Vertical Farming and LED Grow Light Create a New Mode of Desert Agriculture

Growing vegetables in the desert used to be an incredible challenge. However, that has changed over time. The advent of technology for greenhouse vertical farming is living proof of this success in growing vegetable in the desert!

There used to be many constraints growing vegetables in the desert . And these constraints are not easy to be converted.Even if they could be done, that would be a considerable price to pay. growing vegetables in the desert is bound to be limited by these factors. so ,what are the challenges of growing vegetables in the desert.

1) hot, dry, and windy weather conditions, the desert has a unique, incredibly arid climate. without well controlling of the environment where vegetables grow, a dry desert climate can very easily burn vegetables you grow outdoors. The wind in the desert can take a vegetable plant and lay it out flat in the course of just a few seconds! Greenhouses are an effective and practical way to protect your young vegetables from the burn of sunlight and heat and from the blow of the wind. 

 2) lacking of arable land , it is common sense that there is little arable land in the desert.The desert is full of sand, gravel and clay. And the texture of these soils are very unsuitable for growing vegetables .This also makes vegetables in the desert very expensive. So the only way to grow vegetables massively in the desert is to improve the soil or reduce soil dependence.

3) water shortage , water shortage is another limiting factor for growing vegetables in the desert.Water is scarce in deserts. moreover, in a dry weather environment like the desert, Water will dissipate at a much faster rate than in normal areas. Water is essential to crop production. It is an indispensable lifeline for crop growth. In agricultural production, we cannot do without water. The key is the demand for water. Different planting patterns require different amounts of water, which may also be affected by the varieties of crop and local climate.

To grow vegetables in the desert, the point is to find a pattern that works for the desert or find relevant techniques to simulate the growing environment of vegetables . After the unremitting exploration of mankind and the advance in technology, people finally found a suitable model for growing scaled fresh vegetables in the desert. 

greenhouse +vertical farming +hydroponics 

In the desert, every summer the temperature rises to 60℃ or more. In such a hot and dry environment, almost nothing grows, let alone the desire to grow fresh vegetables. so a greenhouse that can control and regulate the environment in which vegetables grow is necessary. because such a greenhouse can not only protect the planted vegetables from the invasion and damage of wind and sand, but also help to build a customized production environment for vegetable cultivation.

As mentioned above, deserts are windy and sandy. It is not easy to build a firm greenhouse in the desert. A lot of money is needed to throw into. And the temperature here is so high that a cooling device is necessary to be installed to protect vegetables from the high temperature. Water is very scarce, and how to supply water is also a big problem. The costs behind this greenhouse project are predictably enormous. In this case, how to make full use of the greenhouse space to expand the scale of planting is particularly important. Because this can share some equipment so as to achieve the purpose of saving cost. Vertical farms are considered to be typical models for making full use of vertical space in greenhouses.

But vertical farming also has a minor drawback: it's impossible for vegetables to get enough lighting to photosynthesize just by relying on natural light . This needs to rely on artificial light source to carry on as technical support. In other words, the growers need to go to the market and look for led grow light suitable both for vegetable growth and vertical farming to supplement the required lighting for the vegetables on the vertical shelves. 

As for hydroponics, the reason why it is recommended is that it uses about 80 percent less water than normal vegetable farming, making it ideal for desert areas where water is scarce.

Although this planting pattern has a number of equipment need to be powered in greenhouse , such as grow light equipment, ventilation equipment, cooling equipment, carbon dioxide supply equipment, drip irrigation equipment, humidification equipment, nutrient solution circulation equipment, and so on. fortunately, the desert is rich in daylight resources, and if greenhouse and solar energy utilization equipment are combined, the subsequent energy costs of all kinds of equipment will be greatly reduced.

Growing vegetables in the desert is a pioneering undertaking. This has greatly broken the long dependence on imported fresh produce of desert countries and enabled local vegetable production.

in addition, increased yields of desert vegetables also mean improved health for the people who live there. Because they no longer have to worry about not being able to afford the expensive vegetables which contain some micronutrients they need. The incidence of related diseases will also decline. It can be said that with the help of led grow light, greenhouse vertical hydroponics has opened a new chapter in desert agriculture and also contributed to the local health cause.