SearchResearch Challenge (9/24/25): What's the story with greenhouses?
Dan Russell
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
SearchResearch Challenge (9/24/25): What's the story with greenhouses?
I've seen lots of these odd constructions...
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... from the air.
They're greenhouses; a common sight as you fly over agricultural lands.
These images are from: 36.699632, 118.730094 – China Weifang ; 43.547962, 16.293624 – Split, Croatia; 36.878222, -2.370747 – Almería, Spain ; 35.420553, -80.780018 – Huntersville, North Carolina, US
Sometimes they cover an enormous area of land, as in Weifang, China where greenhouses spread over more than 820 square kilometers. (Weifang is a prefecture-level city in Shandong Province in northeastern China.)
You'll also see lots of greenhouses from the air in Europe and the US. Notably in southern Spain, around Almería. Where, by some estimates, the greenhouses cover more than 40,000 hectares (150 square miles)—nearly all of Campo de Dalías.
Naturally, my curiosity is piqued by seeing such giant constructions, and it reminded me that not so long ago, there was a boom in highly efficient greenhouses that were going to be powered by AI, robots, and high-tech lighting.
These lead me to a few curious questions for you to ponder. Can you find the answers? If so, what did you do to discover the results?
1. How long have greenhouses been around? If greenhouses date to around Roman times (as I've heard), what were the greenhouses made of?
2. What is growing under all of those greenhouses? What's grown in Weifang that needs SO many greenhouses?
3. Those robotic greenhouses... how well are they doing? Has there been a boom in robotic and/or vertical greenhouses in the past 10 years? Is it a growth industry?
Let us know what you discover! And just as importantly, tell us how you found the answers.
Forward!
Keep searching.
