Wind-powered vertical veggie farm harvests first crops

The YesHealth Group and Nordic Harvest A/S started building the vertical farm in April, at northern Europe's largest wholesale market in Grřnttorvet near Copenhagen in Denmark. The initial phase is expected to result in the production of some 200 tonnes of produce annually, but the facility will be expanded to 14 stories and 7,000 sq m (over 75,000 sq ft) during 2021, and production scaled up to 1,000 tonnes per year.

The Nordic Harvest vertical farm on the outskirts of Copenhagen in Denmark is expected to scale up production to 1,000 tonnes of salads and herbs per annum during 2021. Nordic Harvest

Salads and veggies such as baby spinach, mint, basil and cilantro are planted across several floors inside the building, shielded from weather extremes, with their roots in water and lighting and heating needs met by more than 20,000 LEDs powered by certified wind energy.

All of the organic seeds are sprouted in gel until the roots take hold, with nutrients coming from an in-house bio-fertilizer that's made from the fermented roots of previously harvested crops with added natural minerals. Spent water is filtered and reused, helping the setup use much less water than traditional farming. And the controlled environment also means that the production process does not involve the use of pesticides.

The first phase of construction is complete, with the remainder of the facility growing to 7,000 square meters during 2021

Jesper Palermo/YesHealth Group

Each crop takes about 2-3 weeks from seed to fully grown, which means that harvesting is expected to take place 15 times per year. Nordic Harvest says that the first harvest has been reserved for use in commercial kitchens, but expects commercially available crops to appear in supermarkets early next year. 

Photo Credit: Jesper Palermo/YesHealth Group

Source: New Atlas

Source: New Atlas