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World’s largest vertical strawberry farm opens in Jersey City
- labster 4y agoI still don’t think vertical strawberries are going to catch on.
- andrelaszlo 4y agoYou haven't had real strawberries until you've tried the diagonal ones!
- thelittleone 4y agoThe orthogonal's are also delicious....
- inglor_cz 4y agoWait until the 4D chestnuts come.
- nyx 4y agoThe title suggests it's going to be a cool ecomodernist story about efficient agricultural use of land, and it turns out it's a luxury strawberry grower selling berries a dozen at a time for $2 each in a giant plastic tray. Ick.
- resist_futility 4y agoMeanwhile in Japan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRFWq6OtJdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRFWq6OtJdE
- Barrin92 4y agoIsn't there a big economic problem to vertical farming? You're using relatively high value real estate and fairly energy and tech intensive methods to produce something that's relatively low value. Seems like willfully ignoring competitive advantage and trade. Is the hope that people are going to pay premium for vertically farmed produce because of the brand or is this actually cheaper?
- ehnto 4y agoI imagine it's a bit of both, premium and that it has been getting cheaper to pull off. On a more societal level, I think it is a skill we are going to need as time goes on, as things get denser, more populated, less arible and more insecure. So it's a worthwhile investment in technology, and I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't some government grants and research grants funding a portion of the endeavor.
- techdragon 4y agoThere’s a definite economic niche for high value low shelf life produce. It’s just a question of local economics. Fresh strawberries in a large market like this might be able to pay for themselves even with the costs of real estate and energy usage by way of being able to sell at a higher price due to selling extremely fresh produce to customers prepared to pay that higher cost for the quality difference. This does all assume the end result is a higher quality product of course.
- Cerium 4y agoStrawberries also have a bad reputation for pesticide usage. Indoor strawberries could potentially be marketed as zero pesticide for another premium angle.
- Aunche 4y agoWith indoor farming, you save on transportation and refrigeration, which is also energy intensive. Gotham Greens is doing something similar with salad mix, and they're supposedly profitable. That said, lettuce is a lot less calorie dense than strawberries, so I'd imagine that indoor strawberries will always be a luxury product.
- edge17 4y agoRight, but you pay for light and environmental control.
- jelliclesfarm 4y agoGotham greens has rooftop greenhouse gardens(most over Whole Foods stores)..not vertical farms CEA. They are indoor/greenhouse growers.
- mlex 4y agoWatched this YouTube video on them a year back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFmJAwc4s5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFmJAwc4s5I
- pvillano 4y agoHow This Indoor Vertical Farm Makes Perfect Japanese Strawberries [22:20] Eater
- ChuckMcM 4y agoGlad to see they are having some success. What surprised me the most about growing my own fruits and vegetables in my back yard is that many of the cultivars for standard things like tomatoes, strawberries, etc. are bred to survive transport at the expense of flavor. Basically things like rock hard tomatoes when they are picked that become soft (but not very much more flavorful) after traveling to the produce market. When you grow your own, you can grow berries that are "too delicate" to grow economically on big farms because too many berries don't survive transit. As a result it opens up different berries (and other produce) that you might not otherwise have access too. That said, getting seeds can be a challenge, I'm super blessed to live within driving distance of an excellent Ag college (UC Davis) but reaching out to the heirloom seeds community is another strategy some have pursued.
- Alex3917 4y agoThe USDA designates germplasm repositories for every edible crop, where you should be able to get seeds or scion wood for free.
- andrelaszlo 4y agoThe amazing flavors you get from some varieties! No wonder people think they don't like vegetables... The ones we have in Swedish stores are high quality, organic, but taste pretty terrible to be honest. One thing about growing your own veggies is you realize how much work it takes to get a single tomato, carrot or potato.
- thelittleone 4y agoBy "the ones" do you mean tomatoes in Swedish stores?
- andrelaszlo 4y agoVegetables in general, but especially tomatoes, yeah! They're crunchy, sour, and taste like generic "vegetable".
- Alex3917 4y agoSo they had been selling them for $50 per strawberry and they’re only 13 - 14 brix? For $50 I can plant a tree that will yield 30 - 40 lbs of fruit per year at 26 - 28 brix. This is perhaps a good real world example of the marshmallow test.
- WheatM 4y agoGood luck with your strawberry tree
- Jedd 4y agoParent was suggesting that for sugar-per-unit-of-land, a tree will bear larger volumes. I'd observe it will take less effort to maintain, be much more resilient to drought and pests, and have several other benefits, and it's why permaculturists prefer trees to annuals. While I suspect you're being snarky about strawberries not being trees, there actually is a strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo. I'm growing one, as it happens. They're a good looking tree, dark leaves, good canopy, lovely white bell-shaped flowers, but the fruit being reminiscent of strawberries more in the visuals than the flavour. This species appears on Madrid's coat of arms.
