CityGreens Hydroponics - Blog #Vertical FarmingCityGreens Hydroponics - Blog #Vertical Farminghttps://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/tag/vertical-farmingSat, 11 Apr 2026 09:04:06 +0530http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[How to choose the best NFT channel for your hydroponics system?]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/how-to-choose-the-best-nft-channel-for-your-hydroponics-systemIn this blog, we will understand some of the key factors that need to be considered when choosing the NFT channel or gully for your hydroponics farm.]]>

An NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) channel is a component of a hydroponic system that provides a narrow, shallow channel or trough for growing plants. The channels are typically made from different kinds of plastic and are designed to hold a thin film of nutrient-rich water that flows continuously over the plant's roots.


In this blog, we will understand some of the key factors that need to be considered when choosing the NFT channel or gully for your hydroponics farm.

1. Material

The NFT channel should be made of a durable, food-grade material that can withstand exposure to nutrient solutions and sunlight.

NOTE: Using PVC pipes and C-PVC pipes is not good as they have lead and chlorine as stabilising materials respectively. These can leach into the nutrient solution and can be absorbed by plants.

2. Maintenance & Cleaning

NFT channels will have algae, and some debris & need cleaning after every harvest cycle to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and pathogens.


An openable channel is good to maintain & clean. But wait, are all openable channels the same?

Some bad NFT channel designs, though they are openable!

Cleaning and sterilising the entire NFT hydroponic system is a must after every harvest cycle because of the algae and different kinds of debris. When the channels are either not openable or very difficult to open, the entire cleaning process becomes too labour-intensive. This impacts the cost of the operations and delays the start of the next crop cycle.

What can be the best design?

3. Size & Depth

The NFT channel should be wide enough to provide adequate growing space for the plants, but not so wide that the nutrient solution becomes too shallow. The depth of the channel is dependent on the variety of plants you grow.
Ideal depth of NFT channel for growing different plants
1. 50mm for lettuces and exotic crops.
2. 65mm for growing Indian greens like spinach, amaranthus, methi etc.
3. 100mm for plants like strawberries

Overall, when choosing the NFT channel for your hydroponics system, consider the material with which the channels are made (prefer a channel made of plastic which is both lead-free and food-grade). Always opt for a channel that can be both opened and closed very easily to make the process less labour-intensive. Finally make sure to use the correct size of NFT channel based on the crops you intend to grow to reduce your capital cost.


]]>Wed, 03 May 2023 17:00:00 +0530<![CDATA[Comparing Two NFT Hydroponic Technologies, Horizontal Beds and Vertical A-Frames.]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/how-to-choose-the-best-nft-channel-for-your-hydroponics-system2In this blog, we will understand some of the key factors that need to be considered when choosing the NFT channel or gully for your hydroponics farm.]]>

Horizontal NFT

Horizontal NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) hydroponics is a type of hydroponic system where plants are grown in a flat, shallow trough or channel filled with a thin film of nutrient-rich water. The plants are suspended above the water, and the roots are exposed to the flowing nutrient solution. The water is recirculated through the system, delivering nutrients to the plant's roots and flowing back into a reservoir.

A-Frame NFT

A-frame NFT hydroponics is a type of hydroponic system where plants are grown on angled frames in a vertical arrangement. The frames are typically arranged in an "A" shape, hence the name A-frame. The plants are grown in channels on the angled surfaces of the frames, and a thin film of nutrient-rich water flows over the roots of the plants.

Differences Between Horizontal NFT & Vertical A-Frame Structures.

1. Sunlight

In the case of horizontal NFT units, all the plants receive the same amount of sunlight, and the growth is even. You can see in the above image that all the plants that belong to the same batch are grown uniformly, as the sunlight is even on all plants.

In A-frame structures, only the top levels get sufficient sunlight. The lop-level plants cast a shadow on the lower-level plants resulting in reduced growth. You can see the same in the above picture where basil grown in the bottom levels is not as big as compared to the ones on the top level.

2. Growth of Plants.

As discussed in the above point, all plants in the H-bed receive light uniformly and adequately. Hence the growth of every plant in the H-bed is optimum and uniform. But in the case of an A-frame structure, only the top-level plants are grown to their full capacity and the lower levels exhibit reduced growth due to their increased competition for light and space.
To avoid this, in an A-frame structure you can choose to grow small-height plants.

