EENADU

7 December 2014

GROWING VEGETABLES ON A STAND YOUTUBE - Excellent - Must See

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkr_sep8Y7I&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEOoLiHTfyk&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQMO3c1Vn2Q&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYTKgKhFuPM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvlfjNMJHGg&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXundZgfpfQ&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_vjfheStLM&feature=youtu.be

GROWING VEGETABLES IN CONTAINERS ON A

STAND
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244731624/Growingvegetables-in-containers-on-a-stand
NUTRITIONAL GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES FOR ALLInnovative System
Green Leafy Vegetables for All

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEbR9XIVtPc
Nutritious Green Vegetables For All
https://www.scribd.com/doc/241908298/NutritiousGreen-Leafy-Vegetables-for-All-an-Innovative system
One Can Grow Organic Vegetables on a Book Rack !
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244042169/One-Can-GrowOrganic-Vegetables-on-a-Book-Rack
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India

The above methods received International Acclaim:

from:
to:

date:

Dickson
Despommier <ddd1@columbia.edu>
Anumakonda Jagadeesh
<anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com>
Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 12:27 AM

subject:

Re: Vertical Farming & Sustainable

Development Projects

mailedby:

gmail.com

signedby:

gmail.com

Dear Anumakonda,

I would be delighted to explore ways we

could collaborate.
The best,
Dickson

INTERVIEW WITH DICKSON DESPOMMIER, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY
Are there vertical farms in practice
now, or are they all in the concept
/ design phase?

Image credit: Columbia

University

http://www.asla.org/contentdetail.aspx?id=22548

Dickson D. Despommier (born June 5, 1940) is an emeritus professor

of microbiologist and Public Health atColumbia University. From 19712009, he conducted research on intracellular parasitism and taught courses
on Parasitic Diseases, Medical Ecology and Ecology. In recent years,
Despommier has received considerable media coverage for his ideas
on vertical farming. He developed his concept of vertical farming over a 10
year period with graduate students in a medical ecology class beginning in
1999, with work continued by Ontarian eco-architects like Gordon
Graff from the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture.

Despommier is also co-host of three popular podcasts along with Vincent

Racaniello, namely TWIV (This Week in Virology), TWIP (This Week in
Parasitism) and Urban Agriculture.

Dickson D. Despommier

Dickson Despommier in the New York City

subway.
Born

June 5, 1940 (age 74)

New Orleans, Louisiana

Citizenship

American

Fields

parasitology
ecology

Institutions

Columbia University Department of

Environmental Health Sciences,
School of Public Health and
Department of Microbiology,
Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences

Alma mater

Columbia University, Medical

Parasitology

University of Notre Dame,

Microbiology
Thesis

The in vivo and in vitro analysis of

acquired resistance to Trichinella
spiralis infections in mice. (1967)

Known for

Vertical Farming
Medical Ecology of West Nile Virus
Urban Sustainable Agricultural
Initiatives
Emerging Infectious Disease
Ecology
The Trichinella Page
Medica Ecology
The Vertical Farm

Influenced

Rene Dubos, Miklos Muller, Vincent

Racaniello

Notable
awards

American Medical Student

Association National Teaching
Award 2003

WORLD PROPERTY JOURNAL

Commercial

Vertical Farming Touted as Answer to Air

Pollution and Food Shortages
Commercial News North America Commercial News Edition | By Alex Finkelstein |
October 23, 2012 8:30 AM ET

Twenty years ago, critics scoffed at the ideas

of cell phones and plasma-screen television but today they are common place around
the world. Like those innovations that spawned billion-dollar industries, proponents of
vertical farming today say their idea will do the same 50 years from now or sooner.
But critics, like those two decades ago, don't see that happening. Still, it is happening
already in several U.S. cities, Canada, Sweden, South Korea and shortly in Shanghai

