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Grodan Plugs Are A Key Factor In The Success of Smart Indoor Gardens
“The recent changes in the world such as urbanization and the COVID-19 pandemic have further spurred the grow-your-own food movement
Lynn Radford
Finland-based Plantui produces smart indoor gardens for sale to consumers. The company has doubled its sales volumes over the past year, driven by a number of macrotrends including sustainability, food safety, local sourcing, healthy eating, and home cooking. Besides the innovative LED technology and closed-loop irrigation system, the Grodan plugs in which the edible plants are grown are a key factor in the success of these miniature ‘vertical farms’ in the home.
Biotech company Plantui Oy is aiming to solve some of today’s and tomorrow’s food challenges by enabling consumers to grow edible plants in their own homes. Founded in 2012 in Turku – a major hub for agriculture, manufacturing, and the high-tech inudstry in the southwest of Finland (which, incidentally, has been ranked the happiest country in the world for the third consecutive year) – it has developed a range of indoor ‘smart gardens’ that combine Nordic design and functionality with cutting-edge technology. The plug-and-play devices come with simple instructions, making it easy for consumers to produce fresh, ready-to-pick herbs, lettuces, tomatoes, chilies, and edible flowers for use in home cooking.
“The recent changes in the world such as urbanization and the COVID-19 pandemic have further spurred the grow-your-own food movement. People are looking for safe and sustainable solutions, and hydroponic growing is a good fit with this because it requires no soil and no pesticides,” says Kari Vuorinen, CTO of Plantui. “We’ve put all our knowledge and research related to plant science, nutrients, light, and technology into creating a patented indoor hydroponic growing method, from seed to plant. Our unique artificial lighting solution is based on a special photon stream that replicates the light of Finnish Lapland and optimizes photosynthesis. This results in more green mass and better quality, meaning the plants are much tastier and more nutritious than the ones you can buy in supermarkets.”
Automatically regulated
The device is sold with everything included: horticultural LED lighting, a water bowl with an integrated pump system, seed capsules, and nutrients, which are adjusted by the integrated microcontroller in line with the growth phase algorithm recipe. “After extensively testing relevant light spectra, we’ve programmed the computer in the device to automatically regulate the wavelength and intensity of the light and the water-pumping rhythms as the seeds progress through the germination, seedling and growth phases,” explains Martina Angeleri, head of plant science at Plantui. “So all the customer needs to do is fit the device together, fill the water bowl, insert the capsules, plug the device in and then keep the water and nutrients topped up roughly once a month. At the end of the harvesting period, they simply clean the device – and everything is dishwasher-proof – and then they can buy new capsules and start all over again. This solution supports local year-round growing, irrespective of the season. An indoor garden can produce three to four harvests a year, depending on which types of plants people choose to grow.”
Besides the automated lighting and irrigation system, the substrate is equally important in ensuring that Plantui can deliver on its 100% guarantee of success. “If the seeds don’t germinate you won’t have any plants, so the growing medium has to be failsafe,” says Kari. “That’s why we tested lots of different solutions when we first started out in 2013, including peat, sphagnum moss, coconut fibre and stone wool. Sphagnum moss was very promising in the growth stage but it’s not easy to get hold of. When we tested it against Grodan’s plugs, we found that they were just as good in the growth stage and actually achieved better performance in the germination stage – plus they are readily available in large quantities, so we’d hit the bullseye!” Plantui initially sourced the plugs through the Grodan distributor in Finland, but later started working directly with the company in the Netherlands. “Grodan has played a big part in our success with the plants and the device. For example, the company has tailored the existing plugs specifically to our needs by creating a slightly bigger hole for the seeds in the capsule.”
No risk of contaminants
Grodan’s plugs offer other important benefits in the Plantui Smart Gardens, according to Martina. “Stone wool is a homogeneous inert substance. Unlike with an organic material such as peat, we know for sure that the plugs are clean and pure with no risk of contaminants such as insects, bacteria or fungi. Therefore, we can rely on uniform and reproducible support for plants. This allows us to make things as easy as possible for users, as they don’t need to check the pH before adding the nutrients,” she explains. “Additionally, the density of the stone wool helps to prevent light from penetrating into the root zone, thus protecting the roots and avoiding the formation of algae in the substrate. And last but not least, no organic fibres can leach into the water and clog the active pumping system.”
Sustainability
Sustainability is a top priority for Plantui; its devices are energy-efficient, produce 100%-natural food with no pesticides or other additives, and help to reduce the carbon footprint in terms of food miles and food waste. “Stone wool is a good fit with this because basalt is an inexhaustible resource. Additionally, Grodan is the only company of its kind that is EU-certified for environmental excellence. At the end of the harvesting phase, the stone wool plugs can be separated from the plastic holders and both parts can be recycled, which supports our ‘100% recyclable’ message,” states Kari.
Path to sales growth
The company is already selling tens of thousands of devices annually, both to high-end department stores across Europe – including in the UK and Italy – and through its own web shop. It is on track to double its sales this year, having received a major boost from an agreement between Plantui and a leading European producer of home appliances which has recently started marketing and distributing Plantui’s products under its own brand. Additionally, promising negotiations are underway with retailers in countries including Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Exciting future
The future not only looks very exciting for Plantui because of the increasing sales of its devices, but also because it has patented its technology and growing method globally. “We ourselves are focusing on consumer products for now, and there may be opportunities to branch out into other channels such as food service. For example, a couple of hotels and restaurants are already using our devices. We’ve even developed a specific lighting programme exclusively for a chef at a one-star Michelin restaurant who now grows his own unique-tasting dill!” exclaims Kari. “But the technology itself is ready for use on a larger scale and we’re now licensing it to other companies. In fact, we’ve recently sold licences to two small-scale vertical farms. We believe that networking is the key to success nowadays, so we are looking to build a good network of partners around the world – including in the USA and China – who can help us to further expand our market, and we are pleased that Grodan forms a part of that,” he concludes.
Martina Angeleri PhD from Plantui Oy examines a liquorice seedling in a Grodan plug from a Plantui Smart Garden.
Airgarden Uses NASA-Designed Technology To Give Sustainable Produce An Easy Win
Airgarden, Australia’s very first vertical soilless gardening system, is making use of the technology for the benefit of anyone obsessed with sustainable design – or for those who just want access to more home-grown produce, faster
Does Your Home Benefit From The Use
of Astronaut Technology?
No. Let’s Change That, Shall We?
Airgarden, Australia’s very first vertical soilless gardening system, is making use of the technology for the benefit of anyone obsessed with sustainable design – or for those who just want access to more home-grown produce, faster.
The game-changing gardening system is said to sprout 5 times more home-grown produce, 3 times faster, with 95% percent water. What’s more, is that the Airgarden takes up 1sqm of space so your petite inner-city apartment is no excuse to not get your green thumb on.
“The idea stemmed from wanting to grow fresh produce that was good for us, and the environment while living in the inner city,” said co-founder Prue Bauer, who started Airgarden with her brother Tom. “We were sick of throwing out so much of what we bought and wanted quality produce that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. More and more people are thinking about what they are putting in their bodies and the cost of organic food was unsustainable long term, so we knew there has to be a better solution.”
NASA-developed aeroponics technology – which has been approved by horticulturalists – is typically used to grow plants in space. Tom and Prue wisely repurposed that to allow anyone to grow their own urban farms with no digging, weeding, or watering required.
Even if the game-changing potential for giving life to your inner-city apartment doesn’t win you over. The money-saving potential surely will. With Airgarden, budding home-gardeners can sprout up to 150 different types of fruits and vegetables to feed a family of four each week. That is a significant cut to the weekly grocery run, and an easy way to incorporate more lush, leafy greens in your diet.
Airgarden is already being picked up in some sustainably-minded restaurants across Australia, including Halcyon House’s Paper Daisy restaurant, Manly Boathouse, and Wild Canary. Undoubtedly that list is going to be growing in no time, especially given as it’s a way for a restaurant to grow their own on-site garden without actually having the space (or rooftop) to do so.
VIDEO: Can An Indoor Smart Garden Beat Outdoor Gardening? We Tested It
Can smart gardens really grow delicious vegetables inside your apartment? WSJ asked Timothy Hammond, an urban gardener, and educator in Houston, to test out Rise Gardens
Can smart gardens really grow delicious vegetables inside your apartment? WSJ asked Timothy Hammond, an urban gardener, and educator in Houston, to test out Rise Gardens hydroponic smart garden to see how the vegetables compare with his own outdoor garden.
