Learning about aquaponics in class led to a heated debate about its application and benefit in an urban atmosphere. Many people in the class questioned who would spend the money on these indoor systems and even have the space to begin growing their own greens. Turning to GOOGLE, an urban agriculture search automatically introduced me to the words “vertical farming.” To my surprise, all the articles were fairly recent so this signaled to me that some of my classmates and I had been missing out. One article I had read discussed an indoor farm in Newark, New Jersey – so close to home!

The Jersey restaurant owner of Mompou, Steven Yglesias, began to use greens from AeroFarms. AeroFarms is a vertical farming company which began in 2014. Yglesias describes the greens to have a special and fresher “flavor profile.” This description alerted me because I realized that I seem to ignore or forget the fact that most of the groceries we get at the supermarket have been genetically modified or tampered. However, better taste and appearance was just the beginning. Studying the effects of varying fertilizer, light, and growing times is allowing growers to increase crop nutrient absorption rates. So, these crops are also better for us than their traditionally grown alternatives!

AeroFarms is able to harvest up to 30 times a year due to shorter growing times and grow 75 times more crops per square foot compared to traditional farming, while using 95% less water. Without soil or sunlight, LED lighted vertical gardens grow many leafy greens like kale, spinach, lettuces, and arugula. This system is producing crops in greater numbers more efficiently. Finding fresh food in your area may not be as difficult to find or as pricey as it used to be with an indoor farming system.

Experimentation is being conducted to produce tomatoes, cucumbers, spices, and berries. There is no telling how far these indoor farms can go, but their progress has proven to be advancing the agricultural world and giving our urban neighborhoods the chance to enjoy what once seemed like a rural luxury. I, for one, am impressed and all for indoor farming!

The article mentioned is cited below:

Gorce, Tammy La. “How Does This Garden Grow? To the Ceiling.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 July 2016. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.