The first indoor vertical farm grows strawberries

Plenty Richmond, the world's first vertical farm to grow strawberries indoors on a large scale, opened on September 24 in Richmond, Virginia.

Plenty Richmond Farms is designed to produce more than 1.8 million kilograms of strawberries grown in 30-foot-tall towers on less than 3,800 square meters of land ^. This is a fraction of the land needed for traditional strawberry production, which is also subject to seasonal and environmental factors that limit yields. The farm will grow strawberries for Driscoll's, with produce expected to hit grocery store shelves as early as 2025.

9m high vertical strawberry tower on the farm. (Photo: Plenty).

Until now, commercial vertical farming has been limited to lettuce, but Plenty Richmond has expanded that. With temperature, light and humidity controlled in 12 grow rooms, pollination is also tuned to be more efficient than bees. Plenty believes this will result in more uniform fruit and less waste.

'The Plenty Richmond Farm is the result of 200 research trials over the past six years to perfect the process of growing strawberries indoors all year round with consistent flavour ,' said Arama Kukutai, CEO of Plenty. Plenty Richmond was built after years of scientific research on this model, with the participation of many units around the world such as the University of Queensland, Macquarie University, Wageningen University, University of Florida, Basque Country University, CAS Center of Excellence for Molecular Plant Sciences and the Shanghai Institute of Plant Ecology and Physiology.

The growing room is tightly controlled to optimize pollination and fruit set. (Photo: Plenty).

'Vertical farms typically grow plants indoors in stacked layers, providing consistent crop yield and quality, but using large amounts of expensive energy for lighting and airflow ,' said Paul Gauthier, a professor at the University of Queensland, Australia.

'If we create a more dynamic environment and turn lights and sensors on and off according to the photosynthesis cycle rather than leaving them on continuously, we can take advantage of cheaper energy at off-peak times while still maximizing the benefits of vertical farming ,' he added.

'I have managed to get strawberries to produce 6kg of fruit per plant, even though people say the maximum that can be produced in a greenhouse is 2kg. I have tripled the yield of strawberries by manipulating the environment and pushing them to the limit ,' he shared.

Richmond Farm uses 97% less land and 90% less water than conventional farming methods, and uses no pesticides. The controlled environment and shorter supply chain also reduce the risk of crop disease.