Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
“I’m Opting For Localized Franchised Farming”
Engineering student wants to start her own farm in New Jersey
“In the States, the food system is so inefficient both in the way it’s produced, at a massive scale and in terms of quality,” says Natalie Radu. "The problem is that consumers are left in the dark. They don’t know what pesticide is used on the food they’re eating. GM foods are not labeled. Let aside the waste this industry has.” Natalie says that many don’t have access to healthy food. When walking around in the Bronx for instance, on the lookout for a grocery store, it’s so much easier to buy a pack of soda for half the price of fresh produce.
‘Localized franchised farming’
“McDonald's is known for real estate. If only we could do a Wholefoods / McDonalds franchise where customers could walk in and snip off lettuce, directly available to consumers. I’m opting for localized franchised farming. I have been trying to figure out a location in terms of real estate, but, from the perspective of a small business, New Jersey and New York prices are very high. I would have to start out in a place that’s cheaper on average. However, I would definitely apply for grants to fund the initial infrastructure for the farms."
Natalie Radu in action on her channel
Natalie has her passion for writing and her engineering study to her advantage when starting a farm. “I think because of this intersection I will be able to work with the science and also have the ability to convey that science. I can make the lettuce we’ll be growing feel personal for someone that’s in their own house, miles away or even across the world. That’s the biggest thing, you have to get people excited about vertical farming, at least as excited as you are. However, when it comes down to engineering I’m going to need some help.”
“My family immigrated from Moldova to the US around the collapse of the Soviet Union,” says Natalie. “My grandparents used to grow several fruits in the backyards and my affection for farming started right about there, it’s in my blood.” Natalie, an 18-year-old engineering student has been determined to run her own farm in the future. It all started with finding a proper research topic, which turned into her biggest passion nowadays.
As Natalie’s based in New Jersey, she is surrounded by several vertical farms. She wanted to pass by some farms near her to visit and stumbled upon Good Feeling Farms. Eventually, Natalie was able to do an internship at Good Feeling Farms to get a better understanding of every aspect of a vertical farm, from seeding to growing to harvesting. Good Feeling Farms is a New Jersey-based wholesale micro greenery that specializes in microgreens and hydro lettuce. The farm is run by a team of three, taking care of the cultivation and harvesting process.
Inside Good Feeling Farms' growing facility
Ever since her internship, Natalie is determined to run her own farm in the future. She currently runs a YouTube channel, where she experiments with indoor hydroponics. She recently spoke at a local TEDx event about the inefficacies in traditional food production and distribution systems.
Natalie says: “I’ve tried many growing conditions for plants and I think you can grow them under many different conditions. You have to work with your circumstances. Ideally, your indoor garden would be sustainable. The growth mediums could be sanitized and reused to lessen waste. Besides being water-efficient, vertical farming really shines in the areas of automation and data science. The ability to collect and analyze plant data constantly and instantly modify environmental factors has massive potential for produce cultivation as we know it.”
For more information:
Natalie Radu
natlydrad@gmail.com
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com
How An Indoor Farm Is Redefining Local
Bowery is an indoor, vertical farming company. Walking into its Nottingham Farm feels a bit like stepping into the greenest library you could imagine
Washington D.C. sits at the intersection of some of the best farming areas in the country. According to the 2017 United States Census of Agriculture, there are over 53,000 farms in Pennsylvania plus another 40,000+ farms in Virginia. Yet, for all of the area’s agrarian prowess, you may not have seen a farm quite like this.
Standing in front of Bowery Farming’s newest farm, located just outside of Baltimore in Nottingham, you could easily mistake it for a shipping warehouse. But, like most good things, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Bowery is an indoor, vertical farming company. Walking into its Nottingham Farm feels a bit like stepping into the greenest library you could imagine. Rows and rows of fresh lettuces and herbs stretch towards the ceiling, where they’re nourished under LEDs and a constant, carefully controlled amount of filtered water and essential nutrients.
