Inside the world's largest vertical farm

AeroFarms' headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, is a former steel factory that's been converted into the world's largest vertical farm.

Throughout the 6,410m² of growing space, plant beds are stacked on top of each other in 12 layers between floor and ceiling. LEDs provide lighting and the roots of leafy greens, herbs and salads are kept nourished using an "aeroponic" mist claimed to use 95 per cent less water than outdoor agriculture. "This is game-changing in terms of productivity," explains Marc Oshima, AeroFarms' co-founder. "We can take the same seed that might take 30-35 days to grow outside, and it will have a 12-16 day crop cycle in our system, so we can have 20 crop cycles a year."

AeroFarms' agricultural optimisation relies on algorithms that continually monitor nutrients and lighting at different points in the plants' growth cycles. By optimising light wavelengths and the nutrient-filled mist, operators can endow plants with different tastes, textures, colours and yield. "For example, we can make watercress spicier and lettuce sweeter," he says.

The flagship facility, in partnership with RBH, Prudential and Goldman Sachs, will be able to produce 900,000kg of vegetables -- which will be distributed to local buyers -- annually when it reaches full capacity, predicted for midway through 2016.