Vertical farming

US (OH): A look inside an aquaponics operation

Hidden from prying eyes and tucked beneath a four-story steel and concrete parking garage in the heart of downtown Toledo sits the most unlikely of things — a farm. But this one has no tractors, silos, or scarecrows. Go inside Balance Farms, an 8,168-square foot high-tech aquaponics operation located on…

Bronx apartment complex comes with its own greenhouse

A Bronx affordable housing development with lots of green perks launched a lottery this week for 46 units. Dubbed the Bedford Green House, the 13-story building at 2865 Creston Avenue offers its residents unique amenities that center around healing through nature, a concept called biophilic design.…

US (CA): Plenty debuts "flavor-first" vertical farm

Plenty debuted its new farm, Tigris, designed for the flavor while producing with efficiency and cleanliness. "Plenty is on a mission to change the way we eat by growing produce with craveable flavor while increasing availability to a world that long ago ran out of additional fruit and vegetable…

US (DE): Plans for vertical farm take root in NE Wilmington

Second Chances Farm has entered into a Letter of Intent to purchase a 50,000-square-foot warehouse at 3030 Bowers St. in Northeast Wilmington and plans to open its first vertical farm by this fall if everything falls into place. The goal is to help state or federal inmates from Delaware obtain jobs – and…

July 16, Columbus

Leafy Greens 101: How to Start and Optimize Your Hydroponic Production

Hydroponic leafy green production can present commercial growers with exciting opportunities. New crop varieties, greater control, improvements in quality, consistency and yield, and year-round production are just some of the many benefits. But it can be intimidating to get started in hydroponics. What…

US (FL): Aeroponic Tower Gardens introduced to student learning experience

Urban agriculture can provide healthy, local food in more populated areas through home vegetable gardens, farmer’s markets, backyard poultry, and other production methods. This growing trend has extended to the University of Florida’s Gator Dining Services in a partnership with the Field & Fork…

Scottish vertical farm looking to go global with £5.4 million funding boost

Intelligent Growth Solutions, the Scottish-based vertical farm technology business, announced a £5.4 million Series A funding round led by US-based S2G Ventures. IGS opened its first vertical farming demonstration facility in August 2018. Since that announcement, the company has received significant…

Expo 2020 Dubai and Emirates Flight Catering create fresh and eco-friendly F&B vision

Fresh produce grown at the world’s largest vertical farm will be served to millions at Expo 2020 Dubai as part of a collaboration with Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) to provide delicious and diverse culinary choices while showcasing the future of sustainable gastronomy. The tie-up will also introduce…

Why decoupled aquaponics

Most aquaponic systems are single loop and fully recirculating. This means that the fish and plants exist in a single loop and share the same nutrient-rich water. The reason these are the most popular is because they are simple to build and operate. But single loop systems are also a compromise because the plants, fish and…

US (OK): Aquaponics-based research learning comes to Tulsa-area schools

Symbiotic Aquaponic will collaborate with the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) along with Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) , the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park to bring aquaponics-based research learning to Tulsa-area schools for a STEM education project. Symbiotic will receive…

France: €20 million bio-based protein plant to feature vertical insect farm

Ÿnsect announced the official launch of the first fully automated industrial facility to produce premium insect protein. The project, called Farmyng, is based in the city of Amiens, in northern France, and is co-funded by the European Commission and the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) who…

Germany: Exhibition showcases plants in space

How can astronauts feed themselves in space? Where does their food come from, where does the oxygen that they need to breathe come from? Today, the foundations for these future technologies are already being developed. The exhibition “Plants in Space” provides insight into current space research in the…

Global CEA Census launched to help drive agriculture industry forward

Global automation specialist Autogrow and New York based Agritecture Consulting are appealing to growers to take part in the inaugural Global CEA Census. The Census seeks to understand the scale and nature of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) to better determine the roadblocks to accelerating the…

Singapore: Vertical farm receives urban farm certification for organic vegetables

Sky Greens, an urban farm in Lim Chu Kang (Singapore), has been awarded the world's first national standard for organic vegetables grown in urban environments, developed in Singapore to address key challenges such as limited land, lack of soil and water and higher operating costs from energy consumption…

US (SC): Catering company teams up with vertical farm

As of Mon. June 10, Vertical Roots has partnered with Hamby Catering & Events, Charleston’s oldest local catering company, to be their exclusive lettuce provider in a shared effort to increase the amount of locally grown food consumed in Charleston. Vertical Roots is only 16 miles away from the…

Infarm gets $100 million financial boost

Urban farming platform Infarm has announced a $100M Series B investment led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors Balderton and Cherry Ventures. The new funding will be used to scale Infarm’s growth in Europe to the US and beyond, and grow the R&D, operational, and commercial teams.…

US (WI): Students use aquaponics to grow food for school

When Augusto Freitas heard what they were cooking in his family consumer science class at Deforest High School on Tuesday he quickly told his teacher how excited he was. “I was hyped because today we are preparing tilapia, and that is a main fish dish in Brazil, I used to eat every week, I feel nostalgic…

