Hydroponic Ferris Wheel Optimizes Growth: The OmegaGarden (Video)
Posted by murray on September 01 2009 21:54:29
When I wrote about marijuana as a possible gateway to farming, I noted that much of the hydroponic supply market seems to be marketed toward, shall we say, recreational growers of certain herbs - and often not very subtly. But as we've seen, hydroponics also has applications in everything from rooftop agriculture to Intergrated backyard Aquaponics But how energy and water efficient is it to grow under lights and without soil? One Vancouver-based company is aiming to optimize the efficiency of hydroponics with these rotary hydroponic ferris wheels. And they are marketing themselves firmly to the urban farming crowd, before you ask.
Extended News
John has already written about the Valcent high density vertical growth garden, a system that is being put to use at Paignton Zoo's vertical farm in the UK. But here's a different take on a similar concept.
OmegaGarden Hydroponics Design has put together three rotary ferris wheel-type grow products that rotate plants around a central light - aiming to maximise plant growth for each unit of electricity. From the Volksgarden rotary hydroponic set-up - which has a capacity of 80 plants, through to the fully automated Carousel which claims to provide 1500 sq. ft. of greenhouse yet only using 150 sq. ft. of floor space!
Read More and see video clip of ferris wheel