CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A HYDROPONIC GREENHOUSE GROWING ENVIRONMENT

摘要

A greenhouse growing environment has a distributed control system for selecting, monitoring, and administering hydroponic nutrient solution mixtures that are tailored to crop varieties of the greenhouse. The crop varieties are preselected based on location characteristics of the greenhouse and analysis results of source water. The analysis results indicate a nutrient composition of the source water. A predefined nutrient formulation is then automatically combined with the source water by a nutrient dispensing subsystem, to achieve a desired nutrient solution mixture that is applied to a hydroponic bay. A computational system automatically monitors the state of a hydroponic environment and directs input modules as programmed, in order to increase plant growth, plant quality, and volume of plant yield.

主权项

1. A greenhouse for hydroponically growing multiple types of crops, the greenhouse comprising:
a nutrient mixing system including multiple nutrient containers, each of the multiple nutrient containers being configured to vary a flow rate of nutrients so as to tailor a dosage of nutrients provided in a fertigation solution for delivery to crops, the nutrient mixing system being controllable to provide a first dosage of nutrients according to a first preprogrammed recipe and to provide a second dosage of nutrients according to a second preprogrammed recipe, the first dosage of nutrients being predetermined to facilitate growth of a first crop and having nutrient concentrations provided by the multiple nutrient containers that are different from those of the second dosage of nutrients predetermined to facilitate growth of a second crop that is different than the first crop; a fertigation system in fluid communication with the multiple nutrient containers of the nutrient mixing system, the fertigation system including a first fertigation zone and a second fertigation zone spaced apart from the first fertigation zone, the first fertigation zone configured to hydroponically grow the first crop by delivering to it, in response to a first irrigation trigger event defined by the first preprogrammed recipe, the fertigation solution adjusted by the nutrient mixing system to have the first dosage of nutrients, the second fertigation zone configured to hydroponically grow the second crop by delivering to it, in response to a second irrigation trigger event defined by and independent of the second preprogrammed recipe, the fertigation solution adjusted by the nutrient mixing system to have the second combination of nutrients; and a main greenhouse controller configured to detect irrigation trigger events and cause the nutrient mixing system and the fertigation system to deliver the fertigation solution having its dosage tailored for a corresponding one of the first or second crop.