Britain’s first vertical farm opens in Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon, has launched Europe's first commercial vertical farm, and the world's first vertical farm within a zoo.

The VertiCrop garden, which was developed for use in urban environments where farm land is in short supply, uses hydroponic and aeroponic technologies to sustainably grow crops such as lettuce, herbs, wheat grass and barley without the use of soil or pesticides.

The zoo will use the garden to provide fresh crops for its animals, and help cut down on the need for food deliveries to the zoo.

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Pictures from the Taunton Flower Show

Pictures from the BBC site on the Taunton Flower Show that runs from Friday, Aug 7th to Saturday, Aug 8th. Click on link to BBC Pictures>

Plant scientists reach for the skies with London rooftop experiments

Imperial College London news release

A futuristic £1 million rooftop 'greenhouse' which will enable central London scientists to grow large quantities of plants for experiments ranging from developing new sources of biofuels to helping sequence the tomato genome, has been built on top of a five storey building at Imperial College London.

The new Imperial GroDome is the only rooftop facility of its kind in London. It provides Imperial's plant scientists with over 200 square metres of temperature and light controlled growing space for a variety of plant species, allowing them to carry out large-scale plant experiments in an urban location for the first time.

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Columbia Road Flower Market

The best thing to do in London on a Sunday morning, BY FAR. Flowers, flowers and more flowers, food, fun and frolics. The stalls open early and finish by one-ish. Trust us, just go.