3. Number of Plants

Due to vertical orientation, you can have up to 20 % more plants in A-frames compared to horizontal hydroponic structure.

4. Kind of Plants to Choose

Horizontal beds are suitable for taller plants like basil, kale, swiss chard, spinach, etc. You can also grow small-height plants in these beds. 

A-frames are suitable for growing small-height plants like baby spinach, lettuces, parsley, rocket, celery, coriander, tot soi etc.

5. Air Circulation


]]>Fri, 28 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0530<![CDATA[LED grow lights for Vertical Farming - Understanding PAR, PPF, and PPFD]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/led-plant-grow-lights-par-ppf-ppfdUnderstanding the correct unit of measuring light for indoor farming- PAR, PPF, and PPFD]]>

Artificial lights have long been used in agriculture to supplement the natural light and increase crop yield. The scenarios where external lighting may be of use may include growing in areas with shorter day-light duration, cold climatic zones, growing indoors, or growing in Vertical farm, etc.


There are different kind of artificial lights that can be used for supplementing growth like incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lights, metal halides, high-pressure sodium halides, LED lights, etc.


The scope of this primer is limited to LED based grow lights used in Vertical Farms.   


Basic Concepts

What is light?

Light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to human eyes. This will range from approx. 400 nm to 700 nm.

How is it measured?

The standard unit of measuring light is lumens (or foot-candles or lux). This unit measures the brightness of light as measured by human eyes. This measure will have the highest reading in the yellow-green spectrum, and lowest on either end (the red and the blue spectrum.)


Do plants see the light in the same way as humans do?

Plants do not see (read use) the light the same way as humans do. Different frequencies of lights show different impact on different biochemical processes within the plants. As such it is not ideal to use the measures (like lumens) developed for human eyes to measure and understand the impact of light on plants.


How do plants use light? 

Different wavelengths of light pack varying amount of energies in them. This energy is carried by photons. When the photons fall on plant's surface, they get absorbed by specific pigments (ex chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, etc.) within the plants and the energy thus released helps in carrying out the process of photosynthesis. As such, for plants, instead of measuring how bright a light is (lumens), it is more relevant to measure how many photons are being emitted by the light.


Units of Measuring Light for Plants

PAR

Earlier, it was believed* that only the lights between 400nm to 700nm (approx. same as the visible spectrum) impact the rate of photosynthesis in plants. The wavelengths in this range are thus deemed to be Photosynthetically active.


PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation) is the term used to denote wavelengths between 400nm and 700nm. PAR measures all these wavelengths equally. Unlike a lumen scale which will show a higher peak for the yellow-green region, a PAR scale will show each wavelength to be of the same height in a uniform light.

PPF

Photosynthetic Photon Flux measures the total amount of PAR produced by a lighting system each second. In layman terms, it measures the number of photons (within 400nm to 700nm range) that are being emitted from a light source per second.

PPFD**

PPFD or PPF Density measures the amount of PPF that falls on a plant’s surface per second.

While evaluating two grow lights, the one with higher PPFD rating would be better than the one with lower rating.

*It is now known that even UV and IR wavelengths impact the process of photosynthesis.


**PPFD reading does not include PPF produced by IR or UV wavelengths.

Spectrum

Going by above understanding, one may ask, is PPFD the holy grail of plant lighting? Is it the only parameter one should consider while evaluating lights?


The answer would be a resounding NO!


Using the PPFD measure, we can find out how many photons are reaching the plant surface. Yet, by using PPFD alone, we cannot figure out the distribution of these photons. As stated earlier, different photons carry a different amount of energy in them. Photons of a few specific wavelengths have a greater impact on the process of photosynthesis than the photons of other wavelengths. 


What that means is, if somehow we can control the wavelength of photons coming from a light source, we can impact the rate of photosynthesis as well. This ability comes through using LED diodes that emit photons of a particular wavelength. The distribution of different diodes in a light source defines the Spectrum of the light. 