Photo: Ben Hallock for The Wall Street Journal
Click & Grow 25 Is An Efficient, Self-Monitoring Indoor Garden
“I started the company with a dream to make fresh food available and accessible for everyone and with the Click & Grow 25, we finally made it happen in a sustainable way,” said Mattias Lepp, founder, and CEO of Click & Grow
Written by Dawn Hammon
June 9, 2021
In a world struggling to find balance between busy lifestyles and healthy living, Click and Grow 25 aims to offer an easy-to-use way to grow organic food inside your home.
The smart indoor garden only takes up as much space as a microwave, yet with stacking trays, you can grow fresh produce for one person, two people or an entire family. With such a compact design, anyone can incorporate the Click & Grow 25 into their apartment, home or office.
The system is intuitive and does most of the work for you. Simply select your proprietary biodegradable Smart Soil plant pods, which are similar to the design used in single-serve coffee machines. Each pod is pre-loaded with seeds and soil. Once planted, the built-in technology takes over, monitoring the growth of leafy greens, fruits, and herbs.
This self-growing garden takes care of plants automatically by maintaining optimal levels of moisture, nutrients, root oxygen and pH. The device ensures perfect conditions needed to grow lush produce at a faster rate than you will find in an outdoor garden. Plus, the direct garden-to-table aspect offers a higher nutrient content than store-bought food, often pulled from the field weeks before. All plants are organic without the need for fertilizers and pesticides.
Click & Grow 25 not only provides convenience, but its energy-efficient design consumes just 200 kWh of electricity per year, which equates to about $40 in large urban areas. An associated app lets users know when it is time to add more water and offers harvesting tips as well as recipes.
“I started the company with a dream to make fresh food available and accessible for everyone and with the Click & Grow 25, we finally made it happen in a sustainable way,” said Mattias Lepp, founder and CEO of Click & Grow. “With the impact of population growth and the demand on our natural resources, it is inevitable for us to become more self-sufficient. I believe we are all going to be growing some of our food at home soon and I’m certain we’ve developed the best solution to do just that.”
Click & Grow 25 recently launched via Kickstarter, where it was fully funded in the first 20 minutes. At the time of writing, it had raised over $500,000 of the $35,000 goal.
Images via Click & Grow
This Indoor Garden Will Feed You Greens Year-Round
The plants grow out of coffee-pod-like earth nuggets and the whole system is designed for minimal interaction. The Smart Soil pods contain calibrated dirt and nutrients and the system waters the plants automatically
May 11, 2021
Click & Grow 25 is the latest project by former orchestra conductor Mattias Lepp who felt that the idea of indoor gardens—essentially, a farmer’s market in a box—would be just the tool for staving off future food shortages. His company, founded in 2009, raised $11 million in 2018 to develop new materials and hardware technologies for indoor gardens. Now, he and the Click & Grow team are taking the tools they used to build large-scale gardens and bringing them into the home.
Lepp calls his tech “hyper-local farming,” and he claims that what he and his team created is entirely unique.
“We’re the only ones in both vertical farming and smaller indoor growing device segment who have figured out how to provide the future of sustainable food while being profitable and having a global reach,” he said. “Compared to big vertical farms we’ve looked at what’s the real problem of vitamin-rich foods like leafy greens—it’s the overly long supply chains that produce waste, nutritional degradation, and transport emissions. The greens from vertical farms still go through the traditional food supply chain, albeit they’re fresher, cleaner, and come from a more local urban farm, they sit in stores, get moved around and half go to waste in a dark corner of a fridge. Unlike vertical farms, we’ve taken a step out of the traditional supply chain and figured out the only sustainable solution, both in terms of nature and business, and that is growing food at the place of consumption.”
Photo: Click & Grow
The Click & Grow 25, which is currently available through Kickstarter, costs $399 for early birds and consists of a frame, containers, and lights. The plants grow out of coffee-pod-like earth nuggets and the whole system is designed for minimal interaction. The Smart Soil pods contain calibrated dirt and nutrients and the system waters the plants automatically.
Lepp’s goal was to make the system as small and simple as possible.
“In 2018 we looked at the numbers and figured out that a family of 4 could feasibly grow a fifth of their food plate in expendable living space, on just 80 square feet of wall at home, for example,” he said. “The idea went through different experiments and prototypes through the years, mainly focusing on how to integrate a garden of this size into even a small New York City apartment and into anyone’s busy lifestyle with its ease of use.”
The team plans to ship in February 2022, and there are a number of permutations of the garden product, which you can stack them against a wall for maximum usage of space. An app will tell you when you add water and when your greens are ready to nosh.
The product is already fully funded to the tune of more than $227,000 and counting, and it looks like just the thing for folks who might need to feed a hungry family or just a hungry rabbit.
John Biggs is a writer from Ohio who lives in Brooklyn. He likes books, watches, and his dog. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo. Signal: +16468270591 Telegram: @johnbiggs
Lead photo: Photo: Click & Grow
Ikea’s Hydroponic System Allows You To Grow Vegetables All Year Round Without A Garden…
Ikea’s indoor garden system is the perfect option for those who wish to grow their own food all year round but don’t have the garden space to be able to do it. Ikea’s indoor hydroponic garden allows anyone to grow fresh produce at home without the need for soil or any previous gardening experience.
Ikea’s indoor garden system is the perfect option for those who wish to grow their own food all year round but don’t have the garden space to be able to do it. Ikea’s indoor hydroponic garden allows anyone to grow fresh produce at home without the need for soil or any previous gardening experience.
The hydroponic system of the garden means that adequate light and water are everything that is needed to grow the plants successfully, meaning that there is no need for soil. Many of the vegetables that are widely available today are grown using this method.
The absorbent foam plugs that come with the Ikea system enable the seeds to sprout and then proceed to keep the seeds moist without over-watering them. Following the germination of the seeds, all that needs to be done is to transfer the entire foam plug into its own separate small pot and fill it with pumice stones, which can retain a lot of water…
The pots can then be transferred to a growing tray that is equipped with a solar lamp, which will provide the plants with enough nourishment to last all year round. The system is so efficient that it can even be successful in rooms without any sunlight, although they can be placed on a windowsill that gets a lot of sun if it is convenient.
The growing tray is additionally equipped with a built-in water sensor, which ensures that the plants are given the perfect amount of water. Helena Karlén, from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, said, “The challenge was to make growing plants in a hydroponic system simple, so that anyone could succeed…”
Named in the KRYDDA/VÄXER series, the design was born out of a collaboration with agricultural scientists in Sweden, with a target audience of those who live in apartments or don’t have a garden, as well as people who want completely fresh produce even during the cold winter months.
Whilst the system is not the first indoor hydroponic system, it is a more affordable option than most, and ideal for those with minimal space. It also fits with Ikea’s notably forward-thinking over the past few years, as they follow an eco-friendly trend towards sustainability (via TruthTheory).
If you like this idea, be sure to share it with your friends and inspire someone you know. Anything becomes possible with just a little inspiration…
Ready For The Green Revolution? Agrilution Brings The Herb Garden Into The House With The "Plantcube"
The “Plantcube” from Agrilution promises always spring in the kitchen - a fully automated grow cabinet that enables vertical farming even on a small scale
December 20, 2020
The “Plantcube” from Agrilution promises always spring in the kitchen - a fully automated grow cabinet that enables vertical farming even on a small scale. AD spoke with Maximilian Lössl, Co-Founder and CEO, about the first experiments in his parents' cellar, the new features of the 2nd generation “Plantcube” - and about why the basil must never run out in his personal mini-farm.
With your high-tech herb garden in the design closet, you create a closed ecosystem in which it is always spring. What does such a mini vertical farm bring us at home?
As the closed ecosystem mimics the perfect spring conditions every day, herbs, salads and micro-greens grow with a density of up to 30 percent higher nutrients; without any transport routes, cooling chains or plastic waste. The harvest also lands directly on the plate and thus retains the secondary plant substances, vitamins, and minerals that are so important. Thanks to the special light frequency, the controlled climate, and the hydroponic irrigation, optimal ripening conditions exist throughout the year - and without pesticides or seasonal dependencies! Technology and nature go hand in hand.
