PLAY PODCASTS
When Automation Fails: Heatwave Scorches Greenhouse Grapes & Orchids
Episode 236

When Automation Fails: Heatwave Scorches Greenhouse Grapes & Orchids

Hydroponics Daily

August 20, 20256m 39s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (mcdn.podbean.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

Dr. Russell Sharp discusses how environmental automation can help grow rooms and greenhouses — and what happens when it breaks. He recounts a Dutch grape nursery where vent failures during a heatwave pushed temperatures over 50°C (122°F), ruining about 95% of the harvest, and an orchid grower who lost roughly 75% of his crop after a power outage disabled vents and shade systems.

The episode underlines the need for fail-safes, backup power, and contingency planning for automated systems, and notes the human and financial toll on growers, as well as potential mitigation steps like alternative revenue streams and resilient infrastructure.

----more----https://eutrema.co.uk/shop/organic-fertilisers/seaweed-extract-cold-processed/

----more----