and Singapore. Large populations are necessary for the vertical farming concept to
grow.
The vertical farming concept is simple: Instead of trucking food from farms into cities,
grow the food closer to the customer. That is done by constructing large vertical
greenhouses. The immediate impact, say pro-vertical farmers, will be the elimination of
truck fuel exhausts and easier access by customers to fresher food.
Additionally, vertical farming needs less ground area, less water consumption and won't
need soil at all.
By eliminating traditional farm properties, those sites are expected to be gobbled up real
estate developers for new residential, commercial or industrial communities. Or they
may even be turned into non-development usage such as public parks and natural
green zones. That would greatly help the environment, argue the pro-vertical farm
groups.
Anti-vertical farming sources quickly counter that constructing large greenhouses to
grow fresher food will be far more expensive than traditional farming costs. The
expense of artificial light and other special equipment to aid the indoor food growing
process will also make vertical farming non cost-effective, critics argue.
But the pro-vertical farming forces come right back and argue that new revenues from
indoor growing will lower greenhouse energy costs. They also note the greenhouses will
use waste from various sources, including heat from a nearby power plant and bio-gas
produced through converting the greenhouse's own organic garbage.
Although production from vertical farming to date is small, proponents point to Seattle,
Chicago, New Buffalo, MI, Ithaca, NY and other upstate New York locations and New
Jersey were vertical farming is under way. In Canada, Qualicum Beach, British
Columbia has a vertical farm.
In Sweden, what is believed to be the largest vertical farm in the world to date is under
construction in Linkoping. The 12-story building is called Plantagon. Developers plan to
lease non-food-growing space on the building's upper floors.

Columbia University microbiology professor Dickson Despommier is credited by many

as he father of the vertical farming concept. He is supposed to have developed the idea
with his students in 1999.
- See more at: http://www.worldpropertyjournal.com/north-america-commercialnews/vertical-farming-plantagon-omega-garden-inc-green-spirit-farms-urban-farmingcolumbia-university-microbiology-6202.php#sthash.yFgKSOoO.Aq5ePQX0.dpuf

Comments
Anumakonda Jagadeesh Top Commenter
Director at Nayudamma Centre for Development
Alternatives 284 followers
30 October 2014
In a bid to have vertical stand vegetable growing,I have
designed a simple,innovative,novel cost effective system
utilising local resources and resourcefulness.
When you supply plant nutrients at the roots they wont
go deep. I have designed a stand(sturdy,iron) and fitted
rings of about 1 foot diameter (3) in 3 layers. There is
enough space between the rings horizontally and spece
to grow plants vertically. The base has a strong round
stand for stability(Iron). Pots(Conical) are filled with soil
and animal dung and natural fertilizer. Vegetables seed
lings or seeds like tomato,Bhendi and others are raised in
the pots. There is a small hole at the bottom of the pots
to drain away excess water. The pots chosen are of tough
plastic for light weight,durability and elegance. The
plastic pots are covered with thin black canvas so that
due to sunlight absorption weeds wont grow and
evaporation water supplied is reduced. Moreover all the

nutrients in the container are taken by the plant.The

stand is painted with Redoxide to free it from rusting.
Since the stand is with in reach,watering is not a
problem.
One can use this system to grow vegetables on the roof
or in the backyard. Rural women can grow vegetables in
this way for markeing on a small scale locally. The units
are modular depending on the requirement of vegetables.
The whole unit costs about Rs 2500(about US$ 40)
including pots and the cost can be recovered in less than
a year.
Please see Photos:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244731624/Growingvegetables-in-containers-on-a-stand
NUTRITIONAL GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES FOR ALLInnovative System
Green Leafy Vegetables for All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEbR9XIVtPc
Nutritious Green Vegetables For All
https://www.scribd.com/doc/241908298/NutritiousGreen-Leafy-Vegetables-for-All-an-Innovative system
One Can Grow Organic Vegetables on a Book Rack !
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244042169/One-Can-GrowOrganic-Vegetables-on-a-Book-Rack
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India

Maddy's Ramblings
THOUGHTS,OPINIONS AND MUSINGS OF A RESTLESS NOMAD

10.21.2012

When Tomorrow Comes.

