When New Jersey's founders coined the term “The Garden State”, they likely didn’t envision trays of plants and artificial light. But these have become the symbols of an alternative farming movement that’s on the rise in the state. Organic, sustainable farming that connects fresh produce with the communities it feeds.
A pioneer in this movement is AeroFarms, the world’s largest vertical farm located right in Newark. AeroFarms is using a system called aeroponics, where instead of sun and soil, crops are grown with LED lighting and nutrient-enriched water. AeroFarms plans to open its tenth and largest space in Camden later this year.
“I think that New Jersey’s definitely doing a lot in terms of our vertical farming. I mean, they have a huge one up in Newark which is AeroFarms, which is really paving the way for these urban farms,” said Patrick Gigliotti, co-founder of IndoGrow.
One of those new farms is IndoGrow founded by Patrick Gigliotti and Lou Monte right in their Cherry Hill home.