Your Urban Garden: Small-Scale Food Growing and Farming
According to the research that was released by the United Nations, it is anticipated that the population of the world will reach 9.7 billion people by the year 2050 alone.
This circumstance is anticipated to bring up a great deal of unfavourable outcomes. The contamination of the environment, the spread of illnesses, the lack of resources, and the nutritional status of the population are some of the anticipated outcomes.
Every day, we are losing land that could be used for agriculture as a result of urbanisation and industrial expansion. One of the most compelling evidences that the outcomes will not be very hopeful for humanity is the fact that this is the case.
A study that was carried out by the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures [2] found that over the course of the past four decades, the planet has experienced a loss of one-third of its land that is suitable for agricultural use.
Within the next four decades, we do not yet have a clear idea of how much we will lose.
One of the most significant difficulties that we are confronted with is the rising demand for food that is a consequence of a growing population and a diminishing amount of arable land.
In the present day, there are scientists who are of the opinion that vertical farming could be the solution to this problem.
Agricultural production that takes place on surfaces that are inclined vertically is referred to as vertical farming.
Instead of cultivating vegetables and other foods on a single level, such as in a field or greenhouse, this technology allows for the production of foods in layers that are stacked vertically. These layers are frequently integrated into other structures, such as a skyscraper, a shipping container, or a warehouse that has been reused.
In this contemporary concept, indoor farming practices are utilised, and the technology behind it is called Controlled Environment Agriculture.
Indoor production of food and medication is made feasible by the use of controls that are artificially imposed on temperature, light, humidity, and gases.
Vertical farming is comparable to greenhouses in many respects, since both utilise metal reflectors and artificial lighting to improve the natural sunlight that is available.
Increasing crop productivity while minimising the amount of area required is the major objective of vertical farming.
For a comprehensive understanding of how vertical farming operates, it is necessary to focus on the following four aspects: the physical layout, the lighting, the growth environment, and the sustainability elements.
In vertical farming, the primary objective is to increase the amount of food produced per square metre. To begin the process of accomplishing this objective, crops are initially planted in a tower living structure in stacked layers.
The second step in achieving the ideal degree of illumination in the space is to employ a blend of natural and artificial lighting that has been meticulously created. In order to improve the effectiveness of lighting, several technologies, such as slewing bearings, are utilised.
Instead of using soil, the third method is to use growing media such as hydroponics, aquaponics, or aeroponics.
Vertical farming tends to make extensive use of soilless medium such as peat-forming moss, coconut shells, and other similar materials.
Lastly, the vertical farming approach makes use of a variety of sustainable elements in order to compensate for the energy costs associated with farming.