If you are interested in growing leafy green vegetables and herbs but limited space and dry weather are stopping you from doing that. Then hydroponic shipping container farming can be a game changer.
The hydroponic shipping container farming technique solves the issue of insufficient space as you can grow it by adding vertical layers. It is a soilless method, so it doesn’t need fertile soil either. Plus you can control the humidity and temperature inside the shipping container by using coolers, humidifiers etc.
In addition to that that sipping container saves the crops from bad weather like heavy rain, drought, storm, heatwave, snowfall, blizzards etc.
Let’s start from the basics and take a deeper look.
What Is Hydroponic Shipping Container Farming?
It is a modern farming system. Here farming takes place inside a shipping container. In this system, plants are grown in a reusable shipping container without the soil. The roots of plants are submerged in nutrient-rich water.
Here, water is used as the growing medium rather than soil.
The whole farming activity takes place in a controlled climatic condition under a max level of monitoring.
How Does Hydroponic Shipping Container Farming Work?
| Items required | How does it work? |
| Grow Tray | Plants’ roots are submerged in the nutrient-rich solution in the grow tray. |
| Reservoir | The nutrient-rich solution is stored in the reservoir. After filling the grow tray with nutrient-rich water, the excess water is drained back into the reservoir. |
| Pump | The solution reaches the grow tray and is drained back into the reservoir by the pump. |
| Timer | Depending on the size of the plant and the growth cycle, each plant has its own requirement for water. You have to set the time according to the water need of the plants. |
| Cooler | Maintains the indoor temperature of the farm. |
| Dehumidifier/ Humidifier | Hydroponic shipping container farm requires 60-70% of humidity. A standalone dehumidifier/Humidifier will provide the desired climatic condition. |
| Lightings | The farm uses red and blue LED lights. |
| Ventilator | It includes an inlet fan and an exhaust fan. The number of fans depends on the size of the farm. |
Advantages Of Adopting Hydroponic Shipping Container Farming
There are several reasons why hydroponic shipping container farming is preferred over traditional farming.
I) No Land Barrier:
The most important thing in Traditional farming is the land. Specifically a fertile land.
However, the amount of fertile land is limited. Moreover, due to industrial expansion, the availability of suitable land for farming has decreased within the close vicinity of the city.
In this scenario, hydroponic shipping container farming offers the solution to cope with space issues for farming.
ii) Saves Water:
The availability of clean water for growing plants is a limited resource. It’s high time to not take it for granted.
Traditional farming needs too much water in each step of farming. But most of that water is not used by the plants. The traditional method has no suitable option to conserve or store excess water.
hydroponic shipping container farming solves this issue.
iii) Season Independent:
Traditional farming is dependent on climatic conditions and weather. You can’t cultivate a seasonal crop throughout the year.
Further, bad weather conditions like heavy rains, snowfalls, high temperatures, storms, etc. cause loss to crop production.
In hydroponic shipping container farming, you do not have this problem
iv) Safe From Pest And Animal Attack:
Plants in traditional farming are grown in an open space. So, they don’t have any protection against insects, pests, bugs, and other animals. A shipping container provides that protection.
The possibility of bacterial attacks and contamination is also very high in case of the traditional farming. But that is also true for farming inside a shipping container.
v) High transportation cost
Traditional farming takes place in rural areas or very far from the cities. Whereas, the buyers are staying in distant urban areas.
So transportation cost from the field to cities gets higher. The price of vegetables and fruits includes those transportation costs. This results in higher prices for the items. Ensuring the freshness of the items becomes costlier during transportation as well.
You can set up a hydroponic shipping container farm in a small amount of space near the city without spending a lot of money.
vi) Low Manpower Required:
Traditional farming lacks implementation of advanced technology. It is too much labor-intensive. The main factor to increase production for traditional farming is labor.
The industries in the urban areas often offer more payments to the workers. Higher wages attract more people.
Characteristics Of an Ideal Hydroponic Shipping Container Farm
A good hydroponic shipping container farming should have the following characteristics viz.
i) Soilless farming
In hydroponic shipping container farming, plants are grown in reusable shipping containers.
Here, the growing medium should be soilless. Plants’ roots are submerged in nutrient-rich water.
Farming takes place through controlled pumping of the solution to the plant’s roots.
ii) Technology-Based
Technology plays a vital role in hydroponic shipping container farming.
