plants indoors , vertically . By 2001 the first outline of a vertical farm was introduced . In an interview Despommier described how vertical farms would function :
“ Each floor will have its own watering and nutrient monitoring systems . There will be sensors for every single plant that tracks how much and what kinds of nutrients the plant has absorbed . You ’ ll even have systems to monitor plant diseases by employing DNA chip technologies that detect the presence of plant pathogens by simply sampling the air and using snippets from various viral and bacterial infections . It ’ s very easy to do .
Moreover , a gas chromatograph will tell us when to pick the plant by analysing which flavonoids the produce contains . These flavonoids are what gives the food the flavours you ’ re so fond of , particularly for more aromatic produce like tomatoes and peppers . These are all right-off-the-shelf technologies . The ability to construct a vertical farm exists now . We don ’ t have to make anything new .”
Architectural designs were independently produced by designers Chris Jacobs , Andrew
Kranis and Gordon Graff .
In 2011 the Plant in Chicago was building an anaerobic digester into the building which would allow the farm to operate off the energy grid by recycling waste from nearby businesses that would otherwise go into landfills .
As of 2014 , Vertical Fresh Farms was operating in Buffalo , NY specializing in salad greens , herbs and sprouts . In March the world ’ s then largest vertical farm opened in Scranton , Pennsylvania , built by Green Spirit Farms ( GSF ). The firm is housed in a single-story building covering 3.25 hectares , with racks stacked six high to house 17 million plants . The farm was to grow 14 lettuce crops per year , as well as spinach , kale , tomatoes , peppers , basil and strawberries . Water is scavenged from the farm ’ s atmosphere with a de-humidifier .
A 2015 study utilized inexpensive metal reflectors to supply sunlight to the plants , reducing energy costs .
Kyoto-based Nuvege operates a windowless farm . Its LED lighting is tuned to service two
Part of the Sustainable Urban Masterplan for Shanghai , this image shows of the channels with pedestrian and slow traffic lanes on the right , and urban food gardens on the left . The channel transports water from vertical farm to vertical farm , cooling the city and being filtered through various plants and organisms along the way . Two vertical farm buildings sit in the background , these farms supply sustainable energy , fresh water and food to 50.000 people in a range of one kilometre around their centre . The open lower floors of the tower in the middle serves as a community garden , where residents can grow their own spices and specialty crops . ( image EXCEPT : https :// www . flickr . com / photos / 34167678 @ N00 / 4589516102 )
AgriKultuur | AgriCulture
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