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bitt
Raw Newbie
I’d be curious to know what you all thought of vertical farming. In a nutshell it is growing hydroponics in buildings in the cities and taking care of waste locally. I was listening to a radio program this morning that was about the rising cost of food, especially organic. sure I like the idea of our food being grown in the ground, but the cost of transportation has gotten ridiculous.
What do you think?
Comments
I’d like to see this happen. It would certainly bring down the price of organic foods and cut the need for fuel. Also, it’s really easy to use dilute seawater as a fertilizer for plants when grown hydroponically. That way food would also be more nutritious. Even organic is often grown in nutrient poor soils, and regular fertilizers don’t usually contain every mineral.
Natural sunlight would obviously be better though, but in this case I think the benefits far outweigh one drawback.
I thought hydroponics didn’t have seeds…. maybe I’m wrong.
But, they “feed” on water and a mineral solution… what is that made of?
I’ll check out the link… looks interesting.
I didn’t think that hydoponics could be considered “organic”, technically, but I think vertical farming is a fascinating and awesome thing and is definately in the future for the world. It should be at least as clean and healthy as organic food if done correctly.
I was just visiting that site yesterday, by the way:-)
Vertical farming concepts include plants grown in soil. One of the reasons given to support vertical farming is that food will be organic. I believe those statements are just to get the environmentally-minded on board. Don’t bet your inheritance on it. Some of the later publications discussed the need for continued fertilization and pesticides/herbicides. Vertical farming can only be big agribiz and the last thing they are concerned about is the quality of your food. Also, this kind of farming will put all family run farms and good land stewards out of busines.
I thought it was a fantastic idea when I first heard about it but I suspect it will actually be very harmful to the food supply and bad for the environment. If we can justify the need to eliminate 90%+ of the farm enviroment, what do you think we will do with that land?
I have been studying hydroponic gardening for the past week or so, and found something similar, but better… aquaponics. It is very similar, but you get to have pet fish too! You could integrate hydroponics with aquaponics and grow some incredible plants. Using an aquarium with fish, the water is recycled from the tank to the plants and back again. Everything is reused, and completely ORGANIC! No chemicals, or wondering if what you are spraying on your hydroponic plants is organic. http://www.gardengirltv.com/water.php#aqua Green Girl explains how to do this. And says it is ideal for Raw Foodists! You could set it up so easily in an apartment. I can’t wait to start my own garden!
There is also a website and a magazine devoted to aquaponics: http://www.aquaponics.com/ This site has hydroponic info as well. I have seen some incredible strawberries grown using hydroponics, in Ruskin, FL.
How wonderful it would be if all of us started our own little gardens. It would change our economy, and send a powerful political message to those governing. Not to mention, we’d be taking less trips to the grocery store, saving on gas and money. Raw Gardeners!
I’m thinking more on an individual scale though… keeping it personal and local!
I just bought an Easy Green sprouter and it is my hope with time I will have a vertical setup! Hydroponics can be organic, it all depends on what is used in the process, much the same as conventional farming in the ground! Unknown by most people, some of our foods are already being produced in this manner and have been for a number of years!
leaflowers! Thank you so much for that aquaponics link!!! I have never heard of that but I am going to do it! What an awesome idea!!! That is so cool! yea!
So, where do the plants get their nutrients from… if no chemicals are used (like with hydroponics). Fruits/Veggies have more nutrients when grown in rich soil… that’s where they get their nutrients. So, what about with hydroponics/aquaponics? Water alone can’t make them nutrient-rich – can it?
(I think germinating/sprouting is different… because you eat the seed while its young and nutrient dense.)
The cost is ridiculous and as is the transportation. My college uses over 50% of local grown foods in the caf. I’d like to start trying to do that when I’m home as well.
with aquaponics the plants get there nutrients from the fish poop
thanks nothernlights… I did figure that out. Which is better: fish poop or raw vegan compost? I guess both are just as good… (I don’t have a green thumb about these things, so I wouldn’t know.)
Kevin, How is your EasyGreen Sprouter working out? I just ordered mine today. Have you tried sunflower greens?
So far I’m loving it. It was a little overwhelming at first for some reason but I’m finally getting into a routine. I’m sprouting for a “Not Tuna, Tuna Salad” so I have alfalfa, sunflower and lentil sprouting at the moment. I haven’t tried any greens yet, just sprouts. But I AM thinking I may invest in a second, maybe even a third sprouter to get a mini farm going, lol. I really love the fresh sprouts and I’m looking forward to trying greens!