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LATVIA: Safety of Food Grown In Urban Vertical Gardens
The project, called G(U)ARDEN, is a vertical garden experience set in Latvia aimed at exploring the safety of growing food in urban gardens.
26-10-2020 | Inhabitat
Interior architecture firm Annvil has brought together a team of urban planners, designers, environmentalists, and natural scientists to study the interaction between the urban environment and horticulture. The project, called G(U)ARDEN, is a vertical garden experience set in Latvia aimed at exploring the safety of growing food in urban gardens.
Urban agriculture has already been proven to reduce air pollution, collect and use runoff, increase productivity of space, and aid in urban cooling, but it is still lacking in substantial scientific research in the safety of these plants being used for food. The G(U)ARDEN project will measure the biochemical composition of vegetables and fruits grown in urban environments, especially in places with intense traffic and air pollution.
The primary urban vertical garden of this project is located in Riga, Latvia and is made up of local plants from the city’s horticulture centers and nurseries. Researchers chose to use endemic plants to inspire residents to grow and conserve locally as well as to encourage sustainable and effective urban environmental development discussions.
“Today we live in a digital world where everything is instantaneous. In answer to that, we want to stimulate people’s interest in real-life — interest in the physical world and in being close to nature,” said Anna Butele, author of project G(U)ARDEN and the founder of Annvil. “We can do that by creating even more green environments in the city — meeting places that bring together different groups of society. This way we can also bring attention to neglected environments in the city.”
The pilot program has started with the team studying the garden’s vegetable and fruit harvest in a scientific laboratory. Crops are measured for the presence of heavy metals, while the air and water is measured for the microbiological composition to help identify all possible risk factors associated with the impact of the urban environment on edible plants. The data obtained from the experiment will aid in continued projects to help create a series of urban gardens in Latvia’s largest cities next year.
Photography by Ingus Bajārs via Annvil
Source: Inhabitat
Dutch PlantLab Raises € 20 Million In First External Investment Round
’This injection of capital will enable us to open up additional production sites and further perfect our technology’, explains Michiel Peters, CEO of PlantLab
Production Sites For Vertical Farming Rolled Out On a Global Scale
Den Bosch (the Netherlands), 22 July 2020 – Dutch scale-up PlantLab has raised a first external investment of € 20 million from De Hoge Dennen Capital. The company has developed a globally patented technology for ‘vertical farming’, a hyper-efficient method for growing vegetables and fruits. It will use the injection of capital to open indoor production sites in various countries, including the Netherlands, US, and the Bahamas.
PlantLab management team: Leon van Duijn (founder), Marcel Kers (founder), Michiel Peters (CEO), John van Gemert (founder) and Frank Roerink (CFO)
Over the last 10 years, PlantLab has succeeded in developing an innovative and revolutionary technology for hyper-efficient urban farming, which is already being successfully applied in a commercial production site in Amsterdam. The new technology makes it possible to grow fresh, healthy, and delicious vegetables on a large scale very close to the consumer without using any chemical crop protection agents. On a surface area the size of only two football fields, it is now possible to produce enough crops to feed a city of 100,000 residents with 200 g of vegetables each on a daily basis.
Innovative solutions
’This injection of capital will enable us to open up additional production sites and further perfect our technology’, explains Michiel Peters, CEO of PlantLab. ‘The increasing population of the planet and the climate crisis are posing new and enormous challenges to the production of food for the world’s population. We have no choice but to grow our food more sustainably and efficiently, and that demands innovative and revolutionary solutions.’
Left: Michiel Peters, right: Plant Production Unit Manager Tobias Glimmerveen pinching tomato plants
PlantLab’s production sites can be set up anywhere in the world, even on barren land or urban areas. Thanks to optimized temperature, moisture, and light control, the crops grow to their full potential, while water use is reduced by as much as 95%. Light is provided by specially developed LEDs that provide the specific wavelength needed by the plant for photosynthesis. ‘Our technology makes it possible to grow crops anywhere in the world very close to the consumer. The crops then no longer need to be transported over long distances. The result: less CO2 emissions, lower cost, and less food waste’, says Peters.