Bowery’s pesticide-free, Protected Produce is also restoring the Nottingham area to its farming roots. From the 1940s to the late 1970s, this land was largely agricultural. Since then, it has been cleared and developed. But today, Bowery has repurposed an industrial area back into a fully operational farm that employs local Modern Farmers who keep the Mid-Atlantic region nourished with fresh produce year-round.
So why grow indoors anyway? After all, traditional farms have been growing food across the country as long as anyone can remember. Growing produce indoors has a few distinct advantages.
First, Bowery’s indoor farms use less finite resources like water and land. Filtered water that’s not taken up by the plants is recycled, refiltered, and fed back to the plants. Bowery’s farms also take up less space. Because of their vertically stacked design, they can grow 100x more food on the same square footage as a traditional farm.
Indoors, crops are also exempt from seasons. Rain, sleet, or snow, Bowery’s greens grow every day, all year long. And, because their farm is located right outside of the cities they serve, their fresh produce reaches local retailers within days of harvest.
Lastly (but to our taste buds, most importantly), Bowery selects non-GMO seeds for flavor attributes, unlike outdoor growers that are usually looking for options that can withstand a range of weather conditions or pests. Bowery removes the uncontrollable variables found in the field, giving plants the seasonal conditions they crave indoors so they can grow up to be the best expression of themselves.
Want to try it for yourself? Support local and find Bowery Farming near you here.
VIDEO: Featured Project: Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm #2 at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building No. 3
Brooklyn Grange is a privately owned and sustainably operated enterprise, and the U.S.’s leading soil-based rooftop farming and intensive greenroofing business
September 28, 2020
65,000 sf. Greenroof
Greenroofs.com Featured Project September 28, 2020
We’re replaying Brooklyn Grange’s second rooftop farm at Brooklyn Navy Yard to recognize their hard work and commitment to sustainable urban agriculture through these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be great for Aramis and me to visit again soon!
They’re currently booking small groups for private tours, and offering workshops along with other events. With information that is up to date as of September 2020, Brooklyn Grange states there “is no need to register in advance to visit our weekend open houses and markets; just follow the directions we link to below and come on by during the hours listed!” Brooklyn Grange’s sister organization is City Growers, a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization founded in 2011 by Brooklyn Grange. You can also book a variety of workshops and youth educational visit through City Growers. Continued success!
Image: rooflite
Excerpt from Greenroofs.com Project Profile:
Brooklyn Grange is a privately owned and sustainably operated enterprise, and the U.S.’s leading soil-based rooftop farming and intensive greenroofing business. Community-oriented, they host weekly open houses in season and feel the green space contributes to the overall health and quality of life, bringing people together through green business and around good food with their wholesale, retail, and CSA members.
Their goal is to put more farms on roofs throughout New York and beyond, and grow more food, train and employ more farmers.
Image: © Anastasia Cole Plakias/Brooklyn Grange
Brooklyn Grange’s second farm, located atop Building No. 3 at the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, is a massive 65,000 square foot roof towering twelve stories over the East River.
Most of the financing was granted by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management Initiative, and Farm #2 manages over one million gallons of stormwater each year. Installed in 2012, the farm is covered in 10-12″ of rooflite Intensive Ag blend, rooflite drain granular drainage layer, and the Carlisle Roof Garden system by Carlisle SynTec Systems.
Image: rooflite
Image: rooflite
Brooklyn Grange’s second farm increased the business’ annual yield to 50,000 pounds of fresh produce between their two locations and created many new green jobs. (Update: as of 2019 the yield has increased to 80,000+ of pounds of fresh produce between three locations.) The farm cultivates row crops such as leafy greens, aromatic herbs, heirloom tomatoes and peppers April through November.
Brooklyn Grange sows cover crops, such as clover and oats in winter months to prevent soil erosion and replenish vital nutrients. The Brooklyn Navy Yard farm is also home to many of the 30+ hives comprising Brooklyn Grange’s Apiary.
