Vertical Farms: A Garden in Skyscrapers

Nutrients move more freely in a water and cause hydroponically grown plants to be more robust with higher yields of phytochemicals than soil. Furthermore, plants of any crop can be grown all year round with hydroponics. Similarly, plants prefer red and blue LEDs to the sunlight. PlantLab's LED lighting system is already 1.6x as efficient for agriculture than the typical outdoor plot.

Vertical farming can also be better for the environment than traditional methods. Because it requires much less land, it barely encroaches on habitat compared to traditional agriculture; and it will always be organic because pesticides and herbicides are purposeless in enclosed farms. Because hydroponic farms recycle evaporated water and continue to use water that would otherwise diffuse into the soil, PlantLab¹ requires only 10% the water require by traditional agriculture.

¹http://singularityhub.com/2011/08/14/dutch-plantlab-revolutionizes-farming-no-sunlight-no-windows-less-water-better-food/