Making a difference
De Hoge Dennen is part of the investment company founded by the De Rijcke family, the former owners of Kruidvat. The company has made previous investments in the online supermarket Picnic, the salad producer De Menken Keuken, and the electric bicycle brand QWIC. CFO Jelle Roodbeen: ‘We are convinced that PlantLab’s technology will make a real difference on a global level. It will make healthy and delicious vegetables affordable and accessible to everyone, in an environmentally friendly and sustainable fashion’.
In addition to the injection of capital by De Hoge Dennen, CFO Frank Roerink and CEO Michiel Peters are joining the scale-up company to strengthen the management team, which also includes the founding partners Leon van Duijn, Marcel Kers and John van Gemert. PlantLab has its vertical farming R&D centre, the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world, in Den Bosch, and a commercial production site in Amsterdam. PlantLab already employs over 60 people.
About PlantLab
PlantLab specializes in technology for innovative urban farming and aims to supply the planet with a sustainable source of food for the future. The company was founded in 2010 in Den Bosch with the goal of revolutionizing the production of food for our planet. Over the last 10 years, the company has already invested € 50 million in the development of technology that makes it possible to grow healthy, day fresh vegetables close to the consumer anywhere in the world without the use of chemical crop agents sustainably and environmentally friendly, while at the same time reducing water consumption to an absolute minimum. Enough crops can be grown on an area no bigger than two football fields to supply a city of 100,000 residents with 200 g of fresh vegetables every day. As the new technology can be used all year all over the world, it also makes it possible to radically rethink and restructure the logistics chain. The benefits: superior product quality, longer shelflife, much less food wastage, and no CO2 emissions or nuisance associated with long-distance transport. PlantLab aims to make its revolutionary technology accessible to everyone and therefore bring fresh and sustainably grown food within reach for everyone.
For more information:
PlantLab www.plantlab.com
info@plantlab.com
This Planter System Instantly Transforms Chain Link Fences Into Vertical Gardens
Kingston, New York, based designer, Bryan Meador released his latest product, the Sead Pod, an invention that uses recycled plastic to convert chain link fencing into lush vertical gardens in one easy step
Designer Plant Seads
Kingston, New York, based designer, Bryan Meador released his latest product, the Sead Pod, an invention that uses recycled plastic to convert chain link fencing into lush vertical gardens in one easy step. Sead Pods give people a quick and easy way to transform any urban space into a green haven while embracing a cyclical plastic economy that cleans our environment of single-use plastic waste.
Design Team
Bryan Meador
"The Sead Pod represents a new way of thinking about green design in an urban context," said Bryan Meador, Plant Seads' Founder and Chief Design Officer. "By reimagining existing architectural elements like chain link fencing as a tool in the fight against climate change, we're able to leap into the green movement immediately, fighting climate change at the grassroots level and making our cities cleaner, healthier, and more livable—right now."
Taking its name from the acronym 'Sustainable Ecology, Adaptive Design,' Plant Seads was founded as a reaction to the sluggish response of government and multinational companies to address the emergency of climate change. As a young, creative, and somewhat impatient person, Sead's founder Bryan Meador was frustrated by the lack of urgency surrounding this issue. " Our generation is the first to be born into Climate Change. This crisis is not hypothetical to us, and we're tired of waiting around for others to address this issue in a meaningful way."
Using 3d printing and rapid prototype development, the Sead Pod was designed, manufactured and released in less than 9 months. "We're inspired to take up this fight by young people like Greta Thunberg, who said, 'I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is,' That quote is printed large in our studio to serve as a daily reminder of what is at stake. Plant Seads is a brand with a mission; to create long term sustainable solutions for life in an environment that's changing more quickly than it ever has.
