There Is A Huge Underground Farm Hiding 100 Feet Beneath London's Streets

[marmar]

There Is A Huge Underground Farm Hiding 100 Feet Beneath London's Streets
It's hard to find enough space for urban farms to grow enough local produce to feed a big city. Unless you put the whole farm below in an abandoned tunnel.




The newest branch line of the London Underground doesn't go anywhere. But it does produce a lot of nice food to eat. It's an aquaponic farm, 100 feet below the surface, set to open this March.

With sky-high rents in central London, it made sense for the startup behind the project, Zero Carbon Food, to look for an unconventional farm site. And the location, beneath the Northern line, puts the produce near a lot of restaurant customers. That reduces the miles that food has to travel to reach the table. Zero Carbon Food is now selling stock online--you can see its full pitch below:

The 2.5 acre project relies on its location in a tunnel to reduce heating and cooling costs. The temperature stays stable at 60 degrees all year round. There aren't many airborne pests to worry about either. A simple filter takes out any nasties, and lets the produce--which includes pea shoots, rocket, broccoli, mustard leaf and basil--grow without pesticides. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3025875/there-is-a-huge-underground-farm-hiding-100-feet-beneath-londons-streets

[Berlum]

1. The Mole People will luv this

[csziggy]

7. But maybe now the Morlocks will not need to eat the Eloi!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_%281960_film%29

[hunter]

24. More like this, in the U.S.A, I'm afraid...

Marching bands and robot cops wearing plaid shirts, overalls, and straw hats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Boy_and_His_Dog

[Hissyspit]

38. Or this:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068458/

[Javaman]

39. or this...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1735485/?ref_=nv_sr_2

[chrisa]

8. This is how the morlocks really started

[jwirr]

2. Hum, NYC has a lot of underground tunnels.

[justiceischeap]

3. Funny you mention that, I was just reading this article this morning

http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/5/5280920/tunnel-vision-bob-diamond-fights-for-the-atlantic-avenue-subway

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel was sealed in 1861, shortly after Brooklyn banned steam locomotives within city limits. Legend has it that the tunnel was reopened in the 1920s when it was used for mushroom growing and bootlegging, and in the 1940s when the FBI opened it looking for Nazis. But soon after, it was lost. In the 1950s two historians attempted to find it and failed.

When Diamond rediscovered the tunnel in 1980, he was just a 20-year-old engineering student on a scholarship. The media made him a hero. He decided to restore the tunnel for the city instead of taking an engineering job. Gradually he built a career — and an identity — around the 169-year-old underpass.

[Control-Z]

17. Fascinating!!

Thanks for posting this.

[R Merm]

18. Wow, haven't thought about that in years.

Volunteered with Diamond back in the early 1980's when he first started running tours down in the tunnel. It truly was an interesting place.

[JHB]

19. Not only that, there's the Lowline project...

NYC's Highline is an elevated park built on the bed of a defunct rail line.

The Lowline project proposes to do something similar with an underground trolley terminal
http://www.thelowline.org/

[justiceischeap]

21. I have to admit, when I read the article

I wondered what the city had in mind for the space. They were fine with him doing this for a couple of decades but suddenly the neighborhood is looking up and they don't want him to have anything to do with it anymore. But, that's the cynic in me.

[alfredo]

26. like the soda bottle skylights.

[cui bono]

32. That's what came to my mind when I read the OP. I love Highline Park.

I tried to go back a second time to take my friends but it was closed due to snow.

I look forward to checking out Lowline when it opens.

[calimary]

34. WOW! This is NEAT, JHB!

Thanks for posting! I love this stuff!

[TlalocW]

4. And thus begins the division of humanity

Into Morlocks and Eloi.

TlalocW

[TygrBright]

5. Exactly my thought! n/t

[Ikonoklast]

10. "If I have to eat one more bowl of kale..."

[oldandhappy]

6. Nice!

Great use of space and can avoid pesticides. Do not know cost of grow lights, but hey, no transportation or a/c or furnace. Seems really reasonable. Good for you London folk.

[geardaddy]

9. It's a great idea.

What about more than just restaurant customers though? That seems like it might be going to the upper levels of the income bracket rather than the folks who might need fresh veggies.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

11. "We'll be producing Herbs, micro-Herbs …"

Last edited Tue Feb 11, 2014, 04:45 PM - Edit history (1)

What about Maurys, Verns and Bruces.

(Sorry, couldn't resist).

[Jackpine Radical]

12. "Micro-Herbs?"

Do they mean Herb's little sprouts?

[SomeGuyInEagan]

23. Armies of them ...

[AngryAmish]

31. when I was a kid herb tarlick was the middle aged loser

He looks younger than me now.

[toby jo]

13. I was picturing livestock put under for the hoy poloy come doomsday

Wonder if they have them in all of our underground tunnels for our wicked mighty in the case of
catastrohe? Hogs, chickens, cattle, fields of pasture to graze and hay to be made? I'll bet they do. Fish farms, seeds, a regular noah's ark down there I'll bet.

[Yo_Mama]

14. But you need electricity to supply artificial light

which hardly makes it zero carbon.

Might be useful later on for space colonies, though. A good project.

[alfredo]

15. Solar and wind power might help.

[solarhydrocan]

22. Powered by the Unemployed!

Every Kilowatt Counts



From "Fifteen Million Merits" - a Black Mirror episode

Black Mirror: The twilight zone for the 21st century. A mind blower.

[alfredo]

25. We can harvest the energy of pedestrians as they walk down sidewalks, and cars as

the drive down the street.

[Lordquinton]

37. that light gets expencive

and if it's truly aquaponics, then a lot of energy goes into the fish as well, and if you ever loose power, then you're screwed. Also takes a lot of water, and they are only growing little things.

It's a cool idea, but is not the ideal that they are claiming.

[Yo_Mama]

41. Yes, to all that!!

But it may prove to lay the groundwork for ag in isolated biospheres.

Not to make use of the sun's power source for Earth ag just doesn't make sense.

[onethatcares]

16. yay aquaponics

you can grow in as small an area as your closet and I don't mean growing cannabis either.

I have two grow beds started, just doing lettuce and strawberries until I get the cycling done.

Then watch out, I'll be putting tomatos/peppers and whatever else I can fit into the beds.

[Tikki]

20. The Jam…a new single..hopefully, maybe...

"Growing Underground"

For The Jam fans, of course…




Tikki

[marmar]

29. A Town Called Lettuce

[Tikki]

30. tee hee….

Tikki

[Solly Mack]

27. K&R

[democratisphere]

28. Great idea and concept.

Food always sells.

[Upward]

33. Selling STOCK? That's Bullshit

Sell CSAs. No one needs corporate-grown and controlled food. Except corporations.

[calimary]

36. Welcome to DU, Upward!

Good to have you with us. Just another reason to do more of this, seems to me. Much more. So it's much more widely available. Keep the bad guys from cornering the market.

[calimary]

35. Great stuff, marmar! Thanks for posting.

This is fascinating! And I love this "recycling" project - finding a whole new use for an abandoned tunnel. WUNNNNderful!!!

[drynberg]

40. ASIDE FROM JOKES, THIS IS SIGNIFICANT

I do agree that CSAs would be 100% better than "stocks" and the "corporate way", but it is still significant. Now, to multiply this world wide by 1000s of times very quickly...as time's a wastin' and so is our environment.