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“The role of an urban farm is not to feed our cities but to offer a range of (re-)connections that we are gradually losing as a society between the human and non-human, health and environment” Kathrin Bohm
At V-Farm we believe the answer lies upwards. By farming vertically indoors we can reduce the need for agricultural land, focusing on disused inner-city buildings & growing within the retail / living / working spaces. This not only reduces the distance produce travels to the supermarket shelf but also promotes social enterprise and interaction. We can also raise production in existing farm infrastructure through smart propagation systems and speed up research with multi-level fully controllable research units.
Whether you are growing on a small scale in your retail F&B business, a vertical propagation solution for your farm, a fully adaptable system for research or designing large scale inner city indoor farms, there is a V-Farm to suit your needs. Providing a reliable, clean and safe food production solution in cities and remote communities. Whilst reducing carbon footprint and water usage by over 90%.
For true urban farming to be a reality on a mass scale it must be sustainable and profitable. It is clear that there are more inputs needed to grow indoors than traditional ‘under sun’ open field cultivation so ROI is the key consideration when embarking on indoor farming. Vertical farms need to be well designed/ food safe and plant (not tech) focused so that every area is optimised for maximum plant benefit and yield from the minimum inputs. It also needs to be able to be controlled by people with little horticultural knowledge allowing non-farmers to easily train to be able to grow crops successfully and easily. These were the pillars on which V-Farm was designed. Optimising light and environmental efficiency in a modular easy to operate solution.
The V-Farm concept is based around a patented modular structure of mobile hydroponic racks fitted with irrigation trays offering flood and drain or NFT principles. It can be completely tailored to maximise the growing area in your available space and give you the highest rate of return. Designed to maximise production areas with eve heights up to 5m, it is perfect for multi-level buildings and subterranean installations; Spaces that we see are the most adaptable and efficient thus delivering the best possible ROI.
V-Farm is the latest in numerous ground-breaking innovations in urban agriculture from HydroGarden, a leading European manufacturer and distributor of hydroponic equipment with a deserved reputation for product innovation. Established in 1996, the company develops and manufactures V-Farm at it’s UK headquarters in Coventry.
HydroGarden believes that vertical farming is the future and that V-Farm can go some way in helping to alleviate the ever-increasing demand for food that faces us.
It will provide food security and allow countries that have poor growing conditions to produce their own food source and provide fresh produce locally all year round.
It can be installed in very remote locations saving food miles - for example, in remote Scandinavian villages where growing in local community facilities also develops much needed social interaction and enterprise.
Food security and moreover food poverty is fast becoming a major issue with a number of Governments around the world. Population increases, natural disasters and war have a major impact in this area. Vertical farming is not the only solution, but will play an integral part in releasing land for conventional cereal crops by putting leafy greens indoors where predictable cropping is now possible with the V-Farm systems.
And beyond this planet, increasingly lengthy space missions mean that scientists are investing huge resources in trying to find a way for astronauts to grow their own food both in space and, incredibly, on faraway planets.
With these statistics it would require an area about 20% more than the size of Brazil to grow enough food to feed the population, if traditional farming practices continue as they are today. We would run out of water to grow the crops before we even found enough land.
If you are looking for a small scale system to service your F&B retail business then it’s as simple as ordering one of our ‘Citifarm’ systems. These offer you fast efficient production of microgreens and baby leaf, super easy to run and also work brilliantly as point of sale or marketing tools. If your are looking to develop a larger scale farm then we would first of all recommend using a smaller system to test grow and get yield data for your chosen crops. As our systems are modular, this will offer a solid financial production plan on scale up and also a strong de-risked case to funders. Please talk to us to discuss your needs or simply purchase one of our smaller test or research racks.
If you are a research institution then we offer a number of fully adaptable chambers where all elements, spectrum in light intensity, environmental control and feeding can be controlled. Simply purchase the unit that suits your needs.
If you want to maximise the propagation phase of your farm, saving you time and space on production then choose the V-Farm propagation system that suits your needs.
