Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE => Topic started by: hjon71 on September 08, 2013, 01:58:12 am

Title: Vertical Farming
Post by: hjon71 on September 08, 2013, 01:58:12 am
After reading about hydroponics and aquaponics I stumbled onto vertical farming. Certainly an interesting concept that works but difficult/expensive to start. Until I found this:
 :)
 http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com/2013/08/grow-100-pounds-of-potatoes-in-4-square-feet.html?m=1 (http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com/2013/08/grow-100-pounds-of-potatoes-in-4-square-feet.html?m=1)

Does this qualify as vertical farming? Not technically,  but I like it.
Title: Re: Vertical Farming
Post by: BlueBee on September 08, 2013, 02:45:57 am
Nice idea.  It reminds me of those articles about growing potatoes in garbage bags and filling the bags up as the plants grow.  One of these days I am going to give it a try with spuds. 

There’s a guy around me that grows strawberries in hydroponic vertical planters.  A pretty cool setup from a technical perspective.  I just haven’t figured out how vertical make economic sense.  The current market cost of good farmland in my area is about $3500 a acre.  The hydroponic strawberry man told me he had 100K invested in his vertical operation.  The 100K he put into a vertical operation would buy 28 acres here.  You can grow on heck of a lot more berries on 28 flat acres than on 1 vertical acre. 
Title: Re: Vertical Farming
Post by: 10framer on December 09, 2013, 04:42:53 pm
i remember seeing something like this being done with used tires when i was a kid.
Title: Re: Vertical Farming
Post by: hjon71 on December 10, 2013, 03:23:19 pm
Did they keep adding tires like the tiers mentioned here? I have pretty well decided to try this next spring. I'll try to remember to update this as I go along.
Title: Re: Vertical Farming
Post by: edward on December 10, 2013, 03:48:01 pm
You can also grow things that are not hardy in your climate zone if you use raised beds that create a Micro climate and warm up earlyer in the season  :cindi:
Title: Re: Vertical Farming
Post by: GSF on December 11, 2013, 07:21:47 am
I remember seeing a yt video on a potato stack. It's a 4 sided tower with one side having removable boards. Same idea, put dirt in the bottom plant potatoes and as they grow add dirt and boards. When the harvest comes start with the top board. Remove it, brush the dirt out with your hand and harvest as you go. User friendly.

I built three stacks using field fence. (not user friendly) I plant sweet potatoes in them but I prefer the wooden tower (which I've yet to build).
Title: Re: Vertical Farming
Post by: 10framer on December 11, 2013, 12:23:19 pm
Did they keep adding tires like the tiers mentioned here? I have pretty well decided to try this next spring. I'll try to remember to update this as I go along.

it seems like they did.  i remember it being 4 or 5 tires tall when i saw it.  that was about 35 years ago and i just remember thinking it was pretty neat. seems like there may have been an article in mother earth news or some other magazine around the same time.  you might be able to google it and come up with something.