Open Source Ecology - soil-free-agriculture

Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:16 PM I wonder if farm automation would allow for a nomadic society. It doesn't even need to be fully automated. If I can make a machine that takes care of the watering, sunlight, and weeding, I can just rotate between microfarms throughout the country for harvesting, replanting, tilling, and other general maintenance. If they weren't so expensive, I could get one of those industrial grade robotic arms and use a controller or vr to do maintenance regularly. Maybe even set up a solar powered quad rotor with an fpv camera so I can inspect the whole property. If I went with hydroponics, that means even less moving parts. I can theoretically make a hydroponic fodder machine that grows the fodder on water canals and when they're done growing, just open the end of the canal and let the water push them out and into a trough so I can raise livestock. I'd just have to come back every now and then to replenish the fodder seeds, and check up on the machine and livestock.

11:08 PM

OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:36 PM think of it as a smart garden its really not that complex of a system get 7 sensors, humidity, temp, UV range, PH, ORP (millivolt reading to better understand nutrient content) digitally controlled valve body for nutrient dispersal with a parasaltic pump, using one pump and the smart valve body you can switch which nutrient is dosed into the system. It would be fairly easy to develop/piggyback on someone's project a machine learning assisted vision program to look for things like high nitrogen, or bites out of the leaves, dead leaves. you just load in pictures of ailments and then the ML algorithm gives you a percent chance that the image it sees matches one of those ailments, once its 90% sure, it will send you a notification I was thinking of this recently 30-60 cycle on crops throughout something like 100 trays by putting the trays on a conveyer, you could have one central bottom water tray, that as the tray passes through it gets fresh water, lights would be on the bottom of the trays underside to tightly pack the conveyor as much as possible

11:09 PM

11:09 PM

Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:44 PM I think a sophisticated program for detecting stuff like that would be too much work, at least for now. Again, having an industrial sized robotic arm, with a camera attached to it, and have it travel along a rail system to get access to all plants seems like a much easier way to do things. No need to code as much since I can just use the arm manually to snip off bits, remove weeds, take readings, etc.

11:09 PM

OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:44 PM GMO micro greens to have high vitamins, grow seeds with nice macros of protein and fats, some carb fiber its actually super easy a noob could do it in like 8 hours you would use existing tools like those on an nvidia jetson they have a whole training algorithm you just put in 200 photos of each ailment robot arms are good you would be able to service the trays from an array of stationary tools at each part of the rotation

11:09 PM

Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:47 PM interesting OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:48 PM you only need 100-200 sqft to grow enough calories for your needs so 1x2 pans would need 50 to 100 pans to grow enough microgreens to feed you Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:48 PM oh yeah, I'd definitely go vertical with it OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:48 PM and you would just cycle them and they would all be at different stages of growth vertical is kinda limited, this is horizontal pans but on a belt Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:49 PM oh okay OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:50 PM so yeah, basically harvest a hydroponic tray everyday, make a smoothie and drink 2 green machines a day when times get tough then spread these to every home in america and no american starve when the world collapses Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:50 PM I've seen conveyer belt style systems, where all the plants float down a spiral staircase of a single hydroponic water canal. The speed is timed so when they reach the bottom, they're ready for harvest. (edited)

11:11 PM

yes, per eric's request the channel is soil free agriculture now

11:11 PM

aquaponics has weird ethical stuff too

i need to add linkspam

what ethics?

seaweed's bit on azollaponics is really neat

it's just using fish poop for nutrients right?

fish are friends not food

oh

s h a r k b a i t h o o haha (edited)

1

I would love salmon farm but idk if I can commit to that 5 year thang

11:13 PM

so when I think about it make the trays dump in one basin, then go through a dry loop for root analysis, then they hit the clean water basin, scooping up perfectly maintained nutrient water, while the dirty basin is filtered and recycled into the clean water basin I need to nail down the wattage it would take to grow 3000 calories a day

yeah I suppose keeping fish in a windowless tank their whole lives isn't healthy. What if you had a pond and just ran piping to and from it?

