While indoor growing systems and factory farms are coming online and making a significant contribution to future food security, they are mainly limited to leafy greens, herbs and annual vegetables. Fruit is the next challenge and we are looking at some solutions.
Fruit trees and orchards are traditionally anchored in the ground and particularly vulnerable to changing weather patterns and shifting climate, needing 5 to 10 years to establish before fruit production. and lacking the ability to easily be moved. A one day unseasonable frost or heat event at the time of flowering or early leaf setting can ruin the tree for a year. The essential nature of fruit growing is dependence on a predictable yearly temperature cycle and the optimal root irrigation and feeding.
We are working with several Japanese varieties of heat tolerant peach and grape with an integrated shade system
and getting extended growing season and better blossom retention, "building the better pot" with smart feeding systems and temperature augmentations.
