Considerations for Choosing a ZipFarm Location

With today’s sophisticated growing equipment, modern farmers can produce local food anywhere there's a market for it, regardless of location or environmental constraints.

The ZipFarm™ – a turnkey indoor farm solution designed for humans – empowers today's most innovative farmers to grow food anywhere using vertical plane growing techniques.  

This unprecedented freedom is a key ingredient of the rapidly growing urban farming and the local food movement. 

For example, Green Mountain Ranch started a farm in an old school. Others transform gray warehouse spaces into verdant food factories, and still others build vertical plane farms in specially crafted compact containers.

In this post, we're giving you a few tips on what to look for in a building when you're thinking about starting your own indoor vertical farm. 

The Best Sump System for Indoor Farmers

ZipGrow Flow Rates in Hydroponics

Flow Rates in Hydroponics Systems

What’s the right flow rate for your application?

As we've discussed in the past, there are many different types of hydroponic growing techniques out there (e.g. NFT, grow beds, etc.). Each of these techniques will differ significantly in the amount of water + nutrient solution you'll need to be circulating throughout the system to grow your plants.

Recirculating and Flow to Waste Hydroponics

Recirculating and flow to waste hydroponics

There are two major forms of hydroponic production systems:

1. Recirculating hydroponic systems

2. Flow to waste hydroponic systems.

Both recirculating systems and flow to waste have their pros and cons, however, and today we're going to look at each type of system.

Water Use Efficiency in Hydroponics and Aquaponics

ZipGrow Tower Flow Rates

What is a flow rate?

This post covers discuss flow rates for hydroponic farming systems using ZipGrow towers because they are the media-based vertical growing technique we've seen the most production out of here in the northern hemisphere.

Solids Removal in Aquaponics

One Pump vs. Two Pump Aquaponics Systems

The problem with pumps

One pump is a good thing. Two pumps are a bad thing.

Pump Efficiency

Sizing a pump is some of the most unfamiliar territory to people starting up an aquaponic or hydroponic system.

Aquaponic Drainage Systems: Return Lines

Aquaponic drainage systems

Planning a drainage system for any aquaponic system can be a daunting task, but planning a drainage system for ZipGrow Towers can sometimes be even more daunting, simply because they are so new, and most folks are unfamiliar with how they are plumbed.