Don't let data smog close your mind to new greenhouse ideas

Added on 18 October 2021

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Don't let data smog close your mind to new greenhouse ideas

You've likely experienced or dealt with information overload at least once in your lifetime, especially lately when it comes to politics and COVID-19. With websites numbering in the billions, podcasts spilling into the millions, and social media sites continuing to grow, a constant stream of real news and fake news flows across our consciousness every day, generating an ongoing brain fog of data that makes it difficult to see things clearly. It's called data smog an overwhelming amount of data or information whose volume serves more to confuse the user than illuminate a topic. I wonder if this phenomenon is hurting more than helping controlled-environment growers open their minds to alternative methods of growing and new opportunities.

We're hearing a lot of noise out there about which type of growing system is the best for indoor crops. Greenhouse, warehouse, hydroponics, aquaponics, vertical farming, shipping containers there are so many methods to grow indoor crops nowadays and just as many arguments for which method is superior. If you're a vertical farmer, you can pull up energy cost calculations, production costs per square foot, and other data to support your viewpoint. Proponents of greenhouse growing can do the same. Many new growers agonize over the decision to use aquaponic techniques over hydroponic ones. Does the consumer appeal of using fish to grow because of their environmental benefits outweigh more controllable hydroponic methods? Is a shipping container better than a warehouse because it's compact and self-contained? Is a warehouse superior to a greenhouse because you have total control over the environment? Does a greenhouse trump a warehouse because it utilizes natural light? I can go on, but you get my point data smog.