Along with PPFD, the Spectrum is the other important parameter that one should consider while procuring grow lights.  In the next article in this series, we will take a closer look at the Spectrum. Till then,

Happy Growing!
]]>Wed, 24 Apr 2019 11:16:41 +0530<![CDATA[Why do Vertical Farms fail in India? Lack of Market.]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/vertical-farms-fail-indiaOne of the primary reasons for failure of Vertical Farms in India is lack of market due to high price of growing indoors.]]>
In the previous part of this series, we had discussed one of the significant reasons for failures of commercial Urban Farms in India. The fallacies considered there result in substantially high input costs. The higher input costs force the grower to price their produce at a significant premium to the market price. Higher pricing, in turn, leads to a lower uptake of sales and resultant failure of the farm. 
This brings us to our second observation for reason of failures of Vertical Farms in India, which is lack of Market. Of all the inquiries we receive from Commercial Farming aspirants, hardly, few would come to us after identifying a potential market for the crops they would want to grow. An approximate representation of the basic thought process (that we have observed) works in the following fashion. 

Step 1

decide on setting up a Hydroponic / Vertical Farm 

Step 2

decide on the crop-technology combination for the farm (primarily based on googling or hearsay) 

Step 3

make the BIG investment - set up the physical farm infrastructure 

Step 4

try to figure out how to get the farm to work - the learning curve for crop technology combination

Step 5

try to find a market for the crops

This sequence of steps is sub-optimal.

Even after one traverses from Step 1 through 4 successfully, the farm may still fail when one realizes that the premium, they were assuming the market will be willing to pay for their produce, does not exist. Often, by the time they reach to Step 5, they have made their cost structure so high that to maintain profitability, the only price they can charge is one that will ensure that they are priced out of the market.


To elaborate on the above decision-making cycle, one small case study of an Urban Farmer who had reached out to us with a SoS call.


Background: Apparently, the grower had set-up the farm based on an excel sheet calculation received from the vendor that assumed an ideal four-week growing cycle and offered a buyback price per head of lettuce as long as it was above 'x' grams. The buyback commitment was for one year and the break-even period was depicted as nine months. 



Problem Statement: It was almost three months since the farm was set-up however the farmer's revenue was 0. 

Reason - he was not able to achieve even 50% of the weight (of lettuce) required for availing the buyback offer. 

Root Cause Analysis: We visited the setup and narrowed down the problem at multiple levels:- 

1. Faulty RO unit giving output water with high pH (7.6 to be precise) 
2. Lack of awareness about pH management at grower's end 
3. Lack of knowledge about the nutritional needs of the crop in question 
4. A poly house set-up without temperature control 

Learnings: If you look at this case, it typically followed the steps outlined in the above sequence. When the grower reached out to us, he was stuck at Step 4 for almost three months. Sure enough, the vendor did not help as his responsibility got over once the farm was set. From a RoI(Returns on Investment) perspective, this meant that the three months out of the twelve-month buy-back period got over with nil revenue. Further, the excel sheet assumed consistent production around the year. Given that it was a poly house setup without temperature control, the grower will not be able to grow lettuce for more than 4-5 months in a year at max. Since the buyback was only for lettuce and set-up cost almost twice of what it should be (because of buy-back and 9 month break-even calculations in excel, the gullible grower did not mind paying the premium), the vendor will make a handsome profit even if he discards all the lettuce he ends up buying during the buy-back period. 

Step 1

decide on setting up a Hydroponic / Vertical Farm 

Step 2

understand the basics of Urban Farming and different crop-technology combinations. select 2-3 options 

Step 3

do a market survey, to try to establish a market for the produce

Step 4

decide on the crop-technology combination for the farm based on learnings gained in Step 2 and 3

Step 5

make the BIG investment - set up the physical farm infrastructure

Understand your market, before you set-up your farm.

Of these steps, the Step 3 - the failure in establishing a market before one sets up the farm is one mistake we are discussing today. If one can determine the market upfront and arrive at the price they can command, all the calculations can flow backward from there. This process can help growers be prudent on their cost structure depending upon the premium they hope to be able to command from the market. Hope this blog throws some insights and help you in your decision-making process. 



Happy Growing!
]]>Wed, 09 Jan 2019 21:20:27 +0530<![CDATA[Why do Vertical Farms fail in India? Stop copying the west.]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/vertical-farms-fail-india-stop-copying-westone reason of failure of vertical farms is growing exotic produce that does not suit the local palate]]>

During our journey in CityGreens, we have met many Consultants, Competitors, Collaborators, Govt. Dignitaries, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Aspirants, and so forth. These encounters have helped us develop deep insights into the industry. It will not be an understatement to say that the Vertical Farming industry in India is still in its infancy. The way this industry shapes up will depend upon a lot of factors, primarily being the establishment of a few successful commercial models at a scale that can help the fence-sitters to make an informed leap of faith.


