Anna Glansén of Tomorrow Machine – a Swedish design studio, based in Stockholm and Paris, specialized in package, product and food concepts – has sent me their latest project : Microgarden, a new way of growing greens in your own home.
Tomorrow Machine partnered up with Berlin-based indoor farming start up INFARM to develop a never-before-seen indoor growing kit – so anyone can grow their own microgreens at home. The Microgarden kit contains a reusable and renewable sheet of plastic which folds into a self-contained greenhouse.
The Microgarden uses transparent seaweed based agar-agar gel as a growing medium, and it has many benefits. It allows the Microgarden to remain self-contained – which means you will never have to water the microgreens. Their roots absorb moisture from the gel. The clear gel also allows the home-farmer to see and experience the whole growing process, from when the seeds sprout to the roots growth.
“We wanted to change the way you grow greens in your own home. The Microgarden is next generation of home farming, were the end result is a mix between a serving bowl and a greenhouse” says Tomorrow Machine.
The greenhouses’ walls cut the agar-agar gel in to six slices of still living greens. So you can choose to have only one slice or to put the whole greenhouse directly on the table to serve from.
“Our inspiration was finger food and we wanted to give the microgreens the same feeling as canapés because we think home grown greens is the most delicious and fresh thing you can eat.”
The kit comes as a flat pack that consists of three items, a foldable greenhouse, organic seeds and agar-agar powder. To use the kit, start by folding the greenhouse. Boil water and mix in the agar-agar powder, then pour the mix into the open greenhouse. Sprinkle the seeds, close the Microgarden and wait. After 5-14 days your microgreens are ready to be enjoyed!
“Our vision is that the Microgarden makes indoor farming available and easy for everyone. Where you can have delicious greens without pesticides or long transportation, by growing it in your own home, it does not get more local and organic than that.”
INFARM aims to provide local communities access to fresh produce as well as to share knowledge and resources to encourage individuals and businesses to grow their own fresh fruits and vegetables.
In order to fund the conceptualization and production of the kits, INFARM is running a crowdfunding campaign on indiegogo. The campaign runs from May 3 – June 13, 2014. Each donor will have an opportunity to own a kit before they are released on the market.
Show them your support!
Photos © Merav Maroody