The plants are growing in controlled, artificial climatic conditions. That ideal climatic condition for growth is created by installing of automation system with the help of technology.
iii) Continuous Monitoring
A good hydroponic shipping container farm requires continuous monitoring. Otherwise, contamination will affect the plants.
Here, the plants grow in a closed space. It removes the possibility of plant diseases.
iv) Fully Automated
An ideal hydroponic shipping container farm is fully automated.
The requirement of nutrient-rich solutions for each plant, the growing cycle, and the period of agriculture data are all pre-loaded in the automation settings. Information has been updated in the system.
v) Continuous Lighting System
The availability of continuous lighting is essential for good hydroponics shipping container farms.
During the daytime, direct or indirect sunlight can used be as a source of light depending on the plant.
For the nighttime and bad weather, the availability of LED lights is required for the smooth running of the farm.
Items Produced In Hydroponic Shipping Containers
This alternative method of modern farming can apply to any type of crop cultivation. As recommended by USDA, any kind of ornamental crops, herbs, and vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, and lettuce can be produced using the hydroponic shipping container farming method.
Driving Factors Of Adopting Hydroponic Shipping Container Farming
There are several reasons why the people of this modern area have been attracted to this alternative method of wise farming.
i) Sustainability
Hydroponic shipping container farming offers a sustainable process of farming.
The strong underlying system behind the farming process and the continuous vigilance reduce the chances of crop loss.
ii) Higher Yield
In this system, the growth cycle of a particular item can be reduced. This results in the increased chance of repetition of farming a particular crop.
As such, the farmers can get higher yields of a particular crop.
iii) Conserve Water
Here, the plants are growing in nutrient-rich water.
This water is reusable and restoring the water is also taken care of in the system.
Research states that in this system of farming, the usage of water can be reduced by more than 90% than the traditional method of farming.
iv) Productivity Throughout The Year
In this system, plants are growing in a controlled environment through automation.
As such, seasonal crops can get the ideal growing condition throughout the year.
v) Offers More Job Opportunities
A skilled labor force operates this technology-based farming process smoothly.
Due to the advantage of having proper know-how on the technology, this particular labor force will be offered higher payments than traditional farming.
The temptation of higher earnings from these farming techniques will encourage others to engage in farming resulting in more job opportunities.
vi) Alternative Method Of Farming
Hydroponic shipping container farm removes the burden on the traditional method of farming. That is why there is no entry barrier. New farmers and home gardeners can perform well.
Challenges You May Face In Adopting Hydroponic Shipping Container Farming
There are some challenges also that you may face at the time of adopting hydroponic shipping container farming.
i) High Energy Consumption
Providing the ideal climatic conditions for the plants artificially throughout the year requires high energy consumption resulting in higher electricity bills. However, this problem can be mitigated by adopting solar systems, rainwater reservoirs, etc.
ii) Complex Technology
Growing plants soilless, submerging the roots in a nutrient solution, pumping the liquid into the grow tray, and draining back to the reservoir depends on complex technology.
iii) Requires Skilled Labor
The labor force needs proper training to handle the comparatively complex technology of hydroponic shipping container farming. Plus you need to spend more money to keep skilled laborers.
iv) Higher Learning Curve
If you want to start this type of farming in your field or garden, then you must have to learn the nitty gritty of the technique. That will take some time and dedication to learn the subject.
TakeAway
I hope I have cleared all the doubts on this topic – hydroponic shipping container farming. If you are interested in other agricultural methods or types of vegetables and herbs suitable for your home garden then go through my other articles from the related post section(below) or recent post section(top-right).
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Misty S is the founder and lead writer at GrowOrganicGreens.com, a comprehensive gardening resource dedicated to helping people cultivate beautiful and sustainable gardens. She has a Master’s degree in Economics and specialized studies in agricultural economics, horticulture, and soil science. Drawing from her extensive knowledge and experience, Misty shares practical gardening tips on soil preparation, organic manure composting, fertilizers, plant care, and indoor gardening, making her advice accessible and helpful to gardeners of all levels.
Despite having an high-demanding 9-5 job, Misty dedicates her personal time to researching and exploring various gardening topics. Her keen interest in gardening has grown into a passion, driving her to help new gardeners and anyone interested in starting their gardening journey.
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