In this series starting today, we will share with you a few insights (specific to Indian context) that we have gained over time. These insights are based on our understanding and the inferences we have drawn. These may not be directly applicable in your specific set of circumstances. However, we do hope that these will help you think more in-depth about the issues that you may face in your journey of Urban Farming.


The first insight that we will cover today is the one that we have observed most commonly and has the potential to inflict the maximum damage on the success potential of a farm.


Aping the West


Agriculture in India, per se, is way behind the western world when it comes to using technological advancements. One such technology that was promoted and supported by various Governments and vehemently abused by some unscrupulous Farmers (to misuse the subsidy system and make undue financial gains) was that of Greenhouse.


The reason for failure - aping the west. If you consider polyhouse or Greenhouse technologies, their roots are in Europe. The primary reason these were created was to protect the crops from cold weather. The climate/weather profile in India is very different. Blindly copying the technology to tropical parts of the country resulted in disastrous consequences in many states. (the technology does work well in the colder climatic regions of the country)


When it comes to Vertical Farming, one can observe a similar phenomenon is taking place. 


Most of the vertical farming aspirants we talked to had two things in common

They wanted to use LEDs 

They wanted to grow Lettuce

The reason? Because that is what they have seen everyone doing the world over. Let us evaluate both of these in the Indian context, one by one.


1. Use of LEDs: Take a step back and look at the problem that LEDs solve; they help you grow indoors. And why do you want to grow indoors?

a. the land cost is too high. 

b. The temperature outdoors is not conducive to growth (its either sub-freezing or too hot). 

c. one wants to grow in multiple vertical layers (say 10 - 15 levels at least).

In the Indian context, the first two will not hold. What LEDs will result in, in such a scenario, will be a manifold increase in the Cap-Ex and the Op-Ex, thus pushing away the break-even period further, or increasing the input cost so much that the output product becomes uncompetitive in the market. The third reason may still be the right reason for someone to set-up an LED-based farm in India. But it is cap-ex heavy and should be pursued if one is willing to wait for a long gestation period to break-even.


2. Growing Lettuce: Surprisingly, we rarely come across any Urban Farming aspirant who does not want to grow Lettuce. The question we like to ask is, after all, how much lettuce can Indian's consume? People in the west grow lettuce because they eat lettuce day in and day out (as a part of salads or sandwiches which form their staple diet). Indian's don't.


If one observes, one will see that the palate preferences that get developed over time, do so based on the demographic dividends. In semi-arid and desert regions of western India, when our ancestors had to travel long distances, they needed the food that can stay edible for long periods in the hot environment. And you see a lot of gram flour-based snacks in those cuisines (think Gujarati / Rajasthani cuisines). Similarly, in the economically lesser developed eastern parts of the country, potato served as one of the cheapest sources of quick energy, and you can see that influence even today (think Bengali Chicken biryani) in most of the eastern cuisines. Similarly, when it comes to greens, the Indian palate prefers the one that can be grown in tropical regions. Lettuce is definitely not the one.

Unless India transforms into a salad eating nation or lettuce becomes a part of mainstream Indian cuisines (think lettuce paneer instead of Palak Paneer), the market for lettuce will remain limited. In such a scenario, if all the vertical farms start producing lettuce, it will flood the market and lead to price erosion.


To grow lettuce or other exotics not native to Indian weather, one needs to make a significant investment in temperature control infrastructure, which makes the cost excessive. You can save on that investments and keep both your Cap-Ex as well as Op-Ex considerably lower if you grow the Indian greens like spinach. (You can still grow lettuce in the winter season and command market price). Having said that, In case you do have an assured market for the supply of lettuce that comes out of your farm (through B2B rate contracts or otherwise), please go ahead and set-up a lettuce factory. But if you are doing it just based on the assumption that you will find the market later, better go small and test the hypothesis first.


This brings us to our second observation, which we will cover in the next part of this series. Till then,


Happy Growing!

]]>Mon, 10 Dec 2018 13:52:55 +0530<![CDATA[How to grow Strawberry in your Home Garden]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/grow-strawberry-home-gardenStrawberries can be a profitable plant for the Hydroponic grower. More so, as the field grown strawberries are generally full of pesticides and chemicals.]]>
Strawberry is an excellent luscious fruit to add to your hydroponic garden. It is a short-statured bushy plant with dark green foliage and produces bright red-colored fruits. This color is due to the anthocyanin pigment called Pelargonidin-3-glucoside. The best source of flavor in a milkshake, ice creams and yogurt.


