Chicago Company Corners The Secret To Growing Vegetables Without Dirt
All of the growing is done inside a 90,000 square foot formerly abandoned Chicago warehouse. Because the plants are stacked on top of each other, there is actually 140,000 square feet of farming space.
To start the process, seeds, like the basil ones shown here, are first placed into small baskets made of coconut shells.
The seeds germinate under energy-efficient compact-fluorescent lights. Even though the lights run continuously, they only account for 18 percent of the facility's overall costs.
The plants are transferred to a vertical grow system that consists of five to six layers of plant beds stacked on top of each other. Each plant bed has its own overhead artificial lighting system.
The roots of the plants are completely submerged in water. Each plant is held in place by a foam float.
The water comes from big tanks that contain tilapia fish. The fish are fed organic feed. Their waste makes the water rich with nutrients, which the plants use to grow. The water that the plants use is eventually cycled back to the tanks. It takes the tilapia 18 months to grow from small fingerlings into adults at which point they will be sold.
FarmedHere grows various types of basil, including Thai, lemon, and Genovese. They also grow arugula and some other leafy greens.
FarmedHere's CEO Jolanta Hardej, shown here, says you can pretty much grow any vegetable using the aquaponic method, with the exception of potatoes.
She isn't sure which vegetable she will grow next, but may try tomatoes or beets.
Hardej projects her company will be producing 300,000 pounds of leafy greens by the end of the year, and more than triple that production by the end of 2014.
FarmedHere tries to sell their basil and leafy greens to stores that are within 25 miles of the facility to maintain their promise of providing locally-grown food.
You'll be eating lots of leafy greens on the FastDiet.
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