At Pure Greens, we manufacture and sell hydroponic farms that we house inside insulated shipping containers. This method of manufacturing provides benefits in cost and sustainability, giving growers a cost-effective way to enter the hydroponics industry.
In this blog, we explore the environmental sustainability of container farms, and provide insights into how different systems benefit new growers wanting to dip their toes into the growing industry.
The Key to Making Container Farms Green Farms
There are a few things to highlight when considering the sustainable farming practices of container farms. What better way to analyze the eco-friendliness of the practice than the sustainable slogan: reduce, reuse and recycle. We’ll explain how container farms can be green farms by reducing power intake, reusing materials from the shipping industry and recycling water and nutrients inside the system.
Reduce Power Intake & Ensure Renewable Power Production
A headwind for the environmental sustainability of container farms is the challenge of sustainable power. Container farms have significant power requirements, and these needs are tied to the strengths of these systems: notably climate control and powerful, consistent lighting, making it challenging to reduce power consumption without decreasing the benefits of this method of cultivation.
Climate control systems can use a lot of power, and this depends on how closely the interior climate resembles outside conditions. For example, a container farm in a chilly area will require more heating than a container farm in the tropics.
Therefore, it’s important to note that the increased yield and water savings of hydroponics comes at the cost of a higher power demand. So does this make container farms green farms? It depends on the source of power that the system is drawing from. While the share of renewable energy sources like wind, solar and bioenergy has risen significantly since the early 2000’s, they only account for a little bit more than 40% of global electricity production.
Depending on where your container farm is located, your farm may acquire power from a high-carbon source, making your farm less environmentally sustainable than a traditional farm that has significantly less power requirements.
Reuse Materials from the Shipping Industry
Hydroponics cultivation works in a variety of systems, from greenhouses to warehouses and other vertical farms. However, container farms have a unique advantage for growers that want to ensure they’re cultivating their crops in environmentally sustainable green farms. Shipping container farms, as the name suggests, are created from the storage containers that transport most international commerce around the world.
Specifically, container farms are made from reefer shipping containers, insulated steel boxes that were used to refrigerate produce during transportation. These containers are easily portable and are relatively easy to modify into hydroponic farms. By using a shipping container farm, you reuse material that otherwise may have gone unused, giving new life to a refurbished steel shell.
Recycle Water Inside the System
Water savings is an important thing for all cultivators to consider, not just hydroponic producers. An advantage of one method of container farm cultivation is that water recirculates inside the system.
Hydroponic systems are one of the most water-efficient hydroponic methods available. It can be challenging to quantify because the amount of water savings differs from plant to plant and can change depending on the environment. However, most estimates put the water savings of NFT systems at around 90% over other traditional farming.
This makes hydroponics valuable as green farms, as agriculture makes up 70% of global freshwater consumption, making water savings a key objective to make agriculture more sustainable.
Pure Greens Container Farms Options
With this information in mind, you may be curious about the different types of container farms that are available. At Pure Greens, we provide several sizes and layouts to create the best solution for every grower.
The main sizes we offer are 40’ and 20’, and layouts vary between full grow systems that use the entire container space for crop cultivation, and split systems that offer space for a nursery in addition to the grow space.
Our pre-designed hydroponic systems include:
- Plumbing & Water Reservoir
- Pure Greens Automation System
- HVAC Climate Control
- Grow Lights
- Worktable
NFT – Nutrient Film Technique
The nutrient film technique is an active recovery hydroponic system that periodically runs a small film of nutrient solution through channels, watering roots and recirculating back into the reservoir tank. This system provides the highest yields, making it an excellent choice for commercial production.
This system also features a 5-tier NFT channel rack, which allows for compact vertical farming of a multitude of crops, most notably crops with shallow root systems and shorter growth cycles.
DFT – Deep Flow Technique
The deep flow technique is an active recovery hydroponic system that keeps roots periodically submerged while filling and draining trays with nutrient solution. This system has fewer crop sites than our NFT system, but it uses this additional space to provide additional room for plant roots to develop, resulting in healthier harvests. DFT systems work well when growing a wide range of crops but are especially beneficial when growing crops with more robust root systems, like tomatoes and cucumbers.
Custom Design
A custom design allows you to create the ideal growing environment for your operations. From strawberries to mushrooms, fodder and more, a custom design starts with the insulated container shell, leaving the layout and other design decisions up to the needs of your specific grow operation. Whether you want a custom NFT, DFT, Ebb and Flow, drip irrigation or something new, this is the option for you.
Summary
In conclusion, Pure Greens’ container farms offer a sustainable and cost-effective solution for entering the hydroponics industry. By utilizing insulated shipping containers, these farms reduce waste through the reuse of materials, recycle water efficiently, and can potentially lower power consumption with renewable energy sources. While the power demands of climate control and lighting are significant, the benefits of increased yield and water savings make container farms a viable green option, especially when powered by renewable energy.
Pure Greens provides various container farm options, including different sizes and layouts, to cater to diverse growing needs. Their systems, such as the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Deep Flow Technique (DFT), offer flexibility and efficiency for different types of crops. Additionally, custom designs allow growers to tailor their farms to specific requirements, ensuring an optimal growing environment.
Overall, container farms represent a promising step towards the growth of green farms, combining innovative hydroponic techniques with the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Interested in learning more about our systems, including system specifications and pricing, contact us today, and we can assist you in finding the right system for your operation.