I was sitting with my cup of coffee, checking out the latest news on the
newspaper and thinking how long I would continue reading the newspaper.
The feel of the paper, the smell of ink and all of that is going away soon.
Newsweek just announced that their December issue is going to be its last
on print. Reading the WSJ, I am wondering if that fine paper too will take
the same route. Well, I for one would be sad about it, for there is nothing
like stretching back and unraveling the big and wide paper, listening to the
crackle and scanning back and forth, top to bottom, side to side. Whatever
said and done, you can never get that right on a 10 or 12 inch screen, e-ink
or not, even for a tech savvy guy like me. But then you cannot question
economics, profit and loss and such things, for they drive decisions, not
some longing readers mindset

Before the reader wonders what all this has got to do with the subject line, I
better get to the topic. It did have something to do with the first paragraph,
for I read about these astonishing advances from the very paper I talked
about, the Wall Street Journal, and it set my mind in motion.
I come from a family of farmers, though on my fathers side, there were a
few connections to the ancient rulers of Malabar. But at Pallavur, like the
rest of the people of the village, we are a farming family, an activity that my
brother takes care of these days. Each time I go on vacation, he tells me
about some of the new things that have happened and I end up thinking
wistfully about days long gone, the days of my childhood, and all those
fascinating vacation days spent at my mothers Tharavad, the harvest
festivals, the seeding period, the monsoons, the implements of the farm, the
farm animals, the smells, sounds and sights of the village. The sound of

vehicles, the gasoline fumes, the glitz and glamor of a city, the steel and
glass on the buildings, the many conveniences, they are all nice, but you
know how it is, your mind takes you back to your roots, every once in a
whileand you wonder.
I think back and see all those days vividly in my mind, of the days when we
would wake up early on Vishu day and go to the fields for the festivities,
when the gods of prosperity are addressed. I had written about this
earlier. This was the day the child of the house always looked forward to, for
it was the only successful day in a monetary sort of way, the only time
money was given to the children in older days, days when terms like pocket
money were not in vogue in Kerala. So when your pocket bulged with coins
by the end of the day though not liberal in a value sense, coming from
various uncles, aunts and elders of the family, the child had a beaming smile
on your face for the next few days. The following days were spent in
animated discussions with cousins as to who got how much and from whom
and what was to be done with all the money. But then Vishu was more than
the kainettam. It started early that morning and had so much going on for
the rest of the day. Starting with the Vishu Kani, then the chal pooja at the
Chira, the fireworks, the sumptuous lunch followed by all kinds of
happenings at home and the temple, the day was a joy for any Malayali,
though it differed a bit from location to location..

In Palghat, when you visit places like Pallavur, even today, you can see age
old practices of farming, where seeding is done by hand, and sometimes
even harvesting and threshing is still done by hand in some homesteads.

These days some amount of modernization has taken place in bigger farms,
tractors have given way to harvesters and big tilling machines that come
from nearby Tamil Nadu, and these things are done in a jiffy. The land that
was tilled by bullocks and what took many days is now done by the Tamilian
and his big machine in a day or two. Harvesting that took an overseer like
our Keshavan Nair and Eacharan, supervising many hunched women with
straw hats, who laboriously worked in the fields, with their ari-vaal or the
curved rice stalk cutting knife. Finally the paddy was brought to the cement
para (a concreted area near the granary for this very purpose) and threshed
to separate the stalk from the seed.
Well, as you can imagine, things are slowly changing out there too, and with
higher salaries for factory work, better education and the lure of office jobs,
you will not have farm hands anymore. Machines will take over and soon the
situation will be akin to that of Punjab where the farming will be highly
mechanized (out there the water tables are dwindling fast but we in Kerala
may be saved by our great monsoons). Nevertheless who will continue with
farming, especially when produce prices are regulated and margins are
wafer thin? Perhaps it is time to farm exotic stuff or start organic farming,
which is more profitable. My brother tries his hand at some of these new
ideas at times and complains a lot when they do not find any support among
the traditional lot out there. Sometimes he tries new crops like Chinese
potatoes (my favorite Koorka) and comes up with bumper produce, with
great taste even appreciated by the likes of our Koorka eating ex-chief
minister Achuettan.

