Reader Annette sent me a link to an article about, Plenty, an indoor farming startup backed by some of the biggest names in tech. They just announced they are expanding into the Seattle market and will be opening a 100,000 square foot farm where they will grow pesticide-free, “backyard quality” produce for customers in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
Unlike most farms, they grow their plants in 20-foot tall towers inside a climate-controlled facility using LED lights. Also unlike many farms, they don’t use a drop of pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs. Another thing that sets them apart is the technology. They use thousands of infrared cameras and sensors to collect data and then analyze it using machine learning to optimize how the plants grow.
“Plenty said its technology can achieve yields of up to 350 times greater than traditional agriculture while using 1 percent of the water and barely any land compared to conventional methods. Plenty’s farms can also grow plants — up to 300 variants of produce — year-round, regardless of season, which helps increase efficiency. Its proximity to cities also means that produce doesn’t sit in trucks for days or weeks before ultimately arriving on your kitchen table.”
Plenty isn’t the first startup to attempt to build a business around indoor farming. A few others have tried and failed. But with the backings of big wigs like Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, they believe they are the first that will be successful using the model. Their first fresh produce will start shipping to a few restaurants in 2018, and then to other buyers after that. It also plans to open more farms across the country and eventually around the world.
What do you think about this concept? Do you think it’s cool? The way of the future? Would you eat their produce or do you think it’s unnatural and you’d rather buy from a farmer’s market with more traditional growing methods?
Garden on,
~Mavis
Kristina says
That’s really cool. Though I doubt there’s any good science to support the “350 times” more productive claim. As to whether I would eat it, food is food is food. I’m glad there are new cool ways to grow it. Ag science rules.
Carol says
I’m old school. Nothing can beat getting your hands dirty, growing food in garden soil with good tilth. It would be interesting to compare nutrient density between these crops and freshly harvested, organically grown produce.
VickiBee says
I agree with Carol – nothing beats getting your hands in the dirt. BUT there are plenty of people who don’t/won’t/can’t garden, and I love the idea of having farm-fresh produce available all year long – as long as the tomatoes don’t taste like hothouse tomatoes …
KC says
I feel sorry for the first person to accidentally introduce aphids (or any other pests) into the indoor setup… it sounds like they’re relying heavily on the indoor-ness of it for pest control, but our indoor plants still sometimes have bug problems.
But also, while the water use may be low, I’d be interested in how much added water will be needed (because outdoor crops can use rain), and the total energy use (since outdoor crops “use” the sun instead of grow lights). I’d also be curious as to whether the 350x estimate is based on being able to have, say, 100 stacked tiers of plants covering each square foot of ground space (20 story building with 5 tiers of plants per floor?) and getting two or three crops per year instead of one crop per year. If they have rainwater collection and solar panels on the roof, that might mitigate the energy/water costs, but… I don’t know.
Emily says
If they are smart they would use the same kind of biosecurity protocols used for intensive indoor animal production. Most swine farms require workers to shower in and out of each building with a complete clothing change to go with it. This basically sounds like the plant equivalent.
Laura A says
I’m interested in the nutrition of these crops grown indoors. Do they have the same nutrients as something grown outside that get soil, water and sunlight? Are they just as healthy and good for you?
Karin says
I think that’s a pretty cool idea and hopefully it will succeed since they have big names and big money behind it! I would totally eat it. It may not be as good as home grown but with no pesticides, no synthetic fertilizer and no GMOs it sounds better than most grocery store produce. I just wish I lived nearby and could get a job there. Sounds really interesting.
SilverIzzy says
Everyone thinks scientists figured out that sunlight is “just vitamin D!” Like how bones “just need calcium!” and the main part of willow bark is “just Aspirin!” while manure is “just phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium!” Every single time scientists try to synthesize something a couple of decades down the road they go, “oh jeez, look at that, nature is a holistic system and it turns out nature does it better. Whoops.”
No, I do not believe you can reproduce solar energy with science, yet. If they manage fusion, then maybe. As it stands I would bet you money that the plants will look like plants, and feel like plants, but will not have the same nutritional value as plants. Especially not after consecutive generations.
