Although our aeroponic towers take less than 1m² meter in space, we recommend allocating 1.5m² to 2m² per tower (depending on crops), including aisle space, packing area, propagation tables for seedlings, cleaning station, etc.
A Tower Farm saves on average 75% of space compared to conventional agriculture in the soil, and at least 50% in comparison to NFT hydroponic horizontal systems.
Space savings translate into lesser overhead costs. It is obviously more expensive to build and run a 1,000m² greenhouse than a 5,000m² facility.
Aside from a lesser overhead, saving space means a reduced energy footprint, accentuating Tower Farm’s eco-friendliness message.
Space savings also means operating within city limits, circumventing the food distribution chain by delivering freshly harvested nutrient-dense crops directly from the farm to the customer.
Let’s compare the space parameters for growing lettuce in the soil vs. using aeroponic towers:
Firstly, it is important to mention that different types of lettuce may require different spacing. For instance, iceberg lettuce generally needs more space than loose-leaf varieties.
However, for example’s sake, let’s use the industry average for plant spacing and density in the soil:
Plant Spacing: The spacing for lettuce can vary widely. Common spacing for rows is about 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 inches) apart with plants spaced about 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 inches) apart within the row. For denser, smaller varieties or baby leaf production, plants might be spaced closer together.
Density: Assuming an average spacing of 30 cm between plants and 40 cm between rows, each plant would occupy about 0.12 square meters (about 1.3 square feet). This spacing would allow for approximately 83,333 plants per hectare (10,000 square meters).
In comparison to 83,000 plants grown in the soil, in a vertical farm using aeroponic towers also featuring one hectare of space, we can grow 260,000 to 300,000 lettuces with an increased crop yield of 30% average per plant.
Vertical Farm using Aeroponic Towers
Traditional Soil-Based Farm