In Sweden, and in many other countries they have gone to other extremes.
The old methods are fast changing to new ones. The logic is that when
production has to meet demands, that too specific demands from far
separated places, farming becomes somewhat complex and disconnected
from nature. You see, nature determines what crop is produced when, in
traditional farming. As an example, what if you wanted to produce
something removed from nature, for example, rice in December, due to an
increased rice demand predicted in winter? Then you have to reproduce
nature, correct? And how would you do it? That was roughly the concept
behind what I was reading about in the newspaper. No, it is not about
making genetic changes to seeds or organic farming, which again is an
interesting topic, but something else entirely. It is not about greenhouses,
but connected to a massive greenhouse concept. So lets take a look at what
is going on. Let me give my history mind and history cells and history genes
some rest and go activate my farming genes now
And thus we come to the topic at hand, which is what they call vertical
farmsand a time when the future of agriculture as WSJ puts it, is up, and
up, not flat and flat. Can you imagine a situation when you grow crops in
vertical multi storied high rise buildings in the middle of other buildings? A
time, when you look out of your apartment window and see another massive
glass and steel building, not full of people but full of plants? That is how it
could be, I have no doubts about it, for sooner or later, land will not be
available horizontally, and so man will be forced to think vertically!!
The complainers complain about the rains, they complain about all the
effluents that are going into the soil; they complain of development and
human greed, they complain of our complete lack of environment
friendliness. What if you are able to create a situation where you isolate
farming from all those environmental issues? Will your food be cleaner,
untainted but perhaps not possessing just the right taste? Is it but a wasted
thought?

To start with, it a new idea? As the economist

article reminds us, perhaps not Do you remember something from our
ancient wonders, something that people still do not have a good idea about?
Do you remember the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built around
600BC? Quoting the Wiki entry - Philo narrates - "The Hanging Gardens [is
so-called because it] has plants cultivated at a height above ground level,
and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in
the earth. This is the technique of its construction. The whole mass is
supported on stone columns, so that the entire underlying space is occupied
by carved column bases. The columns carry beams set at very narrow
intervals. The beams are palm trunks, for this type of wood unlike all
others does not rot and, when it is damp and subjected to heavy pressure,
it curves upwards. Moreover it does itself give nourishment to the root
branches and fibres, since it admits extraneous matter into its folds and
crevices.. Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow partly
in a straight line down sloping channels, and are partly forced upwards
through bends and spirals to gush out higher up, being impelled through the
twists of these devices by mechanical forces. So, brought together in
frequent and plentiful outlets at a high level, these waters irrigate the whole
garden, saturating the deep roots of the plants and keeping the whole area
of cultivation continually moist. Hence the grass is permanently green, and
the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches, and increasing
in size and succulence with the constant humidity. For the root [system] is
kept saturated and sucks up the all-pervading supply of water, wandering in
interlaced channels beneath the ground, and securely maintaining the wellestablished and excellent quality of trees. This is a work of art of royal
luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is
suspended above the heads of the spectators.
Complainers would now say, well, scientists said the same thing when you

started growing chicken and cows indoor in environments they were not
supposed to be in, in overcrowded farms set up only for human consumption
where the result was hormone enhanced milk or eggs or meat with huge
amount of antibiotics and other chemicals in them. Was that done wrongly
or was it greed?

My uncle, a great student of history (MA history), and a

student of law, left all that and a good job, to come back the village to
manage our farm lands many a moon ago. The dear old man is no longer
alive, but still prods a nerve in our minds, for he was the person who steered
the tharavad along for a long time, with his gentle, but firm and new ideas,
though rooted in tradition. At that time we did not quite understand, but
thinking back, he was a one great guy. He would have done well in the
corporate world, though I am happy he did not. Sometimes I think in the
same way, when I am not happy with the terrible ways of the corporate
world I am in and long to go back to the simple life at Pallavur, but cannot.
Would these vertical farms produce food which would carry the same
problems as meat and eggs and milk? Lets take a look at this revolutionary
concept sooner than later, for it will not be too long in our lifetimes that we
will see this germ of an idea taking root and spreading. Spread it must, for
man is producing and reproducing large numbers who will need even more
space to live and compete with space needed by the very farms that have to
feed them. Greed will displace these farm lands as we see on a daily basis,
and so where would you go for food? Where would you grow food? This
vertical farm concept has to be a way, perhaps the only way.

