Valcent Products will build a super efficient 6,000 square-foot greenhouse in downtown Vancouver.
Valcent has revolutionized vertical farming with their hydroponic VertiCrop growing system. VertiCrop is a series of four-meter-high stacks of growing trays assembled on motorized conveyors. The conveyors move the plants through commercial greenhouses for maximum sun exposure.
The system also makes it easy to harvest. Like other hydroponic systems, VertiCrop is incredibly efficient, providing up to 20 times the yield of field agriculture and using less than a tenth of the water.
The upcoming Vancouver greenhouse will produce hydroponically the equivalent of about 16 acres of California field agriculture and can grow up to 20 different varieties of lettuces. Construction is planned to launch in January 2012 with the first crop harvest projected for April 2012.
Vancouver is striving to become the greenest city in the world by 2020. Utilizing an underused space in the city and growing food locally are important steps to creating a more sustainable city. A bicycle-based food delivery company is being discussed as a market option for the upcoming greenhouse product.
Article by Karen MacKay, appearing courtesy Crisp Green.