- WilTimSon 4y agoThat's a fascinating tidbit about the tree. So the fruit is edible, just not delicious? I suppose it could theoretically be bred to produce a more sweet variety of fruit?
- Jedd 4y agoLouis Glowinski, a Melbourne resident, published a spectacular book about growing fruit in Australia back in 2008 [1] -- it's a marvellous read, especially for the domestic geographical references, as well as the proper alignment of months to seasons (obviously most other works are from the northern hemisphere, and the prevalence of things like 'pick these in late July' which need to be mentally rot-6'd, gets tiring real fast). Anyway, there's a couple of probably unintended running jokes in that book -- the phrases 'highly variable' and 'good for jams' are frequently used when it feels like he's trying to be polite about good, but often far from great, fruit. I recall he used both phrases for this species. I think with a lot of these kinds of fruit trees that haven't been carefully selected over centuries, you don't have lots of named varieties, and consequently they're usually grown from seed rather than grafted, so in turn, combined with climate and soil variations, it's a bit of a pot-luck on whether you have great, or merely edible, fruit. So, yes, you're right, we could start breeding better varieties, but this is an expensive pursuit for tree crops, and few are engaged in it these days. Apples get a bit of attention (look at the Cosmic Crisp f.e.) and citrus too, but realistically most of humanity's diet today is based around species selected by hunter-gatherers ~11k years ago. [1] https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-complete-book-of-fruit-growing-in-australia-louis-glowinski/book/9780733624070.html https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-complete-book-of-fruit-grow...
- bobkrusty 4y agobut no worldwide shipping very funny
- vincnetas 4y agothats the idea. you grow local high quality things tha are prime time for consumption. no time to store them in logistics centers or long distance transortation.
- ColdHeat 4y agoI've eaten their strawberries and they're pretty good! The berries are held in a plastic tray with the berries individually floating on plastic wrap so they don't get squished from their own weight. While I don't think the berries are worth the price tag, I'd definitely be interested in trying some of the new products they mention in the article (tomatoes, melons).
- nostromo 4y agoI’m glad they found some early adopters, but I’m shocked anyone was willing to pay $5 per strawberry more than once as a novelty.
- chiefalchemist 4y agoThere's a lot of income in NYC and the greater NYC area. That said, we're all looking at the retail price, but the actual cost could be much lower. But it's more profitable to sprinkle some magic marketing dust on it and go higher end.
- Animats 4y agoUS $20 for 8 strawberries?[1]. Huh? Strawberries are $4/lb at Safeway. Less if I go to a fruit stand. Of course, I'm in California. [1] https://www.oishii.com/new-farm https://www.oishii.com/new-farm
- ckastner 4y agoYou left out the best part: (formerly $50). There's even an FAQ entry that sounds like borderline satire: "How were you able to bring the price down from $50 to $20?"
- TT-392 4y agoI am assuming they are going for a japanese fruit pricing strategy, making, some, apparently really good fruit, for crazy high prices. (I doubt many of them are actually worth the price, but I think it is mostly a gift giving thing over there). Kinda doubt that strategy is gonna work out in america.
- WilTimSon 4y agoCan't vouch for their taste or anything like that, but, based on the marketing, they seem to be positioning these as a high-quality species of strawberry and are also marketing it is a modern, cutting-edge alternative to standard farms. So not exactly surprised by the price, even if I do find it ridiculous and would never pay it.
- Gigachad 4y agoThere was a YouTube video linked in this thread showing how there is a strong market in Japan for ultra high quality strawberries where they are seen as a small quantity special treat to celebrate a big event rather than just a mass produced food.
- nine_k 4y agoSame thing with wine, cheese, steak, etc. There is a high-end market for utmost-quality, expensive food in small quantities. Remember how Tesla started as a ridiculously expensive muscle electric car. Now they have much more affordable models, and it's increasingly hard to walk down a street a in NYC and not spot at least one Tesla. Entering a market from its most premium segment is a common strategy, before you can polish your processes, achieve economies of scale, and lower the prices.
- codeulike 4y agoDisappointing lack of verticalness in that article. I was expecting some sort of tall, thin tower structure.
- wiz21c 4y agoIn these times of AGW, I just care about this: > The Jersey City facility consumes 60% less energy and 40% less water than the first-gen technology created and used at Oishii’s R&D facility in Kearny. So, how much more energy than growing the fruit in a traditional way ?
- nine_k 4y agoIt depends on how you count. I don't understand where do they take the electricity, but I suppose it could come completely from solar panels on the roof. Let's suppose they buy it locally. If my own electric bill (about 10 miles from them in Brooklyn) is any indication, the energy is > 50% renewable (hydro, nuclear, wind). Traditionally-grown berries would need to be transported, likely hundreds of miles. These berries apparently go to NYC area within 20 miles. This saves on transportation and refrigeration.
