Seleneca's Farms
In General:
We have eight separate Farms, two are located outside each of the four wards, within a short distance of the homes of the farmers who cultivate and harvest the produce. The farms are overseen by Seleneca’s Office of Food Production within the Department of Infrastructure; however, they are mostly leased out to individuals or companies who manage the day to day operations. Some specialize in specific products. Each farm is 15.524128 hectares (38.36 acres). With a total of eight farms, that is 124.2 hectares (306 acres). From this we feed our 8,000 to 10,000 occupants and we grow additional food that is sold to the Polar Water Operations and nearby research and industrial bases outside of Seleneca.
The temperatures within each of the farms are set for different climates on Earth, such as a tropical one for bananas and other tropical fruits, and northern climates where the plants need the temperature swing that comes with the change of seasons. The temperature controls also provide a longer growing seasons. The light, temperature, and humidity levels are adjusted by month and time of simulated day and night, thus keeping the circadian rhythms consistent with those on Earth. For fruit trees that grow in colder climates, there are sections that are set on different cycles to provide fruit year-round. Even though our trees are engineered to offer a plentiful bounty in less space than those found on earth, there are not as many trees and the fruit is truly a luxury food item here on the Moon. The lighting is controlled within each farm to simulate night and day. The length of “daylight” hours is lengthened and shorted to match Earth’s northern hemisphere’s seasonal changes at the 30th Parallel North.
What We Farm:
Our horticulturalists have made it possible to grow almost any plant and vegetable from Earth by using The following methods: (click on any of them to learn more)
In addition to plants, we have sections devoted to:
The Farm's Roof Structure:
Like everywhere in Seleneca, the farms are roofed structures enclosing a pressurized atmosphere that is based on a modular design of concrete components that attach to one another forming a large connected space. We use a structural type that dates to Egyptian times, later improved by the Romans, and used heavily during Medieval times. It is called the groin arch. It is formed by two intersecting barrel vaults. The magic is that the structural load from above is transferred down to each of the four posts at the corners. Normally no special buttressing is necessary in the modular components if using rounded arches above with only gravitational forces, but because of the pressures for holding in an atmosphere, we have horizontal tie beams, and therefore lowered the angle of the arches as well to conserve material. The outer edges of the combined collection of modular units have special bindings to hold the pressure from the interior atmosphere.
The primary modular unit that houses the farms are 25 meters (82 feet) square in plan. The inside of the spring of the vaults is at 6.84 meters (22′-4″) from the floor and the interior height at the top of the vault is 11 meters (36 feet). Each has an interior plot for farming of 20.6 meters (67′-7″) square providing 424.36 square meters (4,567.77 square feet) of planting area. This is 0.042436 hectares (0.10486164 acres) of area per modular unit. Equipment and carriers can access the farms via corridors made with rectangular modular units that meet the same dimensions on two sides but have an outside dimension of 10 meters (32′-10″) on the two narrow sides, shown in blue in the illustration above. Each farm has 248 modular units. That is 10.524128 hectares (26 acres) of farming ground area per farm. With 8 farms that is 84.193 hectares (208 acres) total. Since each modular unit has smaller corridors between the units, those make up a total of 5 hectares (12.25 acres) in each farm that are sometimes used for additional hydroponic frames, especially in the farm sections devoted exclusively to vertical farming. There is also a third modular unit for the intersection of the corridors. For sense of scale, notice the human figure on the left side of the single modular unit that is sitting by itself and askew.
As each row of modular units are installed, the four-meter thick layer of regolith is set on top of the structure to function as a shield from solar and galactic radiation. The outer edges of the farm are enclosed by “caps.” These are strapped together and sealed to contain the pressure from the enclosed atmosphere.
Size and Locations:
As stated at the top of this page, we have:
8 Farms in Total
15.52 Hectares / 38.36 Acres Each
124 Hectares / 306 Acres Combined Total
With +10 meter high enclosed space
The heights are substantial to allow for vertical hydroponic and aeroponic farming. This calculation does not include the 10-meter-wide corridors. Each of the farms have names based on their locations on the circle of a clock face. They are easy to get to because the 1’oclock Farm is at the end of 1st Street, the 2 o’clock Farm is at the end of 2nd Street, etc. However, there are no farms at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions because of the four Cardinal Streets. Additionally, people have private gardens, mostly using hydroponics in their cellars. The eight municipal farms are:
1 o'clock Farm
2 o'clock Farm
4 o'clock Farm
5 o'clock Farm
7 o'clock Farm
8 o'clock Farm
10 o'clock Farm
11 o'clock Farm
Views
This is a recent view from the 8 O’clock Farm where most of the grains are farmed. The distance from here to the very back towards the right is 650 meters (2,132.55 feet).
