Greenhouses & Technology Archives - Page 2 of 2

Robotics are increasingly taking the effort out of traditional labouring tasks and improving labour productivity (Image by John Fitzsimmons)

Equipment Greenhouses & Technology

No place for auto-pilot

12/06/2024 John Fitzsimmons 1242 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Navigating the greenlife jungle

By John Fitzsimmons

Over recent months, pressures have been building on nearly all sectors of the economy. Previously undetected stress cracks are appearing daily, with outcomes ranging from annoying to catastrophic. And yet, as the old saying “it’s an ill wind that blows no-one any good” goes, there are still thrivers among the survivors.… Continue reading

The correct loading technique using your lower body minimises strain on your back and shoulders (Image: Patrick Regnault)

Equipment Greenhouses & Technology

Back to basics with small tools

12/06/2024 Patrick Regnault 1110 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Patrick Regnault

Small tools are the basis of our trade. Secateurs, pruning and grafting knives, shovels and spades, picks, and hoes, and so much more. Some of the small tools have been used for centuries and reached their final forms a very long time ago.… Continue reading

Quality, consistency and uniformity can be enhanced with new technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) (Image: John Fitzsimmons)

Greenhouse Robotics

Greenhouses, AI and robots:

11/12/2023 John Fitzsimmons 1447 Views 0 Comments

Time to adjust our thinking.

By John Fitzsimmons

Reviewing recent developments in horticulture, and in particular in greenhouse production, is a regular process for growers and specialist media. But with the rapid emergence and development of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), sensory capabilities and robotics, it is time to look beyond hardware and even services and consider more holistically what our growing business needs and wants are.… Continue reading

Robots are increasingly saving labour performing even menial tasks in nurseries

Greenhouses & Technology

Productivity elements for successful growth

09/07/2023 John Fitzsximmons 1307 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By John Fitzsimmons

Just what are the most common tools and structures used by successful greenlife growers? A visit to Boomaroo Nurseries outside Geelong in Victoria during the recent IPPS conference generated much interest and provided a useful site as a basis for discussion of such ideas.… Continue reading

Imagine concurrent light transmission and power generation for the greenhouse. It could be possible with new nano coating technology (Image: John Fitzsimmons)

Greenhouses & Technology

Transparent solar cells: Growing power

16/12/2022 John Fitzsimmons 1373 Views 0 Comments

By John Fitzsimmons

Depending on location, energy usage can be the second largest operational expense in commercial greenhouse crop cultivation, and despite greenhouses providing the controlled environments needed for innovative research, they can be energy intensive and expensive to light, heat and cool.… Continue reading

Good automation is a progression and as an enterprise grows, new elements should integrate well with earlier modules

Equipment

Automation: The future needed now

09/07/2022 John Fitzsimmons 1462 Views 0 Comments

By John Fitzsimmons

Recent times have brought the future forward, sharpened our focus and made knowing where to look, a lot more obvious.

Recent episodes of economic upheaval mostly associated with a pandemic and international conflict, plus extreme weather events evidencing the trends in climate change, have increased the urgency and relevance of many personal and business decisions.… Continue reading

Sprinkler type and height above the crop are major factors in irrigation application efficiency

Irrigation

Revisiting water and irrigation basics

01/05/2022 admin 1472 Views 0 Comments

By John Fitzsimmons

Every horticulturist and landscaper knows that water is essential for greenlife, whether it’s in the production or retail sectors, or in garden design and maintenance. In this country, irrigation in some form is usually (not always) a given.… Continue reading

InvertiGro modular sealed grow cubes can be stacked anywhere as you can see in their warehouse

Greenhouses & Technology

Vertical farms get smarter

02/09/2021 admin 2320 Views 0 Comments

By Karen Smith

In 2008, Dickson Despommier, then a Professor of Public Health at Columbia University, in collaboration wrote an article describing the concept of the vertical farm. His view of the vertical farm grafted together everything available from greenhouse technology to NASA biosphere control systems, into a high-rise construction that is a functional part of the urban system itself.… Continue reading

Irrigation

Irrigating need not be irritating

01/05/2021 admin 1299 Views 0 Comments

By Dan Austin –

Of all the environmental factors that we might manipulate as growers, there is one factor that is undeniably more crucial than the rest – water. It seems simple – supply plants with adequate light, water, nutrients in a good environment and you get plant growth but, in a nursery, the factors to consider when irrigating are a little more complex.… Continue reading

Irrigation

Irrigation is about control … and management

01/05/2021 admin 1276 Views 0 Comments

By John Fitzsimmons –

It’s a given that water is essential for production nurseries, precious, and sometimes expensive. It’s also a fact that your plants need enough water – not too much and not too little – at appropriate times and delivered in appropriate forms.… Continue reading