About GrowNYC’s Container Farm

It may not look like it, but there is a hydroponic farm within this container! We imagine you have many questions about this mysterious box sitting here. To help we have compiled a list of some questions to assist you.

GrowNYC, Con Edison and our partners**, have teamed up to bring fresh produce to Manhattan year-round. The project

involves using a hydroponic container farm on Governor's Island where the team is making a collaborative effort to grow

crops and build relationships within the community. This project is not only about providing fresh produce to New Yorkers,

but also engaging the next generation with agriculture.

What is Hydroponics?

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, using a water-based nutrient solution instead. Plants are grown in

various methods from vertical grow towers, to growing on rafts in containers of water to name just a few. The plants are often

grown in various sterile substrates (sand, gravel, coconut coir, etc.) to help give structure to the roots.

What is the benefit of growing with hydroponics?

One of the main benefits of hydroponics is its water efficiency. Currently, agriculture (on average) accounts for 70 percent of

all freshwater withdrawals globally. Hydroponics can use as much as 10 times less water than traditional field watering because

water is captured and recirculated during thegrowing period. This can be especially beneficial in areas where freshwater is

scarce.

Hydroponics are also very efficient in land use; it is an effective way to grow food in a small footprint of space. For example,

this container has the potential to grow up to 2.5 acres of food within its space. In major cities like New York where land access

and use is limited, intensive growing like this can be very useful. It is also common to find that a lot of the native soils in major

cities are contaminated (mostly with lead and arsenic) from years of development and the use of leaded gasoline. By growing

without soil we are able to bypass this concern. Hydroponics has many benefits as you can see

and can be a great compliment to soil farming and agricultural enterprises. What will it grow and how will the produce be

used? In this container we are growing Kale as part of a wider research project with other Freight Farms to see how much we

can grow, while measuring the amount of water and energy it will take to do it. The produce is donated to New Yorkers in need

through GrowNYC’s network of community based partnerships.

Learn more or get involved by visiting www.grownyc.org

Our Partners:

EPRI is an independent non-profit energy research, development, and deployment organization. With a

foundational mission to benefit society, EPRI delivers independent, objective thought, leadership and

industry expertise to help the energy sector identify issues, technology gaps, and broader needs that can be

addressed through effective, collaborative research and development programs.