40 ft Vegetable Container Farm
For Commercial Leafy Green Farm
Model HY-LG-40-01 | Document HY-PDS-LG-001 | Baseline: 40 ft ISO container, approx. 5 growing tiers
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Leafy green prices swing mainly because harvest dates are uncontrollable. In the container, Butterhead Lettuce moves from transplant to harvest in 25 - 30 days, and with tiered lighting and CO2 control the harvest date can be fixed weeks ahead and orders fulfilled weekly.
Roughly five growing tiers with per-layer dimmable LED recipes give Butterhead Lettuce a stable daily light integral across the 25 - 30-day cycle.
Harvested as whole heads with consistent unit weight, well suited to specification-driven food service and retail orders.
Commercial farms run the unit as a standard production module: plant weekly, harvest weekly, with 12 - 14 Butterhead Lettuce cycles a year delivered to wholesale markets and processors.
CROP AND OUTPUT DATA
Variety | Butterhead Lettuce (Leafy green) |
Growing cycle (transplant to harvest) | 25 - 30 days |
Unit weight | 150 - 200 g |
Plants per cycle | approx. 3,300 - 5,800 |
Yield per cycle | 580 - 870 kg |
Cycles per year | 12 - 14 |
Annual output (estimate) | 6,960 - 12,180 kg |
Propagation | Plug seedlings |
Crop difficulty | Easy |
Figures follow the 40 ft standard container baseline with about five growing tiers. Yield per cycle and annual output are estimates; actual results vary with tier count, light recipe, CO2 level and crop management.
KEY ADVANTAGES
· Seedlings account for roughly 5 - 12% of operating cost, keeping the cost structure transparent.
· Controlled cycle: Butterhead Lettuce reaches harvest 25 - 30 days after transplant, more than 50% faster than open-field production.
· CO2 held at 800 - 1,200 ppm keeps photosynthetic efficiency stable.
· The 40 ft ISO shell ships on a standard flatbed and is lifted into place on site.
· Per-tier LED recipes give more uniform leaf colour, plant shape and head weight.
· At 15 - 30 kg of fresh greens a day, one unit matches a mid-sized restaurant or community scheme.
· The closed hydroponic loop uses far less water than soil culture, which suits water-scarce sites.
· Rated Easy in difficulty and run from process cards, the crop is workable by general staff.
CONTAINER CONFIGURATION
Footprint | 12.19 x 2.44 x 2.90 m (40 ft ISO container) |
Growing system | Approx. 5 tiers, hydroponic or aeroponic |
Scale per cycle | 3,300 - 5,800 plants |
Temperature | 18 - 24 °C, set per variety |
Relative humidity | 60 - 75% |
CO2 concentration | 800 - 1,200 ppm |
Lighting | LED recipe, dimmable per tier |
Nutrient solution | Closed loop with automatic EC and pH control |
Energy reference | 0.8 - 1.2 kWh per kg of fresh greens; electricity about 60 - 70% of operating cost |
Control and monitoring | PLC, touchscreen HMI, remote monitoring and alarms |
Delivery | Pre-commissioned at the factory, set and connected on site |
CLIMATE AND CONTROL
Nutrient solution runs from the tank through pumps and manifolds to each tier and returns via filtration, disinfection and inline monitoring. EC and pH are corrected automatically against the recipe, removing manual mixing drift.
The controller stores recipes by variety - temperature, humidity, photoperiod, irrigation frequency and nutrient targets - called up as a set. Changing crops loads a new recipe while batch history is retained.
CULTIVATION AND SCHEDULING
Planting density is held at 3,300 - 5,800 plants per cycle, with spacing and tier height matched to plant habit; harvest is graded to 150 - 200 g per head.
The standard schedule assumes a 40 ft unit with about five tiers: plant one batch and harvest one batch each week, giving 12 - 14 Butterhead Lettuce cycles a year. Adjust to order structure and harvest labour.
DELIVERY, TRAINING AND SERVICE
Commissioning covers nutrient mixing, EC and pH probe calibration, per-tier light measurement and climate interlock tests, confirmed item by item against the recipe.
Quarterly preventive maintenance covers filter changes, probe calibration, pump inspection, light-output measurement and alarm testing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the typical energy consumption?
The industry reference for leafy greens is about 0.8 - 1.2 kWh per kilogram, with electricity around 60 - 70% of operating cost, varying with climate, tier count and light recipe.
Is pre-cooling needed after harvest?
Leafy greens should be cooled to 4 - 8 °C quickly after harvest; an optional pre-cooling zone in the unit shortens the gap between cutting and storage.
Where do the seedlings come from?
Either plug seedlings or direct seeding. Plugs arrive with intact roots and no transplant shock; direct seeding skips the nursery at lower cost but occupies the bed longer. Seedlings are about 5 - 12% of operating cost.
Why is the Butterhead Lettuce cycle faster than in the field?
Inside the unit, temperature, humidity, CO2 and light are held at recipe values with no stress stall, so Butterhead Lettuce reaches harvest in about 25 - 30 days - more than half the open-field time.
CONTACT AND DATA NOTES
Hangzhou Hengyu Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. designs, builds and delivers complete container farms. Share your site conditions, target varieties and daily volume, and we will return a layout, a crop schedule and an energy estimate. Figures in this document use the 40 ft standard container (about five growing tiers) as the baseline and are estimates; output varies with tier count, light recipe, CO2 level and crop management, and is not a performance guarantee.
HENGYU | Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China | www.henvic.net | Model HY-LG-40-01 | Doc HY-PDS-LG-001
