Increase production up to 33% in shipping containers

In an effort to provide a more sustainable food supply, many indoor growers are bringing their farms closer to the dining table. It may seem a bit ironic that such farm-to-table operations are sometimes built in the very type of container that once shipped food across great distances and at great environmental cost. But for companies like New Hampshire’s Oasis Springs Farm, a shipping container equipped with LED grow lights is the perfect way to produce fresh vegetables year-round within the community.

Maximizing Shipping Containers Space

Oasis Springs is an urban hydroponic farm built by Sarah and Chris Ward, a marketing/PR professional and an IT company head, who both had an interest in sustainable hydroponic growing. Five years ago, they bought their first shipping container farm and later built a second one, all to supply fresh leafy greens, herbs and microgreens to local homes and restaurants. They were doing this using high-tech, environmentally friendly resources such as LED lighting.

With technology always changing, when it came time to build their third container farm last year, they knew they needed to investigate the latest in LED grow lights. Sarah remarked, “We knew that modern lighting could decrease grow time, which increases the amount of food that can be grown and sold and helps our overall bottom line

Sarah and Chris went back to basics, running a trial to see which LED grow lights would work best for their particular crops and customers. They ran the trial with lettuce using technology from two LED manufacturers – one that required a lighting purchase and Heliospectra, which provided a complimentary set of SIERA lights for the trial. Chris commented that, “Working with the two companies was like night and day. Heliospectra was really interested in partnering with us, and Ryan, our Grower Liaison, met with us online every week. He would also bring in their plant and light specialist from Sweden for online consults.”

The trial ran for six months, with ongoing adjustments to the light quantity and duration to achieve the desired lettuce results. Chris commented, “We tried different levels of light intensity and daily light integrals and having Heliospectra’s experts guide us really helped.” He continued, “In the end, although both vendors’ lights could grow lettuce in the same time period, the Heliospectra lights produced a better-quality product.”

Increasing crop quality with modern LED Grow Lights

Oasis Springs was first interested in Heliospectra’s SIERA lights because of the amount of far-red included in their spectrum. Research has shown that far-red light has a positive effect on plant development, including extension growth and leaf size.

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Phoro: Heliospectra

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