LettUs Grow Delivers First of It's Vertical Farms In A Shipping Container

21st December 2022

The first Drop and Grow aeroponic container farms have been rolled out to a client by Bristol-based vertical farming company Lettus Grow and Walsall-based shipping containers business S Jones Containers, after a government grant helped them develop the innovation.

The two Drop and Grow aeroponic container farms have been delivered to a client that supplies restaurants and supermarkets with fresh vegetables.

The two 40 foot high cube containers have been converted into aeroponic farms with insulation, plumbing and electrical work.

The units allow growers to produce fresh produce indoors with a smaller footprint than traditional farming methods, while reducing their water consumption and negating the need for pesticides.

In June, Lettus Grow was one of 20 projects to share £8 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation, as part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme.

The firm secured £347,550 to develop the aeroponic farm innovation.

Ethan Pang, delivery manager at LettUs Grow, said: “The Drop and Grow containers are great because they can be built off site and then shipped to customers relatively easily. Once they arrive they only need to be connected to power, water, drainage and internet, enabling customers to get up and running with indoor farming operations relatively quickly.

“We approached S Jones as we were looking for a partner to convert the containers to lab-like conditions for indoor farming, we also needed a partner with a high enough capacity to fulfil our pipeline of orders over the coming years.

“We were impressed by the facilities and experience for container conversions at S Jones, and we quickly got an appreciation for the value that S Jones could add to our products through the expertise gained from working with shipping containers day-in and day-out.

“I found the conversions team very easy to work with, and they have been incredibly accommodating to changes in the design over the course of the project. Their wealth of experience and expertise when it comes to container conversions has been evident, and resulted in many improvements to our initial designs for our shipping container farms.”

Andrew Capella, Conversions General Manager at S Jones Containers, added: “Containers make a great starting point for a project such as an indoor farm. They are robust, durable, and can be readily modified to include all the equipment needed to make them fit for agricultural purposes.

“In addition to that, a converted container offers a ‘plug in and play’ solution that can be transported wherever the customer needs it. This is ideal for urban farming applications.

“We built a great relationship with the team at LettUs Grow, and this helped us really understand their objectives and requirements for the new container farms.

“Working collaboratively and using the expertise from our knowledgeable team has resulted in a great finish for both the containers and we’re sure that customers of LettUs Grow will appreciate the attention to detail that’s gone into their units.

“We’re looking forward to working with LettUs Grow again.”