Vertical Farms in Horticulture

Synonyms

Plant factories (Japan); Sky farming; Skyscraper farming

Introduction

Vertical farms are multistory buildings containing an environment conducive to the growing of fruits, vegetables, and nonedible plants for things such as biofuels, drugs, and vaccines. Vertical farms take advantage of the same technologies that enable high-tech greenhouses to flourish. Vertical farms (VFs) are a form of controlled environment agriculture (CEA).

Since the 1990s, with the development of sophisticated hydroponic, and to a lesser extent aeroponic growing systems, CEA has matured into a commercially viable strategy for the large-scale production of a wide variety of crops (Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses 2005). Historically, attempts to grow large amounts of vegetables and fruits indoors failed to evolve into commercially successful businesses, due largely to the lack of reliable technologies for growing plants hydroponically. Dr. William Gericke is given most of the credit for improving...