https://youtu.be/SR5kefWuYuY

FOX 13 News Utah

Tech Talk - Robotic Vertical Farming

Original message was deleted or could not be loaded.

it is a battery, just the output is calories instead of electrons

11:13 PM

put electrons in, get calories out

i had a great series on this concept somewhere (edited)

tiem for advanced memory query

11:15 PM

OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:53 PM to figure out the cost of solar panels/feasibility of a skylight with a light collector on the roof Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:54 PM yeah isn't the bottleneck of hydroponics how much power it uses? especially if you're using uv lamps OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:54 PM yup matter cannot be created or destroyed or something Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:55 PM yeah that one rules of heat or whatever OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:55 PM solar collectors are interesting Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:55 PM I've seen those, but are they efficient for small scale? OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:55 PM I think you could have a crystal lattice structure on the roof to collect the light and then let it rip on the trays 6 hours a day idk yet need to do more research in the pv/collector stuff Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:56 PM If it was cheaper, I wonder if you can use fiber optics and connect them to the roof Like use fiber optics to funnel uv light to wherever you need like a pipe OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:57 PM exactly that just with the lowest cost solution I've been thinking a lot of optically clear resin Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:58 PM why not translucent mirrors so you can redirect through multiple levels? OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:59 PM assuming rammed earth building is automated, I could pour in epoxy windows and vibrate out the bubbles for like 6 inch thick bulletproof epoxy windows, if the same applied to filling a could hoses with epoxy and vibrating the bubbles out, thats quite cheap. yee, lots of one way "light valves" (edited)

11:15 PM

Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:59 PM Actually it might be cheaper and more durable to make resin sheets that are impregnated with reflective bits, like glitter but stronger. You can actively control how much light passes and how much gets reflected. OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:59 PM yee thats sick that's probably best maybe reflectors directly into the bottom of the tray, then the glitter does the work from there Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 2:00 PM hell, actually, you could make a solar tower, where the tower is just a cylindrical, vertical farm, and you just put mirrors all around it. that way you're maximizing the surface area of the walls OwnerOfOwn — Today at 2:01 PM yeah, climate control and expensive equipment outdoors Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 2:01 PM yeah coating the trays, rails, and literally everything with uv reflective paint or something would help too OwnerOfOwn — Today at 2:01 PM key part of this is like inside the kitchen cooking up calories stainless steel mirror polished Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 2:02 PM Well you could just build a cylindrical greenhouse with clear window walls, so just the plants are inside. The mirrors can stay outside. OwnerOfOwn — Today at 2:03 PM true interesting idk seems like more labor Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 2:04 PM well yeah OwnerOfOwn — Today at 2:04 PM I want to be able to collect a tray from a single place each day fully grown, 3000 calorie mat of roots, seeds, and green Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 2:05 PM just have it convey the trays directly to the kitchen harvest and cook right there, or pick it and place it in a fridge or root cellar also the nice thing about hydroponics is that it recycles like 95% of its water, so for being nomadic, just bring back a tank of water to replenish any losses due to evaporation that way you're not confined to set up shop wherever there's city water, a stream, or well

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU8luVji9KQnFeNupPyvPyCO1E6px7eFA

Vertical Farming - Future or Fantasy

11:16 PM

main limit was power input needed

11:16 PM

Also new strains may be needed as stuff is kinda backwards

11:17 PM

Like with conventional crops you want one huge harvest

11:17 PM

and you want deep roots

11:17 PM

with soil-less agriculture you want as little roots as needed (edited)

11:17 PM

and as little stem as possible

11:18 PM

and lower yields may be fine if it "rapidly cycles"

yes, I'm hoping for a 3000 calorie tray of roots, seeds and greens

the neat thing though with plant factories is there is so much data/control that they are essentially giant labs (edited)

