A Converted Laser Tag Arena is Now the Future of Farming

Laser tag arenas are large, empty open spaces where kids (and adults) can run around and shoot beams of light at each other. When a laser tag location closed down, its building in Newark, New Jersey opened up to new uses. Now, according to Circa, the new owners use light in a completely different way. AeroFarms implements LED lights to activate plant growth while they strive to achieve new methods of farming.

AeroFarms started in 2004 with the mission to use little water, no sunlight and no soil to grow their plants. What they’ve created is a vertical farm where plants get nutrients via an aeroponic mist, which they claim uses “95% less water than field farming and 40% less than hydroponics to grow perfect produce faster and more efficiently with zero pesticides.”

They hope to increase the affordability and availability of delicious greens for people who live in areas where farming is difficult. AeroFarms is also keeping the planet’s future in mind. On Medium.com they write, “A system of agriculture that does not tax precious natural resources is key to a future that includes the healthy foods on which people rely, and our natural resources that are being taxed at an unsustainable rate.”

Watch the video below to see how they use light to encourage plants to perk up.

It may be the #firstdayoffall but shhhhh don't tell our greens. To them, it's always growing season. #indoorfarm #controlledagriculture

A video posted by AeroFarms (@aerofarms) on Sep 22, 2016 at 11:49am PDT