V-Farm uses the latest hydroponic technology, innovative LED lighting and environmental handling equipment to deliver a completely controlled growing environment meaning that growing can take place in warm or cold climates, 24 hours a day, with reliable, repeatable yields. This versatile system is non crop-specific, allowing it to be adapted for growing a wide variety of salad greens, herbs, microgreens and even some fruit & vegetables. The environment can be fully controlled using our market-leading software interface via PC, tablet or smartphone and is a truly sustainable growing solution.
Fully Controlled Environments
Humidity, heat, CO2, air exchange and air flow are all controlled and monitored closely to provide the plants with our growing recipes that deliver optimum plant performance.
We can offer preprogrammed options to easily grow your target crops or you can also input your own protocols to influence grow rates, styles, nutritional load and taste. All done via our computer and run from a tablet or phone. Remote access 24/7, monitor your crop from anywhere in the world.
Custom Made LED Technology
We achieve our incredible grow rates partly due to our specific choice in light.
Using Spectron super efficient full spectrum LED chips developed under a partnership with a leading LED company, we can give the plant exactly what it needs to deliver optimum yield. We also partner with world leaders such as Valoya and Osram to offer specific spectral options for Tissue culture and research.
The lamp is washable and all fittings are IP67. Each unit is self driven so if a driver fails you only lose one lamp and not a whole bank of lights.
Clean and Safe
Growing in a hermetically sealed chamber cut off from the outside radically reduces the chance of bacterial or pest infection. Due to the cleanliness and the easy clean nature of the V-Farm racks, there is less chance of contamination and bacterial build up is greatly reduced.
With our ‘clean growing’ method it also means the crop is in a perfect condition and needs less cleaning so less labour input. Having a perfect crop means the outer leaves of leafy crops can be used (traditionally these are discarded), increasing yield and reducing waste.
Optimising Your Space
Our racks will optimise your growing space and with our track mounted design saving up to 30% of the working area meaning up to 30% more yield from layout alone. Our smaller systems for retail and research can be supplied in fully controlled environmental chambers to be housed in labs or existing rooms. For ‘citifarm’ retail units we can add windows and vinyl wrap the outside of the chamber to fit your environment, offering a great customer engagement and add value to your fresh greens offering.
Our systems maximise your output by over 30% compared to standard vertical farms due to its moving rack format. Couple this with the perfect growing conditions offered to your crop then your yields will soar.
Due to the efficiency and cleanliness of the V-Farm system you will maximise the quality of the crop. Crops will be larger, in the case of leafy greens you will have more usable leaves, and in most cases taste will be more intense. Building V-Farms at point of use in cities and supermarkets also increases nutrition factors in the crop through reducing time from harvest to plate.
Take control of your crops and deliver the best crop for the best time of year to maximise the value. Due to the nature of the fully controlled indoor V-farm, you can grow at any time of the year.
Our technologies are turnkey and seamlessly work together.
Our award winning technologies British made and are being used for multiple crops around the world. National Winner of the 2016/17 EEF Future Manufacturing Awards. Best innovation category.
The V-Farm concept is to offer you a high yielding solution whatever your facilities footprint.
Our technologies are working hard to give your plants the perfect environment to thrive so you can have the time to concentrate on growing your business.
Due to the nature of the closed environment with controlled airflow, if you implement tight entry and clean down procedures then there will be no need for pest and disease control.
Be updated on real time system performance direct to your tablet or phone.
Are you able to make use of existing buildings? This may be faster and cheaper than a new build and also qualify for local government assistance.
Is the building element flexible for your needs and if there is a problem such as a bacterial disease outbreak, can part of it still operate?
Can you have different areas for different environmental conditions to optimise different crops? For example, Basil would need to be in a warmer environment than Lettuce so to optimise both you can not grow both in the same environment.
If you are looking for a large facility, then existing multi-level buildings or new builds based on a multi-level design bring far more flexibility. You can flex your growing to seasonal market value effect and have different environments on different levels. If you have a crop problem or need to wash down your facility you can do so a floor at a time whilst others still produce.
Making note of the factors listed above, V-Farm has been designed to maximise growing area in an eve height up to 5m. We offer solutions for your building from modular racks that your installer would fit along with your building design and HVAC, through to fully environmentally controlled rooms that can be assembled within existing infrastructure.