Indoor farming, could be a big thing in the future

[calumniate]

I think pretty much anything could improve the produce we get in Calgary

[The Fonz]

Originally Posted by #-3

All of that said I really don't see this being the future, there is too much free power and growing space outside. But it does highlight that there are opportunities for improvement for crop density with veggies in particular.

Agreed, on there being opportunities for veggies, as well as fruits, herbs, specialty crops, etc.

My post was in regards to cereal, pulse, and oil seeds though, the products that Monsanto and Viterra are primarily concerned with.

Originally Posted by #-3

Also currently farming is pretty much a series of small to medium business that have absolutely no negotiating power.

How much do you believe small to medium sized farms spend on seed, fertilizer, chemical, annually with their retailer(s)? How many dollars do you believe it requires to gain negotiating power?

I manage an inputs facility, and you're completely wrong in regards to negotiating power. Small to medium sized operations will spend anywhere from $100,000 - $1,500,000 on inputs (seed, chemical, fertilizer) alone, annually. They all have negotiating power.

Originally Posted by #-3

moving into urban, controlled environments could likely steer the industry towards larger conglomerates that could that a bite out of their suppliers margins.

Again, if we're talking specialty crops, and not cereals, pulses, or oil seeds, I can see it being possible one day.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by wireframe

I had a delicious squash growing in my basement a couple months ago. It was a pain to keep fertilizing it. I had to touch male and female flowers together or no squash would grow. I pulled the plant out eventually because it was too annoying to hump the flowers together.

#squashfluffer

[FlamesAddiction]

I'm growing a pineapple indoors right now just as an experiment. Someone told me that if you cut the top of the pineapple off and soak in water, that roots start coming out... and it's true. I can see little rootlets sprouting. This weekend I am going to plop it in some soil to see what happens. Probably throw some 6400k CFL lights on it until the weather is warm and I can put it outside.

[The Fonz]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I'm going a pineapple indoors right now just as an experiment. Someone told me that if you cut the top of the pineapple off and soak in water, that roots start coming out... and it's true. I can see little rootlets sprouting. This weekend I am going to plop in some soil to see what happens. Probably throw some 6400k CFL lights on it until the weather is warm and I can put it outside.

May want to leave it inside. I believe pineapples plants take up to 3 years before they actually produce other pineapples, so you if it's outside you could find yourself digging it up in the late summer and trying to put back into a pot.

[firebug]

Originally Posted by wireframe

I had a delicious squash growing in my basement a couple months ago. It was a pain to keep fertilizing it. I had to touch male and female flowers together or no squash would grow. I pulled the plant out eventually because it was too annoying to hump the flowers together.

You should start growing bees inside too!

[AcGold]

Micro greens (e.g. sprouts) are by far the easiest thing to grow inside. Get a little growing kit and you can have free veggies every day

[Azure]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Micro greens (e.g. sprouts) are by far the easiest thing to grow inside. Get a little growing kit and you can have free veggies every day

Yup. A wire frame rack from Costco plus lights and electrical supplies can be had for less than $1000 if you shop right.

LED technology will only get better so I'd imagine it is a heck of a lot cheaper now than it was 8 years ago when I did it.

Which begs the question, how long will it be until lots of homeowners grow their own stuff indoor? Lots rural dwellers do this already, but technology like this really opens it up for someone in an urban environment to do it as well.

[AcGold]

You can get a microgreens growing kit for $60. 1000 is too much.

[Azure]

I am talking about a bigger scale obviously. I suppose when I was involved, we did enough to eventually move everything into a average sized greenhouse.

What do you usually end up with in terms of food?

[jammies]

Originally Posted by Azure

Are you living in a box? Big business clearly owns Congress and is using them to serve their own interests when applicable. Why would big food be any different?

Well that's very specific. I stand corrected. So, if I understand you correctly, it goes like this:

Step 1. Big Farma (thanks, troutman)
....
Step 5. Chem-trails in the skies!!!!

[moncton golden flames]

Originally Posted by wireframe

I had a delicious squash growing in my basement a couple months ago. It was a pain to keep fertilizing it. I had to touch male and female flowers together or no squash would grow. I pulled the plant out eventually because it was too annoying to hump the flowers together.

try growing squash in a compost pile. squash, winter and summer varieties, are heavy feeders. the compost pile should be able to supply the nutrient you need without having to add chemical fertilizers, provided it is large enough.

you could also explore a closed loop aquaculture set up, where a fish (tilapia) based system could be your nutrient input, as well as a protein output.

[robbie111]

Originally Posted by moncton golden flames

try growing squash in a compost pile. squash, winter and summer varieties, are heavy feeders. the compost pile should be able to supply the nutrient you need without having to add chemical fertilizers, provided it is large enough.

you could also explore a closed loop aquaculture set up, where a fish (tilapia) based system could be your nutrient input, as well as a protein output.