Can you imagine multi storied buildings where these plants travel in tracks
from the top of the building gradually to the bottom, tracking the sun? Well,
this is how they are trying it out in Sweden and Canada; and there are quite
a few smaller vertical farms in USA, and other countries. Can you imagine
vegetables grown on floating rafts in a meat packing plant in Chicago where
the waste from the fish tanks enriches the plants? Would you believe it if I
told you that there are a number of farms in the USA where plants actually
hang in air and the roots are sprayed with nutrients? Well I guess that is the
future of farming, not like the farms of Pallavur that I remembered from my
younger days.

If these compact farms are right in the middle of a metropolis, do you need
those huge trucks to bring the food from farms many a hundred or thousand
miles away? Perhaps not! The supporters cite many other reasons to adopt
these new ideas, explaining that this can help combat climate change, that
this can help reduce the use of chemicals and pesticides. They state that
prices can be maintained, is greener than traditional farming and so on. And
overall, it provides food security and less dependence on others, for any
country.
And that gets me thinking of the bullock cart, the one I wrote about some

years ago There was a time when we had a bullock cart at our maternal
home in Pallavur. I remember the chap who drove the cart, Eaachran, who
was also our supervisor in the fields (I guess only trustworthy positions got
the exalted cart driver status). The cart was not used very much though. In
our times, it was parked in the shed (yes, it had its own garage) and once a
week, our man used to get the two bulls yoked up in front and take the cart
to get stocks from the nearby Alathur market. The cart would come back
late at night, loaded with sacks of cattle feed, vegetables, oil tins, fertilizer
and provisions. The cattle knew the route back and forth; Eaacharan was
normally asleep at the wheels (a few bottles of toddy maybe?) on the way
back, but no problems.
But is that right? Can you really grow basmati or koorka in a vertical farm? I
am not sure, but there is no reason why they cannot be, what I am not sure
is if the taste will change, for taste is determined by the soil, by the local
methods and so on, and not in any way enhanced by an enclosed
atmosphere. Perhaps you can grow technically perfect vegetables, maybe
not the tastiest. To get the right tastes, you do make hybrid versions or
indulge in genetic modifications, but are they right? On the other hand, will
the citizens of the future have a real choice when it comes to taste? Perhaps
not! Just like you ruminate about the past, when your grandmother used to
hand grind the perfect chutney, and you complain about the blander version
coming out of your grinderthese things will happen, while man will adopt,
and as the memories fade, the tastes will change. As another writer once
wrote, huge companies like McCormick will decide the tastes of the future
food.

Look at a typical example - my second son, always states that his favorite is
the chicken tikka masala which a connoisseur of Indian food will scoff at, as
he may put a lucknowi chicken dish at the top, but for my son, the CTM is
the best because he has been eating it all his life, while the other dishes are
mainly pictures and words in articles or found only in hotels that he would
not normally go to or are many a thousand miles away.

Back to the vertical farm, how do they grow the plants? One of the concepts
employed in a vertical farm is hydroponics. Economist mag states There are
a number of ways to do it, but essentially hydroponics involves suspending
plants in a mediumsuch as gravel, wool or a form of volcanic glass known
as perlitewhile the roots are immersed in a solution of nutrient-rich water.
A constant flow of air keeps the plants bathed in carbon dioxide. Any
nutrients and water that are not taken up by the roots can be recycled,
rather than being lost into the soil. According to Dr Giacomelli You can grow
anything with hydroponics.
Light was another issue in glass houses or greenhouses, and while earlier
farms had their own power plants to drive these lights, the new ones use
energy saving LED lighting, or as I explained earlier, moving tracks which
track sunlight and augmented by LED light when needed. So answers are

found with developing and innovative technologies.

