Vertical Garden Case Study

This report will evaluate if vertical gardens can be represented at NIST in order to improve food security for the NIST community. This report will have the advantages and disadvantages and will explain the science of this system. This report will also be evaluating the pros and cons of the system in regards to a factor, in this case the factor will be economic.

A vertical garden is a garden that is grown vertically, mostly vertical gardens are grown on the side of a wall. Water gets transferred through the system automatically with the help of gravity. The highest plant in the vertical garden is manually watered then water is transferred through the whole system automatically with drip irrigation. This system can be also watered by watering

In NIST there is a limited amount of space we can use to grow plants on the ground, this is why we need to use vertical gardens to maximize the space we have in NIST, especially the wall space that isn’t used. NIST should use the walls outdoors to make vertical gardens. One of the huge disadvantages of other different types of gardens is that it isn’t sustainable. According to Plants on Walls Frequently Asked Questions, it is said that vertical gardens can last for many years if they receive maintenance even with an automated system. When using the vertical garden system, water is cycled through all the plants and at the bottom of the system water is collected and recycled to be used again. Water can be recycled several times until there is too little. One of the disadvantages of having a vertical garden is that the soil can dry very quickly. This is a problem especially for us because the vertical gardens in NIST will be outdoors and it can get over 30 degrees. This will affect the soil and cause it to be dry, soil is used to insulate the plant’s roots and will also protect the plant from drastic changes in temperature. Removing the vertical garden out of the sunlight completely is not an option because sunlight is one of the main components in the system of photosynthesis. Which is the system plants use in order to survive and produce oxygen. When plants are grown in a garden, there is a lot of space for the plant to grow it’s roots and collect nutrients from the soil. According to TheGardenHelper.com, they say that plants in containers grow slower because of the amount of space there is in the container, plants need to grow their roots to collect nutrients. Plants in containers also partially grow slower because of the type of soil used in potted plants. When potting soil is made the impurities are taken out, such as weed seeds. While in the process of taking out impurities, some of the