On rooftops and community gardens, vacant lots and pocket parks, urban agriculture is booming across New York City. This movement is about more than growing food. It’s about growing community. And with our Five Borough Farm project, we’re working with farmers, community advocates, educators, public health experts, urban planners, and designers to help this movement grow.
As a small nonprofit, the Design Trust relies on your generosity to make the public spaces we share great. Your year-end gift supports projects like Five Borough Farm and strengthens our work to promote sustainable urbanism in New York City.
U.C.L.Eggs found-alley-sanded tempered-glass lettuce bed
We live next to a disgusting alley. It smells like feces, trash, and piss. There is smog everywhere and car exhaust sprays onto our plants. And worst of all, people do not understand the concept of ‘NO DUMPING.’ Our humble concrete slab-farm is often surrounded by various forms of ‘crack clutter.’ This includes dirty stuffed animals, used heroin needles, wet text books and clothing, diapers and condoms, rusty auto parts, batteries, and of course, every conceivable type of furniture imaginable.
I’m not a big fan of ‘trash’ in the garden. I like to keep things sanitary. I understand it’s edgier to use dumpster items to build an urban garden, but recycling and dumpster diving are two very different things. So, obviously, we usually never find any of the stuff in the alley useful. But if you want to learn how to find use for trash in your life, you can watch this episode of Portlandia:
And then one day, some tempered glass which was sanded smoothly around the edges showed up in the alley. It was irony at its finest. The trash which normally polluted and cluttered the environment could actually co-exist with the lettuce and provide protection from harsh urban conditions.
The glass keeps the lettuce cool on hot days, and warm and dry during cold, marine-layered or rainy conditions. Keep in mind this lettuce was sprouted from seed and is thriving in this environment. The glass is easy to lift and handle (of course it’s glass so you can’t be stupid with it) and one can design their bed according to the size of the recycled/purchased tempered glass. So basically, if your mom is finally giving away that ugly, thick glass-top table, you too can have clean and happy lettuce on your shitty concrete slab. So take it from the Portlandia kids and go dive for some broken glass! (humor) No, but really, you can purchase it in bulk and figure it out. Happy lettucing from U.C.L.Eggs.
As fuel prices go up, the cost of shipping produce thousands of miles away rises accordingly. In the past few years, a number of companies have attempted to capitalize on the increasing hunger for locally produced food — we’ve seen rooftop farming startup BrightFarms and Brooklyn hydroponic farming startup Gotham Greens, just to a name a couple.
[Atlanta-based] PodPonics started in 2010 when founder Matt Liotta — a serial entrepreneur who has launched Internet, software, and telecom startups — noticed that demand significantly outstripped supply in the local food business. “[My work] in Internet, telecom, and agriculture is all pretty similar in that the goal was to find a mature industry and come up with a disruptive technology,” he says. “If you wanted to produce fresh produce at the point of consumption in a way that was economically viable, what would you have to invent to do it?”
Liotta decided to use recycled shipping containers as “grow pods,” which are outfitted with organic hydroponic nutrient solutions; computer-controlled environmental systems to regulate temperature, humidity, pH levels, and CO2; and lights that emit specific spectrums at different points in the day. The system provides the exact amount of water, lights, and nutrients that a crop requires—so there is no wasted energy (though the pods are still hooked up to the power grid). In a 320 square foot area, PodPonics can produce an acre’s worth of produce. The pods can be stacked on top of each other for more efficient use of space.
Welcome to Urban Agriculture week on Crisp Green! Every day this week, we’ll be bringing you the latest urban agriculture related news mixed with lots of good-to-know information and unique projects happening across the United States. Feel free to share your thoughts and links to your favorite urban agriculture resources, and don’t forget to tell us about the urban farming projects in your town!
[F]armbox:-n- a plot of soil enclosed by 100% recycled wood used for the purpose of growing food.
Adopt-A-Farmbox is a non-for-profit initiative that fosters urban agriculture, community building, and environmental stewardship in schools and community organizations throughout New York City. We design and build farmboxes made from recycled and reclaimed materials for the purpose of growing food. The farmboxes provide our partnering institutions with the opportunity to engage in urban agriculture, also serving as a conduit for personal growth and community engagement.
On rooftops and community gardens, vacant lots and pocket parks, urban agriculture is booming across New York City. This movement is about more than growing food. It’s about growing community. And with our Five Borough Farm project, we’re working with farmers, community advocates, educators, public health experts, urban planners, and designers to help this movement grow.
As a small nonprofit, the Design Trust relies on your generosity to make the public spaces we share great. Your year-end gift supports projects like Five Borough Farm and strengthens our work to promote sustainable urbanism in New York City.