Although Seleneca’s farms have many automated systems for monitoring water provisions and soil chemical levels, monitoring the indicators, the systems themselves, and the health of the plants is a 24-hour duty. Harvesting is accomplished with a mixture of mechanical assistance and traditional manual labor.
This is an old view from the 2 O’clock Farm when it was just getting planted with soil-based plants so that you can see the expansiveness of the farm. You cannot see this amount of distance in the areas that have hydroponic and aeroponic structures because they have plant racks stacked up to the ceiling. The lighting in the hydroponic and aeroponic sections is different than shown here. There, the lights are attached to the frames directly above the plants, and the room ambiance is darker.
Most of the plants are grown using hydroponic methods. The water delivery systems vary considerably and are custom designed for the efficient use of space for each type of plant. Soil is used in some instances, normally in limited ways. Our soil is locally manufactured, within the Office of Food Production’s control. We start with the spoils of regolith mining after the metals and hydrogen have been removed. It is ground further inside tumblers to remove its microscopic sharp edges that can cause lung damage and then organics from plant and animal/human waste, processed separately, are added to the mix.
Seleneca’s Office of Food Production has a well-equipped Aquaculture division that raises fish, shrimp, mollusks, and limited aquatic plants such as seaweed, and algae, each requiring different facilities. Shown above are the larger fish tanks, arranged on two levels, located at the 8 O’clock Farm. Waste from Fish and other waterborne animals is recycled using standard aquaponic technology.
Open water behaves differently on the lunar surface than it does on earth. The waves are much higher because of the lower gravitational force. Water splashes higher and farther. For fish, and humans too, swimming underwater is about the same as on Earth, because the inertia of the water is causing drag, not the gravity. A submerged swimmer’s speed would be about the same in both places. Similarly, floating on water is about the same, because that has to do with the displacement caused by the floating body’s density compared to the water’s density. However, the lower gravity makes it possible for fish, and humans, to be able to jump out of the water into the air much easier. Depending on the species, additional guards are placed on the edges of the tanks so that the fish basically bounce back into the water if they jump too far. Alternatively, the water level is lower. Some of our fish have been genetically modified to have weaker mussels to limit their jumping, but some people fear that affects the taste of the meat.
Views
This is a recent view from the 8 O’clock Farm where most of the grains are farmed. The distance from here to the very back towards the right is 650 meters (2,132.55 feet).
Although Seleneca’s farms have many automated systems for monitoring water provisions and soil chemical levels, monitoring the indicators, the systems themselves, and the health of the plants is a 24-hour duty. Harvesting is accomplished with a mixture of mechanical assistance and traditional manual labor.
This is an old view from the 2 O’clock Farm when it was just getting planted with soil-based plants so that you can see the expansiveness of the farm. You cannot see this amount of distance in the areas that have hydroponic and aeroponic structures because they have plant racks stacked up to the ceiling. The lighting in the hydroponic and aeroponic sections is different than shown here. There, the lights are attached to the frames directly above the plants, and the room ambiance is darker.
Most of the plants are grown using hydroponic methods. The water delivery systems vary considerably and are custom designed for the efficient use of space for each type of plant. Soil is used in some instances, normally in limited ways. Our soil is locally manufactured, within the Office of Food Production’s control. We start with the spoils of regolith mining after the metals and hydrogen have been removed. It is ground further inside tumblers to remove its microscopic sharp edges that can cause lung damage and then organics from plant and animal/human waste, processed separately, are added to the mix.
Seleneca’s Office of Food Production has a well-equipped Aquaculture division that raises fish, shrimp, mollusks, and limited aquatic plants such as seaweed, and algae, each requiring different facilities. Shown above are the larger fish tanks, arranged on two levels, located at the 8 O’clock Farm. Waste from Fish and other waterborne animals is recycled using standard aquaponic technology.
Open water behaves differently on the lunar surface than it does on earth. The waves are much higher because of the lower gravitational force. Water splashes higher and farther. For fish, and humans too, swimming underwater is about the same as on Earth, because the inertia of the water is causing drag, not the gravity. A submerged swimmer’s speed would be about the same in both places. Similarly, floating on water is about the same, because that has to do with the displacement caused by the floating body’s density compared to the water’s density. However, the lower gravity makes it possible for fish, and humans, to be able to jump out of the water into the air much easier. Depending on the species, additional guards are placed on the edges of the tanks so that the fish basically bounce back into the water if they jump too far. Alternatively, the water level is lower. Some of our fish have been genetically modified to have weaker mussels to limit their jumping, but some people fear that affects the taste of the meat.
