Urban buildings as high-tech greenhouses

Turning an urban building into a high-tech greenhouse.

At a time of spring equinox it's good to take a look at a possible solution to a farming challenge. You can call it vertical or multi-level farming but the idea is to grow vegetables in multiple levels thus making full use of the available growing space in greenhouses.

The Vertical Farm estimates that by the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth's population will reside in urban centers. According to the most conservative estimate the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during by then. About 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use.

As an example, AeroFarms' headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, is a former steel factory that's been converted into the world's largest vertical farm. Throughout the 6,410m2 of growing space, plant beds are stacked on top of each other in 12 layers between floor and ceiling. LEDs provide lighting and the roots of leafy greens, herbs and salads are kept nourished using an "aeroponic" mist claimed to use 95 per cent less water than outdoor agriculture.

AeroFarms claims that they can take the same seed that might take 30-35 days to grow outside, and it will have a 12-16 day crop cycle in their system. Algorithms continually monitor nutrients and lighting at different points in the plants' growth cycles. By optimising light wavelengths and the nutrient-filled mist, operators can endow plants with different tastes, textures, colours and yield.

The farm is predicted to reach its full capacity by midway through 2016.