Feeding future urban populations - Introducing the vertical farm

Vertical farms are a very promising and sustainable solution to the growing needs for healthy, local foods in (over)populated urban areas. What’s more, at Grodan, we believe vertical farms will play an indispensable role in our future global food production. So, what is it all about?

Vertical Farming Picture

How it started

Producing more with less is in our roots. Since we invented hydroponic stone wool growing in 1969 we have continuously evolved the Grodan approach to sustainable growing. Our first customers started growing hydroponically to avoid disinfection of the soil which was done with methyl bromide, a heavy toxic chemical. Our growing media enabled them to provide the plants with water and fertilizer much more precisely and efficiently. By doing so the yield per square meter further increased, while at the same time saving water, fertiliser and subsequently saving on costs. Grodan can be seen as one of the Founding Fathers of Precision Growing for the horticulture industry. Today,growers make use of a wide range of innovative products for the entire growing cycle from the start of propagation till harvesting.

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Benefits of stone wool

The use of stone wool substrate offers many advantages. Thanks to the controlled manufacturing process, this growth medium is of a consistently high quality. The sterile production under extreme temperature ensures that the product is clean and sterile. Its unique hydrophilic fibre also makes the cultivation on stone wool substrate very easy to control. The grower can administer the amount of water and nutrients the crops need in a very directed and controlled manner, to achieve optimal growing results. Waste becomes a thing of the past. Efficient use of water and nutrients keeps yield per square metre high, and energy consumption per unit of product low. Additionally, the product is lightweight, making it easy to use. And last but not least, stone wool can be easily re-used. To sum up, it is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly product. 

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Grodan News

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Grodan greenhouse tomato woman
Article
20 Feb 2024

Grodan demonstrates commitment to gender equality by joining GAIA

Roermond, January 24, 2024. Grodan, a leading supplier in soilless growing solutions and substrates, has become the first company from the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) sector to join the Gender Alliance for Innovation in Agriculture (GAIA). To mark the occasion, Grodan’s Marketing Director Gonneke Gerkema contributed to the GAIA launch event at the European Parliament on January 24th, 2024.

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Grodan
Signify Grodan Vitalion
Press Release
19 Oct 2023

Grodan and Signify collaborate to conduct low-energy tomato cultivation research with an expected savings on heat-input up to 40%

The trial started September 2023 at Botany and will explore principles of low energy growing under fully dimmable Philips LED lights. Focus will be on plant transpiration and nutrient uptake in a 260 m2 department fitted with active air de-humidification. This year's strategy is built on the knowledge gained from last year's successful tomato trial by Signify. By modelling the expected crop development and performance, both Grodan and Signify expect to reduce up to 40% on heat input by dimming the lights based on crop needs, energy prices, and outside light conditions.

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Grodan
Grodan water drop
Press Release
13 Jun 2023
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Grodan
KAS magazine interview
General
12 Jan 2023

Young Grodan employees discuss in KAS magazine their experiences working in horticulture

Young Grodan colleagues, Federico Puksic and Emmanouela Alexopoulou, innovate for a greener world after studying at Wageningen University.

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Grodan
Grodan Plantop NG2.0 Conical Plugs / Standard Plugs
Article
25 Oct 2022

Automation and control are the main focus of the International Propagation Seminar

The International Propagation Seminar focuses on automation and control, covering topics from robotization to climate control.

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Grodan
Plantop NG2.0 Funnel Plug Tray
Press Release
21 Sep 2022

Grodan Launches Vermiculite-Free Plantop NG2.0 Funnel Plug

Grodan introduces Vermiculite-Free Plantop NG0 Funnel Plug, ensuring excellent results and a cleaner work environment.

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Grodan Newsletter

Do you want to learn more about Grodan? Feel free to sign up to our newsletter. Grodan ensures that growers can make optimum use of its products and services by interpretting the company’s knowledge of and experience with substrate cultivation in terms of up-to-date, crop-oriented advice. Ranging from tailor-made advice from crop consultants to newsletters, seminars and training courses and articles in trade journals.

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Part of ROCKWOOL Group

Grodan is part of the ROCKWOOL Group and committed to enriching the lives of everyone who comes into contact with our solutions. Our expertise is perfectly suited to tackle many of today’s biggest sustainability and development challenges, from energy consumption and noise pollution to fire resilience, water scarcity and flooding. Our range of products reflects the diversity of the world’s needs, while supporting our stakeholders in reducing their own carbon footprint.