Kitchen gardens and herbs in a pot have been around for centuries in one form or the other. Most of us who grew up in smaller towns and suburbs remember fetching tomatoes from our backyards while our urban fellow earth mates had windowsills with herbs growing in them. With the earth crossing the 7 billion people mark a few days ago, perhaps it’s about time the kitchen garden made a grand come back. Environmentally, it makes a whole lot of sense to grow a part of the food we consume every day in our own homes since it helps purify the air inside the home. It provides food to families at a fraction of the fuel costs that it takes to ship and transport food from farms to stores and to homes, and it also allows homeowners to know exactly how their food is growing and they can ensure that they and their families only get to eat the most organically grown food.
The Grow Tank indoor living food system by designer Sophia Nicholson takes the sound philosophy of having a kitchen garden at home and takes it to the next level by merging it with the up and coming tech known as Aquaponics.
Aquaponics is basically a system of utilizing aquaculture to nourish plants. The symbiotic growing method uses a sustainable food production model combining hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) with aquaculture. This allows the system to recycle resources and sustain both fish and plants using the same amount of water and nutrients. Since aquaponics requires 90 percent less space than a traditional soil-based method of cultivating plants, it makes a lot of sense for short-on-space cities where inhabitants of a community can construct Aquaponics Farms within their buildings to provide organic food for everyone within an area. Not only will it ensure the growth of crops throughout the year since the farms aren’t exposed to weather, it will also provide cheaper food to people.
The Grow Tank basically is a compact growing kit that lets people grow their own veggies and herbs in their own homes in a shared space of their apartment buildings and even in supermarkets. The tank can basically be stored in corner of the home much like an aquarium is, and the vegetable seedlings can be bought separately and taken home in baskets and simply placed on top of the tank. This allows users greater control over the growth of their food as well as a great way to reconnect with nature while living in the city environment.
Via: Coroflot