In 2013, Maximilian Lössl (right) and Philipp Wagner founded “Agrilution” together. (Photo: Agrilution)
You started with the farm-to-table experiments in your parents' basement. How did the idea come about?
The initial spark, the enthusiasm for vertical farming, came from a book by Dr. Dickson Despommier. On the recommendation of the author, I actually went to Den Bosch in the Netherlands to study. But the theory wasn't enough for me, I became impatient and wanted to act. So I took the concept of vertical farming further; the idea of a "mini vertical farm" for your own home was born. Philipp Wagner then came in for the technical implementation. Our friendship goes back to school days, when we played basketball together in a club. We started the experiments in my parents' garage and founded Agrilution together in 2013.
Which salads and herbs exactly grow in the “Plantcube”?
Our portfolio currently includes over 30 different plants - from common kitchen herbs to tatsoi, leaf salads, and mixtures for pesto or stir fry to more unusual microgreens such as bronze fennel and blood sorrel. The selection is based on the needs of the market, but we also want to offer something extraordinary that is not available in the supermarket or organic market. In addition, the speed of growth is decisive so that our customers don't have to wait too long. The harvest time is generally between one and four weeks.
And what needs is the device designed for?
Assuming daily consumption, the capacity ranges from a single person to a small family - depending on how they are planted and planned. Our app provides insight into growth, information about harvesting or maintenance and also enables online orders for new seedbars that carry the seeds.
The target group includes residents of metropolitan areas who still want to harvest fresh, healthy produce. (Photo: The Subdivision)
Doesn't that mean losing some of the feelings of looking after your plants in the field, in the garden or on the balcony?
We do not see ourselves as competition to people who garden on a large scale and want to grow their own plants. We tend to address big city dwellers who do not have a balcony or garden in metropolitan areas, are seasonally restricted due to their location or who simply lack the green thumb. Of course, we are currently focusing on vegetarians, vegans, and flexitarians, but also culinary connoisseurs who are looking for that special aroma. And technology-savvy early adopters who want to equip their smart homes well!
You recently launched the second edition of the “Plantcube”. What exactly has been changed, improved here?
What is new about the optimized “Plantcube”, in addition to its elegant black design, is the revised drawer system, which can now be equipped with nine seed bars on two levels. This offers a much greater variety for the planting, and the new, portion-appropriate seedbars are even more geared towards daily needs, the daily harvest. We have also expanded our plant portfolio and divided it into three categories so that our customers can get a particularly quick overview: Dailies, Essentials, and Chefs. In addition, the substrate of the seed bars is now 100 percent biodegradable thanks to the use of natural materials.
In the living room, the “Plantcube” can also be set to quiet and dark for up to two hours. (Photo: The Subdivision)
There is also a so-called "cinema mode". What can we imagine by that?
The cinema mode is also one of the most recent adjustments - it was created through valuable customer feedback and enables the greenhouse to be set to quiet and dark for up to two hours. Some users position the “Plantcube” as a design statement directly in the living room. Its light can be perceived as annoying when watching a film, for example, which is why we added this option.
Surely you live with a “Plantcube” yourself. What do you like to harvest from there and why?
The “Plantcube” in our private apartment is always well planted. We eat our greens every day. Since I love Asian cuisine, there is always fresh coriander for salads or as a topping for avocado bread. Our regular range also includes Tatsoi and Wasabina leaf mustard - nice and spicy! And don't forget basil! My girlfriend is Italian.
Good harvest! The greens from the new “Chefs Line” from “Agrilution” are beautiful (and) delicious. (Photo: Agrilution)
Are there any cooking recipes specially made with plants from the Plantcube?
We are constantly developing recipes with the greens from the “Plantcube”. Our website provides inspiration, as does the app. We also regularly cook together in our office, which is currently only possible to a limited extent. Otherwise, recommendable creations are always created. We also cooperate with KptnCook and chefs who use the “Plantcube” themselves. My favorite dish is “Asian Pak Choi Stir Fry”, which I modify according to my mood.
How does the lockdown affect interest in your Plantcubes? Fresh green from your own four walls sounds like a tempting option right now!
The paragraph has actually made a leap; because you always have something fresh and healthy in the house, and probably because it is becoming very clear to all of us for the first time that local cultivation cannot always meet the demand for natural products and that we sometimes find ourselves in front of empty vegetable shelves. And otherwise, a more conscious, healthier life is moving more and more into focus.
Over 30 different types of plants can be grown in the “Plantcube”. (Photo: The Subdivision)
Agrilution Brings Herb Gardens Into The Home With Their "Plantcube"
It will always be spring in your kitchen. That is what the "Plantcube" from Agrilution promises; a fully automated greenhouse that enables vertical farming even on a small scale
Closed Ecosystem In A Designer Cabinet
It will always be spring in your kitchen. That is what the "Plantcube" from Agrilution promises; a fully automated greenhouse that enables vertical farming even on a small scale. Maximilian Lössl, Co-Founder and CEO, spoke about the first experiments in his parents' basement, the new features of the second generation of "Plantcube" and why his personal mini-farm will never run out of basil. With a high-tech herb garden in a designer cabinet, the consumer gets a closed ecosystem where it's always spring. What could a mini-vertical farm like this do for us?
By mimicking the perfect spring conditions every day, the closed ecosystem grows herbs, lettuces, and micro-greens with up to 30 percent higher density of nutrients; all without transportation costs, cold chains or plastic waste. The harvest will also land directly on people's plates, retaining the all-important secondary plant compounds, vitamins, and minerals. It is a combination of special light frequencies, controlled climate, and hydroponic irrigation that will ensure optimal conditions throughout the year, all without pesticides or seasonal dependencies. In this way, technology and nature can work hand in hand.
You first started farm-to-table experiments in your parents' basement. How did the idea come about?
The initial spark, the enthusiasm for vertical farming, came from a book by Dr. Dickson Despommier. On the author's recommendation, I actually went to Den Bosch in the Netherlands to study. But the theories were not enough for me. I became impatient and wanted to act. So I took the concept of vertical farming a step further; the idea of a "mini-vertical farm" in my own home was born. Philipp Wagner then joined me for the technical implementation. Our friendship goes back to our school days when we played basketball together. We started experimenting in my parents' garage and founded Agrilution together in 2013.
Which lettuces and herbs exactly do you grow in the "Plantcube"?
Our portfolio currently includes over 30 different plants - from common kitchen herbs to tatsoi, leaf lettuces, and mixes for pesto to more unusual microgreens such as bronze fennel. The selection is based on the needs of the market, but we also want to offer something unusual that is unavailable in the supermarket or organic market. In addition, growth speed is decisive so that our customers do not have to wait too long. Generally, the harvest time is between one and four weeks.
And what demand is the unit designed to meet?
Assuming a daily consumption rate, the capacity ranges from a single person to a small family - depending on how planting and planning is done. Our app provides insight on growth, advice on harvesting or maintenance, and also allows online ordering of new seedbars that carry the seed.
Won't we lose that particular feeling of taking care of your plants in the field, garden, or balcony?
We don't see ourselves as competing with people who want to have big gardens where they grow their own plants. Rather, we address city dwellers who do not have a balcony or garden in urban centers, are seasonally limited due to their location, or who simply lack a green thumb. Of course, we focus on vegetarians, vegans, and flexitarians, but we also address culinary connoisseurs who are looking for that special aroma. And technology-savvy early adopters who want to outfit their smart homes with the latest tech.
You recently launched the second edition of the "Plantcube". What exactly has been changed or improved?
What's new about the optimized "Plantcube", in addition to its black redesign, is the revised drawers system, which can now be equipped with nine seed bars each on two levels. This offers a much greater variety for planting and the new, portion-sized seedbars are even more aligned with daily needs/the daily harvest opportunity. We have also expanded our plant portfolio and divided it into three categories so that our customers can get a particularly quick overview: Dailies, Essentials and Chefs. In addition to all this, the Seedbar substrate is now 100 percent biodegradable thanks to the use of natural materials.
There is also a so-called "Cinema Mode". What is this in essence?
Cinema Mode is also one of the latest adjustments - it came about as a result of valuable customer feedback and allows the greenhouse to be set to silent and dark for up to two hours. Some users will position the "Plantcube" directly in the living room as a design statement. Its light can be disturbing when people are watching a movie, for example, which is why we have added this option.
