Growing without soil
A roof cannot carry the weight of a field. So nothing here grows in soil: roots sit in water or in air, fed directly, stacked upward, and watched around the clock.
The loop
- Tank
- Feed
- Roots
- Return
- Roof
The methods
- Hydroponics
- Roots grow in a nutrient solution instead of soil. The plant takes exactly what it needs, and what it does not take stays in the system rather than draining away.
- Aeroponics
- Roots hang in air and are misted with water and nutrients. Research on aeroponic growing reports water use up to around 95% lower than conventional agriculture, because the water recirculates instead of soaking into ground.
- Growing upward
- Plants are stacked in tiers rather than spread across a surface. The FAO has reported that urban growing can yield many times what the same area of conventional field produces.
- Watching
- Temperature, humidity and growing conditions are monitored continuously. When a site drifts out of its range, the person who tends it is told before the plants show it.
What is not used
A closed, monitored growing system does not face the pests and weeds an open field does, so it does not need the pesticides and herbicides an open field depends on. We do not describe our produce with a certification term we do not hold — we describe how it is grown.