Green Sky Growers: The Future of Farming

On a rooftop above their city center, Green Sky Growers use aquaponics and vertical farming to grow massive yields of produce and fresh, healthy tilapia using less than 10% of the water needed for traditional farming.  As much a science lab as a farm, this facility uses a software-controlled greenhouse that ventilates based on local temperature, rotating plant towers that soak up solution from fish tanks, and happy tilapia that consume plant waste to produce nutrient-rich water.

A myriad of vegetables grow in this greenhouse year-round, where lettuces, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and more grow in a hydroponic setting while aquaculture tanks complete a biological closed-loop.  Every Saturday, their produce is made available at a farmer’s market on the streets below in Winter Garden, Florida, inviting interested foodies up for a tour of the facility.  Technology is everywhere in this farm, but the plants it yields are as organic as can be.  No pesticides, genetic modifiers or toxic waste occur in this new-aged farm.  It is the perfect marriage of technology and nature, where the people who run it understand the delicate balance between sensible agriculture and sustainable business.  Visitors to the Orlando area might find more inspiration and fun in this rooftop farm than they would at the area’s entertainment district, where Mickey and Minnie Mouse dominate the environment.