You probably own a "Plantcube" yourself. What do you grow in it and why?
The "Plantcube" in our private home is always well-stocked. We eat our greens every day. Since I love Asian cuisine, we always have fresh cilantro for salads or as a topping for avocado bread. But our regular assortment also includes tatsoi and wasabi leaf mustard - nice and spicy. And don't forget the basil. My girlfriend is Italian.
Are there any recipes specifically using plants from the Plantcube?
We are constantly developing recipes with greens from the "Plantcube". Our website provides inspiration, as does the app. We also regularly cook together in our office, which is currently only possible to a limited extent. Otherwise, however, we always come up with highly recommendable creations. We also cooperate with KptnCook and chefs who use the "Plantcube" themselves. My favorite dish is "Asian Pak Choi Stir Fry", which I modify according to my mood.
What impact has the lockdown had on interest in your Plantcubes? Fresh greens from one's own home sounds like an enticing option right now.
Sales have really taken off; because customers will always have something fresh and healthy in the house, and for the first time it's becoming very clear to all of us that local cultivation can't always meet the demand for natural products. As a result, we're sometimes faced with empty vegetable shelves. Also, in general, a more conscious, healthier life is becoming more and more trendy right now.
Lead photo: "Plantcube" / Image: Agrilution.
Source: AD Magazin
23 Dec 2020
We Have Something New For You...
Our Commercial is designed with 16 trays. More work you think? Nope! They are designed to make (indoor) gardening even easier than before
NEW NEW NEW
We are super happy to present our latest development to you: our Urban Cultivator Commercial stainless steel edition! This timeless design fits seamlessly into any kitchen. Its luxurious appearance makes it a real eye-catcher at the same time.
Our Commercial is designed with 16 trays. More work you think? Nope! They are designed to make (indoor) gardening even easier than before. For more variety in your food and a colorful mixture on your plate. From farm to plate in less than 10 seconds!
DISCOVER NOW
Self-Sustainable Planter + Composter For Indoor Gardening
The planter features a companion app, which treats gardening as a game, showing the stages of plant growth as “levels” for your real-life veggies. If you were a teen in the late 2000s, you might remember the popular Facebook game, Farmville? Imagine that concept but in real life
02-12-2020 09:13 | Yanko Design
To reduce their environmental impact, my parents have started composting their food waste. Great idea, but there are two small problems with their set-up: one, my parents aren’t gardeners, so the resulting manure is usually scattered on empty soil beds (which the weeds appreciate), and two, the composter lives in the backyard, which means they keep a plastic container on the back porch for their discarded orange peels and wilted salad (not the prettiest sight). Overall, the composter is not living up to its full potential, because it doesn’t suit my parents’ lifestyle.
Segue to the Sustainable Family Farm, a miniature composter and planter that is best suited for indoor life. When I saw this design, my first thought was Ah-hah, the perfect Christmas gift for my parents … in theory, since it hasn’t entered the market yet. A mini-composter isn’t a novel idea; in fact, you can make your own with a plastic jug, soil, and some worms. However, the Sustainable Family Farm sets itself apart in two ways: first, by integrating seamlessly into the household regardless of the members’ gardening/composting experience, second, by making gardening into a fun experience for the family.
The product accomplishes this first point by utilizing all the food waste in the household without requiring a lot of additional effort. All you have to do is dump your compostable scraps into the plant incubator and monitor your veggies’ growth. The amount of maintenance that goes into the gardening depends on the seeds you choose — and there plenty of low maintenance options, like basil or cilantro. The Sustainable Family Farm accomplishes its second goal, making gardening a fun activity with the power of smartphones. The planter features a companion app, which treats gardening as a game, showing the stages of plant growth as “levels” for your real-life veggies. If you were a teen in the late 2000s, you might remember the popular Facebook game, Farmville? Imagine that concept but in real life. Or, you know … regular farming. (Jeez, I’ve exposed myself as a phone-addicted city-dweller.)
The Sustainable Family Farm, I think, is one of the most accessible urban planter concepts I’ve seen. Its low maintenance process makes it as easy as possible for anyone to grow herbs or small vegetables. You just need to buy the seeds and worms to get started – the circle of life takes care of the rest.
This concept won the European Product Design Award in “Home Interior Products/Household Appliances” and “Design for Society/Design for Sustainability.” An earlier version of this design was also featured on Yanko Design.
Designer: Chaozhi Lin
Click here for more information.
Photo Courtesy of Yanko Design
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Think of The Rewards of Cultivating
The Tastes of Summer All Through The winter. You Can Do This.
New to microgreens? Start with something in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) that offers a quick payoff, like arugula (shown), radish or mizuna (a mild-flavored mustard). Credit...Kate Spring
By Margaret Roach
Nov. 18, 2020
Since Kate Spring and her husband, Edge Fuentes, founded Good Heart Farmstead in Vermont in 2013, she has cultivated not just mesclun, strawberries and tomatoes, but also the abundance of the patience required of a farmer. Plant parenthood reminds us: Living things take time. And sometimes they have minds of their own.
Lately, as mother to Waylon, a 7-year-old son she calls “our best crop ever,” Ms. Spring is occasionally asked to dig down even deeper, in a growing test of wills — as she did after three long days of carrot harvest. “There are those moments, like when all those root vegetables need to be washed,” she said, “and your child commandeers the hose and washes you instead.”
But there is one crop, whose time is now, that promises near-instant gratification, requiring little patience and exhibiting blessedly minimal rebellion.
Microgreens — fully developed seed leaves or cotyledons plus a true leaf or two, bigger than sprouts but smaller than baby greens — can be grown indoors in a small space, making them the ideal off-season do-it-yourself project for those who miss the vegetable garden and its in-season flavors. By investing a couple of weeks in each tray of tiny, leafy greens, root vegetables or herbs, you can enliven winter with concentrated bursts of nutrition and taste.
In the garden off-season, freshly harvested basil microgreens grown indoors punch up the summery quotient when Kate Spring, an owner of Good Heart Farmstead, serves red sauce she cooked and froze at peak tomato harvest. Credit...Kate Spring
Microgreens are a cusp-season crop at Good Heart Farmstead, an L3C, or low-profit limited-liability corporation, which means it’s “a mix between a nonprofit and for-profit business — a for-profit but with a social mission in the forefront,” Ms. Spring said. “We work on increasing food access for low-income Vermonters,” often in collaboration with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
The small, certified-organic operation in Worcester (Zone 4a) focuses on farm shares, or CSA subscriptions, serving up to 100 subscribers in the summer season, one of four subscription periods each year.
As the last outdoor fall greens fade, Ms. Spring and Mr. Fuentes sow microgreens in greenhouse flats to add “a nice, fresh green item in the share,” she said, that is otherwise transitioning to roots and other winter storage vegetables.
So order some seed, clear a space on the kitchen counter and call the seed-starting light into service. It’s microgreen season.
Larger seed for microgreens like chard and beets can be scattered on a level surface of an inch and a half of tamped-down, seed-starting soil, with about six to eight seeds per square inch. Credit...Kate Spring
Why Grow Microgreens?
Besides the sheer awe inherent in any version of seed-starting, there are other motivating factors. Price, for instance.
Microgreens are what farmers refer to as a high-value crop. In plastic grocery-store clamshell boxes they may run $2 to $3 an ounce ($32 to $48 a pound) — “a really premium product,” Ms. Spring said.
Microgreens are also nutrient-dense. Researchers with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the United States Department of Agriculture evaluated vitamin and carotenoid concentrations in a range of varieties in a 2012 paper. The findings, in brief: Microgreens contained up to 40 times the nutrients of the plants’ mature leaves.
And oh, the flavor. Yes, they brighten up salads and sandwiches, but cilantro microgreens on top of black bean and sweet potato tacos, anyone? They’re highly recommended by the Spring-Fuentes household, where there are always basil microgreens as well, for punching up the summery quotient of red sauce frozen at peak tomato harvest.
“Arugula or basil or kale microgreens are also really good on eggs in the morning,” said Ms. Spring, who tends to use them “as an additive, not the main ingredient.”
