N.J. Indoor Farm Represents Leap Forward For Urban Veggie Lovers

KEARNY, NJ — It’s ironic that many residents of the "Garden State” consume a steady diet of cheap, mass-produced food at the expense of the environment, according to indoor farming company Bowery.

But there’s no need to look to New Jersey’s rural areas for relief, the company says… it can be even more efficient to grow quality food indoors.

According to a news release from the fledgling company – which has offices in New York City and grows its food at a Kearny facility – its unique, indoor process enables it to produce veggies that are completely pesticide-free, leading the way to a “post-organic” future of food production.

The evolution to “pesticide-free” isn’t the only advance in urban farming taking place at the Bowery’s Kearny location, company spokespeople say.

Using technology such as LED lighting automation, machine learning and vision systems, Bowery workers are able to monitor plants 24/7. The result is a farm that’s 100 times more productive on the same footprint of land, growing 365 days a year with 95% less water, the company claims.

According to Bowery, other benefits of growing crops entirely indoors include:

• A “controlled indoor growing environment” allows people to grow vegetables year-round, regardless of the weather
• Meticulously monitoring the growing process and capturing data along the way helps to remove the age old reliance on “eyeballing”
• Providing plants with only the exact amount of water required helps to save 95% less water than traditional agriculture
• Crop cycles are much faster and more frequent than traditional agriculture
• The ability to harvest each crop at the exact right time, ensuring flavor is at its prime
• Once it’s picked, Bowery produce can reach stores and restaurants within a day, unlike traditional produce which can take weeks

There are others that support the Bowery vision; so far, the company has raised $7.5 million of capital in a seed round led by First Round Capital, with participation from Box Group, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Chef Tom Colicchio.

Bowery’s products will be available at the Whole Foods stores in Millburn and Newark, the company stated.

Learn more about the farm here.

• See related article: World's Largest Indoor Vertical Farm Coming To Essex County
• See related article: Newark’s 1st Whole Foods Opens For Business

Photos: Bowery

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