertical farms are likely to concentrate on short-rotation and high-return crops like green salads which are bought every time in many restaurants.

References

Despommier, D. (2009). The rise of vertical farms. Scientific American, 301(5), 80-87. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-rise-of-vertical-farms/Al-Chalabi, M. (2015). Vertical farming: Skyscraper sustainability?. Sustainable Cities and Society, 18, 74-77. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210670715000700

Kalantari, F., Mohd Tahir, O., Mahmoudi Lahijani, A., & Kalantari, S. (2017). A review of vertical farming technology: A guide for implementation of building integrated agriculture in cities. In Advanced Engineering Forum (Vol. 24, pp. 76-91). Trans Tech Publications. https://www.scientific.net/AEF.24.76

Al-Kodmany, K. (2018). The vertical farm: A review of developments and implications for the vertical city. Buildings, 8(2), 24. https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/2/24Benke, K., & Tomkins, B. (2017). Future food-production systems: vertical farming and controlled-environment agriculture. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 13(1), 13-26.

Daniel, P. (2014). Contribution of vertical farms to increase the overall energy efficiency of urban agglomerations. Journal of Power and Energy Engineer...