The farm will be the largest of its kind in the Greater Los Angeles area and one of what Plenty hopes is at least 500 farms around the world in densely populated urban areas with 1 million or more people. South San Francisco — At a nondescript gray building about 10 miles south of the Mission District, a team of a couple hundred people is trying to make vegetables taste better.
“By doing that, we increase access and availability through high-quality produce, change behaviors and get people to eat fruits and vegetables in lieu of snack food,” Plenty spokeswoman Christina Ra said. In a conference room at the farm, Barnard and Olivia Nahoum, who is the senior product development and sensory manager for the company, have set out a tasting of sorts.
“It all depends on where it is grown and the energy factors of that city,” he said.
The scientists grew wheat, soy beans, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and a couple of attempts at rice in a controlled chamber as a way to test a volume-efficient approach to farming in space. Raymond M. Wheeler, who was on the team that tested the crop system in the ’80s, said they grew the plants under high-pressure sodium lamps similar to the orange-colored street lights you see on many city blocks.
The need to change the way we eat and the impact we have on our planet.
We do so to address a very real need. Plenty is not the only company to attempt vertical agriculture. “If someone can come up with a very flavorful, very nutritious leafy green or a range of types, that would be perfect,” Wheeler said.
Vertical Farming . They are washed in bleach. “For our kale, we can take the flavor spectrum and move it from bitter to sweet so that it’s more balanced and easier to eat healthy food,” Barnard said. She has a BA in literary journalism from UC Irvine and an MA in journalism from USC. 570 Eccles Ave
“We work on fruit crops, particularly temperate trees like peaches, plums, apples and pears.”. In the center of the San Francisco warehouse, the Plenty farm is wrapped in a foil-like material that reaches from the concrete floor to the ceiling like an alien fortress.
Although the benefits of vertical farming are generally touted as positive, some critics point out that the energy it takes to fuel a hydroponic facility can be excessive. Borage flowers, gorgeous sky-blue blooms with white centers, evoke a mojito, with pure sugar and notes of fresh cucumber. Our Greens Our Providers Benefits FAQs.
We grow things. The practice is a long-in-development new frontier of farming that is starting to get to a place of technological efficiency that will allow it to scale commercially.
This story was updated with new information regarding the company’s expansion goals. In the last year, the facility tested 700 kinds of produce. This is the headquarters for Plenty, a company in the business of vertical agriculture — using hydroponics (growing plants without soil) to farm in an enclosed space.
Barnard, who grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, sees vertical agriculture as a way to address obesity, drought and food shortage problems — along with eliminating the need for your salad spinner.
A look inside the Plenty farm in South San Francisco.
In a space the size of a basketball court, the farm is growing kale, arugula, bok choy, beet leaves, fennel and mizuna. Those greens have impressed Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton, who is on the board of the company as a culinary advisor and collaborator.