Living the green life
How Vertical Urban Farms Could Save Your Community
Easy to install, cheap to run and clever on space: vertical urban farms could be the solution we’re looking for.
We worked with urban farmer Christian Lindfors to set up a micro-farm at Liberty Station, and the result was both eye-catching and productive.
We worked with urban farmer Christian Lindfors to set up a micro-farm at Liberty Station, and the result was both eye-catching and productive.
At GrowUp we believe in growing food close to where it’s consumed, and that the production of food can be beautiful too. Fortunately, the folks at Liberty Station Market feel the same way and enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity for GrowUp and Christian Lindfors, an urban farmer, to work together.
THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES WERE:
- -To be visually appealing to the thousands of people that visit the market and take photos under the sign on a daily basis
- -To grow herbs and vegetables for sale to local restaurants
- -To showcase various living wall applications
As can be seen in the attached images, all three of these objectives were achieved, with many people commenting not only on the simplicity of the design, but also on the lush and eye-catching results.
The wall is currently planted with arugula, mint, decorative plants and succulents, and the system is flexible enough so that these very different plants don’t compete with each other for space, nutrients or soil. Instead, they become a perfectly in sync micro-environment.
The wall was built with a freestanding wooden frame, and the GrowUp rails (that connect the pots to the frame) were connected on Day One. Instead of using GrowUp’s water recycling system, the automated watering cycle used the run-off water to water the mint growing in the beds below.
The plants were planted into the GrowUp Grow Bags and hung on the wall on Day Two. The individual pots and bags makes it really easy to swap out plants if necessary (if some plants wither or look unattractive) and also allows for great flexibility of design for a decorative green wall. The watering of the wall is automated, meaning that Christian can limit his visits to the site, knowing that the plants are getting as much water as required without manual intervention.
As part of the small urban farm at Liberty Public Market, the GrowUp vertical system has added 171 sq ft of growing space without using any additional land. This efficiency of space and ease of watering is helping Christian to farm more profitably.