Image: © Anastasia Cole Plakias/Brooklyn Grange courtesy Brooklyn Grange
More
They also host a robust events program here, with guests participating in yoga sessions or just enjoying a cocktail and some canapés overlooking the skyline at sunset. Brooklyn Grange partners with numerous non-profit and community organizations to extend the positive impact of the farm, including City Growers, a non-profit education program based on their rooftop farms.
Brooklyn Grange’s Rooftop Farm #2 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is a win-win-win, reducing stormwater runoff, creating local jobs, and providing access to fresh produce for the community.
Image: Laura Messersmith of Goldfinch and Scout
Year: 2012
Owner: Lessor – Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Intensive
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 65,000 sq.ft.
Slope: 1%
Access: Accessible, By Appointment
Image: Kerry Ross, GRP
Credits:
CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER:
BEN FLANNER, BROOKLYN GRANGE
GREENROOF SYSTEM:
CARLISLE SYNTEC SYSTEMS
GROWING MEDIA:
ROOFLITE®
DRAINAGE:
ROOFLITE®
GREEN ROOF OVERBURDEN DESIGN:
ELIZABETH KENNEDY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS (EKLA)
GREEN ROOF OVERBURDEN DESIGN:
DILIP KHALE, ARCHITECT, PC
ROOFING CONTRACTOR:
MARFI CONTRACTING CORP
ROOFLITE BLENDER:
LAUREL VALLEY SOILS
GROWING MEDIA PNEUMATIC PLACEMENT / INSTALLATION:
DOWNES FOREST PRODUCTS
Image: Kerry Ross, GRP
See the Project Profile
See the Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm #2 at Brooklyn Navy Yard project profile to view ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.
The Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm #2 at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building No. 3. Photo © Courtesy of Brooklyn Grange.
Did we miss your contribution? Please let us know to add you to the Project Profile.
Would you like one of your projects to be featured on Greenroofs.com? Read how, and remember we have to have a profile first! Submit Your Project Profile.
Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!
By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host
Watch #VirtualSummit2019 Speaker Videos and EXPO and Speaker Q&A Videos on demand through 2020 with FREE Registration!
BIODIVERSITY, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, GREEN ROOFS, STORMWATER MANAGEMENT, URBAN AG
Little Wild Things City Farm
Little Wild Things City Farm produces soil-grown microgreens, shoots, and edible flowers on less than one-quarter acre in the heart of Washington, D.C.
Little Wild Things City Farm produces soil-grown microgreens, shoots, and edible flowers on less than one-quarter acre in the heart of Washington, D.C.
We believe that environmentally sustainable, commercially viable farming is possible in urban landscapes—and we're proving it.
As a first generation farm, we combine the best of time-honored sustainable growing techniques with new innovations and a disciplined business focus to achieve high yields from our very small growing spaces.
We aim to demonstrate that farming is a desirable career for the best and brightest of the next generation, and seek to develop relationships with customers who share our values to create a transformative impact on our local food system.
WHAT ARE MICROGREENS?
Our microgreens are tiny edible greens that provide exceptional flavor, nutritional value, texture, and color to salads, sandwiches, wraps, tacos, pizza, smoothies, soup and more. Smaller than “baby greens,” and harvested later than “sprouts,” microgreens provide a variety of leaf flavors, such as sweet and spicy, and come in many vibrant colors. Fine dining chefs use microgreens to enhance the beauty, taste and freshness of their dishes with their delicate textures and distinctive flavors.
Researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Maryland began studying the nutritional content of microgreens in 2012. They looked at four groups of vitamins and other phytochemicals – including vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene — in 25 varieties of microgreens. The researchers found that leaves from nearly all of the microgreens had four to six times more nutrients than the mature leaves of the same plant, with variation among the varieties – red cabbage was highest in vitamin C, while the green daikon radish microgreens had the most vitamin E [i]
[i] Xiao, Z.; Lester, G. E.; Luo, Y.; Wang, Q. (2012). "Assessment of Vitamin and Carotenoid Concentrations of Emerging Food Products: Edible Microgreens". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60 (31): 7644-7651