"Hydroponic growers should be promoting locally-grown produce"

Whether or not hydroponic growers are using organic practices to produce edible crops, consumers are more likely to be interested in whether the produce is locally grown. There has been much discussion over whether controlled environment hydroponic food production should be allowed to be certified…

UK: Brewery plants vertical strawberry farm in sustainability drive

A London brewery will grow its own crop of strawberries via an innovative on-site vertical farm to maximise how it uses its "premium" city location. Camden Town Brewery has partnered with Rootlabs, which builds urban farms, to launch the UK's first brewery-based vertical farm at its Enfield site. The…

Growing Underground

From offering shelter to cultivating food

Growing Underground is a hydroponic vertical farm—using 70% less water than your typical farming operation. They utilize a closed-loop ebb and flow system where water with nutrients floods the beds of sprouts a few times a day and then is recycled through a reservoir and reused. The plants float in a…

CAN (QC): Renovated public market to include aquaponics systems

Discerning foodies in Quebec will soon have a beautiful new market to buy their locally grown fare. Local architectural firms Bisson Associés and Atelier Pierre Thibault are at the final stages of converting the Pavillon du Commerce, which dates back to 1923, into the light-filled Grand Marché, a public…

What's got investors betting on the future of food

Boston venture firm Spark Capital has backed some of the tech sector's biggest hits: Twitter, Slack, Tumblr and Medium, just to name a few. So, what does Spark cofounder Todd Dagres see as the next hot thing? Try scarlet kale. Well, not kale itself but, rather, an innovative way of growing the leafy…

Singapore grows more with less on 'sky farms'

Singapore aims to increase its own food production by growing vegetables on top of office buildings. It also has set up tiered fish farms and is using laboratories to grow shrimp, a popular treat. That way, the island nation will not have to depend as much on imports to feed its 5.6 million people.…

UK: Octopus launches two ‘vertical farming’ tariffs

Octopus Energy for Business has launched two new tariffs designed to grow the vertical farming industry. The company claims the Vertical Power tariffs “pave the way” for agritech businesses and control-environment farms to bring down energy costs and reduce their environmental impact. The two new tariffs…

US (NV): Securing the future of food with aquaponics

Somewhere off a dirt road in the middle of Dayton Valley, a large facility lights up the night sky with a pink glow. It’s not anything alien or a scientific experiment gone wrong, it is the home of Dayton Valley Aquaponics (DVA), a unique farming facility that marries aquaculture with hydroponics and…

Nijssen presents new model MyGrowthRoom at GreenTech Amsterdam

During the GreenTech horticulture trade show in Amsterdam, Nijssen presents a new model of MyGrowthRoom, the successful multifunctional mobile walk-in climate chamber for cultivation tests and indoor farming production. In the rapidly developing indoor farming market there is undiminished demand for a…

US (MN): Aeroponics grower adds new lettuce and microgreen offerings

Year-round, Midwestern grower, Living Greens Farm, is bringing new lettuce and microgreen products to the Midwest retail market. The new items are available in clamshell, micro-packaging and convenient bagged options, the later representing the first time that fresh produce has been processed by an…

Almost €70,000 crowdfunded for microgreens home growing set MicroFarm

"Harvest microgreens at home, like a professional indoor farmer." With this introductory line, the MicroFarm Kickstarter campaign by Mother achieved its crowdfunding goal of 8,000 euro within 90 minutes. Up until now, over 500 people have invested over 68,000 euro. Mother has developed their own LED…

How an aquaponic vertical farm improved food safety

Food poisoning is a common problem across the globe, and 600 million people become sick after eating contaminated food every year. As the agricultural sector continues to find…

UK: Scientists growing food 'ten times faster' without soil at urban farm

Some 24 billion tons of fertile soil is being lost globally to erosion every year and such is the mounting crisis that academics at the University of Sheffield predict the UK has fewer than 100 harvests left.. An attempt to harness the potential of hydroponics is underway on the border of Sheffield and…

Growing up: The potential of vertical farming

When most consumers consider vertical farms, they think of grocery store lettuces. They’re not wrong — leafy greens are an excellent crop for a controlled, hydroponic growing setup. But are year-round edible flowers and spring salad mixes enough to disrupt the future of food? Growing fresh food has…

UAE: Architects reimagine Dubai road with urban farm

Machou Architects has designed the world's longest urban agricultural park for Dubai, transforming the city's vital Sheikh Zayed Road into an eco-valley. Developed to increase the city's public space and improve its connectivity, the project proposes to sink the highway underground and convert the…

SPAR celebrates the growing season with Salzburg plantlets:

