Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take over the world (2018)

Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by gatherhunterer on Monday March 11, 2019 @11:37AM (#19359728)

Onions, leeks and tubers can be harvested all winter. Gourds stay fresh for a long time even without refrigeration. Of course there is such a thing as planting season but it is perfectly feasible to be an avid gardener in a cold climate. No one is asking you to grow oranges but there are heirloom tomatoes and many other summer crops that can thrive in Minnesota. Having the soil be almost unusable all winter is good for the soil. It’s some of the best dirt in the world. If New Yorkers who don’t own a single inch of outdoor property can grow tomatoes then so can anyone anywhere in the midwest.

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by astrodust on Monday March 11, 2019 @12:27PM (#19360226)

Sure, like you can just go out there with a pick-axe and try and get your potatoes because the ground is frozen solid.

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by gatherhunterer on Monday March 11, 2019 @01:00PM (#19360570)

Aside from being a shallow dismissal this comment demonstrates an unmistakable unfamiliarity with the subject. How one can have such a strong opinion on something they know so little about is beyond me. Frozen dirt is brittle and easy to dislodge, it is only difficult if you need to dig a post hole or something of limited width.

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by astrodust on Monday March 11, 2019 @01:06PM (#19360639)

You clearly have not experienced an actual winter, just some weak-sauce facsimile, the sort you might get in northern Virginia.

If I wanted to get potatoes right now from the back yard dirt I'd have to remove about two feet of hard-packed ice and snow, then chisel into dirt that may as well be concrete. At least solid ice and concrete respect a pick. Wet, frozen dirt just shrugs it off.

Let me remind you that this year in places like Minnesota it was -60°F outside. Good luck getting anything out of the ground in those conditions. Even a backhoe is going to have trouble. I'd suggest using dynamite, but at those temperatures even dynamite won't work without being heated up first.

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by dang on Monday March 11, 2019 @04:42PM (#19362611)

Please don't cross into snark or personal swipes. Your comment would be just fine without the bits at the beginning and end.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by astrodust on Monday March 11, 2019 @05:14PM (#19362888)

Fair enough. I'd edit it if I could.

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by dang on Monday March 11, 2019 @05:40PM (#19363113)

I've opened it for editing so you can change it now.

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Re:Roquette Science: How computerized arugula farms take ove... by astrodust on Monday March 11, 2019 @07:12PM (#19363802)

You got it.

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