Windowfarms Raises $257K through Kickstarter Campaign

With 1,577 backers, Windowfarms was able to raise $257,307 through its Kickstarter campaign for a vertical food garden system.

The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Science : Off season musk, water melon production a possibility: NAU

The Navsari Agriculture University (NAU) in Gujarat has successfully proven the successful cultivation of musk and water melon in greenhouses using vertical farming techniques during the monsoon seasons, which happens to be an off season for the horticulture crops.

 Link to full article: The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Science : Off season musk, water melon production a possibility: NAU

Dubai Forum Presents VertiCrop Vertical Farming System

Cornwall, U.K. (Marketwire --January 8, 2009) -- Valcent Products (OTCBB: VCTZF) presented the VertiCropTM vertical farming system at The Dubai forum: "Architecture for Sustainable Societies" on January 5th 2010.

Recognizing their initiatives in demonstrating the practical benefits of vertical farming and its leading role in the development of this technology in supporting sustainable agriculture and food security on a global basis, Valcent was invited by The Dubai Forum, sponsored by Brand Dubai, to speak at their inaugural workshop, entitled "Architecture for Sustainable Societies" which marked the opening of the Burj Dubai (Burj Kahlifa), the world's tallest building.

The event hosted over 40 speakers, panelists, and more than 400 delegates from 15 countries.

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BBC Video: Scientists try to boost crop yield

Pallab Ghosh visited East Malling Research in Kent to investigate how they are looking for ways to boost crop production through breeding, water conservation and vertical farming techniques. Watch the video at the BBC Site>

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.

Read more>

Vertical Landscapes: The only way is up for green cities

By Darren Quick

Demand for office and housing space in ever diminishing land space has led to taller and taller buildings reaching for the skies in cities around the world. This shortage of land in many cities has unfortunately also led to a scarcity of natural vegetation in urban settings. We’ve looked at several vertical-farming concepts - dedicated buildings that provide space to grow crops in city centers - but a new architectural system from Vertical Landscapes (VL) seeks to invite nature back into our cities on a broader scale. The architectural system transforms buildings into columns of vegetation to add a much needed touch of green, help clean the city air and possibly even produce small scale crops, all while retaining the building’s usual use for office or housing space.

Vertical Landscape’s Vertical Ecosystem Structure (VES) is a freestanding structure that takes the form of a critical architectural component, a load-bearing, shear, utility wall. When incorporated into a larger structure it will both absorb the building’s loads and create conditions for vegetation to prosper. The VES contains all the irrigation and drainage piping and mechanical systems required, which can be customized to meet the needs of different types of vegetation and allow plants to be micromanaged to provide the optimum growing environment.

Davao NGO pushes ‘vertical farming’ to increase production

DAVAO CITY — An agricultural group here is pushing "vertical farming" to enhance food security in conflict-affected areas. Bahay Kubo Foundation head Jose Pepito M. Cunanan said his group has taught such communities "vertical farming," which makes use of trees like acacia, cacao, and talisay in place of trellises, saving on cost and land, since the grower needs only a two-square meter space surrounding the tree. "You just use rope, preferably abaca fiber, and tie it to the branches for the vegetable climbers."

Source: http://www.bworldonline.com

Floating farm is the wave of the future

The first time I heard the term "urban farming," I thought it was one of those humorous oxymorons, like "military intelligence" or "jumbo shrimp." I grew up in rural America, the grandson of farmers, and the idea of fields of corn growing through concrete sidewalks, next to huge skyscrapers, seemed wacky. Turns out it's not. There are for-profit organizations out there creating urban farms on 10,000-square-foot New York City parcels - without soil. Supporters say growing food in water, called hydroponics, is the future and can provide healthier diets for city dwellers without having to truck food long distances. Read more>

Crops kept in suspense

Rochdale Rotary Club is working with the Council's Environment Department to grow crops vertically, suspended above the ground. They claim the feat, which uses growbags specially designed by the Rotary Club, is the only project of its kind in the UK and a declaration to this effect was signed by the District Governor and the Council on Saturday (18 July). A spokesperson for the club said: "The advantage of growing vertically is obvious, where urban land is at a premium it makes sense to grow plants on top of one-another, something similar to high rise apartments in city centres." Read more>

