Vertical farming watering system

A watering system for a vertical farming facility, comprising:

• a framework structure comprising upright members and a storage volume comprising storage columns arranged in rows between the upright members;
• a grid rail system arranged across the top of framework structure on which a plurality of container handling vehicles may operate;
• a stackable growth module having a load bearing frame to allow the growth module to be arranged in a self-supporting stack of other modules within the storage columns of the framework structure, wherein the growth module comprises a vertically arranged growth board for supporting plants grown in the vertical farming facility where the plants grow in a horizontal direction out from the growth board, the growth board comprising:
• a porous growth medium;
• a watering trough extending along an upper edge of the growth board which is provided with holes for distributing water into the growth medium;
• a water collection trough extending along a lower edge of the growth board arranged to collect water exiting the growth medium;
• and
• a valve provided in the water collection trough arranged to permit water to flow out of the water collection trough when the valve is open and to prevent water from flowing out of the collection trough when the valve is closed,
• wherein the growth module is configured to cooperate with a module immediately below in the stack, so that when the growth module is lowered onto the module below the valve of the growth module is caused to open and when the stackable module is lifted from the stack the valve is caused to close, wherein the valve comprises a sealing member that seats into or otherwise seals an opening in the bottom of the collection trough,
• wherein the frame of the stackable growth module is a modular frame comprising side support members, the side support members having upper and lower load transferring edge surfaces for transferring load down the stack, the upper edge surfaces of the stackable growth module comprising notches for engagement by a gripper mechanism of a module handling device of the vertical farming facility, wherein the side support members are provided with a vertical guide, in the form of a slot, for supporting the growth board in a vertical configuration within the stackable growth module, and wherein the side support members are “I” shaped;
• wherein the watering system comprises a water tank module with a water tank within a frame of the water tank module, the frame of the water tank module being configured to be stacked on top of growth modules in a stack, and wherein the water tank module has a valve that is arranged to be opened by an actuator provided on a growth module below when the water tank module has been placed on top of the stack, and wherein the actuator is a pin extending from a watering trough of the growth module below, the pin being positioned to be in vertical alignment with the valve of the water tank module above when the water tank module has been added to the stack;
• wherein the water tank module is portable and can be moved around using a module handling vehicle or other lifting device.