Organic field pea seeds will become pea shoots, a customer favorite at Good Heart Farmstead, in Vermont. They are sown very densely and pressed into the soil after the seeds are soaked overnight. Credit...Kate Spring
Start With These Varieties
The diversity of organic microgreen seed offerings in catalogs like Johnny’s Selected Seeds and High Mowing Organic Seeds can be intimidating. Start with something in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) that promises a quick payoff, Ms. Spring suggested, like radish, arugula or mizuna (a mild-flavored mustard).
“Our favorites are basil, cilantro, Red Russian kale and the arugula and mizuna,” Ms. Spring said.
Broccoli and chard are popular, too. Catalogs also offer mixes — like a spicy one of various mustards, selected to germinate and mature on a similar timeline.
While the fields are resting, there are usually microgreens growing on Good Heart Farmstead’s greenhouse benches, to add a fresh, green item to the wintertime CSA shares. Credit...Kate Spring
The Gear
Yes, you can upcycle a cardboard egg carton or plastic sushi container into seed-sowing service, and maybe that’s a good place to begin. But once you’re hooked, a couple of standard nursery flats with drainage holes, called 1020 flats, with trays that fit beneath, will optimize the process. (In the meantime, a plastic boot tray or a rimmed baking sheet could be called into action under ad hoc seedling trays.)
You’ll also need:
A spray bottle for watering (recommended: a one-hand pressure sprayer like the Solo 418)
A germination dome to fit your flats, or paper towels
A bag of seed-starting mix and a moisture-proof tub or other container to stash it in (after each harvest, the soil can be composted, and once the plant matter breaks down, reused two or three times)
A grow light with T5 high-output fluorescent tubes on an adjustable stand (microgreens grow faster and stronger with proper overhead light than they will on a windowsill)
A fan
And, of course, seeds
You can simply can upcycle a cardboard egg carton or plastic sushi container into seed-sowing service, but once you’re hooked, a couple of standard nursery flats with drainage holes, called 1020 flats, and trays that fit beneath will optimize the process. Credit...Kate Spring
Kate Spring’s Step-by-Step Instructions
There is no one-size-fits-all growing method. “It takes some guesswork and practice, so go into it with a trial mind,” Ms. Spring said.
Experimenting with varieties, sowing density and harvest timing — an extra day or two, a half-inch taller than the last batch? — will reveal what works for you.
Using more than one flat and tray will mean fewer gaps in your supply. You could try sowing a succession crop when the current one is within a few days of harvest, or sowing slower- and faster-growing varieties at the same time.
The key is taking notes and researching the catalog websites, where the “number of days to first true leaf” will indicate how fast one variety will grow relative to another. That is especially important if you want to grow partial flats of two things. A good match for a uniform harvest pairs crops with similar days to maturity — like broccoli and Red Russian kale (both 10 to 15 days to true leaf) or basil and cilantro (16 to 25 days).
Trays of microgreens at various stages of development in the Good Heart Farmstead greenhouse benefit from the circulation provided by a fan on low nearby, which helps prevent a fungal disease called damping off. Credit...Kate Spring
Start with the right location: 65 to 70 degrees, not adjacent to a heater or a drafty window. Moisten a supply of potting soil, either in its plastic bag or in a waterproof tub, by adding a small amount of water and mixing it with your hands or a trowel. Squeeze a fistful; it should be moist enough to hold its shape, but not so wet that water drips out.
Then line your tray with an inch or so of soil, tamped down so it’s compact, with an even surface. This will help ensure that seeds have equal soil contact for even germination.
To sow the seeds, scatter them thickly, according to the packet directions, aiming for 10 to 12 seeds per square inch for small seeds like basil, mizuna or kale and six to eight seeds for larger ones like beets or chard. Gently press them into the soil.
Lightly water the seeds with a mister or spray bottle.
Cover the tray with a germination dome or a damp paper towel. (If you use a paper towel, mist it daily so it stays moist during germination.) No supplemental light is needed yet.
As soon as the seeds germinate, usually in about three to five days, remove the dome or towel and place the uncovered tray under grow lights for 16 hours a day.
Water as needed to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Microgreens flatten easily, so use a mist or spray, or switch to bottom watering, adding a quarter of an inch of water to the tray below; the flat’s drainage holes will allow the soil to wick up water. For even watering, trays must be on a level surface.
Airflow is important, or thickly sown microgreens can suffer from a fungal disease called damping off. A fan set on low nearby helps.
Microgreens are harvested around the time the first true leaf appears — the one that resembles an older version of the plant, often between an inch or two tall. Use sharp scissors or a harvest knife (Johnny’s and High Moving both sell Victorinox serrated knives). Eat immediately or refrigerate in a closed plastic bag or container for two to three days.
Waylon, the son of Good Heart Farmstead owners Kate Spring and her husband, Edge Fuentes, is 7 years old and a lover of pea shoots and all things salad. This year, he grew his first garden. Credit...Kate Spring
Ready to Graduate to Pea Shoots?
Pea shoots, a CSA-subscriber favorite at Good Heart Farmstead, are grown indoors in spring from organic field pea seeds, a kind of pea used for cover-cropping beds to improve the soil.
There are subtle differences in the process, Ms. Spring said: “We soak the seeds overnight, so that they have a little head start, and we really pack them in there.”
After that, the seeds take 12 to 14 days to harvest, at two to four inches high. Ms. Spring likes them on the bigger side — as does Waylon, who has all too quickly gone from sprout to shoot stage himself, his mother noted.
Want To Eat Healthy? Try Growing Lettuce On Your Kitchen Counter
After years of trying to grow vegetables in my shady backyard, I have finally given up. Feeling the need once again to grow veggies, I invested in a small hydroponic system for my kitchen
BY SHEAH RARBACK
SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
NOVEMBER 20, 2020
After years of trying to grow vegetables in my shady backyard, I have finally given up. Feeling the need once again to grow veggies, I invested in a small hydroponic system for my kitchen.
The results are rewarding. It is small but there are edibles there. In addition to herbs, I have a robust little lettuce garden. People often think of lettuce as a low-nutrient food. And that would be wrong.
I am growing Parris Island lettuce, which is in the same family as romaine lettuce. One ounce of this lettuce provides 11% daily requirement of immunity-boosting vitamin C. Romaine also has 10% of the daily requirement of folate, which can help heart health and allergic responses to name just two benefits.
And that one ounce of romaine has 5 calories and 49% of vitamin A requirement. Romaine is for more than just a Caesar salad.
I am also growing Marvel of Four Seasons Lettuce. This is from the family of butter lettuce, also called Boston or Bibb lettuce. The flavor is soft and sweet. Vitamin A is the most abundant nutrient in this type of lettuce. In addition to vitamins and minerals, all varieties of lettuce have phytonutrients.
As a general rule, the darker the color of the lettuce, the greater the nutrition. So romaine contains more nutrients than iceberg. I have had so many clients tell me they don’t eat vegetables but when I would ask if they eat salad, they said yes.
For many people, salads might be the easiest way to reach the goal of 5 cups of vegetables and fruits each day. A spring mix blend provides a variety of greens and nutrients and the ability to easily make an interesting salad. Salad is a terrific base for nutritious add-ons. Throw on pumpkin seeds for fiber and magnesium, quinoa for added protein, or sunflower seeds for a hit of vitamin E.
Lead photo: Sheah Rarback’s small hydroponic system in her kitchen grows beautiful lettuce and herbs. SHEAH RARBACK
Sheah Rarback MS, RDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist in private practice in Miami.
Gardyn Aims To Make At-Home Vertical Farming Small, Simple, and Stylish
Thanks to disruptions in the food supply chain, panic-buying sprees, and the general uncertainty of the times, growing food at home seems like a pretty good idea of late
Thanks to disruptions in the food supply chain, panic-buying sprees, and the general uncertainty of the times, growing food at home seems like a pretty good idea of late. Trouble is, many consumers don’t have the know-how to cultivate their own leafy greens and other produce in the backyard. Even those who do often lack adequate space.
A company called Gardyn is addressing both of those issues with an at-home vertical farming system that requires minimal input from the user and can easily fit inside a small apartment if need be. The idea, as Gardyn founder and CEO FX Rouxel explained to me over the phone last week, is to make growing food in one’s own home as simple and straightforward as possible. To do that, the company has built a farm that relies on AI to do much of the heavy lifting in terms of monitoring and maintaining an edible crop of food. Or as Rouxel said, “The system is managing everything for you.”