It is not these buildings will be just vertical farms, but they will use one side
of it or two sides where sunlight hits them, with the rest of the space leased
to offices so that the cost of building the vertical farm is offset to a certain
extent. But these farms are not cheap by any means, they need expensive
lighting, they need clean water systems, huge upfront investments on the
machinery & conveyer systems and large investments in LED lighting. We
still do not have a clear business model available to an entrepreneur.
According to one of the people behind the very idea of vertical farming Dr
Dickson Despommier- By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth's
population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative
estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase
by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of
new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of
Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional
farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present,
throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops
is in use (sources: FAO and NASA).
Agriculture also uses 70 percent of the worlds available freshwater for
irrigation, rendering it unusable for drinking as a result of contamination
with fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and silt. If current trends continue,
safe drinking water will be impossible to come by in certain densely
populated regions.
The monsoons of Malabar - yes, without those rains, we would not have any
farming in Palakkad. remeber the story of how that happened? The story
when the kings prayed for rain in MalabarIn days of yore, there was, at
one time, no rain in the kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandya, and all living
beings were dying of starvation. The kings of the three kingdoms could not
find means to mitigate the sufferings of their subjects. They consulted with
one another and resolved to do penance to the God of rain. Temporarily

leaving the administration of affairs in the hands of the ministers, they went
to the forest, and did penance to Indra, the God of rain, who, at the
intercession of the great Gods, took pity on them and blessed each of them
with rain for four months in the year. Well pleased, they returned to their
kingdoms. They soon become discontented, because the first (the Chera
king) had not enough of rain, while the other two had too much of it. They
again went to the rain god and conveyed to him their grievances. He
thereupon directed the kings Cholan and Pandiyan to give two months' rain
to the king Cheran. All the three rulers now felt quite satisfied. The king
Cheran thus got 8 months' rain for his kingdom, while the other two were
satisfied with two months' rain in their own kingdoms.
Or will it be as the Zamorin of Calicut, my grandfather many eons over told
the Vasco De Gama (not really, it is just a myth that sounds good) - When
asked by Vasco De Gama for some pepper seedlings, the Zamorin, his old
leathery face twisting in sarcasm told the Gama, that he could take pepper
seedlings back home and wished him the best in growing them, but added
that what he would never be able to replicate the monsoons of Kerala and
the sun, signifying that Vasco will have to come back to buy the pepper from
Malabar.
Perhaps the person who wants to make money in the long run should take
heed of humorist Mark Twain who once said: Buy land. Theyre not
making it anymore.
Vertical farm images Plantagon/Sweco, Farm images, Hindu, thadeus

Comments
Anumakonda Jagadeesh Facebook 30 October 2014
In a bid to have vertical stand vegetable growing,I have designed
a simple,innovative,novel cost effective system utilising local
resources and resourcefulness.

When you supply plant nutrients at the roots they wont go deep. I
have designed a stand(sturdy,iron) and fitted rings of about 1 foot
diameter (3) in 3 layers. There is enough space between the rings
horizontally and spece to grow plants vertically. The base has a
strong round stand for stability(Iron). Pots(Conical) are filled with
soil and animal dung and natural fertilizer. Vegetables seed lings
or seeds like tomato,Bhendi and others are raised in the pots.
There is a small hole at the bottom of the pots to drain away
excess water. The pots chosen are of tough plastic for light
weight,durability and elegance. The plastic pots are covered with
thin black canvas so that due to sunlight absorption weeds wont
grow and evaporation water supplied is reduced. Moreover all the
nutrients in the container are taken by the plant.The stand is
painted with Redoxide to free it from rusting. Since the stand is
with in reach,watering is not a problem.
One can use this system to grow vegetables on the roof or in the
backyard. Rural women can grow vegetables in this way for
markeing on a small scale locally. The units are modular
depending on the requirement of vegetables.
The whole unit costs about Rs 2500(about US$ 40) including pots
and the cost can be recovered in less than a year.
Please see Photos:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244731624/Growingvegetables-in-containers-on-a-stand
NUTRITIONAL GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES FOR ALLInnovative System
Green Leafy Vegetables for All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEbR9XIVtPc
Nutritious Green Vegetables For All
https://www.scribd.com//Nutritious-Green-Leafy-Vegetables system

One Can Grow Organic Vegetables on a Book Rack !

https://www.scribd.com/doc/244042169/One-Can-GrowOrganic-Vegetables-on-a-Book-Rack
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India

Countryfarm Lifestyles

Organic Gardening

Country Living Home DIY Recipes Homesteading Self- Sufficiency

Vertical Farming: What are the Advantages and

Disadvantages of a Vertical Farm?
Vertical Farming: What is it and what are the benefits of establishing the vertical farm?
See advantages and disadvantages of farmscrapers. This is the method of agriculture that
has been proposed by Professor Dickson Despommier from Columbia University.
Dickson Despommier feels that there is a great need for inner city blocks to have their own
immediate source of food where plants will be grown without soil, by means of aeroponics
and hydroponics within buildings already known as "farmscrapers".
Vertical farming may be the only solution to keeping up with the feeding of our growing
world's population. Or is it?

