Farmlyplace - Urban Farming - Kiezfarm -

Sam Timmins

The demonstrators just dragged things on and on. They rightly assumed that their audience had a baseline understanding of hydroponics, but for some reason refused to go into any further depth on the subject beyond that baseline. The female demonstrator was very repetitive and a little patronizing to the audience of older teens, turning everything into a life lesson about “growing up” or explaining very basic science class concepts, even after acknowledging that we had already been learning them for several years. She was constantly distracted and going off on long, barely related tangents like education or covid lockdowns. The male demonstrator was also talking in circles, but he managed to give out a little more detailed information and stay on topic. Overall the whole lesson took ages, only to learn virtually nothing besides what you might get from a ten minute read on Wikipedia. The kids were clearly bored out of their minds, but the demonstrators just like to hear themselves talk and pretend to be profound.

Here are a few things I think needed to be discussed in order for it to be a meaningful experience:

There needs to be comparison between vertical farming and traditional farming. How do they compare in overall production? What about cost-effectiveness? Energy consumption? Is hydroponics economically viable without relying on subsidies and charity? Where did the technology start, and where is it going? What can and can’t you grow with hydroponics? How are the initial costs of the facility and equipment overcome? Where are hydroponics less effective? What are some other configurations for vertical farms?

There was just too much focus on a few very basic concepts. Yes, hydroponics means taking care of plants and moving them to different stages depending on their level of development, most people will understand that pretty quickly. (Also, please stop comparing the development of plants to the development of children, it’s really weird.) Pretty much everyone knows that plants need water and light, that really shouldn’t be a repeated topic, except for the fact that plants respond to specific wavelengths of light, which is actually something new I learned here. The facts that plants thrive when provided with the perfect conditions is pretty understandable, it’s clear that healthy plants are going to be tasty and nutritious.

Overall there’s potential for this to be a fascinating learning experience, but the lesson just lacks depth and severely underestimates its audience ability to think critically or consider the wider picture. I hope the owners take this as a chance to improve, because hydroponics is actually really great, but there’s so much more to discuss than was provided.

Daniele Rainò

Very interesting!! This project is Ambitious, Sustainable and Innovative aiming at an urban agriculture of the future. The people here are dynamic, good and knowledgeable in their work. Furthermore, being located in a large city like Berlin is a strong point of the company. I've been there myself!!

Alessio De Luca

Super interesting! Urban Farming is the agriculture of the future and the project here are very ambitious! People that work here are awesome and are good at their job. Furthermore i tasted their vegetables and are really tasty. Recommended!

Nichelle Fox

Very informative session with tons of insights. Great learning tools from beginners to advanced.

I love Horror

Beautiful place. Really enjoyable place and enjoyed learning about hydroponics and the benefits it provides to Berlin as a city.

Jenny Davin

The way the plants are managed and kept helps them to thrive! The community around benefits from the growth.

Phoraphorn Schappeit

New urban farming in Berlin for community's learning the sustainable method togerther.

Kurt Groat

A great educational experience all about hydroponics.