Parsley, red cabbage and more, all regionally cultivated

With the temperatures finally becoming somewhat spring-like this year, Salzburg plantlets will be coming up for sale. Vegetable grower Josef Gerl had sown lettuce, parsley, kohlrabi, red cabbage, white cabbage and broccoli in the spring. Now these seedlings are large and robust enough to be planted in…

US (LA): Middle school wins Green Ribbon award for aquaponics program

Brookstown Middle in Baton Rouge is the only Louisiana school, and one of only 35 across the country, to win U.S. Green Ribbon awards this year from the federal government for its commitment to conservation and environmental education. The U.S. Department of Education announced the latest rounds of Green…

17,000 square feet

US (NC): Vertical farm in former factory site doubling in production capacity

In Burlington, North Carolina, a nondescript building belies the busy hive of a salad greens farm inside. Your Local Greens, the new venture of successful serial entrepreneurs and mental health philanthropists Doug Calaway and John Battle, is presently expanding in response to market demand. "Our…

India: Research centre to grow potato without soil

Soil and other growing media, such as cocopeat, are no longer necessary for growing potato as Potato Technology Centre (PTC) at Shamgarh in Karnal with the help of Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, is going to start work on a research project for producing potato in air by the aeroponics…

Christ Monden, De Kruidenaer, about growing on water:

"Compare systems and take blow molding seriously"

Hydroponic cultivation is taking off. It is a development that started not so long ago. Christ Monden from De Kruidenaer grows on water. His tip for other growers: "Compare systems and take blow molding very seriously. Then the benefits will automatically become clear." Advantages which Bas Dirven,…

Vertical farming techniques used to grow insects

Antoine Hubert never expected to become a chief executive. Certainly not back in the days when he was bass guitarist in the experimental heavy metal band Stale Fish, which mixed traditional French accordion music with tortured guitar riffs. When Hubert chose agronomy over music as a career, setting up a…

Automated mushroom farms are the neon-colored future of urban farming

If you find yourself sitting at the bar in The Standard’s East Village location, it’s inevitable that your eyes will be drawn to the bright blue boxes installed high above the shelves of liquor bottles. Giving off an aquarium-like glow, these tanks are home not to exotic fish but to some of the most…

UK: Lightening energy costs for vertical farms

A year ago, Octopus Energy launched Agile Octopus. The half-hourly tariff has demonstrated significant impact, with consumers shifting their consumption away from peak times - reducing the strain on the grid, lowering carbon emissions and saving customers money. In the same year, Octopus Energy for…

Greece: Hydroponic workshops launched in Corfu

Hydro Fresh Produce announces the launch of Hydroponic Workshops in sunny Corfu, Greece. The workshops will take place at their hydroponic farm in central Corfu, Greece. The farm is located just 5 km from Corfu International Airport and 7km from the historic UNESCO city centre. Accommodation is available…

US (GA): Aquaponics garden opens at youth detention center

Next to a chain-link fence topped with rings of barbed wire, some Georgia officials walked into a greenhouse Monday afternoon, hoping the Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center's new addition can inspire teenagers on a hazardous path. Funded by a federal grant, the Georgia Department of Juvenile…

IKEA shows new home growing solutions at Chelsea Flower Show

IKEA is collaborating with world-renowned designer Tom Dixon to explore how democratic design principles can be applied to urban farming. The first step of this project has been working with the Design Research Studio, the design and innovations studio at the heart of Tom Dixon for the exhibition at…

US (OH): Micro farm model tested at OSU Mansfield Urban Agriculture Project

During a recent training session, a group of urban farmers in Mansfield, Ohio, huddled around a small raised bed of radishes, examining the crop’s growth after a cold spring week. They aren't on your typical farm. Dozens of small beds of greens are lined up under tunnels in this “micro farm” on the Ohio…

Timelapse: Scottish strawberries in a vertical farm

Scotland is famous for its strawberries grown mainly in the summer months, but now there is the potential that it could be famous for them all year round. Following the first successful propagation trials which took place in February 2019, Intelligent Growth Solutions have grown a small crop of…

NASA testing method to grow bigger plants in space

In an effort to increase the ability to provide astronauts nutrients on long-duration missions as the agency plans to sustainably return to the Moon and move forward to Mars, the Veg-PONDS-02 experiment is currently underway aboard the International Space Station. The present method of growing plants in…

Ali Ahmadian, Heliospectra

"Vertical farming is a viable solution for urban environments"

Heliospectra CEO Ali Ahmadian will join AVF at Urban Future Global Conference to provide a keynote speech on May 22. AVF’s Head of Science and Education Ramin Ebrahimnejad sat down with Mr. Ahmadian to learn more about the company and their vision for the future of lighting control in vertical farming.…

Singapore: High-rise building features vertical sky allotment gardens

CapitaLand unveiled the design of One Pearl Bank perched atop the verdant Pearl’s Hill. The development comprises two gently curving 39-storey towers linked at the roof by sky bridges. Towering at 178 metres, One Pearl Bank will be the tallest residential development in the Outram-Chinatown district in…

Malaysian agriculture minister promotes aquaponics

The Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry of Malaysia is keen on promoting aquaponics as one of the ways to ensure people can obtain healthier organic food. Apart from that, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Junz Wong said the system could also help the people, especially rural folk to…

CAN (ON): 23,000 sq.ft. indoor growing facility coming to Opasatika

A freshly established hydroponic farming operation is bringing the promise of new industry and employment to the small community of Opasatika. This spring, Truly Northern Farms (formerly Smart Greens-Sudbury) will establish the first crops of lettuce and basil inside a 23,000-square-foot growing facility…

Good swimming water for walleyes thanks to geothermal energy from greenhouses

Greenhouses do not have to be heated in the summer. In fact, there is often even a surplus of heat, especially if geothermal energy is being used. With that surplus it is possible to heat the water for indoor fish farming. The Greenhouse Horticulture Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research…

US (PA): Vertical farming operation considered in Hanover Township

Commercial farming may be a thing of the past in Hanover Township, Northampton County, but a company that uses an emerging agricultural technique could put down roots in the municipality. A vertical farming operation is one use under consideration on the land once occupied by the former Guardian Life…

US (MN): 87,000 sq. ft. aquaponics farms closes

Pentair is closing Urban Organics, a pioneering aquaponics venture that in six years had become a darling of Minnesota’s sustainable-food community. Urban Organics raised fish and grew salad greens year-round in a closed-loop system in the former Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul. A Pentair spokeswoman said…

Growing up instead of out

From hobbyists to industrial operations, few growers wouldn’t happily increase their yield size. Unfortunately, square footage is at a premium. A lack of space to expand crop size has been a limiting factor for growers and farmers for as long as agriculture has existed, but thankfully, technology has answered the call for help…

US: Crop One launches Vertical Farm Opportunity Fund

Crop One will sponsor its first “qualified opportunity fund (QOF)” in an Opportunity Zone. The Vertical Farm Opportunity Fund #1 (the Fund) will invest in building and operating a new vertical farm in Texas (the Farm), to be located in a qualified Opportunity Zone in the Austin-San Antonio corridor. The…

Why your grow should be digitally integrated

If you’re not digitally integrated in some form or fashion, you’re going to get left behind in this industry, according to Illumitex. Everything is moving towards feedback loops, telling customers how they can make better decisions and manage their grows so that they can be more profitable in the end. In…

June 8-9, Denver

US (CO): Growing more food using less resources

Ceres Greenhouse Solutions, in conjunction with The Aquaponic Source, will be organizing an aquaponics course where participants can learn about a well-designed aquaponic system with the most energy-efficient greenhouse environment possible. The course is intended for families, the prepared, retirees,…

CAN (NU): Kugluktuk finding new ways to produce fresh food

Kugluktuk, Nunavut, is finding new ways to provide the community with fresh produce. In April the hamlet harvested its first batch of leafy greens from the community greenhouse. The greenhouse is a converted shipping container with a hydroponic system. "It helps in many different ways, first is providing…

Urban Farming Partners explores urban farming potential in Hong Kong

Wouter Vos and Henk van Eijk, two experts of Urban Farming partners, explored the urban farming potential in Hong Kong during a two-day visit. A visit was paid to the Vegetable Marketing Organisation’s Controlled Environment Hydroponic Research & Development Center and the hi-tech vertical vegetable…

US (AZ): Farming sustainably with aquaponic produce

It began years ago with a pledge from Chef Ken Harvey to provide his guests at Loews Ventana Canyon with food made from the freshest possible ingredients, and Harvey hasn’t cut any corners in sourcing his meats, cheeses, breads and produce from sustainable purveyors. But it was his first meeting with the…

Circular cultivation project starts for Stockholm citizens

In a couple of months, participants of a circular cultivation project can start harvesting their own lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs in a basement beneath an apartment building in Stockholm, as well as catch their own fish. The project is part of the EU project Gröna Solberga, in which multiple sustainable…

Optimization of photosynthetic photon flux density and root-zone temperature in coriander

Coriander is an important aromatic plant, and contains abundant secondary metabolites that are considered to be beneficial for health. The demand for high-quality and fresh…

Hydroponic farming systems: try before you buy

NexTech AR Solutions has signed a deal with Just Vertical, a hydroponic farming technology company, to provide augmented reality solutions to enhance the online shopping experience. Just Vertical will utilize NexTech’s ARitize eCommerce platform to create true 3D AR models of its AEVA hydroponic farming…

"Protein is king and demand is on the rise"

Ynsect will be sponsoring the event Unlock the Potential of Indoor Farming in Cities of the Future at this year’s Urban Future Global Conference. Ÿnsect (pronounced “Insect”) farms insects to make high-quality, premium natural ingredients for aquaculture and pet nutrition. As of now, Ÿnsect is composed…

An aquaponics pioneer in Cameroon

Flavien Kouatcha, who is almost 30, is an example of youth entrepreneurship in Cameroon. Since he was a child, he’s always wanted to have the best job in the world and, as he likes to say, “feed the planet”. His parents and grandparents are farmers. He has just been appointed National President of the…

EDEN ISS Mobile Test Facility remains in Antarctica

The first EDEN ISS Antarctic mission (February – November 2018) aimed at advancing controlled environment agriculture technologies for plant cultivation in extreme conditions, applicable to both terrestrial earth and space exploration. In April 2019, the EU-funded project comes to a complete close with…

Urban Crop Solutions appoints Tom Debusschere as new CEO

Urban Crop Solutions appoints Tom Debusschere as the new CEO of its group. Co-founder Maarten Vandecruys will continue to lead the R&D division and will spend more time for international business development. Founders & new CEO (left to right: Frederic Bulcaen, Maarten Vandecruys, and Tom…

India: Mumbai couple grows organic produce through hydroponics

A Mumbai based couple - Oshua Lewis and Sakina Rajkotwala decided to take the leap after a visit to Auroville in Puducherry in 2017 where they got inspired by Krishna Mckenzie, a native of England, who’s “honouring Mother Nature through local food.” They named it as Herbivore Farms, Mumbai’s first…

Australia: Vertical farming firm raises $1 million

Agtech startup Vertical Farming Systems (VFS) has raised $1 million for its technology that does exactly what it says on the tin. The startup “engineers labour out of growing green, leafy vegetables,” founder and chief executive Ashley Thomson tells StartupSmart. Using an indoor pod and a cocktail of…

Sonia Lo, Crop One Holdings:

"Scotland is punching above its weight"

The boss of one of the world's biggest vertical farming companies says Scotland is punching above its weight when it comes to new business ideas. US entrepreneur Sonia Lo, of…

CAN (ON): U of T-Centennial College partnership to build net-zero vertical farm

The University of Toronto Scarborough and Centennial College are teaming up to establish the EaRTH District – an initiative aimed at advancing the cleantech sector through research, academic programming and commercialization. EaRTH, which stands for Environmental and Related Technologies Hub, will be a…

AAVF appoints new Vice-President

After the launch of the African Association for Vertical Farming that occurred in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 9-11, 2019, the AAVF announces the appointment of its new Vice-President, Mrs. Veronica Shangali Aswani. Mrs. Veronica Shangali Aswani is also the Co-founder and CEO of WavuNow, a social enterprise that seeks to…

Crop One wins GFIA innovation award for JV with Emirates Flight Catering

Crop One Holdings has won the Best Innovation in Indoor Farming Award at the 2019 Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The company announced a $40 million joint venture agreement with Emirates Flight Catering last year, to build the world’s largest vertical…

US (WI): Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation features aquaponics

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation provides resources to help new and existing residents. Part of this effort of the Wisconsin Stories project, which features those who think big and strive to make positive change happen in the world. Recently, Wisconsin Stories featured Nelson and Pade of…

May 22-24, Las Vegas

Gotham Greens' CEO joins conference line-up for Indoor Ag-Con

Indoor Ag-Con expands its educational line-up with a new keynote session from Viraj Puri, CEO and Co-Founder of Gotham Greens. Puri joins other keynote presenters, Irving Fain, CEO / Co-Founder, Bowery, and Brad McNamara, CEO / Co-Founder, Freight Farms to headline the educational conference program for…

Automation: The final frontier of vertical farming

It’s no secret that the world’s food system needs help. Our growing global population is urbanizing at a rapid rate – it’s estimated that 9 billion people will live in cities by 2100 – and traditional food sources will fall woefully short of being able to meet their needs. Vertical indoor farming is…

Aquaponics on the go

Did you ever wish you could pack up your aquaponics system and just take it with you wherever you went? A new invention doesn't quite do that, but it comes very close. Conor Quinlan is the owner and founder of a brand new Start-Up Company called EPIC GrowTech in the United States. He's just announced his first product on…

UAE: "Hydroponic farming is not organic"

Hydroponic farming, which is catching on in the UAE among many urban farmers, cannot be qualified as organic even if the produce grown through this method are not aided by any chemical fertilisers or pesticides, the UAE regulatory authorities have said. In a statement to Gulf News, the Ministry of…

Taisiya Jacobson, Pure Greens:

"Container Farms give the grower complete control over the growing environment"

Pure Greens is a manufacturer of high-tech Container Farms. We sat down with Pure Greens’ President, Taisiya Jacobson, to answer the five most asked questions about their Container Farms. What are the benefits of growing with a Container Farm? Pure Greens Container Farms give the grower complete control…

Can hydroponic farmers spray glyphosate just before becoming organic?

The latest salvo in the battle between traditional organic farmers—who grow in nutrient-rich soil—and soil-free hydroponic operators centers on a prohibited weed-fighting chemical. Soil farmers say the National Organic Program (NOP) allows the use of herbicides such as glyphosate, the active ingredient…

Astronauts might soon grow space tomatoes

Tiny tomato plants developed at the University of California, Riverside, could one day feed astronauts on the International Space Station. The plants have minimal leaves and stems but still produce a normal amount of fruit, making them a potentially productive crop for cultivation anywhere with limited…

US (WI): Aquaponics provides stability, livelihood for Sheboygan farmers

Sixth generation farmer, Nate Calkins, used to work with cattle but now he spends his days handling a new ‘stock’ as co-owner of Lake Orchard Farm Aquaponics. In 2014, after consulting with Nelson and Pade, Inc., the family started moving out heifers to make way for the transition to raising fish and…

US (NJ): Organic home-delivery aquaponic grower looking to expand

Heather and Mike Scannell started growing aquaponic lettuce in 2016 in their garage. Their three children gobbled it up. Next, the Toms River couple moved their garage system to their backyard. After a successful growing season, Mike, a financial advisor, cut back his work hours to focus on growing more…

The ups and downs of vertical farming

The term Vertical Farming (VF) can be used to define a variety of concepts. For some, it might conjure up images of tall structures with plants growing on the outside, while others may imagine stacks of shipping containers. In essence, VF refers to the practice of building upwards, or downwards in the…

"Growing two crops on one drop of water"

Max Gray grows all kinds of so-called fish-powered vegetables in an aquaponic system, in which the fish help to supply the nutrients the veggies need to grow. He now supplies his local community hotel with fresh leafy produce such as lettuce, kale, herbs, and freshwater fish all year around. "It is a…

Indian startup brings produce to doorsteps

Started by Shivendra Singh (31) in 2016 in Dubai, UAE, with a mission to bring technology innovation in the farming sector, Barton Breeze focuses on hydroponics. The company, which started operating in India by the end of 2017, wants to give ‘clean food’ to its customers throughout the year, without…

The ups and downs of vertical farming

The term Vertical Farming (VF) can be used to define a variety of concepts. For some, it might conjure up images of tall structures with plants growing on the outside, while others may imagine stacks of shipping containers. In essence, VF refers to the practice of building upwards, or downwards in the…

Samsung explains why they are investing in horticultural lights

Last spring, Samsung announced the launch of a wide range of horticulture LED offerings that produce a broad spectrum of light to support healthy plant growth. On April 23, Samsung introduced an update to the LM301H, which features the highest photon efficacy among today’s mid-power white LED packages.…

US (KY): FCHS ag program planning vertical farm

The Franklin County High School agriculture program is planning a vertical farm in a newly constructed greenhouse on campus. To help fund the initiative, the Kentucky FFA Foundation awarded an Ag Achiever grant. Set to open in the fall, the greenhouse will be dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables…

Kickstarter project adds vertical garden to living space

Imagine being able to harvest fresh veggies precisely when you need them without leaving the house. That's the promise of indoor gardens like the OGarden Smart and the Cell One. Now IGWorks is making a bid for your living space with a vertical hydroponics garden called the iHarvest that can…

Samsung sets new photon efficacy level in white LED packages

High photon efficacy enables indoor farms to save on energy costs

Samsung announced an enhancement to its mid-power LED package – the LM301H – for horticulture applications, such as greenhouse and vertical farming. At 3.10 micromoles per joule (μmol/J), the newly introduced LM301H now features the highest photon efficacy among today’s mid-power white LED packages,…

Researchers take stock of global aquaponics industry through survey

A group of researchers from the University of Washington on an international project – CITYFOOD – is running a global aquaponics survey and this survey will provide researchers with real-world information about existing aquaponic systems and farms which define current practices and using results from…

Eu:CROPIS

Tomatoes growing in lunar gravity 600 kilometres above Earth

The compact German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Eu:CROPIS satellite is now rotating in space at a rate of 17.5 revolutions per minute, generating a gravitational force in its interior similar to that found on the Moon. After its launch on 3 December 2018, DLR…

Malaysia: Paraplegic farmer realizes his dream of an aquaponic farm

In December 2015, a car accident left Dr Billy Tang, an agriculturist and private researcher, with traumatic spinal cord injury. A determined person, he aspired to return to his area of expertise – urban farming. Last July, Tang, 53, of Kota Damansara, discovered a new purpose in life when he and four…

A case study of controlled environment agriculture in New York City

Will the urban agricultural revolution be vertical and soilless?

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is an emerging form of farming increasingly found in cities worldwide. Advocates promote CEA as the future of food production, arguing for its potential to address challenges ranging from climate change to food insecurity. Detractors state that CEA’s narrow focus…

South Africa: AAVF creates platform for vertical farming network

The African Association for Vertical Farming (AAVF) recently held its launch and inaugural conference for vertical farming in Africa at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus. The conference spanned three days and featured speakers, workshops and site visits to vertical farming enterprises. The…

What is the cost of vertical farming?

