The present invention is a modular indoor farm lighting system. The lighting system is comprised of a frame comprising two or more retaining members and one or more support members. The retaining members are adapted to retain corrugated panels. The corrugated panels have light emitting diode (LED) bars disposed within their troughs. Each LED bar will be provided onto a combiner board. The combiner boards will provide each LED bar with power, and hold 4 LED bars in the preferred embodiment. The system may be hung by a carabiner and rope system to be attached to the vertical components of the support members.

A lighting controller has one or more output channels connected to the lighting, each channel comprising a lighting driver circuit, and having independently controllable intensity of the lighting from off to full power, a microcontroller containing instructions to control the intensity of the lighting by direct current or pulse width modulation, a communication connection adapted to communicate wirelessly with a control program, in communication with the microprocessor.

A method of operating a lighting controller is also described, having the steps of the app connecting to the lighting controller by a communication connection, wherein the lighting controller is connected to a plurality of channels connected to lights, a user adjusting an intensity control on the app, wherein the lighting controller adjusts the output of one of the channels accordingly, between off and full-power, a user inputting a light schedule.

A system for managing cultivation of plants includes a database storing information about a plurality of growing beds and a multiplicity of farming agents. Each agent is associated with one growing bed and runs a cultivation program on inputs from a farmer of said associated growing bed and information about said associated growing bed from said database. Each agent enforces user preferences and business rules for said associated growing bed and provides cultivation instructions to said farmer to cultivate its associated growing bed.

An Internet-of-Thing (IoT) method for improving ROI of farming includes placing a plurality of sensor hubs in predetermined locations in a farm, each hub including a meteorological data acquisition system and an environmental data collection system; and monitoring key elements in the growing of plants from a plurality of sensor hubs including lighting, humidity, temp, soil moisture, and elements that influence plant growth.

Disclosed is a firm support for long stem flowers or plants. The stake is provided with interlocking clips with open and close cylinders that hold the plant stem in place. A node is provided on the periphery of the cylinder, which facilitates small hinge operation with a strong magnetic closure for open/close of a cylinder that holds the stem in place.

Apparatuses and methods for growing filamentous algae are disclosed. An apparatus comprises vertical surfaces such as plates or tubes which are suspended above the fill line of a water tank. Surfaces can have a frosted texture for algal growth. The surfaces are kept moist by pumping water from the tank through spray bars to the surfaces. Sprayed water drips back into the water tank. Algae growing on a surface can be processed into products such as biofuel and glycerin. Aquatic animals such as fish can be grown in a tank. An aquatic animal can generate nitrogenous waste as nutrient for algae, and provide food for human consumption. The amount of harvestable algae produced by an apparatus can exceed the amount produced from other systems of comparable size over comparable durations. An apparatus can also be utilized to scrub CO.sub.2.

This invention relates to processes and systems for converting fresh food waste into nutrient rich hydrolysates and particulate compositions. The invention also relates to the hydrolysates and compositions useful, for example, as fertilizers, feedstock or other nutrient supplements.

The present disclosure provides instruments, kits and methods for growing a plant. In some embodiments, a plant producing writing instrument is provided. Such writing instrument may include a housing having a writing end and an opposing non-writing end. In addition, a capsule with one or more seeds may be disposed at the non-writing end of the housing. The capsule may be degradable after placement in a moist soil to release the one or more seeds.

The invention relates to an electricity generation method using orientable photovoltaic sensors (10) disposed above crops (C), the shadow projected onto the crops being altered by changes in the orientation of the sensors. The method is characterised in that the orientation of the sensors is controlled in a computerized and automatic manner in order to affect the microclimatic conditions of the crops by changing the orientation of the sensors, in particular in order to place crops in microclimatic conditions more suited to obtaining a desired agricultural result, while seeking to achieve an optimum, reducing electricity generation as little as possible in relation to a reference that is not combined with crops.

In embodiments there is disclosed a modular pole for horticultural and agricultural use, pole sections and connector pins for use to assemble the pole, and methods for assembling the pole. In embodiments a connector pin is inserted into end sockets in opposed pole section ends and in embodiments the ends are held onto the connector pin by a fastener which may comprise a clip or a threaded sleeve.