Gardyn’s system is made up of two parts: a compact vertical tower, which can grow as many as 30 plants, and an accompanying app powered by an AI assistant named “Kelby.” Users only have to order seeds and “plug” the seedpods into the vertical towers. The system automatically circulates water and nutrients to the plants, while Kelby monitors plant growth and sends reminders when it’s time to add water to the garden or harvest the plants.
Right now, available crops from Gardyn’s site include mostly leafy greens and herbs, some flowers, cherry tomatoes, and jalapeños. Customers can also use their own seeds if preferred.
The system uses what Rouxel calls “a hybrid of different hydroponic technologies,” including the deepwater method and aeroponics. (The company brands its approach as “hybriponics.”) By themselves, these different methods have certain limitations in the at-home setting. Deep water, where plant roots are fully submerged in nutrient-enriched water, requires a lot of space. Aeroponics is a great setup for outdoors, but once indoors it requires lighting, which gets expensive very quickly. Gardyn pulled elements from both to create a system that takes up only two square feet of space and doesn’t require any extra hardware. “Within just two square feet, you can produce a lot of food,” says Rouxel, adding that Gardyn’s units have produced “over 25,000 pounds of produce” during the last few months.
That quest to grow a lot of leafy greens in a small amount of space is an area with plenty of competition these days. Farmshelf recently unveiled its first-ever farm for the home, and companies like Rise Gardens and Agrilution (the latter recently bought by Miele) also offer promising solutions for the consumer space.
And while historically, investment in vertical farming has mainly gone towards the industrial-scale indoor farms (think AeroFarms), at-home farms are fast becoming a lucrative area. Investors, Rouxel explained to me, see traditional agriculture as a risky business that’s less insurable because its success is in part dependent on the weather outside. With climate change triggering more extreme weather, investors will look more and more to alternative solutions in controlled-environment agriculture.
“I am absolutely convinced we are going to see in the coming two years a total disruption in the way we grow things,” he says. Chiefly, that will be growing the food in much closer proximity to consumers, whether through at-home systems like Gardyn’s, in-store farms at grocery retailers, rooftop gardens, and high-tech greenhouses. “In future, we’re going to have a spectrum of solutions,” Rouxel noted.
Getting these vertical farms closer to consumers and in their own homes will require bringing the price of the machines down. At the moment, Gardyn’s system is roughly on par pricewise with other systems out there that can realistically feed a family of four: $799 for the base model all the way up to $1485 for the “Plus” model.
Rouxel is aware that the cost is still too high for many consumers. “We don’t want this to be only for well-off people,” he told me. “It’s important that we find ways that anyone can afford this.”
Many companies, including Gardyn, offer financing options on their farms now. And more investment dollars going into the space in the future could mean companies have the time and space to innovate on ways to make their system cheaper for the average consumer.
While pricing remains a question, one thing that’s certain is that at-home vertical farming is on the path to becoming a regular part of the kitchen, rather than just a trend. “What we want is to develop solutions that will quickly change the way people access food,” said Rouxel. “We won’t solve everything, that’s for sure, but we want to be part of the solution for how we shape food.”
FILED UNDER: AG TECH BUSINESS OF FOOD EDUCATION & DISCOVERY FEATURED FOODTECH
VIDEO: Growing Healthy Food Indoors
How many of us live in apartments or townhomes and long for a big backyard to start a garden?
How Many of us Live in Apartments or
Townhomes And long For a Big Backyard to Start a Garden?
Well with new technology, indoor herb growers give anyone the chance to grow their own food. You don't even need a backyard anymore to grow healthy foods.
Now, you can do it all from the comfort of your home. In this article, we're going to talk about our favorite indoor herb grower right now and why you should try it for yourself!
Read more
COVID-19, Agriculture Re-Awakened
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a current reality that is forcing the global population to reassess affected industries, and plan a future that will be less dependent on the weak links in our current supply chain facing unprecedented disruptions
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a current reality that is forcing the global population to reassess affected industries, and plan a future that will be less dependent on the weak links in our current supply chain facing unprecedented disruptions. Travel restrictions imposed to limit the virus’s spread have resulted in migrant laborer shortages to harvest produce as mentioned in Essential, but Unprotected.
Leafy green vegetables will be the first affected due to their early spring harvest, while already facing consumer scrutiny over food safety concerns for being highly prone to foodborne diseases when grown outdoors. To make matters worse, these vegetables are a critical part of a nutritious diet needed to support the immune systems of people fighting off viral infections. With many resorting to nonperishable foods and little exercise, there will likely be a spike in obesity which statistically makes the virus even deadlier.
Social distancing and self quarantining have become daily routines for nearly everyone in the US. The concept of decentralized agricultural production, or more commonly known as indoor gardening, enables people to grow safe and nutritious produce within their homes to minimize exposure from crowded grocery stores while shopping for highly perishable goods that require frequent visits.
Gardening has the benefit of educating children who are out of school about agriculture and technology. It also improves the psychological well being of the individuals by being around aesthetically pleasing plants as well as improving indoor air quality according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Over the past few years, we’ve seen e-commerce aggressively challenge brick and mortar stores across industries. Despite this market trend, the food and grocery industries still heavily rely on in-store experiences, led by big-box chains such as Walmart, Target, and Costco.
This is attributed to the high perishability of produce, two-thirds of which are grown in California which requires an extensive supply chain and energy-intensive refrigeration sections to constantly account for losses. However, in recent times, the value proposition of grocery delivery has seen a meteoric rise in response to consumer viral transmission fears. This is true for one such company, Heliponix, which has built their own direct-to-consumer supply chain for growing food that has been unphased by current events.
Heliponix© provides consumers with the GroPod© Smart Garden Appliance with a Seed Pod™ subscription that could be described as "Keurig for food." Their automated, hydroponic hardware combined with smart, cloud software allows anyone to become a farmer regardless of their climate, space, or existing knowledge of agriculture. Consumers enjoy Pure Produce™ that is better for their health, and the environment by reducing water consumption and food waste through local production while maintaining social distancing. Keeping the plants alive until the moment of consumption will maximize the nutritional content and taste for the user.
Co-Founder and CEO, Scott Massey stated, “We have experienced an explosion of inquiries in light of the pandemic from consumers who want control of their own produce supply. Consumers want food that tastes better, while being healthier for them from a trusted source. The GroPod makes them self-sufficient in production from our convenient seed pod subscription, and automated appliance that doesn’t require agricultural knowledge. Not only is it environmentally sustainable by avoiding the harmful pollutants of industrial agriculture, but it is also financially sustainable for the consumer who will generate a profit from the premium quality produce when all hardware, subscription, and even negligible water and energy costs are accounted for.”
Massey then went on to say, “Our company had a unique founding while my Co-Founder, Ivan Ball and I were both undergraduate students at Purdue University. We met while working as coworkers and worked as research engineers on a NASA funded project to design targeted LEDs to grow food on the ISS (International Space Station) under Dr. Cary Mitchell. We became familiar with many leading experts in this growing industry destined for mass adoption and were very fortunate to receive our first pre-seed and seed investments from Purdue Ventures Ag-celerator fund which focuses on innovations within the AgBioScience realm. I view the adoption of the distributed farming model as inevitable as global food output needs to increase by 70% as we exceed 9 billion people in 2050 according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), but we’re not making anymore farmland. Vertical, indoor agriculture is the most viable solution, however, energy, labor, and facility infrastructure are the most expensive costs resulting in low margins. This is why we chose a direct-to-consumer model; to decentralize the facility into consumer appliances, developed a more energy-efficient design, and are not dependent on labor to plant/harvest/process the crops since they are grown directly at the point of consumption, the household.”
Ivan Ball explains, “We are now deep into the fourth industrial revolution with blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and IoT connecting everything in our homes to our phones. Development of these systems will provide the architecture we need to begin connecting biological organisms to our digital world.” Computer vision and machine learning are the tools needed to understand a plant's response to a given environment and enable our automated device to adapt the environment to a plant’s preference in real-time. Additionally, a user will be able to input their preferred taste preference of a plant, for example, a “sweeter basil”, so that their GroPod can cultivate a garden of plants with a personalized taste. Already we are seeing indoor vertical farming move closer to people by growing it directly in the grocery stores. This trend from dirt to fork is compared to the ice industry of highly perishable goods being decentralized and produced within the home. It is our goal to decentralize agriculture to eliminate food waste, save water, reduce energy consumption, and become the world’s largest farming company without owning a single acre of land.