11:19 PM

cell culture meat will be the real winner

throw it in a blender and get drinking, at least as a supplement to other staple foods, this is hedging against food supply chain issues

11:19 PM

OwnerOfOwn — Today at 1:36 PM think of it as a smart garden its really not that complex of a system get 7 sensors: humidity, temp, UV range, PH, ORP (millivolt reading to better understand nutrient content) digitally controlled valve body for nutrient dispersal with a parasaltic pump, using one pump and the smart valve body you can switch which nutrient is dosed into the system. It would be fairly easy to develop/piggyback on someone's project a machine learning assisted vision program to look for things like high nitrogen, or bites out of the leaves, dead leaves. you just load in pictures of ailments and then the ML algorithm gives you a percent chance that the image it sees matches one of those ailments, once its 90% sure, it will send you a notification I was thinking of this recently 30-60 cycle on crops throughout something like 100 trays (edited)

11:20 PM

ooh

11:20 PM

green slime for everyone

11:20 PM

I'm down

11:20 PM

can get a perfect vitamin, mineral/nutrient profile

11:21 PM

nice

You know, I had an idea for attaching slabs of lab grown meat to the sides of boston dynamics robots, equipping them with intelligent AI, and just let them roam the countryside, that way I can fulfill my instinctive desire to hunt without killing actual animals.

1

get 5 sensors: humidity, temp, UV range, PH, ORP (millivolt reading to better understand nutrient content) what else would you guys reccomend?

11:22 PM

https://gfi.org/

Plant-based and cultivated meat innovation | GFI

GFI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building a sustainable, secure, and just food system with alternative proteins like plant-based and cultivated meat.

I still don't trust plant meat. Maybe in a few decades when they get everything right.

i'm getting a bit lost, @OwnerOfOwn are you referencing that older bit or repeating it or what

OwnerOfOwn

Cyberpeasant44 — Today at 1:16 PM I wonder if farm automation would allow for a nomadic society. It doesn't even need to be fully automated. If I can make a machine that takes care of the watering, sunlight, and weeding, I can just rotate between microfarms throughout the country for harvesting, replanting, tilling, and other general maintenance. If they weren't so expensive, I could get one of those industrial grade robotic arms and use a controller or vr to do maintenance regularly. Maybe even set up a solar powered quad rotor with an fpv camera so I can inspect the whole property. If I went with hydroponics, that means even less moving parts. I can theoretically make a hydroponic fodder machine that grows the fodder on water canals and when they're done growing, just open the end of the canal and let the water push them out and into a trough so I can raise livestock. I'd just have to come back every now and then to replenish the fodder seeds, and check up on the machine and livestock.

you can do this neat thing via the upper right bit of messages (edited)

what would the ideal sensor suite be for growing hydroponics?

I could maybe make a channel for engineered meat substitutes / cell culture meat

11:24 PM

that too

high estrogen levels

xenoestrogens are a myth

11:24 PM

(sadly to many trans girls/enbies lol)

idk man, I've heard both and I don't know who to trust

i had some meta analysis somewhere, although i think that whole rant may be better for another channel

11:25 PM

i'll put it in #off-topic i guess idk

feel free to discuss it here

11:26 PM

agriculture without soil

11:26 PM

marginally on topic

11:26 PM

rest well m8

I think a sensor module would be a good project

11:27 PM

That and one for soil (also had an idea for an air quality/data one)

ooh CO2 ppm sensor too

11:29 PM

yeah, I have a fair bit of plant growing experience, know what to look for, anything big I am missing?

11:30 PM

sensor list bump: CO2 ppm sensor humidity temp UV range PH ORP( oxidation reduction potential, millivolt reading will give lots of data) (edited)

the nutrient bit for the solution gets odd i guess (edited)

https://www.aquashieldcontrol.com/

Main Page - AquaShield Control

11:44 PM

found this group

11:44 PM

good industry standard i guess (edited)

11:44 PM

they have this youtube channel, but thar be kickstarter music! Ye be warned...

