Major steps towards better, sustainable and affordable food production free of environmental challenges have been taken, with the "world's first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale" opening in Richmond, VA. It's backed by an international team of scientists that see this new…
Wheat is an amazing “invention” because it is so calorie dense compared to other crops, I would imagine (just guessing, no expertise in the area) that plants that grow with less sun don’t get to be as calorie dense because they have lower input energy - and ultimately the conservation of mass/energy is a physical law.
Maybe I’m miles off with this guess - so don’t take it as fact.
I don’t necessarily view the limiting factor as being the ultimate nutrient density per unit UV light.
Some compounding factors if you’d like to think about this more: UV light is not a monolith and so if you’re using artificial light you may be able to select for plants that still have high calorie yields but can accept a lower wavelength of UV that would lower power costs.
The same goes for water costs and just the general suitability for these vertical towers as well as what fertilizers work best for them.
The amount of optimization is one of the reasons I’m not hopeful for this type of project. There’s a ton of variables, you’re essentially making an entirely new form of farming and it’s a harder version of it. Meaning that it won’t experience the explosion of industry around it probably.
Wheat is an amazing “invention” because it is so calorie dense compared to other crops, I would imagine (just guessing, no expertise in the area) that plants that grow with less sun don’t get to be as calorie dense because they have lower input energy - and ultimately the conservation of mass/energy is a physical law.
Maybe I’m miles off with this guess - so don’t take it as fact.
I don’t necessarily view the limiting factor as being the ultimate nutrient density per unit UV light.
Some compounding factors if you’d like to think about this more: UV light is not a monolith and so if you’re using artificial light you may be able to select for plants that still have high calorie yields but can accept a lower wavelength of UV that would lower power costs.
The same goes for water costs and just the general suitability for these vertical towers as well as what fertilizers work best for them.
The amount of optimization is one of the reasons I’m not hopeful for this type of project. There’s a ton of variables, you’re essentially making an entirely new form of farming and it’s a harder version of it. Meaning that it won’t experience the explosion of industry around it probably.