About FarmedHere
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FARMEDHERE™ grows salad greens, culinary herbs and Tilapia fish indoor, actually right “next door” to you – in Chicago. FARMEDHERE™ is the first Commercial Vertical Farm in the Mid-West. We are currently selling direct to local restaurants, highest quality organic grocery stores. Produce guys, girls and consumers love our unique paper compostable packaging. FARMEDHERE™ grows on aquaponics and aeroponics. We save 97% of fresh water and completely eliminate agricultural run-off.
FARMEDHERE™ produce is grown Locally and Vertically, indoors in City Centers away from the bugs, diseases, pesticides and weather that impacts most produce today. Year round and 24/7. This growing method reduces travel time and costs tremendously — our produce is grown “next door” to our customers. On average a head of lettuce travels 1,200 miles to reach your plate. This means FARMEDHERE™ offers the freshest produce available in any season.
Indoor farming is not new. However, advances in lighting technology and farming methods allow FARMEDHERE™ produce to be grown far faster than on outdoor farms. On average, our greens are at the peak of ripeness and ready to harvest in approximately 18 days, in comparison to 60 or more in the old fields. Plus, FARMEDHERE™ is vastly more efficient, with up to 20 times the yield of a traditional farm.
The current agricultural /food systems is broken. Now it’s time to revolutionize agriculture and grow locally, create local jobs and put empty post-industrial buildings to work again. Even our packaging is made locally. Please support your local farmers. Thanks and enjoy your FARMEDHERE™ !
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What is Aquaponics & Aeroponics?
FarmedHere pioneered commercial in-door Vertical Farming in Chicago. Our Aquaponics and Aeroponics grow local, fresh produce, create local jobs in a sustainable farming environment. We reuse 97% of fresh water, we use no herbicides or pesticides, we grow year round and we do not have to deliver more than few miles, as we are as local as one can get.
History. “Hydroponics” is simply growing plants without soil using a mineral rich water solution. From the earliest writings of man, there are references to food plants and cultivation techniques. It is not known when a plant was first grown in a container. The Bible tells us of King Nebuchadnezzar, who built the fabulous hanging gardens of Babylon. It was commonly believed plants needed nothing but water to grow, and that the soil merely held the plant upright. This led to experiments growing plants in water or various solutions. Sir Francis Bacon described growing plants this way in the 1620’s.
After the development of greenhouses in the early United States, farmers were looking for alternatives to manure, which was the major fertilizer. W.F. Gericke, from University of California, coined the name “hydroponics” (from Greek hydros, water and ponos, labor) in 1936. There was a huge jump in interest for hydroponics during WW II. Later, over 100 countries began using hydroponics. Today, thousands of farmers use hydroponics to grow popular plants like green lettuce or tomatoes year ‘round.
Aquaponics: Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (raising plants with nutrient rich water) in the same water system. It is the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment. Plants utilize the nutrient rich water. Aquaponic systems discharge virtually no water. Some consider Aztec Chinampas to be the first example of aquaponics. In today’s world with advanced plumbing, water filtration and lighting technologies, Aquaponics is considered the next step in hydroponics.
Aeroponics: Aeroponics is a cutting-edge type of hydroponic technology that grows plants in a mist. The aeroponic mist most efficiently provides roots with the nutrients, hydration and oxygen needed. This technology further reduces water consumption through nutrient re-circulation. Compared to soil-based methods, aeroponics consumes significantly less water due to the aeroponic system’s direct application of nutrients to the roots.
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FarmedHere is a leading Midwest in-door Vertical Farm and Aquaponic farming company. To ensure the we can grow the best produce and raise the best fish locally, we take all steps necessary to minimize the impact on the environment. Vertical Farming can greatly reduce carbon footprint and maximize the use of fresh water. We go great lengths to protect the environment as well as make everything about our products as local as possible. We grow, we harvest, package and deliver – all locally. Even our packaging is made right here, in Chicagoland. We only work with Green Printers (as reported by the Printing Industry of America). Our local packaging manufacturer is a Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified company. All our printing is done by JohnsByrne, a local company with traditions, and is VOC-free, SFI certified. In addition we only use soy based inks to further reduce the environmental impact. Our proprietary green paper packaging uses over 90% less plastic than all major competitors. Our leafy greens are not pre-washed in chlorine and are not “gassed” in the packaging before they leave our farm. They do not have to, as our greens travel only few miles. FarmedHere produce arrives at your local store or restaurant no later than one day after harvest. It’s our FarmedHere “Harvest to Plate = One Day” policy. Ripe, fresh, perfect.
Our natural, aquaponic plant nutrients are made right here, inside our farms. We have no water waste and almost zero organic waste. We call this a Protective Environment Agriculture. Some call it Agriculture 2.0. Whatever it’s called it just makes common sense.
What’s even more beneficial, we support all the local jobs we can and we constantly add urban farmers to our team. If you are interested in making Chicagoland a better place to live and work feel free to contact us.
FarmedHere environmental policy is designed to conserve natural resources, minimize transportation and set a good example for the farming and food industry.