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>but it is a significant time investment No, it really isn't. Place organic matter on the ground in fall or early spring. When the last frost has passed, pla

>but it is a significant time investment No, it really isn't. Place organic matter on the ground in fall or early spring. When the last frost has passed, plant seeds through it onto the ground. To do grow enough for a family of four is not even one day of work for one person. During the summer and fall, pick food and eat it. That's it. A robot isn't going to save enough time to be worth it. Using your palm-top to tell your robot tended garden to pick 300 grams of lettuce for you and then going out and picking it up from the robot isn't noticeably faster than just picking the lettuce yourself. >but the work in the 'vertical farming' market. That is not a real market. It is just techno-dystopian sci-fi. It has no purpose, there are not enough benefits to offset the huge downsides.

jpatokal 8y ago
> To do grow enough for a family of four is not even one day of work for one person. Citation needed. What crop would this be?
- deialtrous 8y ago
  Citation of what? That seeds grow if you plant them? It isn't a crop, it is vegetables. You would hopefully plant things you want to eat, but I do potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips (rutabagas if you are american), celeriac, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, melons, onions, garlic, leeks, beets, and some salad stuff. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but you get the idea. Plus there's the perennials which obviously you don't have to plant every year like asparagus and most berries and herbs. I spend precisely two days per year on all non-harvesting activities but that's because I start everything from seed instead of buying started plants so one day to plant the seeds and one day to transplant them 2 months later. It is cheaper and lets you get a lot of heirloom varieties your local nursery probably won't carry, but it is more work. I use only four simple non-powered tools assuming you count a popsicle stick as a tool. If you are going to grow your mulch because you don't have trees or neighbors doing it for you then you'll have to have something to cut your mulch crop with too.

jpatokal 8y ago

> To do grow enough for a family of four is not even one day of work for one person. Citation needed. What crop would this be?

deialtrous 8y ago
Citation of what? That seeds grow if you plant them? It isn't a crop, it is vegetables. You would hopefully plant things you want to eat, but I do potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips (rutabagas if you are american), celeriac, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, melons, onions, garlic, leeks, beets, and some salad stuff. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but you get the idea. Plus there's the perennials which obviously you don't have to plant every year like asparagus and most berries and herbs. I spend precisely two days per year on all non-harvesting activities but that's because I start everything from seed instead of buying started plants so one day to plant the seeds and one day to transplant them 2 months later. It is cheaper and lets you get a lot of heirloom varieties your local nursery probably won't carry, but it is more work. I use only four simple non-powered tools assuming you count a popsicle stick as a tool. If you are going to grow your mulch because you don't have trees or neighbors doing it for you then you'll have to have something to cut your mulch crop with too.