How can vertical farming contribute to (inter)national food production? This question is more complex than it initially seems. The answer does not only depend on the production, but also on the costs for water, energy and CO2. The Greenhouse Horticulture Business Unit of Wageningen University &…

Angel Capital Raise supports KropTek

£3 million capital raise for LED supplier

At the recent opening ceremony of KropTek’s new production facility in Shenzhen (China), Wissam Farah, Director and Managing Partner announced KropTek’s capital raise milestone. KropTek, an LED grow light and grow system provider from the UK, has successfully completed its £3 million angel investment…

US (NJ): Aquaponics lab piques students’ interest in science

At first glance, room 301 looks like any other door to a classroom, but it’s actually an entrance to a large aquaponics lab at Willingboro High School. It’s called Project Wakanda. The 30 students who run the lab say it’s piqued their interest in pursuing STEM careers. “When the idea was first introduced…

Canada: Using hydroponics to provide northern communities with fresh produce all year long

Alexander Wilkinson, research analyst on the University of Calgary’s Sustainability Studies team, is developing a database so that UCalgary has an inventory of its sustainability-related researchers, providing the ability to build an interdisciplinary sustainability community of practice. “We want to…

Scientists from Saint Petersburg present Arctic greenhouse

Mr. Alexander Beglov, acting governor of Saint Petersburg, during his visit to the International Arctic Forum has paid special attention to a product of Saint Petersburg scientists – a complex for growing vegetables in the conditions of the Far North. The technology, worked out by the scientists of the…

US (CO): Fish power brings couple home to Montezuma County

Jeff and Tammy Coulon started aquaponic farming as a test – just for produce for the family dinner table at their farm near Ainsworth, Nebraska. It proved so successful it turned out to be key to enabling their return to their childhood homes in Montezuma County. Based on the success of their small,…

Sweden: Grocery store launches sale of onsite-grown produce

Freight Farms announces the launch of ICA Maxi Högskolan's own line of produce grown onsite for shoppers. Located in Halmstad Sweden, Freight Farms customer ICA Maxi Högskolan is one of ICA Gruppen's 1,300 grocery stores in the country. This month, the store began harvesting a range of…

CAN (AB): Lettuce Lads aim to transform hydroponic farming

For the past year, the Lettuce Lads have been developing patented technology that promises growth rates in excess of 200 per cent of traditional hydroponics and greenhouse techniques, while requiring significantly less electricity, water and labour. “What we’re trying to prove here is that we can grow…

Researchers use machine learning to improve the flavor of basil

What makes basil so good? In some cases, it’s AI. Researchers behind AI-optimized basil used machine learning to determine the growing conditions that would maximize the concentration of the volatile compounds responsible for basil’s flavor. The basil was grown in hydroponic units within modified…

Singapore’s ‘30 by 30’ food production target: Is it feasible?

The recent announcements in Parliament to raise Singapore’s food self-production level from the current 10 per cent to 30 per cent of total food needs by 2030, the “30 by 30” strategy, have raised some pertinent questions on capacity, investment and exportability. Singapore’s huge dependency — 90 per…

Sounding board meeting aquaculture, Aquavlan2

"Major challenge is impact of sodium fish water on fruit vegetables"

The Aquavlan2 project partners support the development of the Flemish and Dutch aquaculture sector through research and individual supervision. In a sounding board group, entrepreneurs and researchers from the aquaculture sector discuss the recent developments in the project. They met again on Friday,…

Urban Crop Solutions joining forces for 'intergalactic project'

Selling growing solutions so that humans on other planets will be supplied with fresh and healthy food is an ultimate dream for Urban Crop Solutions. The realization of this dream may be fast approaching thanks to a collaboration with Puratos, an international business group active in the bakery supply,…

Video: Inside a Russian vertical farm

iFarm is a Russian vertical farm company, providing technology for growing fresh greens locally, year-round. With full process automation, distant microclimate management from a single control center, a possibility to grow a varied assortment of plants indoors, iFarm solutions are aimed at creating an…

UAE: How a Dubai warehouse became an organic farm

Mustafa Moiz, a young Indian expatriate and resident entrepreneur from Dubai, is the Managing Director of UNS farm, an indoor facility housed in a large warehouse in the Al Quoz Industrial area. Utilising principles of vertical farming with eight vertical levels of farming, his farm utilises 30,000…

Students compete for plant growth chamber

Plantae and Conviron have collaborated to launch the Seeding Discovery Competition. The competition is aimed to equip a successful university or college student with a high-performing GEN1000 plant growth chamber that will enable them to fulfill a meaningful research program in the field of plant…

US (NY): Indoor farm to expand production 100-fold

A startup that began inside Union-Endicott's Tiger Ventures is ready to move to new locations while it expands its production 100-fold. AgZeit is a year-round organic indoor farm that got its start 2 years ago inside the former Linnaeus W West School in West Corners. G.M. Jim Dutcher says, "We grow the…

