Despite the name recalls the great farms of America, Farm 360 is actually a normal magazine, inserted in the urban context of a big city like Indianapolis. But here they are growing vegetables and to do so using the hydroponic method that combines LED lighting and water savings (something del90% compared with conventional crops), all powered by renewable energy.
The idea came two years ago in Jim Bloom that combined and exploited different needs: the presence in town of many empty warehouses, legacy of great crisis, to be redeveloped and the demand for fresh and healthy products by the residents of Indianapolis, but affordable. So in a context of poverty and unemployment growing, it was born 360 Farm.
But how does it work? Inside the warehouse of approximately 8000 square meters (also exploited in height, thanks to vertically crop) are grown 25 products: all in all, the produced vegetable is able to satisfy the demand of the whole city for a year (supermarkets, restaurants , canteens).
Vegetables grow thanks to the hydroponic system, which does not use the land but feeds the plant through water and dissolved minerals, conveyed directly to the plants, with great water savings. Added to this is an LED lighting system that provides a fertile environment for the growth throughout the year.
Offering new jobs to citizens, the warehouse has also helped to reduce the unemployment rate.
Cover photo by: http://www.slfindy.com/