CULTIVATING EDIBLE GREENS IN TROMBE WALL CAVITY: A COST PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

抄録

In this experimental study an alternative practical use has been given to a conventional Trombe wall setup by putting living plants into the ventilated cavity during the summer season. A low-maintenance Kratky hydroponic growing system consisting in putting 360 sweet basil plants in glass jars full of nutrient-filled water solution was used to cultivate the greens during the months of February to August of 2022, proving afterwards to be quite successful not only in practical terms but also from an economic standpoint. The initial setup and running costs per cycle are relatively low in comparison with the estimated revenues obtained by producing high priced edible greens. In this case study, the estimated revenues were above 3.85 million JPY over a 5-year long period. However, the most cost-efficient scenario was the one with a three-month seed to harvest period and four harvests per year, where over 6 million JPY can be obtained. This result can increase up to 10% more on a big-scale setting and with some setup improvements that have been found to be effective.