The Dirt: Biosphere 2 Crops Feed Students

The start of the semester last week saw students swarming across campus, looking for their lecture halls, sorting out their schedules, and searching for snacks.

Meanwhile, a crop of about 800 heads of red and green butter lettuce grown in a container farm at the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2, the world’s largest controlled environment, was delivered to the Campus Pantry and the Impact of Southern Arizona community food bank. 

"We are excited to share our first crop to come out of Biosphere 2's Modular Container Farm, the Freight Farms Greenery S," said John Adams, deputy director of Biosphere 2. The produce is grown from non-genetically modified seeds and is herbicide and pesticide free.

Biosphere 2's container farm is a hydroponic system, growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, packing the equivalent crop production of 2.5 acres of farmland into a 320 square-foot space. A built-in dehumidifier recaptures and recycles water, helping the farm reduce water use by 99% compared with traditional agriculture, which enables water recapture and recycling.

The Biosphere 2 hydroponics system was acquired in part through a grant from the university's Campus Sustainability Fund. "This technology makes it possible to bring fresh food to an area where it might otherwise be impossible to grow and help to develop food of the future," Adams said.

Operated by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the Campus Pantry provides food assistance to anyone in need on the UArizona campus. Biosphere 2 plans to deliver fresh produce to the Campus Pantry every other week. Learn more.