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Harvest Today offers an innovative solution for indoor growing that allows communities to locally cultivate their own food and enjoy freshly harvested crops. Harvest Wall provides a controlled environment with significantly reduced water usage and eliminates the need for pesticides. With the Harvest Wall, individuals can have access to fresh food daily, whether it's in their homes, community spaces, or any location that accommodates this system.
The Harvest Wall is meticulously designed with advanced engineering to incorporate a user-friendly Vertigation™ system. Through the Harvest Today App, users can easily set watering schedules and receive notifications for low water levels, simplifying the indoor growing process.
Operation[edit | edit source]
How the Water Circulates[edit | edit source]
When you pump the water, it pumps the water from the reservoir, moves across the rail to the top and drops down.
Lighting[edit | edit source]
The wall can grow more plants than traditional indoor growing; whether it is hydroponic or vertical growing. There is a combination of 4 spectrums in the light. They go beyond visible to a penetrating spectrum. The frequency of this nanometer with spectrum was originally used for bone repair in humans. They could use a lighted pad over their arm if it was broken. The light penetrates to the skin layers, muscular layer and causes the bone cells to knit together faster. It also makes plants grow. It penetrates through the canopy and so it enables us to plant 4 inches apart from each other instead of 8 or 12 inches apart. They can grow to the full size. There are no dying leaves on this wall because that penetrating spectrum goes and passes the through the canopy and right into the roots. It stimulates the ATP pumps within the cells and causes them to uptake the nutrients faster and to have better electrical activity with them.
Growing Protocols[edit | edit source]
- Better Grow Lights - 24 hr cycle. No disruption for flowering needed.
- Temperature - 21 to 24 °C (warm room)
- Water (veg stage) - 4 liters per wall per week
- Water (fruit stage) - 8-12 liters per wall per week
- Supplementation - biodigestor effluent plus 1/2 tsp boron in 12 liters of water at flower stage during second and subsequent crops
- pH levels - 5.5-6.0
- Germination: Use Root Stock not seeds
- Standard Time to Harvest: 30-70 days
- The Wall's Time to Harvest: 30 - 60 days
- Harvest Per Plant: Continuous harvests
- Yield - average is 1-2 quarts of strawberries per plant per year
Materials Needed[edit | edit source]
- Peat Pots
- Coco Coir
- Dutch Nutrient Formula Gro A&B
- Hydrogen Peroxide 25% (H2O2) – Directions: 1 – 2.5 ,l/gallon
- 20% pH DOWN 500 ml Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4)
- Combo Meter for pH, Temperature, Conductivity (Nutrient) in water
- Strawberry Seeds
Where to buy each[edit | edit source]
- Coconut Coir: Canadian Tire or Ontario Growers Supply
- Dutch Nutrient Formula Gro A&B: Original Website or Ontario Growers Supply
- pH DOWN
- Combo Meter
Precautions[edit | edit source]
Water tank[edit | edit source]
Allow the water to sit undisturbed for the chlorine to evaporate. Then, add it to the water tank. Fill up the tank until the blue sign inside.
Nutrients and Water[edit | edit source]
The Dutch Nutrient Formula (DNF) is a plant nutrition product developed in Holland. It has been around for 23+ years and provides everything necessary for optimal plant growth. DNF is a convenient 2-part formula for both the Grow and Bloom stages, maximizing nutrient uptake. It eliminates binding, solidification, and waste of mineral elements found in regular 1-part plant food. DNF is highly economical, utilizes all elements effectively, and has proven results supported by industry professionals' testimonials. It contains no additives or dyes, is heavily concentrated, and offers excellent value.
Gro A: 2-0-2 (2% Nitrogen, 2% Soluble Potash, 2% Calcium) Gro B: 0-1-3 (0% Nitrogen, 1% Available Phosphate, 3% Soluble Potash, 0.5% Magnesium)
The EC reading on the device should be between 2 to 3. If it's higher, it's advisable to add water to both the wall and water tank until it levels. Nutrients can be added through the wall or water tank. The frequency of nutrient addition depends on the EC number. When baby strawberries start pollinating, it's recommended to add salt to the wall. Maintain a pH level between 5-5.5, and if it's higher, use pH DOWN following the instructions on the wall.
