BBC Future speaks to Harper Adams expert about vertical farming

Did you know that there are crops growing in space?

Astronauts on the International Space Station are growing a range of plants as they orbit the earth, using LED lights in a soilless system.

This fact is just one of many in a fascinating BBC Future long-form investigation into vertical farming – a modern re-imagining of centuries-old techniques, which is now seeing crops being grown in urban environments across the globe.

Among the experts interviewed for the piece is senior lecturer Dr Laura Vickers, from Harper Adams University’s Urban Farming Group.

She explains how the hydroponics and aeroponics increases nutrient efficiency in vertical farms, why their lack of UV lighting hinders pollinators such as bees, and the challenges of growing a slow-maturing plant such as a mango tree.

Read the whole piece – which sets out both the opportunities and challenges of vertical farming – on the BBC here.