A conveyor system (4, 5) moves vertical poles (2) in an agricultural facility between a growing area (20) and a workstation (W). Each pole carries plant growing containers (3) at multiple levels (H1-H9). An irrigation reservoir (30) may be mounted atop each pole. Irrigation lines (31-33) from the reservoir may be individually metered (35) at each level to compensate for differing water pressure with height. Sensors (40) in the reservoir and at each level of the poles may provide a controller (36) with data input. The controller may impose different growing conditions in different areas of the facility, including vertically different grow areas (20A, 20B), and controls pole movements and locations selectively to provide a sequence of poles at the workstation ready to harvest on a demand schedule. The workstation may have multiple heights (W1, W2, W3) for tall poles that increase plant density per facility footprint.

A plant growing vessel includes an impervious outer vessel, a cover, a first permeable membrane, a nutrient chamber, and a pocket. The impervious outer vessel includes an inert substrate in a root zone. The cover is positioned over the impervious outer vessel. The first permeable membrane is in contact with the inert substrate. The nutrient chamber includes solid nutrients. The nutrient chamber is between the cover and the first permeable membrane or between the first permeable membrane and a bottom of the impervious outer vessel, and the solid nutrients are in contact with the first permeable membrane. The pocket is configured to allow seeds, seedlings, or shoots of plants access to the inert substrate through an aperture in the cover.

Embodiments of the disclosed technology are directed to devices and/or apparatuses for receiving, housing and displaying plants on surfaces having a repetitive pattern of elevation changes resulting in multiple horizontal planar surfaces of varying elevation. The apparatus may be, for example, a caddy adapted to conform to the staggered pattern of one or more steps, curbs, ledges, and/or walls. The caddy may be further adapted to receive and store, at an angle between 0 degrees and 90 degrees, an elongated planter. In further embodiments, a self-contained planter may be disclosed. The planter may be adapted for receiving soil, planting substrate and/or plants. The self-contained planter may have a base region adapted to conform to the staggered pattern of one or more stepped surfaces.

A multiple produce growth support apparatus comprises a plurality of growth supports having a growth substrate and produce arranged to grow within said respective growth substrate; a connection assembly, each of said plurality of growth supports connected to said connection assembly; an irrigation assembly arranged to irrigate said plurality of growth supports; and a rotation mechanism coupled to said connection assembly and arranged to rotate said plurality of growth supports about a predetermined rotation axis, wherein, when at least one of said growth support provides at least one growth substrate that is ready to be sold to the consumers said at least one growth substrate is moved to the section that is visible to present and deliver the produce to said consumers; whereby, said apparatus provides consumers with fresh produce directly from said growth substrate.

A plant cultivation device and a plant cultivation method are disclosed. The plant cultivation device includes: a holder including at least one plant cultivation layer; a lighting unit disposed in the at least one plant cultivation layer to allow light emitted from the lighting unit to irradiate a plant cultivated in the plant cultivation layer; an illuminance detecting unit configured to detect an illuminance in the plant cultivation layer to obtain an illuminance measurement; and a control unit configured to obtain the illuminance measurement and adjust a lighting intensity of the lighting unit according to the illuminance measurement.

A closed farm system for efficient plant production is provided. The closed farm system may have an air flow control system operable to direct air flow past plants growing within the system. The air flow control system may be operable to control heating and cooling of lighting panels and air flow ductwork within the closed farm system. The closed farm system may also have a plurality of LED lights mounted on one or more sheets supported by a frame assembly.

The present disclosure is directed to improved vertical farming using autonomous systems and methods for growing edible plants, using improved stacking and shelving units configured to allow for gravity-based irrigation, gravity-based loading and unloading, along with a system for autonomous rotation, incorporating novel plant-growing pallets, while being photographed and recorded by camera systems incorporating three dimensional/multispectral cameras, with the images and data recorded automatically sent to a database for processing and for gauging plant health, pest and/or disease issues, and plant life cycle. The present disclosure is also directed to novel harvesting methods, novel modular lighting, novel light intensity management systems, real time vision analysis that allows for the dynamic adjustment and optimization of the plant growing environment, and a novel rack structure system that allows for simplified building and enlarging of vertical farming rack systems.

A hydroponic tower cleaning and debris removal system is provided that is configured to automatically clean and remove plant and material debris from within a hinged, hydroponic tower as well as the plant containers contained within such a hydroponic tower. The hydroponic tower cleaning system utilizes a drive system to force the tower through the apparatus; an alignment system to ensure that the tower remains in proper alignment throughout the cleaning process; a brush system that initiates separation of plant debris from the tower/plant containers and ensures that the plant roots are torn apart; a plunger system to eject plant debris from within the plant containers; an air delivery system to blow away the debris; and rollers to maintain tower face alignment during the cleaning process.

A system, comprising: a storage workspace including a first framework defined by a series of first uprights, the first uprights supporting a grid of two substantially perpendicular sets of rails; and a plurality of containers for storing objects, wherein the plurality of containers are arranged in stacks, each stack of containers is located underneath a grid space in the workspace; and a grid extension including a continuation of the two substantially perpendicular sets of rails, and wherein the plurality of containers can be moved by one or more load handling devices between the storage workspace and an area beneath the grid extension, wherein the area beneath the grid extension is configured for positioning a roll cage such that containers can be placed or removed from the roll cage.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a moveable ventilation system comprising a supporting frame having at least one plenum, and at least one biofilter module mounted on the plenum for allowing air to flow through the biofilter module from an air inlet to an air outlet via a growth medium and a vegetation. The plenum is rotatably connected to the supporting frame.