Heliponix, LLC recently won the Leyton International Startup Sustainability Challenge which landed them a booth within Eureka Park at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2020 in Las Vegas. They received a phenomenal amount of press from the likes of The Associated Press among others.
Source: Minnesota Historical Society/Getty Images. A poster from the Minneapolis Defense Council urged planting.
However novel the GroPod Smart Garden Appliance’s innovative design improves efficiencies, the concept of consumers growing their own food has been accomplished before. A similar mass, consumer gardening experiment was successfully orchestrated in 1943 when war-time Victory Gardens produced close to 40 percent of the country’s fresh vegetables, from about 20 million gardens in homes, schools, and community gardens. Our dependence on grocery stores will be greatly reduced by consuming produce directly from the source of a personal farm. Perhaps people may re-adopt the agrarian lifestyles of our ancestors through these automated farming appliances at a consumer level in the new gig economy.
Peloton Meets Greengrocer: Farmshelf Launches Home Version of Indoor Farming System
The latest high-tech offering: a fully-automated indoor farm for greens and herbs, all housed within a sleek case the size of a bookshelf
John Jannarone
IPO-Edge.com April 28, 2020
From Peloton Interactive Inc. to Netflix, Inc., companies offering at-home technologies to keep people busy, healthy, and entertained during the lockdown have thrived. The latest high-tech offering: a fully-automated indoor farm for greens and herbs, all housed within a sleek case the size of a bookshelf.
Farmshelf, which currently sells a professional device popular with celebrity chefs like José Andrés, has launched Farmshelf Home, a slightly smaller version designed specifically for home use. Farmshelf Home, which is available for pre-order, features a remotely-controlled hydroponic system and an app that monitors the miniature crop with cameras and sensors. Everything from hydration to airflow to nutrients are controlled by the machine, with owners simply needing to occasionally refill water and harvest plants.
“Our mission has always been to make it easy for people to grow their own food where they live, work, and eat. We started where they work and eat at restaurants and corporate cafes, now we are coming to the home,” said Andrew Shearer, founder, and CEO of Farmshelf. “Giving people the opportunity to harvest food as it’s needed will not only elevate the idea of ‘farm to table but help reduce the ongoing cycle of food waste.”
Farmshelf Home is truly the first of its kind. While other contraptions exist such as a tabletop system from The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, they are relatively small. Farmshelf Home produces enough to cover a meaningful part of a weekly shopping list: a sample harvest includes 8 heads of lettuce, 8 bunches of herbs, and 8 bunches of greens.
View photos
“The food we eat was not designed to ship 1500 miles,” Mr. Shearer said. “We are going from shipping food miles to shipping food a few feet. It really changes the equation.”
Users can choose from a diverse menu of over 40 different herbs, leafy greens, and edible flowers. Choices include staples like romaine lettuce along with more exotic plants such as shiso and viola flowers.
The system also reduces food waste because users simply trim whatever ingredients they need for a meal. Farmshelf estimates the system, which sells for $4,950 on pre-order and has a $35 monthly fee for seeds and other essentials, can save users up to $2,500 a year in grocery bills.
The system also has advantages over normal gardening. Thanks to the controlled atmosphere and technology, plants grow three times as fast and need 90% less water. There’s also no need for pesticides or herbicides, meaning users technically can eat greens without washing them.
While away from home, users can keep an eye on their plants through the mobile app. It features live camera views and sends alerts for needs such as a water refill.
The success of the professional model suggests Farmshelf Home will be a hit. Farmshelf is very popular with superstar chefs like Mr. Andrés, who actually has a professional version in his own home. He recently tweeted a video of one of his Farmshelf units, raving about romaine lettuce.
Farmshelf also serves large groups of diners at schools and corporate cafeterias. American Express Company, for instance, uses multiple Farmshelf systems to serve 3,000 people per day.
To date, Farmshelf has raised over $8 million privately. Mr. Shearer said the company may seek more capital in the future as it continues to grow.
Contact:
John Jannarone, Editor-in-Chief
editor@IPO-Edge.com
Designing The Future of Urban Farming
INFARM collaborated with IDEO to further explore their B2B offer, including concepts for the industrial design of the stackable, modular, climate-controlled units; the interaction design of an accompanying app to monitor and control the units, and its business model
Helping a Berlin startup strengthen its offer of vertical farming products and services
INFARM
THE CHALLENGE
Help INFARM develop the vision, products, and services for their B2B vertical farming offer.
THE OUTCOME
Concepts for the industrial design of B2B vertical farm units, the interaction design of the app to control and monitor the units, and a business model for sustainability.
The challenge of how we’ll feed the exploding world population in the future—in a sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly way—is seeding an agricultural revolution in Europe.
In 2012, INFARM founders Erez, Guy Galonska, and Osnat Michaeli found that vertical farms could be a solution to urban self-sufficiency. These farms could allow people to grow vegetables and herbs in small spaces, with no soil and far less water.
If every city on earth were to grow 10 percent of its produce indoors, it would allow us to take 340,000 square miles of farmland back to the forest.
DICKSON DESPOMMIER, EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND MICROBIOLOGY AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AND FATHER OF VERTICAL FARMING
An approach that’s captured the imagination of futurists for decades, vertical farming involves growing vegetables and herbs in stacked units or inclined surfaces, within which moisture, light, temperature, and nutrients are monitored, and controlled.
After creating their first vertical farming experiment in their apartment in Berlin, the founders brought together plant scientists and industrial designers to explore and develop vertical farming’s potential.
Since then, the startup has created custom growing systems for clients including Airbnb, Mercedes-Benz, and Weber. Most recently, INFARM installed a vertical farm growing herbs and vegetables at the Berlin branch of German supermarket chain Metro, the fourth-largest retail chain in the world, to sell to the public. It’s been profiled in Wired Germany, Süddeutsche Zeitung, The Guardian, and Zeit.
The vertical farm is designed to be modular, allowing consumers to purchase according to their needs.
INFARM collaborated with IDEO to further explore their B2B offer, including concepts for the industrial design of the stackable, modular, climate-controlled units; the interaction design of an accompanying app to monitor and control the units, and its business model.
Urban farmers will sign up for “farming as a service,” comprising the units themselves, as well as a monthly subscription for seeds, cartridges filled with nutrients, and a pH regulator. Because they’re stackable, the modules can be scaled to suit anyone from a home grower to a restaurant chef or supermarket owner. And Erez claims a 1 square meter growing tray can yield four to six mature plants every day, 365 days a year, doubling that of state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouses.
The consumer app allows farmers to choose a set of herbs designed around specific recipes.
As well as remotely regulating each unit’s climate, the app will educate growers about new vegetables and herbs, selling packs of complementary seeds, with suggested recipes for them, and cooking instructions. Aiming to promote biodiversity, the firm will sell rare-breed and heirloom seeds too.
The startup has funding from the EU’s European Pioneers fund and is now looking to secure investment to accelerate software development and ramp up their hardware production capabilities. Quite literally, it's growing its business.
Farmshelf Unveils Its First Consumer-Facing Vertical Farming Unit
Farmshelf, the vertical farming company best known for outfitting restaurants with its high-tech indoor farms, today unveiled its first-ever consumer-facing product, according to a company press release
Farmshelf, the vertical farming company best known for outfitting restaurants with its high-tech indoor farms, today unveiled its first-ever consumer-facing product, according to a company press release.
Dubbed Farmshelf Home, the new product is similar to the company’s commercial model championed by high-profile chefs like José Andrés. It’s roughly the size of a bookcase and uses a combination of sensors, cameras, software, and custom LEDs to automatically deliver the correct levels of water, light, and nutrients to each plant growing in the farm.
For the average consumer, that means once the farm arrives, it’s a matter of plugging it into a wall, connecting it to wifi, setting seeds in pods, then remotely monitoring the hydroponic system from a corresponding smartphone app.
Farmshelf Home is available to pre-order through the company’s website. Though it ain’t cheap: the company lists the “exclusive pre-order price” at $4,950, while the standard retail price will be set at $6,450. There is a $100 deposit (applied to the price and also refundable) as well as a monthly $35 fee that covers seed pods, nutrients, and access to the Farmshelf software for monitoring plants. At the moment, those interested only need to hand over the deposit to sign up for a pre-order. According to the fine print, there is no firm delivery date yet.
