A group of Central Wyoming College (CWC) students have repurposed an 8-by-40-foot shipping container to successfully grow delicious vegetables and herbs without soil, sunshine and acres of space in a sustainable way, reports Cowboy State Daily.  These students are enrolled on a Regenerative Small-Scale Farming AAS degree. According to CWC, it is the first of its kind in Wyoming. 

“We’ve been fortunate to be able to bring this kind of technology to the area,” shares local food and agriculture instructor, Ethan Page. “I think this is one of two freight farms in the state, and the only one that’s kind of served, or has like an educational purpose,” he adds. 

BoomGrow can grow leafy greens, microgreens, edible flowers, herbs, and even mushrooms. From planting to harvest, it takes 35-38 days , which is faster than in open ground or a greenhouse.

At the same time, the growing process uses 95% less water, soil, and fuel than traditional methods.The modular vertical farm is a development of the Malaysian startup BoomGrow . It operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian country where the project was scaled up.

The farm was developed and assembled in Malaysia and delivered to Almaty, now the container is located on the territory of the Kazakh National Research Technical University named after K. I. Satpayev.

With sleeves rolled up and gloves on, young students at Redford Union Schools are growing leafy greens that show up later in the lunchroom as kids learn science, responsibility and even some healthy habits along the way.

Thanks to a new hydroponics program launched this year at both Hilbert and Beech elementary, the district's elementary STEAM classes are growing lettuce without soil – just water, light, curiosity and lots of smiles.

The project began in January with sixth graders planting the first crop of romaine lettuce. Since then, students in first through sixth grade have gotten involved in everything from monitoring the hydroponic system to harvesting.

“This project is about more than just growing food,” said Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule. “It’s about harnessing the power of technology to reduce our dependence on traditional, resource-demanding agricultural methods. Vertical farming technology can be used to address some of the biggest challenges we face, including food security, environmental responsibility, and sustainability.”

The Vertical Farm uses a repurposed shipping container with an enclosed, controlled environment for growing plants year-round. The 40-foot-by-8-foot (320 square feet) container is designed using a vertical hydroponic growing system with a recirculating nutrient solution and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system. The Vertical Farm unit will be able to grow 4,600 plants, production equivalent to 1-2 acres of field production, using 95% less water or approximately 5 gallons of water per day.

The Narra District Jail (NDJ) has launched the “Gulayan ng Pag-Asa” Livelihood Program, a hydroponics-based farming initiative aimed at providing persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) with skills in sustainable agriculture.

HOPE BEHIND BARS. A Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) officer teaches a person deprived of liberty (PDL) how to do hydroponics-based farming in Palawan in this undated photo. Narra District Jail acting warden, Senior Jail Officer 2 Marlon Lolong, on Thursday (May 1, 2025) emphasized the program's potential to aid in the rehabilitation of inmates. (Photo courtesy of JO3 Joefrie Anglo, IO-BJMP Mimaropa)

It began with financial support and training in hydroponic farming techniques, enabling inmates to cultivate lettuce seedlings within the facility.

Research by the University of Pretoria (UP) is helping South African producers find new ways to grow white button mushrooms sustainably – including a project aimed at growing white button mushrooms in repurposed shipping containers.

“Many people think of mushrooms as a luxury item, without realising that they are a superfood packed with nutrients and represent a good alternative to meat products,” says Prof Lise Korsten, who leads mushroom studies in the Plant Pathology Research Group of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS) and is co-director of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation / National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence in Food Security.

In an era where ESG commitments are under scrutiny and accusations of greenwashing abound, Latvia-based Carbon Less Future (CLF) offers companies a radical alternative: grow your trees where people can see them. Literally.

CLF's glazed-walled container farms cultivate up to 33,600 saplings per cycle using vertical farming technology, right on corporate premises, in public plazas, or near schools. For companies aiming to meet EU Taxonomy and ESG requirements, the system offers visibility, compliance, and credibility.

The high school biology curriculum has changed significantly from what Charles Cooper said he was taught roughly 15 years ago. 

“It was pretty much plants, matter and fossils,” Cooper, who is on the verge of finishing the Mastery Charter School’s teaching residency program, told TAPinto Camden. “We never even expanded or talked about growing, farming, or anything of that sort.“

Cooper said a new classroom within Mastery High School of Camden that includes a hydroponics lab, propagation racks for breeding specimens and vertical hydroponic farms for growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid will be his workspace in the 2025-26 school year and will expand on the ‘that sort.’

Shipping containers that provide communities in war zones or desolate places with fresh and sustainable vegetables. Bee hotels in urban areas that provide up to date information on the state of biodiversity. With a practical solution, the winning initiatives of the Wageningen Entrepreneurship Grant make a difference in two of the most pressing current societal issues: biodiversity loss and food insecurity. An award of €25,000 each supports these young Wageningen entrepreneurs in growing the impact of their innovation.

During a well-attended finale of the Wageningen Entrepreneurship Grant on 21 May 2025, six young WUR entrepreneurs presented their initiative to the public and a jury consisting of experts in investment and agrifood.

What’s happening inside a lab at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville offers a resilient alternative to food supply issues, while educating students at the same time. The hydroponics lab, located in Glenview Commons, is a shining example of how new measures can be implemented to meet the need for sustainable, local food production. The student-run facility which opened in 2019, serves as a living classroom where they can explore innovative farming methods and contribute to the future of agriculture.

