No Soil Needed

Most farms have rows of crops in the ground. But inside a warehouse in Newark, New Jersey, you’ll find a different kind of farm. At AeroFarms, trays of leafy green plants are stacked 11 meters (36 feet) high. And they’re not growing in soil—they’re growing in air!

The site, which opened in 2016, is one of many vertical farms popping up around the world. These multistory structures are designed to grow food indoors. Vertical farms can carefully control the plants’ environment, such as temperature, light, and water. That allows the farms to grow fresh food year-round.

Vertical farms have many benefits. They use less water than traditional farms. They don’t need to use chemicals to control pests. Though vertical farms require more electricity than traditional farms do, they often use solar power or other types of renewable energy that will never be used up.

Most farms have rows of crops in the ground. But you’ll find a different kind of farm in Newark, New Jersey. It’s called AeroFarms. And it’s inside a warehouse. Trays of leafy green plants fill the building. They’re stacked 11 meters (36 feet) high. And they’re not growing in soil. They’re growing in air!

The site opened in 2016. It’s one of many vertical farms around the world. These tall buildings are built to grow food indoors. Vertical farms carefully monitor plants. They control their temperature, light, and water. That allows the farms to grow fresh food year-round.

Vertical farms have many benefits. They use less water than regular farms. They don’t need to use chemicals to control pests. Vertical farms do need more electricity than normal farms. But it often comes from solar power or other types of renewable energy. These energy sources will never be used up.

AeroFarms uses a system called aeroponics (EHR-uh-pon-iks) to grow crops. Seeds sit on a cloth that covers a large tray. The roots poke through the cloth and hang beneath it. Small pipes spray water containing nutrients on the roots. “We’ve created recipes to give each plant what it needs when it needs it,” says AeroFarms co-founder Marc Oshima.

Oshima and his team founded AeroFarms to provide healthy food to people who don’t have access to it. Right now, the farm grows baby greens—small leaves harvested early—and microgreens, or edible seedlings. The products are sold at nearby grocery stores. Keeping the food local requires less energy for transporting it.

AeroFarms also builds small farms for schools. “We want to grow the best food possible to nourish communities with locally grown food,” says Oshima.

AeroFarms grows crops using aeroponics (air-uh-PON-iks). Seeds sit on a cloth that covers a large tray. The roots poke through the cloth and hang beneath it. Small pipes spray water on the roots. The water contains nutrients. “We’ve created recipes to give each plant what it needs when it needs it,” says Marc Oshima.

Oshima and his team founded AeroFarms. They wanted to grow healthy food for people who don’t have access to it. The farm grows baby greens right now. They’re small leaves harvested early. The farm also grows microgreens. They’re edible seedlings. The veggies are sold at nearby grocery stores. Less energy is needed to transport locally grown food.

AeroFarms also builds small farms for schools. “We want to grow the best food possible to nourish communities with locally grown food,” says Oshima.