Three months ago, I would have called the high price point a deterrent for most people. Certainly, the average American family won’t be purchasing a Farmshelf anytime soon.
But those in higher income brackets may. A global pandemic has revealed just how out of whack our food supply chain is and what happens when people panic shop in droves and grocery stores can’t keep up, factors that might justify the price point for some folks. The Spoon’s Publisher Michael Wolf pointed out recently that “As the coronavirus has forced all of us to think more about our food supply, some consumers have gone beyond just buying a little extra food to store away. Now they are thinking about how we could ensure access to food independent of breakdowns in the system.”
Now we have to see whether consumers will pay thousands of dollars to ensure that independence. More at-home vertical farming companies were coming to market even before the pandemic, with large appliance makers like Samsung, LG, and Miele announcing high-tech gardens meant for your kitchen or living room. They range in price from the hundreds to the thousands, though not quite as high as Farmshelf.
Currently, Farmshelf is in a number of restaurants and hotels, including NYC chain Tender Greens, Marriott Marquis Times Square, and the Condé Nast offices. Angel network she1K syndicated an early-stage investment in the company at the end of last year.
Tags: AG TECH BUSINESS OF FOOD FEATURED FOODTECH MODERN FARMER SMART GARDEN
Miele Commitment To Vertical Agriculture At Home
Miele continues with its commitment to acquire or participate in new projects to diversify its business and redefine the experience in the field of cooking, with the purchase of Agrilution assets
02/14/2020
Miele continues with its commitment to acquire or participate in new projects to diversify its business and redefine the experience in the field of cooking, with the purchase of Agrilution assets . This young company of German origin has opted to offer vertical agriculture solutions, which many experts have defined as the future of greenhouses, in the home itself.
This type of agriculture, which is based on aeroponics (a technology that does not require land, sun, or water) makes plants grow based on the humidity and heat of artificial light. Its domestic use means having a kind of standard refrigerator, which offers the perfect growing conditions, with minimal care and an extra design contribution both in the kitchen and in the living room.
In the words of Maximilian Lössl, founder of Agrilution together with Philipp Wagner, "our domestic greenhouse provides fresher lettuce, herbs, and micro vegetables directly on the table."
Agrilution's home greenhouses allow fresh, aromatic and nutrient-rich sprouts, herbs and micro vegetables to be enjoyed at home throughout the year, through a self-contained ecosystem with simple seed coatings, regulated lighting, and a controlled microclimate, as well as automatic irrigation.
The first crop can be harvested one to three weeks after commissioning.
To establish a comparison that clearly illustrates its effectiveness, a lettuce grown in the field requires up to 120 liters of water to grow and that volume is sufficient to supply an entire Plantcube throughout the year.
Are In-Home Vertical Farms The Next Big Appliance For Connected Kitchens?
Whether you’re contemplating your own home grow system or just curious, here’s a look at what’s available and what’s in the pipeline
A little less than a year ago, The Spoon looked at a number of hydroponic farming devices that could fit into the average person’s apartment. These were, for the most part, table-top models or units that could hang on a wall. At the time, the concept of having a grow system in your own home seemed more than a little novel.
Fast forward to now and things have changed. Putting an indoor vertical farm in the average consumer’s home isn’t yet a mainstream concept, but as more startups and major appliance-makers alike have shown over the last 12 months, the idea is making its way into the Everyman’s kitchen with more speed these days. Now, thanks to a bunch of concepts shown off at this year’s CES, suddenly the idea of having a smart farm in your kitchen doesn’t seem so novel.
Whether you’re contemplating your own home grow system or just curious, here’s a look at what’s available and what’s in the pipeline.
Aspara
If you’re like me, you have minimal space (almost none, really) in the home for adding much in the way of smart farming systems. Aspara’s hydroponic growing device could potentially solve that problem because it’s small — 14 inches high and 21 inches wide — and could reasonably fit on a countertop, shelf, or even on top of the refrigerator. The system uses a combination of LEDs, an auto-watering feature, and sensors that detect nutrient levels, humidity and air, and other factors to create the optimal grow “recipe” for the plants.
After a user does the initial planting of the seeds, the Aspara app manages most of the grow process, notifying the user when it’s time to refill the water tank and harvest the plants. It also includes tips and recipes for growing and lets you monitor multiple Aspara farms at the same time.
The device is currently available in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. through online retailers. For U.S. buyers, the device currently goes for $259.99 on Amazon for just the machine and $339.99 with a starter seed kit included.
Rise Gardens
Chicago, IL startup Rise Gardens is one of those companies aiming to make a truly “plug in and go” indoor vertical farming system for the home. This one is a standalone console that can be purchased with one, two, or three “levels” for plants and weighs between 60 and 106 pounds depending on the size.
A user assembles the garden — much as you would a piece of furniture from IKEA, from the looks of it — then downloads the app, which controls the lighting and nutrients schedule and reminds the user when it’s time to water the plants. Each garden comes with a starter pack of 12 plant pods that can be inserted directly into the grow trays.
Price ranges from $549 for a single-level console to $949 for a triple.
Agrilution’s Plantcube
Not to be confused with Plantycube (see below), the Plantcube made headlines at the end of 2019 when its maker, a German company called Agrilution, was acquired by appliance-maker Miele. Less device than full-on kitchen appliance, the Plantcube automates temperature, light, climate, and water levels of the indoor vertical farm, and can be controlled from within the Agrilution app.
The appliance looks like a wine cooler and is about the same size. However, unlike a wine cooler or any of the systems listed above, the Plantcube is meant to be built directly into your kitchen cupboards or beneath a countertop. That would perhaps explain the price point: €2,979 (~$3,300 USD), a figure most consumers wouldn’t spend on an indoor farm right now. Even for those who would, the device is currently only available to those in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg or the Netherlands.
Even so, the concept Plantcube pushes is one to watch. It’s entirely possible that appliances like these eventually become as common in the home kitchen as microwaves. The price point would have to come way down for that to become a reality, which is one reason we’re watching Plantcube closely in the future.
GE Home Grow
As The Spoon’s Mike Wolf wrote recently, CES 2020’s standout in the consumer kitchen was GE because, “rather than create product demos designed as show-off vehicles for new technologies, GE illustrated how these technologies could be employed in a cohesive, systematic way to provide consumers answers to some of their biggest problems.”
Among those technologies was Home Grown, GE’s indoor gardening concept that uses a combination of hydroponics, aeroponics, and soil-based grow systems that are built directly into the kitchen design. For each of the three systems, water, nutrient, and light delivery are controlled through an app, which also guides the user through the seeding and harvesting stages of the grow process.
The system also offers consumers information on the health benefits of each plant as well as how to prepare herbs and greens in meals once they are harvested.
Home Grow is purely conceptual at this stage, so there’s no price point on these systems. Like the Plantcube, however, GE is thinking bigger than the just-another-appliance concept and imagining a system that can encourage healthier eating, reduce food waste, and increase consumer education around the foods they’re eating.
Honorable Mentions
We’ve covered these in-depth already, but LG and Plantycube are also at the forefront of bringing vertical farming technology into the consumer kitchen. Both showed off products at CES this year.
LG’s forthcoming appliance is the size of a fridge and, as I wrote recently, “takes many of the functions found in commercial-scale indoor farming and applies them to a device specifically made for the average consumer.”
N.thing’s Planty Cube, meanwhile, is a highly modular indoor farming system that can be small enough to fit on a countertop or large enough to serve cafeterias at schools, offices, and other institutions.
Since things are never as simple as they seem, there are obviously still a lot of questions around these “plug-in-and-grow” systems. Will they raise consumers’ utility bills significantly? What happens if they break? Are they worth the cost if they can only grow leafy greens and not more substantial veggies, like carrots or broccoli?
Many more questions will sprout up as companies introduce new systems to the consumer market, and it’s ok that those questions won’t get answered immediately. The more important point here is that entrepreneurs and corporations both are testing new ways to make food cleaner, more local, and more in the consumer’s control. Right now, we need concepts as compact as an Aspera and as conceptual as GE’s Home Grown right now to help get us there.