Manchester turns a disused building into a vertical farm

[n2doc]

BY SARAH LASKOW
27 JUL 2011 11:58 AM

We know that some people don't think much of the idea of urban farming, in part because it takes up space that could otherwise be used to house people more densely. But what if an urban farm was a) vertical and b) using an otherwise abandoned space?

That's the plan for Alpha Farm, to be built in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester, England. It's going to be constructed in a "fairly generic disused office building," according to the team behind the project, and grow vegetables using aeroponics (which involves spraying roots with nutrient-rich mist), hydroponics (you know how that one works), and aquaponics (basically, hydroponics, except a tank of fish is attached to the system and nutrients come from fish, uh, "activity," as the Alpha Farm team puts it).

http://www.grist.org/list/2011-07-27-manchester-turns-a-disused-building-into-a-vertical-farm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/jul/26/vertical-farm-manchester-withenshawe-urbed-dickson-despommier-columbia-university

[drm604]

1. I like the idea of vertical urban farming.

You have almost total control of the growing environment, you can keep the use of pesticides to a minimum or maybe eliminate them altogether, you can recycle nearly everything, and you save a lot of fuel by growing food near the consumers.

Modern farming is hard on the environment. If we could let farmland return to nature it would cut back on water pollution, and the land could become forest and absorb more carbon.

I don't understand the objections to the idea.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Some people start up about that little thing with the

magic beans, a cow and a giant. I think they blow the whole thing out of proportion. Seriously, this is one of the best ideas I have heard in a good while.

[txlibdem]

3. I think the looming fresh water crisis is the most compelling reason for vertical farms

Growing plants in a greenhouse with hydroponic or aeroponic farming uses only 5% of the water that the same crop grown in dirt. With fresh (drinkable and usable for farming) water predicted to be in short supply in the near future, it only makes sense to stop wasting water.

[hunter]

4. It's more difficult control insects in greenhouses than in the open.

My backyard is teaming with creatures that eat insect pests -- birds, spiders, lizards, ladybugs, etc. I haven't had to do anything proactive to control insects for many years. For example, I'll notice aphids on the roses and then, within a couple of days, flocks of little birds will have eaten them all. My only "control" is that I don't control much of anything, I just arrange things so everything stays in natural balance.

But inside, protected from predators, pests can multiply rapidly. Whiteflies and spider mites are especially difficult to control indoors.

[txlibdem]

5. Commercial greenhouses are not designed like that

They are designed to try to keep all insects out. In addition, a vertical farm would be like an office building that just happens to grow plants. Do you often see a plague of locusts descending on the Lawyers on the 17th floor? They darn well should but I've never heard of it happening.

We're talking about a 30 to 50 story building when these things are built full-size.

Greenhouses out in the countryside have a far lower incidence of pest problems than dirt farming in the same area. They almost never have to destroy a plant or use pesticides. Nothing is ever 100% perfect but compared to the 100% pesticide laden junk you get from factory farms it's a drop in the bucket. But they do have personnel on hand to inspect plants and remove and destroy any that are showing signs of illness or pests. That usually stops it in its tracks. That is why they almost never have to spray.

With dirt farming there are no doors, screen windows, walls and roofs to keep the insects away so they rely on regular spraying to keep crop losses to an acceptable minimum. And with dirt farming, 40% of what they grow will rot before it gets a chance to land on someone's dinner table. With Vertical Farms, they are right there in the city, no transportation, no warehouse, no distributor, no 18 wheeler trucks traveling 2000 miles, no container ships from South America. Whatever you need to grow you can adjust the environment so you can grow it right in the city.

[Confusious]

6. The problem is, there are to many people

For such a small area to feed. Regular farming takes a lot of land. You aren't going to get that kind of production in the area of a city with vertical farming.

Well, maybe if you made the whole city a vertical farm. But then where do the people go?

Oh, and I'm not against it, it's that we're not going to to be able to feed everyone with just vertical farming.

BTW, I've driven from Arizona to Michigan and from Alaska to Michigan. I've seen how much land is used for farming.