In the city we have several multi-story car parks which possibly be used as vertical farms once they are no longer required for their intended purpose. If you could save a significant amount of the rain that falls on the roof & generate enough electricty (roof mounted wind turbines?) to provide light on the lower levels it might become a valuable source of food production right where it's needed most.
If the building already exists and has no other use then a project like this makes sense.
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THE Vertical Farming Thread (merged)
by pea-jay » Thu 07 Jul 2005, 03:57:47
Maybe if it is four stories or less.
Use the roof top for water collection, light intensive plants and solar tube intakes.
Use the third floor for cropping in raised beds. No artificial lights, just solar tubes, mirrors and windows.
Use the second floor for live stock (small game please, not too densely packed and mushroom cultivation.
Use the first floor for food processing, packaging and sale (front portion) and waste collection and recovery in the back.
If there is a subterranean level, use that for storage (cooler than upper floors).
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In this case I could buy it. Why? It is already constructed, light tubes not too expensive and not a lot of energy would be required for maintenance and upkeep.
Otherwise, the vertical farm is the stuff of our fusion* powered future.
*Assuming we actually master fusion.
Use the roof top for water collection, light intensive plants and solar tube intakes.
Use the third floor for cropping in raised beds. No artificial lights, just solar tubes, mirrors and windows.
Use the second floor for live stock (small game please, not too densely packed and mushroom cultivation.
Use the first floor for food processing, packaging and sale (front portion) and waste collection and recovery in the back.
If there is a subterranean level, use that for storage (cooler than upper floors).
------------------
In this case I could buy it. Why? It is already constructed, light tubes not too expensive and not a lot of energy would be required for maintenance and upkeep.
Otherwise, the vertical farm is the stuff of our fusion* powered future.
*Assuming we actually master fusion.
UNplanning the future...
http://unplanning.blogspot.com
http://unplanning.blogspot.com
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Re: Vertical Farming, the future for post-peak agriculture?
by omegagarden » Fri 28 Jul 2006, 21:02:08
this is what I call my middle of the road idea http://www.omegagarden.com/omega_galler ... usel1b.jpg
it is for suburbia and if you are downtown then you will need to stack it. This will make the vertical farm work
it is for suburbia and if you are downtown then you will need to stack it. This will make the vertical farm work
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by Pops » Sat 29 Jul 2006, 11:30:27
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lorenzo', 'A')nd this is already a reality. In Belgium and Holland, thousands of people grow certain plants hydroponically, with artificial light, in their appartment.
This is really funny; I could walk a quarter of a mile in any direction and see hempweed growing in seasonal creek beds without any human input whatsoever - actually in spite of any human attempt to get rid of it.
If you want automation, grow perennial plants adapted to your climate. Just goes to show how silly people are thinking they can do better than old Mother Nature.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bart', 'I')f we wanted to use less farmland, the first step would be to reduce the consumption of meat and junk food. To buy from local farmers rather from food processors.
Actually, one offshoot of increasing ethanol production driving up grain values is it increases feedlot costs and the final cost to the consumer – while also driving down feeder calf values. So it is possible that grass fed beef could become a more viable option – less input costs so a lower priced alternative to the consumer.
The upshot is that an increase in grass farming is much more sustainable that current practices – especially on a localized basis.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
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-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)
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Re: Vertical Farming, the future for post-peak agriculture?
by omegagarden » Sat 29 Jul 2006, 11:42:02
mother nature has nothing to do with people living stacked up on top of each other down town and there is not enough roof top space to grow so you need to have some alternatives. growing food that is consumed on the spot seems more natural in a way then shipping it 1500 miles before you go get it from the supermarket.
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Re: Vertical Farming, the future for post-peak agriculture?
by Pops » Sat 29 Jul 2006, 13:08:31
As Bart pointed out, most diets are based on a field crop requiring large acreage such as wheat/rice/beans – not on tomatoes and cucumbers.
Nothing wrong with growing salad locally - but why not in dirt, compost and sun? Seems a fairly simple, renewable system to me.
Nothing wrong with growing salad locally - but why not in dirt, compost and sun? Seems a fairly simple, renewable system to me.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)
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Re: Vertical Farming, the future for post-peak agriculture?
by Loki » Sat 29 Jul 2006, 13:54:44
I live in a relatively large metropolis (2 million and counting). It's truly astounding how much land we waste on lawns, flowers, useless shrubs, etc., not to mention the truly VAST amount of space wasted on roads, parking, bigbox stores, etc. Seems like we could use some of this land to grow food before we had to resort to something as complex as vertical farming.
Not to mention the fact that we are surrounded by prime farmland, much of which is devoted to useless crap like Christmas trees, landscaping plants, and grass seed. Lots of land is also devoted to forage crops. Meat production is extremely inefficient--if hard times hit and food supplies become problematic, meat will be one of the first things to go (unless the fedgov props it up with even more subsidies, which wouldn't surprise me).
Not to mention the fact that we are surrounded by prime farmland, much of which is devoted to useless crap like Christmas trees, landscaping plants, and grass seed. Lots of land is also devoted to forage crops. Meat production is extremely inefficient--if hard times hit and food supplies become problematic, meat will be one of the first things to go (unless the fedgov props it up with even more subsidies, which wouldn't surprise me).
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Re: Vertical Farming, the future for post-peak agriculture?
by Pops » Wed 02 Aug 2006, 13:22:38
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'L')ots of land is also devoted to forage crops. Meat production is extremely inefficient--
Actually, meat on grass is probably the most sustainable food crop – ruminants did quite well long before man discovered farming.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)
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Re: Vertical Farming, the future for post-peak agriculture?
by django » Wed 02 Aug 2006, 13:52:16
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'L')ots of land is also devoted to forage crops. Meat production is extremely inefficient--
Actually, meat on grass is probably the most sustainable food crop – ruminants did quite well long before man discovered farming.
This is true, mostly for areas with grassy hillsides (so Michael Pollan explains). But you cannot deny that much of today's meat production is highly inefficient and wasteful.
Most of the examples and some counter-points
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