Dan Albert has an unusual farm. There are no tractors, no harm houses, not even soil or sunlight. Albert owns Farmbox Greens. It's in a two car garage behind his Seattle home where he grows microgreens in vertically stacked trays beneath LED lights by the process of hydroponics. Microgreens can go from seed to harvest in as little as two weeks. This makes Albert's prices hard to beat by produce delivered from far away. His business is so successful (making $500,000 in 2014), he was able to quit his job and work at Farmbox Greens full-time selling his greens to restaurants and grocery stores.
City-Hydro is another LED light vertical farm that was successful. Larry and Zhanna Hountz built their farm in the spare bedroom of their three story row house in Baltimore. They grew 80 species of greens and sold them to a dozen restaurants. Their farm profited $120,000.
The up side of vertical farming is it doesn't use chemical pesticides and far less water and fertilizer compared to traditional farms. It also produces 20 times more greens per square unit than outdoor farming. The down side is all the LED lights can drive the cost of energy through the roof.
Green spirit farms in Michigan grows leafy greens, such as lettuce, in a 420,000 space. It is also a vertical farm that uses "frequency-specific" induction lights. The farm produces 5,000 pounds of greens each month with annual sales totaling to over $1 million.
Edenworks in Brooklyn uses an aquaponic system to farm greens and fish at the same time. The company, which is non-profit, has received $1.5 million in funding and intends to build a 10,000 square foot vertical farm in a warehouse in Brooklyn. It is predicted to produce 130,000 pounds of leafy greens and 50,000 pound of fish annually.
Many people have tried to make this type of business work but only few (such as the ones listed above) have been successful. Vertical hydroponic farms are flourishing all over the country and it could be the future of farming.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/30/business/smallbusiness/growing-greens-in-the-spare-room-as-vertical-farm-start-ups-flourish.html
http://www.simplyhydro.com/whatis.htm
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ReplyDeleteVertical hydroponics is DEFINITELY the future of farming, especially in urban areas. It doesn't necessarily require growth from LED lights, rather most green houses can be adapted to allow vertical growing. There is a community greenhouse in Asbury Park, NJ that takes up half an acre of land, but uses vertical hydroponics. It completely recaptures and recycles all the water used in the growing process, so it churns out vegetables and greens at an astounding rate. The all-organic veggies are purchased by many of the amazing local restaurants.
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