U.C.L.Eggs found-alley-sanded tempered-glass lettuce bed
We live next to a disgusting alley. It smells like feces, trash, and piss. There is smog everywhere and car exhaust sprays onto our plants. And worst of all, people do not understand the concept of ‘NO DUMPING.’ Our humble concrete slab-farm is often surrounded by various forms of ‘crack clutter.’ This includes dirty stuffed animals, used heroin needles, wet text books and clothing, diapers and condoms, rusty auto parts, batteries, and of course, every conceivable type of furniture imaginable.
I’m not a big fan of ‘trash’ in the garden. I like to keep things sanitary. I understand it’s edgier to use dumpster items to build an urban garden, but recycling and dumpster diving are two very different things. So, obviously, we usually never find any of the stuff in the alley useful. But if you want to learn how to find use for trash in your life, you can watch this episode of Portlandia:
And then one day, some tempered glass which was sanded smoothly around the edges showed up in the alley. It was irony at its finest. The trash which normally polluted and cluttered the environment could actually co-exist with the lettuce and provide protection from harsh urban conditions.
The glass keeps the lettuce cool on hot days, and warm and dry during cold, marine-layered or rainy conditions. Keep in mind this lettuce was sprouted from seed and is thriving in this environment. The glass is easy to lift and handle (of course it’s glass so you can’t be stupid with it) and one can design their bed according to the size of the recycled/purchased tempered glass. So basically, if your mom is finally giving away that ugly, thick glass-top table, you too can have clean and happy lettuce on your shitty concrete slab. So take it from the Portlandia kids and go dive for some broken glass! (humor) No, but really, you can purchase it in bulk and figure it out. Happy lettucing from U.C.L.Eggs.
Big thanks to everyone who came by our booth at Maker Faire! And yay for all our new followers on tumblr!
As fuel prices go up, the cost of shipping produce thousands of miles away rises accordingly. In the past few years, a number of companies have attempted to capitalize on the increasing hunger for locally produced food — we’ve seen rooftop farming startup BrightFarms and Brooklyn hydroponic farming startup Gotham Greens, just to a name a couple.
[Atlanta-based] PodPonics started in 2010 when founder Matt Liotta — a serial entrepreneur who has launched Internet, software, and telecom startups — noticed that demand significantly outstripped supply in the local food business. “[My work] in Internet, telecom, and agriculture is all pretty similar in that the goal was to find a mature industry and come up with a disruptive technology,” he says. “If you wanted to produce fresh produce at the point of consumption in a way that was economically viable, what would you have to invent to do it?”
Liotta decided to use recycled shipping containers as “grow pods,” which are outfitted with organic hydroponic nutrient solutions; computer-controlled environmental systems to regulate temperature, humidity, pH levels, and CO2; and lights that emit specific spectrums at different points in the day. The system provides the exact amount of water, lights, and nutrients that a crop requires—so there is no wasted energy (though the pods are still hooked up to the power grid). In a 320 square foot area, PodPonics can produce an acre’s worth of produce. The pods can be stacked on top of each other for more efficient use of space.
Welcome to Urban Agriculture week on Crisp Green! Every day this week, we’ll be bringing you the latest urban agriculture related news mixed with lots of good-to-know information and unique projects happening across the United States. Feel free to share your thoughts and links to your favorite urban agriculture resources, and don’t forget to tell us about the urban farming projects in your town!
[F]armbox:-n- a plot of soil enclosed by 100% recycled wood used for the purpose of growing food.
Adopt-A-Farmbox is a non-for-profit initiative that fosters urban agriculture, community building, and environmental stewardship in schools and community organizations throughout New York City. We design and build farmboxes made from recycled and reclaimed materials for the purpose of growing food. The farmboxes provide our partnering institutions with the opportunity to engage in urban agriculture, also serving as a conduit for personal growth and community engagement.
A collection of infographics, research material, art and spontaneous thoughts related to urban agriculture, sustainability and the Vertical Theory project.:
Vertical Farms: A Sustainable Approach to Urban Agriculture
To see all photos taken during the research, design and build phase of this project check out my flickr set.
Abstract
The goal of this project is to design vertical farming systems to promote agriculture in urban environments. As the availability of food, water and energy resources becomes scarcer in an age of detrimental climate change, it will become paramount for food resources to be produced locally and for individuals, families and communities to become self-sufficient in regards to food, waste and energy. As oil prices increase, air quality declines and the global food supply diminishes, alternative methods of farming will be essential to urban living. Indoor vertical gardens and farms utilize minimal space compared to traditional farming, efficiently using space while simultaneously improving air quality, providing insulation to structures, and supplying fresh foods.
