Re:After millennia of expansion, the world has passed ‘peak ...
by prawn on Wednesday June 01, 2022 @07:55PM
(#31589640)
I've visited a very advanced tomato greenhouse. They have a heliostatic solar field and tower that provides heating for the greenhouses plus fans for cooling, and desalinates water to irrigate.
The tomatoes grow in their substrate on top of big cooling/heating pipes that can be easily regulated. There's automated ventilation at the top of the greenhouses. They release wasps inside the greenhouse to control pests. Through summer, they spray the greenhouses with a chalky material to block some of the light.
Picking carts can self-drive themselves via guiding tracks embedded in the concrete flooring. It's all very clever, the plants are insanely productive and the produce tasted good to me.
Meanwhile my homegrown tomatoes are a constant battle on every front (heat, water, pests, etc).
Power consumption is also a factor. Without fans the humid environment is prone to fungal infections and certain pests can spread pretty quickly too.
Overall it is a benefit since it simply allows for climate control. But you also have to heat it in winter since the plants will be very susceptible to the cold in their pots. Still, greenhouses are barely an option in the hotter climates since the power consumption would be insane.
And nobody would grow potatoes in a greenhouse because that would be extremely labor intensive.