Strawberries can be categorized under low volume high-value fruit as it is rich in Vitamin- C, and Antioxidants. It also contains detoxifiers to counteract the toxic elements in the body.

Strawberry mostly originated from the temperate regions of the world and requires similar conditions for its growth. The USA stands first in strawberry production, contributing nearly one-third of world production. Earlier, the crop was restricted only to the temperate parts of the world, but with the evolution of improved varieties and Hi-tech growing conditions, they are being grown all over the world.

When to grow Strawberries

Strawberries are short-day plants (need exposure to sunlight for about ten days for less than 8 hours to enhance flowering in the plants), need winter conditions to put forth its reproductive growth. For commercial growing, polyhouse/net house/greenhouse is suitable. Nonetheless, you can grow them in pots, containers in backyards, terraces, or balconies where plants will get sufficient sunlight.


Whenever we come across strawberry plants or fruits, it’s the most natural progression to think of how one can grow it – at least once in our own gardens. But where do we start? And how do we grow them? From seeds? Yes, of course, we must sow seeds to get any new plant. But there is one more method to grow plants, i.e., use of any plant parts called vegetative propagation.


If we sow strawberry seeds, it will take nearly 2-3 years to produce flowers and fruits. Thus, strawberries are commonly propagated through something knows as ‘Runner.’ The runner is a stalk that comes out from the strawberry plant. This stalk will have a plantlet at the tip, which will produce roots, and this then develops into a new individual plant when planted in any medium.


Runner propagation is the simplest and fastest method of multiplying strawberry plants. We can also go for tissue culture plants, which will be free from viral diseases. 

Gardening tips for growing strawberries

How do strawberries seeds look?

White or pale-yellow color spikes that are present on the outer surface of the fruit are the seeds of strawberry. The technical name of strawberry seeds is  ‘Achene.’ Almost all the commercial growth of Strawberries happens with runners. The seeds are used only by breeders to develop newer varieties of this plant and fruit.

How to plant strawberries?

Whatever may be the source of planting material you get, the way of planting them will make the difference between getting a good crop or getting an average or poor crop. So be very careful while planting to not bury the crown part of the plant into the medium.


Strawberries grow well irrespective of the methods you choose. But the main problem with the soil medium is fungal diseases. Also, fruits that sit on the soil surface are easily prone to rot. Hence one of the best methods to grow strawberry is using hydroponics. They can be grown in NFT, DWC, or vertical towers.


If you want to go for a substrate method, go for an ideal potting mix, which ensures good drainage. Also, the medium should be rich in terms of its nutrients supplied.


In NFT, plants are placed directly in the net pots with the addition of clay pellets to anchor and support the plants. Net pots are then placed in the NFT channel, where the bottom part of the net pot should touch the top of the nutrient solution such that growing roots are always suspended in the nutrient solution. This should be ensured and monitored at the initial stage of growth with much care, and caution for this will determine the growth of the crop.

Harvesting

Soft, Succulent, red-colored fruits will be seen after 3.5-4 months of planting or 4-6 weeks after flowering. When the fruit develops half or three fourth of its color - this is the maturity indicator to harvest them.


Leave fruits on the plant for 1 or 2 two days after they turn red to get uniformly ripened fruit. Gently pluck the fruits to avoid bruising. You can harvest multiple times from a single plant.

Yield

The yield for strawberry will depend on many factors, such as weather, variety, nutrition, etc. A Single strawberry plant will give you an average of 150- 450 grams of strawberry. 

Pests to watch out for

Common sucking insects like aphids and caterpillars will be noticed generally. Fungal diseases like powdery mildew, leaf spot, leaf blight, Rhizopus rot also impact Strawberry plant. Remove all the infected plant matter and ensure it does not spread to the rest of the plants.  Ensure safe control methods like spraying of fungicides.


Sometimes, we can notice a physiological disorder called Albinism (Albinos=white), which means the production of colorless fruits or white fruits. This is a stress-induced disorder that occurs due to extreme climatic conditions and variation in nutrition supplements.
Now that you know a bit about growing strawberry, don’t wait anymore. Join the Journey, to a harvest of yummy and healthy Strawberries grown by none other than you.


Happy Gardening!

