“We don’t need to blast these poor plants with hundreds of micromoles on the very first day”
Source: VFD.com
How Growy uses light intensity and spectrum to reduce energy use “We don’t need to blast these poor plants with hundreds of micromoles on the very first day” Growy has been, as Laura van de Kreeke put it at CEA and Indoor Farming 2026, "quite loud" about its energy efficiency. The Amsterdam vertical farmer produces herbs, microgreens, and salad mixes across its 7,500-square-meter facility, supplies 500 Jumbo stores nationwide, and has built its commercial case in part on a cost structure that sets it apart from earlier vertical farming ventures.
"It was built for the average of what the plant would need, but not for specific plant behaviour." © Rebekka Boekhout | VerticalFarmDaily.com Matching intensity to the growth stage The first and most impactful change Growy made was stopping the practice of delivering maximum light from day one. "Nowadays we take our lettuces through a large red spectrum cell to really boost the growth," van de Kreeke said, citing yield increases of up to 30% as a result.
Finishing recipes and post-harvest quality The most operationally mature application of spectrum research at Growy is what van de Kreeke calls a finishing recipe: a targeted light treatment applied during the final one to two days before harvest, designed to improve post-harvest quality and shelf life. "We want to eventually get a plant profile that shows exactly what, for example, my basil would need on day one all the way to day 18," van de Kreeke said.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