I think the University of Lethbridge was doing the Tilapia and Cucumber closed loop years ago. Aquaponics. Here's a little article on the process.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/edm...tory/1.2425976

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by robbie111

I think the University of Lethbridge was doing the Tilapia and Cucumber closed loop years ago. Aquaponics. Here's a little article on the process.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/edm...tory/1.2425976

I did 2 co-op terms there when I went to ULeth. It was a really interesting place to work and the people who run it are the nicest people I have ever worked with.

It was grass carp and rainbow trout when I was there though.

[cracher]

Originally Posted by robbie111

I think the University of Lethbridge was doing the Tilapia and Cucumber closed loop years ago. Aquaponics. Here's a little article on the process.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/edm...tory/1.2425976

Pretty sure Dr. Tang Lee from the UofC started doing this almost a decade ago.

Such a clever idea to utilize the fish nitrogen cycle for the plants. I have been waiting for years for someone to develop a home closed-loop system so I can tap all 300 gals of fishtank in my basement to grow me some chives and parsley. EDIT: I should specify that I'm looking for one that looks good as my tanks are display tanks.

[blueski]

How do you guys deal with humidity and mold? Growing any substantial amounts indoors and this can really be a problem.

[To Be Quite Honest]

I love the option to actually vine ripen my vegetables and fruits. That's what I hate about produce today. It's not that it's GMO or organic, it's that it has little nutrients and taste due to being picked way too early.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

Agreed, on there being opportunities for veggies, as well as fruits, herbs, specialty crops, etc.

My post was in regards to cereal, pulse, and oil seeds though, the products that Monsanto and Viterra are primarily concerned with.



How much do you believe small to medium sized farms spend on seed, fertilizer, chemical, annually with their retailer(s)? How many dollars do you believe it requires to gain negotiating power?

I manage an inputs facility, and you're completely wrong in regards to negotiating power. Small to medium sized operations will spend anywhere from $100,000 - $1,500,000 on inputs (seed, chemical, fertilizer) alone, annually. They all have negotiating power.



Again, if we're talking specialty crops, and not cereals, pulses, or oil seeds, I can see it being possible one day.

$1.5 M is pretty marginal buying power, when there are thousands of customers available buying in the same volumes, there are only a few suppliers and there aren't good alternatives outside of that market.

I guess another good reason companies like Vitera would fight this is fear, when your on the top change is not a good thing.

But i still just can't see this, too much new overhead in the building that isn't there with bare land.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by #-3

$1.5 M is pretty marginal buying power, when there are thousands of customers available buying in the same volumes, there are only a few suppliers and there aren't good alternatives outside of that market.

I guess another good reason companies like Vitera would fight this is fear, when your on the top change is not a good thing.

But i still just can't see this, too much new overhead in the building that isn't there with bare land.

In general most small family owned farms are going away and being replaced by larger conglomerates who have more buying power. This might take a few more decades, but with the price of land being so high and commodity prices being so low, it is tough to make money when you farm 5,000-6,000 acres if you're not raising specialty crops.

I agree, $1.5 million is peanuts when you look at big operators. Especially in Alberta where some guys farm more than 100,000 acres, and you have numerous Hutterite colonies that farm 10,000 or more.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

I love the option to actually vine ripen my vegetables and fruits. That's what I hate about produce today. It's not that it's GMO or organic, it's that it has little nutrients and taste due to being picked way too early.

This I think is one of the things that could be revolutionary to the customer.

Especially if you live in what is effectively an island far in the north such as Finland, there's a big part of the year when getting really good vegetables is just not possible, at least not in any way that's ecologically or economically viable. I'm guessing many parts of Canada are also cold and remote enough that this is pretty much the case.

People like to eat healthy, but it's hard when the supermarket vegetables taste like nothing. If you could set up farms close to the customer base, you could sell them much better products with the same amount of waste as now, or even less.

These also look like something that are probably not terribly costly to pack up and move as property values fluctuate. A place like Detroit has tons of empty warehouses and other buildings. They could have a lot of indoor farms right in the city for a while, and maybe if things turn around some of those farms will just move a little bit further. You can't do stuff like that with regular farms.

You never know how this stuff works out in the end, but I see this as one of those things that could be a gamechanger.

Short of hurricanes and earthquakes, suddenly for example weather is not an issue, which by my logic should lead to much more steady production prices. Insurance costs should drop a lot I would imagine.

No worrying about things such as soil either. Oh, and no stupid hippie will come through the concrete wall to destroy your GM tomato crop. In fact, the whole GM food thing could see a huge boon. First off, many foods might need some modification to be fit for indoor farming. Second, a lot of regulation against GM foods is based on the risk that they might spread to the wild. In a sealed environment like an indoor farm, it's pretty easy for a company to say that no, this is not a thing anybody needs to worry about.