Design of a Small-Scale Hydroponic System for Indoor Farming of Leafy Vegetables

Abstract

The reduction of the population and labour force in rural areas, adverse climate changes, soil pollution and degradation, and reduced soil fertility necessitate new and intensive approaches to and methods of vegetable production. In this study, a new high-tech, small-scale hydroponic system based on the Internet of Things (IoT) for growing leafy vegetables was designed. For the assembly of the high-tech small-scale hydroponic system, low-cost materials and sensors are used, allowing remote monitoring and process automation during the cultivation of leafy vegetables and seedlings. Experimental investigations of the installation were conducted, with lettuce as the grown crop. The environmental and technological parameters of the system were monitored and analysed in order to assess the suitability of the system. The obtained results confirm that the small-scale hydroponic system maintained the set parameters of air temperature, air humidity and pH of the nutrient solution within the optimal limits for growing lettuce. Other parameters, such as temperature and electrical conductivity of the nutrient solution, had small deviations from the required optimal limits. In the initially set experiment, 75% germination of the lettuce seeds was achieved. The main advantages of the proposed hydroponic system are the simplicity of its management and easy installation. Furthermore, it offers the possibility for remote monitoring and control without any high requirements towards the experience of the user with such facilities. The designed and implemented small hydroponic system can help small and medium-sized vegetable growers achieve indoor sustainable farming of leafy vegetables year-round.

Low Energy and Carbon Hydroponic Tomato Cultivation in Northern Spain: Nutritional and Environmental Assessment

“…One of the main advantages of hydroponic systems is the possibility of reusing irrigation water and nutrients . This includes improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the irrigation process, as well as easily controlling water retention capacity . Similarly, these crops yield higher production and provide better prevention against soil-transmitted pests and diseases, as well as easier control of environmental variability .…”

“…18 This includes improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the irrigation process, as well as easily controlling water retention capacity. 19 Similarly, these crops yield higher production and provide better prevention against soil-transmitted pests and diseases, as well as easier control of environmental variability. 20 In contrast, studies have proven that hydroponics have higher energy consumption than conventional soil crops; tomato cultivation in field requires approximately 0.8 MJ of energy per harvested kg, whereas for hydroponic tomatoes it rises up to 4 MJ.…”

A low-cost spectroscopic nutrient management system for Microscale Smart Hydroponic system

“…Firstly, EC probes have a short life span and cannot be left in the solution indefinitely [ 24 , 28 ]. Separate measuring tanks [ 22 , 25 ] or pumping the solution through a pipe with mounted sensors [ 26 ] have been proposed but do not address the durability concerns of EC probes. Secondly, because EC probes administer small electrical currents in the water, they are prone to interference from other water sensors that may also use similar techniques.…”

“…These probes easily integrate with consumer grade IoT systems to manage nutrient content [12]. There has been substantial work in nutrient management systems for MSHS application using the standard EC probe approach [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”