URBAN AGRICULTURE
Vertical farming and urban agriculture will offer sustainable and innovative solutions for improving food security.
Sustainable agriculture is about increasing agricultural production of crops while at the same time conserving the ecological resources in which they grow.
Food production in urban environments is a growing trend in the United States. The availability of fresh produce in many areas of our cities is a real issue, and urban farming is one of the answers to this problem.
We have solutions for large-scale rooftop farms, small balconies, and other items that can be utilized for projects of any size.
What is meant by vertical farming?
Farming indoors is not a new concept, per se, as greenhouse-based agriculture has been in existence for some time. What is proposed here that differs radically from what now exists is to scale up the concept of indoor farming, in which a wide variety of produce is harvested in quantity enough to sustain even the largest of cities without significantly relying on resources beyond the city limits
Vertical farming is the practice of growing produce in vertically stacked layers. The practice can use soil, hydroponic or aeroponic growing methods. Vertical farms attempt to produce food in challenging environments, like where arable land is rare or unavailable
Most vertical farms use enclosed structures like greenhouses that stack vertically, either directly above each other or staggered for better natural light exposure. If saving space is of utmost importance, hydroponic methods as a growing medium instead of soil allow for reduced weight and lower water requirements by up to 70%. Most vertical farms are either hydroponic or aeroponic and do not have run off, which would make the potted plants heavier.
Vertical farming typically uses a mix of natural light and artificial light. Artificial lighting is often LED-based and may be driven by a renewable power source such as solar power or wind turbines.
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/vertical-farming
Who is vertical farming helping?