Layout Tier Spacing and PAR at Each Level
1 dayCalculate vertical clearance for crop height, PAR at top vs bottom tier, and uniformity adjustment with side lighting.
Field context
This workflow is part of 3 niche fields
Complete guide for vertical hydro farming — step-by-step workflow, tools, checklist, and expert tips to get started.
Calculate vertical clearance for crop height, PAR at top vs bottom tier, and uniformity adjustment with side lighting.
Sum heat load from stacked lights, size chiller for sensible heat removal, calculate total exhaust CFM for CO2 and humidity.
Calculate humidity dome volume for weekly clone count, PAR for clone stage, and transition timing to veg tiers.
Stagger tiers for weekly harvest, track power cost per tier, monitor root zone temp on each NFT level.
Balances PAR uniformity across stacked tiers with different hang heights.
Sizes climate control for concentrated heat load of vertical racks.
Projects total weekly output from tier count and sites per tier.
Sizes propagation dome capacity for continuous tier replenishment.
Vertical Farm Tier Planning
| Tier | Crop Stage | PAR Target |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom | Harvest ready | 200–400 |
| Middle | Vegetative | 400–600 |
| Top | Seedling/clone | 200–300 |
| Prop | Clone | 100–200 |
Adjust pH before adding nutrients — pH drift after mixing wastes expensive inputs.
Keep reservoir 65–70°F — warmer water holds less oxygen and invites root rot.
Drip loops on all cords entering reservoirs and GFCI on every outlet.