Urban Ag News Issue 9 | April 2015
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Taking a Lean approach to vertical farming
Dan Albert’s first exposure to vertical farming came in 2008 during a design competition for the U.S Green Building Council’s annual conference. “The architecture firm I was working for at the time in Seattle, Wash., sponsored a team of young designers to develop a conceptual architectural design that met the newly developed Living Building Challenge,” Albert said. “The concept of the competition was to design a carbon neutral building that was self-sufficient. The building wouldn’t consume any more energy or water that was found on the site and would achieve a high level of sustainability. During the development of this design the vertical farm idea really captivated my interest and became one of the main drivers for this conceptual building.”
Prevent tipburn on greenhouse lettuce
Tipburn is a physiological disorder of greenhouse-grown lettuce that can be a problem for growers who are trying to produce their crops in a short period of time. Tipburn can have a significant impact on the salability of a lettuce crop. The same disorder can manifest itself in tomato crops as blossom end rot.
Strawberries can be adapted to greenhouse production systems
Greenhouse growers looking to diversify their product mix with a fall to spring edible crop might want to consider strawberries. “There is still a pretty big hole in the strawberry supply chain for November, December and January,” said University of Arizona research specialist Mark Kroggel. “In Arizona, we can produce good quality strawberries in greenhouses from October through April. The best greenhouse strawberry yields occur during March and April.