AeroFarm’s latest project is making use of an abandoned steel mill in an economically depressed area of Newark, converting the mill into a vertical farming facility, which the company claims will be the world’s largest.
Vertical farming is not entirely new. As a matter of fact, the term “vertical farming” was first used in 1915 when Gilbert Ellis Bailey used the term to describe his views on plant life in his book, Vertical Farming. Later years would see the introduction of greenhouse farming on a massive scale, such as was undertaken in the Tabernas Desert in 1963.
Today, there are over seven billion humans on the planet, and we use 40 percent of the Earth’s total landmass to feed us. By 2050, according to UN statistics, our population will have grown to 9.6 billion humans, and if we are to avoid mass malnutrition, we will have to up our food production by 70 percent.
Population growth and the need to feed a hungry world is one of the major reasons AeroFarms is working on developing vertical farming, a totally-controlled form of agriculture to meet the needs of the world’s growing population. In vertical farming, everything, from the initial planting of the seeds, to light, nutrients and yields is controlled in a climate-controlled environment.
Right now, AeroFarms has eight facilities, four of them in New Jersey. The company moved from Ithaca, New York in June 2015, and by August, they had started growing plants under their patented technology. The steel mill facility is set to open this summer, and will be bringing jobs as well as fresh produce to the region.
The new facility will be a 70,000-square-foot vertical farm, the world’s largest, capable of producing 30 harvests annually, amounting to two million pounds of greens a year. While the size of the place is fantastic, the technology behind the farming method is even more so. It is based on aeroponics.
Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or another growing medium. Not only does the company plan on facilities along major distribution routes and metropolitan areas, but they can grow produce year around using 95 percent less water than traditional farming methods.
The company uses a patented recyclable woven plastic cloth that is reusable as a planting foundation. Each sheet is made from 24 plastic bottles says the company. The trays of planted seeds are placed under LED lights that are adjusted to the specific growth of the plants. To the human eye, the LEDs look white, but the plants actually sit under a combination of “red” and “blue” lights, says the company.
At the center of every vertical bed are mini-fans that keep oxygen circulating constantly. The plants are sprayed with a special nutrient-rich liquid mixture at allotted times, ensuring their quick and even growth. Right now, AeroFarms is growing short-stemmed leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and arugula, but it plans to expand to other green vegetables in the future, as well as other crops like tomatoes and berries.