11:45 PM

https://www.youtube.com/c/AquaShieldAquaponics/videos

AquaShield Aquaponics

@Matthew.V.Greene

Ooohhhhh neat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2em0Q3HlyuI

matou makes

Making a better 3D printed hydroponics system

https://youtu.be/1Cvcf_VNCDg

Peter van de Pol

DIY Solar collector and storage for my greenhouse

5:55 AM

no pump, apparently the happy pixies move the water for you

5:56 AM

https://youtu.be/pHk0PX8pbWY?t=690

desertsun02

Solar Air Heater! - The "Screen Absorber" Solar Air Heater! - Easy ...

5:57 AM

these systems seem truly powerful for winter, of course you will need to supplement some heat into the system which you could use geothermal heat pump loop or grid/battery power, at night or during cloudy/stormy weeks. But this could propose a really efficient greenhouse in tundra-type biomes (edited)

5:58 AM

https://youtu.be/Sc78nueDQ64

desertsun02

DIY "PEX COIL" Solar Water Heater! - High temps! - No crimping! - S...

just found this channel, 'soil free' - really ? this sounds hilarious - all in top of new generations entirely loosing mind on their phones or worst, their feets - on the ground

I understand of course the fact that there is soon no good soil left anymore

1

It's land use

7:40 PM

you can have a farm taking up large swaths of land, or one skyscraper

7:40 PM

...and all that agricultural land could be rewilded with nature trails

-- osr-support --

just found this channel, 'soil free' - really ? this sounds hilarious - all in top of new generations entirely loosing mind on their phones or worst, their feets - on the ground

I understand of course the fact that there is soon no good soil left anymore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution

Green Revolution

The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, is the set of research technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1950 and the late 1960s, that increased agricultural production in parts of the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s. The initiatives resulted in the adoption of new technologies, including high-yieldin...

wen 4th?

I'm uncertain if the green revolution is a positive or negative thing. It seems to have dramatically increased crop yields everywhere but Africa with less severe downsides (ie pesticides less harmful than famine)

OwnerOfOwn

wen 4th?

??

8:23 PM

I do like the idea of nature trails, maybe nobody wants to live in rural Kansas anymore because it's all mechanized farmland

8:24 PM

I think the centralization of land ownership for large scale agriculture is not good for workers but benefits consumers so

It's a mess that this may help work out. Kind of how like hunter gatherer -> farmer initially led to malnutrition, but added food security but now we have both

9:34 PM

Post-Plant Factory / Vertical Farming / Whatever term you use, There would be little/no pesticides/fertilizers, high food security, high food diversity, as well as none of the geopolitical/human rights mess (banana republics etc)

9:34 PM

~~granted the unemployment that could result is a whole other issue~~

https://hackaday.com/2021/05/14/automated-watering-machine-has-what-plants-crave-fertilizer/

Kristina Panos

Automated Watering Machine Has What Plants Crave: Fertilizer

We’ve seen countless automated plant care systems over the years, but for some reason they almost never involve the secret sauce of gardening — fertilizer. But [xythobuz] knows what&#82…

5:47 AM

another existing open source design i had buried in my phone tabs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQ02_rEGxg

Greens and Machines

DIY Hydroponic Propagation Container | NFT 72

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/lab-developed-chocolate-passes-the-taste-test-/46766404

Lab-developed chocolate passes the taste test

The chocolate of the future could come from the bio-reactor, if the work of a Swiss team is anything to go by.

-- osr-support --

just found this channel, 'soil free' - really ? this sounds hilarious - all in top of new generations entirely loosing mind on their phones or worst, their feets - on the ground

I understand of course the fact that there is soon no good soil left anymore

I’m more interested in regenerating soil than being soil free, but @Wesxdz brought up good points: Indoor hydroponics don’t suffer from insect pests and weeds as much, because you have more control via e.g. netting, plus more efficient use of vertical space and less tubing needed for automatic watering.