- jillesvangurp 4y agoDepends how you measure that. With traditional farming, you are using solar energy by virtue of the sun illuminating the land. But you don't really measure it because you don't pay for that. Nor is it particularly efficient because you don't capture all of the light hitting the area and yields for a given area are lot lower than vertical farms because of that (and a few other reasons). But you do pay for land of course. That's why there are not a lot of farms in urban areas. The land is simply too expensive and scarce for that and the low yields and efficiencies mean that there are more lucrative ways to monetize the land. There are also other forms of energy involved with traditional farming that you do need to pay for including working the land and tilling it (typically with equipment burning diesel), water use (takes energy to clean up and pump around), transporting the produce (more diesel), etc. The further away your food is grown the bigger the energy cost. With the extreme case for things that we ship, or even fly, in from other continents. With vertical farming, energy is a an important cost component; along with water, some nutrients, etc. You might even argue it's probably the biggest cost component next to perhaps manual labor. However, havesting produce in a vertical farm is probably a bit easier and efficient than in a field. So that leaves energy as the main cost difference. Water is quite easy to source, and effectively just takes more energy to clean and pump around and recycle. So, energy cost is really the key thing. Saving water saves energy. Because of the better yields per area you can farm in areas where it previously would have been too expensive and much closer to where the produce is consumed. Which means a lot of energy savings in transport, tilling, etc. So, it's probably more energy efficient overall. Whether it is cost effective depends mainly on the price of energy and how efficient you are with that. The cheaper and more efficient that gets the better it is. And of course the environmental impact is pretty minimal if you use clean renewable energy. Very unlike traditional farming which is comparatively dirty. So, 60% efficiency gain sounds like pretty nice cost optimization. Further cost reductions are going to come from lower cost per kwh. There probably is a cross over point where growing strawberries in a field becomes an expensive hobby.
- user3939382 4y agoJust one more reason to consider and then immediately decide never to visit Jersey City again.
- alephnan 4y agoOriginally I’d exchange text message with these people, meet them at the WTC subway station to pick up some berries. Glad to see they scaled up.
- decafninja 4y agoI've tried these, and they are by far the most delicious strawberries I've ever tasted. My wife is extremely picky about fruit, and she agrees. That said...they are also extremely expensive. For a slightly cheaper alternative, you can find strawberries imported from Japan that are probably 95% as good, albeit not as pretty looking. I've seen these going for about $30 for 10. For a slightly more cheaper alternative, you can find strawberries imported from Korea that are probably about 90% as good, albeit not as pretty looking. These seem to go for about $15-20 for 10. They're all significantly more expensive than the North American berries you find at the local supermarket, but they're also significantly better IMHO.
- driverdan 4y agoWhat else have you tried? Have you picked your own wild strawberries? Have you gone to a farm that grows them and has a stand? I'm very skeptical that they're worth $2 per strawberry.
- decafninja 4y agoWild strawberries - no. Straight from the farm, both sold from a stand or pick-your-own - yes. Also whatever premium strawberries that sometimes show up at Whole Foods or the local premium/gourmet markets. The Japanese and Korean berries are much better. I wouldn't buy them at whim without any thought. They're definitely a treat to indulge in. Edit: One thing to bear in mind - the main characteristics of these Asian berries is sweetness. They're incredibly sweet, with a hint of tartness. I have not encountered this level of sweet in any North American berry, though I have once in the UK. The Korean berries are also slightly less sweet and slightly more tart than the Japanese ones. If your preferred strawberry taste note is tart/sour, not sweet, then you might not like them. My wife's cousin prefers her berries tart, so she prefers the cheap berries you can find at any grocery over these Asian ones.
- superkarn 4y agoSpeaking of expensive Japanese strawberries, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895DfGuoqvU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895DfGuoqvU. Seems so crazy, but I'm glad a niche like this is possible.
- shiftoutbox 4y agoHi long time jersey city resident here . There never was an abandoned or old “ Anheuser-Busch factory in Jersey City” . AB has operated a massive brewery/factory in Newark 10mins away . In terms of abandoned factories most of not all of the jersey city abandoned property like this would have been retrofitted into something else years ago . Newark on the other hand has loads of abandoned stuff . Also it was home to Balentine’s , Pabst and at one point a sclitz plant .
- mhb 4y agoSo why can't they grow this same berry outdoors for 1/4 the price?
- ac29 4y agoPresumably growing indoors gives them a 365 day/yr operation, which wouldnt be possible otherwise in New Jersey. Most outdoor grown strawberries in the US come from California, and even there, the season isnt all year.
- Skunkleton 4y agoDumb question maybe, but where does all of the organic material needed to grow the strawberries come from in this case?