Vertical farming can act as the perfect complement to greenhouse and glasshouse operations. Here’s where we’ve seen growers thrive.
This article was written by Gina Mercier, Senior Account Manager at IGS. Gina works closely with growers to help them get the most from vertical farming technology, helping match individual need with years of industry expertise.
We’ve always believed that vertical farming technology is complementary to traditional agriculture, rather than a replacement. A vertical farm doesn’t have to be the plant’s home for the full extent of its life cycle: instead, it can act as a springboard, helping growers to achieve better yields, greater plant health, and greater resource efficiency.
A hybrid approach involves using vertical farming technology to optimise the early stages of crop growth, before transplanting the crops either outdoors, or to a glasshouse or polytunnel before harvesting. This approach makes sense for growers not just because of climate challenges, but also to help get around any supply chain issues. It empowers them to take the entire growth process in-house, reducing overheads and allowing them to grow to market demand, free from a reliance on third-party starter plant supply.
When a hybrid approach makes sense
In discussions with growers, we’ve heard that typically, as much as half of issues experienced around crop quality occur in the nursery stage. This is where we’d suggest a hybrid approach – using vertical farming technology to give crops the best possible start to life. At IGS, we provide Growth Recipes tailored to this stage of a plant’s growth, making sure it enters the latter stages both disease-free and robust enough to thrive in a more traditional growing environment. This approach is particularly fruitful when external weather conditions make it challenging to grow outside year-round, or growers are looking to take their operation in-house.
Unpredictable weather patterns
In July 2024, temperatures across the world broke all-time records with an average of 17.16 degrees Celsius. This isn’t an isolated event, with averages rising from 1.19 to 1.22 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels in the preceding decade. When combined with low levels of rainfall, this makes for challenging – not to mention unpredictable – growing conditions. And it’s not just rising global temperatures that are a challenge: farmers are also battling against everything from increased incidences of extreme weather, from flooding and wildfires, to unseasonal hailstorms or strong winds.
By taking the initial growth process into a vertical farm, growers can harness Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA) to control every aspect of the growth environment and produce the perfect starter plant. The lighting , temperature, wind, humidity, and watering levels are all controlled, enabling growers access to the best of both worlds – use of the Growth Towers to develop strong healthy starter plants, and also taking advantage of optimal growing conditions outdoors when available.
Volatile supply chains
Imports are key to growing certain crops, such as strawberry propagules and lettuce plugs. These are a highly efficient way of making sure greenhouse or glasshouse space is optimised in growing crops for harvest, but it doesn’t come without its flaws. In the UK, for instance, more than a third of imported strawberry propagules fall victim to damage or disease. This is not only wasteful, but the added costs for importing and transportation can make for a hefty environmental and financial cost.
Our crop trials have shown that by adopting IGS vertical farming technology, growers can increase their yield by roughly 30%. This enables them to grow healthy mother plants, eliminating pest and disease and cutting associated losses in the process, while simultaneously avoiding the knock-on impact of seedling cost volatility.
What crops work best
We work closely with customers to grow a wide variety of crops, and over the years, we’ve determined that some of these work best when grown as part of a hybrid operation. Our team of crop scientists has grown everything from strawberry propagules and tomato scions, through to tree seedlings and lettuce plugs. They’ve homed in the fertigation and lighting combinations that give plants the best start to life, priming them for their next stage of growth.
A hybrid approach is particularly effective when growers are fighting adversity. This could be water scarcity, or the impact which pests and disease can have on yield and crop health, amongst other factors. One crop that is particularly susceptible to these is lettuce. Around 27 million tonnes are grown annually across the globe, making it one of the most in-demand crops.
We’ve worked with growers to produce lettuce seedlings in IGS Growth Towers, growing them to the point that they’re robust and healthy enough to be moved to a greenhouse for their final stages of growth. This allows them to keep their entire operation in-house, locating close to the consumer and reducing transportation costs while reaping the benefits of healthy crops.
Similar trials working to grow tomato plugs have shown that vertical farming technology can produce seedlings roughly twice as fast as they would grow in a greenhouse. These plugs are free from pest and disease, and grown without any harmful chemicals, reducing losses and making for healthy, nutritious produce ready for delivery to the end consumer.
Where you can learn more
We’ve published a series of guides covering everything from initial capital and operational expenditure, to using vertical farming to grow tree seedlings. These are written by experts across IGS who use their expertise to help growers design, set up, and hit the ground running with all aspects of their vertical farming operation.
Download our full hybrid growers’ guide to find out more, and get a unique insight into where we’ve seen this approach work best for customers.
