Grow lettuce and herbs in shipping container greenhouses anywhere - in any climate
Italian-based greenhouse supplier Lucchini has, with the use of a wide range of DGT by Senmatic’s horticultural equipment, created a new and innovative form of greenhouses.
This new type of greenhouse is created inside of shipping containers that are equipped with LED grow lights, fertilizer mixers and climate control from DGT by Senmatic. This concept of greenhouses is called BoxXLand, and creates a unique and adjustable climate to efficiently grow a wide range of cultures e.g. lettuce and herbs.
The box container creates a very robust and secure greenhouse, which makes it possible to grow delicate crops in even the harshest climates and remote locations.
A perfect example of such a difficult climate is Greenland, where a lot of money and energy is used to ship even the most common vegetables. This affects both the selection and the price of the vegetables that are available in supermarkets. With a BoxXLand, it will be possible to grow vegetables and herbs locally in Greenland.
DGT by Senmatic is part of delivering a complete solution
One of the very significant advantages of the solution from Lucchini is that it offers a complete solution – from the container working as the greenhouse itself – to the equipment delivered by DGT by Senmatic.
This offers both convenience and security for buyers, because everything is ready from the moment of delivery. There will be no issues with combining equipment from different suppliers, no time spent buying products from different suppliers, and full support from Lucchini’s service team.
A brand-new range of opportunities
This innovative version of a greenhouse is creating an extensive range of new opportunities from small to large installations. One of the new opportunities is that the box container greenhouses can be placed in many different locations including big cities, where space is compact and there are no natural areas with space for traditional growing.
"They can be used for any purpose from functioning as the private herb garden supplying fresh herbs for a gourmet restaurant, to large scale productions in climates that require indoor growing."
Johnny Rasmussen
Key account manager at DGT by Senmatic
Increased mobility
The box container greenhouse offers an incredible mobility, which is not normally possible in greenhouses, because they are usually made as more permanent installations.
This creates great opportunities, because it is possible to move the container, wherever you need it at any time – and it also creates an incredibly easy delivery process.
It all started from a university in Finland
The entire project started when Lucchini was contacted by HAMK University in Lepaa, Finland. They asked Lucchini to assist in building and supplying the VF box container system with the aim of R&D of indoor farming. Here Lucchini custom-made a BoxXLand container to fit the specific needs at HAMK University.
At the university, they are doing trials on lettuce and herbs of all kinds – and so far, they have been very happy with the results from the first production cycle.
"We started ice lettuce cultivation 3 weeks ago, in the BoxXLand container. Lettuce, especially the experimental variety, is growing very well. We still want to practice more using the LCC4 climate control and using the Ami Penta fertilizer mixer."
Mika Järvinen
Professor at HAMK University
At the university they will continue testing all of the different climate settings when growing crops. The BoxXLand makes it possible to test on many different and very specific elements that affect the production.
Since this project is still new, the university will keep on testing for the next couple of years. After this period, the BoxXLand will stay there as a permanent installation and be used as laboratory for horticultural research.
Products used to fit the container
The products used to create this new form of greenhouse include LED grow lights, fertilizer mixers and climate control from DGT by Senmatic. By choosing an entire setup from DGT by Senmatic, you ensure both that the products are of high quality, that the setup has a long lifespan, and that it works as efficiently as possible, because it has been built to work together.
Read more about the individual products below:
LED grow Lighting
One of the major benefits of our LED fixtures is the ability to control the spectral distribution. Investing in a controllable LED fixture means that you always have the option to change the light to keep up with new research findings, a new culture/culture stage, or simply to dim the fixture when less light is required. Simply put, an investment in DGT by Senmatic LED grow lights will not leave you with a fixed spectrum but leads to endless possibilities.
Our solutions suit most modern commercial greenhouses around the world and are designed to withstand the harsh environment of a greenhouse and keep working year after year. The minimalistic design means easy installation using standard connection technology, and with a minimal shadow footprint.
Our LED grow lights integrate fully into DGT by Senmatic's electronic climate control systems and offer dynamic control of the intensity and spectral composition of your greenhouse lighting.
Many variants of DGT by Senmatic LED top lights, including light bars with lens systems, are available. Some of the highlighted benefits are:
- Control of spectral composition and dynamic control of light intensity
- Several variants, each with their own specific scope, such as vertical farming, commercial greenhouses, climate chambers, garden centers, production areas with special lighting requirements, hybrid installations, indoor environmental planting and "green walls" - and more.
- Energy savings of up to 50 %
- Long lifetime with no reduction of the light output over time
- Consistent light on the plants due to an optical lens system (patent pending)
Fertilizer and irrigation mixer
DGT by Senmatic's fertilizer mixers are built to work with DGT by Senmatic’s other horticultural products as a complete package. This ensures that water is delivered to the plants at exactly the right time, which is a vital factor in the production process. DGT by Senmatic’s fertilizer mixers are also highly customizable in every aspect, from the pump, the number of fertilizer tanks and return tank. This makes it very suitable to a wide range of instalments.
- Flexible set-up of irrigation groups
- Up to 100 irrigation groups with up to 30 valves per group
- Set-up your own fertilizer recipes (up to 20)
- Based on your greenhouse's needs
- Several starting options by additional choice of various sensors
- Always delivered with mixing tank - ensures the right mix of fertilizers and thereby higher accuracy of EC and pH control
- Software for all groups, recipes, opening of valves etc. is included in the price - no extra future expenses
Climate control
DGT by Senmatic supplies advanced climate controls for the monitoring and control of the complex processes in commercial greenhouses, creating the optimal climate for plants.
Logic Climate Control (LCC) control all climate functions. Operation is based on a logically constructed menu, and the display shows the settings most frequently used by the growers. The modular system makes it easy to add more sections or climate zones, expanding the system to handle more functions and expand with more greenhouses.
DGT by Senmatic electronic climate control products are highly reliable and can handle extreme environments. These include:
- Logic Climate Control (LCC) products for intuitive and configurable monitoring and control from single greenhouses up to 16 climate zones
- Climate sensors from complete weather stations to temperature, humidity and CO2 controllers available which can be added and combined as required
- If your requirement is for an analog system comprising climate and heat regulators for simple, double or top/side vent opening control, we can supply this, too
All systems can be combined and extended as required.
Reach out and learn more today
Do you want to learn more about DGT by Senmatic’s equipment that is used in BoxXLand containers or do you want to hear about your possibility of making your production more efficient? Then feel free to contact us today!
