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England to build gigantic 220-acre greenhouse, grow 1.3 million plants
In England, farmers are creating a gigantic, 220-acre greenhouse, essentially creating a new climate under glass so they can grow vegetables year round despite the weather. It's going to be so big that it'll house 1.3 million plants, increasing the UK's crop of green veggies by a whopping 15%.
It's actually 7 gigantic interconnected greenhouses, and they'll have a relatively small carbon footprint for their size. They'll help the environment by allowing Brits to enjoy locally-grown vegetables even when they aren't in season, keeping them from needing to ship them in from elsewhere. It'll also create over 500 jobs, which is something you can't argue with.
Guardian UK, via io9
By murc at 6:28 PM ON 06/12/08
cool & smart is how I would describe that.
The UK must not have many farms, if this rather small 220 acre's can produce 15% of there veggies.
By speedblue47 at 9:08 PM ON 06/12/08
Greenhouse grown fields are many times more productive than normal acreage. Considering the quicker grow time, the higher crop density, and the fact that crops can be planted one right after another. You could have three or four crops a year. It could easily be 10 times the productivity of normal soil. Though, even given that, I would think that England would have more than 15,000 acres devoted to veggies.
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speedblue47:
Greenhouse grown fields are many times more productive than normal acreage. Considering the quicker grow time, the...More »