This means that different plants can grow in one indoor farm, but have their environments customized to their individual needs. Similar to smart thermostats in modern homes, wherein certain rooms can be set to different temperatures, today’s smart farms allow for variations in humidity, temperature, light, and nutrients from area to area within a single farm. In its modern form, CEA is a type of farming defined by growing in spaces whose conditions can be controlled and manipulated to match the needs of specific plants. These farming methods are all variations of a practice known today as Controlled Environment Agriculture, or CEA. Controlled Environment Agriculture: What is it? Walled gardens flourished in places like Montreuil, a suburb of Paris, through the 19th century. The remnants of these small, rectangular areas of fertile, arable land, known as chinampas, can still be seen in Mexico City today. The Aztecs grew plants on marshy ‘rafts’ suspended in rivers and shallow lake beds. One thousand years ago, the Mesoamerican Aztec society pioneered a form of hydroponics (hydroponics is the science of growing plants without soil in a nutrient-rich solution). Built nearly 2,500 years ago, their hanging gardens are thought to be the earliest prototype of a vertical farm (vertical refers to the practice of growing the plants upward to maximize growing space).īeyond this ancient Wonder of the World, there are myriad examples of how civilizations have worked to manipulate their environments to make farming easier and/or more productive. The Babylonians are the innovators behind the most well-known example of early advanced agriculture systems. Historical Precursors to the Modern Indoor Vertical Farm Vertical farms are mainly located indoors, such as a warehouse, where they have the ability to control the environmental conditions for plants to succeed. Growing vertically allows for conservation in space, resulting in a higher crop yield per square foot of land used. Vertical farming is the agricultural process in which crops are grown on top of each other, rather than in traditional, horizontal rows. If we take a look back at some of humankind’s earliest cultivation practices, we might get some ideas for how to reshape the future of our food system. Fortunately, agriculture is the world’s oldest, most adaptable industry. Faced with fewer resources, successfully feeding the world will require more innovative and reliable ways to grow safe food. ![]() In the next 30 years, in the midst of a rapidly changing climate, we will need to feed 10 billion people with less water and less arable land. It’s been well publicized that our planet’s population is growing faster than our ability to feed it.
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