From those first drawings, we went through months of iterations to hone the design into its final form. We needed something that would be rigid enough to support the weight of a plant, along with the soil it needed, while hanging onto a fence. Something that could be manufactured at an industrial scale and look refined enough to fit in someone’s home. And most importantly, it had to be suitable for as many plants as possible.
"By harnessing the CO2 conversion that plants accomplish naturally, Sead Pods enable people to begin the larger process of CO2 sequestration at the grassroots level while governments and multinational companies figure out how to scale this process up to an industrial scale. Sead Pods also cool and clean the air we breathe by introducing more plants into our polluted urban spaces.
Sead Pods were conceived, designed, and manufactured in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley, eliminating the need for international shipping in its manufacturing supply chain.
True to its mission as a provider of grassroots solutions to a global problem, Plant Seads is funding its initial wide release of the Sead Pod through a Kickstarter campaign.
Process
Initial prototypes were 3D printed and sent out across the country for field testing, but the results were pretty poor. The basins in these initial prototypes were far too small to support something growing. Also, because there was so little space for soil, they dried out almost immediately, killing anything that managed to gain a foothold. Lastly, they looked great, but the hyper organic form was impossible to manufacture as one part, creating a prohibitively high cost for production. Our final planter accommodates more than 3 times as much soil as these first planters, allowing the soil to hold onto more water and roots to grow. They're also designed to be manufactured using injection molding, enabling a significantly lower price point and the capacity to fulfill large orders.
Materials were also a major concern. We worked with a local plastics manufacturer with decades of experience to determine what recycled material would be well suited for this project. It needed to be many things at once; durable enough to endure years of exposure to the elements, chemically stable enough to be safe even for someone wanting to grow food, and ideally it could be recycled again, re-entering and reinforcing the cyclical plastics economy. We decided that HDPE (high-density polyethylene) would be best. The material's excellent heat history (meaning that it can be heated up, molded, melted down and reformed again and again without losing structural integrity), non-toxic nature and easy recyclability were perfect for our needs.
To purchase your own Sead Pods, go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plantseads/sead-pods-shapeshift-plastic-waste-into-vertical-gardens or just Google 'Plant Seads Kickstarter'
You can also sign up for our newsletter at PlantSeads.com and follow us on Instagram at @PlantSeads
Learn More About This Project
Durban: Vertical Farming In The Spotlight
Vertical gardening is one way to cool a building and reduce the need for air conditioners, said passionate gardener Wendy Taylor, who designed a vertical garden for the eThekwini Municipality
14 SEPTEMBER 2019 / DUNCAN GUY
Bubbles add oxygen to a pond with tilapia at the vertical garden on display at 77 Monty Naicker Street. Picture: Duncan Guy
Durban - Air conditioning may cool a building, but it doesn’t stop the ice melting in the world’s polar regions; it just contributes to it.
Vertical gardening is one way to cool a building and reduce the need for air conditioners, said passionate gardener Wendy Taylor, who designed a vertical garden for the eThekwini Municipality.
It’s in a building opposite the International Convention Centre where vertical gardening and other urban agriculture practitioners will brainstorm at the coming Urban Agri World 2019 conference.
In spite of China having the heaviest carbon footprint of all countries, Taylor was impressed with its vertical gardens on a recent visit there.
“There are many of them in all the main cities in China. Some are for to grow food, others are for beautiful plants. They adorn the streets,” she said.
Taylor said poor urban areas of Brazil lead the way when it came to vertical gardening for food. “There is not much land, people are poor and there is community farming.”
The garden Taylor designed and landscaping technologist Amy Gwillam implemented, receives drip irrigation from the top of the wall and the water drains into a pond, which is stocked with tilapia, and pumped back up. “It was intended for vegetables, but the condition wasn’t right; there wasn’t enough sun.”
Eventually, indoor plants that could take the shade and handle lots of water were found to be best suited.