What is Vertical Farming?

An Artist's Impression of Vertical Farming

With the over-population of the world ever increasing, and water and land being a finite
source, alternative options are being sought for feeding the masses, yet minimizing land
use.
How are we going to continue to feed and house everyone? If we need more land for
housing, then farmlands and forests will shrink. And yet, one needs that farmland to feed
the masses, and the forests to produce oxygen and to sustain other life forms that are all
part of the ecology.
So it seemed like a catch-22 situation until someone came up with the brilliant idea, or so
it seems on the surface, of having city blocks of concrete and glass where you will be able
to farm fish, poultry, pigs, fruit and vegetables all in a controlled environment in
farmscrapers forming a vertical growing platform. So what are the benefits of all of this?

What are The Advantages of Vertical Farming?

Well, those who support this idea, believe that it is a far better way of producing crops and
that there are more benefits than conventional farming. They claim that it is more efficient.
How so? Well, all produce will be grown organically, with no pesticides and insecticides, as
being in a controlled environment there are no insects or garden pests that can attack the
plants.
Another benefit of some consideration is that the crops will be further protected from
inclement weather, and therefore less crops will be lost to hurricanes, hail, drought and

snap freezes, because the temperatures within these vertical growing platforms will be set
at ambient temperatures. With global weather patterns becoming more unpredictable, and
with global warming being a huge problem, vertical farming sounds like a solid option.
A further benefit of having a vertical farm is seen in the fact that having farms like these
within the inner cities, the carbon footprint in miles of food transportation will be reduced,
because the crops and produce are already there, within easy access to those who need
them. Because they are able to recycle and use black water in their irrigation systems this
is a further benefit to conserving drinking water, which is becoming more and more a
resource of scarcity.
Considering how important water is for life in general, vertical farming seems to be the
answer for a serious problem that many starving nations now face due to drought and lack
of drinking water. In addition, with the plants being grown in these huge vertical
greenhouses, the transpiration that will occur naturally will be harnessed and reused again
for irrigation. Considering that conventional farming uses 70% of the world's drinkable
water, and much of that is polluted by fertilizers and pesticides, this seems to be one of
the greatest benefits.

What are the Disadvantages of Vertical Farming?

However, those are the benefits, what are some of the negative aspects that haven't been
mentioned in vertical farming? Well, pollination is something that needs serious
consideration. Insects are crucial to this process. So if this is going to be an insect-free
environment, pollination will have to be done by hand, which is labor-intensive, and will
this result in the produce costing more?
And talking about costs, we all know that urban land is far more expensive that farm land,
and the cost of creating such a concept and powering up a farmscraper for lights,
controlling ambient temperatures and the like, will not be a cheap exercise. So just how
much will this produce cost the consumer? It sounds as if it would cost them far more than
what they could expect to pay for conventionally grown food. Controlling the environment
within these buildings with regards to lighting, temperature, pollination and the
arrangement of plants will all be important factors for success.

What is the Future for Vertical Farming?

Will vertical farming ever take off? We are at least 5 - 10 years away from such a concept.
We still have enough land to feed the masses in most countries around the world, and we
haven't reached crunch point just yet. However, I certainly think that the concept needs to

be given serious consideration, especially as what is being proposed is not outlandish.

With cost factors being the major drawback, once cheaper solutions can be found in the
construction of these farmscrapers, traditional farming may one day be revolutionized. We
may see traditional farmers working in conjunction with inner city farmers in a supporting
capacity, to farm organically some of the few crops that perhaps cannot feasibly be grown
in a farmscraper environment.