Update - April 2020

"We are now experimenting with growing strawberries indoors. The image is from our first experiment."

]]>Sat, 16 Jun 2018 08:36:41 +0530<![CDATA[How to grow and care for Coriander a.k.a. Cilantro]]>https://www.citygreens.ai/blogs/post/grow-coriander-cilantroWe have grown coriander in NFT Hydroponic farm as well as indoor vertical farm. Learn how to grow this super-healthy condiment.]]>

Cilantro, a healthy aromatic herb to add to your kitchen garden. Simple, refreshing, beautiful, tasty, and with a very pleasing odor. Coriander, (cilantro in Spanish translation) botanically known as Coriandrum sativum, in the family Apiaceae contains 3,700 species, including the carrots, celery, and parsley. Other names, often used for coriander, are cilantro, dhania, and Chinese parsley. Cilantro is indigenous to Mediterranean countries, and today countries like Romania, Morocco, and Egypt fulfill the commercial supply.

What do you think cilantro is categorized as? A herb or a spice?


Well, both

If we make use of the leaves and stem, it is a herb, and if we use only seeds, we can call it a spice.

Coriander's main use is in seasoning (Ex. Flavouring and garnishing of curries and soups). Any Indian dish will feel incomplete without the addition of this herb. It adds life to the recipe not only with taste but also with its high aroma and bright green color.

Why you should add coriander to every meal

Constituents

An excellent source of dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium, and iron. Besides, leaves are rich in Vitamin-C, Vitamin-K, and protein. It also contains trace amounts of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine (Vit-B1), niacin (Vit-B3), and carotene.

Health Benefits

    • Consumption of Cilantro lowers the bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body and increases the good cholesterol level (HDL)
    • Enhances the liver function and bowels movement
    • Coriander is good for diabetic patients as it stimulates insulin production and regulates the blood sugar level
    • Helps in curing skin related problems
    • It has got essential oils like linalool, geraniol, camphor, and acids like linoleic acid, ascorbic acid, palmitic acid, umbelliferone, and in seeds, it contains fatty acids.
    • Coriander seed oil is highly aromatic and acts as a carminative (relieving flatulence). Oil cures all tummy related troubles and acts as an appetizer, the digestive stimulant in the stomach, and intestine.

Identifying coriander plant

A soft, bright green, shining plant, generally grows to a height of 25-50 cm or even 90 cm (2-3 ft), when grown with complete care. Leaves are in various shapes and lobed at the base.

Leaf shape of Indian coriander - 'Dhaniya'

We can see beautiful white or pale pink flowers growing like a bunch called 'Umbels.' Umbels further develop seeds, which are globular in shape and are called 'Schizocarp.'

How to grow coriander

Coriander is grown from seeds. They can be grown in beds or pots and take well to soil-less growing and advanced techniques like hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. They grow well in autumn, winter, and spring season with full sunlight. They can also be grown in summer with partial shade.

Grow medium

Use a medium with excellent draining capabilities to drain out excess water. If using cocopeat, mix it 40% with gravel or clay pellets to ensure good drainage.

Seeds

Use fresh, quality seeds, as old seeds may not germinate. (Note: whole seeds will not germinate well, split the seeds into halves before sowing for good germination)

pH

6-7, almost neutral pH. Check for soil and water pH before use.

Spacing

If you want, go for the spacing of 6 to 8 inches or place them 1 cm deep randomly and cover with the soil/media.

Watering

It is important to keep them moist always, but do not overwater. Never dry out the plants as it leads to faster bolting of plants.

Fertilizers

It needs nitrogenous fertilizers, which are high in Nitrogen content and low in phosphorus. CG Greens can be a good nutrient for growing cilantro.

Pest and diseases

Pests like aphids and leafhoppers attack coriander. Go for neem oil sprays to control them. Fungal diseases may arise if plants are overwatered.

Harvest

Plants will be ready to harvest in 30-40 days after sowing. You can harvest the whole plant once or can cut and use only leaves from the base of the plant. The best flavor comes from the younger leaves. Snip off the flowers as and when you notice so that plant will give you some more green leaves.


Happy Growing!

Update March 2019

"Coriander growing in A-Frame NFT in CityGreens Hydroponic research farm in Ahmedabad"

Update March 2020

"Coriander growing in CityGreens Vertical Farm in Bangalore"

]]>Thu, 31 May 2018 02:34:50 +0530