US 11,895,954 B2
System and method for plant indexing in a hydroponic farming environment and a hydroponic farming environment
Travis M. Joyner, Hamilton, MT (US); Ryan Sweeney, Hamilton, MT (US); and Jeff Leggott, Hamilton, MT (US)
Assigned to Local Bounti Operating Company, LLC, Hamilton, MT (US)
Filed by Local Bounti Operating Company, LLC, Hamilton, MT (US)
Filed on Jun. 8, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/341,718.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/062,609, filed on Aug. 7, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0039342 A1, Feb. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. A01G 31/04 (2006.01); A01G 9/14 (2006.01); A01C 21/00 (2006.01); A01C 1/02 (2006.01)
CPC A01G 31/042 (2013.01) [A01C 1/02 (2013.01); A01C 21/00 (2013.01); A01G 9/14 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for farming plants, comprising:
planting a plurality of seeds or seedlings on one or more plant trays having individual plant sites, and beginning a germination phase;
after the germination phase, identifying a plurality of plants germinated from the plurality of seeds or seedlings, transporting the plurality of plants to a nursery in one or more nursery phases, arranging the plurality of plants vertically on a plurality of vertically-aligned shelving units, and illuminating the plurality of plants by a plurality of artificial light sources in each nursery phase;
transplanting the plurality of plants to a greenhouse after the one or more nursery phases, beginning a greenhouse phase, and illuminating the plurality of plants with sunlight and/or artificial light during the greenhouse phase; and
harvesting the plurality of plants from the greenhouse;
wherein the method further comprises:
a step of monitoring, by at least one sensor or monitoring device, a plurality of plant parameters;
a step of adjusting, by a control unit, a plurality of environmental parameters, wherein the step of adjusting the environmental parameters occurs during one or more of the germination phase, the one or more nursery phases, and the greenhouse phase; and
a step of identifying, at the conclusion of the one or more nursery phases and prior to transplanting the plurality of plants to the greenhouse, an optimized plant density based on an identified growth of each of the plurality of plants from the plant parameters identified in the one or more nursery phases and arranging the plurality of plants according to the optimized plant density in the greenhouse to minimize an area between the plants;
wherein the control unit is configured to adjust a plurality of growth parameters for each of the plurality of plants, adjust the environmental parameters differently according to the growth parameters and/or a plurality of requirements of each of the germination phase, nursery phase(s), and greenhouse phase depending on the identified growth for each of the plurality of plants.