Indoor agriculture is an intriguing concept – which is why it was the topic of discussion for Science Cafe Concord in October – so I was drawn to a story in The Sunday Telegraph of Nashua by Don Himsel about a non-farming family looking to get involved in a small business that bought a “farm in a box”.
It’s a shipping container turned into an hydroponics facility by Boston Freight Farms, using LED lighting, temperature control and water rather than soil. It cost “about $65,000” according to the story, and is already growing sellable amounts of leafy greens – pretty much anything that’s isn’t “root-intensive.”
From the outside a passerby may never know they have such an operation in place. The trailer is painted forest green. It’s situated behind their popup garage. The Ward’s worked with the city’s zoning board to make sure they could fit within city requirements and restrictions. “We have neighbors who don’t even know,” said Ward.
It’s part of a trend, as Motherboard reports in a story about MIT developing what it calls “food computers”.
Here’s the story – although the Telegraph has a hard paywall so I’m not sure if you can see it without a subscription.
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