Rooftop Hydroponic Greenhouse
Imagine going to the supermarket and purchasing lettuce that was grown less than a mile away. Imagine if that lettuce was grown upstairs? Imagine how fresh that lettuce would be! New York based company BrightFarms LLC, a rooftop hydroponic greenhouse building company, aims to make those imaginings a reality.
The company is pitching their services to supermarket chains, hoping to convert vacant market rooftops into farm production. BrightFarms would handle the labor and farming expense, including greenhouse design, construction, planting, and harvest while supermarket partners would sign a 10-year contract agreeing to purchase the produce grown on their rooftops.
Because of the proximity of produce production to the place of purchase, crops will be chosen based upon taste and nutrient content rather than the ability to withstand travel across the country. BrightFarms plans to grow salad greens, herbs, and vine crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. The company’s hydroponic and greenhouse methods mean that plants will be grown year-round. Additionally these methods ensure less water, energy, and space usage than industrial agricultural systems.
Though the first greenhouses won’t be in production until 2012, BrightFarms has consulted on a demonstration greenhouse at Whole Foods.
Edible Manhattan via GOOD
This entry was posted by in Sustainable, To Design and tagged agriculture, Bright Farms, farm, food, greenhouse, grocery, harvest, herbs, hydroponics, produce, production, rooftop, urban garden.