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I plan to go into farming after school and i was wondering, what would happen to the land after a nuclear bomb? How long before you can start growing crops? Would the crops be effected?
Any help?
Any help?
Future survivalNot trying to sound condescending but if you're the survivor of a nuclear war, is farming really your biggest concern? Why?
From the little I remember when I was in a x-ray program (25 years ago) there is not much to look foreword to. There would be several years if not more of no sunlight and radiation would be everywhere. If you did get to grow something it would be contaminated with radition.
A British movie was made around 1985 called Threads that showed in graphic detail what would happen after the world was nuked. The short answer is whoever survives is screwed big time.
If the half life is that long does that mean we would need to stay protected for that long or would it only effect the food?Weapons grade uranium has a half like of 4.5 million years... unless the radiation drastically alters our aging we won't be planting anything for sometime.
Pasona O2: Urban Underground Farming
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.31.07
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Two years ago we first covered Tokyo's underground farm; It is called Pasona O2 and was set up as a means of providing agricultural training to young people who are having trouble finding employment and middle-aged people in search of a second career. Of course, since we first posted the interest in local food has increased dramatically and there has been much more interest in urban farming. We also came upon some new information:
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The Pasona Group has a traditional farm in Ogata, but they want the "freeters" (Japanese slackers who hop between part time jobs) to get a taste, so to speak. It also is open to middle-aged people in search of a second career. There are a thousand square metres (10,000 SF) growing 100 different kinds of produce.
"In the absence of sunlight, the plants are sustained by artificial light from light-emitting diodes, metal halide lamps, and high-pressure sodium vapor lamps. The temperature of the room is controlled by computer, and the vegetables are grown by a pesticide-free method in which fertilizer and carbon dioxide are delivered by spraying. Hydroponics, in which plants are grown in water and hardly any soil is used, is one of the methods of cultivation used in the facility."
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Room 1 Flower field. White LEDs are used. Plant cultivation by RGB LED.
Metal halids spotlights are used.
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Room 3 Shelf rice field. Metal halids lamps and high-pressure sodium lamps are used.
It explains that it is possible to do by three crops a year.
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Room 4 Fruit/vegetable field. Cultivation of tomato by hydroponics.
3 wavelength, 5000 deg. K, High-frequency fluorescent lamp.
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Room 6 Seedling room. Lettuces are being grown with fluorescent lamps.
2xFour steps cultivation bed.
It is all very energy-intensive; we would prefer to see more use of Parans type piped natural light or heliostats but this could be the start of a new underground movement.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/pasona_o2_urban.php
Yes, they will work, but you would have to have an overwhelming amount of them just to run the lighting systems. The lamps used in underground farming require absolutely HUGE amounts of energy to operate. Also, the pumps for irrigation on such a scale would also consume very large amounts of energy. Now, add to that the climate control systems, and there is just no reliable way to create enough power to operate an underground farming facility in a sustainable way with current technology and still sustain other human requirements.You said there is would be no energy after a nuclear bomb but surely you could use wind turbines, solar panels or other "green" alternatives, or would these ideas not work?
If fallout from a distant nuclear strike is all you have to worry about as far as radiation is concerned (meaning that the center of the blast was many miles - 30-200+ - away from your farm, then with the proper precautions, one could effectively remove the topsoil without undue exposure to the radioactive fallout. Rain will wash away fallout in this type of situation. However, it also will wash it into the soil. The trick is to remove the soil to an adequate depth so that any remaining soil is viable for planting edible crops. You may also have to plant several crops (plants absorb radiation) and then destroy those crops before you will be able to eat anything from the land. It all boils down to how much radiation exposure the land was subject to.Another point is wouldn't you die from the radiation while disposing of the top soil?