An ideal urban vertical farm system will address the food needs of individuals, families or small communities. Vertical farms can be either a collection of plants grown horizontally in a vertical system or a literally vertical vegetated wall surface. Rain collection systems that impart water directly to soil or plants will be tested in order to minimize consumption and maximize efficiency of water and energy use during the growing process. Plants will ideally rely on passive sunlight but other lighting options will also be explored. The system may also include elements to address home waste and grey water serving a dual function of food supply and waste filtration.
A verifiable and functional system could provide a long-term solution for individual users to increasing food prices and decreasing usable farmland. This project addresses larger global sustainability needs by creating a solution that is implemented on a small scale.
Traditional farmlands are in a state of constant destruction and failure due to droughts, floods, pests and other detrimental elements created by global climate change. As the global population rapidly approaches 10 billion people there will no longer be sufficient farmland to supply food to all individuals. The United Nations reports that in 1970 there was one acre of farmland per person, this decreased to one-half acre in 2000 and is estimated to reach one-third acre by the year 2050. Seventy percent of globally available fresh water is currently used for irrigation, rendering it useless for drinking once contaminated by fertilizers, pesticides or one of the myriad of potentially hazardous chemicals used on industrial crops.
Urban farming addresses the ever increasing need of local and affordable foods by bringing food production to the individual, family or community. In recent years there has been a rise in demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables and an increase in urban farming programs including community gardens. Progress towards a new paradigm in agriculture is occurring but requires additional education, systems research and implementation. This project is intended to serve as an additional stepping stone in the process of shifting from large scale industrial agriculture to smaller-scale local urban farming. As farming moves from traditional farmlands to urban areas, farmlands that have been damaged by monoculture, harsh chemicals and overuse will be revitalized and returned to a more natural ecological state. In order to protect the diminishing available fresh water, rain water capture and recapture of water within the structure could be utilized for indoor farming systems. Additionally, vertical farms will reduce the production of greenhouse gas emission by limiting energy consumption for growing and shipping.
Urban vertical farms could be grown in the homes, at schools or in restaurants – offering fresh fruits and vegetables for immediate consumption and cooking. Modern life has led to a rampant increase in obesity and related health problems such as diabetes. Vertical farms could provide local, fresh, unprocessed foods to a larger under-served population such as those living in low-income communities. Fresh, organic foods are often costly and not accessible to these communities. Accessibility to full service grocery stores is often diminished in low-income communities forcing families to turn to low-quality processed foods offered in convenience stores and fast food restaurants.
Indoor vertical gardens will also provide improved air quality and serve as thermal barriers/insulators. Because indoor vertical farms will rely on passive sunlight they will be visible to both the inhabitants and the outside world, creating a beautification of urban environments. The perceived advantages of a vertically oriented system include an efficient use of space, gravity as a function of watering plants in a hydroponic system, and maximum accessibility to passive sunlight through windows (able to use entirety of window). Aesthetic qualities are also an important consideration. There is a perceived innate value in plant life that tends to provide an aspect of beauty, but the system itself can greatly diminish or accentuate that beauty depending on arrangement of components, materials used and technologies in place.
![unconsumption:
Via gardensinunexpectedplaces:
Via contained:
Localize It: PodPonics Grows High-Tech Organic Produce In Shipping Containers — Fast Company
As fuel prices go up, the cost of shipping produce thousands of miles away rises accordingly. In the past few years, a number of companies have attempted to capitalize on the increasing hunger for locally produced food — we’ve seen rooftop farming startup BrightFarms and Brooklyn hydroponic farming startup Gotham Greens, just to a name a couple.
[Atlanta-based] PodPonics started in 2010 when founder Matt Liotta — a serial entrepreneur who has launched Internet, software, and telecom startups — noticed that demand significantly outstripped supply in the local food business. “[My work] in Internet, telecom, and agriculture is all pretty similar in that the goal was to find a mature industry and come up with a disruptive technology,” he says. “If you wanted to produce fresh produce at the point of consumption in a way that was economically viable, what would you have to invent to do it?”
Liotta decided to use recycled shipping containers as “grow pods,” which are outfitted with organic hydroponic nutrient solutions; computer-controlled environmental systems to regulate temperature, humidity, pH levels, and CO2; and lights that emit specific spectrums at different points in the day. The system provides the exact amount of water, lights, and nutrients that a crop requires—so there is no wasted energy (though the pods are still hooked up to the power grid). In a 320 square foot area, PodPonics can produce an acre’s worth of produce. The pods can be stacked on top of each other for more efficient use of space.
Full story: Fast Company. Photo via PodPonics.
See also: Earlier Unconsumption posts on repurposed shipping containers (here) and urban farming (here).](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpe586aScJ1qdzdaso1_r1_500.jpg)
