Experimental Projects for Communities Of Tomorrow

I am still at the airport, my flight is still not here and I continue writing.

So as I mentioned in the last post, while in Orlando we visited the Epcot Centre. EPCOT, the word, stands for Experimental Project for Communities of Tomorrow. It was a Disney park, but with a difference - more nature and environment oriented, had some interesting shows and rides highlighting the interactions of humans with Nature, a world pavilion showcasing different cultures of the world etc.




True to its name, there were many experimental projects being showcased also. One of these, which really had us interested, was their greenhouse effort, where they were experimenting with different ways of growing plants.

For example, these chilli peppers that are being grown in small amounts of soil with just enough nutrient being provided. And you can also see the tomato vines hanging from the top and getting their nutrients from the centre tree trunk.



Or these melons/cantaloupes growing from the top too. Notice that in both these cases, there is some soil but the plant nutrient is being provided through the pipes.



The clincher, though were these hanging vines of tomatoes and flowers that were being grown without the use of any soil. The tomato vines were revolving on a ring and when their roots passed through a sub section of the ring, they were sprayed with water and nutrient.



Similarly for these violas, the nutrient was being sprayed directly onto the flowers and leaves.

Comments

Sigma said…
This is interesting .... but what happens to the roots of the plants which are grown in no soil ?
8:01 AM
Pooja Aggarwal said…
You see the second last picture of the hanging tomato vines - those green/brown bundle of hair, those are the roots.
11:33 AM
Anonymous said…
Loved the post and the ideas you have talked about.
10:13 PM
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