Vertical micro-farms with fresh greens appeared in Berlin stores

Visitors to the Berlin METRO supermarkets were able to buy fresh greens directly from the garden. Vertical cabinets, greenhouses grow greens on the spot, while working windows. This is an experimental project of the company INFARM , being tested in some stores of the network.

In addition to the joy for buyers who can choose the appropriate salad directly from the garden, INFARM advertises its greenhouse cabinets as modular systems that maximize the use of resources for growing plants. It is argued that efficiency is achieved through savings on product delivery, and a reduction in water and electricity consumption compared with traditional methods.


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So far, only grass grows in cabinets, but manufacturers say that it will not be a problem to grow tomatoes, peppers and other crops this way. After six months of testing, the company plans to expand its presence to other supermarkets, as well as restaurants and hotels.



In the future, INFARM offers the widespread introduction of vertical greenhouses within the city. A professor at Columbia University is quoted on their website, who calculated: if cities grow at least 10% of the products they need within the city, the land returned to forests can absorb so much carbon dioxide that the atmosphere will return to the 1980 level.

This is not the only project to grow greenery in urban areas. Estonian startup Click & Grow is working on a similar technology . An automatic vertical “smart farm” the size of a fridge itself monitors the amount of water, nutrients and lighting that plants need. Minimal care and a drastically reduced amount of water required for growth are interesting properties of the farm that can make it popular.

And at a depth of 33 meters under the London streets in the old bomb shelters, the Zero Carbon Food company grows lettuce and other greens in hydroponic greenhouses.