Video on Vertical Farming and Farms of the Future

Vertical Gardening for those with Small Spaces

For those of you who wish to grow vegetables in small spaces, vertical gardening now
makes perfect sense. You can grow tomatoes, cucumbers and even pumpkins vertically
maximizing the area you have. See these videos on vertical gardening for more ideas.

TO SEE VIDEOS:
http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/verticalfarming.html?fb_action_ids=10203049675108248&fb_action_types=og.comments#.VFJDn
TSUe9E

Comments
Anumakonda Jagadeesh Facebook 30 October 2014
GROW VEGETABLES IN CONTAINERS ON A STAND
The biggest mistake gardeners make each season is
starting out too big and then quickly realizing their large
plot requires too much weeding, watering, and
backbreaking labor. Vertical gardening guarantees a

better outcome from the day the trowel hits the soil-by
shrinking the amount of "floor" space needed and
focusing on climbing plants that are less prone to insects,
diseases, and animal pests.
Notable author and gardener Derek Fell has tried and
tested thousands of varieties of vegetables, flowers, and
fruits and recommends the best plants for space-saving
vertical gardening. His grow-up, grow-down system also
shows which ground-level plants make good companions
underneath and alongside climbing plants. Best of all,
many of Fell's greatest climbers and mutually beneficial
plants are available in seed packets in every local garden
center.
Growing vegetables in containers can be just as easy as
growing vegetables in soil,if you know how to work
around the limitations of container gardening.
A container vegetable garden has many advantages:
Convenience Container vegetable gardens are right
outside your door, footsteps away from your kitchen.
Freshness You cant get any fresher than right off the
plant. When growing vegetables in pots or window boxes,
you can harvest leafy vegetables as needed.
A potted vegetable garden can be boosted up on plant
stands or benches to make the pots more accessible
and add vertical flair to your balcony farm. - See more
at:
Beauty Container vegetable gardens are beautiful, not
just bountiful. Green, leafy lettuces, red tomatoes, and
deep purple eggplants delight the eye and add interest to
any apartment balcony or deck. Growing vegetables in
pots or window boxes expands the range of color and
form available to container gardeners.
Watering is by far the biggest concern when growing

vegetables in containers. Container vegetable gardens

have limited root zones, so they need frequent
wateringsometimes twice a day in hot weather, or on
balconies exposed to lots of sun or drying winds.
In a bid to have vertical stand vegetable growing,I have
designed a simple,innovative,novel cost effective system
utilising local resources and resourcefulness.
When you supply plant nutrients at the roots they wont
go deep. I have designed a stand(sturdy,iron) and fitted
rings of about 1 foot diameter (3) in 3 layers. There is
enough space between the rings horizontally and spece
to grow plants vertically. The base has a strong round
stand for stability(Iron). Pots(Conical) are filled with soil
and animal dung and natural fertilizer. Vegetables seed
lings or seeds like tomato,Bhendi and others are raised in
the pots. There is a small hole at the bottom of the pots
to drain away excess water. The pots chosen are of tough
plastic for light weight,durability and elegance. The
plastic pots are covered with thin black canvas so that
due to sunlight absorption weeds wont grow and
evaporation water supplied is reduced. Moreover all the
nutrients in the container are taken by the plant.The
stand is painted with Redoxide to free it from rusting.
Since the stand is with in reach,watering is not a
problem.
One can use this system to grow vegetables on the roof
or in the backyard. Rural women can grow vegetables in
this way for markeing on a small scale locally. The units
are modular depending on the requirement of vegetables.
The whole unit costs about Rs 2500(about US$ 40)
including pots and the cost can be recovered in less than
a year.
Please see Photos:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/244731624/Growingvegetables-in-containers-on-a-stand
NUTRITIONAL GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES FOR ALLInnovative System
Green Leafy Vegetables for All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEbR9XIVtPc
Nutritious Green Vegetables For All
https://www.scribd.com//Nutritious-Green-LeafyVegetables- system
One Can Grow Organic Vegetables on a Book Rack !
https://www.scribd.com/doc/244042169/One-Can-GrowOrganic-Vegetables-on-a-Book-Rack
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India