KTH Innovation Vertical Farm |
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You are viewing a modular vertical farm that is currently being used for research to improve the resource efficiency of vertical farming. In this system we will test the potential for employing growing media (i.e. different types of media used in place of soil) for hydroponic systems. These will be sourced from waste streams (e.g. urban residuals and other wastes).
Current System Configuration
Lighting
Philips Signify Lighting (All three levels)
Photoperiod- 16 Hours/day
Daily Light Integral (DLI)- 11.65 mol· m−2·d−1
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD): 200 micro mol m-2 s-1
Growing Media
Currently the system is using coconut coir (i.e. the shell, a by-product from coconut production). The top shelf is utilizing peat moss, a conventional growing media used in horticulture as a reference. In the coming months this will be changed to assess residual materials from urban environments as potential growing media. Planned substrates include spent mushroom substrate, brewing spent grains, biochar blends, paper, etc. used either in full or mixed with other substrates to ensure adequate growing conditions.
Fertilizers
Currently the system is using conventional fertilizers supplied by Plagron (Solution A and B). In the future, this will be changed to study if residual streams can be used for replacing all (or some) of the fertilization requirements. This can include fertilizers from waste water treatment, biofertilizers from anaerobic digestion plants, bokashi fertilizer liquid from food waste, urine derived fertilizers (e.g. struvite and nitrogen rich fertilizers) etc.
Planted Crops you are viewing
Level 1 -Alternating rows of Red Lettuce/Crisp Lettuce
Level 2 - Split, half Green Kale and Half Basil
Level 3 - Basil
About the Vertical Farming System
The vertical farming cabinet farm is a Vegger Flaxfarm 60. It is roughly 2 meters tall, 60 cm deep, and 130 cm wide. Each level contains 32 hydroponic pots for different crops. For more information about Vegger's vertical farming systems, please visit www.vegger.org
Current System Configuration
Lighting
Philips Signify Lighting (All three levels)
Photoperiod- 16 Hours/day
Daily Light Integral (DLI)- 11.65 mol· m−2·d−1
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD): 200 micro mol m-2 s-1
Growing Media
Currently the system is using coconut coir (i.e. the shell, a by-product from coconut production). The top shelf is utilizing peat moss, a conventional growing media used in horticulture as a reference. In the coming months this will be changed to assess residual materials from urban environments as potential growing media. Planned substrates include spent mushroom substrate, brewing spent grains, biochar blends, paper, etc. used either in full or mixed with other substrates to ensure adequate growing conditions.
Fertilizers
Currently the system is using conventional fertilizers supplied by Plagron (Solution A and B). In the future, this will be changed to study if residual streams can be used for replacing all (or some) of the fertilization requirements. This can include fertilizers from waste water treatment, biofertilizers from anaerobic digestion plants, bokashi fertilizer liquid from food waste, urine derived fertilizers (e.g. struvite and nitrogen rich fertilizers) etc.
Planted Crops you are viewing
Level 1 -Alternating rows of Red Lettuce/Crisp Lettuce
Level 2 - Split, half Green Kale and Half Basil
Level 3 - Basil
About the Vertical Farming System
The vertical farming cabinet farm is a Vegger Flaxfarm 60. It is roughly 2 meters tall, 60 cm deep, and 130 cm wide. Each level contains 32 hydroponic pots for different crops. For more information about Vegger's vertical farming systems, please visit www.vegger.org
Data Visualizations
Below we will add sensor, video, energy metering data from the farm for added transparency. Please be patient as we are developing the approach to include this info from the APIs of different sensor app/data.
Energy Metering Data
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CO2, Temperature, and Humidity |
Live Video/Pictures |
Further info about hydroponics
The vertical farming system shown is a hydroponic system, employing an ebb-flow design. Essentially, fertilizers and water are pumped to the top-level and are then brought back to the water tank below using gravity after passing each tray. For more information about vertical farming and hydroponics, please see an informational video:
https://youtu.be/RaDQq2fGY3M?si=IcyJ21KEtyaZWRFu
The vertical farming system shown is a hydroponic system, employing an ebb-flow design. Essentially, fertilizers and water are pumped to the top-level and are then brought back to the water tank below using gravity after passing each tray. For more information about vertical farming and hydroponics, please see an informational video:
https://youtu.be/RaDQq2fGY3M?si=IcyJ21KEtyaZWRFu