- I feel we are overusing the resources of our planet.
We want to expand the possibilities of agriculture
in an environment where it wasn't thought
that you could actually grow plants.
We think that that can really change
the outlook for the future.
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Nemo's Garden is an alternative agriculture project
where we are trying to find a way to grow
plants underwater in underwater greenhouses.
We have grown between 50 and 60 different species:
basil, different kinds of salads,
goji, soy, sprouts, medical herbs.
Harvesting the plants is actually very simple.
We cut it just like we would do on land,
and then we wrap it into reusable plastic containers
and we just close it up and we pick it
up on the surface nice and comfortable.
The main challenges of growing plants underwater are:
it has never been done; it's all new.
Initially, the learning curve was very steep.
Every operation has to be done scuba diving,
and that is a challenge on itself.
The main advantages are the
protection from outside elements.
We are underwater, nothing can get to us.
No pests, means no chemicals needed,
and, of course, no hail, no storms,
the temperature stability that we have inside the water,
which is a lot more stable than outside.
Plus the higher pressure underwater, apparently,
makes our plants grow faster and stronger
and with higher contents of essential oils.
The water that we use for the plants
is mostly from evaporation of the surface of the saltwater.
Once it's evaporated it condenses back into rain.
We basically create freshwater automatically
that we don't need to consume any energy for.
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We know that climate change and the future of demography
is headed towards a way where we will be
overusing the resources of our planet.
I hope that Nemo's Garden is a way to use those
resources in a very respectful way and balanced way.
The whole concept for the project is to expand
the possibilities of agriculture.
In a world that is covered more than 70 percent in water
it simply made sense to us.
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