Planting the Seeds[edit | edit source]
First and foremost, the slots need to be cleaned. It is very important and it could be done using any stick. There are various ways to do this. Start by filling two-thirds of the cup with coco coir. Next, plant 3 to 4 seeds in the middle of the cup. Once done, fill the cup with coco coir again. Spray the soil with water and position it on the wall following the instructions in the picture.
Tips From The Farm[edit | edit source]
"We recommend Rockwool as the growing medium for strawberries because coconut coir or peat moss may soak up too much nutrient solution and suffocate the plant. Because there are no bees and birds indoors, you must pollinate your strawberries once the petals are fully opened. This can be done with a fan, by hand, or by having lady bugs to help. To get multiple harvests, keep the plants well trimmed, removing runners and stems right back to the vine. Keep an eye on your water once the plants have set their fruit. They can consume a lot of water during this stage.'
Tested Varieties[edit | edit source]
- Mignonette: Mignonette is a French ever-bearing variety of strawberries. It’s considered an alpine strawberry and wild strawberry. Their wild nature allows them to be grown in any climate with little maintenance. A petite berry which turns deep red when they are fully ripe, with sublime flavor. This alpine strawberry is ever bearing, so it produces over a long period of time. The plants are upright and compact. Stratify before planting (we didn't do this)
Germination: 2-7 weeks (these were planted on Feb 27 and popped on March 16, so 2.5 weeks)
- GL Seeds Alpine Strawberry Indoor Ever-bearing Alexandria Red for Planting Non-GMO: One of the best barless ever-bearing winter-hardy varieties with dark red, rather large and aromatic berries. In one place, it gives good yields for 3-4 years. Prefers sunny areas or partial shade. The variety is resistant to adverse weather conditions. A wild, woodland strawberry native to Europe. Remove old foliage after the plants have finished fruiting.
Stratify before planting (we didn't do this)
Germination: 2-8 weeks
- GL Seeds Alpine Giant Strawberry Indoor Ever-bearing Red Regina for Planting Non-GMO: A magnificent, large-fruited variety of ever-bearing strawberry, which bears fruit continuously all summer and fall. The plant is bushy, does not form a mustache. The berries are dark red, shiny, large, with regular feeding and watering, reach 3 cm in diameter, dense, beautifully shaped, fragrant. The first berries are harvested in the year of sowing. The variety has a high yield and disease resistance.
Stratify before planting (we didn't do this)
Germination: 5-6 weeks
Harvest Today App[edit | edit source]
The app has made it easy for growers to control cycles. In order to do that you need to connect to the wall through the app and Bluetooth.
From the Setting button, the number of cycles per day and their duration can be customized.
Number 6 on the left shows the number of cycles per day and number 1 shows the minutes each cycle last.
Note: If you set it to 30 seconds, it shows 0 on the app.
IMPORTANT: After the adjustments, DO NOT tap the back button! Instead, click on the Home button or your changes will not be saved.
Cleaning the Wall[edit | edit source]
Algae may appear on the wall, around the cups, or in the water tank.
- If you notice algae on the wall, use a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water. Spray the solution on the wall, making sure not to spray it on the plants. Remove the cups beforehand or clean them with a wipe soaked in the solution.
- For algae in the water tank, add 20 ml of Hydrogen peroxide, stir it, and leave the lid open for it to evaporate. The algae should disappear within 2-3 hours.
Materials Needed and Costs to Run the Wall[edit | edit source]
- 100 mL of Gro-A nutrient. (2 times a week, 50 ml each time.)
- 100 mL of Gro-B nutrient. (2 times a week, 50 ml each time.)
- 30 L of water to refill the tank. (Weekly)
- 20 mL of Hydrogen Peroxide to clean the tank from algae. (monthly)
Energy Consumption[edit | edit source]
Spectral UV-Vis Reading of The Wall[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