This screams two things to me. One, we wish to automate all the farms and get rid of all those pesky peasants who keep growing their own food. Two, we need to figure out a way to grow food without sunlight. Both of those goal statements deeply concern me.
Wendy says
Couldn’t have said it better myself. There is still so much they don’t even know about plants! They’re still discovering things, like mycorrhizal fungi, for instance. There’s definitely a symbiosis between plants, sun, air and DIRT.
Mimi says
Anything that gets more fresh produce to the masses is fine with me.
Most of our farmland in the US is devoted to crops that don’t provide much nutrition (corn for example). Leafy greens etc. grown locally could be a good thing.
Linda says
Got it in one! Let’s get the pure produce to the children. They are the future.
Suzanne says
Tomatoes grown under artificial light just do not have the same deep, rich color and flavor. I never had the appreciation for the convenience of your own garden until I moved from rural Indiana to suburban Northern Virginia. People here are willing to pay for more expensive organic produce in the stores. I see where Jeff is going with this since he has recently purchased Whole Foods.
I do like the idea of using rooftops/unused building spaces in cities for growing produce and getting it closer to the consumer that way, but I still do not think you should mess with Mother Nature.
As for my family in Northern Virginia, we have our own garden–my husband is my secret weapon–he put himself through college selling produce from his family farm. Thankfully there is no HOA. Mavis, I learned all about raising chickens from you 🙂 We have 6 happy girls!
Sandy Frankel says
This is the future of farming. With the decline of rural areas, and as our environment and open space is challenged-we must create new technology to feed people. Sustainable, cost effective-urban farming.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/08/05/429345848/green-pie-in-the-sky-vertical-farming-is-on-the-rise-in-newark
Emily E. says
There are a lot of really insightful and interesting views on this topic. I’m all for non GMO and keeping chemicals out of our food. And I like the idea of exploring different growing options because I don’t think we can indefinitely depend on everyone to do their part to take care of our earth. I think we should take notes and cues from Mother Nature instead of trying to compete with her. I do feel disheartened that farmers do not get the credit or support they deserve, but new, popular growing options seem to be fully supported. I have a large garden and agree that you can’t beat the taste.
Practical Parsimony says
There is no appreciable decline in rural areas. Most of AL is rural. I read a long article on the wisdom of growing food in water without the benefits of the nutrition in soil. Plus, do LED lights work like the sun for producing vitamins and minerals in plants. The produce from CA has more nutrients than the produce from FL because CA has better soil, more nutrients to be transferred from the soil to the plants. This is a proven fact. There needs to be more study before we eliminate the sun and soil in favor of a method that is cheaper and more productive. This needs to be studied more.
Sheri Lin says
Not sure I’m sold. I would need more information. You can bet the only reason Jeff Bezos is backing the project is due to the profits to be made selling on Amazon…IMO.
Rajena says
Here is another article on it to answer a few more questions people may have: https://www.fastcompany.com/40420610/has-this-silicon-valley-startup-finally-nailed-the-indoor-farming-model
They use ladybugs to control what pest they do have. I still don’t know what they use to feed the plants. I was wondering if they were using aquaponics but there is no mention. But they are using microbes in the planting containers. They use heirloom seed so the produce does actually taste better.
As for the lights, those have come a looooong way in recent years. Probably thanks to the marijuana growing enthusiasts. I say this because if you want to learn anything about growing plants indoors you usually end up on one of their forums and they know their stuff. Plants use different colors more than other colors. They use mostly blue and violet but if you add red then they are more apt to flower. Green they use the least. I am guessing they are using green lights at Plenty so the plants actually look green to our eyes.
I think what they are doing is great. It will never take the place of the traditional way of growing produce in the ground but it will be able to give people in really large cities fresher, cleaner, much more flavorful produce than what they are getting currently. And hopefully the prices on fresh produce will be lower so places like low income areas that have no fresh produce in the stores will actually get to have fresh produce available.