@Wesxdz Other greenhouse farmers, I’d like to get multiple of these valves to control each “circuit” of plant watering https://www.adafruit.com/product/997 Driven by 0 or 12V from a high voltage relay board, driven by Arduino

Plastic Water Solenoid Valve - 12V - 1/2" Nominal

Control the flow of fluid using the flow of electrons! This liquid valve would make a great addition to your robotic gardening project. There are two 1/2" (Nominal non-taped National ...

Eric Lotze

https://hackaday.com/2021/05/14/automated-watering-machine-has-what-plants-crave-fertilizer/

Using an 8 channel version of the relay board from this design, thanks @Eric Lotze

learner-long-life

@Wesxdz Other greenhouse farmers, I’d like to get multiple of these valves to control each “circuit” of plant watering https://www.adafruit.com/product/997 Driven by 0 or 12V from a high voltage relay board, driven by Arduino

lol I was lookin at this exact valve earlier

learner-long-life

@Wesxdz Other greenhouse farmers, I’d like to get multiple of these valves to control each “circuit” of plant watering https://www.adafruit.com/product/997 Driven by 0 or 12V from a high voltage relay board, driven by Arduino

learner-long-life

Using an 8 channel version of the relay board from this design, thanks @Eric Lotze

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Channel-Optocoupler-Arduino-Raspberry/dp/B01HCFJC0Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

ELEGOO 8 Channel DC 5V Relay Module with Optocoupler Compatible wit...

ELEGOO 8 Channel DC 5V Relay Module with Optocoupler Compatible with Arduino UNO R3 MEGA 1280 DSP ARM PIC AVR STM32 Raspberry Pi

Paul Pham

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Channel-Optocoupler-Arduino-Raspberry/dp/B01HCFJC0Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Elegoo makes amazing printers I want a mars 2

learner-long-life

I’m more interested in regenerating soil than being soil free, but @Wesxdz brought up good points: Indoor hydroponics don’t suffer from insect pests and weeds as much, because you have more control via e.g. netting, plus more efficient use of vertical space and less tubing needed for automatic watering.

Good point, still - kinda prefer food which grew in an 'natural environment' (what's left of it); for same reason it's probably incredible difficult (and expensive )to have an indoor salt water aquarium. I am doing garden my self and it's coming out way more delicious than any supermarket or near by 'farmer' stuff

- had to get 3 tons of soil since ours was polluted by construction waste - common practice during building construction here in Spain ...

12:55 AM

there is another discord server about : https://discord.gg/yVNP5rHNBm

Invite to join a server

Hectar Open Source

welcome-and-rules

-- osr-support --

Good point, still - kinda prefer food which grew in an 'natural environment' (what's left of it); for same reason it's probably incredible difficult (and expensive )to have an indoor salt water aquarium. I am doing garden my self and it's coming out way more delicious than any supermarket or near by 'farmer' stuff

- had to get 3 tons of soil since ours was polluted by construction waste - common practice during building construction here in Spain ...

granted "natural" is kind of a myth, especially with domesticated plants. Also current agricultural methods aren't sustainable/easy, and climate change's impacts will only make that worse. As well as many countries developing which means eating "staple crops" -> complex diets, many of which are fragile fruits/vegtables etc

2:37 AM

Also it isn't too complex especially since it is so controlled. (ie you can get close to "spherical cows in a vacuum", not many unknowns/factors at play) The only real cost would be up front investment, and energy, although given PV solar's cheapness and almost excess of energy at times i could see it being viable

2:38 AM

IIRC it is already viable for leafy greens and some other things where freshness is key

as a consumer of a certain type of good that has been grown in soil vs grown hydroponically, I can't tell the difference. I love the romantism about soil and soil health, and soil conditioning. Fact is a 500 gallon water system is easier to condition than 5000lbs of soil. To Eric's point, Hydroponics/media-based systems have more automation potential, and ultimately could be far more sustainable.