Valcent Re-Engages Vorticom for Public Relations Program to Highlight Company's Green Initiatives | SYS-CON MEDIA

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/23/09 -- Valcent Products Inc. (the "Company", or "Valcent") (OTCBB: VCTZF) www.valcent.net, is pleased to announce that Vorticom, Inc., www.vorticom.com, is re-engaged to publicize the company's VertiCrop(TM), Tomorrow Garden(TM) and Vertical Algae Technology (VAT) initiatives. In 2008, Vorticom's media relations campaign for Valcent was featured as an outstanding campaign in PRWeek, the industry bible for the PR industry (http://www.vorticom.com/pdfs/V%20Final%20Eprint.pdf).
"Valcent continues to raise the bar in the green technology sector with dramatic advances in vertical farming and eco-sustainable energy initiatives," said Nancy Tamosaitis-Thompson, president, Vorticom, Inc., an award-winning New York based boutique public relations agency. "We are honored to continue our work for Valcent and look forward to another 'green' media banner year." Read more> Valcent Re-Engages Vorticom for Public Relations Program to Highlight Company's Green Initiatives SYS-CON MEDIA

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Urban farm to have launch - News - Rochdale Observer

THE OFFICIAL launch of an innovative urban farm will take place this weekend.

The Rotary Club of Rochdale and Rochdale Council has developed what is believed to be the 'ultimate and first' urban farm in the country.

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Urban farm to have launch - News - Rochdale Observer
Source: rochdaleobserver.co.uk




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Video of Project Hypergreen

tour vivante vertical farm living tower www.eco-tower.fr

Videon: Vertical Farming - Valcent Products

This video dicussess Valcent's vertical farming initiatives featuring an interview with Glen Kertz, President & CEO. More video at: www.blog.valcent.net

CNN : Eco Solutions : Vertical farming

Professor Dickson Despommier suggests vertical farming may be the solution to many of today's environmental problems.

Vertical Farming, Enough to Feed a Zoo

When you go to the zoo, it can be fascinating to see the zookeeper feed the zoo’s many inhabitants. However, I doubt many have ever considered just how expensive it is to feed all the zoo’s residents on a daily basis. One zoo located in the UK has considered their £200,000/year food bill and have opted for a new economically and environmentally friendly solution.

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FUTURE FARMS: High-Rise, Beach Pod, and Pyramid Pictures

The Pyramid Farm, designed by vertical farming guru Dickson Despommier at New York's Columbia University and Eric Ellingsen of the Illinois Institute of Technology, is one way to address the needs of a swelling population on a planet with finite farmland.

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Vertical Farming

By Bryan Walsh

www.time.com/

Photo: An experimental farm in El Paso, Texas, reduces water and fertilizer waste for crops.

Dickson Despommier became the guru of vertical farming because his students were bummed out. A professor of environmental health at Columbia University in New York City, Despommier teaches about parasitism, environmental disruption and other assorted happy topics. Eventually his students complained; they wanted to work on something optimistic. So the class began studying the idea of rooftop gardening for cities. They quickly discarded that approach--too small-scale--in favor of something more ambitious: a 30-story urban farm with a greenhouse on every floor. "I think vertical farming is an idea that can work in a big way," says Despommier.

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Skyfarming

http://nymag.com

A Columbia professor believes that converting skyscrapers into crop farms could help reduce global warming and make New York cleaner. It’s a vision straight out of Futurama—but here’s how it might work.

Urban farming has always been a slightly quixotic endeavor. From the small animal farm that was perched on the roof of the Upper West Side’s Ansonia apartment building in the early 1900s (fresh eggs delivered by bellhop!) to community gardens threatened by real-estate development, the dream of preserving a little of the country in the city is a utopian one. But nobody has ever dreamed as big as Dr. Dickson Despommier, a professor of environmental sciences and microbiology at Columbia University, who believes that “vertical farm” skyscrapers could help fight global warming.

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Seawater vertical farm Dubai 2009

The growth in demand for water and increasing shortages of supply are two of the most certain scenarios of the 21st century. Fortunately, the world is not short of water, it is just in the wrong place.

The Seawater Vertical Farm uses seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses and to convert sufficient humidity back into fresh water to irrigate the crops. Converting seawater to fresh water in the right quantities and in the right places offers the potential to solve all the problems described
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