ABOUT hydroponics
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops using soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimise plant growth with nutrients, lighting and pH. Vertical farming is perfect for high density living areas or to save space.
BENEFITS OF vertical FARMING
Learn more about VERTICAL GARDENS
Hydroponics is simply described as growing plants without soil. Hydroponics allows you to control more of the variables including pH levels, lighting and nutrients for optimal plant growth and produce yields. Water is the main method of delivering the nutrients to the plant’s roots, combined with growing media to help support the plant. Hydroponically grown plants dip their roots directly into nutrient-rich solutions, so plants get more of what they need much faster and easier. Hydroponic farming can be used in locations where soil conditions are too poor to support farming, or where space is limited. It can be done anytime and anywhere!
ABOUT vertical farming
GROWING MEDIA &
NUTRIENTS
The easiest way to encourage rapid root growth is by selecting a growing media that allows your plants to absorb as manny nutrients as possible (usually known as soil when referring to conventional grow methods), in this case hydroponics generally uses Coco coir, Perlite, Clay Balls or NFT (Nutrient Film Technique).
Coco Coir is much more aerated than normal soil, which means it doesn't hold as much water. This means you can feed the plants more frequently and increase nutrient delivery; which will result in faster overall plant growth. To learn more about Coco Coir visit our blog page.
benefits of
hydroponics
There are a number of benefits to Hydroponic farming including:
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Use less water - 90% more efficient use of water
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Increase produce with faster growth times
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No soil erosion
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No chemicals, weed or pesticides
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Grow all year round
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Increase nutritional value
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Decrease food miles
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Farms can exist in places where soil is not favourable for food production
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Less space - grow vertically
LIGHTING &
VENTILATION
Light or sunlight is detrimental to plant growth. One of the primary benefits to growing outdoors hydroponically is the free light you get from the sun. In more traditional indoor farming setups, there are a number of lighting types to explore.
There are three main types of lights that hydroponic gardeners use to grow their plants. These are Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL); High Intensity Discharge (HID), which includes both High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide (MH) bulbs; and Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Depeding on your set up we can help you choose the right ones!
A ventilation system is crucial to keep the CO2 content at optimal levels for the plants and produce to thrive.
growing
benefits
The benefits of Hydroponic farming is the ability to manage pH and nutrients to make sure plants are getting the exact nutrients they need.
The ability to grow indoors allows farmers to control temperatures and lighting schedules to improve plant production. Systems can be designed to make use of vertical space and increase planting density.
Hydroponics allow the ability to create farms in locations where soil conditions are too poor to support farming, or space is limited and a farm otherwise couldn’t exist.
SYSTEMS & PLUMBING
There are six types of hydroponic systems; Drip System, Ebb & Flow, N.F.T, Water Culture, Aeroponics, and Wick.
The plants roots need 3 things, water/moisture, nutrients, and oxygen. Each system varies in specifics of how they make water and air available to the plants root system. It's important to choose the right system for your plant and space.
Larger scale farms and set up may require pluming and water circulation systems, so depending on your farm this is also really important.
sustainable hydroponics
Our Melbourne-based team is driven to create a positive and lasting change through sustainable Hydroponics systems. We’d love for you to join us on our mission to feed mankind in a way that values our precious natural resources and protects our planet, so why not shop our range of hydroponic products or get in touch with us for more information on sustainable growing.
YEAR ROUND CROP
PRODUCTION
Vertical farming allows us to produce more crops from the same square footage of growing area. In fact, 1 acre of an indoor area offers equivalent production to at least 4-6 acres of outdoor capacity. The efficient use of vertical farming may perhaps play a significant role in providing fresh produce to growing population and urbanisation.
environmentally
friendly
As crops are produced in a well-controlled indoor environment without the use of chemical pesticides, vertical farming allows for pesticide-free and organic crops.
Indoor vertical farming can significantly lessen the amount of fossil fuels needed for farming equipment, and reduces occupational hazards associated with traditional farming. It also helps improve biodiversity as it does not disturb animals and trees or cause land and soil damage.
USE LESS
WATER
Vertical farming allows us to produce crops with 70-95 percent less water than required for normal cultivation and can be recycled. This means less waste, less usage and more food production.
reduce food
miles
When it comes to food production, the last-mile delivery is usually the most expensive part of the supply chain. And it’s not uncommon for crops to be shipped across continents and oceans.
Growing food closer to where the consumer lives is a massive vertical farming benefit as it can massively reduce transportation costs, CO2 emissions and reduce the need for refrigerated storage – making produce fresher and more profitable.