But from where you get the good soil then ? It comes usually from within good connections with the surrounding nature and not some lab crap

There have been a few good documentaries about soil creation and recovery; another reason to move to the mountains

2:54 AM

you know, nature developed over millions of years - we're part of it - literally created from - I don't think we can change the rules so easily - possibly the reason why we gonna fail for good because some psychopaths think they 'can change nature' within 100 years just - lol

I think you are vitally mis-understanding the purpose of this channel

Possibly on purpose

Anyway - keep moving - really interested to see the outcome of this channel; there are possibly up to millions starving to death the next decades - not sure what crisis hits next but water and soil is long overdue - yeah

humans could just get food from a bunch of automated tunnels and all that farmland could go back to the ecosystem

I heard China is running out of ground water the next 10 - 20 years ... (edited)

good

hope it's sooner

I think you mis-understood the purpose of this channel

1.1 billion people figuring out how to sustainable recharge water tables sounds too good to be true

2:59 AM

o wait

2:59 AM

they just go conquer more water tables

2:59 AM

forgot about that

-- osr-support --

Anyway - keep moving - really interested to see the outcome of this channel; there are possibly up to millions starving to death the next decades - not sure what crisis hits next but water and soil is long overdue - yeah

this was the founding thesis behind this channel, that millions are subject to starvation with just a few simple hiccups in the modern supply chain or any number of world events

I think this goes a little beyond that - if China fails - we're all screwed dude

Automated and decentralized hydroponics could be a path forward with the right source of light, wether thats fiber-opticish reflectors or solar-powered LEDs.

great - more artificial crap !

and yeah, it seems like india and china are responsible for everything in the modern world from a labor perspective (edited)

3:04 AM

spelling labor like laber

3:04 AM

I'm sleeping

in your dreams maybe - til then, we still have to bridge perhaps 20 - 30 years - if the atmosphere is still there

-- osr-support --

Good point, still - kinda prefer food which grew in an 'natural environment' (what's left of it); for same reason it's probably incredible difficult (and expensive )to have an indoor salt water aquarium. I am doing garden my self and it's coming out way more delicious than any supermarket or near by 'farmer' stuff

- had to get 3 tons of soil since ours was polluted by construction waste - common practice during building construction here in Spain ...

I have friends in Catalonia who are working on an eco village called Aldea. Perhaps you know it?

OwnerOfOwn

1.1 billion people figuring out how to sustainable recharge water tables sounds too good to be true

This is my dream, how to call the rains with planting forests in a virtuous cycle .

Paul Pham

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Channel-Optocoupler-Arduino-Raspberry/dp/B01HCFJC0Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

These relays and the Adafruit valves (8x) will arrive around Thursday the 29th. That will give us some time to figure the hoses, fittings, wiring, tanks, etc. you know @Wesxdz the easy stuff

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32963/comments

Venturi effect cnc mist nozzle by robosavvy

This was designed to go on the end of segmented hose to spray a mix of air and liquid lubrication for use in a cnc machine. A tube connects the nozzle to a container with the lubricant. The flow of air (tested at 3bar) draws in the fluid trough the tube and mixes it with air. The tube entrance is tapered to accept tubes from 3 to 6mm. (1/8 to 1/...