Taylor said that while vertical gardens were becoming more trendy all over the world, she did not expect them to take-off in South Africa unless legislation required them.
“A disadvantage is that they require high maintenance. One must ensure irrigation systems never block up.”
The conference, from September 17 to 19, will discuss the key issues pertaining to progressive farming developments for the indoor and vertical farming industry. There will be an emphasis on food production.
“Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050,” read a conference document.
“United Nations projections show that urbanization. combined with the overall growth of the world’s population. could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050, with close to 90% of this increase taking place in Asia and Africa.
“To feed another 2 billion people in 2050, food production will need to increase by 50% globally. The challenge of growing enough healthy food for growing cities is enormous.
“At the same time, the stresses of climate change, and the declining availability of arable land and freshwater are challenging conventional agriculture as never before.”
The vertical garden and rooftop garden are at 77 Monty Naicker (Pine) Street.
They are open to the public from 7.30am to 3.30pm on Mondays to Fridays.
Groups of more than 10 should call 0313228280 in advance.
South Jakarta Residents Turn Urban Spaces Into Vegetable Gardens
Residents of Pengadegan sub district in Pancoran, South Jakarta, have been running a successful urban farming program using hydroponics.
Jakarta / January 16, 2019
Residents of Pengadegan in South Jakarta prepare the walls along an alley in their neighborhood to start a vertical garden. (Via wartakota.tribunnews.com/Istimewa)
Residents of Pengadegan subdistrict in Pancoran, South Jakarta, have been running a successful urban farming program using hydroponics. On Tuesday, they started transferring the plants to a soil medium.
Pengadegan subdistrict head Mursid said that transplanting would start in the RW 05 community unit, as it had several open spaces.
“RW 05 fits the characteristics of the space required to grow plants in soil,” he said as reported by wartakota.tribunnews.com.
He added that growing plants in soil was more efficient, easier and cheaper, and that the results would be as satisfying as hydroponically grown plants.
The urban farming program was initiated at the Pengadegan subdistrict office to provide a model for residents to copy in their neighborhoods, said Mursid.
“We’re planting different kinds of vegetables like water spinach and Chinese mustard. They’re useful for people,” he said.
Earlier, urban farming groups in Kebayoran Lama Selatan subdistrict had harvested 150 kilograms of vegetables from their gardens, located in the dense neighborhoods near Tanah Kusir Cemetery. (vla)
Why Hydroponics Are The Hottest Thing In Vertical Gardening
Some say that hydroponic gardening is the future of gardening and farming. Save space and increase your crop yield by learning how to build a hydroponic garden yourself.
By Michelle Ullman
Why Hydroponics Are The Hottest Thing In Vertical Gardening
Some say that hydroponic gardening is the future of gardening and farming. Save space and increase your crop yield by learning how to build a hydroponic garden yourself.
Ditch the dirt and try hydroponic gardening, or the growing of plants without soil. There are two methods of hydroponic gardening: Either roots are submerged directly in nutrient-enriched water, or the plant is grown in a container filled with a soilless mixture of perlite, sand, and/or coconut fiber. This container is then submerged into or suspended above a water-filled reservoir. While just about any type of plant can be grown hydroponically, the technique is most often used for growing vegetables or herbs. Benefits of hydroponics include larger harvests, faster growth, and less trouble with pests, disease, or outdoor growing conditions.
If you’d like to try this soilless method of gardening, you can purchase one of the many hydroponic kits for home use or create one yourself. Here are the basics of hydroponic gardening.
Types of Hydroponic Water Systems
There are three basic types of hydroponic grow systems. The simplest type of hydroponic garden is a wick system. In this very basic hydroponic water system, a wick connects the planting container and the water reservoir, providing a steady source of nutrient-rich water to the plants’ roots. This is an easy system to DIY but is only suitable for small plants such as microgreens or herbs.
Learn more about growing microgreens.