WEATHER CONDITIONS
Crops in a field can be adversely affected by natural calamities such as torrential rains, cyclones, flooding or severe droughts—events which are becoming increasingly common as a result of global warming. Indoor vertical farms are less likely to feel the brunt of the unfavourable weather, providing greater certainty of harvest output throughout the year.
BENEFITS ABOUT
VERTICAL FARMING
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Eliminates agricultural runoff
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No weather related crop failures
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Offers the possibility of sustainability for urban centres
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Adds energy back to the grid via methane generation
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Creates new urban employment opportunities
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Reduces the risk of infection from agents transmitted at the agricultural interface
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Returns farmland to nature, helping to restore ecosystem functions and services
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Controls vermin by using restaurant waste for methane generation
Learn more about Hydroponics
WHAT IS AUSTRALIAN STEM EDUCATION
STEM education is based on blending Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. This form of education and learninggives Australian students the opportunity to integrate subjects that are usually taught separately. This teaches students skills that are applicable to real-world problem solving. STEM ensures students develop skills such as dynamic thinking, problem solving and creativity in preparation for a tech driven era. Urban Green Farms are dedicated to providing educational access to Aquaponics and Hydroponics in a way that meets the needs of every Australian school and education facility. The application of Aquaponics and Hydroponics in Australian Schools means that students are met with innovative methods to explore STEM studies.
Why is Stem important to Australian Schools?
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics will continue to play a key role in the growth and stability of the Australian and global economy. The future of the planet will need to rely on innovation driven by STEM. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators to help solve problems.
Our team at Urban Green Farms are passionate about creating a solution to our soaring demand for food. As the human population grows, we will need to produce more food in the next 50 years than we have in the last 1500 years. More importantly, we need food production that is sustainable, efficient, chemical-free and grows quickly. Our Aquaponic and Hydroponic STEM learning programs give our future generations the knowledge and tools to create a healthy and sustainable food production system.
HOW IS STEM EDUCATION APPLIED TO HYDROPONICS?
Hydroponics is also a natural fit to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Hydroponics, a method of growing plants using nutrient-enriched water without soil, offers a gardening alternative that is not tied to external space and the growing season and can be conducted indoors year-round. Although there are many versions of hydroponics systems, most include a structure for holding the plants, a reservoir of water containing nutrients, a method for getting the water to the plants, and a light system. As such, students can be engaged in learning and applying concepts from chemistry, physics, and biology while conducting research investigations by changing variables (i.e., the time the lights are on) and observing the impact on plant growth.
A major advantage of classroom-based hydroponics in Australian Schools is that there are a wide variety of possible systems, and the systems can easily be adapted to fit the space, resources, and needs of specific settings. Our systems are designed as a result of meetings with teachers who wanted the systems to be (1) small, (2) easily moved, and (3) capable of fitting in the trunk of a car. With those design constraints in mind, we designed a set of hydroponic systems that teachers could use in their classrooms. Seeding the Future.
HOW IS STEM EDUCATION APPLIED TO AQUAPONICS?
Aquaponics is a natural fit for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classroom, providing hands-on, practical, and integrative learning opportunities for students (and teachers)! It’s no wonder so many Australian educators and teachers are looking for and finding great ways to integrate Aquaponics into their classrooms. Here in Melbourne, Australian we have worked to develop a curriculum that meets Accara Standards and beyond. We have also developed our Aquaponics curriculum to foster 21st-century learning skills, such as an interest in STEM, perseverance, critical thinking, peer-to-peer interaction, and peer-to-adult interaction. Students who receive a successful Aquaponics curriculum gain invaluable experience that will prepare them for the future in a way that traditional classroom curriculum does not.
Aquaponics presents a safe environment for continuous learning where students practice managing an ecosystem that is always changing. Practicing Aquaponics forces students to solve problems and make critical decisions that will result in consequences that will impact themselves and others. Students are able to address any failure and try again stimulating leadership and team skills development as well as perseverance. Students also are learning technical skills that will be relevant as the emerging aquaponics industry continues to be a critical solution to feeding a growing population globally. We have observed that growers are able to learn and practice business skills as well as feed their community with the healthiest of foods by selling their produce.
Because of the nature of Aquaponics being a living ecosystem, we have observed that nurturing a living ecosystem also simulates a therapeutic environment for growers of all learning styles as well as learning differences. When students of all ages grow their own food, it stimulates healthy eating habits which promotes the healing and prevention of the most common health ailments that plague our society.