3:10 AM

Not sure if this is up to spec

3:11 AM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spray_nozzle#Two-fluid_nozzles

3 bar is a lot for spritzers, am I missing a VC or something

Nah just my thinking lol

3:32 AM

I was thinking about aeroponics/"fogoponics"

3:32 AM

one of the big issues is mineralization clogging nozzles/the need for those high pressure pumps etc

3:33 AM

I don't know if ultrasonic transducers get clogged/break down long term, but if not they may be a good option too

3:34 AM

But with the compressed air venturi based system, you just need a compressed air line, and these

3:34 AM

this may just me not realizing something / not having enough data, but i would assume the fouling/mineralization would be less in a venturi based system? (edited)

yeah, compressed air is notoriously energy expensive, but I would be interested to see if a large/multistage parasaltic pump could do it with a small enough nozzle

Eric Lotze

this may just me not realizing something / not having enough data, but i would assume the fouling/mineralization would be less in a venturi based system? (edited)

the scaling/mineral build up would likely be the same. this is my first time hearing of aeroponics/fogoponics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroponics

Aeroponics

Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. The word "aeroponic" is derived from the Greek meanings of aer (ἀήρ, "air") and ponos (πόνος, "labour"). Aeroponic culture differs from both conventional hydroponics, aquaponics, and in-vitro (plant tissue culture) growing. ...

1

Hard water seems to ruin a lot of sensitive things

yep

3:37 AM

The mist itself allows more oxygen for the roots, but the ultrafine mist (ie fog) is when stuff gets really interesting (edited)

my thinking goes straight to an "upstream" (hahahah) solution of filtering those minerals in bulk, so that the nozzles don't clog, or just swapping nozzles to a vinegar bath twice a month

Eric Lotze

The mist itself allows more oxygen for the roots, but the ultrafine mist (ie fog) is when stuff gets really interesting (edited)

spooky

granted nutrient media or whatever the term is will always have stuff in it

Eric Lotze

granted nutrient media or whatever the term is will always have stuff in it

ah yes, so it is a catch 22 of wanting those minerals in the fog

Could centrifugal misters be set up that may not clog as easily or fast? Run at high speeds to generate fine mist and distributed with fans? I live with very hard water was a great concern when I gardened. Seemed like I was poisoning the soil.

6:38 PM

For drinking I use reverse osmosis. That is too expensive for large volumes. Could resin ion exchange be used? At least with salt tolerant plants?

Droplet control sounds like a great place for a simple ai.

reminds me of https://www.gwern.net/fog-gun

Buckminster Fuller’s fog gun

Remaining materials towards one day building and trying out a real fog gun

more RNA hacks, this time not to ruin your immune system but your food : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28403932

thomasweiser

RNA breakthrough creates crops that can grow 50 percent more potatoes, rice

?

@Eric Lotze - in the Hackernews comment section, you have to click the first link at the top, Here a preview

Just for fun, pulling out the g'ol movie for tonight, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/. Incredible parallels with the covid 19 f***#$%#$$$ (see letter from holocaust survivers: https://corona-transition.org/stoppt-den-covid-holocaust-offener-brief-konzentrationslager-uberlebender) going on

(edited)

Soylent Green (1973) - IMDb

Soylent Green: Directed by Richard Fleischer. With Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten. A nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.

1

I feel strongly, my citie's lack of vertical framing artistic towers is in a sense--theft. https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/vertical-farming-urban-agriculture/ (edited)

Tian Wang

Stacking Up: Urban Agriculture Reaches New Architectural Heights in...

As the global population continues to grow, architects and cities could cultivate fresh greens in skyscrapers to confront food shortages.

1

https://youtu.be/ZXFjsDtvUiY

Werbewunder

DIY Hydroponik Tower im 3D Print

5:49 AM

I think i made a page on a modular grow tower like this (this may have even been the person who made it); i need to double check all that

https://youtu.be/04fHpanu-P4

Down On The Farm

Vertical Farming Is Going To Change EVERYTHING.. Here's How

I was thinking plant variants for this the other day

9:17 PM

They mentioned it in that "Plant Factory" video, but i wonder how fast you could get the germination to harvest time, and how Harvest Volume (giant ear of corn/maiz) to harvest rate

9:18 PM

Like currently they optimize for volume since you only harvest once per season etc, but would it be advantagous in these to make it as fast as possible so you could have like a 1 rotation per week belt or some shit of grow trays