In Gloucestershire, one of the leading indoor farms in the UK has started operating, changing the way salad crops are grown. This vertical farm utilizes a controlled environment to grow lettuce, basil, and other herbs three times faster than traditional outdoor planting methods. Glyn Stephens, the planting manager, believes that the transition to this high-tech method is a significant shift from traditional farming methods and emphasizes the widespread application of technology and engineering in indoor environments.
Compared to traditional farms, this farm is more like a warehouse, using rows of trays to grow various salad crops under multi-color LED lights, with a total of fifteen layers, maximizing vertical space and significantly improving planting yield and land use efficiency.
The total area of the planting area is 14500 square meters, and the environment is carefully controlled with a temperature of 27 degrees and a humidity of about 75%, creating ideal conditions for the rapid growth of plants. For example, basil only takes 18 days from sowing to harvesting, which is in stark contrast to its slower outdoor growth rate, especially in winter in regions such as Spain or Morocco.
Compared with importing crops from abroad, this planting method not only accelerates growth rate, but also greatly reduces carbon emissions. Especially when using LED lighting and climate control systems, energy demand is high, but farms rely entirely on renewable energy to minimize their carbon footprint. Due to the adoption of strict biosecurity measures, this farming method is able to withstand weather related challenges and pest infestations.