US (AL): Entrepreneur gets back to roots with aquaponic farm

At Southern Organics, Stuart Raburn and his small but mighty staff grow Birmingham’s freshest supply of tilapia and all natural produce. How did this Birmingham entrepreneur maven shift from launching high-tech firms to high-end farming? In the greenhouse, there’s an entire world of unheard of taste…

Qatar Academy visit Dutch greenhouse tech firm

Eight students of the Qatar Academy for Science and Technology (QAST), a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) school visited Certhon recently. The students visited the Dutch company because of their curriculum focus on reducing the need for imported food with a specific focus on…

US (SC): Indoor urban micro farm could be coming to Myrtle Beach

“I think my family will be glad to have me out of the dining room,” Margot Tennant smiled after getting the nod from Myrtle Beach’s Planning Commission to start an indoor urban micro farm. Tennant has been operating Seedside Greens from her home in Plantation Point but she’s “kind of at max capacity.”…

May 22-23, Oslo

Urban agriculture: Macro views and micro experience

AVF announces Josef Schmidhuber, Deputy Director, Trade and Markets Division, FAO, as a keynote speaker at Urban Future Global Conference. Dr. Schmidhuber holds a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Technical University of Munich. His work and research has been published in…

US (NJ): Hydroponic farm helps adults with autism find jobs

On Autism Awareness Day, one nonprofit is helping adults with autism find employment, one head of lettuce at a time. REED Next, which helps people with autism improve daily life skills and offers pre-vocational and vocational training, unveiled a hydroponic vertical farm named Greens Do Good in…

A study with the model plant Lactuca sativa ˈDiablotinˈ

How to customize your plants with growth recipes

Production of leafy greens in a controlled environment has many advantages in comparison to greenhouses and open-field production. Along with being independent of weather, controlled environments allow for easier pest prevention and crop customization. The use of plant factories has increased in the last…

including Fluence, Priva, BASF, Aerofarms

New high-tech consortium develops crops for indoor agriculture

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is launching the Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) Consortium , a public-private partnership that transcends the bounds of traditional agriculture to develop flavorful, nutritious crops specially intended for indoor agriculture. Sustainably feeding a…

Philippines: Vertical farming company wants to spread hydroponics across the country

Manila-based Agri-Tech and urban farming company Urban Greens is announcing a project tie-up with the Bonifacio Arts Foundation under the direction of the head curator of The Mind Museum, who oversees all things art- and science-related in BGC. The project is based on the creation of a prototype…

Art van Rijn, Artechno:

“Growers must choose us because they believe in our system"

Nowadays everyone is talking about lettuce growing on water and vertical farming, but ten years ago that was quite different. Both cultivation systems were considerably less known at the time, but that did not prevent Art van Rijn with engineering firm Artechno from focusing on these new ways of…

UK: Salad grower looks into vertical farming

G’s Fresh, based at Barway, near Ely in Cambridgeshire, produces lettuce and other salad crops, and has a large standard greenhouse which is used to propagate seedlings for planting out into the field. Ben Barnes from the firm is exploring two key questions: Can the efficiency of the propagation facility…

April 9, Presque Isle

US (ME): UMPI presents Green Bronx Machine founder as next Distinguished Lecturer

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will present Stephen L. Ritz—an urban farmer, award-winning educator, and the founder of Green Bronx Machine—as the next speaker in its 2018-2019 Distinguished Lecturer Series on Tuesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center. His talk serves as the keynote…

Innovating new ways for people to grow their own produce

Interested in growing your own produce, but don’t know how to start? As Head of Horticulture for Lettuce Grow, Chris Cerveny is developing hydroponic growing systems and selecting varieties to empower more people to grow their own food at home. Chris Cerveny at work on a Lettuce Grow farming unit with…

May 22-24, Las Vegas

US (NV): Indoor Ag-Con announces full conference agenda

Indoor Ag-Con has announced the full conference schedule for the 7th annual edition, May 22-24, 2019, at Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas, NV. Featuring 50+ sessions, panel…

New growth chamber offers cost-saving, user-friendly features

Conviron announced the launch of the new GEN1000 chamber. The new chamber comes equipped with new features such as cost saving LEDs, extended humidity range, advanced controller, and user-adaptable kits. With its ability to adapt to four different research applications, the GEN1000 offers an economical…

Aquaponics system spring cleaning

It’s that time of year for Spring cleaning, time to refresh your aquaponic system and make it more abundant and attractive. Here is a quick run down for a super spring time aquaponic spruce up. by Carole Martell Step 1: Improve water quality If your fish or sump tank water quality could use a bit of a…

China: Profits grow out of "plant factory"

At 8 a.m., Qin Peng puts on a white coat and stands in front of a machine that blows dust off of him, preparing to start work. Qin, 45, said the dust on the human body may contain pest eggs, so it has to be blown off. Qin is a vegetable planter. Instead of toiling in fields, he works in a "plant factory"…

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