Here’s an idea that blew up at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: an inflatable container farm that could help people grow crops where there’s not a lot of water.
The company behind this product, AirFarm, knows something about water scarcity.
It’s based in Jordan, a country that’s three-quarters desert and has to import most of its food.
The AirFarm system is designed to make the most of that limited water, by spraying water and nutrients directly at each plant’s roots through an extremely fine mist.
The company says it uses 99 percent less water than standard farming techniques, and 90 percent less than hydroponic growing.
It also uses 60 percent less fertilizer than a hydroponic installation.
There’s a set of smart lights, and there’s a smartphone app which can monitor and fine-tune the growing conditions.
Because it’s inflatable, AirFarm is easier to ship, making it more eco-friendly.
It’s also easier to install, taking about half a day.
Company officials say the system is already growing salad greens for schools in the United Arab Emirates.
They want to scale up and make AirFarm a viable choice for commercial agriculture.
Which would be one of the few kinds of inflation consumers might actually like.
Today in 1931, the birthday of James Earl Jones.
He did a little bit of everything in his long career, though one of his most famous roles only took a short time.
Jones recorded all the lines for Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movie in just one day: March 1st, 1977.
World’s first inflatable farm uses 99% less water to grow vegetables in deserts (Interesting Engineering)
James Earl Jones Only Needed One Day to Change Star Wars Forever (Inverse)
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