Vertical Farming Protecting, Complementing and diversifying your farming experience with controlled environmental agriculture – Charlie Guy – Lettus Grow

As reported by the John Innes Centre in July 2020 are we going to grow crops in space or give crops space to grow? This reference was made to the innovative way of producing food in Vertical Farms.

You may well have heard of Vertical Farming, but what do you know about growing crops using only 5% of the usual water requirement and no soil?  It is said that by 2050 that the world population could be 9 billion and these people will have to be fed from fewer acres in more challenging environmental conditions using less resources – how can this be achieved?

Charlie Guy co-founder of Bristol based innovative company Lettus Grow believes his business may have some of the answers. Founded in 2015 the company has been working with a number of partners to grow high value crops such as salads, pak choi, herbs, small brassica crops, pea shoots and bean shoots in an urban environment. The green benefits include better use of space, fewer food miles, isolation from pathogens, reduction in soil degradation and nutrient and water recapturing and recycling. Powered by a sophisticated computer system LED lighting can be used to attain day night cycles when energy tariff rates are at their cheapest. Each bed can be fed and watered to precise requirements which allows product consistency and price stabilisation.

Vertical systems also allow us to extend the latitude at which crops can be grown from the deserts of Dubai to the arctic. “In fact if you were growing crops on Mars you would need this sort of technology because there is no soil” says Dr Antony Dodd from the John Innes Centre.

Researchers at the JIC have bred a line of Broccoli adapted to growing indoors for a major supermarket and one of the aims of research will be to test how we can genetically tune more crops to grow in the controlled space of vertical farms. LettUs Grow are already working on growth regimens for fruiting and rooting crops such as strawberries and carrots as well as aeroponic propagation of trees for both fruit and forestry.

If you have an interest in how your food may be produced in the future do join us for an exciting evening of thought provoking comment and discussion.