Students at a Bronx middle school in Claremont Village are learning about sustainability, gardening and science through a new classroom lab that uses a hydroponic, or water based, system to grow their own healthy produce.

Students, teachers, administrators and elected officials celebrated the new, state-of-the-art lab at Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy (KAPPA) middle school with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a tour of the lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers the students have already started growing.

The Auburn University College of Agriculture has significantly expanded its Transformation Garden and FoodU program with the integration of an advanced container farming suite from indoor agriculture leader, AmplifiedAg. This expansion enhances Auburn’s 16-acre Transformation Garden research and education facility by incorporating cutting-edge vertical farming systems to support multidisciplinary agricultural education, research, and food production initiatives.

The newly installed container farm infrastructure comprises three AmplifiedAg container farms: one AmpVPS (Vertical Propagation System) unit, two NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) container farms optimized for leafy green production, and a fourth unit repurposed as a food-safe cold storage facility. This comprehensive setup enables students to engage in real-world vertical farming systems for both plant propagation and full-cycle crop production.

Fresh research from The University of Queensland (UQ) could help apartment dwellers enjoy a backyard garden in their own flat and a year-round harvest of fruit and vegetables.

UQ School of Architecture, Design and Planning PhD student Thi Thanh Nhan An is bridging the gap between architecture and agriculture with prototype garden systems that integrate urban farming and apartment design.

Her prototype gardens are a greenhouse, a semi-greenhouse and a vertically integrated indoor farm designed to fit inside a city apartment or on a balcony.

Crucially, An’s project is already bearing fruit.

“I cannot forget the moment when I opened the door and smelt the basil and saw the colour of the purple radish or the green lettuce under the light,” said An, describing an early foray into her prototype greenhouse.

“Hopefully everyone in the city can have their own farming space in their living space in the future.”

Modoc High School AG students have officially completed their first harvest using a hydroponic tower installed in Mrs. Bickford’s (DeMoss) classroom. The tower was funded through a “Grants for Growing” project she applied for last fall.

“Luckily, they were awarded the grant to purchase the tower and supplies so that they could expose students to hydroponic systems and grow their own food beyond the Ag Dept. Greenhouse.”

At the start of the spring semester, horticulture students planted green leaf and romaine lettuce seeds into rockwool flats. “Being this was the first attempt with the tower, they only planted one tray of seeds so that they could understand how the tower and process fully works.” In photos, Josh Minto is seen watering the seeds, and Eliza Peña reads the seed packages to understand their growing requirements.

The students harvested nearly 50 pounds of fresh lettuce, grown inside the school using the Flex Farm hydroponic system from Fork Farms.  Winona Area Public Schools says this is the first set-up of its kind in the state and allows Winona students to grow close to 200 pounds of fresh lettuce each month for the school's salad bar in the cafeteria.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil and Winona Area Public Schools says it provides numerous benefits for student engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills by combining hands-on experimentation in real-world farming scenarios.  FFA Officer & Farm Manager, Miriam Jackson, and school's nutrition staff have been maintaining these Flex Farms learning valuable lifelong skills as they test pH levels, manage nutrient levels, and examine crop cycle management.

Brad Fourby is not your average Pittsburg, Kansas farmer.

While he’s harvested hundreds of heads of lettuce and produce on his farm, he rarely does so under the Kansas sun or on a John Deere tractor.

Instead, this native Californian turned Kansas farmer spends his time growing produce inside his 320 square-foot indoor hydroponic farm, Leafy Green Farms.

But what exactly is hydroponic farming?

In simple terms, hydroponic farming is the process of growing crops with water-based nutrients rather than soil. Instead of planting crops out in a field, hydroponic farming utilizes a controlled environment approach to agriculture, meaning the environment in which the crops are grown is managed to optimize growth and resources in a setting where variables like temperature, humidity, and light can be controlled.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recently embarked on an exciting journey with its new Fork Farms Flex Farm hydroponic grow tower. On January 13, 2025, the first lettuce seeds were planted, which were ready for transplanting into the tower by February 3. Throughout February, the seedlings grew into mature lettuce, and by March 3, the first harvest was ready! The freshly grown lettuce was served at the WI DPI School Nutrition Team’s monthly meeting and potluck—where it received rave reviews.

The hydroponic adventure didn’t stop there! The lettuce regenerated throughout March and on March 31, the Flex Farm was showcased at the Wisconsin State Capitol for a special Farm to School event. Visitors were invited to explore the grow tower and take home free lettuce and bean seed packets, branded with the Wisconsin Farm to School logo.

The farm, which officially launched Thursday, will operate out of a converted shipping container outside ISU’s Office of Sustainability on School Street. The 320-square-foot unit is equipped with hydroponic system and LED lighting to grow the equivalent of 1-2 acres of traditional field production with a fraction of the water required to grow up to 4,600 plants.

Taco Tuesdays at Illinois State University are about to get fresher as a new Vertical Farm prepares to grow cilantro for dining services.

Professor of Agriculture David Kopsell gives a tour of ISU's new Vertical Farm. The converted shipping container is expected to produce 50 pounds of cilantro per week for campus dining services.