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Growing crops in saltwater – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Growing crops in saltwater – Springwise

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Climate change is leading to the increased scarcity of fresh water – just as food production needs to increase. According to one study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, increases in the global population will require raising overall food production by some 70 per cent between 2005 and 2050. Production in developing countries would need to almost double.

Scottish company Seawater Solutions has developed a novel approach to growing more food with less water, specialising in using seawater to grow salt-tolerant crops. Seawater Solutions takes flood-affected or degraded farmland and turns it into an artificial saltmarsh ecosystem by pumping seawater over the area or flooding it.

Farmers use the flooded land to grow crops, called halophytes, that thrive in waters with a high percentage of salt. Examples of halophyte crops include samphire, mangrove, and Salicornia. Some of these crops are in demand as food specialities, and others can be used to produce oil for cosmetics, as biofuels, or for fodder.

Halophyte crops also provide protection against erosion and carbon sequestration – the plants absorb 30 times more carbon than rainforests do. Seawater Solutions estimates that farmers who adopt their artificial ecosystems could sell €2,600 worth of carbon credits per year for each hectare farmed. On top of this, Seawater’s artificial salt marshes are powered entirely by renewable energy systems.

Climate change has given a new urgency to finding solutions. Recent ideas spotted by Springwise include a greenhouse designed to grow crops in hot, dry climates and using extremophile bacteria to improve crop yields.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

A connected vegetable garden for growing food at home
CategoriesSustainable News

A connected vegetable garden for growing food at home

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: With food price inflation remaining at historically high levels, many consumers are seeking savings wherever they can find them. While the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic has largely eased, some of the habits acquired during that time, such as grow-your-own herbs and veg, remain strong. To help new growers access the advantages of home-grown, organic produce, French company Urban Cuisine designed a stylish indoor hydroponic garden container that makes it fun and easy to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  

Named Liv, the connected garden comes with an app and the choice of over 17 different plants. The app guides growers through the set-up and planting process, provides regular advice on the growth of each variety, and includes an FAQ section and connections to Urban Cuisine’s horticulturalists for urgent queries. The garden’s sleek design fits a self-contained water tank, a micro-climate, ventilation controlled by integrated sensors, and a low-power LED light panel.  

When setting up a garden, growers choose Grow Pods based on how long they want to wait for a harvest and what they want to use the produce for. Each organic Grow Pod contains the essential substrate and nutrients for the seeds to grow. Liv is available as the garden alone, as a subscription of monthly deliveries of Grow Pods, or as a garden and subscription together.  

Other ways that Springwise has spotted innovators improving local food systems include an automated indoor herb garden and a no-smell countertop compost system.

Written By: Keely Khoury 

Reference

Growing seaweed between offshore wind turbines
CategoriesSustainable News

Growing seaweed between offshore wind turbines

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The global commercial seaweed market was valued at almost $17.9 billion (around €16.9 billion) in 2021 and projected to keep growing. This growth is driven by increased use of seaweed in food and cosmetics, and its use as a fertiliser. However, seaweed is disappearing from many places where it used to thrive because of global warming.

At the same time seaweed farming is becoming more difficult, the number of offshore wind farms is growing. Now, non-profit North Sea Farmers hopes to put the two together by locating seaweed farms between offshore wind turbines. North Sea Farmers plans to install its first seaweed farm, located off the coast of the Netherlands, this year and begin harvesting in Spring 2024. The 10-hectare farm is expected to produce at least 6,000 kilogrammes of fresh seaweed in its first year.

The demonstration project will be the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines. The aim is to kickstart more innovation in seaweed agriculture.

Eef Brouwers, Manager of Farming and Technology at North Sea Farmers, said: “Potentially, up to 85,000 full-time jobs could be created in the European seaweed sector by replicating North Sea Farm 1 across the North Sea.”

The project has received €1.5 million in funding from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, which will be spent on constructing the farm.

Seaweed is not only used in food and cosmetics. Springwise has also spotted a seaweed extract that could reduce the methane emitted by cattle, a seaweed-based packaging, and the use of seaweed-derived materials to prevent dendrite growth in batteries.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference