2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Vertical tower is an aeroponic vertical standing structure that allows plant growth without chemical pesticides, herbicides or soil. Vertical towers save land, space, and water; produce no weed, pest or disease issues; and are ecofriendly. The objective of this preliminary research trial was to evaluate the yield performance of green leafy vegetables. Five crops, Mustard, Swiss Chard, Collard, Kale and Lettuce, were grown in summer 2017 at the Tennessee State University organic farm. Organic seeds were started in planting trays in an organic potting mix in a greenhouse. Transplants (3 weeks old) were transferred onto rock wool cubes (2.5 cm) in an indoor vertical grow tower, 62 inches tall in a 3 square feet unit area. A tower held up to 20 plants each in 20 evenly spaced compartments. There were four compartments for each vegetable type in each tower. The experiment was replicated in a second tower and both towers were spaced a few feet from each other. Water and nutrient solution were administered to the plants using an inbuilt pump within the tower system. Vegetables were harvested at maturity and total fresh weight per plant was recorded for each tower. The Giant Mustard produced 154.38 g, the Pink Russian Swiss Chard yielded 141.50 g, Georgia Collard yielded 132.50 g while the Lacinto Kale and Parris Island Romaine Lettuce produced yields of up to 110.63 g and 96.88 g respectively. The preliminary trial confirms that the vertical grow tower can serve as a viable alternative to growing vegetables horizontally on land as it uses less space and increases number of vegetables produced per unit area, due to the higher number of plants obtainable per growing floor area.