Flood and drain hydroponic systems require a submersible pump but are still fairly simple to create. The plant containers sit in a shallow tray or grow tube suspended over a reservoir filled with hydroponic nutrients. Periodically, the tray is flooded with water from the reservoir, thus allowing the plants to soak in nutrients through the drain holes in the bottoms of the containers. After a set period, the water drains back into the reservoir. This prevents root rot caused by excessive moisture. Usually, the system floods and drains two to four times each day.
In a water culture hydroponic system, the plants’ roots are continuously in the nutrient-rich water of the hydroponic tank. Planted containers float on a “raft” in the reservoir or are suspended directly overhead so the roots extend down into the water. A small bubbler—such as those used in fish tanks—aerates the water and prevents it from becoming stagnant. This is one of the easiest DIY hydroponic grow systems and works well for lettuce, herbs, and other lightweight crops.
Caring for Your Hydroponic Garden
Once you’ve set up your hydroponic kit or built your own grow system, installed your lights, and planted your crops, it’s time for basic maintenance.
Add hydroponic nutrients to the water reservoir, following the directions on your particular brand. There are many available in both liquid and powder form.
Fill the water reservoir with filtered—not tap—water. Tap water often contains fluoride and other elements that might harm your plants.
The ideal water temperature for your hydroponic garden is 65 to 75 degrees F, with a pH level between 5.7 and 6.3.
Keep the water moving in the reservoir with a bubbler or pump to prevent stagnant water and bacterial growth.
Empty, clean, and refill your hydroponic nutrient reservoir every two weeks.
Clean the entire hydroponic system after harvesting crops.
Choosing Your Crops for Hydroponic Gardening
If you’re a newbie to the world of hydroponic gardening or only have enough space for a very small system, it’s best to start with the plants that are easiest to grow in this method. As a general rule, plants with shallow root systems do very well in hydroponic grow systems. Consider a hydroponic herb garden of dill, basil, oregano, cilantro, and/or parsley. Leafy greens are also great choices: lettuce of all types, kale, chard, watercress, and spinach are all healthy, tasty, and easy to grow.
If you have a large growing area or want to experiment with slightly larger and more challenging crops, consider tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, celery, or bok choy.
Using Grow Lights
As hydroponic systems are usually indoors, one of the most basic requirements is light. For almost all hydroponic gardeners, grow lights are necessary for maintaining a healthy garden.
There are several different types of bulbs used as hydroponic grow lights, but for the beginner with a relatively small budget, fluorescent tubes are a great choice. For a large garden, you’ll want full-length fluorescent grow lights in the 6500K range. For smaller gardens, however, or if you aim to save money, compact fluorescent bulbs provide lots of light and are easy to use. You’ll need to direct the light towards your hydroponic seedlings with a plastic or metal grow light reflector or shield.
Serious hydroponic gardeners with large setups and big budgets typically choose LED grow lights or high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, but these are considerably more expensive than fluorescent bulbs.
As a general rule, your grow lights should be on for 15 to 20 hours each day.
A Recent Study In Senior Living Communities Learned What Residents Miss The Most From Their Own homes.
Number One Is Their Music, Number Two Is Gardening.
Sustainable Sales offers Vertical Gardening Systems that are perfect for senior facilities.
For an older adult who feels as though they’ve lost their purpose, gardening delivers a sense of meaning and accomplishment. It gives them a piece of home and familiarity. It makes them proud to see that something they created is being used.
Gardening improves relaxation in people with dementia, provides an opportunity for physical activity and reduces social isolation.
Vertical Gardening Systems:
Can be indoor or outdoor
Can be used with The Garden Soxx®, which are biodegradable nylon, lled with compost. Soxx can come planted with ower, vegetable, fruit or herb seeds.
Has an in-line drip irrigation system to water the plants
Offers a solar cell option to power the unit so it is not dependable on electricity
Are ADA compliant
For more information, contact
Barb Wehmer
(217) 653-2513
barb3wehmer@gmail.com
Vertical Gardening Systems