(224t) Tower Gardens and Solar Technology

Description

            The complete development and components of a solar system will be described in favor of a tower garden. Tower gardens are vertical aeroponic growing system designed to allow the cultivation of plants in restricted places. This system will be completely powered by a renewable source: sunlight.

Characteristics of a Tower Garden

• It requires very minimal space of 3 ft. diameter.
• It utilizes aeroponics which is more effective, cleaner and requires less work compared with traditional farming.
• It uses 90% less of water and land than are used in traditional farming.
• It recycles 100% of its nutrients and water.
• It has been proven to have 30% higher yields of product and faster maturation rates.

UAB’s Research Involvement

• UAB’s Community Gardens: comparison between 6 traditional raised beds and 6 tower garden systems (variables monitored: time to maturation, weight, size, yield, produce quality, water usage per lb of produce, weather impact, resistance to bacteria and insects).
• Aldridge Botanical Gardens: observation of the performance of tower garden systems in the natural ecosystem (tower garden systems placed near the beehives to observe their influence on bees activity)
• Gadsden State Community College: experimental research aiming to determine the key elements crucial for vertical farming

Examples of places where the invention can be used:

• Hospitals
• Power irrigation for crops
• Places where an electric installation is too expensive.
• Invention will increase the number of points that can be achieved under the LEED code: Renewable Energy.

Tower Garden and Solar Panels

            Solar panels will be installed to provide electricity for the water pumps in the tower gardens. Our sustainable focus in the tower gardens will be reinforced with electricity provided by the sun. This solar panel system will provide enough electricity to keep the pump on and the water running through the tower garden. Using solar panels will also help place the tower garden in any place, without the need of an electrical outlet.